It's Official! Lydia is now a Melton!

Happy Birthday Brandon!

 

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!  It is hard to believe our baby is 14 years old!  You have always and will forever be our baby no matter how old you get!  I remember the day we held you and marveled at what a beautiful child God had created.  My only wish for you is that you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that you live your life serving Him.  You have been such a blessing to us- and can always make us smile- We love you! 

3 Months Already!!!

Yes, it is hard for me to think it has been 3 months since we stepped off a plane from Korea holding our precious Lydia on American soil!  She is growing so fast!  Girls are definitely different than boys to that I can certainly attest!  Lydia is a complete joy and it seems like she has always been here.  I laughingly tell everyone the reason she is not walking yet has everything to do with 3 brothers!! They are constantly picking her up to the point in which she now has learned to let out a loud scream so they will leave her alone!! She is learning new words every week.  The cutest one is "Hello- but pronounced- Hellwooh"!  Of course the boys say she picked that one up from me!  LOL

I have officially changed the title to the "Melton Family Journey" so that those of you who follow this blog can continue to see what is going on in the life of the Meltons!  The boys are doing great in school, and I am reminded each day of what little time I have left with them.  They are growing to be wonderful, godly, young men and Bob and I could not ask for anything more.  Zach is now 17 and looking forward to the day he officially owns a truck!  Of course I told him it could be a car but he quickly let me know that real men drive TRUCKS!! LOL  Brandon is 13 (going on 33) and full of himself as always.  He keeps it fun around our home! Matthew is 11 and he absolutely loves karate.  He is also very good at it I might say!  He is working on a purple belt and Brandon is working on an orange belt. 


I stand amazed at how God has worked throughout our entire lives but especially in the area of adoption.  He has brought 2 amazing kids into our lives through adoption and looking back at my life I could never have imagined we would have 4 kids!!  They have been such a blessing to us and it is a constant reminder of how He knits our families together- far beyond what we could have ever imagined!  I am also reminded of how He knits us into His Family- we could never imagine the love He has for us! He has adopted us as His chosen and precious children!  What could be better than that! 

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!  

I know, I know... I apologize for being a very bad blogger!!  But as you can see by this beautiful picture I have been busy with much more precious things that take up my time!! It is hard to believe that Lydia has been home with us for 10 weeks now.  On one hand it seems like she has been with us forever, then on another I feel like "where has the time gone?"  She is a sweet, precious, independent, funny, dramatic little girl.  We cannot imagine life without her.  And now she is 1 year old! 

If you are wondering why she is dressed this way- well, it is a tradition in Korea that on a child's first birthday they wear a traditional dress called a hanbok.  Lydia's foster mom bought this for her and was a gift from their family.  I have to say this is one of very few that we could get her to smile.  That dress is extremely long and extremely HOT!  But she was a cutey in the hanbok while it lasted! 

I want you all to know that every day I look at her and I am reminded of how grateful I am to our Lord for sending people like you to help us in this journey.  We are and will always be eternally grateful.  For anyone out there who may be considering adoption let me tell you from one who has done this thing twice, there is no greater love.  You worry that you will not love them like you love others (especially biological children) but God gives you a love for them even before you know them.  Hmm... kinda sounds like a story I have heard before.  Yes, the story of God's love for us!! The Gospel!  God loved us even before we existed on this earth.  He cares for us and even when we fail and make dumb decisions He still loves us and wants us to be part of His family.  I can say that I understand that now in a way that I did not before we adopted.  To see a child who is fatherless and to know that God had already planned for them to be part of your family and for you to love them as your own flesh and blood seems strange and maybe even impossible for some to believe.  We loved Lydia even before we saw her picture.  How great the Father in heaven's love must be for us if He loved us even before we were born and continued to live in sin yet loved us even more to die for us on a cross!

May you be encouraged today that your Father loves you. 

Now I have to go to bed so that I can get a few hours of sleep before our little one is up and going again!!!

Resting in His Amazing Grace and Love.
Angie 

A Long Journey Almost Over...

Well friends and family we are now back (physically) in America! After a long flight with Lydia not feeling well ( she really was great though!) and 6 more adopted babies on board, we are here in Detroit and anticipate a 11:25pm arrival into Louisville.

Thanks to everyone for your many prayers on our behalf. We love you all and are so glad to be back in America!

