The Wait Just Got a Little Longer

How can we possibly wait TWELVE DAYS to hug and tickle this silly little goose!!

We just got these new pictures tonight.  We're on cloud 9!

PS- this is one of the outfits we sent her.  What in the world size is she going to be?  The jacket fits perfectly and the pants are about 5" too short.  I can TOTALLY relate- my pants are ALWAYS just way too short! :)

Hopping on the Seoul Train...

Well, I guess that should be the Seoul plane. But either way- WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR BABY GIRL!! We got the green light at about 1:30 this afternoon. We'll be nailing down flights soon, but we do know that we'll meet her on May 31st. I can't wait. As I went to look at the calendar, I was struck with how intimate a God we serve. One that is interested in minute details like our family's schedule. The last date that I have anything written on my calendar is the 25th. Then there is NOTHING until June 3rd. Not that we're normally such socialites, but we do have a ton going on in the next few weeks between birthday parties, baseball games, and the end of the school year. Our hotel reservations are from May 26th to June 2nd. It's like He KNEW when we'd be going!! LOL. What a blessing that our kids can just "be" while we're gone and not have anywhere that they need to be taken.

At the exact moment that the phone rang with "THE CALL" Eliza Grace's Pat Pat was walking in the door to bring her a little happy. Her very own Meon. What a great memory this little lion will always hold- the other two have been such a presence in our lives and now this one already is!!

So now we pack & pray. Pray for EG and her foster family and that they would have a very sweet and blessed last week together. Pray that we are able to quickly figure her out and how to comfort her as we get to know each other. Pray for her brother and sister as they also adjust to our new normal. They are so excited!

Lately...

Lately, we've acquired a few new housemates.  Meet Puzzle and Russel . . .

Two turtle hatchlings- different species from each other and really funny to watch.  If you look closely in this picture you can one of the funnier poses they strike- stretching their heads all the way out of their shells and resting them on their rock.  Pathetic!

Lately, Miller got another set of tubes and her adenoids removed . . .

Third times the charm, right?  In the bottom picture, she's recovering, watching cartoons with her get well balloon clipped to her blanket.  She never looses the sense of humor.

Lately, Wilson got upgraded to new bunk beds.  This could possibly be the biggest delivery I've ever gotten from FedEx . . .

I'll post the finished project the next time he cleans his room :)

Lately, I had a great Mother's day with two of my awesome kiddos and their daddy . . .

Lately, we've had some great visits with our cousins (in Kentucky & Tennessee). . .

Sorry to Pete- he moved on from the swing before I got my camera out, but you can see him here.

Lately, we've been partying. . .

 Our friend Bradley turned three.

 Our friend Morgan turned three and had a princess party.

 Miller had her last day of preschool and celebrated with her friends at Jump Zone.

Wilson still has a few more days of school, but they did have field day last week.  How fun.

Lately, we've been counting down the days until we go get our Baby Sister.  We've heard from DC that Eliza Grace's Visa has been issued.  We're waiting for the social worker in Korea to officially inform our agency in Oregon so that they can call to tell us we have a green light.  We are anticipating leaving towards the end of next week!  I wish I had a picture to follow this statement, but we didn't get any with the last Well Baby Checkup report that we received yesterday :(  She is doing well, though.  She's 23 pounds, 32 inches, has eight teeth, is drinking from a cup, walking, running, saying a few (Korean) words, stacking blocks, and doing other great 16 month old things.

So that's what we've been up to, lately.

What a Fun Day

Sorry to say it, but this is another no picture post- but I should have some soon.  Maybe we'll have a picture post tomorrow.  Is the Picture Pages theme starting in your head, too?  Good....


We began the day by finishing up Wilson's new room.  I can't believe how old he's getting and the car bed just isn't cool anymore.  He even said the other day  he's not that interested in seeing Cars 2 this summer.  A moment of silence, please.




We had told him at the beginning of the adoption adventure that if we wound up having a boy, he'd be sharing a room and get bunk beds.  Well of course, he was devastated when our baby turned out to be a girl- because that meant no bunk beds.  Phil reassured him he could still have bunk beds and probably before Eliza Grace got here.  Promise fulfilled.  Wilson now has one of the coolest sets of bunk beds I've ever seen and his room is looking so big kid!!  Alright enough about that, I'm not in the mood to cry.

This morning I found out that someone in our EP batch had been approved.  Later this afternoon we got an email that Eliza Grace's EP had been approved too!!  We're so excited!  The end is sight. What exactly does this mean?  Here's the words directly from our agency's email: (you can skip reading all this if you want- but that means I'll just make something up if you ask later, "so what's next")

Now that my child’s EP has been approved what’s next?



Now that EP has been approved, it is still difficult to determine exactly when your travel call will be. What we know is the following steps need to occur before your child is ready to travel.


· Travel Certificate- Holt Korea will apply to the Ministry of Foreign affairs for the travel certificate after the EP has been approved. This typically takes about a week to gain the approval. We are not notified about this.


