Buy Buy Baby

What a fun Friday night!!! Ron and I dropped the kids off at my mom's and went stroller shopping! I knew I wanted a lightweight, easy to fold/unfold, large umbrella, fully reclining stroller. After trying out several we decided on a...Baby Jogger City Mini. I really think it is going to be perfect! We bought the black one and plan on jazzing it up with pink toys and a pink blanket.

While were were there we also bought some stroller accessories, three cases of baby food, baby snacks, some pacifiers, and of course a cute outfit. :)

Now all we need is a baby!

Court Approval!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally Finally Finally!!!!!!!!!

Received word today that we received county court approval. Our paperwork is now on it's way to USCIS (Immigration) for approval. This should only take a couple of weeks.... hopefully. We will receive a letter in the mail from USCIS when we receive approval.


Feels like a 1000 pounds was just lifted off my shoulders!

Our agency received a fax from Korea today that they passed on to us. Eden's case worker received the care package we sent for her.

Nothing yet about our county approval. It's killing me.

Care Package

The director from our agency leaves for Korea today. We are so blessed that this trip to Korea has timed so nicely with our wait. Our director only visits Korea twice per year. While she is there she will be meeting with all of the babies waiting for travel. She will be getting updates on the babies growth and development as well as new pictures. Already the photos we have of Eden are almost two months old. Babies change so quickly. I am eager to see these new pictures! I expect to receive this update in mid November. Our director is also bringing a care package we put together for Eden. Included in the care package was an outfit and socks, a photo album, a toy with our pictures on it, a lamb that plays a recording of my voice when it's middle is squeezed, a silk scarf for Eden's foster mother, some chocolates, two disposable cameras, and a letter. All of these items needed to fit in a small box. It was packed so tightly that I used some ribbon to keep it from exploding open! She should be receiving this care package sometime next week I imagine. Just the thought that someone I know will be with our baby girl is exciting for me!



Took forever to figure out how to make everything fit! Like a big puzzle!


Did you notice how the wrapping paper kind of matches the outfit she is wearing in her pictures??? :)

It's Been 8 Days

Still waiting for county court approval. It's been a little over a week since it was sent. We were quoted "a week or two" and I was really hoping for it taking just one. Feeling a little loony, obsessive, nutty, coo coo, insane in the membrane. Need this next step to happen soon.

One Month

One month ago today, I saw my daughter's face for the first time... her beautiful, precious, perfect little face. I still can't believe she is actually mine! How on Earth did I ever get so lucky???

Hurry Up and Wait

That has been my life for the past three or so years. I don't know which is more annoying... the hurrying or the waiting.... well, probably the waiting. After receiving our legals we needed to make some copies of other required documents, sign a bunch of papers, obtain ANOTHER note from our doctor stating that our health hadn't changed (our doctor is about 1/2 hour away from my house), write yet another check, and drop everything back off at our agency (about 45 minutes from our house). I am so sick of driving around and rushing to get things signed and organized and the stress involved in that. Then, after dropping all of the stuff off, I get to sit back and wait. Wait for someone somewhere to do their job and HOPE that they do it quickly. I keep telling myself that we are almost there... almost done with the paperwork... almost done with the stress of "adopting"... almost done with waiting... almost done with this whiplash of stop and go.Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is both wonderful and frustrating at the same time.

Adoption will always be part of our lives. Even with the stress, pain, tears, and endless paperwork... I still think it is a beautiful thing and would do it again in a heart beat. We truly are blessed that we have the opportunity to adopt and am madly in love with our daughter. However, I am really ready for the "we are adopting" phase to be over and anxious for us to just be a family.

I am told it should take a week or two for approval from the county probate court and then our I600 can be filed with Immigration (USCIS). We will then wait for immigration approval.

Bumping this up for my RQ friends!

Words can't express how blessed we feel.

