On Thursday afternoon we got our I-600 approval in the mail. It had been approved on the 20th (which shocked me since it was President's Day) and that means we're one step closer on the US side.
On the Korean side there still isn't any movement but now there's a glimmer of light....we heard on MPAK (an awesome blog that tries to keep us apprised of what's going on in Korea and advocates for the children!) that the Korean Ministry has said that they will start processing EPs sometime next week (March 5-9). They haven't finished all that they have to firm up for August, but they're going to move forward for now. This is fantastic news and while we're all a bit nervous to get our hopes up, they're already soaring!
There's also a wonderful prayer movement going on (you can see that on MPAK as well). We're asking everyone we know to pray at 7 pm EST (9 am in Seoul) for movement in Korea! Please join us!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
2 months...
2 months ago tomorrow we got a phone call that we'd been waiting for longer than we thought we would! 2 years, 1 month, and 3 days after starting the process we finally heard that we had a son in Korea! The reason SWS stopped giving out referrals back in May was so that there wouldn't be a long wait for travel, unfortunately the Korean government didn't start processing exit permits (EPs) in January like they have each year in the past. We'd heard possibly mid-February, but no word yet. There are many who have waited much longer that we have and their babies are getting older without knowing their permanent families.
PLEASE JOIN ME IN PRAYING FOR MOVEMENT FROM THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT ON SUNDAY NIGHT AT 7PM EST (MONDAY MORNING AT 9 AM IN KOREA). THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN WAITING TO JOIN THEIR FAMILIES. PLEASE PRAY THAT THEY WILL START ISSUING EPs FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FOR PEACE FOR ALL THE WAITING FAMILIES. I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER, DO YOU? (Stolen from Kala's blog - thanks Kala!).
PLEASE JOIN ME IN PRAYING FOR MOVEMENT FROM THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT ON SUNDAY NIGHT AT 7PM EST (MONDAY MORNING AT 9 AM IN KOREA). THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN WAITING TO JOIN THEIR FAMILIES. PLEASE PRAY THAT THEY WILL START ISSUING EPs FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FOR PEACE FOR ALL THE WAITING FAMILIES. I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER, DO YOU? (Stolen from Kala's blog - thanks Kala!).
Monday, February 13, 2012
Helping Friends Fundraise
If you're looking for a way to support adoption but you're not ready to adopt....
OR
If you're an adoptive family who wants some cool gear
OR
You just want to check out the cool shirts, jewelry, etc. that my friend is selling then wait no longer:
Go HERE or HERE and help them out. They are so close to bringing their sweet boy home! And once he's home.....
We get to go bring OUR sweet boy home! Praying all of these babies home soon!!!
OR
If you're an adoptive family who wants some cool gear
OR
You just want to check out the cool shirts, jewelry, etc. that my friend is selling then wait no longer:
Go HERE or HERE and help them out. They are so close to bringing their sweet boy home! And once he's home.....
We get to go bring OUR sweet boy home! Praying all of these babies home soon!!!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Update! :)
I can not begin to tell you how happy I am that we got an update. When I first opened it there were just 4 pictures. They were beautiful but sad because my little boy is scared of strangers. You could see the tears in his eyes and it broke my heart. Thankfully when Brian and I finally sat down together to look at the CD there were a lot more pictures including a few happy ones, and some awesome video of our boy. You can tell that his foster family adores him and that he really loves his foster Mom and foster sister (who was also in the pictures). I can't wait to meet them. I hope we have the opportunity to meet the foster siblings, but I'm not sure we will.
The update said that he's scared of strangers (the pictures very clearly told this story too) but that he did regain his smile soon (I really think he's a smiley guy when he's not scared). Also he participated in a dol ceremony which is traditional for a first birthday in Korea. A tray of objects was in front of him and what he chooses gives us a hint at his future. He chose a pencil which means he will be a scholar! My smart boy! He takes after his big brother and big sister already! We can not wait to have him home. I can not tell you how much my heart hurt to see those tears and not be able to wipe them away or pick him up in a big hug. I also know that right now if I did that, it would make him cry b/c I am a complete stranger to him. Praying that the things we sent help to ease the transition a bit. Not sure if he has his package yet. I was really hoping he would have it by Valentine's Day. Not that it really matters.
Next steps:
Still praying for those EPs to be submitted! Say an extra prayer this weekend that they would start this week!!!
Praying for I-600 approval (we probably have a few weeks on this, but hopefully it'll happen without any problems).
Praying for peace for all of the waiting families - it is so hard to see your child getting bigger, know that (s)he's changing and not be a part of it. I wonder how much bigger S is - we didn't get any medical updates. I wonder if he has any more teeth. I wonder if he's scared, happy, sad, excited, what he likes to play with, if his walking has gotten steadier, etc, etc, etc. We just wonder and want to actually be a part of it.
