Hollywood boy

Well, it's becoming more and more routine to have this amazing little boy around. Not only is he an amazing baby, he seems to be completely at home with us. That's exciting because we wondered if he might go through some sort of separation anxiety. We've finally ventured out with him a few times. Last week Kim took him ever so gently to Target. She said she drove the cart slower and with more care than ever before. Saturday, we took him out to lunch with Marc's family from Kansas and it went very well. We introduced him to one of our favorite haunts, Chicago Uno. Then on Sunday Jakob went to his second Vineyard service. We know he already enjoys it. :)

Marc made Jakob's first real produced motion picture. The link below will take you to his latest YouTube creation. It's a movie which showcases Jakob's life from the night we met him to the day we brought him home. As we watched it, we couldn't help but feel like this amazing boy has given so much more to us than we give him (although we do spoil him a lot). Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_h5utSSSrQ.

This week Kim's mother is staying with us through Thursday. Today, Kim and Peg went to Pier One with Jakob and no chaos ensued, followed by Jakob sleeping through his first visit to Arby's (mommy's FAVORITE fast food restaurant). Tomorrow Kim and Peg will be taking Jakob with Marc's mom to Legend's (not of the Fall) to shop and take in a race. Just kidding. The outlet mall shops will not be the same. This weekend, we head to Iowa for a shower Kim's sister is planning for Jakob. Most of Kim's family and family friends in the known universe will be attending. Oh, and praise God. We're getting an Olive Garden in Liberty. Very, VERY cool.

Prayer requests:

• Safe travel to and from Iowa
• We are in the process of applying for grant money to help offset some of the costs involved with Jakob. We know our God is bigger than the meager "fish and loaves" we offer Him. We just pray he provides us with a financial plan to help make this work and ease some of the stress
• Continued motivation to remain faithful and get back on track spiritually

Again, thank you so much for your support, for your love and especially for being faithful in coming back again and again to this blog to keep up on what's going on in our lives. We could never have made it this far without you.

More soon.

Adjustments

First, we would really like to thank everyone for all the amazing things we've received lately. So many have reached out and provided meals, prayer and support and it's really incredible. Thank you so much. We've had awesome ham and veggies from Dianne, many meals from Marc's parents, wonderful chicken soup from Kim's mom, great chicken and potatoes from the Jennifer, warm and inviting ham and bean soup from April, super-good lasagna from Mary, and tonight we're going to feast on the famous Jen Brunk Italian ziti. And this is just a sample of things. Not only are we not going hungry, Marc is pretty sure he's put on 10-lbs.


Last weekend, Jakob finally got to meet his grandma and grandpa (Kim's parents) from Iowa. Marv and Peg came down to see him and spend overnight with us from Sunday to Monday. It was a really good visit and we had dinner with them and Marc's parents Sunday evening.


Jakob Marcus: Meeting Grandma: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FgNRN6lWFU

As you can see Jakob likes to rock out and sing David Lee Roth Van Halen style. We're torn because while we like that he appreciates both Def Leppard and The Scorpions, we would rather he picked one and got totally familiar with the band's style and presence. Kim's pulling for Def Leppard.


Last night after an amazing Mexican feast (thanks Leah!), we headed out to see Marc's parents so our friend Tracy could meet him. As you can imagine, he's very popular.


We've worked out a schedule for feeding that allows us to both get 6 hours of sleep. He's a great kid and we still feel so blessed. It's hard for Marc to leave him in the morning. This morning before he left for work, he took some new footage for your viewing pleasure. On occasion, Jakob "strains" for lack of a better word (insert your own joke here). When he does, he makes a billy goat noise so now on occasion Marc refers to him as Billy. Check it out below.


Jakob Marcus: Fussy Billy Goat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2swZMtel0c


Tonight, Marc will be accepting an award from the Kansas City Chapter of Public Relations Society of America for excellence in public relations on a client campaign earlier this year. We'll have photos of that for you soon. This weekend, Marc's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Wiley and cousin Gina will be coming to visit and most likely Marc's brother and sister-in-law. We'll have some great photos of that for you.

Prayer requests:

• We're taking the next few weeks to continuing to try to get our finances in order. This has been slow going over the last year. We've had a few things come up (as with most new parenting) that we weren't thinking were going to cost as much as anticipated. We know God will provide, but we want to do our part in cutting out things we don't need and being faithful to Him to see His financial plan for us. Part of this includes, shuffling things so we're spending less/saving more, possibly refinancing the house, getting the repairs done to Kim's car that are needed and working out a way to eventually purchase a newer car for Marc. Jakob told us he's doing his part by giving us the tax credit we will need next year. He's so good to us!
  
• We're traveling to Iowa next weekend and Marc is a bit worried about the cars. We're praying for safe travel there and back with Jakob in Kim's car.
  
• Peace from worry.

Thank you again for all the support you have provided. It means so much more than you could imagine. Have an awesome weekend. More soon.

