"Mommy, I prefer not to wear this hat"

Names for our little girl??????

We are in the process of trying to come up with a name for our lil Bo Lou Wei.  We've decided that we are going to maintain, Wei as her middle name...the meaning is, valuable and precious. We felt like it couldn't have been more appropriate and we both love it.  So now we are doing the name game dance.  B and I both like names that are a little different.  We've narrowed our search down to 3 (for now) but we'd love to hear your ideas! In no specific order, we like, Carsyn, Hadley and Channing.  


Also, we sent out a Birthday care package to her a couple of days ago!!  We were so excited!  Her 1st Birthday is Feb 23rd, so we sent her a cake, a stuffed animal, a letter, a photo of us and some other goodies.  We are hoping that the staff at the orphanage will take pictures with the disposable camera that's included so we can see what her Birthday was like even though we couldn't be there.  We have requested an update on her from our agency so we are hoping to have some additional info in the next couple of weeks.  We are praying for the paperwork to zip through the necessary steps so we can get her home as soon as possible!! :)))


Last and definitely not least....Wyatt a few weeks ago learning to pull up!  He turned 8 months on Feb 11th! :)

Driving in Nanchang

I was telling one of my friends that when we travel to China, we'd likely be meeting our daughter in Nanchang rather than at her SWI (social welfare institute).  Our daughter lives in the Poyang SWI but it's in a more remote area of China and it's rare that families are able to travel to the Poyang SWI. The majority of the time the children are brought to Nanchang, to the hotel to meet their family.  So here's a fun look at Nanchang from my friend, Sandy! :-)  Brings a whole new meaning to the words, defensive driving! 


Thanks for the video Sandy!  
(Hit pause on the blog music at the bottom of the page so you can hear the music on the video)

Valentine wishes for Wyatt and Bo Lou Wei

It's another chilly day but the sun is shining here in the frozen tundra ;-)  We were all dressed up ready to head out to run some errands when the door bell rang with a surprise from grandma and grandpa in FL!!!!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Grandma and Grandpa...Thank wu sooo much for my bbbbbb-ooks!!! I can't wip the pages on these when mommy weads to me.  She doesn't like it when she has to tape the pages back togeder after I've grabbed one to get a cwoser look!  I wuv you! :)


PS- Thank you for the pretty babing suit for my sista in China!!!  She will wook berry cute wif all da red wady bugs on her!!


We love you!!
XO

Our precious baby girl!!! Bo Lou Wei!! :)

Brandon, Wyatt and I have some very exciting news!!  We have been matched with a beautiful, precious baby girl from China named Bo Lou wei (11 months old)!!  About 1 1/2 months ago, we decided we would ask our agency to match us...We shared that we were not in any hurry but we knew we wanted to begin the adoption process again.  Brandon and I discussed regularly how long it took for us to get our perfect gift, Wyatt and we thought we'd go ahead and put our family out there again to see what God had in store. We anticipated that we would likely wait 6-12 months....But then, on Tuesday, January 19th around 11:00 in the morning my cell phone rang.  I got up and saw it was our adoption agency!?!?  It isn't often and truly few and far between that someones agency is calling them, so when I saw the phone ring, just like when we got the call about Wyatt, my heart jumped and I thought....We are getting a referral!!!  I grabbed the phone and on the other end heard, "Robin, you and Brandon wanted a baby girl right???"  I said, YES....She said, well she is only 3 1/2 months older than Wyatt...then my heart leapt yet again!!!  When we were lead to adoption a few years ago, I had always prayed for twins!  Brandon has a twin sister, so my heart always desired and thought it would be so sweet to have boy and girl twins...Our dream became a reality!!!!  God has blessed us with boy and girl twins!!!!!  After that part of the conversation, I remember very little.  I got off the phone, called Brandon and shared the news with him...He was out goose hunting, so to get a phone call from me while he was sitting in, "the blind" was probably a little unexpected :)  Brandon was SO excited!!  He hurried home to see the precious pictures we were given by our agency of Bo Lou wei.  We accepted the referral of our baby girl and then I literally walked around in a fog for the rest of the day.  I could not believe that this had just happened, I was still in shock!! :)  Our LOI (letter of intent) was submitted for her and then we needed to wait for our PA (Pre-approval) to come from China.  There are several acronyms that encompass an adoption from China, so in the coming months you will see me refer to them as we go through the process.  Over the next 2 weeks, we sat fairly quiet about our news because until we received our PA we really could not broadcast our excitement.  I was equating it to sharing the exciting news of a baby in early pregnancy...You want to wait until you have confirmation.  So we waited on pins and needles and on February 4th we received our PA!! HOORAY!!!! HOORAY!!!  We've been busily working on our paperwork over the last 2 weeks, have the majority of our dossier complete and praying and hoping that we will be able to travel in the next 4- 6 months.  4 months would be a miracle and 6 is really more realistic...But we are both hoping for a miracle to get her home to meet her brother! :)  Speaking of her brother...He's awake!! So time for me to scoot!  Everyone have a wonderful day! I promise to post her picture and more info soon! :)  


James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.


Also- please remember Haiti in your prayers...I have found myself forgetting in the past few days and I don't want that to happen.  Check out Dixie's blog (at Gods Littlest Angels Orphanage, for very specific updates and prayer requests)  http://www.glahaiti.org/blog_dixie_haiti


Hugs and love!
Robin, Brandon and Wyatt

Haiti- Continued prayer needed!

