I just love this photo. What a great smile! I can’t believe he’s going to be 2 in just under 3 weeks!

Owen | 3 Comments »

So, I started this blog initially for family so they could keep up with our adoption process. Of course, don’t get me wrong, I am SO glad that other adoptive families read this blog, too. It just seems ironic that hardly any of my family actually checks this blog. I’ll mention things to family members that were posted weeks before and it’s totally news to them…

I know that some family members do read the blog (thanks Aunt Chris!), but I’m just trying to figure out who I should actually be writing for. I mean, if it’s mostly non-family, then I’m going to branch out a bit. I suppose if I get an onslaught of emails from family members after posting this, then I’ll know I’m wrong. If not, well, then I’ll know why I only have a few quilt squares from family and like 99 from other adopting families

Overseas Adoption | 6 Comments »

We (well, Matt, really) are making progress on the kitchen. For a photo record of our progress, go here. Matt painted yesterday and we really like the color:

We are now waiting for our floor, dishwasher, sink and cabinets to arrive (probably at least another week on the cabinets). Owen and I will most likely be in NJ so Matt will have the place to himself and won’t have to worry about dangerous tools, torn up floors, etc. getting in Owen’s way.

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Well, Owen and I are off to NJ in a little over a week. I have never traveled with a toddler before and Owen has never traveled by plane…should be interesting. I am excited, though, because we will be visiting my dad and step-mom and they have not seen Owen since last May! Owen will also get to spend his second birthday in NJ and word is that there’s a party being planned for him We also have plans to visit the Central Park Zoo, the Statue of Liberty and the NJ shore. We will also meet my niece, Maggie, and nephew, Matthew, for the first time. And I’ll get to catch up with some old friends, too.
I am also hoping to meet up with a few of my BB pals and I think there should be enough time to do so.

Other than that, Matt is painting the kitchen as I type this. I’ll post some photos tonight. We chose a very nice 50s green. Hope we picked right!

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We received word from our agency yesterday that our homestudy was sent to Korea (HSTK) on 5/19!! So we are officially back in the waiting game. The time estimates are 6 - 8 months for referral and 3 - 5 months until the child is escorted to the U.S.

We will most likely be referred a boy, and the child will be about 4-weeks-old at the time of referral and 4 - 6 months upon arrival. So now we wait…

Overseas Adoption | 1 Comment »

Grades are finally in (hi to any students reading this ) so I have some time to update everyone on our progress.

Our homestudy was rewritten, approved, and sent to Oregon (our agency’s main office). I anticipate our paperwork will be on its way to Korea very soon. We are hoping for a December-ish referral and a Mei/Theo arrival sometime toward the end of Spring 2007. This transition has been difficult for me (Jen). I have been so wrapped up in the China process for the past year, I am still a bit shell shocked with our sudden change. I am learning more about the Korea adoption process and Korea every day, and I hope this will help. Today in the mail I received the perfect gift from my Holt secret pal: a book called I Wish for You A Beautiful Life. This book contains letters written by Korean birthmoms to their children. It’s incredibly sad and beautiful at the same time. If you are reading this, SP, you picked the perfect thing at the perfect time. Thank you!

We (well, Matt) are making progress with our kitchen remodel. Most of the old cabinets are out, the drywall around the old and new windows has been repaired, recessed lights installed, dishwasher ordered, the new floor ordered today…essentially, all we have left to do (besides install everything and paint) is order the cabinets from Ikea, order the countertops and get a garbage disposal. Sounds easy, huh? I’ll post some photos soon.

Owen and I leave for NJ soon. Wish me luck as I travel solo with a toddler for the first time…yikes! Any advice? Matt has to teach a class - and finish the kitchen - so he will miss out on possible in-plane tantrums…

Okay, The Daily Show is on soon and I need to get to bed. I just finished up a big batch of quilt squares for the Jan DTC/Panda swap. Sorry that they are a little late - but they are on their way…

Overseas Adoption, Owen | 1 Comment »

This will be quick - I have more to post, but will have to do that a bit later..maybe tonight. School’s out, grades are (almost) done and we’ve been playing outside with Owen as much as we can. Here’s a fun little video clip from this weekend (it takes a minute to load and is in Quicktime format):

