The Name Game

Although we are unable to share YS' Korean name, which we will keep for his middle name, we are able to share his American name. This weekend we had the opportunity to go to a Korean event at our adoption agency. It was a joy to learn more about Korean culture, and see lots of little children adopted from Korea, and their families. It was fun to think about going next year, with our little boy! Nathan and I also tried our hand at Korean writing. I wrote YS' American name in Korean!

So here is the Name Game Challenge: Look at the Korean name below, and figure out what it is in English! Then make your guess. If you need a little help, you can look at the second picture below, which is "Nathan" in Korean! (On the bottom right corner the sweet Korean ladies from the adoption agency, who taught us, put their signature.)

P.S. We have some Korean 'Choco-Pies' for the winner!

If A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words.....

....then we could write this post for a long time!

This past week we received an unexpected surprise in the form of some new pictures of our little guy, YS at his one year old check up.  Our case worker at the agency emailed them to Jill (at home) and me (at work) so we could both enjoy the chance to see some updated pictures of YS.

Although we can't post pictures of him yet (security and privacy issues prevent us), we can tell you he's looking very healthy and doing incredibly well.  His pictures have him playing with some toys, walking around, and even sitting on the lap of his care giver looking content and at ease.  But I couldn't help but be drawn to my favorite picture - one of him sitting on the lap of his care giver getting hugged and tickled.  Looking at the picture you see his eyes are almost completely shut because the smile on his mouth is so big and wide.  His mouth is wide open with delight, giving a good look at his teeth and tongue, as you can almost hear the giggles and squeals coming out.  Ahhh!  How much longer do we have to wait until WE can give him hugs and tickles from US?!!  Either way, it's obvious to me that he is being taken care of and loved on very well by everyone at the agency in S. Korea and his care giver.....and for that I am thankful.


Needless to say, there was a long pause in my work day to take in these new pictures and see my son growing and having a fun time exploring his world.  It didn't take too long for me to set these pictures as my screen saver on my computer, even though it caused my productivity at church to go down at various points of the day....like, every 3 minutes when my screen saver came on  = ).  And yes, shortly after that updated pictures were already being developed at Wal-Mart and being brought home to share with the family (to much joy and excitement).

We were also given an updated medical report for him, which was fun to see how he has grown and developed since just a few months ago.  From all accounts he appears to be progressing well for a 1 year old!  We found out he's added a few more teeth (now has 4 on top and bottom), able to speak some simple words, is climbing all around, waves "bye bye" to people, and responds to his Korean name.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he's a fan of bathtime, but I'm sure Nathan and Brooke will have no trouble showing YS how much fun bathtime can be here in our house!

Unexpected updates like this are always welcome at our house!  What will the next one be?

Happy 1st Birthday!

So the news on the adoption front has been a bit quiet lately, most in part to there not being any new updates or news to share.  We're in our next phase of waiting, while we have completed and sent off more paperwork to the many different agencies and departments (both here in the U.S. and in Korea) that will be processing and handling all the details of finalizing our adoption.  Korea did confirm that they received and have looked over our paperwork, so that's good news!

But, we had cause for a little celebration this past Friday when we had the chance to celebrate YS's 1st birthday!  Even though he isn't officially a part of our family and is still in S. Korea, we still wanted to celebrate his birthday, sing for him, and give him a few presents, and oh yea, eat some cake too.  We also wanted to take lots of pictures and videos so when he gets older, he'll be able to see how much we loved him and celebrated him.....even before he was ours.

If you know Nathan and Brooke at all, you know they LOVE the idea of having a party, and this was no exception.  The party planners started a day ahead of time and hung streamers all throughout the living room.  Then they grabbed balloons and started blowing them up and hanging them everywhere - finishing with a multi-colored balloon bouquet hanging down in the middle of the living room (think disco ball hanging from the ceiling), all while listening to Veggie Tales and happy birthday music on the stereo.  What an afternoon!  If you are ever in need for some party planners, Nathan & Brooke are your go-to people!  Jill also made an incredible (and elaborate) teddy bear birthday cake (see pic), complete with birthday hat and candle.

When Friday came and we were ready to celebrate, we even had the joy of having Grandpa & Grandma Rasmussen join us, as they were coming home from a trip out East.  It was a lot of fun to celebrate with our family!

