867-5309, Jenny, Jenny

No, this isn't the number of the state department, but I did call them on Monday to see the status of our case!  I don't usually make phone calls, but I have some friends on the same time line and I know that they called too. The very lovely lady on the phone told me that the Embassy in Korea has sent the Packet (P3) to our Korean agency on December 24th and when they return it the can schedule the visa.  What a great Christmas present.  

So in Korean adoption lingo, we have P3.  Now we wait for the agency to gather the necessary papers, return them to the Embassy, the Embassy schedules a visa interview to issue the visa, and then the travel call comes!  

In the meantime we're having our hallway floors refinished so "Bug" as a nice place to crawl or walk!

"Glory Days"

"Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days" ~Bruce

When I was in college, I was very blessed to have had some great roommates through the years. One of my roommates had a sock puppet called, "Lady Monkey." At one point, "L" my roommate" slept on the bottom bunk and I slept on the top bunk. Many mornings I would awake to "Lady Monkey" peeking up over my mattress to say good morning. Lady Monkey was particular good at dancing and puppet shows.

"L" also had the most amazing blanket known as "Woobie." I can't tell you the number of people who napped with that blanket. It was the most comforting thing in the world.

When we were waiting for our referral and going through a down of the roller coaster ride, I came home to a package. When I opened it, there was a homemade "Lad Monkey" for Bug. "L" made it herself and I"m so looking forward for him to do dances for Bug when he comes home.

Today there was another package for Bug. This one was the most amazing Taggie Blanket. I will try to post a picture, but I don't have my camera and it wouldn't do it justice anyway. It's like an "I spy" book but in blanket form and it has tags for Bug to hold on to and feel. Somehow she managed to put a picture of Bruce and Bug onto the quilt- Amazing!

Now Bug has his own little "Woobie" and Lad Monkey. I can't wait to tell him about the glory days of the originals.

Thanks Auntie L and Uncle J. Can't wait for Bug to meet you.

"And the snow is coming down"

Fountains of Wayne sings a song called "Valley Winter Song" and it goes like this..

And the snow is coming down

On our New England town

And it's been falling all day long

What else is new

What could I do

It's actually been snowing since yesterday at 1:00, and it looks beautiful as today. 

 So, what else in new here?  Well our information has been logged in and out at the National Visa Center and is on its way to the US Embassy in Korea.  My friend "K" seem to be on the same time line for our adoptions.  We met on a yahoo group and realized we were at the same adoption class for our agency.  We have an application date 3 days apart and received our I600 approvals in the mail on the same day.  So she e-mailed me to let me know she called the visa center to see if she had been logged out and told me to call.  

I called and was a nervous wreck,  I had to give my husband's birthday and the baby's birthday to prove who I was.  My voice was shaking  I was so nervous.  When I gave the baby's birthday the man said, "No, that's not what I have, but you're really close.  How about you try again. " I realized I gave the wrong year!  Thank goodness he was so nice to me.  

Anyway, now the NVC mails a packet called P3 to the US Embassy, the embassy does some things and then send it to our agency in Korea who will then fill out papers and gather documents and send it back to the US Embassy. When the embassy has what they need, they will make an appointment to issue Bug's visa.  After the visa is issued, the travel call comes!!  

And that what's new in this New England town.

"Movin' Right Along"

I Love the Muppets!

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,

With good friends, you can't lose,

This could become a habit.

Today was a very eventful day in the adoption process.  In the mail was our I-600 approval and updated fingerprints approval.  Then I checked my email this evening to find out that we have EP approval as of 12/11.  

EP (Emigration Permission) is the Korean counterpart to the I-600 here in the U.S.  These documents represent the Korean and US governments' approval for our child to emigrate from Korea to the US for the purpose of adoption by us!  This approval is good news because it indicates that our adoption process is moving forward!

Typically children are ready to travel 1 -3 months after EP approval.  So we are looking at January - March to bring home Bug!  Now our agency in Korea will obtain a passport for him,  and the "entrance visa" to the US needs to be issued.  We needed the I600 approval for the visa process to begin.  It has a bunch of steps.  There also is a visa physical by a US Embassy approved doctor.  We know that he has had that already because of an additional form we needed. 

It looks like we are movin' right along...

"Celebrate Good Times, Come on!"

My agency e-mailed me this afternoon that they received a fax of our I600 approval and approved fingerprints! Hooray!! We should receive the approval in the mail either this weekend or next week. They just wanted to let me know! Now it's off to the National Visa Center to be logged in and then out. They then send a packet to the Embassy in Korea to issue his visa.

We are one step closer to bringing our little guy home.

Cribs

After fingerprinting Saturday, we bought the crib. Here it is.....

http://www.munirefurniture.com/urban_01.htm

It Takes a Leap of Faith

It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust

Many who have gone through the process before, say that adoption is a leap of faith. As a prospective adoptive parent you do your research and put your faith into your agency that they are ethical and do what is right for the children. You put your faith into doctors who give you the facts as they see them to the health and needs of your child. You put your faith into the government agencies, that they are working quickly and diligently to finish paperwork to bring your baby home. And you put faith into yourself that you can help your child through the challenges that lie ahead. So much of this process is out of your hands; so in your heart you must trust.

