Preparations

The last few weeks have been busy as we prepare for Sam's arrival.  Here's what we've been up to:

• Garage cleaned up and organized
• Hallway painted (that's the last of what needed to be painted in the house)
• Our stuff is out of Sam's room - it's totally his room now
• Kristi found a used wooden high chair sitting on a sidewalk downtown that someone was trying to give away.  She took it, stripped it down, sanded and painted it.  It looks great.  It's sitting in our dining room now.
• IKEA trip produced some more things for Sam's room including a table and chairs and toy storage bins.
• Studying Korean phrases to get us by in Korea, like 불고기 주세요!  - Please give me Korean BBQ!

There's still lots more to do, but it's fun to finally get to this point where we are preparing in earnest!

No news from Holt since the last post I made.  But at this point that is good - that means there were no problems with the Visa physical.  We likely won't hear any more news from Holt until the travel call comes which we've been told could be as early as the first week of September!

Relationship Terms in Korean

During the wait for Sam, I've been studying the Korean language quite a bit.  We are blessed to have many Korean-Americans in our community and at our church that have taken the time to teach us many things about Korean culture, food, and the language.  Here is something that I have learned that I'd like to share.  If you are family, then pay special attention.  This if for you!

I'm going to teach you what your relationship is to Sam in Korean.

                                                                    Chuck                                         Mary

                                              Grandpa - Weh Harabeoji         Grandma - Weh Halmoni 

                                                                            \                                           /

                                                                                           Kristi                                 Aaron         -            Katrina

                                                                                   Mom - Omma             Uncle - Emobu        Aunt - Emo

                                                                                               |

                                                                                         Samuel

                                                                Roger                                       Sandra

                                                  Grandpa - Harabeoji            Grandma - Halmoni

                                                                        \                                            /

                                              Steve                                 Corey                          Reagan         -           Julie

                                  Uncle - Samchon              Dad - Appa           Uncle - Gomobu      Aunt - Gomo

                                                                                               |

                                                                                         Samuel

                                                                                  Kelsey & Natalia

                                                                                  Cousin - Sachon

You will notice that there is a different name for each relationship.  There are different names depending on whether you are on the paternal or maternal side, or whether you are an in-law.  If you think about it, English is a lot more obscure.  When you say Uncle, it could be your dad's brother, your mom's brother, your grandma's brother, etc.  In Korean, there are particular names for each of these relationships.

So those were the names Samuel would call you.  How about what you call him?

Son - Adeul

Grandson - Sonja

Nephew - Joka

Cousin - Sachon

You can also call him chak ha da, which is "good boy".

For more information on relationship terms in Korean go here: http://blog.korea.net/?p=1926

EP Approved!!

We are cooking now.  The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has approved Sam for the emigration permit!  This happened yesterday, we were notified today.  Again a bit of a surprise that the approval came so quickly, but we'll take it.  Hopefully this pace keeps up!

Holt says that it is still difficult to say when travel will be since there are so many people being processed right now, but that it would likely be September - November.  It took me a little bit to realize that September is just a month away.  We need to be ready in a month!  So my joy has been dulled a bit by anxiety.  There is still quite a bit that needs to be done with the bedroom.  There are several things to buy - like a car seat, a dresser, more clothes.  We don't have any shoes or socks for him.  Is that important?  We've been holding off on getting things for so long because of the seemingly unending delays that it's kind of hard to get it in gear and realize that we're going to have to take care of a little boy soon.

Now what happens from here?  I'm still figuring this out, but a lot of things will be happening behind the scenes and we don't get notification about a lot of it.  He should be getting his visa physical tomorrow.  If that goes well, then his paperwork is sent to the visa worker where they finish collecting the final documents to submit into the US embassy for the travel visa.  It sounds like this takes about 2 weeks.  After this, the foster family has to take Sam to the embassy for a visa interview.  After the travel visa is issued then it's all about preparations for travel.  I'm told when the travel call comes we'll be on a plane in about a week!

