Owen's First Pool Party

Tonight we went to a pool party for our Sunday School Class. We had a great time playing and visiting with friends. We had over 35 kids there! Our class name is "Grand Purpose," but Nathan and I joke that it should be "Fruitful and Multiplying!" It is so much fun to share life experiences with these families. God has blessed our class with lots of children. For Nathan, I know that it was pure joy to be able to have his own child there to swim with. As you can see, Owen had a great time. One of the highlights for Owen was splashing his Daddy in the face with the waterfall.

By the way, I didn't post last Sunday on Father's Day, but I do want to tell you what a wonderful father Nathan is. He tells me everyday how much he loves Owen. He is fully hands on when it comes to childcare and housework. He has really "kicked it up a notch" as far as housework goes because he knows keeping up with our busy little one keeps me tied up. I love you and you are a wonderful father to Owen.

I have to show you how cute he looked for church this morning. Remember I told you that he had a couple of personal shoppers? Their names are Grammy, Brooklyn and Brittni, Grandma and Grandpa. Check out these overalls...aren't they the cutest things? Thanks to those personal shoppers, he always looks cuter than either of us on a Sunday morning.

Did you notice his stylish swimsuit? That was picked out by Brittni who frequently finds things and brings them to Grammy saying "Owen has to have this!"

Owen is trying so hard to walk. He grins so big when he walks a long way. I think he will have it mastered by the time this week is over and maybe, I can figure out how to post video!

We are so blessed to be able to call this boy our son. To see him smiling all the time is truly a blessing.

We Really Should Get Out More...

Check this out...








Maybe we need to get out more if we thought this looked like fun. This is a tree that was knocked down in the storm Thursday night not far from our house. No telling how long that tree had been there. Don't you know Owen wondered what in the world we were doing! I do have to say that he cried when Nathan took him off that log...he wanted to stay and play. I was starting to get a little creeped out at the thought of being locked in the cemetary all night.

Mr. Innocent

What Owen is doing to be "helpful" when Momma and Daddy aren't paying attention...

Rearranging the kitchen

Reorganizing the baby wipes

Don't you love the innocent look on his face!

First Mother's Day and Baby Dedication

Sunday we celebrated my first Mother's Day. This day was made extra special because we also celebrated baby dedication. This ceremony is used as a formal time for the parents to present themselves and their children to the church and commit to raise them in a Godly family. This in no way is a means of salvation for Owen, but it is our prayer that one day, as soon as he understands, he will accept Chirst as his personal Savior.

We continued the festivities by having our families over for lunch. It was a wonderful day.

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord had granted me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord...as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord." I Samuel 1:27-28

One Year Portraits

Owen had his one year portraits made this week and we couldn't be more thrilled with how they turned out. My dear friend LeighAnn made his pictures. She is so talented. She makes it very hard for us to pick our favorite. These are just two of many. As you can see, she really captures his personality well. You can check out her work by going to her website http://www.stillmomentsbyleighann.com/

Owen's First Easter

We had a great Easter! I can't decide if Easter or Chirstmas is my favorite holiday...they are both very special. Like our Pastor said they are two sides of the same coin and you can't have one without the other.

We started the day with a family breakfast for the three of us (bacon, chocolate gravy and biscuts). We then headed to church and to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch. What do you know? The Easter Bunny visted Owen and home and at Grandma and Gandpa's.

Here's another slide show. Notice how hard it is to get a picture of three kids 5 and under!

Owen's Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated Owen's First Birthday. We had a combination of Korean Traditions and American Traditions.

This picture is of Owen choosing an item from his toljabee. This is a Korean tradition for a baby's first birthday. Several elements are laid out in front of the baby and he chooses one and it tells something about his future. We used thread (long life), pencils (scholarly), rice (prosperity) or money (wealth). Owen chose thread for his first choice and pencils for his second. The outfit you see him in is the traditional Korean hanbok and was a gift from his foster mother. We love it!

For the American Traditions we had a cookout (burgers, cheese dip, soft drinks, etc...) and the baby eating his first cake and making a royal mess. Here is a picture of the "royal mess."

Owen shared his birthday celebration with his cousin Brittni who turned 8 on Easter Day. They each had their own cake. Owen's cake had Owen written in Korean and Brittni's cake had happiness written in Chineese.

We had a wonderful time and Owen got lots of great presents. This kid is a bit spoiled, I mean loved. He has had so much fun this week playing with all of his new toys.

Everyday we are more and more in love with this little boy. It is hard to believe he has been with us less than four months.