First weekend home

Sorry for the long wait in updates. Needless to say it was a very cool weekend. Jakob continues to grow and develop his own personality. Marc has had a good time off with him and is not looking forward to heading back to work tomorrow. He and Kim continue to share feeding and changing shifts to keep Jakob in check. We have our first pediatrician appointment on Wednesday where we will introduce Jakob to his new doctor and get him scheduled for the road ahead.

We continue to have so much love and support rain down on us. More cards, calls and meals are coming in and we feel so very fortunate. Thanks to our friends, we won't be going hungry until at least next weekend! haha.

Last week Jakob got to officially meet his Poppy (Marc's father) and Grandma and Grandpa (Kim's parents). We all had a good visit together sharing stories. This weekend Jakob will get to meet his Uncle Wiley, Aunt Sandy and cousin Gina from Kansas and of course enjoy another Sunday filled with football. He's already enjoying spending the time mimicking his daddy sacked out on the couch during halftime.

Also, as talked about in our last blog entry, below are a few photos of Chris Tomlin at the Rock the Light concert Marc and Mark attended over Labor Day weekend. Marc's friend . . . Mark took these using only the lights from the stage and spot. Pretty good stuff.

We would like to thank those of you who also offered us mechanic options. We're going to check those out today in the hopes we can get Kim's car ready for the trip to Iowa in two weeks.

Prayer requests for us right now:

• That we would be motivated to become even more centered around getting back to basics (bible reading, prayer, FINALLY joining our small group next week, devoting ourselves to faith)


• Prayer that Kim's car repairs don't exceed our budget


• Prayer for God to provide a financial way for us to get a reliable car for Marc (his just hit 200K miles!)


• Prayer for our first pediatrician appointment Wednesday


• Prayer for our birthmother as she continues to adjust after our court date last week

More soon.

Home and complete. . .almost.

This has been a long week so far. Over Labor Day weekend we decided to catch "The Invasion" our last summer movie and now we're glad we did! We ended up being able to room in the hospital Monday and Tuesday night to take care of Jakob. Those beds are soooooo comfortable! Not really. We alternated shifts and things worked out quite well. Jakob is such a great baby. He sometimes fusses a little prior to needing to eat, but he's really fun and like most parents, we never get tired of looking at him no matter what he does.

Yesterday we went to court and just like our lawyer said, we waited and waited and waited for a hearing that took a matter of minutes. Marc's mother came down to be a part of the event and to offer support. We got to Harrisonville at 12:30 and wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to find it and possibly get something to eat. Because of the security checkpoints, we decided to head in and wait until our 1:30 appearance. The morning docket ran long and after a delayed lunch break the second half resumed at 2:00 (instead of 1:30). At 3:30 we were called and headed into the court room. Family adoption court like this is not like it is in the movies where the judge sits up at the front of the courtroom and other watch as the protagonist pleads his case (for reference see Adam Sandler in "Big Daddy"). Instead, we met in a jury deliberation room with the judge, court reporter, Jakob's state appointed ward and our lawyers. After answering their questions, the court ruled to allow us provisional custody for six months where we would have check ups and visits.

Then, in March of next year we will head back to court to make the entire process legal. We returned to the hospital, provided them with our adoption documents and headed home, this time with Jakob in the car seat. Even at his now "larger" weight of 5-lbs, 15-oz., and 18 inches, he is quite heavy in the seat. He slept most of the way home and we recorded his entrance into his new home. Marc is still trying to figure out how to pull video from the new camera and then it will be on YouTube.

Last Christmas our friends Chris and Dianne gave us a bottle of champagne and a promise that we would drink it to celebrate on the day of our adoption. They came over last night, the cork was popped and we celebrated not as two anymore, but as three. Jakob is also feeling right at home in his new surroundings.

Marc is off the remainder of this week and Monday of next and Kim officially starts her maternity leave today giving her a fun six weeks to love on Jakob at home. Marc's parents will be visiting tonight with a homemade "Kentucky recipe" chicken dinner (haha) then Saturday Kim's parent's will arrive to stay overnight with us and meet their newest grandchild. Marc is also looking forward to welcoming Jakob to the wonderful world of the NFL tonight and fantasy league football.

As always, and now more than ever, than you so much for the cards, emails and calls wishing us luck and support through this. We have so many and it only reassures us that we have amazing family, friends and church buddies. If you would, please continue to be in prayer for the following:

• Jakob to continue to grow and for his first pediatrician visit we hope to schedule for next week


• Kim and I to stay rested and illness-free as we learn more about him in our home


• With all the back and forth to the hospital, Kim's car is in need of some repairs and Marc is looking for a local, reliable and cost-effective mechanic that works on foreign cars. (Not too much to ask, right? haha)


• For healing and strength for our friend Debbie and her daughter Heidi who was born at under 3-lbs.

Ideally, this blog will not end now that our adoption process is closer to coming to a close. We hope after March it will continue to stay living and turn toward a marker of Jakob's life and what he means to us. We hope to always provide you with news, photos and information about him as if you're reading this, you are a part of his life.

More soon.