Caroline is doing great

Caroline is doing great! She is now a little over 19 lbs. We went to visit Stepanie and her family in Arizona this summer. Caroline loved Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Tony and her cousins. Her cousin Joseph was very sharing the first couple of days until the honeymoon was over. From then on out it was "No No Care -Yine".

Caroline is now saying "All done" and when she really wants to be done she states it over and over in rapid succession.

Aunt Suzy and the triplets came for a summer visit and Caroline preferred to be held by Aunt Suzy all of the time.

Aunt Laura came to visit this summer and we all enjoyed her very much. Caroline is the only one she let kiss her on the lips :)

We are all getting ready for school. Caroline is blessed to be staying home with Nana!

I'll post some pictures soon.

Sara

more pictures

It's been a long time

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything; my sister Stephanie chastises me on a regular basis. School is over so I will make an effort to be more timely.

Caroline is the sweetest, easiest baby you could imagine. Some things she is doing and saying:

Sleeping through the night

Going down stairs backwards

She got her first haircut

Signing "please" and "more"

Waving to cars and buses

Hitting the dog

Dancing

Caroline's vocabulary consists of:

Mom (means up)

Mama

Dada

Nana

Bu-ter (Peter)

Matt

Stop

Da-do (Thank you)

Caroline thinks Doug Debroux is the best thing since ice cream. She lights up for Nana, Grandma, Grandpa, and Brooke Debroux.

Caroline is such a blessing. Enjoy the pictures.

Caroline's Baptism

Caroline was baptized on Sunday, April 13, 2008. She was her usual easy going self. Here are some pictures.

Hello!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post more pictures but I have a new baby to enjoy. Caroline is doing great! When we ask her where Pete and Matt are she points to their pictures on the wall. I handed her a shirt and told her to give it to Matthew and she did it. It is amazing how quickly babies learn. We are currently working on eyes, nose, mouth, and "all done". We are anxiously awaiting the learning of "all done" because currently Caroline simply spits whatever is in her mouth at you when she has had enough.

Caroline is being baptized on Sunday. Nana bought her a beautiful baptismal gown. I will post more pictures next week.

Love to all!

Sara

We have had a great spring break!

Hello Everyone!

We had a great Easter and spring break with our families! Suzy and Berk and their family were here for Easter. We all went to Mike and Elaine's and a great meal was had by all. Steph, Tony and their family have been here since Easter evening and we will be so sad to see them leave on Saturday.

Caroline is right at home. We are so pleased how well she has adjusted. It is amazing how little time passes and you can't remember life without your precious little gift!

Everything Went Well

Hello Friends,

Just a quick update to let you know Caroline came through general anesthetic with flying colors. The procedure could not have gone better than it did. Thanks for all of your prayers.

We are all officially on Wisconsin time, (sleeping through the night) Yea!

Talk to you soon.

Sara

Update

Caroline had her first doctor appointment since arriving home. Caroline has had a chronic problem with constipation. We met yesterday with her pediatrician and the pediatric surgeon. Caroline will have a minor operation on Friday to correct the problem. I know this doesn't sound like great news, but we are so happy that she is going to get some relief. So please keep her in your prayers. Otherwise the doctors said what we already knew, "She looks great".

We all slept better last night. That didn't stop us from all napping today however. We are acting like we have a newborn in the house. We all eat, sleep, poop, and then sleep some more.

Sara

More Pictures...

Caroline enjoys eating with her foot on the table. She especially likes to rub her cheerios on the bottom of her foot before eating. She fits right in at the Kissling household.

Caroline's first birthday party made lots of great memories. She loved her purse from Aunt Kay.

We heard from Caroline's foster mother that she didn't like baths but she doesn't seem to mind her little rubber ducky tub.

More Pictures!

Mr. Chung (her escort) and trying so hard to pooh!

Stephanie says I am not putting enough pictures on the blog so here they are.

We're Home!