Mark 9:35- Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

We all know that the need in Haiti continues and will for a long time to come.  Please- please continue to pray for those affected.  It's so easy to forget when they don't make the front page of the paper. Please pray that the leaders and the authority figures will MAKE something happen to get the orphans and those displaced to where they would be safest as soon as possible.  Safe Families of Indianapolis is continuing to work and prepare for orphans to arrive in Indy should the barriers be broken down, while Indy government officials are doing the same.  That's just what we know about in Indiana!  The same thing is happening all over! There is an absolute willingness and desire to do whatever necessary from so many people around the world, so please pray that God moves the hand and hearts of those in power.  Where is the humanity!?!  Policy and procedure absolutely have there place but to go by the book and sacrifice even ONE more human life because of it, is negligence.


Also below, I have cut and pasted Dixie's blog entry for today (of Gods Littlest Angels orphanage- in Haiti)

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:29 January 2010 

29 January 12:10 PM

We went out and bought more blankets and supplies to take back to Haiti.  It took 6 shopping carts and 2 taxis to get it back to the hotel. We bought every blanket that we could find because our staff has told us that everyone is freezing sleeping on the groud and they need blankets. Today, I rented a van to go to other Walmarts stores to buy more blankets.  We will also go to Costco to get some food to take back with us.  We will return to Haiti on Saturday afternoon and then start handing out supplies on Monday.

Everyone is so nice to us.  We went to Dollar Rent-a-Car and the people at the counter did what they could to make our rental go smoothly.  We will return to Haiti on Vision Airlines again.  I do not know what we would have done without them during this crisis.  If they had not brought charters into Haiti, we would not have been able to take the American adopted children to Miami or have returned to Haiti with supplies.  Now, they are taking us back into Haiti after taking the adopted children into Canada  I could not have left if I had not know we could get back in!

As we left Canada, we went through securtiy in Toronto.  I had not been through security entering the USA since all of the trouble they had on the flight to Detroit.  It is WILD!  I feel sorry for anyone traveling to the USA.  It took 2 hours to get through the whole security line!!!  I was upset.  How many times has US born citizens been part of terrorists attacks on airlines?  So why do we have to be patted down, step on special mats that are checking for who knows what, and have our clothing and hands swabbed for explosives??  The lines were HUGE!!  We had 3 hours between planes and we needed that much time to make it through security! 

No Matter what the different countries do to make security better, the people who are crazy and try to get things on planes...will probably find a way.  And the rest of us will just be extremely inconvenienced! 

The different medical groups in Haiti are now calling for nurses instead of doctors.  They need nurses to help care for the patient that have had surgery or just with wounds. 

I am supposed to be making an appearanceon the Larry King Show on CNN tonight at 9 PM.  We will be talking about the displaced children and how to find their parents.

Haiti- A blessed day for a little girl and her family!

Please continue to remember all of the orphans in your prayers.   Anything is possible through Christ!!!  He can break down all the barriers that currently keep orphans from entering the U.S.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=9600125

ALSO- I have cut and pasted an update on Dixies blog (from Gods Littlest Angels orphanage, below)

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:25 January 2010 

25 January 2010   11:55 AM

There was some problems with the Canadian transfer of the children.  We did not hear from the Canadian government until Friday.  I had just arrived in Miami with the American children.  My days are running together and it is difficult to remember one day from another!  The Canadian Embassy personel told my staff that there was a flight going out on Saturday night and they wanted GLA children on it.  My staff told them that this was impossible until Joyce, Molly, and I could return to Haiti.  We had told some of the older children that we would return and see them.  We felt it important that GLA children all went together and that they traveled with familiar people and not strangers.  We did not want any of the children traumatized.  These children  have no voice.  I am their guardian and as such, I am their voice.  I want what is best for them and being handed over to complete strangers at the Haitian airport is not what is best for them.  By waiting 3 days, the children will be traveling with Molly, Joyce, Susan, and I and we will hand them over to their families.  We are all just trying to do our best in the worst situation!  

Prayers for Haiti orphans

Good morning! It's a rainy day here in Indy and we're running around taking care of lots of "to do's" :)  I wanted to get out a specific prayer request.  Yesterday morning Hoosiers were given the opportunity to take in some of the Haitian orphans that were going to be taken out of Haiti and brought to Indianapolis.  This morning we found out that these orphans walked with the care takers (2 kil) from the orphanage to the US Embassy in Port-au Prince with very little water, formula, they are out of diapers, etc.  When they arrived they were turned away because of confusion about photo id info for each child.  I'm sure you are thinking the same thing we thought, right now...REALLY???!!!!!  How could they possibly expect photo ID info for orphans amidst a disaster?  Our prayer request is that the hearts of the folks making the call are softened.  That they will get passionate about finding a way to get these kiddos out of Haiti and to safe havens anywhere in the world as soon as possible!!!  Please pray!!!  These poor children need to get out of Haiti!


Matthew 18:20- For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them 

Haiti

Happy Sunday to everyone and YAY, Colts!!!!! We had a great game last night here in Indy and now on to the playoffs next Sunday when Indianapolis takes on the winner of the Jets/Chargers game today!