Owen’s Big Swing

Enjoy! Oh - and I should add that the camera seems to be okay so far. Matt had to bend the lens back into place…

Owen | No Comments »

Things must go on, right? Apparently, our homestudy has been rewritten for Korea. I was told I’d get to see a draft, but that hasn’t happened yet…I filed our I-824 so our I-600A approval can be switched from China to Korea. We need to take a few new photos to go with our Dossier to Korea. The Korea process is nowhere as paperwork-heavy as China. Gee, if we had known that at the start…just kidding I’ll keep everyone posted on our progress. At this point, we are expecting a referral sometime near the end of the year, and the new little squirt will be escorted to the US 3 - 5 months later. I’m guessing our little one will be home around the same time many of my China DTC buddies will be returning home with their children. It will be wonderful to celebrate together!
Other than that, the semester is winding down - next week is the last week of classes (yay!). We both have much to do, but it will be nice to make it through finals week. I’m sure our students are thinking the same thing.

Owen took his first nap in his Big Boy Bed today! This made his parents quite happy. I hope it’s the beginning of a trend… We are making very good progress on our kitchen remodel. Matt put in the recessed lights and wired them. The walls are reparied around the new window and where the old windows were removed. There are now wires for the new hood and the dishwasher (we still have to actually purchase these things…). We need to figure out the best way to get the cabinets from Ikea and the rest should fall into place pretty fast (countertops, floor, paint, said appliances…). I’ll post some photos in the next day or two.

Almost time for Saturday Night Live. I am so hoping for a Chris Parnell rap this evening

Overseas Adoption, Owen | 2 Comments »

We are having some travel issue with China. I’m not going to bore everyone with the details, but essentially, our situation has changed and Matt and I will not be able to BOTH travel to China once we receive our referral. Neither of us are comfortable traveling to China alone (esp. without help), plus we both really want to be there when we meet our child for the first time…

So, all this is to say that we have made the decision to adopt from Korea instead of China. Korea allows the child to be escorted to the U.S. and this is now a huge issue for us. The Korea program is also a bit different than the China program. The children are younger at the time of referral (about 4 weeks old) and between 4 and 6 months when they arrive in the U.S. Many of the children live in foster families instead of institutions. The medical care is supposed to be the best of any international adoption program. There’s also one BIG difference…

We will most likely be referred a boy. There is a slight chance we could be referred a girl, but probably not. From what we understand, Korea stopped accepting gender requests about a year ago because a majority of families were requesting girls. This led to an imbalance (sort of the opposite of China’s gender issue, I guess). So more than likely, we will not be waiting for Mei, we will be waiting for Theo. I think Owen will love having a little brother.

More later. I am exhausted. This past week has been incredibly busy. Matt’s grandmother had a heart attack, and is thankfully doing well and home today. I had to drive to Chamberlain and back on Tuesday (400 miles) to get Matt, and we’ve been wrestling with this big decision. Hi to all and I’ll be back with more later.

Overseas Adoption | 1 Comment »

Hi. I know it’s been a while. I hope you aren’t upset. Did you miss us?

It’s been crunch time at work (midterms and the end of the semester) so Matt and I have both been insanely busy. I’m back on caffeine…

So, there is not much new to report in the world of Chinese adoption except that the wait times are increasing. We’ve been told to expect anywhere from a 12 to 18 month wait (!) but my guess is it will be more of a 12 to 14-month time frame. I’m hoping for a February or March referral and April or May travel dates. Hey, the weather should be nice then, eh?

In the meantime, I’ve got a secret pal exchange, a cybershower, a postcard exchange and 3 quilt square exchanges to keep me busy. If anyone is wondering where their squares are, I just got some new fabric and am waiting on another piece, so your squares will be on their way soon.

Oh, and we’ve started the kitchen remodel. Take a look at our progress so far here: http://owenandmei.com/pix/remodel_windows/ The cats LOVE the new window. Next is the electrician. Then, Matt puts in the recessed lights and then we have to go to Ikea to get the cabinets. Should keep us busy for a while!

Overseas Adoption | 5 Comments »