My Angel Is Resting!

In Mothers Arms

Through God's grace Lydia is in our arms. We picked her up about 10:30 pm Kentucky time and have her forever!

Please pray for little Lydia. The transition is very tough for her. On top of new faces to get used to she has a cold with fever. We have medicine and are praying they will work in her little body. (Praising God that mama is a nurse too!)

Love
Daddy

Yep! The Boys and I Will Spoil Her!!

Daddy's Little Angel

Mobile Phone Video

Warning: You may want tissues when viewing this post!

 

Ever Wonder What A Traditional Korean Meal Is Like?

Kacy's parents treated us to a Korean meal last night at a traditional restaurant and it was fabulous!
And yes, we tried every one of the items you see in this picture and many more! I think we ate for 2 hours! It makes me wonder, how do they stay so thin? Bob and I could not eat it all! Plus, Mr. Kim and Mrs. Hyun took us by to visit their church ( they have 10 thousand members) and treated us to a wide array of fruits for dessert in their home!! Yes, Kacy, we saw your room and got to see all your pictures from birth to present! Lol

Faith Lived Out!

I'm sitting here halfway around the world with the most godly woman I know, my best friend, greatest mom, and disciple of Christ. James tells us that our faith is lived out in our works and I am so proud of how Angie is living her faith out each and everyday, especially in our journey to get Lydia. I love you Angie and am blessed to have you as my helper! (now I will beg for forgiveness for this post):)

Praise the Lord for Friends!

We made it!  After what seemed like 3 days of travel, we landed in Seoul at 2:15pm on Sunday. (That would be 1:15 am on Sunday for you all!)  We were so thankful to have Kacy Kim's parents waiting for us at the airport with a sign that said : "Well to Korea Pastor Bob and Mrs. Angie!"  They are so precious and warmly welcomed us and drove us to the guest house.  I will add also that if I had to navigate traffic in Korea I would be a mess!!  It is more congested than Chicago rush hour traffic!  I am really having to keep my eye on Bob though, because he is salivating from the "High End" technology they have here!  You should see their GPS systems!  They look like plasma TVs! 

We will spend the day resting and preparing to meet our sweetheart tomorrow morning!  Thank you all for your continued prayers!  We love you!

Goodbye America!

We are preparing to board for the long trip almost around the world! We will update the blog when we get to our final destination which will be sometime tomorrow evening.

Please pray for travel mercies ( I cannot sleep sitting up!) and the preparation of Lydia's heart as she meets her forever family. Pray also that the boys will do well while we are apart (especially to not end up at emergent care!)

We love you all...

Question:

Would you be concerned if a gentleman is boarding your plane with a police house arrest ankle bracelet on him? Hmmm...

Here we go!

Well, we are finally on our way for the first leg of the thousands of miles trip!
You can't see our little plane in the background but trust me- it's just that- or should I say in Bob's words " a puddle jumper"!
We love you all and can't wait until we return to KY!

Almost on our Way!

Well, in preparation for our trip I'm assigned with the task of all technology...volunteer may be more like it! This is my test of mobile publish. Please be patient.  BM
Sent from my iPhone

My Favorite Chapter of Isaiah

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of our Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor......  Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. 'For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.  In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples.  All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.'  I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.  For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seed to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations."  Isaiah 61:1-3 and 7-11

This has to be my favorite chapter in Isaiah.  Or maybe it just spoke to me more today than ever as we sing praises to our Lord and rejoice that we are only days away from meeting our daughter!  But as I read and meditate on these verses I am also keenly aware of the pain and despair that Lydia's birth mom must feel right now as she goes on with her life without her baby.  We may never fully understand why she felt that she had to give Lydia up for adoption, but I know it is all part of God's plan.  We don't always understand why God does what He does- but I rest in the assurance that His ways are ALWAYS BETTER THAN MY OWN.

My prayer for her mom is that she will seek the Lord with all her heart and find comfort in the only arms that can provide peace from despair and comfort for those who mourn... Jesus Christ our Lord.

Bob's attempt to upload video! Let's see how it goes...

We are going to Korea!

It finally happened!  We received a call today from our adoption agency that Lydia is ready to come home! WE ARE SUPER EXCITED (can you tell???)   So I am sitting here-very calmly-wondering what to do first or what really has to be done!  We cannot wait to get our hands on her and squeeze her fat, little cheeks! 


