EP Submitted!

For the past 18 years, March 5th has been a very difficult day for me. It was the day I had to say goodbye to my mom after her hard battle with breast cancer. I always dread that day on the calendar, but this year we got some much awaited news on her Heaven Day! Madden's paperwork FINALLY went into the hands of the Korean ministry. That is HUGE!!!!! It is finally his turn! He was submitted with around 120 other children between 3 agencies in Korea. We are hoping that they approve the paperwork quickly so we can be in Korea in no time! (I'm hoping last week of March or Early April.) The ministry supposedly said that they would approve within 2 weeks, so that date would be Monday. My fingers, toes, arms and legs are crossed that this will actually happen! This wait has been long, hard, and I am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! The past 2 weeks have drug slowly by...but hopefully we are nearing the end!

Please pray that the approval will happen Monday & that he will be able to get his visa & passport in record time. We are all so excited and ready to add him to our family!

Groundhog day

You know how in the movie, the same day repeats over and over? Yeah...that's like this process. Every day I wake up hopeful that it will be the day that his EP will be submitted to the government & each day it ends up with disappointment. By this time last year, people had already traveled and were home with their kids. We are still waiting.

Last night, I put myself to bed at 8:30 and just cuddled up with my Ipad to watch a Korean drama and had chocolate and a diet coke next to me. I was sad. I am sad. I feel so incredibly helpless on getting my son home. Every day is another day that I am missing with him. I've watched him grow since he was 5 and a half months old & he is getting so big.

We are now at 15 months of waiting since the day we saw his sweet face. 15 months. I never would have believed at this point we would still be waiting.



I look into those sweet, pouty eyes and just want to kiss those cheeks. My heart is longing for that day.

Please, Korean Ministry, allow my son to come home.

Still waiting...

If you would've asked me in December where I thought we'd be by this point, I'd have said that the EP would have been submitted, we'd have received approval and would be getting our travel call any day now! I never would have predicted that we would still be sitting here waiting on submittal.

I'm not going to lie. This is hard. Really hard.

Last Tuesday was one of the hardest days for me yet. The calendar flipped to February & we'd been hearing that things would get rolling in February. And nothing. Me and lots of waiting mamas sat at our computers and sobbed. This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to wake up to happy news that things were finally starting. I remember walking into the kitchen to get a drink and just sat on the floor and bawled. I sobbed and sobbed and prayed and prayed. This heart was starting to feel like it was losing hope. It's hard to not know when this adoption will actually take place. I was starting to question if it will ever take place. I was in a low valley.

On Wednesday, word came out that the ministry would start to process adoptions by mid-February. It was welcome news to my ears. It was disappointing that we still had a couple more weeks to wait before anything started to happen, but the hope was back that things were getting ready to happen.

At this point, I'm guessing best case scenario is that we'll travel late March-early April. It's so frustrating when I thought he'd be home in February that we are waiting even longer. (By the way...I think Madden & his buddy Ace are new record holders for the longest wait from referral to travel with our agency.)

Please continue to pray for our family. We are all sick of waiting...but we know the end result will be sooooo worth it! Also, please pray for me and for how this will affect my business this year. Late march begins wedding season for me, so I don't know how this will all pan out. But, I have a back up ready to go for me & am just going to trust God through this process!

Next week is mid-February...bring on some good news!

Sigh.

Ugh. 2012 definitely isn't going as I had hoped. We were hoping to hear something on January 2nd and still haven't heard anything. No agencies have heard anything. Babies are just waiting. and waiting. and waiting. It is definitely wearing heavy on me and I've been so teary today. I know that God's timing is perfect...but this is tough stuff. We've almost been in the process for 2 1/2 years, saw his picture almost 14 months ago...and we are still waiting.

Yep. This is one of those poor me posts that I hate to make. Hate it. Can't wait until I get to post that his EP has been submitted. I look forward to posting that his EP has been approved. I'm anticipating the day when I can post that we received his travel call. And I am longing for the day when I am posting while in Korea that we have met our son.

Sigh. So tired of waiting. My patience ran out when the calendar turned 2012.

It's 2012!!!

I haven't had much to post here lately & couldn't fathom posting another "poor me, I'm still waiting post" so I just avoided the blog for a bit.

Back in May, we found out that we missed the EP cut off by 9 days. I was heartbroken. Boohooed like a baby. Deep, heavy sobs. It was such a low point in this adoption journey. I kept thinking 2012 is so far away!

But...2012 is finally here!!! If everything goes according to the past year's trends, then Madden's paperwork should be submitted to the Korean government any day. Can I get a Woohoo?!? I have been on the verge of tears and have been a bit sick to my stomach today. I'm just nervous to get myself too over anxious. I'm so fearful of another delay & have my heart set on getting him in February. I am beyond ready to meet my sweet boy!

If you all could please be in prayer for a quick EP submittal and EP approval, I would be so appreciative! We are all weary in this journey & are ready. Beyond ready. Like..."ready to get on an airplane right this second" kind of ready.

Nervous, anxious, excited, scared...you name it, I'm feeling it!

Last week, we went to Indianapolis to get refingerprinted for the USCIS clearance for our adoption. Our current fingerprints expire mid-February, so it was just too close to not get refingerprinted. This momma can't handle any more delays!

The plan for this week is to start going through Mason's clothes that we've saved & try to figure out what I need to buy before he gets here. I've put off doing much of this until this month. I figured I need some projects to keep me busy until he gets here! We also set up the toys Santa brought him for Christmas. It is starting to feel real! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!!!!!

18 months...

My sweet boy turned 18 months today. When we started this process, we were told he'd arrive between 12-15 months, then it was 15-18 months. I thought the 18 month milestone was a milestone I would be celebrating with him. But, I am thrilled that we received 3 new smartphone pics of him today. I wish that they would include updates about his personality, likes/dislikes/etc, but I'm thankful for anything at this point! He is 25 1/2 pounds and 33 inches of pure cuteness!

This past Sunday marked 1 year since Madden's referral. That was a day that I wasn't looking forward to. I kept hoping, hoping, hoping since the news came in May that we'd missed the cut off that somehow we would squeak in the last batch and get him home this year. The reality has fully set in that it won't be until next year.

We celebrated Madden's 1 year referral date by going to the Green Spoon here in Champaign for some Korean food. I had Beef Bulgogi & Chicken Bulgogi tacos...sooooo yummy!! The kids hand chicken bulgogi quesadillas & Tyler had spicy squid. I can't wait to go back and eat there again!

We took the kids to get their passports a couple of weeks ago & they had no idea why they were getting one. We surprised them on Sunday night and told them that they were going to Korea with us. They squealed and starting jumping up and down. They are so excited that they are going to be a part of this journey & I couldn't be more thrilled!

Happy 18 month birthday Madden...Mommy, Daddy, Mason & Millie will be coming to get you soon!

Adoption Awareness Month

The month of November is Adoption Awareness Month.

There are over 147 million children waiting on their forever families.

So thankful that there's one less...ready to get him home.