Last But Not Least!

This marks our half year mark since we've been a family of 3! I can hardly believe it! This will also be our final post on our adoption blog! What a journey it's been! However, we are loving and cherishing this side of the process more than we ever thought possible! Thank you to all of you who have followed our journey and given us encouraging words and prayers along the way. You have been/are such a blessing. I still find it amazing how this "blog" opened up such great opportunities to meet so many families experiencing the same miracles! I feel so priviledged to have "met" you! I feel like I've known you for years even though we truly haven't met! We would love for you to follow along with our family journey at our new site Meet The Kochersperger's (James came up with this title! I thought it was kind of cute so we're going with it!)

As a fun way to end this journey, we thought we would share with you our adoption video. We made this to use in our adoption presentation I gave at our local Right To Life prayer service. If I can brag just a little, I think it turned out really neat! Many, many thank you's to my dad who helped me with it and spent many hours on it! Thank you Dad! I hope you all enjoy it (it took 3 hours to download, BIG file)!



If you are finding our blog for the first time, please feel free to look back in the archives. We started our process in January 2008. Our trip to pick up our son occured in the months of July-September of 2009. Blogs are a great resource and we hope ours will help you on your journey!

God Bless!

From Baby To Big Boy!

BJ had his two year old portraits taken! This was one of our favorites!

BJ's Dedication at our church with Pastor Ron

Our little Pastor BJ (Doesn't he look so deep in thought?)

That's right buddy, you "hide His words in your heart!"

Our sweet boy on Dedication Day Jan. 17

It has been awhile since I last posted and so much has happened! BJ was dedicated at our church in late January. Most of all the family came from far and near (pictures above) and mommy (Melanie of course) even sang a song to him entitled "Jesus Here's Another Child to Hold." The dedication was beautiful! He is growing (well maturing, hasn't really grown at all height or weight!) by leaps and bounds! His skills are up to par with his age and his language understanding is phenomenal! It's hard to believe that he's only been in the U.S. for 5 months and he's already picked up on so much! We are so proud of him! We do have some speech concerns, although this is fairly normal for a "second language learner" like himself. He tries to repeat everything, but really struggles with getting it out. We are in the process of getting him evaluated to see if there are any issues we should be concerned with. In all, we are overly pleased with his progress and we thought it would be fun to make a top 10 list of his milestones! Yes, I know I'm bragging, but I'm just so proud of him!

10. Can walk, jump, run (hysterical to watch!), climb and dance! (Which is all amazing since he just learned to "crawl" last June!)

9. Feeds himself with a spoon without spilling anything!

8. Can undress himself and tries hard to "dress himself" (also very funny to watch!)

7. Can stack blocks higher than himself without knocking them over!

6. Loves simple puzzles!

5. LOVES CARS! Can make any car and train sound and knows how to push them all over everything and ALL OVER THE HOUSE! (Funny tidbit of info: BJ will not watch much T.V., but will sit and watch Nascar for a 1/2 hour. What's wrong with my child! LOL!)

4. LOVES TO SWIM! He can put his face in and blows great big BUBBLES!

3. LOVES BOOKS! BJ will grab a book and climb onto my lap to be read too! He sits patientely until I'm done reading the page and then turns it! He is such a teacher's child!

2. Has finally taken to a soft blanket! For so long, he wanted nothing to do with anything soft, just hard plastic toys. Now, he falls to sleep clutching his bear blanket or rubbing mommies hair! So Cute!

BEST ONE BY FAR!

1. LOVES TO GIVE KISSES and CUDDLE! BJ is such a loving little boy and has for many months been blowing or giving light little pecks. However, just recently, he's been grabbing our faces, turning them, and planting big, juicy ones right on the cheeks. Then he turns our heads and gives the cutest little peck on the lips! It completely melts my heart and I can hardly get enough!

With this being said, adjusting to being a "working mom" has not been without it's challenges! I struggle with being away from him on a daily basis. I feel like I miss so much and wonder how I'm supposed to do all my motherly duties when I only see him for 3 hours before I have to put him to bed! I must say, I felt prepared for almost everything, except for this. I feel like I'm being selfish and I do have it the best I could (since grandma and grandpa get to watch him), but "I" want to be the one with him all day! Let's just say, it's been a lot tougher than I thought it would be!

Finally, this will be the last update on this blog. We are leaving it "as is" to be used as a resource for our family and other perspective adoptive families. Our next post will be a link to our new family blog, which is still a work in progress. I will also have a video posted that we made (for a presentation I did on our adoption) displaying our journey with BJ from start to present! It is called "Bringing BJ Home!" and is simply adorable! BJ especially loves to watch it and that in itself makes me cry! We hope to post again very soon!

Love you All!

A Very Busy Month!

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, what a month for BJ! December has come and gone and left us with a 2 year old boy with lots of toys! LOL! BJ had a great Christmas and was able to enjoy the experience 3 times. For Christmas day we visited daddy's family in Jeffersonville, IN. He was able to meet Uncle Brandon, Aunt Theresa, Uncle Steve, Alex, Dakota, Luke and Laura. He was overwhelmed at first, but quickly warmed up to everyone. Christmas day brought some fun times as he loved opening up the gifts. BJ's only problem was that he wanted to play with everything he opened. He even become captivated by the pictures on some DVD's he unwrapped! I love it! I just hope he always stays so sweet as to where he appreciates everything he gets.

Then on December 26, BJ celebrated his 2nd Birthday! Grandma and Grandpa Kochersperger threw and fun party for BJ! He looked so surprised when we sang happy birthday to him. He sat perfectly still and silent and just starred at everyone. After the song BJ attempted to blow out his candle! He really did great! His favorite part of his birthday was definitely his big blue frosted cupcake! Has you can see from his pictures below, the frosting was everywhere and he enjoyed every little bit!

When we got home from Indiana, daddy, mommy, and BJ opened gifts at the house. BJ was a pro by then and ripped through his presents. He did of course have to play with each gift so once again it took us as while to get through all of them. How do you take away something you just gave him so that you can move on to another?