After dinner, we opened a few gifts that Nathan & Brooke had picked out for YS, which they showed everyone - a few books, some toy blocks, and soft balls.  Nathan and Brooke are anxiously waiting to read and play with you when you come, YS!  We also have one other gift that we left wrapped up until YS arrives, and can't wait for him to open it up and enjoy it.

All in all, it was a fun night to celebrate our little guy's first birthday.  Although we haven't met him yet, he is very much a part of our family and we are excited that he is our own.  Despite the miles that separate us right now, YS, know that we love you and talk about you on a daily basis, and can't wait to have you as part of our family.  We're looking forward to celebrating your NEXT birthday here with us!

Our Little Boy!

Our family is super excited to share with you that we have received our referral- a very important step in our adoption journey!! In short, he is an adorable little boy, currently 10 months old, from South Korea. As of right now, we will probably have to wait about a year until we can go to get him and bring him home.

When our social worker called to share this news, Eric was in Colorado with the high school youth on their summer trip. I knew there was a slight chance we could get the referral that week, but the most recent information had indicated that the referrals were coming in more slowly to our agency, so we probably wouldn't get one quite yet. But, we did! This was great news, but also meant all the information was at our local agency, and since I wanted Eric to be there too, I had to wait! So, our social worker told me just a little, and we set up a time to come in first thing Monday morning after Eric arrived Sunday night. Waiting these four days just gave me practice for our next wait which will be the hardest- waiting to meet him and bring him home!

I was also glad I was able to get a hold of Eric that day (who often didn't have cell phone coverage in the mountains of CO) and share this wonderful news.

So here are a few of our family's thoughts on this little guy joining our family!

Jill shares:

I'm filled with joy. Now that we know a little about him, I feel like he's our little boy, and my love for him just keeps growing. I pray for him every day, and am amazed to think that God has had this plan for us, and known the future of our family, and this little boy, our son. I'm so thankful he is bringing us together. I wish we could go to pick him up so much sooner- both to pick him up to give him a hug, and to pick him up to bring him home!

Eric shares:

The morning that I received a text message from Jill telling me we had received our referral was almost a shock for me to receive. In the middle of our h.s. summer trip I was beginning to feel exhausted, tired, and emotionally spent. But reading the words "referral" on my phone immediately brought excitement and anticipation about who this child was.....and when I was going to know more. Needless to say, it was hard to keep this news under wraps for the next 4 days (even though I did share it with my fellow adult leaders later that day - I just couldn't contain it to myself!) It's so exciting to finally have a little guy to look forward to holding, loving, and welcoming into our family. His picture is already framed and put beside Nathan & Brooke's as if he's one of us, and it looks so good. But waiting another 11-12 months is going to be really difficult and challenging, since I'm eager to bring him home and have him in our family. Patience.....patience......patience.....

Nathan shares:

"I'm very happy. He is so cute. I'm excited to have a little brother to play with. The hardest part is WAITING!"

(When we were getting the information from our agency, Nathan was at soccer camp. They were inside due to stormy weather, and had a little down time at the end where they could draw. When we picked him up, he hopped in the car, and shared his drawing with us- a picture of our family of five- mommy, daddy, Nathan, Brooke, and his new little brother! That's his drawing at the top of this post.

You can ask Nathan if you want to see a picture of his new little brother, because he carries it with him in his wallet. He's a proud big brother!)

Brooke shares:

"I'm going to play peek-a-boo with him, and put him on my shoulders and give him a piggy back ride." A few days after we found out all about him, she announced, "Now I know who I'm going to marry- YS!" (She said his Korean name, but I am only using initials.)

(When we first got the referral and she saw his picture, she smiled and blew him a kiss!)

Life in 6 Words (The G.O.S.P.E.L.)

On this Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  What an amazing day!  Not only did Jesus rise from the dead and defeat death (once and for all), his resurrection provides us with hope and eternal life - found only through a relationship with Christ.

I am so thankful for the Gospel and the power of it in my own life.  As I reflect on this special day, I am reminded how the entire Gospel can be broken down into 6 simple words.

God. Our. Sins. Paying. Everyone. Life.

