Merry Christmas!!!

We were very pleased to see a new photo in our email today. It looks like someone may have just woken up from a nap. :-)

I love the longer hair. I suppose that this is his winter doo.

I really wish we could show you his foster mother's face. She's a very sweet lady and always seems to have a smile on her face.

We know that Gavin is so loved and cared for by this wonderful lady and her family. We can't wait to meet them and thank them in person for all that they have done for our sweet boy. Knowing he is with a family that loves him so much, makes the wait easier.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!!

1st "family pic"

Wonderful Weekend + Nov. WBC and Pics= Bliss!

What can I say, we love weekends!

...and this one was lovely. On Saturday one of my besties from a previous campus that I worked at, threw me a baby shower. I appreciate the time and effort that she put in to making it so special. Loved all of the games that we played and the cupcakes were to die for!

One thing that made it extra special were the people who were there. My mom was able to travel to this shower too and the friends that were there were mainly friends who I rarely get to see, since we seem to be spread out around the district...sigh! (btw my district has 70 elementary schools in it, YIKES!)

It was a special day and I am so grateful to have a special friend like EFG!

...and then later that afternoon when I picked up the mail, I saw an envelope with National Visa Center on it. Inside it explained that our paperwork was on it's way to the Embassy in Seoul, Korea! I have to say that knowing we weren't traveling until 2012 has made us sluggish in getting some things prepped for Gavin, but I have to admit...this letter has started making us feel a tad excited for the coming year.

...and finally...today when I was checking my email, what did I see, but an email with a Well Baby Check and pics of our sweet boy! It really was a treat. He seems to be getting taller each month. He's almost 33 inches and his weight hasn't changed much, still at 25 pounds...but that's probably due to the fact that he's beginning to finally walk!

Sigh...can I say with each new pic that we get, the excitement is starting to build. Of course when the New Year hits and people start to travel I'm sure that we will be on a roller coaster of a ride!

We can't wait...and we can't wait for you to follow us to Korea and back!

Showered with Love

Yesterday two of my besties from work, ARG and MSS, hosted a beautiful baby shower for me.

As guests approached the front door, this is the message they were greeted with when they entered the house. Super cute, right?

It was a wonderful celebration filled with family and friends. My mom, as well as Matt's mom and sister were able to join in, which was a special treat.

Every detail was perfect! Fabulous food, decorations, etc... I love that they incorporated Korea into the shower, too! Trivia included facts about Korea and our little man. Guests were given favor bags with Korean tea and candy, and Pororo even made an appearance on gift bags.

One very special activity was each guest wrote "wishes" for Gavin. Beautiful. It makes me teary thinking about the wishes that were written for him.

The hostesses went above and beyond!

Thank you ARG and MSS! I couldn't ask for better friends and I definitely know I couldn't make it through the school year without you!

We are Unofficially Paper Ready!

Yes indeedy, we are unofficially paper ready!

On Tuesday I happened to have some extra time on my hands, so I decided to call and see if our I600 had been approved.

This is the first time I've called to check on paperwork, and I can see how I could become totally addicted to calling, except for the fact that teaching 22 second graders prevents me, LOL!

(I know you may be wondering how I did it on Tuesday...and I was at home with strep, blech!)

When I was transferred to our case officer, she said that we are approved and she would send out the official approval paperwork by Friday!

This is the last piece of paperwork that we needed from the U.S.

...and now we wait.

Friends keep reminding us that the new year is not far away. January is literally only, wow, it's only 7 weeks away! I can't believe it!!!

So, during Thanksgiving Vacation this household will start doing some prep work for a toddler, in hopes that he will be coming home soon!

Surprise, surprise an October WBC!

I have to say I LOVE Fridays!

What made this Friday even better than most was opening my email and seeing that we had a Well Baby Check. It's a really wonderful surprise since I thought we wouldn't get an update until November. I know, I know it's November now, but the WBC is dated from October. Looking around at other friends posts, it looks like today was the day to get an update.

Gavin is now 32.4 inches and weighs 25.3 lbs.

He can say a few words and is becoming more active each month. I can only imagine what he will have in store for us when he finally comes home!!!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

November is National Adoption Month

Did you know that November is National Adoption Month?

