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.
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.
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.
We've been saying that a lot lately. This month we took care of a couple of things that we've been wanting to do before Sam gets here...
#1 Get out and vacation somewhere just the two of us
We thought this would be important to do since we may not have the opportunity for quite a while after we have Sam. We took off for a weekend together at the coast in Lincoln City. It turned out to be a gorgeous weekend especially for May! We stayed at the Coho Lodge (http://www.thecoholodge.com/), had an oceanfront view, had some great food, and enjoyed each other's company.
#2 Paint the house!
Not nearly as fun, but we spent the last two weekends busting our butts and painting the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Here are some pictures of the before and after:
#1 Get out and vacation somewhere just the two of us
We thought this would be important to do since we may not have the opportunity for quite a while after we have Sam. We took off for a weekend together at the coast in Lincoln City. It turned out to be a gorgeous weekend especially for May! We stayed at the Coho Lodge (http://www.thecoholodge.com/), had an oceanfront view, had some great food, and enjoyed each other's company.
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| Just the two of us |
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| View outside our room |
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| Appetizer aftermath |
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| Rock fish and shrimp over mashed potatoes at Kyllos |
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| Tide pooling |
#2 Paint the house!
Not nearly as fun, but we spent the last two weekends busting our butts and painting the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Here are some pictures of the before and after:
So I'm learning that it would be pretty cool to be a kid in Korea. Not only do you get to celebrate your birthday and Christmas with gifts and fun, you get your own holiday too, called Children's Day! May 5th is Children's Day in Korea. It started in 1923 by the Korean children's writer Pang Chong-hwan. In a society where parents and elders demand respect, Children's Day was set aside to honor the children. It is often celebrated with family gatherings where children are showered with gifts and play games. Cities often have parades and museums, zoos, and amusement parks offer free admission to children.
I wonder how Sam will be celebrating his holiday? Hopefully he is having a fun time with his foster family!
I wonder how Sam will be celebrating his holiday? Hopefully he is having a fun time with his foster family!
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!
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
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