We then had another birthday party for BJ at Papa Joe and Grandma's house. We invited BJ's friends and had a lot of fun! Finally, on New Year's Day, we celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Oliver. More presents! Let's just say, BJ is well loved!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's Christmas Time!

Wow! What a year! I can't believe Christmas is here already! We've been waiting to celebrate this beautiful Holy day with a child for about 5 years and it is finally here! I've added some pictures that we put on our Christmas card that I thought were pretty cute (of BJ at least)!

BJ is completely loving the lights, glitter, and excitement of the season! In fact, I have to say that it hasn't necessarily brought out the "best" in him. I suppose the time was coming, "the "fun" two's!" He is growing every which way by leaps and bounds and we are relieved to see that yes, he is a typical two year old toddler! His birthday is the day after Christmas! (fun party being planned) He literally grew an inch in 1 1/2 months and is back to sleeping 12 hour nights and 3 hour naps. My little boy might out grow me by 5 years old! LOL! He is picking up skills lightening fast like putting on his shoes, taking off his shirts, walking backwards, running (very cute to watch, he stays motionless for awhile almost like he's thinking about his getaway plan, then he picks up his legs like in slow motion and eventually begins to "run" giggling the whole way! It's hysterical!), climbing (on everything if can do it without mom and dad watching), and pushing toy cars all over the house! It's been amazing watching a baby turn into toddler in 3 months. Oh yes, did I mention he's getting into EVERYTHING! There is nothing that compares to being parents to a toddler! I love it and we are really excited about Christmas day and his birthday. He already had some early Christmas presents and let me just say, it didn't take him long to learn how to open those presents! Of course the wrapping paper and boxes were more exciting then the present inside!

With all this excitement, I have to admit that Christmas so far, hasn't been as beautiful and sacred as I was planning on it to be. As most of you know, Christmas has become somewhat of a "rat race" in our country. It disheartens me as I know this is what God never intended for it to be like. In fact, this is the complete opposite of what should be going on right now. There's nothing like the stress of life to remove the pure and miraculous joy of this season. This year I have noticed it more than ever before because things don't get done as timely and in an orderly fashion like they used to. Yes I know, welcome to motherhood, right?! But it isn't so much that as it is all the "hustle and bustle" that seems to be grabbing our attention and stealing our joy. All I really want grabbing my attention is our precious miracle child. Just by looking at him, he reminds me everyday of our blessed Heavenly Father. So this Christmas Season, we have decided to relax, not worry about gifts, "to do" list, bills, etc. (why worry about them, it's not like they're going anywhere right?) and just immerse ourselves in the amazement of life and be grateful for our health, family, and everything we do have. After all " From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given to Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ!" John 1:16-17 Who am I to argue with this?! From our family to yours, may you all have a blessed and RELAXED Christmas season as we truly reflect on the real meaning of the Holiday. God Bless You and Merry Christmas! Love You All! James, Melanie, and BJ

Praise The Lord! Another answered prayer!

"Give thanks to Him and praise His name! For the Lord is good and His loves endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

We feel completely blessed in that today we received GREAT results back for two of BJ's major tests. The first was for the possible "premature" fusion of his skull. Although the records from Poland stated that everything came back negative our pediatrician wanted to make sure. She felt that his head was shaped odd enough, to warrant some concern to have it checked out. So we made an appointment with a cranialogist, had a CAT scan done and today found out that there is NOTHING wrong. In fact, the doctor said that his head shape was fairly normal and that it would eventually round out as BJ grew! He even said his bossing (protruding forehead) would even itself out over time. This is GREAT news!

Another test he had done was for his cardiologists (remember, the one who speaks Polish! :). In BJ's Polish records it read that he had some slight atrial flutters. So BJ had to wear a "halter" for 24 hours. I was rather upset about this because supposedly there is no such thing as a "child's halter." So BJ had cables 2 feet long waded up under his sleeper with a pack the size of a large cell phone attached to a belt around his waist. I felt so bad for the poor little guy, but he was a trooper. You would've never known he was all wired up. He never tried to pick at it and did not cry or fuss a bit. I was so proud of him! Anyway, his cardiologists called us today and said everything came back completely NORMAL! This is also great news because it means his heart is perfectly healthy. Is our GOD great or what?!

This is all such a relief! The Polish reports were 100% accurate! So why did we have to go through all this to figure that out? Oh well! At least we have peace of mind! Blessings to you all and enjoy this Christmas season! I know we will and BJ is just loving all the lights and will experience his first snow fall tomorrow. I'll post pictures soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! Is it really that time of year already! I must say that this has been the fastest year ever! It seems like just yesterday that we received the call about a sweet little 16 month old! Now he is in our arms and is making huge strides! He no longer reminds me of a baby, but rather a very active toddler! We love it! He keeps us busy, but gives us so much joy! He is eating everything now and no longer wants us to feed him. He eats with utensils and can actually get more in his mouth then what lands on the floor or tray! He does somersaults (what a hoot!), walks backwards (or scoots), can throw a ball well (James thinks he found the next left handed pitcher for the Mets), climbs and slides down a slide, does sign language for please and more (thanks Caroline!), and can a hold a crayon to make a few scribbles. We are still working on his speech, but do notice some improvement in that as well. He can say momma as clear as day, Dada, hi, mine, and is trying to say a whole bunch of other words. We can tell he gets frustrated at times when he is trying to get us to understand what he wants!

In other news, my class is still going well, but I miss my little man like crazy! I'm not quite in tears, but I latch on to him about as much as he latches onto me when I get home. He seems to be bonding quite nicely with both James and I. He loves playing with his daddy about as well as he likes cuddling with me! He still loves people, but in the end will always want to come back to mommy and daddy. This of course makes my heart sing!

Well, tomorrow is his first official family holiday so I am interested in how he will respond. I'm sure he'll do great because he loves all that attention. He will probably also think he's in paradise with all that food! I'm sure I'll get some great pictures! In the mean time, please enjoy these! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post, but time is just available anymore! Before I know it, it will be Christmas! I can hardly wait! We have already taken BJ to the Festival of Trees and he was simply awestruck! I'll put those pictures in my next post! Enjoy your turkey day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

B.J.'s Certificate of Citizenship!