I think this video sums it up well.  No commentary needed.  (Thanks Dare2Share for this resource and tool)




May the Truth of the Gospel be evident in your life this Easter season.

Happy Easter!

David, Dare2Share, and Being Awkward

A few weekends ago, I took 21 of our high school students and leaders to the annual Dare2Share conference held nearby at the Sears Centre.  With slightly over 5,000 students there, it was one rockin' weekend!  Dare2Share is a ministry organization based outside of Denver, CO that exists to help equip and prepare students to relationally and relentlessly share their faith with their friends.  Their approach and passion for evangelism have transformed our student ministry and has helped our ministry develop a passion and strategy for reaching our non-believing friends.   Greg Stier & his crew do an amazing job at these conferences (and in all the resources and articles they also provide), as they desire to teach and train students to share their faith with their friends.  I'm honored to consider them a partner in my ministry.

The theme this year was "The 'Un' Tour" and it centered around David and his story of overcoming Goliath.  During the weekend, our students were challenged with the idea to become UN-cool, UN-afraid, UN-ashamed, and UN-leashed for the Gospel.  Our students were given the chance to take a 'cell phone challenge' and call two of their friends to share the Gospel (the sight of seeing 5,000 students on their phones simultaneously sharing the Gospel is amazing).  They were also challenged to write the names of their un-saved friends on their hands as a visible reminder to pray, pursue, and persuade their friends to consider the Gospel.  Saturday afternoon our students spent 2 hours doing a silent prayer walk around their local high school - praying for their friends, teachers, administrators, and for God to do a mighty work through them to reach their campus for Him.  What a powerful opportunity to commit their school to Christ.  Some even shared their faith over dinner that night at the local restaurant we ate at.

In short, it was a GREAT weekend to be reminded of the power of the Gospel, our responsibility to share it with others (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8), and our call by God to be "awkward" for Him.  Awkward is Awesome!

As you think of it, pray for our students as they seek to live "THE Cause" (the Great Commission) and make disciples who make disciples.  Our students are still having great conversations and opportunities with their friends.  Viva La Cause!

Home Study: Continued & Complete

Although we've been a bit quiet lately on the blog, I wanted to throw an update up about how adoption details have been progressing for us over the past month or two.

In short, we've been keeping ourselves busy getting our home study completed (a major 'woo hoo' moment) and all the related paperwork turned in for that.  For those of you not familiar with what a home study is, it's basically a series of approx. five different sessions with our case worker who seeks to get to know us, our history (both individual and as a family), parenting styles, and how we deal with different situations and decisions on a regular basis.  We're also asked to submit a lot of paperwork, health records, and even get fingerprinted and background checked at the state/federal level (and they all came back clear....I think? haha)  She even comes to visit our home, so she can see our living space and how "life at the Groezinger's" is like.  Surprisingly, that day we were pretty normal!  = )

Our case worker then pulls together all her notes and thoughts from our sessions and writes up a summary report about us that is submitted to the State of Illinois for their approval of us becoming adoptive parents.  This report is also viewed by others in the adoption process (including the S. Korean agency we are adopting from, S. Korean government, etc)  And, oh yea, we're not even able to see this report until after it's approved by the state.  A little weird to think about, eh?

The good news is, though, we have finished all of our sessions, turned in all our necessary paperwork, and are now waiting for our case worker to submit the report to the state.  Rumor is that it could take 4-6 weeks to get it back, at which point we'll be notified and can continue moving forward on our next preparation plans.  In many ways, acceptance of our home study by the State is a huge step and goes a long way in moving us closer to getting our referral, so we are really excited about getting past this point.

Meanwhile (back at the ranch), we've been working through some online adoption training courses we are required to take by our agency (and pass.....yes, there is a short quiz at the end of each course).  The trainings have been pretty insightful and helpful.  They have focused on some of the unique situations involving international adoption, cultural issues we need to be aware of, common medical issues, and insight into how we can build attachment with our new child.  Some of them are a bit overwhelming, but they've given us some good insight and help into preparing us for our newest addition to the family.

So, in short - more paperwork being filled out, meetings, discussions, learning, and the waiting is now beginning......but the day is getting closer....and our anticipation is building for when we'll meet our little guy/girl for the first time and bring them home.....

More updates to come!