I wanted to post a few links regarding what's happening in Haiti. I know that this disaster has been on all of our minds lately. While disaster happens in all forms all over the world, each and everyday...We are called to respond to what we know about. There is an orphanage that we've followed for the last few years called Gods Littlest Angels and I thought I'd post a few links to take a look at. They are in need of support, like everyone in Haiti is right now. Dixie, an American who runs this orphanage updates her blog (located on the GLA website) pretty much daily. It's a great way to stay informed on there needs. I've also cut and pasted her blog entry for today, below. Hope this helps! :)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34838824#34838342

http://glahaiti.org/haiti_earthquake_relief

http://glahaiti.org

Deutoronomy 15:11-

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

And Life In Haiti Goes On...

(Dixie's Blog)

Last updated:17January 2010

17 January 2010 10:45 AM

Today, I am walking around in a fog. The exhaustion has finally caught up with me and everyone else! I went to bed thinking I would get a good night's sleep and at 2 AM the nurses woke me up to start an IV on a sick baby! Which just shows that these children are fragile! If I did not have nurses working here and have some medicines in our cabinets, what would we do? If I needed a hospital, it would be difficult to find one! We have 3 more children with vomiting and diarrhea today plus some of the staff. Is it just stress? Is it a virus? Is it something else?

Of course, after starting the IV, then I could not get back to sleep. I tried doing my Sudoku puzzles but I just could not think logically enough to solve them! Finally I went to sleep and then John's alarm went off at 5 AM and the dogs scratched on the door at 7:30. So another night of broken sleep. (PS. any families wanting to bring me a little gift? Bring a sudoku puzzle book. I find them a great stress reliever!)

I look in the mirror and my hair needs a good washing,there are dark circles under my eyes, and my eyes are bright red and blood shot! Yikes, who is that person staring back at me? LOL

Everyone but Laurie, Susan,and I have gone to church. We need church today. We need the comfort of routine and being with other people. Unfortunately, Susan is the only nurse for the babies, Laurie is trying to find water and fuel and answering the phones and I am trying to get some paperwork done that we will needed on Monday! The pastor and his wife will come to the orphanage later to share a little message with us which will be very nice.

I feel like I am walking through sand or knee-deep mud today! I know it is just from being tired, but I have so much to do that I cannot quit quite yet! Hopefully, I will be able to take a short nap this afternoon to help get refreshed a little.

If I repeat myself, forgive me. Days, Hours, Minutes are all starting to run together for me! Can it truly have been 4 1/2 days since the earthquake happened?

For those of you who are following our aftershocks, here is a great web site to watch:Earthquakes.

For all of you who are writing asking me about the welfare of biological parents, don't waste your time at the computer! There is no way of knowing anything unless they contact us. I have been having some parents call asking about the children and the orphanage! We are trying to keep a record of anyone who called but it will be weeks before we can communicate this with adoptive parents. I know for your peace of mind, you would like to know, but it just is not top priority for us right now. Sorry...

I am sitting her listening to my laundry ladies signing and clapping along to their radio which is broadcasting Christian music. It is very uplifting to hear them singing and rejoicing!

We are trying to keep the children's routines as normal as possible. They are all doing well. Probably better than all of us adults! God has given children such a powerful ability to adapt to certain situations and especially if their routines are kept as normal as possible!

And life in Haiti goes on...

Wyatt 7 months today

Hello-Hello! It's another chilly-willy day here in Indy (imagine that??) :) Although from the sound of it...It's chilly just about everywhere else in the country as well!! My friends and family down south say they are freezing there tooshes off too! On a positive note...It's fun wearing all the hats, scarves and boots that go along with the weather. And I think that would be about it for the positive side ;-) besides that, I'm counting down the days till SPRING! Scary thought considering Brandon reminded me today that we are just a couple of weeks into WINTER!! :)

Well of course today is Wyatt's 7 month Birthday! YAY!!! He's somethin else! (I say that alot) We tell him multiple times throughout the day that we want to eat his cheeks or squeezy-squeeze him to pieces. I think the worse part at this point is rather than calling him by his name (which I'm not even sure he knows yet!), "Wyatt"...We've been calling him, "Super Why" for the last 2 months, thanks to grandma introducing us to the TV show. He's going to be so confused! I can hear it now..."What's your name cutie?"...He'll respond with, "SUPER WHY!!" Probably not wise to have your child identify with an educational cartoon character ;-) Well on to today. I volunteer on Monday mornings and Brandon has daddy/son day with our lil man. Today my 2 cuties had a full morning which included breakfast, nap-time, GROCERY SHOPPING (WOW!) and a couple of errands! So our lil guy was an angel with his daddy this morning and I got home just in time to put him down for his afternoon nap. While I was at the Center today and after lots of deep conversation about the world we live in, I was having one of those moments of introspecting...It's been coming to a peak over the last few days. It started with a book that one of my good friends shared with me called, "The Hole in Our Gospel" (by Richard Stearns- Head of World Vision). It's one of those books that makes you take a long, hard look at yourself and if I'm being honest, made me think that I've got work to do! The President of World Vision (Richard Stearns) and his story are inspiring, so I thought I'd post the link to their website in case you'd like to learn more about the amazing ministries they are involved in http://www.worldvision.org/ This man is real, he's honest and he's making a difference in peoples lives all over the world. I'm working on finishing the book up today so hopefully I can give you some very brief cliff notes on my next post. My thoughts as of today are, it's a great book for everyone/anyone to read because it really moves you outside of your comfort zone and to where Gods word tells us we should be if we are truly saved...Baring fruit. Richard Stearns is one of those people that always thought he was living a good life, contributing and giving back until his life changed and his eyes were opened.