Here is a beautiful video that kimbapumma made to celebrate adoption.
(You might see a familiar face or 2)

Autumn

A few weekends ago, I traveled to Wisconsin for my grandfather's funeral. Although he will be missed, we are happy that he had a long and healthy life. When we arrived at the wake I was touched to see a satin heart shaped pillow with a rose from each of the great-grandchildren, including Gavin. Although I am saddened my grandfather will not have the opportunity to meet Gavin, I know that he, like our many other relatives who have passed before him, are looking down and watching over all of us as we wait to become a forever family.

If there is a "best part" about funerals, it's the fact that you get to see family. With our family spread around the country it was a blessing that we were able to join together to say goodbye. In addition, we were able to spend the next day at the Elegant Farmer. Can I say, that I love Autumn in Wisconsin? I love the weather change and that you can actually wear sweaters without overheating once you step into a building...and of course the beautiful fall colors.

Here are a few pics from our family day that weekend. I hope you are enjoying a beautiful autumn weekend, wherever you may be!

Special Friend: Kimbap Umma

One of the things that I value most as an adult adoptee is having friends that are also adult adoptees. I have to say that I really lucked out when I found a group of friends who are not only adult adoptees from Korea, but they are also in the process to bring sweet babies home from Korea through the adoption process.

Today, one of my friends shared a video on her blog, from when she and her family revisited the orphanage where she had been left. I always enjoy what she posts in regards to her adoption story and with her permission, I believe you will too! Please click on the link below.

kimbap umma

Update x 3

This past week was the week of updates.

Our first update was from the agency saying that the last batch of EPs were submitted. I wish I could say that we were in that batch, but 2012 is going to be our year! (I always tell Matt that years that end in an even number are better, he just laughs) Realistically, we knew we would not be traveling this year, but you never know what could have happened, right? So, my prediction is if everything runs smoothly on both sides of the ocean, we will be traveling to bring Gavin home sometime in the first half of the year. 

The second update was a progress report which included the new pics!

A tidbit is that he enjoys food...and already eats soup, bananas, baby food, cheese, and apple juice. As a first time mama, I'm not sure if this is the norm or not for this age, but it sounds like he has a healthy appetite and by the time he comes home will probably be able to eat what we're eating or we'll eat what he eats, lol!

We can definitely tell our baby boy is loved and cared for and for that we will be eternally grateful. I can't wait until we meet his foster family so we can thank them in person for everything that they have provided for our sweet boy.

Our third update was a well baby check!

Gavin is  about 32 inches and weighs 25 pounds. He has 4 teeth on the top and 4 teeth on the bottom. It looks like he's progressing right along. When we finally meet him he'll probably keep us running in circles, which we will LOVE!

While we wait we are relaxing...and our dogs have it down perfectly!!! Little do they know how much their lives are going to change in 2012!!!

Smile!!!

This email made our Monday!!!

Sweet boy! How we wish you were home with us right now! We promise we are waiting for you as patiently as we can.

Looking back at the first care package post, that top is 18 months so it looks like Gavin is growing like a weed!

I have to tell you, the last time we got an update was back in July, so this was exactly what we needed! A picture, a monthly update, they mean soooo much!!! It definitely makes waiting more bearable!

Happy Monday everyone!

Happy Birthday!!!

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone, But still miraculously my own, Never forget for a single minute, You didn't grow under my heart, But in it...

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear....

Happy Birthday to you!

It's hard to believe that our sweet baby boy turned one today.

Gavin Min-Seo Parker was born on September 24, 2010 at 6:29 p.m. weighing 7.7 pounds.

When we received our referral we tried to backtrack through the year to figure out what we were doing when he was born. 6:29 p.m. in Korea is 4:29 a.m. here, so...we were sleeping at a Hyatt Place in Oklahoma City. However, when we were trying to pinpoint what we were doing at 6:29 p.m. last year on September 24th (USA time), we realized we were driving in a rain storm outside of Lincoln, NE heading for my aunt and uncle's house in Iowa.

*We did go to a Nebraska game that weekend.*

Every month there is a birthday celebration for all of the babies/children who are waiting to unite with their forever families. For babies who are turning one, they have a traditional Korean 1st Birthday Celebration, Tol, where the babies are wearing their hanboks, and the Toljabee ceremony. Many families have received pictures from their baby's first birthday after they travel, so hopefully we'll get to see pics from this very special occasion.