I’ll admit I had a minor meltdown this week. You can read below how our 1600 was approved, but then held till our new fingerprints cleared, so when I realized it could take 3-5 weeks for our fingerprints to be processed before our 1600 can be sent on I lost it for a bit. I’m sure to immigration it is just a little delay, but to us it is 3- 5 weeks of not being with Bug. But in my heart I must trust that the timing will be perfect. Maybe we’ll miss traveling in a snow storm, maybe we’ll get a great deal on a flight or hotel, maybe this was the plan all along. For now, I’ll put my faith into believing that the plan is unfolding the way it should.

Update from Korea

I'm a little too tired to think of a song lyric for the title of this post. This morning when I opened my email, I had a note from our contact at our agency. Our agency in Korea told her that there is currently a family who is in Korea picking up their daughter. They also have a son who is two, and they scheduled a meeting with his foster mother. (It must be wonderful for the foster mother to see him again after all this time.) Anyway, his foster mother happens to be Bug's foster mom. So they must have met Bug and took some pictures. When they get back to the states, they are going to send the pictures to my agency and then we will get them!! How great, more pictures of Bug and I hope some details about him as well.

I haven't been able to stop looking at his picture. It's amazing to be so in love with someone you haven't even met yet!

One step up and two steps back

Actually I think we just moved two steps up and one step back, but that isn't a Springsteen lyric. Here are my two steps up- First, my Dad came home today from the hospital after a 6 week stay and then I received a new photo of Bug! He is adorable and it makes me miss him so much. I can't wait to hold him and kiss his cubby cheeks! So in my mind that's two steps up.

Now for the one step back. Yesterday I posted that we had I600 approval and just needed to get our fingerprints done so they stay current. Today I received an email that said CIS was going to hold our I600 approval until our fingerprints clear. So while I thought we were on our way to NVC (National Visa Center) we are still at Citizen and Immigration. Bummer. Oh well, it's out of my hands!

Good News, Good News....I600 Approval is coming (I think)

Today, I think, we got one step closer to bringing home Bug. We received a email from our agency saying they got a call that our I600 was approved today. Hooray! They needed to let us know because we have an appointment with USCIS to have our fingerprints updated and we need to keep the appointment so they are current. Our agency didn't want us to get the approval letter and then think we didn't need to keep the appointment. I'm so glad they keep on top of all this paperwork for us.

Now I'm off to finish putting together a package to send to Bug in Korea!

"I can feel my heart begin to pound." ~No Surrender, Bruce

One year ago today, when Bruce played Boston, I had one of the best “Bruce” experiences of my life. It was a Sunday, and we drove in to Boston early in the morning to get our bracelets. The four of us had floor seats. Getting a bracelet put you in the running for a spot in “The Pit” “The Pit”, as most Bruce fanatics know, is the area directly in front of the stage. It gives you the opportunity to get as close to Bruce as one can get without being arrested. To get into the pit, you line up according to the number bracelet you have. Then someone pulls a ticket and the person with that number becomes number one and the first person in the pit, the next person is number two and so on.
To make a long story short, we got into the pit. As you can imagine, I almost peed my pants.

After standing outside, in the cold, without a jacket, we were given different bracelets and then security walked all of us into the building and down to the floor. I’m not sure when I was ever that excited before. Most people in front of us walked to the area in front of Bruce’s mic. We saw the area to the right empty so we quickly walked over there. We were touching the stage… I called my mom who, after calling my cousins, called me back as said, “I think this means you have to stand the entire show.” (God bless her; she’s a sweetheart.) “Yes mom, I think I’ll be o.k”

I would say it was a religious like experience. At one point during “She’s the One” Bruce was standing directly in front of me with sweat dripping down onto the stage. Now you know when he left I touched the sweat and blessed myself. (My catholic soul still needs to say some Hail Maries for that one.)

Here’s the highlight of the night: One of the songs Bruce sang was “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”. Before he played the song he said, “This is for a special Jersey girl.” and then looked my way. Of course, I was standing in front of Patti so he may have been talking to her, but it doesn’t really matter. Anyway, he sings the song and makes his way over to Patti (who’s in front of me and to the left) to sing the refrain with her. Well, while he was singing the refrain, our eyes met, and we sang the refrain to each other. Now, I thought I could have been imagining the fact that he was starring right at me, but I turned to my friend, Cutch, who looked at my husband and said something like, “Oh, god, you lost her forever. You know he was looking right at her.”

Yes!!

So on this one- year anniversary of my moment with Bruce. I’ll share a You tube video. If you watch the whole thing and wait until he comes over to stage left, you will eventually see someone in a greenish sweater, next to a bald guy, right at the stage, waving her arms to the crowd. That’s me! I was trying to get the attention of a friend in the stands after Bruce moved away from me.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4qVpeksWAU

"Waiting on a Sunny Day"

One month ago today, our lives changed forever with one phone call. On the anniversary of our referral, I thought I’d share what still needs to happen before our little one can come home.