I'll post when we learn anything more about the visa status.  Until then, we got some work to do!

A little news

Received a report on Sam earlier this week.  He is on the small side for his age - 22 lbs (<5 percentile).  He is running, climbing stairs, scribbling, understanding some words.  No picture included, but we got some good news.  He is scheduled for his Visa physical August 2nd.  Another step on his way to us!  The next step we are waiting for is EP approval.  Holt says 4 - 12 weeks after EP approval for travel call.

In the meantime we have to go up to Portland tomorrow and have more fingerprints taken.  Apparently fingers must change quite a bit in a year to have to get them printed so many times.  We're also going to take advantage of the opportunity to be in Portland and eat at a Fondue place.  Mmmmm cheese!

EP!

We got an unexpected call from Holt this morning.  Sam has been submitted for an emigration permit!  I can finally put something new on the timeline and no more moping around feeling sick about the whole situation.  We are finally making progress!

We were told just a few weeks ago that it was unlikely that anyone would be submitted for EP until September at the earliest so this was a major surprise!  Much praise goes to Holt-Korea for pushing hard for getting more families submitted before the new adoption rules kick in for August.  Because of their hard work we are grandfathered in under the original rules and we shouldn't have to worry about delays caused by the impending changes.  And no worries about not making it under the yearly quota.  It's like a large weight has been lifted off of us.

So the next step is the EP has to be approved by the Korean government.  Then Sam gets a visa physical and gets submitted for a one way travel visa.  Once the visa is issued then he is ready to travel. Time from EP submission to travel call in the past has taken a month and a half to two months.  I think in our case it will take longer just because there have been so many submitted for EP in such a short period of time.  So it looks like fall or early winter.  We'll see how it shakes out.  If there's one thing I've learned it will be unpredictable.

For now we'll celebrate this milestone!

No EP

We learned last Wednesday that we were not submitted for EP.  We would have been submitted but there was a paperwork issue in Korea that prevented us from being submitted.  The disappointment hit us pretty hard.  This sets us back to fall at the earliest, but there is a lot of uncertainty with rule changes happening in August so its hard to predict.

Needless to say its been an emotional week.  I feel like I need an adoption break.  There may not be much blogging for a while, at least until there is some good news.  Thanks to those who have been so supportive during this time.

Hop on the adoption roller coaster!

I like a lot of roller coasters.  They are exhilarating.  The emotional roller coaster that is adoption is not as fun right now.  There have been unexpected twists and turns in the process.  There are emotional highs when we get pictures and information on Sam, and emotional lows when we learn of delays in the process.  The worst part about it is that you have no control and you really don't know when it will end.

The month of June we have been in a state of anticipation.  We are getting much closer now to the end of this roller coaster.  It's like we are climbing the hill before the last big drop.  But we can't see when we are going to crest that hill.  It could be any day though.  We are waiting as always for our turn to be submitted for an emigration permit so Sam can leave the country.  There have been a batch of parents selected at the beginning of each month for an EP.  Every month that passes gets us closer.  At the beginning of June we expected that we'd hear one way or another if we'd be selected, but so far no one from Holt has been selected.  I initially thought that June would be a long shot, but we are learning that the group for June will be an extra large group!  And the reason for the delay is because it's taking longer to get the paperwork done for so many.  The anticipation is grueling.  It's hard to think of anything else sometimes.

Another thing adding to the anxiety is the fact that if we don't get submitted for EP, we may take another turn and be forced to wait quite a while until the next chance.  Rumor is that we may not have another shot until this fall.  Just thinking about that possibility makes me ill.

I should mention one high we had for this month.  Last Friday we received a letter from Sam's foster mom.  It was very sweet and kind.  She thanked us for the care packages we sent for them.  She says she is very grateful for the time she has had with Sam and that he spreads joy to everyone he meets.  He is very active and likes to be around people.  I can't print the letter here for her own privacy, but if you'd like to read it for yourself, let us know.

If you think of us, please pray for good news this month.  We really need our boy.