And now baby Wyatt is up...Time to go snatch up my cutie and have some playtime! :) Have a great day!!

Big-big hugs to all!!!

Robin

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2010

Happy New Year!!! It's hard to believe how quickly the Holidays zoomed past us this year! We are back in Indy after a few weeks away down south for Christmas and New Years. It's a beautiful snowy day here and FREEZING! I'm sitting in our family room just watching the snow come down while our lil man is still sleeping, cozy in his bed. We have been very-very blessed with a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year! We had Thanksgiving at our new house this year and invited family in to stay with us. It was a great week to see everyone! It seemed like in a flash it was time to head south to the Georgia mountains for our annual Christmas gathering where my family and Brandon's mom all meet to spend Christmas. It's always so relaxing and just a nice getaway!! It's beautiful, peaceful and so much fun that every year we feel like it wasn't long enough. Playing the Wii was still hot (with our family) this year 3-4 years running now but this year we all managed to show off our dancing (OR lack there of) skills in the new Wii dance. Katie (my cousin) and Brandon (HAHA!) were the 2 to beat!!! I have to laugh when I say that because I've always said that Brandon doesn't have a stitch of rhythm but he sure was kicking some toosh in this game and kept us all thoroughly entertained! For those of you who haven't seen this game yet... Imagine watching a tall man, dance to a goofy choreographed dance of a Blondie song...HILARIOUS!! I'm now wishing I would have taped it! :) From Georgia we went down to FL and returned home to Indy late Tuesday night. Yesterday, we unpacked and took down the majority of our Christmas decorations and today, I'll be doing much of the same.

Of course our little man was a hoot this Holiday! His 1st Christmas!!!! It couldn't have been better. He's a big boy, sitting up on his own and getting his knees under him when he's on his tummy...My hunch is crawling isn't too, terribly far off. His grandma introduced him to, "Super Why" over Thanksgiving and Oh My goodness!!!...It's his favorite! We got him a talking Wyatt/Super Why for Christmas and he just loves it-loves it!! He got his 2 first teeth while down in FL...His lower left came in on the 29th and his lower right just popped through yesterday. He looks so stinkin cute when he opens that mouth of his! We had some family photos taken over Thanksgiving (Wyatt was 5 1/2) months so I'll post those and get back in the saddle on keeping this blog up to date in the new year.

On the adoption front...No news yet, we're hoping that 2010 will be our year in China! Praying- Praying!

Hugs and the Happiest of 2010 to all!!!

XOXOXO

Brandon, Robin and Wyatt

Thanksgiving 2009 around the corner! Wyatt 5 months- November 11th

WYATT 4 months

It's been a little while since I've posted...Lots going on in the last couple of months. Wyatt is growing-growing!! He had his 5 month Birthday last week! Oh my has our little man changed and he's not so little anymore! He was 16lbs, 13 oz. at his 4 month visit and in the 90th percentile! He's a little chunker and a smiley happy little man. He's become fascinated with the dogs in the last month and is finally not protesting during his tummy time. He's very strong and loves to grab everything and put it into his mouth...Especially mommies cell phone! :) When Auntie Jill came to visit a couple of weeks ago she got him a Mickey cell phone that he eats regularly now instead. When he's on his tummy he's pushing up now and if there is something behind him, he will push off of it to scoot toward a toy he wants. We got the clear from the Dr to start cereal so....a few weeks ago we had several comical experiences where the spoon full of cereal went in Wyatt's mouth and ended up on mommy and/or daddies face! :)) Since then, we've gotten a little more coordinated with our tongue and LOVE to eat!!! The first week we did rice cereal, this week we did oatmeal cereal. We think he likes the oatmeal better...When he sees that spoon he grabs my hand, opens his mouth, leans forward and pulls my hand toward his mouth. It is so funny to watch!! Of course we can't wait until the baby food starts next month!!

B and I are both doing very well....I went back to work at the end of September, only for us to decide it was time for me to stay at home. My last day at Cardinal is this coming Friday and actually just in time for family to arrive this weekend for Thanksgiving week. Brandon's season has come to a close and there will hopefully be some time for hunting and R&R in the coming months! Nana (Brandon's mom), my mom and dad and Aunt Jilly will be here to celebrate Thanksgiving! We are SO excited!! And I even had Brandon pull out the Christmas decorations so we could decorate right before Thanksgiving....Not something we typically do but we thought it would be nice to have most of it done before everyone comes in.

On the adoption front...Brandon and I have both been chit-chatting about adopting again. I'll keep this as short as possible but a couple of months ago we had an absolutely beautiful 4 year old girl from China brought before us through one of our friends. We fell in LOVE with her sweet little face and everything we learned about her. Unfortunately, the timing was just not right. I heard a statement made during a sermon that truly resonated as we were processing the possibility of adopting this little girl...."The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing". She was so-so sweet but in the end we realized we weren't her mom and dad. I don't even know how to put it into words other than to tell you we literally labored over her for about a month, as we prayed for her, in hopes that it would feel right but it didn't as much as we wanted it to. In the end, we made the decision to wait until we had the tug towards starting the process again. God gave us the desire and yearning and so while we know we aren't quite there yet...We are beginning to stir inside. We went to breakfast this morning with a group of friends and it really struck me when I watched as Wyatt kept smiling and smiling at my friends little girls!! I just watched as his little face literally lit up!! That caused me to think even more about how sweet it would be for Wyatt to have a little (or big) brother or sister...In the right time, Gods timing again! :)

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!! Happy Turkey Day!!!!

