Wordless Wednesday {Big Sister}

EP Submitted!!!!

Griffin was submitted for his EP (emigration permit) today!!!  I am TOTALLY and COMPLETELY shocked that he was submitted today.  I had decided to not expect anything until at least March.  Things have really slowed down with the EP's and there had already been a batch submitted at the beginning of the month.  So, to help keep myself sane I had just decided to 'forget' about it for a week or two.  And then BAM!  The most amazing email was sitting in my inbox!  Isn't God awesome!

So, what's an emigration permit?  It is permission from the Korean government for Griffin to leave the country and the last big step before he comes home.  HUGE step!!!  Right now EP's are taking about two weeks to be approved and then a few more things have to happen...

Travel certificate - Our agency will apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the

 travel certificate after EP approval.

Visa physical - After EP approval and travel certificate Griffin will be examined by

 a doctor to make sure he is healthy enough for travel.

Visa interview - Griffin's foster mom will take him to

the Embassy for a visa 'interview.'

TRAVEL CALL!!!  We're expecting our travel call in 4-6 weeks! 

Whoa...

As I already said, I am so shocked.  We really weren't expecting his EP to be submitted so soon but PRAISE GOD!  My son is coming home...SOON!!!

Sweet Surprise

We received Griffin's 9 month well baby check yesterday and didn't expect to receive anything for at least another month.  When I got off the treadmill today I was super surprised to see new pictures in my inbox.  I love surprises!!!  And I love my boy!

This picture makes me laugh because little dude is wearing pajamas that we sent, and then I guess his foster mom decided it was a great day for layers because he has a super cool striped, button-up vest.  Maybe a vest over pj's is the new thing....you know, Seoul is very fashion forward!

February Well Baby Check

We received Griffin's February well baby check today!  WBC's always brighten my day.  He saw the doctor last Friday, February 11 and it sounds like he's doing great!  Growing and gaining weight.  Next to General Appearance it says "cute & fine" which is what it says every time.  "Cute & fine" makes me laugh each time I read it.  Nothing of concern was noted and here are some of the highlights...

* weighs 20.7lbs (gained almost 2lbs since December)

* 27.9 inches tall (grew a little over two inches since December)

* he's now crawling (yay!)

* sitting with good balance

* pulls to standing position (um...excuse me?  Slow down little buddy.)

* picks up raisin with pincer movement of forefinger and thumb

* prefers mother

* plays peek-a-boo

* imitates speech sound

Sounds like he's pretty much a little rock star!  This was just what I needed today.  I've been handling the no EP thing pretty well this week and getting this update has made things even better.  I'm so ready to start our life with Griffin and as a family of four!

Valentine's Day

사랑

Happy Valentine's Day, Griffin.

Mommy loves you.

Worth the Wait

So, I threw my little fit on Monday (see previous post), but I'm over it now.  There was LOTS of great news on the adoption forum!  Embassy appearances, VP's scheduled, even some travel calls!  Unfortunately, there was no EP movement.  But I'm ok with that!  I've taken a little inventory and realized I'm super blessed (duh!) and this adoption has been a breeze so far.  Our home study was pushed to be done quickly, we waited only 5 weeks for our referral (unheard of!), our I600A and I600 was approved super fast...everything has been very smooth.  I've heard tons of horror stories where paperwork will sit on a desk for weeks, sometimes months before it's even looked at.  We've had it easy.  No doubt about it.

So, I will wait.  I waited 26 months to get pregnant with Kinley.  I can wait a few more weeks or even a month or two for EP submittal and approval.  I'll wait as long as it takes, obviously.  My son is worth the wait.

What can I do? Nothing.

Let me just start by saying today was not a good day.  Lots of expectations were not met.  Every Monday since the new year there have been a batch of EPs submitted.  Well, not today.  And we are so close.  Korea is about half way through the October referrals and we're a November referral.  Maybe I'm being a little optimistic, but I thought there was a chance that we would be in the next batch or two.  So I was cautiously optimistic that there would be a batch of EPs submitted today.  I really didn't think that we would be in the next batch but the more EPs submitted, the closer we are to having OURS submitted.  So when I saw no exciting "EP Submitted!!!" posts on the Holt forum I was pretty bummed.  My frustration was exacerbated by my lack of sleep recently.  I CAN NOT TURN MY BRAIN OFF AT NIGHT.  Can not do it.  I'm thinking of time lines, well baby checks, packing lists, tourist spots, shopping lists, gifts, nursery details, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda!  When I'm stressed I don't sleep.  When I don't sleep my back and neck hurt.  When my back and neck hurt I get migraines.  When I get migraines I can't function.  When I can't function I'm not a good mom.  When I'm not a good mom I feel guilty.

