Its been a while since I've given a status update of our adoption on the blog. Unfortunately there isn't anything big to report, but I can say that things are still moving forward. March saw the first batch of families submitted for EP (Emigration Permit) for the year. I think most of them have traveled by now. There was another batch in April and we learned that the next batch will be submitted May 2nd. Holt contacted each family that will be in that batch - we are not one of them. We had our fingers crossed, but we knew it would have been a stretch to be included.
The good news is that we have some consistency now and therefore some predictability. We know that groups are being submitted on a monthly basis and that travel call falls roughly a month and a half after submission. So this means that the next batch is likely going to be the first week of June and that they travel mid to late July. This would be the earliest that we would travel at this point. If we don't get in that group then the next possible dates would be EP submission in July and travel late August.
So what is the probability that we get into the next batch you ask? Unfortunately I think it's still rather small. To get a general idea of where we are in line you look at everyone's ATK date. That stands for Acceptance to Korea. That was the paperwork we sent in saying that we've accepted Sam as our child. Our ATK is 7/29/11. The families that are being submitted for May mostly have ATK dates of May 2011. That means the next submission in June will be mostly families with an ATK of June 2011. If the pattern holds, then we are most likely in the July submission group. However since our ATK is late July, it could be more likely we are in the August group and traveling in September. Did you follow all that?
Now, before you get too bummed, realize that the EP submission process is not always chronological with respect to everyone's ATK dates. For instance, there was a family with ATK of July that was submitted in April! There have been others that haven't followed the pattern as well. Some of this is because there are other factors at work like if the child is older, has special needs, or if the family is of Korean heritage. But sometimes, it seems kind of random. And yes, I have a spreadsheet keeping track of this!
So what I'm saying is although we are most likely traveling in August - September, there's still a chance it is earlier. We will be anxiously awaiting news about the next group a month from now!
We appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement during this process. Its been a much harder wait then we anticipated, but we are getting closer! Look for a possible shower/BBQ/Korea departure party this summer!
Many of you have probably seen the name Bubba Watson in the news lately. On April 8th - Easter Sunday, Bubba won the most prestigious golf tournament on the PGA tour, The Masters. What you may not know is that the Masters was not the only thing on his mind that day. He had a one month old son named Caleb waiting for him at home who he and his wife had just adopted.
Their adoption journey started 4 years ago when they decided to adopt, since they could not have kids on their own. It was a challenging process from what they have reported. They were even turned down a couple times as parents when children were available. Finally on March 22nd, they got the call that they were approved to be parents of a boy in South Florida. They accepted Caleb, flew down to pick him up, and shortly after Bubba was off to the tournament. Truly remarkable that he was able to win the tournament with so much else on his mind!
As I've read more about Bubba I am struck by his passion for his family and his faith. I think we can learn a lot from his example at a time when so many value their profession above all. He may have won the most prestigious golf tournament in history, but as he puts it "golf is not my everything".
More on Bubba:
I just wanted to share some of the videos that people have produced for Voice of Love so far. As I shared before, Voice of Love is a campaign thats focus is advocating on behalf of the orphaned children of Korea. The Korean government has been working to reduce the number of international adoptions with the ultimate goal of one day eliminating them entirely. They do this to help encourage adoptions domestically in their own country. Unfortunately, Koreans adopt only a small fraction of orphans in Korea. There are currently 20,000 children in South Korea waiting to be adopted, and too many will never have a forever family. Samuel is one of the lucky ones.
Voice of Love has been collecting videos from those that have been blessed by Korean adoption. Hopefully the Korean government will take notice and change their stance on international adoption and eliminate the quota.
The deadline for submission of videos has been extended to April 23rd. For more on the Voice of Love campaign go here: http://voiceoflove.org/ Also here is a really good blog post that explains the current adoption situation in Korea more thoroughly: In Defense of Adoption
Enjoy the videos!
To see more videos go here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCD8A17AC1C843F9F
You know the frustration you feel when you are in line and it just is not going anywhere? That's what we've been feeling for the last several months with the adoption. But now the line is moving. It's still a long line and it moves slowly, but it feels so much better now that it's moving. The group of adoptive parents that were submitted for EP at the beginning of this month have now been approved and are now just awaiting their travel call. They are literally packing right now! They will be the first adoptive parents to make it to Korea for their kids this year. Expectations are that early April the next group will be submitted for EP and the line continues to move forward. Of course we don't know exactly where in line we are and how many people are in front of us, but I think we're on track for a trip to Korea this summer.
In other news, we think we have our day care situation worked out. We've been on the waiting list for the day care right next to Kristi's work and they let us know yesterday that they have an opening for us starting in September! It is called Beaver Beginnings and should adequately brain wash our child to be a beaver. I believe I saw on the curriculum that toddlers learn OSU cheers and practice beating on toy ducks with bats! :) Here's a link to the daycare: http://www.cclc.com/center/or/osu-beaver-beginnings
In other news, we think we have our day care situation worked out. We've been on the waiting list for the day care right next to Kristi's work and they let us know yesterday that they have an opening for us starting in September! It is called Beaver Beginnings and should adequately brain wash our child to be a beaver. I believe I saw on the curriculum that toddlers learn OSU cheers and practice beating on toy ducks with bats! :) Here's a link to the daycare: http://www.cclc.com/center/or/osu-beaver-beginnings
The last couple months have been hard on a lot of waiting adoptive parents as week by week, day by day, adoptions from Korea remain at a stand still. I check the internet regularly for any good news only to find forum posts by discouraged waiting parents not knowing when they are going to see their child.
Today was different. Today was a day of elation and encouragement as many families were given word that their child has been submitted for an emigration permit and that likely in a month they would have their travel call! A lot of happy tears and cheers filled the message boards as one by one families received word. What's more, it appears they are not going strictly chronological but are prioritizing older and special needs kids first. Sometimes you wonder in all the bureaucracy if people are keeping the best interest of the kids in mind. Well, finally there is some evidence that they are.
Our turn will come, but not for a while yet. Meanwhile, we celebrate with those that will soon be united with their sons and daughters.
Today was different. Today was a day of elation and encouragement as many families were given word that their child has been submitted for an emigration permit and that likely in a month they would have their travel call! A lot of happy tears and cheers filled the message boards as one by one families received word. What's more, it appears they are not going strictly chronological but are prioritizing older and special needs kids first. Sometimes you wonder in all the bureaucracy if people are keeping the best interest of the kids in mind. Well, finally there is some evidence that they are.
Our turn will come, but not for a while yet. Meanwhile, we celebrate with those that will soon be united with their sons and daughters.
March is shaping up to be a good month as we just got a new picture of Sam!
His is now 16 months old. One of these days we're going to get him to smile. He's been very serious for all his pictures.
There is also good reason to believe that the adoption holdup will soon be over. Sources say that the Korean government will start taking submissions for emigration permits early March. Some say it will be this week! If that is true then we're keeping our fingers crossed for a trip to Korea this summer.
We're sending more stuff to Korea! Sam will look very handsome in the clothes we have for him. Aunt Julie gave us the "busy beaver"outfit. She says the beaver looks like me. Grandma Sandra got the baseball outfit and other clothes. She also got a squirting book for the bathtub. We got him some Gerber puffs and squeezable fruit pouches. I guess its what all the cool toddlers are eating these days. Also, not pictured, is a toy telephone, another small album with pictures of us, and a letter for the foster family.
All sorts of critters roam Sam's room.
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