XO

Love, Brandon, Robin & Wyatt

Baby Wyatt was 2 months last Tuesday!

Well our lil man was 2 months on Tuesday and I can hardly believe it!  Everyone has always said that time would fly but I can't believe he has been here for 2 months!!  He rolled over already and in the last week or so he has started really cooing (I call it talking to me :)  He's smiling a ton when he looks at you and is beginning to turn towards our voices.  He loves Brandon's deep voice and just stares at him when he's talking...It's so cute!  He was 12 pounds at his visit on Tuesday (his Birthday) and 22 1/2 inches.  He got his first set of shots and Brandon went with us.  When the nurse asked who wanted to hold his hand I said, "BRANDON" and Brandon said, "NO!"  He wanted me to be remembered as the "bad guy" (haha!)  I hated it, as all moms do!  We have story time a few times a day and I think that's his favorite.  He gets so excited, kicks his legs, smiles and coo's when I read to him.  Brandon thought I was crazy and said, "he doesn't understand, he's 2 months" and so I asked him to read Wyatt a book and was in the other room doing something when I heard Brandon shouting..."COME HERE!!!"  He was just as tickled as I was to get to see Wyatt so excited about being read a story.  Of course, I said I told ya so! :))  It's the little things in life!! :)

A brief yet WONDERFUL update on my dad...He had his 2nd surgery a couple of weeks ago to scrape the cavity again where the tumor was to be sure there were no cancer cells left.  We were all PRAYING and PRAYING that the test results would come back clean and THEY DID!! YAYYYY!!!!  I can't even describe the emotions we went through.  What a huge gift and blessing!!! :))))  He now begins treatments for several weeks on a newer TB drug in place of chemo.  It is injected locally once a week.  We're planning to get back down to Orlando in September sometime for a visit.  My mom and dad call Wyatt "Squeak" and they are really missing him and as they say..."They are in need of a squeak fix".  Unfortunately they can't travel to us during the treatments so we're gonna pack up the lil guy again sometime soon and go for a visit.

Well I hope everyone is doing very well and enjoying this back to school time! :)

BIG HUGS and SMOOCHES and lotsa LOVE!

Brandon, Robin and Wyatt

Just when we thought things couldn't get more exciting...

We got back home to Indy late Tuesday.  We had such a wonderful and eventful time down in FL with our family and friends.  It's nice to be back home and settled in to a routine but also sad to be apart from everyone we love down there.  We have good news and more prayer requests.  Our first praise is that my mothers heart cath went amazingly well, nothing is wrong and she is going to be just fine.  Our 2nd HUGE praise is that they had misdiagnosed her with Emphysema!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 3rd is that my fathers cancer is stage 1 and the Dr. does not believe it will be life threatening!!! HOOOORAYYYY!!!!!  We have so much to celebrate!!!  The last few weeks have not gone without some pretty big ups and downs but as you can tell we have SO, VERY much to be thankful for!  My father is having another surgery next Wednesday to go back in to make a second pass where the tumor/mass was just to be sure they have gotten everything and then he will begin what they call a local chemotherapy.  Our prayers are that this surgery will go smoothly, that the Dr's will get anything that might be remaining after the last surgery and that he will have no issues due to going off of his heart meds for these two procedures.  We TRULY-TRULY appreciate the prayers everyone has sent up for my family! We have sincerely felt them!  Like I tell everyone..."There is NO GREATER GIFT you can give than to pray for one another.  

Onto yet another potentially very exciting front...Brandon, Wyatt and I ask for prayers for our family.   We waited 3 years for baby Wyatt and at times it seemed like 3, very long years :)  We have had a special little girl cross our path who is in need of a home and we have absolutely fallen in love with her precious face!  This has truly taken all of us by surprise but we know it's happened for a reason. We have been praying about this for a couple of weeks and we ask that you pray for us and her as well.  When I'm able, I will fill you in on the details but our specific prayer request is that we make the right decision for her and for our family and that we are able to move forward in whatever final decision we make quickly and with complete and total peace. 

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We love you!!  Big huggies from the Leese family! XOXOOX~ muuuaahhhhh

R, B and W 

Family comes to meet Wyatt

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed a nice 4th of July weekend! :) We are starting to feel like the summer is just zipping by. Wyatt is now 4 weeks old and has been such an amazing light to our family!! My mom, dad, Will and Jill were in Indy to meet Wyatt a couple of weeks ago and it was such a special time. We missed Auntie Kristen but she had a work emergency and had to cancel her flight. We all just relaxed, laid by the pool enjoyed each others company and of course spoiled our new lil guy.

