Rest in Peace, Dad and Grandpa

It is with a very heavy heart that I (Christa) write this post. In the very early morning hours on Thursday, October 16th, my Dad, Bill, passed away suddenly. He had been struggling with several serious health issues over the past several years, however, we had no indication that he would go so suddenly. He and Mom had just been in Minnesota this past weekend to help us celebrate Claire's adoption finalization and her baptism. He certainly took advantage of his Grandpa time with Ben and Claire and it was obvious he was savouring it. We feel so blessed to have had this time with him. We are all finding comfort in knowing that Dad is no longer suffering from his health issues. Ben is particularly comforted knowing that Grandpa Bill is now playing fetch with Scouty Dog up in heaven. We will all miss him terribly.

Rest in Peace, Dad. I love you.

Pollylop

Happy Occassions

We celebrated two very happy occasions this past week. First, we had our adoption finalization hearing so, after lots and lots and lots of time and lots and lots and lots of paperwork, fingerprints, background checks, interviews, more paper work, more fingerprints, 2 very long plane rides and still more paperwork, Claire Se Jin Pullen is "officially" part of our family and a U.S. Citizen! This part of our incredible journey is over, but there is so much more to come. We are so very blessed and fortunate to have Claire. Here are some pictures of the big day.

Oh, did I mention that she's walking now? I'll try to post a video clip of her walking, but you can see you walking in this picture.

The following Sunday, Claire was baptized...another blessed occassion.

Uncle Steve and Aunt Teri-Claire's Godparents

Pastor Jan, who did the honors.

We were so thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa Hart could make the trip to Minneapolis to be a part of these two very special occassions.