We wish we could have been with Gavin to celebrate his first birthday but we think it is special that he was able to celebrate with all of the other babies who are waiting to come home, as well as the foster families who love these precious children as if they were their own. In fact, a baby boy who will be coming home to Texas, turns 1 on September 28th. I'd love it if there is a picture of them together in Korea since we know they will be life long friends.

Today, we had lunch at our favorite Korean restaurant in honor of Gavin's first birthday and as you can see from the first picture, we bought him a t-shirt so he will be ready for the 2012 football season. Gavin also received a special serenade from his cousins and aunt. If I only knew how to convert voice mail to an mp3! The message was greatly appreciated and will be saved until Gavin can hear it himself!

Our wish for you Gavin is that you continue to grow and flourish under the loving care of your foster family. We think about you every single day. We cannot wait until our special forever family day!

Today we also think about your birth mother. We hope that she has found peace.

As always, we are so thankful to his foster mother and father who provide Gavin with love, care, happiness and treat him as their own son. We cannot wait until we meet so we can thank you in person!

Thanks ARG for making the cute name banners and taking pics!

Goodies

We had a very short, but sweet visit from my parents on Wednesday. They were returning from the refreshing summer weather of northern Wisconsin.

A nice surprise was my mother painted a picture of the Byodo-in Temple, located on the beautiful island of Oahu. When we traveled to Hawaii this was one of our favorite stops. If you were/are a fan of the TV series Lost, this is where they filmed Sun's parents home in Season 1.

We also are the benefactors of some goodies from my sister. It's mighty nice that Baby Parker has some older cousins. Now, we have some toys, books, etc... In the "clothing department" it is especially helpful that one of Baby P's cousins happens to be a boy. We thank you Galbraiths for all of the goodies that were sent down to Texas!

No news from the agency. We should hear something soon whether it's a Well Baby Check or some new pics, especially since his first birthday is only a week away. Of course we would love to get his legal documents, too! We can say that we are waiting as patiently as we can. :-)

Have a great weekend!

추석 Chuseok – Harvest festival-Korean Thanksgiving)

Happy Chuseok!

Chuseok is a 3 day holiday which is being celebrated from September 11-13 this year. It is one of Korea's biggest national holidays. Please check out Talk to Me in Korean's blog article about Chuseok/Korean Thanksgiving!

Care Package #2

Care package #2 is officially on it's way to Korea. It should be there by next Wednesday.

This happens to be Baby Parker's Birthday Care Package. Yep that's right Baby P turns one on the 24th! It's kind of surreal, that's the only way I can describe it. I have to admit it was a tad bittersweet looking at the birthday cards. If you've ever picked out a birthday card for a one year old, many of them talk about the milestones and things that you have been a witness to during the first year...no I did not have a meltdown in Hallmark, but my eyesight might have gotten a tad blurry. Thank goodness for his monthly well baby checks and the the picture updates. We even requested a video...so cross your fingers! Oh and I'm really hoping that his foster mother will put that hat on his head if they take a picture with this care package. :-)

...and yes we continue to wait. One item that we are still waiting on is the legal documents from Korea. I am really hoping that we will receive them the first week in October. There is only one thing left that we need to do in the US and that involves his legals. So hopefully we will see them in less than a month.

We know people are interested in Baby Parker's name once he comes to America. We have it narrowed it down to two. Don't worry we won't keep you hanging too much longer. The names that our family and friends love are: Optimus Prime from my dad, Li'l Al from my sister Alison, and our neighbor always asks me about Cory, LOL!

We hope you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather in your neck of the woods. It's cooled down here, now if we could just get some rain!

Welcome Back!!!

A Piece of Korea in San Antonio

Last year I read about a Korean Pavilion that had been built in San Antonio. I decided I would check it out, but unfortunately the park hadn't opened yet. Today, even though it is still crazy hot we wanted to get out of the house and do something. I thought surely construction is over by now...and it was! These pics were taken with my iPhone...not too shabby! I'm sure many more pics will eventually be taken here. Here is a link if you are interested in learning more about the Korean Pavilion.

Yay, New Pic!

We were thrilled to see a new pic of Baby Parker with his foster mom in our email this afternoon!

I put a pair of sunglasses on his foster mother to protect her privacy. Yes, I totally stole the idea from another parent who is adopting.

We are happy to see that he appears to be happy and healthy and that he received our care package!

