I-800a Approval!

I prayed today that we would receive our I-800a approval, and felt the disappointment when I opened the mailbox and realized it hadn't come, though I trusted that things are going along in His time, if not in mine.

Imagine my surprise when I checked my email this afternoon and had an email from our agency - the approval letter had been sent to them (apparently a copy is sent to us and to them) and it arrived today!

They will be sending it to be certified and authenticated, which sounds like it will take a couple of weeks, and then at long last we will be DTC:

DOSSIER TO CHINA!

This is a huge step and means we will be beginning our wait for LOA (Letter of Acceptance) which is basically China saying officially that they approve us to adopt Hannah!  After LOA I believe it is a couple more months until travel.  The wait for LOA can be anywhere from 30-100 days...will you pray with us for a quick LOA??? 

"...with God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26)

We know it, we've seen it, we believe it, and we are trusting in Him!

One step closer to our girl :)

Where to Start...

Life is busy as always...but it's such a good busy!

What have we been up to, let's see...well to start, we are busy packing, planning, making lists, looking at subway maps, and dreaming about our upcoming trip to Korea!  Two weeks, people.  How did this happen?  I feel like I have so much to do all of a sudden!  I am beyond excited though and every day the anticipation grows.  We are leaving on September 11th, taking the train and staying at a hotel near the airport, then flying to Seoul on September 12th.  We will spend three days in Seoul on our own (this is when we will meet with the boys' foster mothers!) and then we will be flying to Jeju Island (it is near the southern coast of South Korea) to join up with our tour group.  Our tour lasts 7 nights so I think we're gone for a total of 11 nights.

Jeju Island:



Beautiful?  Amazing?  I can hardly believe we get to visit such a beautiful place!



This weekend was a special "trial run" for us - we have been away from the boys for three single night trips this summer, and this weekend we did two nights away.  My parents stayed with the boys and I must say it seemed to go better than I could have ever hoped!  The boys did pretty well at night, slept through, and ran my parents ragged I think :)  The boys are pretty go go go, that's for sure!  It was great to spend time away with Brad, to be able to do some shopping for Korea, to watch 5 episodes in a row of E.R. (we've started at the beginning again), and to just not be needed at all!  Weird.

Yesterday, Brad and I were also able to meet with a group of families who are waiting to bring home children from Korea.  It was basically an informal discussion about some of the joys and challenges that come along with bringing home a child who is 18 months old to two years old.  It was a wonderful time to connect with other families, see some old friends, and reminisce about those early days when Nathan first came home.  Those really were some tough days!  I'm so thankful they are behind us!

In adoption news, we had our fingerprints done last week and we hope to get our immigration approval soon so that our dossier can go to China!  Time is flying by and I know our little girl will be home in no time.  I can't wait to have her in my arms!!!!  The other day I was talking to Matthew about how Brad and I are going to Korea soon, and he said, "And then Hannah will come home with you?".  I had to tell him that Hannah was in China, not Korea, to which he replied, "I wish she was in Korea!".  He talks about her all the time and really seems to want her to come home.  We'll see if he still feels the same after she arrives :)

Change of Plans

We had all kinds of fun plans for today.  Doctors appointments behind us, we were going to head to a friend's house and run some errands.  I went to bed yesterday really looking forward to today.

The moment I looked at Nathan this morning, I knew something wasn't right.  Poor baby - his left eye was swollen almost shut!  We had no idea why, but I gave him some Benadryl and waited to see if it would get better or worse.  

It did get a little better, but it seemed to be causing him some discomfort so I decided to call the doctor.  Third doctors appointment in four days with two little ones...I am worn out!  The doc said it is most likely a bug bite (what I kind of thought) and I was glad to be reassured it would get better in a few days on its own.  I'm also glad it's nothing Matthew can catch :)

We didn't end up going on our playdate because Matthew also woke up not feeling well.  I think it's just a nice summer cold or something, but he was pretty miserable today.  

Here's to hoping tomorrow is a bit better!

These Days

These are some busy days, that's for sure!  But they are so, so wonderful!  This summer has been so perfect.  I am so thankful that the boys have been healthy, and we've been having lots of fun getting out and doing stuff but also just staying home and relaxing.  

