The Waiting Game.....

17 months and counting.......

As I'm sure you can all see by the fact I have not been giving any regular updates on our progress.....there really aren't any.  We spent many gut wrenching weeks glued to the national media channels as they warned of war on the Korean peninsula. It became more and more unsettling as the days rolled by.  I struggled to calm my nerves regardless of the many local South Korean news articles which brushed the rhetoric aside with such calm.

I soon realized how much our media had sensationalized these reports, almost for the purpose of ratings, as the headlines were soon relegated to the "international news" sections of our papers.  Soon the focus of our news shifted to the horrific events within our own borders.  So while nothing has changed in our process, sadly, much has changed around the world.

The events of the past month have only made us more determined than ever to bring our boy home where he can be safe, where he can be loved, and where he can be happy.  As the North Korean conflict continues, we continue to pray for the health and safety of all the children of South Korea each day, and ask that you please do the same.

We were blessed this past month with several updates on our son.  Shortly after his 1st birthday we received some wonderful pictures of him, which were followed about 10 days later with a video.  The videos were quite amazing to watch because this was the first time we were personally able to see him walking unassisted.  You have no idea the joy it brings to me and Jen to see Makaio in his environment thriving, playing, laughing, and walking.

Video Snapshot March, 7th 2012

Some of you may remember the pictures I posted around Christmas of the Hanbok Jennifer's mom had purchased for us to send for Makaio's 1st birthday celebration....or Tol celebration.  We were blessed again with pictures of Makaio in that very outfit.  This was such a relief since we weren't completely sure we would be receiving these pictures, or if they would even be taken.

  

Tol Celebration in Hanbok

As if all those updates weren't enough, we were hit once again the very next day with 13 month updates of our little guy.  We truly must have been doing something right these past 6 weeks to deserve all of this.

13 Month Update

As promised we have kept ourselves busy making decisions on the renovation of Makaio's bedroom.  While we are still a couple weeks from completion, we continue to make headway and can't wait to see the finished product.  I've included a few pictures of the process so far.

Old Decor #1

Old Decor #2

Chute is built for demo!

Demo #1

Demo #2

Sheetrock is up!

Built in closet done....built in bunks being started....

Built in bunks in progress!

We've been making the best of this time while we wait......continuing to keep ourselves occupied as you can see......waiting for that day we receive our travel call.  I miss my little guy more and more every day....every picture makes the wait that much harder.  Soon he'll understand how lucky he is to have so many wonderful, loving people waiting for him to come home. Until then.....it's on to the next project........I'm compiling a list of staple Korean dishes to start cooking and perfecting, so when we do get that call, he won't miss a beat!