Eden Sei-in (her name means human rejoice)
born April 4, 2009
Incheon, Korea
weighed 7 pounds at birth
19 inches long at birth
living with a foster family

Her file states that she is very social and curious. She loves to "babble face to face" and does not like to be hot. Last month she weighed 14 pounds and was almost 25 inches long. She eats every two hours! She goes to bed between eight and nine in the evening and wakes once in the night for a bottle. She is up for the day at 6:00!!!!!! Oh my!!!!!!!! She shows her unpleasantness by bursting out crying when not having her way. Her file states that she is cute and has chubby cheeks. I agree!!!! Her foster family states that they feel "admiration and love" toward her. Those are the same feelings that we have for them.


We are soooo in looooooove!!!!!!!!!!!

Korean Legal Documents

Statement Of Release

"By virtue of my right as Guardian of XXX,Sei-in, a minor child, and having sole custody of the said child, I, Chang, Sang Chun, hereby irrevocably consent to her emigration to U.S.A. and her adoption by suitable parents.

I fully understand that I am hereby releasing irrevocably the custody of this child and I understand also that once the legal adoption has been completed, the adoptive parents will assume all the legal responsibilities for the child and will acquire all the legal rights incident to the relationship of parent and child. In consideration of this assumption of my legal obligations by the adoptive parents, I hereby waive all rights which I now have over this child.

Signed
Chang, Sang Chun
Guardian
President of Social Welfare Society, Inc."

We Have LEGALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH my gosh! OH my gosh!!!!!!!!! Eden's legals have arrived! I can't believe how quickly they came!!!!!! One more step completed! One step closer to holding her in my arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our agency is overnighting the next set of paperwork to us and it should arrive tomorrow. We need to file paperwork with our county probate court and wait for approval.

Another happy day!!!!!!

Mia Teresa

My niece was born yesterday! Congratulations Em, Jay, Carson and Griffin!

She is a beautiful baby! She has wavy/curly hair and cute little dimples. What a miracle!

Received this yesterday.....

Last Thursday we sent a letter and some pictures to Eden's foster family. Yesterday our adoption agency received a letter from Eden's case worker in Korea. They passed the letter on to us. I have to admit when I saw her name at the top of the page with our names listed as "parents" it brought tears to my eyes.

Dear Mrs. XXXXX,

I received lovely photos and letter from her adoptive family. The present will be sent to her and her foster family with her adoptive family's love. Please tell them words of thanks. She grows up very well under the foster family's love and affection.

Best Regards,
XXXXXX

I know it is not much... but any little connection to her is a comfort. Soon she will see our faces for the first time.

2 weeks 5 days

That's how long it takes to go from obsessing about receiving a referral to obsessing about receiving travel call.

It's going to be a loooooong few months.

I WANT MY BABY HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 Months

My sweet baby is six months old today.

Fun Facts

* All of my children have double numbers in their birth date... like the the month number matches the date or the date matches the year. Example: 5-5-08

* I now have children with birthdays in April, May, and June. What a fun spring!

* Eden was named by her birth father. We were told that was unusual.

* Eden was born the day we sent our formal application to our adoption agency.

* My social worker said that in all her years she had never received so many pictures of a child with a referral. She thinks Eden's case worker in Korea must have been very "taken" with her.

* Eden's file states that she is developmentally ahead of other children her age. I am glad but it kind of make me sad... I am missing so much already. I know... I am selfish.

* Looking at her growth and plotting it on a Korean growth chart Eden should be about 17 pounds when she comes home. She is following the 25th percentile. That's 6 - 12 month clothing. Looks like I have more shopping to do!!!! I have not bought much in that small of a size. :)

* I met someone online who received a referral the same day we did. Her son was born the same day Eden was. We are both teachers. We are both with the same agency. When we became facebook friends we realized that have a friend in common. Small world. :0)

* Seoul is 6611 miles from Detroit, Michigan.

* Seoul is 13 hours ahead of us on the clock.

* For what it's worth.... Two years ago I saw a psychic named Rod. My sister, sister in law, and mom all went for fun. One of the things Rod told me was that whenever I see the number 4 or a combination of the number 4 that my angels and guides are with me. Our log in date for China was 4-16-07 and our sweet baby was born on 4-4-09.

* My "Referral" post was my 200th post on this blog.

* We received our Korean referral exactly 29 months after our China log in date.... to the day.