Christmas Letter

We decided the other day there are going to be things along the way that we just are going to want to remember and have in the blog timeline...... This Christmas card post is one of them. Most of you got one of these so just ignore this post..... We are just gonna one day want it to be here. If you didn't receive one- please let me know and I will add you to our Christmas list next year- I didn't leave you out on purpose and by no means meant to hurt your feelings!

Dear Family & Friends,

My, where a year has brought us! It was this time last year we were planning out the night we would reveal to our family that we would be adopting. We had that ‘reveal party’ on December 22, 2011. So, the endless paperwork began along with excitement overflowing. What we did not know was that only 8 days later, on December 30, 2011, our third child was born! It still amazes us that these two events took place so close together. We were introduced to our son, Parker, (thru paper) on August 16th which was actually about 3-4 months sooner than we expected. Most of our paperwork is complete and has been submitted to the US Embassy in South Korea, we are now just waiting for them to issue his emigration permission. Sounds like an easy step, but these last couple of steps will likely not be complete until July-October 2013. So….. we continue to wait and we continue to try to raise the last bit of funds we will need to bring him home. We have decided to take Ian and Kinzlee with us to South Korea. In order to be able to be fully available for Parker when we first get him, my parents (Billy Bob & Cindy), will be traveling with us also. (This required a great deal of convincing, I am sure you can imagine!). Once in South Korea, we will spend at least 5 nights. This has consumed a lot of our year, but we are so excited for this time next year when we will all be home together and relaying to you about our trip! While it has consumed a lot- there has been a lot more going on as well!
Ian had a year of firsts…. He played T-ball and soccer for the first time; he started school, and turned 5 in November. He is in Pre-k and absolutely loving it! Of course, anything that involves sports of any kind he is in the middle of. He is such an observant boy who will not miss ANYTHING going on around him and won’t forget ANYTHING he has been told. He will often come home from school with a small prize he got to pick out of the prize box that he picked specifically for his sister. Although, he does have days when he acts like the brother, he is constantly putting her wants/needs before his own. He is very excited about having a new brother and even about sharing his room and sleeping on the top bunk, but he isn’t quite on board with the idea of flying in an airplane for 12+ hours to bring Parker home!
Kinzlee will turn 3 in January and is our Diva! She loves to pester Ian and is more strong willed than Ian could ever have even dreamt. She is a momma’s girl and insists on momma doing EVERYTHING until momma has to go to work. On the night’s momma works, she has got her daddy wrapped tightly around her finger. She loves to be outside with the trampoline being her all time favorite outdoor activity. When she is back in the house, she can usually be found swinging her dolls or dancing/singing to whatever music is on all with Parker’s picture in tow. She also, is very excited about another brother and actually is quite excited about riding in the airplane to go get him. (She has NO idea what 12 hours means!).
I am going to list the many ways you can get in touch with us if you have any questions about our process. Please continue to pray for our family as we go through the next year. Please pray for protection over Parker and his foster family. Pray also for Ian and Kinzlee as we prepare them to have another sibling in the house that is going to require some extra attention from mom and dad for several months and for them to fully understand the difficult time that Parker is going to go through. Please begin to pray for the plane ride and transition time, that we will run into as few obstacles as possible and that Parker will adjust to our family quickly. Thank you for your unending love and support- we can’t make this journey on our own. We want to say thank you to all of you who have already given of your time and finances to help us bring Parker home. We can not wait until the day that we can repay you with more than a thank you! It has taken and will continue to take a network larger than a village! We are currently knitting and selling ruffle scarves as a fundraiser and have about 15 shirts available. If you are interested in either of these and would like more information, please contact us.

www.grubenadoptionjourney.blogspot.com

Kursten: Cell: 325-669-3705 (text or call)
Email: kursteng@att.net

Kendon: Cell: 25-669-6666 (text or call)
Email: kgruben@hnbmail.com

You can also find either of us on facebook. We thank our Lord every day for the friends and family HE has put in our lives. If there is anything we can do for any of you, please don’t hesitate to ask. Praying that you will have a very Merry Christmas and a year filled with fulfilling the mission of Christ!

In Love,
Kendon, Kursten, Ian, Kinzlee, & Parker




5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)