two months forever home.

wow, this Thursday will be nine weeks since they put Ally in my arms! God is so good. In so many ways it seems that she was always a part of your family. So many people have prayed for us and went out of their way to be thoughtful. We have surgery because of Allys medical condition on the 18Th of Nov. I will not say that I am not nervous, but I know that we have a God that does with us in everything. We have a pastor praying over Ally before the surgery. Ally is doing so well. She gives kisses and eats everything in sight. Last night she even slept in her crib through the night! My family is a huge help with Ally. Ally loves her papal and mimal. What would we do without family! She loves music. A new song about adoption titled "One Less" came out a few weeks ago. Ally loves to dance to it and several other kids songs. She points to things when she wants to know what something is. It is almost like she is asking "that?" I love being mom!

Week 4

Ally is doing so well. She is very loved and she knows it. She will do sweet things like clap her hands. Her smile makes me so happy. I can't believe it was 4 weeks ago they put her in my arms. She loves to look at picture books and points at things like she wants us to tell her what is in the picture. She tried to feed herself with a spoon today. She is messy, but hey everyone has to learn some time. We have the Birthright Walk in the morning. Today though we just bummed around the house. I thought it was important that she have some at home time with her mom. Tuesday we went to see her neurologist. He wants a CT scan, but thinks he wants to do surgery. Justin and I will really have to talk about this decision. We will get a second opinion first and we still have a lot of questions that need answered first. God is good and his grace is sufficient to get us through what ever is to come.

Week three over

Week three! Last Sunday we had her a 1st birthday party for her. She had a Hello Kitty Cake. It was small because I did not want to many people to scare her. She is a sweet girl. She hates to be left alone. Naps are an problem because when I rock her and she wakes up every time I try to put her down. We took her to the Dr. Wednesday. The Dr. referred us to a Nero Dr. and a eye Dr at Riley Children's. The Dr said that she did not think she will need a Cranial Release. This is great news. She has met all our family. I have a Baby carrier and she likes to be carried around in it. We take long walks in a stroller. She eats well. The other day we were at my moms and she went to get my sun glasses. She looked at them like she new she should not tough them. When I said no she ran to me and gave me a hug. Tonight we went to "The Whistle Stop" for my uncles engagement party. We have several weddings to go to in October. One of her favorite things to play with is my purses. She has several of her own. My mother gave her a key Bord the other day that did not work. She loved it. She wants to be a big girl. She hates sip cups. Today she acutely used her big girl potty!

14 months old today.

Wow yesterday it was two weeks to the day that the foster mom put Ally in my arms! They change your world for the better! Today she turns 14 months old. I love to hear her laugh and see her smile. The last few days have been full of lots of stroller rides and long walks. She loves ice cream and the swings at the park. She is sleeping through most the night. I can't get over how beautiful she is. She hates people telling her good buy. Most likely because most of the people important to her have said good buy. She is doing so well. I am amazed at her adjustment considering everything has changed in her life.

Church for the first time. Week one home.

Ally is doing great! She is really adjusting well. She slept in her crib all night last night. Yesterday Ally went with me to a baby shower, we had a great time mother daughter bonding. Well we did until I ended up making a fool of my self and fell on my rear end ha ha (call me miss grace). The main thing was the baby was OK. I did not hurt anything but my pride. Today we went to church with Ally for the first time. She did great! After church we ate at Bob Evens and took a bike ride. We ended up at river scape and took a paddle boat ride. It was great except for Ally did not like the life jacket. When we got home our little princes was exhausted. She loves to explore and see new things. Likes the outdoors. I am amazed at how well she is adjusting to US time.

Korea Time/ homecoming

Wow I am still very much on Korea time. We have been home one day and I think we are all still geting used to things. It was so sweet, my dad, Tevin, and Gram Rhea met us at the air port. They held a big sign that said Welcome home Allyson Lynn Yu-min Marshall! Everyone is in love with her! She has now met all her Grandparents. She loves her big brother and is ajusting well. She loves her stroler. So good to be home!

Getting ready to leave Korea very soon, this am in fact. My daughter gave me kisses three times yesterday. She is slowly warming up to all of us. I met several adoptive families in the lobby last night for pics. One family just had Got ya day! They picked up their one year old son and bought him a cake. Of cores we had to get pics of all the kids. I will add pics when I get back to the US. The mom and dad of the one year old picked up a cake. They gave everyone a piece of cake,with the exception of my daughter. Well my one year old did not like that and crawled over the seat and grabbed moms so fast. It was sweet! Yesterday we went to Seole Tower. It was neat for Justin to see, but I think he got tired because he had to hold the baby the whole way. She would not let him out of her sight, but has long has she is in his arms she is a very happy baby.

US food and bathrooms and baby kisses.

