someone turns 10 months old today!

Happy Birthday, JD!

Your Mom and Dad hope to see you soon ... :)

bueller, bueller ...

We are being held captive by contracters who are working on our old house - improvements being done in preparation for the littlest prince.  All of our furniture is crammed into 3 rooms, until the work is done, so I can barely squeeze myself over to the computer to update this blog.  We're excited to reclaim our home soon!  When I get a chance, I'll post some pictures and updates.  Until then, enjoy the holidays!

- S

a little birdie told me that JD turns 9 months today!

a little love from mom & dad is on its way ...

We sent a care package to JD in S. Korea.  Only requirement was that the contents fit into a 1-gallon zip lock bag.  That's not very big, folks!!

When we travel by plane, my husband is always amazed at how many "toiletries" I can cram into those quart-sized zip lock bags required for carry-on luggage these days.  I was up for the challenge!  Although I do wish we could have sent more :)

Why only a 1-gallon zip lock bag?  It will travel with another adoptive family traveling to Korea to pick up their child and we don't want to take up too much of their limited luggage space.  We could very likely be asked to transport a care pkg for another family when we travel someday.

We had our friend, Jaehee, write a letter from us to the foster mother where we expressed our deep gratitude for all she is doing for JD.  Thanks Jaehee for translating for us! :)

Here's what we were able to stuff in the bag:

baby steps

Just found out today that our adoption approval/Visa paperwork was sent this past Tuesday, Oct 20th to the US Embassy in Seoul.  This is good news! :)  We're making baby steps in this process (yes, that pun WAS intended)! 

Upon receipt, the Embassy sends a packet of info/forms (the P3) to our Korean agency, Eastern, so they can complete JD's forms/Visa application and return to the Embassy. 

Normally, this process would take about 1 month and then we'd be traveling to pick up our little prince.  But since the 2009 Korean emigration quota has been met, our file is stalled until this coming January 2010, when next year's emigration permits are issued. This stall in processing is why we won't travel until February at the earliest.

Counting down the days ...

-S

is JD having fun on his 8-month birthday?

The Magic 8 ball says "Yes - definitely"!

He's getting lots of love & attention from his foster family!  Soon he'll be getting tons of lovin' and having oodles of fun with his mommy and daddy :)

Happy 8-months to my little boy!

- S

one year ago today ...

One year ago today, my beloved Fletcher went to doggy heaven.  He was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who smiled and laughed a lot (for real).  He loved to wriggle around on his back in my bed to entice me to tickle him.  Hence one of his many nicknames - wiggle worm.  He had the kindest soul and the sweetest smell, as well as the cutest little horseshoe shaped butt that I loved to grab (lucky butt was yet another nickname).  I think of him often and he still makes me smile. 

Fletcher was my baby, my shadow, my fluffy little cuddle bug.  He's my little angel now. 

Miss you.  Love you.  May you rest in peace :)

- S

knock knock. who's there?

Our I600 Visa petition approval, that's who!!   Yahoo!!!

So last week I called our adoption agency to solicit their help in getting the USCIS to respond on the whereabouts of our paperwork.  Magically, they got back to her within 2 days stating it had been misplaced but they found it and would get it done right away.  I'm gonna say one thing and then I'm done with this - Misplaced?

Okay, movin' on.  I'm super excited that now we're officially approved by the US Dept of Homeland Security to adopt an immigrant orphan, otherwise known as my cute little man, JD.  Now our file goes to the National Visa Center on the east coast and, assuming it doesn't get misplaced again, our info should be on its way to Korea within a couple weeks for their end of the process.

-S

february is the new december

I got official word from our agency today that there is no chance that we will travel this year. I. Was. Devastated.

From the day we accepted our referral, I knew there was only a 10% chance that we would travel by December, so I told myself to plan for February so I wouldn’t be disappointed. But I always held out hope. That hope was crushed today and guess what?  I’m disappointed!  And sad and angry and frustrated. All those talks I had with myself (don’t tell anyone) to plan for February so I wouldn’t be disappointed didn’t work!

I hate not having control over something so important as bringing my baby home! It’s so frustrating that we’re sitting in our home all ready for our little guy, while he’s sitting over in Korea all ready to start his life with us, and there are these 3rd parties (US and Korean govts) getting in the way of letting it happen sooner rather than later!!

Did I mention that the USCIS (US immigration) is now going on 6 weeks that they’ve had our paperwork (meaning it's not even in Korea yet) and I’ve received zero response from them after repeated email inquiries?!?! This is one of the aforementioned “3rd parties” who is slowing the process down and keeping me from my baby.  Grrrrrr. This mama is hoppin’ mad!  I’m all over them this week ....