Some things we've been up to recently:

The fair came to town!  It was so fun to take the boys this year as they really got excited about it.  This was the first time they were big enough to ride on anything.

Matthew saw the ferris wheel and declared emphatically that he did not want to go on that!  We reassured him that he did not have to ride on it and he was very relieved :)

You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw the little train ride, though!  Poor Nathan was pretty devastated when we realized he wasn't tall enough to ride it yet, but he recovered well and we promised him he could ride on something else instead.

Matthew was beyond thrilled to ride the train (twice, thanks to a miscalculation by Mommy and Daddy who accidentally bought too many tickets!)

Nathan was not at all sure about the carousel! 

This week has been filled with doctors appointments.  Thankfully they were all just check-ups for Nathan's hearing and his eyes.  All went well and we didn't really get any new information.  It is amazing to remember how much progress Nathan has made.  On Monday, Nathan and I were at the doctors for 3 hours, and on Tuesday I took both the boys and it ended up being over 2 hours!  They were such rock stars though and didn't whine, fuss, or have any melt downs the entire time!  Anyone with toddlers knows what a miracle that is!

Around the house, we have been doing a ton of puzzles!  Matthew has always loved puzzles but lately Nathan has been crazy for them, too.  They are choosing to play with them almost as often as trains.

Tonight Matthew sat and did a 48 piece puzzle by himself.  I was pretty impressed!  He started in a 126 piece puzzle and got all the edges done before losing interest.  This guy never ceases to amaze me!

Best news of the week - we have been working to set up meetings with Matthew and Nathan's foster families in Korea (well, our agencies have been working on it!) and we will be meeting with both of their foster mothers the day after we arrive!  I am so thrilled that this has worked out.  I cannot wait to meet them and thank them in person for the love and care they gave to our boys before they came home.

28 days until we leave...!!!

Adoption Update

I haven't really posted about the adoption lately because, really, there's not too much to say!

Um....we're still waiting...

:)

Our home study is finished, our placement agency has all of our documents authenticated and ready to go to China, and we are just waiting for immigration approval here in the States.  We got a letter last week saying that we need to go and have our fingerprints done on August 21st so that is good.  After we get approval from USCIS, we will send that to our agency who will have it authenticated.  Then...all of our documents will finally go to China and we will be DTC (Dossier to China!).  This is a major step and I can't wait for that day!

While we are waiting, there has been lots going on.  Some dear friends held a dinner/concert fundraiser for us this past weekend.  We were so blown away by our friends and family who came out and so generously donated to our adoption.  What a blessing!

Here's my dilemma.  I think I can ask our agency for an update (which would include pictures) of Hannah, for $80, but I'm not sure if we can get more than one update during our wait.  It is August now, and the only pictures we have of Hannah are from about December.  I am dying to know what she looks like now!!!!  But I also know we probably have another 6 months to wait.  So I'm wondering, should we ask for an update now, or wait a few months?  It's so hard to wait, but I'm thinking this wait is only going to get harder, and it might be nice to have that to look forward to...what  do you think?

Noodle Fun

We've been having lots of fun trying out new crafts and activities lately.  Disclaimer: please don't think I am crafty, or that I'm a super great mom who always does fun stuff with my kids :)  It is easy to make myself look like that on the blog but in real life I struggle to do meaningful or purposeful activities.  Once in a while I feel like life is under control enough that we can be a little creative :)  This was one of those days!

I found this great idea on this blog that I was recently reading and knew instantly that it would be a big hit with my boys.  Plus, it was really simple, which made it a big hit with me!

We took some uncooked noodles, put them in a bag with some rubbing alcohol and food coloring (one bag with orange, one bag with green, and another bag with purple), shook them up, laid them out in the sun to dry, and voila!

A big bowl of colorful noodles for the boys to scoop, pour, and sort!  I don't know why these types of activities are so fun, but they just are!  The boys have played with them over and over and have had lots of fun together.

Next I think we will try stringing some to make noodle necklaces!  I love great, simple ideas!