We did get some news when my father arrived into town on Thursday night. He had gotten sick while my mom was away, went to the emergency room and after testing was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It was very difficult to hear but immediately we all began to pray and give this trial back to God and lift up my father. We know that nothing will happen to my father that is outside of what God allows and that is where we find complete comfort; in knowing he's on his thrown, in charge and holding my father in the palm of his hand. After the news and after my parents left last Tuesday, Brandon and I drove down to Atlanta with Wyatt, Brandon flew home and then I drove the rest of the way with Kristen and Wyatt to Orlando. We have been here since the 1st and will be here through the 20th or so. Brandon comes down tomorrow and both of my sisters are here now which has been really nice. Yesterday was my fathers surgery. The procedure went well and they removed the tumor. We will have the path results back next week but the Surgeons initial thought was that the cancer is not an aggressive kind. He couldn't promise us that but that was his initial hunch. We are just very thankful that the surgery was successful and that we all get to be together during this time :))) We ask for continued prayer for complete healing and strength during this time. We are extremely thankful for everyones prayers, we have definitely felt them!!! As strange as this may sound, the timing of how this has unfolded was just the way it needed to be. We are all in Orlando and able to be together, my fathers surgery went well, my mother is on her summer vacation from teaching, Wyatt is here to brighten everyones days and as a family we really are feeling at peace. As my youngest sister, Jill said..."Wyatt came at the absolute perfect time because he has truly given us pure joy during a tough time". There is just a sense of peace, calmness and comfort right now, as odd as that may sound.

James 1:1-12
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Lots of hugs and love to everyone!!
XOXO
Robin, Brandon and Wyatt

IT'S MY 2 WEEK BIRTHDAY

Today is our handsome lil Wyatt's 2 week Birthday. I cannot believe that 2 weeks have come and gone. He is growing and changing everyday and we continue to stand in amazement at this beautiful little man that has truly changed our lives forever. This precious lil guy has absolutely stolen our hearts. He had his first Dr's appt last Friday and passed with flying colors. Tomorrow is his second appt and I have a feeling he will have an entourage for this one! :) His Grammy (my mom) has been here for a little over a week but my father and youngest sister arrive today. My gutt tells me that at the very least, Wyatt's Aunt Jill will want to come along :) Right now Wyatt is sleeping in about 3-4 hour intervals and chowing down when he's awake like most lil peanuts do. He's a great baby and so happy. His grins make all of us just melt! What a new an breathtaking love we are experiencing. As Brandon put it last night..."Wyatt is going to steal 2 more hearts today when Jill and Dad arrive"! :)

On the adoption front; we have maintained minimal contact with C and ask for prayers for her and her family. We cannot help but think about them every single day and we miss them. We especially have heavy hearts when we think of Wyatt's half sisters. Please pray for all of them when you think of them. I'll continue to post every couple of weeks with new pictures and info.

ADOPTION UPDATE:
Many of our friends and family have asked us where we are now with our adoption to Vietnam, Korea and/or anywhere else? The answers are....We decided about 2-3 weeks before Wyatt was born to withdraw from Vietnam. Sadly our agency doesn't believe there will be much movement there for quite some time; so we felt like it just wasn't our time there for now. The next question of course has been, Korea?? Korea's law states that once a child is either born or adopted any pending adoptions or paperwork/plans to adopt must cease for 1 1/2 years. So we have been told that we can reapply in about 1- 1 1/2 years. We are not sure nor focused right now on what will happen there. Last but not least...Other pending adoptions? Right now we are so focused on Wyatt and enjoying this very precious and special time. We will be waiting and praying for God to use us and make it clear when the time is right again. We know now more than ever that HIS timing is PERFECTION! :) It took us a very long time to bring our angel home and we are rejoicing in this perfect gift from above. I can say with absolute certainty that we hope and pray that our family will continue to grow. As always we'll keep you posted! :)))

OOODLES OF HUGS AND LOVE!!!
XOXO
Rob and B and Baby Wyatt

BABY WYATT IS HOME!!!!

Hello!! :)  Well let me start with an apology for not posting while we were down south.  I was having a very difficult time connecting on my air card from the hospital.  Wyatt Michael Leese was born on June 11th at 4:08P.M. and weighed 8lbs, 2oz and 21 inches long.  He's absolutely AMAZING!!  Since he was placed in our arms I couldn't stop staring at him.  My eyes have been fixated on his beautiful, little face literally for hours.  And I'll do my best to fill you in on how everything unfolded but no words I have will do it any justice.  Me at a loss for words is comical but describing how we're feeling is beyond any words.  I get all tongue tied and frazzled even talking about it!  This will definitely be a long post so bare with me :)

Brandon and I left Wednesday night after work, late to head down south to stay the night because we had to be at the hospital with C and her husband at 6:30A.M.  I didn't think sleeping would be an issue for me (a big HA!)  I went to bed at 12:30 that night and was up taking a shower at 2:30A.M.  B wasn't too far behind me.  We left and met C and her husband where they live, went to the hospital, got her checked in and hooked up to the monitors, IV, etc.  It was kind of funny because I was watching her contractions early on, around 7:30-8:00A.M. said "it looks like the Pitosin is kicking in" and not a minute later the nurse came in and said ok, it's time to start your Pitosin.  C and I both laughed because she had noticed the same thing.  She was dilated to 7-8 around 1:30/2:00 and we all had our guesses as to when Wyatt would enter the world.  The nurses came in to check on her at around 2:30 and she was at 9, so we all thought it would be soon.  She then digressed back to 8 so the nurses shifted her position and then around 3:15 they told her it was time to start pushing.  I'm getting emotional just typing this.  She started pushing and was doing very well.  I ended up on her left side, counting for her, with B behind me and her husband on her right.  Pretty soon we could see the top of his head and then the nurse said it might help if we held her legs.  We held her legs and kept counting for her and within 2-3 minutes we watched our son enter the world!!!  I had been very calm throughout the entire day until I saw him...I exploded into tears.  I leaned over and kept kissing C all over her forehead and then rushed to where they were cleaning off Wyatt.  I was dying to just touch is little face, so I asked the nurse if I could.  We stayed in recovery with C and her husband as they took Wyatt down to the nursery to take his vitals and give him his first bath.  We both kept walking down the hall to peak at him through the window and then the nurse came back in to us and said it was time for his first feeding.  The day was better than anything I ever could have hoped for.  C did unbelievably well and though we were both very surprised at how well she handled everything.  I can still hear her saying many times throughout her pregnancy; "He was never mine, he was always yours".  