• Acceptance paperwork is sent to Korea. (This is completed.)
• Korea sends papers called “legals” to our agency.  (completed 11/13/08)
• Agency files our I600 (petition to classifty orphan as an immediate relative) with United States Citizen and Immigration (completed)
• USCIS approves the I600 (hopefully) which says that Bug can be adopted by us and sends it to the National Visa Center. (completed 12/12/08)
• Case is logged into the NVC and our paperwork is sent to the embassy in Korea.
• Embassy sends a packet 3 (P3) to our agency in Korea.
• The P3 is returned to the embassy and a visa interview (VI) is scheduled.
• A visa is issued. In order to have a visa issued an emigration permit must be issued. This is permission from the Korean gov’t for our child to leave the country. He also would have had a visa physical.  
• Once the visa is issued we wait for our social worker to call and say Bug is ready to travel.

Our sw say all this takes between 3-6 months. We’re hoping for three until our sunny day!

"Life Began When I Saw Your Face"

I'm a big fan of the Dixie Chicks, and I love this song...

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

On Friday, October 17, 2008 I sat at my desk while my students were taking a test. At about 10:00 my my secretary called into my room to tell me I had a phone call. I could tell by her voice that this was probably the call I was waiting for. I ran out of the classroom, leaving my kids, and ran down to the teachers' room to take the call. At his point I could hardly breath. It was my social worker with the news that "It's a Boy". We have a son who was born on May 21, 2008. We are over the moon!

"All we need is just a little patience"

I never thought I'd be quoting Axel Rose, but sometimes we do need a little patience. As you can see, I haven't written since July. There really isn't anything to report. We are still waiting for our referral and are keeping our fingers crossed that October is our month.

When I lived in NJ, my roommates and I would do a big snow dance if there was a hint of a snow day. We'd dance around our living room hoping our phones would ring the next day to say school was cancelled. I'll be doing a big "referral dance" tonight for the phone to ring soon telling us of our baby. Feel free to put on your dancing shoes and join in!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Tom Petty really knew what he was talking about when he sang these words-

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

If you scroll dowm to the bottom of the blog, you’ll see that we’ve been waiting seven months for our referral. What exactly does that mean? Simply, a referral is when our agency in Korea matches us with a child. They will send our agency in the U.S. the information and our social worker will call us.

Once we recover from fainting, we will meet with our social worker and she will give us information on the little one. She will show us a few pictures and will give us some medical information and information they have on the baby’s first family.

Once the referral is accepted, we fill out more paperwork and wait again!

"Cause Down the Shore Everything's All Right"

What are your favorite start of summer memories?

For me, nothing says summer like Bruce and the Jersey Shore. When I lived in NJ, my summer started the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend with the traditional WPLJ Summer Blast Off at Jenkinson's in Pt. Pleasant. I never made it to the blast off itself, teaching somehow always got in the way, but I always listened on the radio to Joe Nolan's tribute to NJ speech and the traditional playing of Born to Run.

When I moved to New England, this was one thing I missed. Now with technology the way it is, I can enjoy it and share it with you. Happy Summer!





Joe Nolan 2008 Kick Off to Summer from RadioNeil on Vimeo.

Book Nirvana

I love bookstores. I admit it. My idea of a good time (besides spending time with Bruce) is spending time at a bookstore. So, you can only imagine my delight when I learned that Scholastic Book Fairs was moving their warehouse down the road and around the corner from my house. Yipee!

A few times each year, Scholastic opens their warehouse to the public and most books are 50 percent off. In the bargain aisle you can find some for $1.00. As a teacher who spends a good amount of money on books each year, this day is nirvana. So on Saturday JBJ and I drove over (we knew we would have too many books to walk), and searched the stacks.

I did buy a bunch of books for my class, but my favorite purchases were for Bug. Bug already has a library started so we added to the collection some really cool pop-up books and some fairy tales liked the one pictured here.

"Might as Well Jump" Van Halen

I’ve tried to start this blog many times and have never known where to begin. So today I’ve decided to take Van Halen's advice and "go ahead, jump " in to the blogging world. 

From where did the title for this blog come?

 
Bruce = Bruce Springsteen:  His music and concerts have kept me somewhat sane during this process.

Bug = the name we affectionately call our child.

Bulgogi = One of my first meals at a Korean restaurant. (Yummy)

In June we sent in our first application to our agency. Then came a collection of paper work, known as “the paper chase", meetings with social workers, home visits, classes and finally the letter that stated as of December 7, 2007 we were “officially waiting” for a referral from Korea.

Now comes the waiting. We have been waiting a little more than five months. When we began the adoption process, referral wait times were about six to ten months, but that time may be increasing.   Please send out some positive thoughts for short wait times.  

The Myth of Dan-gun: Korea's Beginnings

Born in 2333 B.C., Dan-gun became the first human king of Korea and called his land Chosun, "Land of Morning Calm".  

Those that have been through the adoption process call it a roller coaster ride.  I welcome you to the "Land of the Not So Calm."

Click here for the Myth of Dan-gun.