Today BJ received his Certificate of Citizenship! We are so relieved as we started to think it would never show up! This certificate will be the proof we need to apply for different things such as passport, readoption in the U.S., etc. We already have his social security number so that is one less step we need to take. Although he was a citizen upon entry into the U.S., the only proof he had of his citizenship was his Polish passport with the U.S. visa stamp. Now he has documentation. It is so exciting to see these loose ends being taken care of.

On another note, poor B.J. has been sick for over a week with a runny nose that doesn't quite and a whole lot of congestion. On Thursday, he came down with a 103.5 fever. It terrified me as I have had several students out with "Influenza a" and fevers of 106! Yikes! We called the doctor right away, but there wasn't much she could do. She checked his ears and throat and they did a strep test, but it all came back negative. She said to keep the fever down and if he still has it in a few days we need to take him in to get some blood drawn. Poor little guy, he is working on his fourth day with a fever, but at least we have been able to keep it down. Hopefully he'll wake up and it will be gone! No trick-or-treating for him this year, although we did have a darling costume for him that he absolutely hated wearing. I suppose it all worked out fine for him. He isn't old enough to realize that he missed something and he didn't have to wear that "dreaded costume!" Although, mommy has to get pictures so you can bet that costume will show up again sometime soon!

On another note, James is recovering nicely from his surgery. He says his heart feels smoother than it has in years. That is a "very" good thing! Thank you for your prayers and concern! We know they were working!

The Article Was In!

BJ's article was in the paper this past Sunday! You can view it at the Register Mail. The whole top portion of the page was a big picture of BJ peering into the plastic lid of one of his toys. It was so cute! The above is a picture from the online article! The article, I feel, was well written, but there were several discrepancies. The time frame was a little off and with some other minor things. However, I was disappointed as the paper left out everything we said about our faith and the importance of our church family. I'm not sure why, as the views in the article were strictly ours and obviously not those of the paper! So why would they leave it out when we mentioned several times that God was the most important aspect of our adoption? I have to admit that this was/is very frustrating!

On another note, we have had a very busy week. BJ has (undoubtedly) come down with his first cold of the season. We had to take him to the doctor Friday because the poor little guy could hardly breathe he was so congested. She put him on an antibiotic because he had the beginnings of an ear infection and because she wanted to be safe and make sure his cold didn't turn into something worse. So as of now, he is a "Vick's" baby! He's so little that they won't let him take any decongestants! So we are constantly sucking, wiping, and rubbing on Vick's baby vapor rub! Poor little guy. I have a feeling this will be a long winter for him!

Yesterday, James finally had his long awaited heart surgery. It sounds worse than it was, but it was pretty scary. James was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response about three years ago. He was treated with medication, but that didn't always work. He was told that the Ablation surgery would take care of it, so they finally got him on the waiting list. Monday was the big day and the doctor feels like it was a success! However, only time will tell!

BJ is doing better with the whole separation thing. But he is still very "lovey" when I get home from work. I have to admit, I love it! What can I say, he just melts my heart! We also had some announcements made that turned out absolutely adorable! A company called the First Glimpse designed them for us and I'm adding the link so that you can see it! They added the Polish flag and a really cute poem. Here is his announcement! Hopefully I don't get in trouble for putting this on the blog! Anyway, I recommend them. They are really good and very timely!

Thanks again for the support, love and prayers! We feel very loved!

Adjusting To The New Routine

Well, I suppose it's safe to say that things are back to "normal" at the Kochersperger household. Mommy is back to work and BJ is on a new schedule. I do believe however that BJ is doing better than mommy is! I'm so exhausted and after being back for only 4 days, I have come down with a terrible sore throat and head cold. I have had so many students out sick with countless illnesses, that I didn't even want to try and fight it, I just got on some antibiotics right away. I feel much better, but now I am concerned about BJ. YIKES!! The poor little guy! Who knows what I'll be bringing home to him! On a good note, my kindergarten students are great! They are such a nice group of children and gave me such a warm reception. It makes coming back to work a whole lot easier!

BJ is doing well at grandma's and grandpa's house for the day! He's loving all the attention he gets and grandma and papa Joe enjoy taking him around town. They said that he doesn't go to very many people like he used to and they have noticed he's become a little more clingy. We've noticed the same thing. When I left for work the first day, he didn't seem to care much at all. I got a kiss and that was that. However, the next day or two he began to realize that I was gone all day and has become quite upset upon my leaving. Part of me is thinking "Yes! He loves me and actually cares when I go!" The other part of me thinks "I don't want to leave him! He needs me!" The emotions are crazy! BJ has also become very clingy when I arrive back home in the afternoon. He cuddles and coos, crabs my legs (and doesn't let go), and constantly wants me in sight. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE when he wants me to hold him, but I am beginning to get concerned. The intensity of his separation anxiety is building with each day that I am gone. I'm hoping the weekend will help ease his mind and confusion. Any ideas?

On another note, BJ is learning more everyday! His eating skills are so much better, not spitting out as much food as before. He still doesn't prefer milk (or Pediasure), but will down a whole container of yogurt in minutes! He is walking more and more everyday and we are waiting for the day when he starts, running around the house! He has also picked up a very impressive skill! At least I think it is! BJ does not like food stuck to his fingers. He is a very clean eater. So we have been trying to show him how to wipe his fingers on a napkin rather than getting upset and waving his hands around in the air. So last night, while he was eating, he got a clump of food on his hands. I held up a napkin and he took it. He not only cleaned off his fingers, but then wiped his face with it! We were so impressed that we clapped and cheered for him. He of course loved it and 10 napkins later he finally stopped cleaning his fingers and face! What a riot! I told James that we need to be careful because this little guy copies EVERYTHING we do!

He has also taken a huge interest in books and especially loves non-fiction with the "real" pictures in them. His favorite is "Goodnight Baby!" He giggles and points especially to the ones he thinks he knows like his friend Caroline! He is trying to talk and can put the syllables in place, but still not much that is recognizable. The teacher in me is trying not to push, but the poor little guy is having the colors and alphabet recited to him on an hourly basis! However, I suppose he doesn't mind! He just thinks I'm being goofy and laughs at me!