The update said that he's scared of strangers (the pictures very clearly told this story too) but that he did regain his smile soon (I really think he's a smiley guy when he's not scared). Also he participated in a dol ceremony which is traditional for a first birthday in Korea. A tray of objects was in front of him and what he chooses gives us a hint at his future. He chose a pencil which means he will be a scholar! My smart boy! He takes after his big brother and big sister already! We can not wait to have him home. I can not tell you how much my heart hurt to see those tears and not be able to wipe them away or pick him up in a big hug. I also know that right now if I did that, it would make him cry b/c I am a complete stranger to him. Praying that the things we sent help to ease the transition a bit. Not sure if he has his package yet. I was really hoping he would have it by Valentine's Day. Not that it really matters.
Next steps:
Still praying for those EPs to be submitted! Say an extra prayer this weekend that they would start this week!!!
Praying for I-600 approval (we probably have a few weeks on this, but hopefully it'll happen without any problems).
Praying for peace for all of the waiting families - it is so hard to see your child getting bigger, know that (s)he's changing and not be a part of it. I wonder how much bigger S is - we didn't get any medical updates. I wonder if he has any more teeth. I wonder if he's scared, happy, sad, excited, what he likes to play with, if his walking has gotten steadier, etc, etc, etc. We just wonder and want to actually be a part of it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Legals!!!
Hurray! We got our legals! One step closer!
Legals are the documents that legally give custody to our agency and also prove that S is an orphan and legally available for adoption. That paperwork then goes to USCIS to be processed and we will hopefully receive our I600 approval in about a month. Here's a quick overview of the steps left for us:
Things on the US side and the Korean side are being done in parallel but do not directly effect each other at this point.
US side:
Yesterday our legals were sent to USCIS.
I600 approval means that we are approved to have S immigrate to this country and we are approved to adopt him.
This is where I'm hazy - adoption friends PLEASE correct me!
Then our paperwork goes to the National Visa Center where they do some processing
Once that's done they send our info (P3?) to the Embassy in Seoul (NVC out).
Korean side:
Next step is usually his Visa Physical. They do this a little before they expect to submit for his EP. We won't be notified of this unless we have to sign any paperwork which is completely up to the doctor.
Then our paperwork gets submitted to the ministry to be approved for our Exit Permit (EP)
Once that is approved we are very close to travel.
He will then have his Visa Interview (VI) - which probably isn't much of an interview since he's one, but he has to go.
And his Embassy Appearance? I think.
Once both sides are done they will issue him his passport and say that he is ready to travel and we will receive our much coveted Travel Call (TC). Then we have about a week to fly my parents out here and us over there to bring him home at last! :)
I'm guessing that's clear as much. I'm amazed at how much I understand of this process compared to when we started. I used to read blog posts like this and be completely confused! Now I have a pretty good understanding though parts are still a little fuzzy. :)
Right now we're praying that the ministry allows the agencies to start submitting for EPs. We've heard that's going to happen in Feb. and that once that happens things should start moving normally! :) We're still hoping for TC by May (and not-so-secretly hoping for April). :)
Legals are the documents that legally give custody to our agency and also prove that S is an orphan and legally available for adoption. That paperwork then goes to USCIS to be processed and we will hopefully receive our I600 approval in about a month. Here's a quick overview of the steps left for us:
Things on the US side and the Korean side are being done in parallel but do not directly effect each other at this point.
US side:
Yesterday our legals were sent to USCIS.
I600 approval means that we are approved to have S immigrate to this country and we are approved to adopt him.
This is where I'm hazy - adoption friends PLEASE correct me!
Then our paperwork goes to the National Visa Center where they do some processing
Once that's done they send our info (P3?) to the Embassy in Seoul (NVC out).
Korean side:
Next step is usually his Visa Physical. They do this a little before they expect to submit for his EP. We won't be notified of this unless we have to sign any paperwork which is completely up to the doctor.
Then our paperwork gets submitted to the ministry to be approved for our Exit Permit (EP)
Once that is approved we are very close to travel.
He will then have his Visa Interview (VI) - which probably isn't much of an interview since he's one, but he has to go.
And his Embassy Appearance? I think.
Once both sides are done they will issue him his passport and say that he is ready to travel and we will receive our much coveted Travel Call (TC). Then we have about a week to fly my parents out here and us over there to bring him home at last! :)
I'm guessing that's clear as much. I'm amazed at how much I understand of this process compared to when we started. I used to read blog posts like this and be completely confused! Now I have a pretty good understanding though parts are still a little fuzzy. :)
Right now we're praying that the ministry allows the agencies to start submitting for EPs. We've heard that's going to happen in Feb. and that once that happens things should start moving normally! :) We're still hoping for TC by May (and not-so-secretly hoping for April). :)
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