We are planning the details now and from this point on we will have to make the blog private.  Our adoption agency will not allow us to post any pictures or video on a public domain until her adoption is finalized. So....  the only way around that is to make it private and allow only certain people access.



That being said, if any of you would like to follow our adoption journey to Korea please send me your email address to melton5@alslouisville.com.   We will send you an email when it has been approved and you can join us on our journey! 

Thank you for all of your prayers, love and financial giving.  We are forever in your debt.  "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

The Last Piece of Paper... Will It Ever End?

For those of you who have journeyed down the road of adoption you know exactly what I am talking about here.  Just when you "think" the paper work is done- you open your mailbox!  Well, today I can safely say unless Korea calls me with more "WE ARE DONE!"

We received Lydia's approval to immigrate from our country so all that we are waiting for is the phone call to go!  We are SOOO EXCITED!!  It is really hard to express how we feel.  I guess it is much like pregnancy.  You have this little life inside of you and you are totally in love with it even before you are able to touch it or visibly see it. I cannot visibly see Lydia (well, only in a few color pictures) or touch her but I am definitely in love with her.   I guess the hardest part right now is knowing she is in Korea and wondering what she is doing.  Is she able to pull up yet?  What about her eating habits?  Does she like to go outside and play?  Does she like to take a bath and give kisses and hugs?  My heart is in my throat as I write this.  I could never have imagined how much I would love her even before I could touch our hold her in my arms. 

Well enough crying for now...  I want to tell you about the most amazing people that I have ever met.  Next to my Dad and Mom (who put up with me and amazingly did not kill me for the first 18 years of my life) my church family is the GREATEST.  Seriously, I do not know how many people really get to say that.  Many of them have prayed, given financially, prayed and gave some more.  They have lovingly asked if they could do anything for us and yes, even keep our sweet, adorable children!!  I am so blessed to be a part of this church.  I know without a shadow of a doubt, without their prayers and financial giving we would not be weeks away from bringing our little girl home.  We even have a family in our church who are giving up their Saturday this weekend to have a garage sale for OUR LYDIA!

You guys and gals are the most amazing bunch of folks I have ever known!  What a honor it is to serve alongside you for the glory of the Lord. 

Keep watch... maybe we will be posting our adventure to Korea soon!!!

We Have a Referral!

Many of you know by now that we received our first picture of our beautiful little girl on Thursday!  She is 7 months old, 15 lbs with beautiful skin, dark brown eyes and black hair! ( Sorry- I cannot post a picture until we actually get her!)   She is the first of our babies to have hair before 2 years old!  She is adorable and seems to be happy even though we haven't actually seen her smile. 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of you for your prayers and financial giving to help us bring Lydia home.  We are forever in your debt and pray that one day we can bless you as much as you have blessed our family. 

Now the big question is "When do you get to go and get her?"  We will travel in approximately 3 months!  Bob and I both feel like this is forever but I know how quickly time travels (especially when you get older!!)  We can hardly wait to meet her and hold her in our arms forever!  We love each of you and thank you for praying and loving us the way that you do!

We are still waiting!!

For those of you who are following this blog, my sincere apologies!  I have been so busy with homeschooling, being a wife, and preparing for the spring as I await the opportunity to get outside, plant our garden, and raise some chickens!


I imagine you would like an update on our adoption.  There is not much to tell, just waiting and waiting and waiting...  Sounds a little boring right?  Yep, exactly how we feel.  We are trying to stay busy (not that this is a problem for us!) but it seems that everywhere we look we see something that reminds us of a little girl.

In the midst of our waiting we awoke on Friday to hear that Japan had endured a horrific earthquake.  Immediately I began to panic that South Korea would be impacted as well.  However, God in His mercy, spared the country and the ripple effects headed East instead of West.  The devastation is incomprehensible and I hope you will join me in praying for the people who have lost not only their homes but families, jobs, and a sense of stability for the future.  The most important prayer is for the lost souls in Japan.  May God cause them to seek His face during this great tragedy and may many come to know Him as their Lord and Savior! 