Well that's about it for now! We will post some more pictures soon! He is changing everyday and has finally started to gain some weight! He is at 18.6 pounds and gaining! Our goal is to graduate from size 12 months to 18 months by spring. Oh well, he sure is cute being so tiny! As long as he's healthy! Thanks for your prayers and support! BJ has come such a long way in a short time! God has truly blessed us!

Interview/1st Visit To G'ma G'pa Kochersperger/Another Miracle

Time goes so fast! I can hardly believe I'm going back to work next week and I'm already missing my little boy! I can rest assured however, that he will be in good hands with his grandma and papa Joe that love him so much! I am amazed by how much he is learning and by what he accomplishes daily! He is now choosing to walk, rather than crawl everywhere! He is doing great, but is still a bit "off balance." His falls are always controlled and he can easily stand up again without holding onto anything! Yeah BJ! Keep up the good work! He is also very independent when it comes to feeding time. He will insist on a fork or a spoon and uses them with ease! The spoon is a little trickier as sometimes the food just slides off before he gets it too his mouth. His expressions are priceless! He is talking more, but usually just babbles. He imitates us quite a bit, especially when it comes to voice inflections and tones. He recently started counting 1,2,3 with daddy as he would get ready to throw him in the air. You can almost here the word "one" but the rest are just tones. It is very adorable and I'm still trying to capture it on video!

The interview with the paper went very well! The photographer took some excellent pictures of BJ and I was really wanting to ask him for some copies. BJ played well and was consistently trying to get the reporter to hold him! He finally got a hug at the end! She asked us some basic questions primarily about the process, being in the country, and the costs. I was able to tell her about our agencies and the organizations that helped us out with some grants. I was a little nervous as I didn't want to leave anything of importance out. There are a lot of adopting couples in our city and I wanted our story to hold the same key principles as theirs. Hopefully we did okay. They are going to run the article either at the end of October or the beginning of November. The article will include adoption statistics from around the world some other interesting adoption facts all in time for National Adoption Month! We are thrilled and honored to be featured!

This past weekend BJ visited his grandma and grandpa Kochersperger in Jeffersonville, IN (across from Louisville). He of course loved them and and all the attention they gave to him. He also enjoyed his grandma's cooking! He ate like a horse! We also visited their church (James' church before we were married) where grandma whisked him away to introduce him to everyone! He of course got showered with more attention! The church has been following our journey and were anxious to see him live and in person! I would certainly say that BJ is lucky little boy! One thing we noticed, was that when we returned home, BJ went crazy! It was almost like he new he was "home." We thought that while in Poland, he was never in the same place twice. So leaving and then coming back to the same place, might have helped him realize that his is 'home" and is were he belongs!

Finally, the MIRACLE I have been excited to tell you about! As some of you know, BJ was a sickly little boy during his first year of life. One reason we didn't get his referral until after 15 months of age was due to his recovery and treatment. However, his referral gave him a clean bill of health with only some minor things to watch. So at his first pediatrician appointment we were referred to several specialist to follow-up with all the medical findings from his Poland records which were of course written in Polish. Our pediatrician was also concerned about his head shape and recommended we see a craniologist. This made us quite scared and we were wishing even more that we could read those Polish records. BJ had contracted the CMV virus at 2 months of age. Although he was treated, there are still some things that needed to be monitored. His head shape was something the doctors in Poland looked at carefully with an Ultrasonography and a CAT scan. It all came back normal, but of course the results are written in Polish. Becasue BJ was also diagnosed with a PFO and and a slight atrial fibrillation (just like his daddy), we were also recommended to visit a pediatric cardiologist. So here is the miracle! Knowing that we needed to read these record, we were getting geared up to find a translator and pay the big bucks to get all (50-60 pages) of his medical records translated. However, Praise God, He had other plans. It turns out our Pediatric Cardiologists just moved here from Poland last July! She absolutely loved BJ and not only wanted to read his records, but wanted to translate them "all" for us! I told her that we of course didn't expect her to do that and that we would be grateful if she could just point out the reports on his CAT and ultrasonogrpahy. She said that it wouldn't be any trouble and the she would prefer to do it, because the translator might not know "medical terms." We were completely overjoyed a couldn't believe what a blessing this was. We don't believe in luck, we believe in MIRACLES from GOD! If we had any doubts about whether or not GOD was going to take care of our little boy, they are now all out the window! This is definitely a GOD THING! You guessed it. Dr. Kulikowska in Peoria is getting a great recommendation from us! As it turns out, everything so far is great and BJ is still a very healthy little boy. It seems we really do have nothing to worry about. Now we just have to get him "plumped up!

Taking Steps!

Wow! What a week BJ has had! I'm so glad he is a people person because he has met a lot of people! Last Sunday BJ went to church for the first time. It was wonderful being able to introduce him to all the people who loved him before they even knew him! They were so excited to see him and he just "glowed" in all their attention! When he was taken forward to be introduced to our congregation, he started clapping for himself! Everybody laughed and so did he! We were so proud of him! I can hardly put into words what a blessing our church has been to us. It is a living, breathing example of what God intended the church to be. They have supported us from the very beginning and there is no doubt in my mind that BJ will be well loved. As I mentioned before I look at our church as family. In that case, BJ has a lot of brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandma's, and grandpa's! What a lucky little boy!

BJ has also being introduced to all of our friends and is still taking it all in stride! He just loves all this attention! He is making such a good impression as he is constantly blowing everybody a kiss and loves to hug and cuddle! Our friends have been very supportive as well and we feel very blessed to have all of them!

Now, why the title? Well, BJ took his first real steps Monday! He has been walking short distances and with help, but Monday he pulled himself up on our banister, let go, smiled at me and walked all the way across the hallway and into his room to me! I was so proud of him! Ever since then, he's been standing up (with no help) and takes off walking in any direction he chooses. It seems like he makes it a little further every time! He'll be walking everywhere very soon I'm sure!