I would just like to stop here and say

I know I'm being whiny.

I really try to stay positive because we've had a short, smooth

process and I appreciate that.

But sometimes I just can not handle the fact that my son is

NOT HOME!

WITH US!

WHERE HE SHOULD BE!

So, at this point I am considering talking to my doctor about some prescription sleep aids because I know this is not going to get better.  We are in the most difficult part of the wait and it's only going to get more difficult from here.  If I could just sleep I think I would have a more sunshiny outlook.  At least I could try.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I will be praying for lots of exciting news

 for myself and all my new AP friends.

We've got a winner!

This picture says it all!  Blake and I were SO excited to find out who was going to win the iPad.  And when I saw who it was....well, I was way beyond excited! 

Two big bowls.  Unbelievable.

Blake tossed all the tickets into the dryer and sent 'em spinning.

Kinley and I reaching in, not looking!

Who is it?!!!!

This picture cracks me up.

Griffin says thank you to everyone who purchased tickets

and congratulations to Klint!

 Kinley refused to put down the apple and she's 2...what are you gonna do?

Raffle Eve

As I was sort of watching Grey's Anatomy tonight, I was thinking about our raffle tomorrow and how I still have a few pages of tickets to print out and cut up.  Some people had suggested that I just buy actual tickets and assign everyone a number and then just write a number on the appropriate amount of tickets.  I had already thought of that, but I didn't want to just tear apart tickets and I didn't want just a number to win.  I wanted to type every one's name on a spreadsheet.  I wanted to print out their name 1, 12, 50, 100, however many times.  And I wanted to look at each of my family, friends, strangers, fellow adoptive parent's name and think about what they have done for me.  So that's what I did.  And it felt good not to do it the easy way.  It felt right to take the time to say a little prayer for every person who is helping me bring my son home.  Because I'm so, SO grateful!

This adoption has changed me.  Just like my infertility changed me.  Both have made me much more appreciative of what I have, especially of my husband and children.  I've learned so much and grown so much the past 5 years and my difficulties having a family has shown me that I'm a much stronger person than I ever realized.  And now this raffle has taught me another lesson.  It's ok to ask for help.  I REALLY struggle with this.  But people want to help.  They want to share in your joy and happiness and success.  I'm just so grateful tonight.  And I'm so incredibly happy that God led me down this road less traveled.
 

Lunar New Year

South Korea celebrates Lunar New Year this week.  Now, since all of this is new to me and I'm still learning let's see what good ol' Wikipedia says about it.

Korean New Year, commonly known as Seolnal (Hangul: 설날; RR: Seolnal; MR: Sǒlnal), is the first day of the lunar calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. Koreans also celebrate solar New Year's Day on January 1 each year, following the Gregorian Calendar. The Korean New Year holidays last three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day.

Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after winter solstice, unless there is a very rare intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice (next occurrence will be 2033). Korean New Year is generally the same day as Chinese New Year, Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year and Vietnamese New Year. A commonly used Western name to describe this festival inclusively, although scientifically incorrect, is Lunar New Year.


Korean New Year is typically a family-oriented holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their home towns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform the ancestral ritual known as charye (차례). Many Koreans dress up in colorful hanbok. Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with rice cakes) is commonly served.

Many Koreans greet the New Year (both Western and lunar) by visiting East coast locations such as Gangneung and Donghae in Gangwon province, where they are most likely to see the first rays of the New Year's sun.

Sebae is a traditionally observed activity on Seolnal, and is filial-piety-oriented. Children wish their elders (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents) a happy new year by performing one deep traditional bow (rites with more than one bow involved are usually for the dead) and the words saehae bok manhi badeuseyo (Hangul: 새해 복 많이 받으세요) which translates to please receive many blessings in the new year. Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children new year's money (usually in the form of crisp paper money) and offering words of wisdom, or deokdam. Historically, parents gave out rice cakes (ddeok) and fruit to their children instead.

People wish each other prosperity and luck. Common wishes for the Korean New Year include:


새해 복 많이 받으세요(saehae bog manh-i bat-eu saeyo) - Happy new year

I planned on making bulgogi for Lunar New Year, but I'm not sure I'll be venturing out to the grocery store this week.  And this is why...

The pictures really don't do The Blizzard of 2011 justice.  But they show what a great hubby I have.  I mean, it's 12 degrees out there!

Bowl O' Love

That's what this bowl of raffle tickets symbolizes to me. 

LOVE.

By the way, this isn't all of them.  Not even close.

I'm gonna need a bigger bowl.