Some of you have asked if we have reached our goal financially to bring Lydia home.  We are about 8 thousand dollars away from completing this goal.  We have experienced some hard times over the last few months financially, but the Lord has been so good to us.  Thank you for your kindness.  Thank you to each of you who have donated in what you see is a small and insignificant gift.  These "small gifts" have shortened the financial burden more than you know!  Your prayers have encouraged us to persevere in the waiting process.  God's timing is perfect and we know that He will bring her home when He sees fit to do so.

My hope is that I will soon be able to post a picture of a beautiful little girl as we await that phone call for a referral!

Happy New Year!

Hopefully everyone made it through the holidays and are not paying for it like I am!  I am now on the "New Year's Diet" and things are definitely changing around our house!  I for one am looking forward to this year- the hope for a new addition to our family is definitely something we are looking ahead and patiently waiting for!

We did experience our first "setback" on Christmas Eve.  We received word from our adoption agency that the rate of approved adoptions from Korea had decreased by 10 percent consistently over the last several years (something that no one mentioned to us until now) therefore our adoption agency made the decision to increase the referral time from 4-6 months to 6-9 months.  If that wasn't enough to take the "wind out of our sails" the value of the U.S. dollar has also decreased therefore they would need another 1300.00 for the adoption.

Wow.. talk about a punch in the stomach..  We were very bummed and saddened that I cried most of the way through the candelight service at our church.  How could this happen?  Why is this happening?  Did we hear God correctly about this whole adoption thing?  These were just some of the questions going through my mind.  As I lay in bed that night, the Lord pressed upon my heart some very humble reminders.

1.  He is in control.  Bob and I had just had a discussion at the breakfast table that morning about an article that was front page of the Southeast Outlook on adoptions.  The couples interviewed said many things but the one that stuck with me was this.. "You will have setbacks".  "Whether is is financial, physical, paperwork-related, etc. you will encounter hurdles."  I told Bob at the table we have to be ready that we may too encounter setbacks and if so we have to remember that our God IS IN CONTROL.  It will happen in HIS TIMING.  So why when it happened did I ask the Lord why?  The only answer I have is that just like Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and many other people who questioned God in his holy word is that we are flesh and sinful.  We are depraved people who do not know what is best for us but praise God He knows what is best for me! I love Jesus and I know his word but sometimes I too question His will for me.   This is where I believe my faith is like "rubber meeting the road".  I have to TRUST that He knows what is best for me.

2.  Trust in the Lord.  I was reminded over and over in my quiet time that trust is not only commanded by my Lord but essential for my life. (John 14:1)  I can fret and be angry over this situation but doesn't that show how little trust I have in God and His perfect timing and will for my life?  Then to top it off my pastor preached on Sunday from Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."  I heard Him loud and clear.  I must trust that His timing and will for this adoption is perfect and I can rest in knowing He knows what is best for Lydia and for our family even though we long to have her here with us NOW.

3.  He is merciful and loving to His children.  So... we have to raise 8500.00 to finish the adoption fund.  Sounds a little overwhelming right?  Well not in God's eyes.  After all this questioning of why, and how will this all play out for our adoption- someone hands me a check at church for 500.00!  Okay, you may say this is not NEARLY ENOUGH to cover the expenses and you are right.  However this is what I see- We needed an extra 1300.00 and God supplied almost HALF of that in 2 DAYS!!  Our God is AWESOME and I know that He loves His children and when we ask for it in prayer and BELIEVE HE WILL DO IT - it will be ours.  (Mark 11:24)

I am constantly amazed of who God chooses to use as a vessel in this adoption journey.  Many, many people have contributed (and some more than once!) to help bring Lydia home.  We are so thankful for these people- more than they will ever know.  I would like to share with you though, one amazing person in this journey.  This person will remain anonymous- her name is not important- but her heart is.  See this young lady goes to school, has a full-time job, and supports herself on a very minimal budget.  I have probably spent a total of 15 hours or less with this lady.  She knows very little about me and likewise I know little about her.  Yet she felt led by the Lord to give and give SACRIFICIALLY.   You see, she has mailed us checks, hand delivered money, and recently told everyone for Christmas that she did not want gifts.  Only money so that she COULD GIVE IT TO OUR ADOPTION.  If this is not sacrificial giving, I do not know what is.  I was quickly convicted "Do I give to others in this way?"  "Do I give so that I can show my thanksgiving to God?" 2 Corinthians 9.  I pray that God will give me an opportunity to do the same for others.  May He show you also the blessings in giving and giving sacrificially- or giving until it hurts.