Right now we are waiting for his legals. It can take up to two months to receive them...so they should be arriving fairly soon. After we receive that paperwork, we need to file one more form, wait for approval...and then we wait until 2012 and see what the new year will bring!

San Antonio Riverwalk-Museum Reach

We finally made it to the new section of the Riverwalk. Beautiful!!!

Adoption Past and Present...and Yes, We're Still Waiting

The other day when I was looking for my Citizenship Day Papers, I happened to come across the booklet that was given to my parents when they were adopting me.

I enjoyed reading about the adoption process back in the "old days". Most of the paperwork is very similar to what we have filled out such as autobiography, copies of different certificates, photographs, etc... There are also some differences such as you need a letter from your bank, letter of recommendation from your minister, if your child is under 2 1/2 years old it specifically says that the wife will not work more than 25 hours per week outside of the home, and there is more emphasis in how much the husband's salary is over the wife's.

Travel is different, too. Currently, families have the option to have the baby escorted or you can travel to Korea to pick up your child. If you travel, like we plan on doing, from the time you get a call from your agency you must travel within a week to get your baby. When my parents adopted me, escorting was the only option allowed, and according to this booklet you would get 2 or 3 days advance notice of when your baby was arriving and it looks like the baby wasn't necessarily flown to the nearest airport to you. For example my parents were living in Racine, WI at the time and they had to pick me up in Minneapolis, MN.

The one item that I do chuckle at that has not changed one iota says "patience is required, a very important factor in the whole adoptive process is the family's ability to have adequate patience throughout the adoptive process..." And, I must say that most families' patience is put through the test.

We are definitely in a waiting stage at this point in time. I've mentioned it before that in order for Baby Parker to travel to the United States he will need an Emigration Permit from Korea, and that is what most families are patiently waiting for. Best case scenario (and this is our own prediction) is that we will be able to travel by February 2012 to bring him home. However, there are a lot of things happening in Korea to reform adoption (which is a good thing) that could possibly affect our time of travel. So...we wait. :-)

We want to say thank you for the love and support that our friends and family have provided along the way, especially during this long stretch of time as we wait to get the magical telephone call telling us it's time to travel!

A special thank you goes out to my mom and dad who started the adoption journey for all of us when they brought me home...and thank you for all of your love and support through Baby Parker's adoption...we would not be bringing our sweet baby home without you. Love you!!!

Citizen USA

Today I watched a documentary on HBO called Citizen USA. It was really interesting. It was about a documentary film maker, who after watching her husband become a US citizen, decided to go around to all 50 states to observe and ask people why they would want to become US Citizens. I really enjoyed hearing people talk about being a US Citizen, the new freedom that they experience here, and why the new freedom is so meaningful.

Of course, after watching the documentary, I decided I needed to find pictures of when I became a US Citizen.

This picture is taken outside of the courthouse in Marquette Michigan when I was 5 years old.

The day seems like a blur to me. Unfortunately, I do not remember a lot from that special day.

Looking at the picture below it looks like the majority of the new citizens were children...and I'll take a guess that we were adoptees. I think when Baby Parker becomes a citizen it will be less than a year from when we bring him home, so the turn around for citizenship is one thing that is actually quicker! :-)

Thanks Grandma Parker!

This lucky baby has 2 grandmas who love to sew. This bib happens to be from Matt's mom. Cute, right? :-)

Beautiful Seoul Project : Time Lapse in Seoul 2011

Oh my goodness! Check out this beautiful video of Seoul! I can't wait to travel!!! This video gave me goosebumps and makes me feel very sentimental! This is on a mommy's blog who is also adopting from South Korea, and I also have to share that our sweet babies also have the same birthday. :0)

Seoul Time Lapse 2011 from Oh Choong Young on Vimeo.

Care Package #1

Tomorrow we are sending our first care package to Korea for Baby Parker. It was fun picking out items to send to him and his foster parents. The care package includes:

-Teething Toy, since his last well baby check said he has 2 teeth and we're pretty sure more are on their way

-Baby Snoopy

-Baby Soft Photo Album

-Blanket

-3 outfits...I'm curious if they are the right size....I know you go by the labels and the baby's height and weight However, it is a tad confusing when different stores have different a different height and weight for a different size...hopefully we'll get a picture and we'll see if we were right, LOL!