Wyatt is now a week old and doing GREAT!!!  When I have time I'll finish posting how everything unfolded over his first week.  Wyatt is officially our baby boy and we are ELATED!  We will post pictures soon! :)))  

HUGE thank you's to everyone!!!  We appreciate all of the prayers, texts, phone calls, cards, email, etc!  We've been TRULY overwhelmed by the abundance of love everyone has shown to us!!!  THANK YOU- THANK YOU!! :)))

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps- Proverbs 16:9

The Lord will guide you continually- Isaiah 58:11

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him- Psalm 37:4,7

Hugs and love to everyone!!

XOXO

Official Inducement date

Just a quick update to let you all know we have an official inducement date and time of Thursday morning at, 6:30A.M. It's not what we had hoped for but I'm confident it's the perfect timing :) As I said before, I'll continue to update the blog as we have new information to post. We have less than 48 hours!! Believe it or not we are not even a little frazzled or anxious about what's to come and I have NO DOUBT that the confidence and peace we have is coming from above and not from us. We're more concerned about what every new parent is, are we gonna do the right things. Speaking of right things and on a very funny note, especially if you know Brandon and his dry sense of humor...We took a newborn parenting class on Saturday. I so wish I could have had a video camera with us that day! Brandon was an absolute HOOT! I had him do most of the "tasks" they had us do, like changing a diaper, bathing the baby, swaddling the baby and he gave new meaning to the term "football hold". He did SO good and of course had me giggling at some of the most inoportune times. I'm so thankful for B! I cannot even begin to imagine going on this amazing journey with anyone else.

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD- Psalm 31:24

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint- Isaiah 40:29-31

Hugs and love!!
XO
Robin and Brandon

Baby Wyatt is coming!

Well it's Sunday night and B and I are sitting here watching the NBA finals. Of course I don't have a clue and wouldn't know it if a basketball whacked me in the head. I'm just here to support the Magic because I should :) I honestly don't know the first thing about basketball which I'm pretty sure is a sin if you live in Indiana where Hoosiers reside! :)

Anyway, we have some news from our appt this past Friday with C. We went in and after the Dr. examined her he said that she had a good start and he was ready to induce her!! He asked her how this coming Thursday worked for her. Of course she replied, "do you have any time available today" (HAHA). We all laughed. C knows that there is the 24 hour waiting period after the baby is born before she can sign the adoption papers, so Thursday would make it a tough day, with our attorney needing to drive back to Indy (after the papers are signed) to get before the judge on Friday. So, she asked the Dr. if Wednesday would work. He said, that he already had 2 on Wednesday and the hospital only allowed 2 day on his schedule. So his nurse is calling the hospital on Monday morning (tomorrow) to see if they will approve him to induce on Wednesday. We are hoping and praying for Wednesday or that she will go on her own before Wednesday. Without getting too complicated...If we hold off till Thursday there is a chance that Brandon and I will not have custody through the weekend and we'll stay down south at least through the following Monday when we have the official papers in hand to bring Wyatt home. We are SOOO excited! We'll enjoy these last couple of days and nights together before we head south on Tuesday night or Wednesday.

I will have my computer with me and keep everyone in the loop as much as time permits so stay tuned if you'd like to know how things are unfolding.

Have a great week!!! XOXO
Rob and Brandon

38 weeks this Friday!!

Just a quick update since we are on the home stretch! :) C is still at 3 cm. We had a little scare on Monday. C said that she had a sharp pain early in the morning and then didn't feel the baby move all day. So we drove down and took her to the ER. They found his heartbeat right away and said things were ok- PHEWW! We were both pretty nervous for the drive down. We have our next appt this Friday and based on the last appt it sounds like the Dr. is going to set an inducement date. She did tell me today that she's been feeling the contractions more. Of course I asked zoodles of questions but it sounds like we are probably just getting closer. We'll let you know what transpires as soon as we hear something.

We are loving all the prayers and tremendous support everyone has shown!! You all truly will never know how much it means to us! :)))

Lotsa huggies and love!!!
Rob and B

36+ weeks

Hi all! I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend!! We sure did! We were blessed with beautiful weather and great times with friends! We didn't get much accomplished at the new house but some. We are still not quite done gathering some of the non-necessities. We've decided we are going to finish up a few last things over this weekend since our "free time" is coming to a close ;-) Including getting my treadmill which I think has and will HAVE dust on it for a while now (hehe). I keep saying that if we don't finish up now, it won't get done after our lil one arrives. So this weekend we'll be working double time!