We also found out some fun information this week. Our local paper (The Register Mail) called us and wants to do a story on our adoption for the "Lifestyles" section. We are so excited! We aren't sure why they are so interested in us when so many families from Galesburg have adopted internationally. We are thinking that maybe it has to do with Poland. The country is less common then others. It might also have to do with the "right place at the right time." Who knows?! They will interview us on Tuesday and are even bringing a photographer! Were praying BJ is caught up on his sleep by then!

Of course I can't write without posting pictures. Here a few from our homecoming, play dates, and just some cute pics of BJ! Please enjoy them! We sure do! Now I just have to get them all into scrapbooks!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Discovering New Territory!

I can say without a doubt that BJ loves everything about his new home. Everything that is except the dog. Maui (our dog) is a lab and collie mix which makes her super playful, hyper and nippy. While BJ is off exploring the house, Maui is just a step behind him making sure he doesn't do anything without "her" permission. It's rather funny! Then when BJ is minding his own business playing with a toy, Maui will come up and shove a toy in BJ's face expecting him to grab on and play a match of "tug-of-war." Poor kid! He's learned to hold his own around Maui and won't scream, but has recently been caught giving the dog a little swat in the face. Goodness! If it's not one, it's the other! Oh the joys of dogs and children!

On another note, we all seem to be adjusting well. BJ finally got caught up on all his lost sleep after sleeping for 13 1/2 hours last night. I had to keep checking on him this morning because I thought something was very wrong. He was fine, just snoozing away. BJ especially loves having his daddy back. He just giggles and laughs whenever he sees him! It's so cute! You wonder how the two ever made it apart for that long!

I will say that BJ is not quite back to himself all though I feel it is getting close. He doesn't talk as much as he did in Poland and seems to be more withheld and clingy. In fact, he screamed whenever it was bath time for the first few nights here. I couldn't believe it! He loved bath time and would literally stop eating his night snack just to take a bath. Then "kaboom" we get here and it all changes! I had to start back at square one and introduce bath time the way I did when we first got custody of him. But, I will say it worked because finally tonight we had a breakthrough, again! He loved it and was back to his old self! I'm wondering (and hoping) everything else will come back to him once he gets settled in. It has to be so overwhelming for him. After all, this was his fourth move since he left the orphanage. That's pretty traumatic if you ask me. Plus, there are more toys here then "Toys'R Us" thanks to our friends and family (even though we are trying to keep them packed away and only bring out a few at a time). Poor BJ is on sensory overload!

We haven't done much this week, simply getting unpacked and FINALLY into a home routine. It feels so good to be able to start living as a family! We love having a son and feel that there is no way we could live without him! He is so adorable, loving, cuddly, cute, etc. the list could go on forever. His personality just cracks me up! Also, the way he stares at us with the big blue eyes and toothy grin could melt even the coldest of hearts! It's just amazing how resilient he is!

He has met a few people this week and has done well. One day I took him after school to meet some of my friends and poor BJ just wasn't feeling like being very agreeable. However, I did wake him up from his nap to go! Big Mistake! He also had his first U.S. play date with a little girl named Caroline. They are very similar in age and almost the same size. I have some cute pictures and will write more and post them on my next entry. For now, please enjoy the trip pics! We have some cute welcome home pics I'll post when I get them!

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Home Sweet Home!

Yea! We're home! We arrived home late Sunday afternoon to a "Welcome Home" banner hung by a really sweet neighbor, on our front porch, a "Welcome Home BJ" sign on the back door, and a Noah's Ark balloon bouquet for BJ stating "S.S. New Arrival!" It was darling! I loved it, but BJ was slightly frightened by it until daddy showed him that he could hit it back and forth. Then BJ thought it was pretty neat and copied daddy! My favorite part about being home has to be my nice, soft, big, cuddly bed and carpeting! Oh yes! I'm also glad to be home with BJ's daddy!

The flights were fairly uneventful except for the fact that we had 5 minutes to catch our connecting flight and I was food poisoned! But hey, BJ did fantastic! Praise God and thank you everyone for praying! If you didn't catch my "vibe," I was pretty nervous! However, BJ took me 100% by surprise! He did great! Our first flight, 1 1/2 hours, he just sat back in his chair and enjoyed! He played with his toys, ate Cheerios, looked out the window, ate Cheerios, sang with mommy and grandma, ate Cheerios, and just all around at a good time!

Our second flight, once we scrambled on and got settled in, went just as well! In this plane, BJ found the tray table. He thought it was the best thing ever invented. He played with it (tapping it up and down with his feet and hands, pushing it in and out, slapping it with his hands) for probably the equivalent of an hour. Oh, don't worry! My mom was sitting in the seat in front of him! LOL! She didn't mind having her chair rocked for that hour! God Bless her! The plane was very nice with touch screen TV's on every seat! I was very impressed! BJ hardly played with his toys we so meticulously picked out. There was so much to do and look at on the plane! Once again he sang, ate Cheerios, played with the tray table, ate Cheerios, watched TV, and ate Cheerios. Did I mention he liked to eat his Cheerios?! Okay, we fed him other food, but he was constantly eating his Cheerios. The WHOLE time! This was all good as it helped for take off and landing, which he loved! He simply cracked me up! The part I feared the most for him, he simply couldn't get enough of! While the plane picked up speed to take off, he just started laughing and kicking out his arms and legs. While we gained altitude and experienced the "stomach dropping" feeling, he would smile and start giggling! The same with landing! My mom says I have a "Bungee jumping, carnival ride loving" kid! I tend to agree with that! He loves being upside down and spun around in circles. I can safely say that he does not get motion sickness easily!

On the second half of the ride, he fell asleep! You might be thinking "Oh, what a blessing! She could relax and enjoy the rest of the flight." Well, that is somewhat true. The poor little guy moves around so much in his sleep that I had to watch him like a hawk! I probably scooped him up (before falling of the edge of the chair) and repositioned him about a dozen times before it was all said and done. Needless to say, he slept but not well. He would be half way in/out of consciousness and would just start sobbing. Poor little guy! He was so tired and just wanted his bed!