-Vitamins for his Foster Parents

-Chocolate for his Foster Parents

I know one question that is on people's minds is do we have a name picked out...and seriously we really don't. We've discussed quite a few names. However, we can't seem to agree on one. We plan on having a name picked out by his birthday...so that gives us another 3 months to find the perfect name for our baby boy.

Happy 10th Anniversary!!!

10 years and going strong!

Introducing-Baby Parker

Here he is!!! It's Baby Parker. Don't worry his first name is not Baby or Parker, but we really are stuck on names, so you're going to have to wait a little bit longer.

Our sweet baby boy was born on September 24, 2010 weighing 7.7 pounds. His 8 month baby check says he is now 29.9 inches and weighs 22 pounds, so it looks like he's definitely growing. Not having a clue how big that is I took a look at some baby clothes the other day and it looks like he's wearing 18 month clothes. It will be interesting to see if his growth pattern continues like it is, or if it will taper off. My mom said at one point she thought I was going to be really tall, and as you know I am only 5' 2, LOL.

And now we wait...hopefully the wait won't seem soooo long, but I'm sure as time passes we will become more and more anxious. We've already started putting together a care package to send over to Korea. This weekend we will be going to some adoption training which is provided by our social services agency. I'm interested to see if there will be any other families that are also adopting from Korea at the training.

Have a great weekend!!!
Love,
Jen & Matt

Acceptance Paperwork-Check!

Yesterday was amazing and crazy! I am totally ready to take a mega nap today, but I'll write this post first. ;-)

I got to have an amazing lunch with a fellow Korean adoptee, who is also adopting from Korea. We went to a wonderful Korean restaurant, which I know I'll visit again and the best part of course, was just talking, and talking, and talking some more... 3 hours later, I think the only reason we stopped talking was because we both noticed we had missed calls from our adoption agency that we're using, as well as emails from the agency.

And...you guessed it both of our emails had our acceptance paperwork packets in them! So last night and this morning all of us have been busting through the paperwork so our agency gets it by tomorrow morning. Let me tell you, my eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head and they are really tired. Hopefully we filled everything out correctly. I'm pretty confident we did on some of the forms, but on the government ones...I'm going to be biting my nails waiting to hear back from the agency.

The best part about both my friend and I getting our acceptance paperwork together and mailing it in on the same day is that we should be traveling together!!! That would make the trip even more special than it already will be!!!

Okay, so we know you're waiting for a picture and we can't wait to share. However, the acceptance paperwork needs to be on it's way to Korea. So, like a lot of things with adoption I'll say that the wait should only be about 1 or 2 weeks before you will get to see a pic. :0)

June 9th, Part 2--- IT'S A BOY!!!!

Yes friends, it is hard to believe that we are announcing we already have a referral for a sweet baby boy! And again, this happened on a date, that somewhat had significance to me. On Thursday I was at the district's TECH Camp helping teach the last class I would teach as my current role as a CIT. If you haven't seen my previous post, I will be going back into the classroom next year. So in a way I was considering it "my last day on the job." Well, since I was the "driver" I didn't think it would hurt to have my cell phone out on silent. At 3:15 I saw my phone light up with an Austin area code. And I thought, could it really be possible?!?! Could we already be getting a referral?!?!? And to my great surprise, it was!!!!

To say it is unbelievable is an understatement. It is surreal to think we have a baby waiting for us in Korea. :0)

Now, we know that you're wondering do we have a name, not yet. We're still considering...

Of course you are probably curious about a picture and more info about our "big" bundle of joy. However, you're going to have to wait until our acceptance paperwork is off to Korea. Hopefully you will not have to wait longer than a week!

Seriously folks, this time when I say we are going to have to wait for awhile I am totally serious. I know everytime I say we're going to have to wait, we turn around and BAM we're announcing something new. But really due to the Emigration Permit process we don't think we will be traveling until 2012. (Some agencies have already run out for the year)

Granted, we never know...obviously we've been wrong quite a bit this year! :0)

Thanks for all of the love and support!

i600a-check!

I guess we didn't have to wait until our anniversary or the 4th of July! We received our approval letter in the mail today! It was a very nice surprise! So we're on to referral, which is when we get matched with a baby!

Other than that, summer vacation has started and if you've looked at the weather reports you know that it is HOT, HOT, HOT in Texas.