- S

a father waits

I have JD's picture in my office and it is amazing how many times a day I find myself looking at his image...wondering what he's doing and how his day is going.  You feel an amazing combination of anticipation, anxiety, frustration and expectation.  As we get older, most of us wish that we could somehow slow down the hands of time.  I certainly feel this way more and more.....but as far as the next 5 months go, I hope that they fly right on by! 

D

seven

JD is 7 months old today!
We're sending him the biggest virtual hug ever!!!

when you wish upon a star ...

So we went to a "waiting family" support meeting at our agency last night. It was a chance to hear the latest goings on in Korean adoption, why the wait for processing has lengthened and what is going on with the annual emigration visa quota. We also got to meet some other waiting parents - some who don't yet have referrals and a few, like us, who do and are waiting to travel.

We learned that there is still a 10% chance we could make it within this year's Emigration quota (set by Korea) and travel by end of the year (December) to pick up our little guy. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that this 10% happens for us!! We'll likely know by mid October if this dream scenario could come true.

If not, then we wait until 2010 Korean Emigration Permits open up. And since January is a slow month with their processing, due to Nat'l holidays, changing of personnel at the various ministries and agencies, then we'd have to wait until February. Boo on that!!

We are 'wishing upon a star' and pray-pray-praying it's DECEMBER!!!!

- S

when is he coming home??!!

We've been told by our agency that we can expect to travel around February of next year ... yes, that's February 2010! Seems like forever away. There's always a slim chance that it could happen sooner, but so we're not disappointed, we're just planning on February-ish.

Reason for the wait? Korea has been slow this year in processing paperwork, PLUS they recently announced they are getting close to reaching their 2009 emigration visa quota. Basically, they only let so many children out of the country each year.

We'll fill up the next 5+ months doing all the things one does to prep for a 1 year old: turning an office into a bedroom - staring at his pictures - painting - staring at his pictures - shopping - staring at his pictures ... and so on, and so on, and so on. We've done nothing up to this point, so all this will help pass the time.

- S

start spreading the news ...

We told our parents this weekend. My parents and family learned at the tail end of my nephew’s birthday dinner on Friday night. I gave my mom what she thought was a framed photo of our new puppy, Ginger. Instead they found a picture of JD. My parents and family were surprised and beyond excited! I, of course, cried. This has been a long time coming.

David’s parents learned with a surprise email photo of JD and phone call (they live in NY and FL). They're all thrilled to hear they are becoming 1st time grandparents!

Some other extended family found out at a weekend gathering – it was so fun to share our news!

Now that we've shared with family, we will shout it from the mountain tops (or maybe just my rooftop) to tell our friends and coworkers!!

- S

the littlest prince on his throne

Here is JD's 5 month photo in the infamous red throne chair at Eastern Social Welfare Society. ESWS is the adoption agency on the Korea side - they have a baby hospital, children's shelter, home for unwed mothers and more. They are currently JD's legal guardian and have placed him with a foster mother to care for him until the Korean Govt approves a Visa allowing him to emigrate to the US.

The foster mothers in Korea love to make sure the children don't go hungry. JD is proof positive of this ... look at those cute chubby cheeks!

- S

good things come to those who wait!!!

1 month old and looking good!

WE HAVE A BABY BOY! Woohoo!! He was born Feb 18, 2009. He's 1 month old in the above picture. He was a little over 5.5 months on the magical day that we received his referral, which was August 7, 2009.

We’ve decided to name him JD.

It was a Friday and we were both at work. We received an email and 3 voicemails from a social worker at our agency (my work phone, my cell phone and David's cell phone)! I was in meetings and when I stopped at my desk David happened to call and said "The agency has been trying to get a hold of us, they say they have a referral"!! So we phone conferenced with the agency to learn about our little guy. They then emailed his background/medical info and beautiful photos. Those photos ... we couldn’t stop looking at and talking about his cute pictures!!

We were excited and nervous. Other adoptive parents recommended that we wait to share the news until we officially accepted, so we both had to wear a poker face the rest of the day at work. Thank goodness I was able to sneak out of work a bit early, as I couldn’t wait to get home so I could stare at his photos some more! I immediately sent his info to the International Adoption Clinic at the U for their review of his file. They got back to us before the end of the day saying he was a big, beautiful healthy boy!!

We verbally accepted the referral that Monday, Aug 10, 2008 and then the myriad of “acceptance” paperwork needed to be completed. Luckily we were on vacation this week so could focus on getting everything done in 2 days - we had it to the agency by Wednesday so they could send it to Korea for processing.

FINALLY!!! We are beyond happy! :)

He IS the littlest prince.

- S

patience is a virtue. really?

We're patiently waiting. One thing I've learned about myself since we started the adoption process almost 3 years ago is that I'm patient. I'm tired of being patient :)

- S