So, our flight landed on time at O'Hare and we were very glad to see that there was no line at customs. It went very smoothly! We then met up with James and my brother Cary. It felt so good to be back in the US. I missed English more than I realized! We drove to Cary's house and stayed there (in Chicago) for the night as we didn't want to tackle a 3 hour drive until morning. Unfortunately for me this turned out to be a nightmare of a night. I woke up at about 2:30 feeling terrible with very bad indigestion. Long story short it didn't go away and turned into severe stomach pain and you guessed it! The whole nine yards! I couldn't keep anything down for the next day! I had a fever and simply felt awful! We had to get home so I just didn't eat or drink so we could make it home without incident! Thankfully I woke up this morning feeling better and have been getting stronger throughout day! It turns out my parents were both sick as well, just not as severe! I then realized that we had both eaten the same "sausage" on the plane. I am so glad BJ didn't eat the pieces I was offering him! That would've been a disaster! God was watching over that little guy! Once again, thank goodness for those Cheerios!

BJ is adjusting as well as can be expected for being uprooted for the fourth time, sleep deprived for 24 hours and being introduced to a beast of a dog! He has handled it all well, but I feel James and I might loose our minds before it is all said a done. Maui our dog, is slightly (okay a lot!) hyper when it comes to new people. She is extremely cautious about whether or not she can trust them. With children she is more eager to play than anything. Well, BJ didn't think her sticking her big nose in his face was playing so he just started screaming. So now every time Maui comes around, BJ screams. Then on top of that, Maui gets riled by BJ's screaming and nips! YIKES! Things have settled down throughout the day, but you have to wonder if you'll still have your sanity by the time the end of the day gets here!

I can't complain though! BJ is the light of our lives and we would feel so empty without him! God moved his awesome hands and placed us together at just the right time and in just the right way! What better way to remind us of His graciousness than to look into the face of our beautiful son! We truly feel blessed!

Thank you again for following along with us on our journey! Somehow I think that the journey has really just begun! We are so grateful for all of you! I have a lot of pictures I am hoping to post from the flight and first day home, so please stay tuned!

P.S. How many times can I write Cheerios in one post? Hehe!

Looking Back and Proudly Moving Forward!

This is for sure my last post from Poland! I can hardly believe I am saying that! We spent our last two days relaxing and taking some trips to Old Town and a nearby mall for some last minute souvenirs. I've been trying hard to find some appropriate pieces of Poland for BJ's room. Keeping his history/heritage alive for him as he grows is very important to us! To us, this is who he is and we want to embrace that as much as possible. I think we've done a good job and will display the items on a shelf in his room. We'll post a picture as soon as we get up!

We are (almost) packed and are praying for a smooth flight tomorrow! Thank you to all of you for the great ideas! We are using many of them! I especially love the idea of bringing ear plugs for the nearby passengers! It made me laugh! Unfortunately we don't have any, but I'm hoping we won't need them!

As I've been packing I keep thinking about how my life has changed so drastically in just a month and a half! It's all so amazing and wonderful, but at the same time scary and unpredictable! Wow! It sounds like I've just given birth! I suppose I have, but without the physical pain and hospital stay! I love the saying "You grew in my heart!" That is completely how we feel! This journey that took so long to get here is finally almost over. I am so excited to get home and get settled in with our new son! We already have some fun things planned. Because BJ is so outgoing, we feel fairly confident in introducing him to our friends, family, and church family at a quicker rate than we were originally anticipating. We are sure he can handle them just fine because he loves attention! I just don't know if I'll be able to hold it all together when he holds his hands out to all the pretty ladies that talk to him! LOL! Oh well, I just have to accept that he's a ladies man!

I've also been discussing with James how much BJ has grown! Not necessarily size (although I'm sure he's gained weight), but rather in his abilities and maturity. I thought it would be fun to list them as we are so proud of him! Please keep in mind that when we first gained custody of him, he had the skills of a child less than a year old! He couldn't feed himself (no hand to mouth coordination at all) and had not chewed much. He had also just started crawling correctly a week before we came. Yes! I cannot say enough how proud we are.

BJ's Top Ten!

He can:
1. drink from a sippy cup all by himself.
2. feed himself and can even use a spoon!
3. can bite down and pull off chunks of food!
4. can crawl at the "speed of light" and is walking around all the furniture just as fast!
5. knows how to brush his teeth and loves it! (I'm super proud of this one!)
6. can take a bath without screaming and actually loves it to the extent of never wanting to get out! Plus loves to have water poured over his head!
7. can say: Mama, Dada clearly, but only when he wants to. Can say other words, but only I can understand them. LOL! Okay so he just makes grunts and tones, but I know what it means! I'm the Mama!
8. knows how to crawl onto a bed or chair and has learned how to safely crawl off backwards. (impressed with this one too!)
9. has learned how all his toys work and is always trying to figure out new ways he can use them!
AND BEST OF ALL!
10. He loves to cuddle! When we first met him, he didn't want to be held hardly at all. Now he falls asleep laying on my chest with his little arms wrapped around my neck while I sing "Jesus Loves Me" and rub his back! What a great feeling to know he trusts me!

Thanks again for your prayers and support! Look where they have gotten us! God is sooooooooo Good!

BJ IS COMING TO AMERICA!

Time to celebrate! We are all done!

BJ is coming to America!

An American citizen yes,

but always a proud Polishman!

In front of the American Embassy with

BJ's Visa package! Yea!

WE ARE FINISHED! What a great feeling! It's crazy, but the whole two year process came down to this one last task! I was very impressed as everything went so smoothly! I was in and out in about an hour (most of the time was waiting) and all I had to do was raise my right hand and say "yes" when asked if everything was accurate. We then had to go back to the embassy and pick up BJ's visa package at the little window shown in the background of the above picture. The package is to be given to the Customs and Border Patrol inspector upon entering the U.S. We also have BJ's passport with his Visa attached to one of the pages. After the U.S. stamps his passport, he will become an American citizen. I read today that BJ will have dual citizenship until he is 18. If he decides to keep it, he has to apply. How neat is that to belong to two countries at once. I think that's pretty special!

Now that we are finished, we have a chance to pack, relax and enjoy two more days of Warsaw before we take off! I am hoping for an uneventful flight home, but I need some great ideas from all of you! How do you keep a 20 month old busy and quiet on a 9 1/2 hour flight? I'm a bit nervous as the little guy can't seem to sit still for more than 2 minutes! Please help if you can!