A Great Visit with Great Friends

Tonight we had some special visitors at the Parker Household. That's right, friends of ours from college came to visit! It's hard to believe we're old enough to have known each other for 17 years. Boy, I hope that the math is wrong. We met our freshman year in college, and I actually double checked my work and it has been 17 years. Crazy...essentially we've known each other half our lives. Sean competes internationally in the Scottish Highland Games and he was in the Texas Scottish Festival last weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch him compete, but we hope to in the near future. Luckily for us they continued to drive south so we got to see them! Okay, I am still dwelling on how long we have known each other. I don't think I can get past that number. Well, all I can say is we look forward to adding even more years to this special friendship.

I'm sure you're wondering if anything has happened with the adoption process. And...nope, we are still waiting for a form to be approved by the government. I think I mentioned before how a lot of things have been approved around a holiday or significant date for us. So, maybe we'll see some movement around our anniversary or the 4th of July...of course if it's sooner than that, we will not complain.

We hope you're enjoying your summer and if you could send some rain or cooler weather to us, we would appreciate it! :-)

Back In the Saddle Again

No, I'm not going horseback riding...our school district has finally succumbed to some major budget cuts, so next year I will be going back to the classroom. For a short time, I thought that I was being displaced from the campus, meaning the district was going to place me at a random campus to fill a spot. Truth be told, I was nervous especially since I'm certified to teach up to 8th grade. Luckily, I will get to teach second grade at the current school I'm at, which is the grade level that I taught for 8 1/2 years before I became a CIT. I am pretty thrilled about that. I'm also happy that I will get to stay at my current campus. This year was our inaugural year, so to leave would have been pretty disappointing. Although I will miss my current position, I do look forward to having "my own class" and having the opportunity to continue to work with some pretty amazing people. :0)

P.S. This weekend I went to a friend's birthday party and her sister, who happens to be a junior in high school, talked about some peers of of hers which happen to be former second grade students of mine, YIKES! I am getting OLD, lol!

'Stuff n Things'

This past week we went to our favorite Korean restaurant, Ilsong Garden. I LOVE it! I could literally eat there every day and every meal. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but I know I could definitely eat there more than once a week. As usual I had my fav, which is bi bim bop, and then even though the ban chan are essentially the same I had to eat them, too. Of course, as tradition has it I will always try to convince Matt to eat something coated in the kimchee sauce, but he learned after visit number two which dishes to avoid, LOL! I have a friend who says that a different Korean restaurant, Kiku Garden, is better. Since we haven't been there yet, I can't say, but I really don't need an excuse to go and eat Korean food.

This week the adoption community was sad to learn that Dr. Kim Duk Whang passed away. He established Eastern Social Welfare Society. I would consider him the founding father of international adoption in Korea. He is the gentleman who helped facilitate my adoption. This wise gentleman was beloved and will be greatly missed.

One of the many ways that Dr. Kim, Duk Whang (founder and former Chairman of the Board of Eastern Social Welfare Society/ESWS) demonstrated his fatherly devotion and dedication to each child in Eastern's care was to pray a special blessing over each child prior to his/her departure to their new adoptive family.

As for adoption news...that's right, we are still waiting! I think maybe our i600a will be approved around our anniversary?!?! Once that form is approved then we are really in the running for a referral. I learned this week that you need that approved before you can move on.

One more thing...after looking at how many different topics are in this post, I'll try to post more frequently. :0)

Fingerprints...and some other Stuff

Today we went to get our fingerprints scanned. I wish there was a funny story or something to share about the experience, but we essentially went in, only had to wait about 5 minutes and then we were done. It's just one more thing that we can check off the list. It's supposed to take about a month for approval for the I600a...and I know I keep repeating this phrase, but now we are waiting, again until the next thing we can cross of our list. :0)

A Korean Culture Tidbit: Tomorrow, May 5th is Children's Day in Korea.
"Children's Day (Eorini nal) is a South Korean national holiday celebrated
on May 5. It was founded by the Korean children's writer and storyteller Bang Jung-hwan in 1923 as a way to instill in the children a sense of independence and national pride. Children's Day highlights the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect. It is also a day to honor adults that have contributed to improving the lives of children."
http://www.dodoland.com/childrenday3.php
Happy Children's Day!!!