So we had another Dr's appt last Friday with C and she's close to 3 cm dilated. As I mentioned before, this pregnancy is getting pretty rough on her at this point. It's a combination of tougher and more exciting all at once on our end. I have to say that this is nothing like our waiting when we were amidst our attempts at International Adoption. It's a completely different feeling when you know and have a relationship with everyone involved in the process. It's also hard to believe that we will have a lil man in our home in the next few weeks!! SO exciting!! We were blessed to have one of C's girls staying with us for the last week and we all had an absolute ball! We just adore her lil ones, they are such a joy and so-so, very precious to us!! I can't even describe or put words to how thankful we've been to have had this time with the entire family. Being able to spend that kind of time with Wyatt's lil sister(s) filled us with overwhelming joy and sadness all at once. It certainly brings on conflicting emotions.

C also went back to the Dr again today because she had been feeling pretty badly and he confirmed that she had not progressed and canceled this Friday's appt and rescheduled for next Friday. We're at 37 weeks this Friday!

As always, please continue to pray for C, her 2 girls, our baby boy and this process. Many things have been revealed to us over the last 2 months and as I always say, "without sharing too much information" we're asking for prayers for every one of us involved in this process. There are so many lives affected and so much emotion involved. We're praying specifically for strength, mercy, wisdom, discernment, guidance and HIS WILL to be done. There is so much we want to do but we know that ultimately we need to follow the Lords lead and not ours. We truly want to know what that looks like and we know that in HIS time it will be revealed, not ours.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Hugs and love,
Rob and B

34 weeks and 3 days

Hello-hello! I apologize for the delay but it's been a busy 2-3 weeks. We've spent the last 1-2 weeks moving to our new home. Of course we thought it would be a piece of cake because we were staying in the same city and only a few miles down the road...HAHA; we were mistaken. I've decided it's worse when you don't do it all at once :) I'm happy to say that we are pretty well settled with maybe a trip here and there left. We have the crib set up, the baby room pretty much done and we are getting the guest rooms done for when our family gets here- HOORAY!!! We both can hardly wait!!!! We'll stop and look at each other every now and then and say..."I'm excited" :-) And we both feel fortunate and very happy that we were able to get moved in before he arrives.

So an update on the baby front...Well we are at 34+ weeks and counting (35 weeks Friday). We've had lots going on; moving, I'm training my replacement at work for the last week and the next 2-3 weeks, organizing the house, we had a baby shower here in Indy, we've been going to Dr's appts and last but not least...WE ARRIVED AT OUR LIL ONES NAME!!!! We've decided on Wyatt Michael Leese!! It's been down to Wyatt or Dalton and I'm not sure what quite swung the pendulum but B came home one day and said, "I can't wait for Wyatt to come home" and I did one of those funny looks amidst what I was doing and said, "Wyatt huh?? So that's his name??" From then on it's been a done deal :) One of our friends gave us the cutest advise. They said, stand at the back of your home and yell out the entire name and see whatcha think because you'll be doing that alot (haha).

Well C is doing pretty well. We've had a couple of trips to the emergency room down south. One was preterm labor, which they were able to stop and one trip (last week) was just her being ready to be done and moving forward, trip. She's been voicing recently that's she's ready for this to be over. We have a Dr's appt this Friday and she said she is going to talk to the Dr about how much pain she is having in her lower back. So, we shall see what that brings. We are feeling more than ever like this is real and we are so-so excited for our lil guy to arrive!!! Please keep all involved in your prayers. It's been a little bit rougher road these last couple of months, the more we get involved, the more we've been struggling with different aspects of what this process reveals. We just pray that this lil guy arrives safely, healthy and placed in our arms. We did get some amazing news that I'll share in case I forget after he is born. We had an opportunity to meet a few of the nurses on the maternity ward during one of our visits to the ER. They put us in contact with the head nurse of OB. The head nurse shared with us that as long as C signed the necessary paperwork; we (B and I) could have our own private room with Wyatt after he's born and begin feeding and caring for him. The amazing part is the hospital voluntarily does this as long as they have room for us! I thought that was so, very special if it works out that way when he's born. C did sign the paperwork at our last Dr's visit saying that we would be allowed to begin to care for him immediately after he's born; which we feel is SUCH A HUGE BLESSING!!

I'll try my best to stay on top of my posts a little better in the next couple of weeks since time is ticking and if we have any news after our appt this Friday I will let you know. We hope that everyone is doing very well!!! :)

Big hugs and kisses!!
XOXOXOXO
Robin and Brandon

Week 29 1/2

So this will be a brief update...Although I'm not sure I'm quite capable of being brief ;-) We had our Dr's appt last Friday with C and the Dr. said the baby and C were doing just fine. We can't believe that this Friday we start week 30. I guess there is no "we" about it! I often hesitate when I say WE, knowing that "I" am not carrying this blessed lil bundle! :) Our next appt is toward the end of the month and then we will start going bi-weekly. We can't wait!!! :)))

Other news...There was some positive news released on Vietnam this past Friday!! There are finally discussions again about the U.S. and Vietnam reaching an interim agreement to allow adoptions to resume. As I always say, we are excited to hear the encouraging news and we are also realistic in knowing that this could still be a lil ways away. The good news is that our paperwork is still there and waiting for the possible reopening. If we get any additional news in the coming weeks, we'll let you know.

On an exciting note, I mentioned that we made an offer on a house....After a few days of negotiations, we came to an agreement!!! We got it!! We're hoping to close at the end of April!! Yay!! :) Perfect timing!!!

Last but not least, we're getting ready for our trip down to Orlando on Thursday. We are so ready for some family and friend time and really looking forward to it.

Wishing you all a VERY HAPPY EASTER!!! xoxo

Love,
Robin and Brandon