Thank you and God bless!

BJ's First Play Date/Palaces/Warsaw Zoo

So much has happened since I last posted, it's hard to know where t0 begin! But, you must start somewhere. On Friday, we walked to a nearby street to see our friends the Andrew's one last time before they left for the USA. We also wanted a chance to get the two kiddo's together on the floor so that they could actually move around rather than being stuck in their strollers. At first, Klaudia wasn't quite sure of what to make of all of us (my parents, myself, and BJ) intruding on her territory. BJ on the otherhand, could've cared less. As soon as we walked into their apartment, he made a beeline for Klaudia's toys. He didn't even think twice or ask for permission! LOL! Wow! James and I sure have our work cut out for us! After a little bit, Klaudia warmed up to us and then her and BJ were unstoppable. They chased each other around, laughed, and played together for a long time before they got tired out! It was so cute! I included some pictures down below!

On Sunday we visited the Wilanow Palace (it was free)! It was so beautiful and the gardens were as spectacular as the inside of the Palace. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the inside because we weren't allowed to take any. But I included some below of the outside!

Today, BJ enjoyed his first visit to a zoo! We visited the Warsaw Zoo and were there pretty much all day! BJ did great although he didn't appear that interested in much of anything! Except the donkey that stuck his head out of the fence to see BJ! That he thought was pretty cool! I was so proud of him! He even took a 1 1/2 nap in his stroller (towards the end of the zoo, so he didn't miss much)! After the zoo, we realized that Old Town was within walking distance so we took a stroll across the Wilsa River and went into Old Town. I bought some last minute items and we ate at Subway. I know, daring right! I included some pictures of the zoo as well!

Thanks again for following along with us! I really enjoy reading your comments as they always make me smile. Your support is priceless! If you have found us and have some questions for us regarding our process, country, agency, etc. Please feel free to email us at kochersperger78@yahoo.com We don't mind answering questions and are super excited to share any information we can! We had many families do this for us and it made things so much easier!Thank you all and God Bless You! His blessings are always rich and overflowing if we only ask! I found this to be 100% true!

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BJ is 100% KOCHERSPERGER

OUR SON!

It is 100% official! Our 14 day appeal period was over on Monday, August 31. We received the official adoption decree from the court in Jozefow and BJ's revised polish birth certificate Monday! Yea! This means the adoption is complete and we can now get all the loose ends together so that BJ can come home! So far we have applied for BJ's Polish social security number and Polish passport, taken pictures for his Polish passport/US Visa, and had a US Embassy approved medical exam. Some things left to do:

A. US Embassy Interview (Tuesday)

B. Receive Immigrant Visa (Tuesday)

C. Receive Polish Passport (? hopefully soon)

D. Hop on the plane to come home! (Saturday, Sept. 12)

In other matters, we are all moved into our new location! I have to admit, I miss the other apartment! We are on a main road now and it is so much louder! Oh yes, we also have a fire station right next to us! Okay, I'm not complaining, but I am grateful for my nice quiet house back in the good'ol US of A! The apartment is cozy and very nice and because the occupancy max is 2, we have two seperate apartments! It is nice having two bathrooms, but it is a bit of a pain having to go back and forth between the two rooms via the main hallway. The rooms are studios, and because it is so noisy, I put BJ in the small hallway by the bathroom to provide a little more quietness for him. It seems to be working as he sleeps the nights through and wakes talking and laughing! I wish I could awake like that!

As I predicted, this apartment did not come equiped with internet or a land line. So for the first few days, we felt quite isolated especially since our cell phone was running low on minutes (and we didn't know where to go to reload)! AGHHHHHH! I almost became paniced because I was fearful of what we would do in an emergency. However, Magda our facilitator came through for us and led us in the right direction for "minutes" and got us hooked up with the outside world! Praise God! We are now more at ease and have spent some time getting to know our new surroundings. Because we are in the downtown, we are much further away from the monuments and museums than we were before. However, we are by many new (and large) parks that we are getting ready to explore!

As promised, I am including some videos of BJ and the Warsaw Royal Castle. It isn't nearly as beautiful on video as it is in person, but you'll get the point! I can honestly say that it is the most beautiful "man made" object that I have ever seen! Please click on the links below and enjoy!

BJ Playing

Warsaw Royal Castle

The Throne Room

The Assembly Hall

The King's Bedchamber

Moving Day!

Tomorrow, Monday, we will make our final move to another apartment here in Warsaw. I still am not sure why we have to move. Maybe something to do with only being able to rent the apartment we're in by the month and we still have two weeks to go. Our new apartment is in the "down town" area of Warsaw on a road called Polna. I'm actually looking forward to some new scenery and a new area of town to explore. I feel it will help our next two weeks to move along faster. I was told by our facilitator that we will actually have two apartments with an ajoining door between the two. From what I saw online, they should be fairly nice and more modern than what we have now. So, the question still remains whether or not we'll have internet. We are assuming yes, but really will not know until we arrive. If you do not hear from me again for awhile, that is why.

On another note, we have had a fairly long, yet eventful week. On Tuesday we took a Warsaw Tour. We saw many intersting and heart wrenching sights including Lazienki Park. This park was built around a King's Palace. King Sigismundus III Vasa ordered the castle to be built in the 17th Century. The park, castle everything is beautiful. I included some pictures below! We were also taken to the Warsaw Ghetto monument. This is in tribute to the several 100 thousands Jews who were murdered by the German army in World War II. It made me sick to my stomach to even think about! On a brighter note, BJ did great the whole 3 hour trip. He even met some older ladies who sat next to me that just adored him. He of course thought they were pretty neat too and spent some time on their laps. Yes! It was so hard for me to watch him go to them so easily, but then again he always kept his eyes on me! What can I say, he's a ladies man already!