Of course, on Sunday is Mother's Day. I wish all mothers a very Happy Mother's Day! The picture at the bottom of my post is when my mother first held me in her arms after I was escorted to America.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sandfest 2011

Last weekend we went down to Port Aransas, Texas to see Sandfest. It was pretty amazing seeing all of the different sculptures. We weren't able to see what the sculptures looked like at the finish, but what we did see was pretty fabulous. One thing that we noticed while walking around was they had gallons of glue by each entry. Not exactly sure how they incorporated that... They also had an amateur contest, which looked very professional. While at Sandfest we had the chance to eat some really fun food like fish tacos, Texas fries, cheese cake on a stick, deep fried Oreos, etc... We were able to visit with friends and family and were treated like royalty at my parent's house. I'm sure we will all be back in Port A. sometime soon. It was a wonderful weekend made with special memories.



...and the story continues...I told Matt that I thought I heard something in the ceiling. He told me I was just hearing things, LOL. Well, later on he called me to come downstairs and listen...and yup, there's nothing like hearing something crawling around on your ceiling. Don't you just love the little claws click clacking away? EWWWW!!! You would think the dogs would react to a raccoon being in our house especially since I've seen two of them tug an oppossum between them like a toy, but they just went to sleep. Today a pest control company came out and told Matt that we have damage on our roof thanks to a raccoon. They left a trap, so hopefully the little guy will be captured soon...we tried to look in the trap tonight, but we coudln't see a thing.

Adoption Update: The major thing we are waiting for is a referral, which won't come until the end of summer or early fall. Some of you may have noticed people asking about what number we are in line. Well, we may be numbered. However, our agency does not tell us what number we are, especially since they have said the referral of a child does not necessarily go in order of when home study was received. So, there is a chance we could get a referral before my predicted timeframe. When we got home from Port A. we did have a letter from immigration letting us know our fingerprinting will be scheduled soon...and today we got a letter from our agency officially letting us know that our Homestudy has been Sent to Korea!!! We hope you have been enjoying some beautiful spring weather and have a very Happy Easter!

Homestudy-Is-Approved!!!

Today we received an email telling us that our homestudy is approved!!! Here is a quote from the email, "...BIG milestone achieved." Wowee! It's beginning to sink in, that we are really going to become parents. :0) Somewhere in Korea, our baby is being taken care of by their foster family, waiting to be assigned to us to become their forever family. We know you're probably wondering, what's next? The next major step will be a referral, which is when we will get matched with a baby. When will that happen? My guess is probably not until around the very end of summer.

Last night I had the chance to talk to a fellow adoptee who is also adopting from Korea. Sad to say she lives on the east coast, but we have plenty of reasons to visit the east coast so I know that someday we shall meet! Anyway...she also received some exciting news. She and her husband received their referral!!! I am thrilled for them! It would have been awesome if we had been able to travel at the same time, but I am extremely happy that this momentous step has occurred in their journey. Our chat must have brought good luck to both of us, so maybe we'll have to chat more often!!!

I think it's always nice to have a picture with a post, so today I chose one where our family was celebrating. This was a picture from my newphew's baptism. It also happens to be his dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Joe! We hope that you had a wonderful day and now April 5th will always be a special day for 3 special reasons! :0)

A Sweet Treat

When one of my principals would say,"someones' been drinking the water", the staff would know that someone was going to have a baby. I believe we've had 8 people who must have "drank from the same fountain" this year. One of the special ladies was our guidance counselor. A few of us gathered to make these sweet treats, AKA cake balls for her shower at school. First, my friend baked one box of cake and then mixed it with a half container of frosting. Next, we formed the cake balls. My friend is very artistic. I consider her the "craft queen" of our group. Going to her house is like going to Hobby Lobby/Martha Stewart's studio. While we were forming the cake balls, she had melted candy coating and was piping flowers onto wax paper. It's a good thing she did, because her beautiful flowers had to hide my attempt at trying to dip the cake balls into the candy coating.LOL! I admit, that after dipping the cake balls I thought I would never do it again. However, they were so tasty, that I know sometime in the future there will be another cake ball making session. (There are probably some steps I'm leaving out, so you'll want to google cake balls before making them)

By the way, if you love the beautiful photos in this post, as well as some of the photos in the last animoto I created, please stop by my talented friend's
photo site: arg photographs We are all very proud of her and know that she will have much success in her new business venture!