My daughter is so sweet. Today she gave my a kiss twice! I love her! She is growing more used to us every day. She loves my husband more than anything! She cries and clings to him. I joked with him that she has an off switch and he needs to let the rest of us know where it is. She is sleeping more, thus a much happier baby. The foster mom said several things. Some I agree with and some I wander about. She said the baby was a genius, that I agree with. She loves to imitate us, she drinks from a straw, and she reached for her hair Beret after only hearing the term once. She has the sweetest personality. I will forever be thankful for the sacrifice Ally's 15 yr old birth mom made.
We went in the subway in Korea and I had to use the bathroom. Well the Korean bathrooms are not the same has US restrooms. They have what is more or less a porcelain urinal for women to squat over. Needless to say I waited until we got back to the hotel. Another big difference I notice is the food. Ice cream is the equivalent of 9 US dollars for a small thing of Ben and Jerry's, butter is 5 US dollars for three sticks, and baby food is 3 dollars a jar! Much of the food they serve is different. McD's serves corn instead of fries and one of the menu options is shrimp burgers. Today we shopped for a while in a traditional Korean market. I saw bird, octopus, and bugs being sold for food!

day 2

Wow, I love being a mom. Ally is getting more used to us every day. She loves Justin. I think she takes to him because of this skin tone. She is sleeping right now and I can't stop staring at her. She is amazing. I love it when she laughs. She cries when she is tired, but when she is awake she is all over the place. We took her shopping today. It was a great experience. The people in Korea are very cordial with each other. Every one has an umbrella because it rains all the time it seems. We have met several other families hear at the Somerset that are going through the same thing we are. We all have baby's that miss their foster moms and cry because they are getting used to a new life.

We have our little girl. We meet the foster mom and the Dr. at the Holt office. They told me what she likes to eat. I gave the foster mom her gifts (how do you thank the person who took care of your baby for the first year). I love Ally so much. I talked with the Dr. and the good news was that he did not think she needed Nero surgery. We still have to see a family Dr. and eye Dr. God is so good. One of the things that will always stay with me is seeing the little ones being brought in for well baby checks. The babies just kept coming. When the translator said "please pray for our mission" I told her that we pray for birth moms and foster moms every day. The foster mom just hugged me when I said that. When the foster mom started to cry I lost it! She handed Ally to me in the Taxi and even the cab driver had to wipe tears out of his eyes. We took a taxi back to the room. She slept until she came back to the room. Then she cried for two hrs. Slept for an hour, then cried another two. Once she finally realized that she was going to be OK and that she was loved she took to all of us. My little girl makes me want to be a better person. I love her laugh. She really took to my husband. Tonight she is laying right on his chest. I can see it in his eyes much he loves her. I don't think I have ever loved my husband more than I do right now seeing him hold our daughter. Our sweet little girl. Well I will blog more later. I am praying that she sleeps on the way home.

One tired mama!

Wow I am one tired mama! We had a 15 hr flight. It will all be worth it tomorrow. I can't wait to meet my little girl. Because Katy at Holt had our arrival time wrong we will meet Ally before we take the tourer of Korea. The people hear are very kind. I learned how to say hi in Korean. Our hotel is nice. We have a little crib and make shift nursery made up for Ally. Thanks so much to all my friends for the many prayers. I met another adoptive mama today on the plane. We go back to the US on the same day. We found a BK to eat and on our way back to somerset it started to poor.

Three Short Hours

In three short hours we leave for the air port and begin the journey to pick up our sweet little girl. I feel so blessed. God is so good to put this little one in our family. one of the main goals I have in life is to make sure that my two children always know how wanted and loved they are. They make me want to be a better person. I am excited for the Chance to begin making memories with the new addition of my family. So many people are praying for us and that means so much. The house is clean and the bags are packed. Justin said that I am nesting. We are so excited.

We have a date!!

We leave Dayton Airport on Aug. 24 at 7 am!!! Time to bring the baby home. God is so good!! We will arrive at Atlanta at 9am and leave at 1pm for a 13-15 hr flight to Korea! We take a tourer and then we meet Ally!

Grace for the moment.

wow, we received the one piece of paper we have been on the phone about since mid June. Praise The Lord!!!!!! The I-600 arrived in the mail Sat. I had to see the piece of paper for my own eyes. Now we really are just waiting on a call. This has been such a journey and a blessing at the same time. Only God could take something so difficult and turn it around in to something so beautiful. I sleep with my phone next to me and I jump every time it rings. Needles to say that I have been very anxious, but God is good to give us grace for the moment. I have to remind myself to read the verse be anxious about nothing several times a day.

Our brown eyed girl

Our paper work is being processed!! We have her crib and dresser put together (that was a trip). God is so good. Hopeful that the USIS will come through with the paper work soon. We had to send a Class B form do to her medical concerns. Hope the travel call happens soon. We have so many people praying for us and for that I am very thankful!

USIS and future of Korean Adoption

Wow this has been a week. Monday I found out that in order to get our I-600 approved I had to file a new form and pay $585. I overnight the kind officer at the USIS everything that was needed the next day. We are still praying. Ally has a Dr. appt July 7 to approve her to travel. We are praying that every thing goes well and that the I-600 is ready in time.

Holt send me an email this week that Korea wants to close International adoptions by 2012. This makes me very sad in some ways because I always thought that we might adopt from Korea again. I know that Justin feels very thankful that we have Ally. The profile of children that Holt is receiving is changing. Many of the baby's are male children with health problems.

Adoption

My family stated the adoption process in April 2009, In November 2009 we were put on the Holt wait strip after our home sudy was approved. On Feb 25 2010 we were matched with our sweet little girl Ally. This is our family blog. Our family experience that we can share has we expand our family. We thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Love Always,
Justin , Angie, Tevin, and Ally