On Thursday, we took BJ to get his picture taken for his passport and he also had his embassy doctor appointment. In his passport picture, he looks completely "spacey" as they were showing him this very odd looking unicorn to make him smile and pay attention. His little mouth is open and he has a very confused expression on his face as if saying "What is up with that thing you are holding?" Oh well, at least he wasn't crying or refusing to sit for them. He did however put up a fight at the doctors office and all they did was weigh him and take his measurement. Poor little man was up the night before several times due to a storm we had. He woke up fussy and continued that way for the whole day. He was such a little bear! Let's just say it was not a good day for him and he needed sleep!

Unfortunately, it wasn't a good day for my dad either. He woke up Thursday, not feeling the greatest and had a very upset stomach. By the time we all got back from the appointments, he had a fever of 102 and his stomach was a mess if you know what I mean! He toughed it out Tuesday and then we called the English speaking doctor at the Marriott on Wednesday to get him an appointment. It turns out that he had eaten some fruit (forgetting that it still needed washed) with "let's just say" bacteria on it. The doctor gave him an antibiotic and 3 other medicines to take with it. Thankfully he started feeling better Friday and his fever finally broke.

Also, a big thank you to all of you who chose to leave me a kind message about going to church. It meant so much to me and got me really excited about going! We even looked up some that were mentioned in hopes of going today! Sadly, we didn't go. I couldn't get my parents to venture into a new church, I didn't want to go alone and we couldn't figure out what to do with BJ if we all three did go. Instead we spent some quit time with Lord and had our own mini worship service. I know my Jesus is with me wherever I go, I just miss worshipping him in crowds of other believers. It will be here soon though! Thank you again! Who knows, I might get brave enough and try it next Sunday at least once before I leaeve. That would be a perfect ending to this completley blessed trip led by God's Almighty Hand. Don't you think?

After out morning, we set off for Old Town to see some last minute details and pick up a couple souvenirs. The walk was long, but a great success. We were able to see the changing of the guards, live music, the President's Home, and the Royal Palace. We toured the Royal Palace and it was astonishingly beautiful! We don't have any pictures posted except one because I videoed the rooms. We'll try to post some next entry!

Enjoy the pics and thanks again for everything you do. Your prayers, encouragement, help, and suggestions is what is making us through and enabling us to have a blast! Thank You and God Bless You!

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Afraid No More!

If you can remember back a few post, BJ was terrified of bath time! He would scream like crazy! After some trial and error, we finally found a way to give him a sponge bath without him flipping out. After several sponge baths, he started to enjoy the water running down his face. So, we decided to fill the tub just a little to see if he could handle it! Handle it he did and now he can't get enough. He crawls to the tub daily and tries to climb in. Sometimes I just put him in there to play with his bath toys and he is as happy as can be. Last night he was having a blast, so we decided to take some pictures! I was holding up a toy with two holes in it and the water was pouring out. He kept trying to grab it and then he would put his head under it! He was such a riot! I couldn't help but realize that this was his first experience ever with water! Just think, he discovered something at 20 months, that most babies discover before a year old. I'm so glad we get to see these milestones, but at the same time am sad that he went so long without anyone! I wish I could have those years back! However, I am thankful that we have him now! Praise God! We love him like crazy! Enjoy the pictures!

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Homesick & Cute Pics!

Babcia, BJ, DziaDzia

There aren't many items to write about as things have pretty much slowed down for awhile. Thank goodness! However, I must say that I have a slight case of "homesickness." Not the typical "mope around and not eat" kind. (Are you kidding! The food here is great! I hardly go 3 hours without eating. I eat whenever BJ does! I suppose it's a good thing I'm doing a lot of walking!) But the kind when you start missing what your used to such as people, places and things (you know, all the nouns in your life). I am very grateful that my parents are both here and we have been having a lot of fun with BJ! However, I do miss my husband very much and of course I can't leave out my dog Maui. I also miss my bed and various other seemingly unimportant yet missable things.

Something that I really miss and am fairly lost without, is my church and church family. For those of you who know me personally, you know that church has always been a high priority in my life. I consider my relationship with Jesus Christ to be my highest priority and church just slides right in there. I have gone to the same church since I was 3 and will hopefully be able to go there for many more years. I love my church family so much and they are always so supportive, loving , and caring. I seriously consider them family! I also miss everything about church. The hymnals, praise songs, our band, and the sermons! I also miss my small group! To be honest, I haven't missed church more than twice in a row in my entire life! James and I even went to church on our honeymoon in Hawaii! So, not going for over a month has put me in a bit of a slump. Our facilitator was supposed to show us a protestant english speaking church, but never had the time. Granted, Poland is a deeply religious country and there are Catholic Churches on every corner. BEAUTIFUL churches! However, I've never been to a Catholic service and am not sure I would know what to do. But as a great friend pointed out "We serve the same God and church is church. It's all about what's in your heart anyway. Give it a try!" So this Sunday, I might enjoy my first church in over a month! What do you think? Should I go?

On to other matters, BJ seems to be getting along well and is warming up to grandma and grandpa nicely. He's been experiencing some rough patches the last few days. Some due to changed schedules and lack of sleep, others to sickness (we're hoping allergies). We've been giving him some Zyrtec, but that makes him grumpy and mean. I can't even tell you how many temper tantrums he had today. He just looked so drugged and tired. I felt so bad for him. So, I think we're going to skip the med. today and begin looking for something else. I want my sweet little boy back. He also has had some rough naps/nights due to what I think could be night terrors. He hasn't had any recently (Praise God!) but I am still keeping track. The poor little guy wakes up screaming and thankfully is able to calm down after I cuddle him and rock him back to sleep (although I'm not sure he was ever fully awake). His Visas and Passports are in the working and our appeal period is almost over! I can't wait until we are done and he is 100% officially ours! Monday, September 1 is the date!

My parents are enjoying it here, but are themselves getting slightly bored. They have already walked a 3-mile radius around Warsaw and are currently looking for specific places to visit. My dad is also figuring out the tram/bus schedules so that they can move outside the radius! If you know my parents at all, you know they don't like to sit, they like to be on the move. I do most the time, but after being here a month, sitting and playing with my son does it just fine for me! We do however have a tour scheduled for tomorrow and one for Thursday that I am looking forward to. The tours highlight the best parts of Warsaw. I'll post about them soon.

Below are some cute pics from the last week! Please Enjoy!

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