· Visa Physical Exam- This is done by an outside Doctor appointed by the US Embassy. This has to be done after the EP and travel certificate have been issued. Usually the exam takes place at the Holt clinic but if the child has special needs the exam is done at the hospital. We will e-mail you when we learn the physical has been scheduled (not everyone in the same EP group receive the same visa physical dates). ·


Class B waiver- This is only needed if the Doctor doing the exam notes something that they want to make sure that the adopting parents are fully aware of. If there is something noted on this form then Holt-Korea has to have a Class B waiver accompany the visa physical when submitting the P3 into the Embassy. The Class B waiver lets the officials know that the adoptive parents are fully aware of what is noted on the visa physical, and would still like to proceed with the adoption. The waiver also has to say exactly what the Doctor noted on the Visa physical, word for word. If you child needs a waiver we will notify your family and send you the waiver by e-mail.·


I600- Holt-Korea does not need your approved I600 until the very last stage of the process (submitting your P3 into the Embassy). Your I600 will only have an effect on your travel time if you delay in filling once you receive your Legals. Once your I600 is approved please send the Eugene office and your branch or co-op a copy.·


P3-The packet that Holt-Korea submits into the Embassy for the one way travel visa. This packet contains; I600, I864, birth/marriage/divorce certificates of adoptive parents, 1040, W2, legal document of child, vaccination certificate, visa physical examination, medical acceptance letter (if needed), photo of child and IR4. This takes 5-8 business days to be approved, if there are problems with any of the documents it will take longer than 5-8 days to be approved. We are not notified when the visa worker submits the P3 into the Embassy.·


VI- Visa Interview-This is new as of November 2009. The foster families now have to physically take the children down to the Embassy for a visa interview. This happens after the paperwork has been submitted into the Embassy. We are not notified about this.·


Final steps to prepare for travel- The final steps after the visa has been issued are the pre-flight report given to all families. This is a one page sheet that has important information such as eating, sleeping and other important things to help with the transition. Also, depending on when your child was last seen by Dr. Jeong he/she might go in for one last visit to make sure they are healthy enough to fly. Once these are taken care of the flight coordinator will start making travel plans for those who are escorting.


For those who are traveling, our staff in Korea will send us an e-mail when your child is fully ready. We will then contact your family so you can start making travel plans.

We don't anticipate the Class B waiver being needed and our I600 is already approved and in all the hands it needs to be in.  So there's two things we can mark off the list.

The coolest part about today is that I've met a new bloggy friend.  Remember back in December when I posted about being matched with Eliza Grace and how we had to decide between her and another little boy?  I met his mamma today on the online bulletin boards for Korean adoption families on Holt's website.  His EP was approved as well.  There is a really good chance we'll be in Korea at the same time as his family and we might get to meet him.  As I told his mamma, he was never mine but I felt soooo responsible for him.  He was sent to the waiting child list after we made our decision.  It was so hard to see Eliza Grace stamped with "I have a family" knowing that a new picture had been added because we had said "no" to him.  I was so relieved when in just a few short weeks he too had a family.  And it is so awesome to have contact with them.  He's going to have 3 older siblings.  I just can't wait to learn more about him!

You Never Know What You'll See When You Geocache!

Love these shots Phil got of Wilson on one of their latest runs...

Spring Has Sprung and Our Lord Is Risen!

The first day of Spring was March 20 and the kiddos woke up to some pretty fun baskets full of things to enjoy this new season with.  I think their favorite is the nets for catching bugs, minnows, frogs and turtles.  The girls got new flip flops and Wilson got a fishing pole.  Everyone got a new book and some seeds for planting.  We are so thankful for God's renewal of his earth each year!

Miller and Wilson planting their seeds.... I think a couple of the sunflowers may actually make it :)

Dying eggs at Pat Pat's house

Dying eggs at Granna's

Miller's school egg hunt

Wilson's egg hunt

Making Resurrection Cookies the night before Easter- we sealed them in our oven ("the tomb") and put soldiers there to guard them.  When we bit into the cookies in the morning- THEY WERE EMPTY!

Wilson on Easter Sunday

Miller on Easter Sunday- wearing a dress my mom MADE for me to wear in a wedding as a flower girl when I was little. 

Easter Sunday with Phil's family at Pop & Mim's

Afterwards, Wilson and Miller got to spend the night with their great grandparents and mom and dad had a date night.  What a great day!

It's Raining Outside . . .

...but we're CELEBRATING!! We just found out that Baby Sister was submitted for EP on APRIL 6th!! The process has begun for her to receive her ONE WAY Visa home! An added bonus is that we have two weeks of waiting for our travel call under our belt and didn't even know it. We now have a window of 4-6 weeks before we travel. So May is a viable possibility, but I'm still guessing we might be on the trip of a lifetime on our anniversary (6/8) and my birthday (6/9).



Wa-hooooooo! What a relief!