Hi Everyone,

It has been an exciting couple of days. Caroline and Daddy are taking a nap so I will take a little time to update you. Dan and I got up at 3:30 to get ready for our 6:00 am flight. All went smoothly with our flight (thank you Stephanie for your prayers, and everyone else :) We arrived shortly after 8:00 am and had a great breakfast in the airport. We were both exhausted but neither of us could sleep. I read and Dan people watched and learned how to use the camcorder we purchased the night before. Caroline's flight was due to arrive at 12:10 pm but finally at 10:40 am we couldn't take it anymore and we went down to wait outside of customs. The greeter from the adoption agency came around 11:00 a.m. and told us sometimes it took 30-45 minutes after the flight lands before they come through customs. Caroline's flight was on time! We stood in front of the securty doors, which are frosted, pacing and Dan with the video camera ready. We did this for an hour, and still no Caroline. Lots of passengers from Caroline's flight, but still no Caroline. Then the flight attendants came through the doors. We asked if there had been a older Korean gentleman with a Korean baby on board. Two of the attendants said they didn't recall seeing them and then the third one said she had seen them. Okay so we knew they made the flight! I finally asked one of the TSA officers what could be taking so long, and he directed me to a phone where I could speak to a customs officer. Officer Jones informed me there was a "situation" with her escorts papers and see really didn't know how long it would take. Shortly after that the customs officer came out and told us that Caroline was fine and there was nothing to worry about, there nature of the "situation" wasn't criminal and they would have it resolved as soon as possible. She told me to call her in twenty minutes for an update. It was now 2:00 p.m., nearly two hours after she had arrived. The officer said it would be just a couple more minutes. At 2:30 pm she still hadn't come through the doors. The greeter from the adoption agency called the officer again and she said they were picking up their luggage and they would be out shortly. At approximately 3:10 pm our sweet Caroline came through the doors with her escort. He said a prayer to her and kissed her. We took their picutre together, I hugged him, he came back to her one more time and touched her hand and then he was gone. Caroline never cried! She wasn't frightened the way we had worried about for so long. We loved her instantly!

She slept from the time we took off until we landed. We were greeted at the airport by Pete, Matt, Nana, Uncle Mike, Aunt Elaine, Jake, Emma, Aunt Kay, and Doug, Cheryl, Brooke, and Parker Debroux. It was wonderful!

Caroline is a bit off schedule with the difference in our time zones. We were up most of the night. We are exhausted, but we couldn't be happier. We truly believe we were meant for each other.

Thank you all for the loving support and prayers. Thanks to my Mumma who actually thought about the food we would need in the house for Caroline, unlike me!

When we were walking into the airport to board our flight to pick up Caroline the song "Wonderful World" was playing and Dan and I thought how true it is.

Overwhelmed

It is Wednesday night and I am just trying to finish up my lesson plans for the next week so my substitute doesn't pull her hair out. I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have been so supportive since we got the call. I especially want to thank Cheryl Debroux, Patty Fitzgerald, and Rebecca Mueller. You have been so supportive, offering to do anything for us, and I have taken all of you up on your offers. You have been as excited about Caroline's arrival as we have been. You are wonderful friends and I treasure each one of you. I also want to thank my mom who, as always, is there whenever and for whatever we need. I really don't know how any of this would be possible without her. To our whole family, especially my sisters, who have been there listening during our journey. Stephanie's advice and personal perspective helped me through many tough times during our wait. Suzy's excitement and ability to always be here when I need her is fantastic. Lastly, to all of the people that I barely know who have offered their support and baby clothes, car seat, etc..., your kindness was not expected but it is so appreciated!

Sara

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!

Caroline is coming home! We will be flying to Detroit on Friday to meet Caroline. We couldn't be more thrilled (Doug Debroux was right, it is all worth the wait)!

Waiting for Caroline

2/26/08: We are done with everything. Now we just wait for the phone call. We were told we would receive 3 to 5 days notice. The latest update we received said she weighs 16 lbs. and is 25 inches, what a peanut!

Her room is almost finished. Her crib is up and the sheets are on. Not that she'll be sleeping in it (he-he). We also have a bed on the floor where Mommy and Caroline will most likely be sleeping. Her closet is starting to fill up, although we have been hesitant to buy too much before we see just what size she is wearing.

We will let you all know when we get "the call".