BIG news--paperwork has been submitted!!!!!

Yesterday, after emailing back and forth with our adoption agency, I was expecting our paperwork to not be submitted for awhile yet.  We left it with her agreeing to keep trying to find out as much she could about timelines, and for me to keep praying for a speedy submission...

So, this morning when I saw her number on my caller id, my heart skipped a beat or two---"Was something wrong with Sam??"  "Is there a problem with the paperwork??"  No to both, for it was good news she was calling to deliver!  Our paperwork was submitted to the government this morning!!!!!!  Of course, I turned into a teary, babbling, hot mess, but she didn't seem to mind :).

Here's what that means:
-The government will process our paperwork and issue EP (emigration permission), which will allow Sam to leave the country.**This is where we are as of this morning.**
-After the government finishes their part, we'll be issued a court date.
-We'll travel to appear in court.
-Once we appear in court, we'll come back over here and wait.
-Then, we'll travel to bring our boy home!!

Now, this won't all happen within a month or anything.  It's actually difficult to nail down a timeline, but we're trusting God to bring all this about quickly and smoothly.

It can never be said enough--thank you, thank you, thank you for walking alongside us!  Your encouragement, support, and prayers have carried us through these long days of waiting.  We love each and everyone of you!!

And, to our Heavenly Father, who has called us, may all the glory go to You!

"But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer." Psalm 66:19

for our boy

Sam,

I wish I could tell you that being adopted is easy and that no struggles will come because of it.  Unfortunately, sweet boy, this is not the truth.  Being adopted will not always be easy, and there will be times when struggles arise because of it.  Know that your dad and I will do everything possible to help you carry any burden you may have.

One of the struggles that may result will come in the form of questions people ask you.  These questions may come from kids or adults, and they may or may not be well-intentioned.  Your dad and I won't always be able to follow you around and help you over hurdles; as you get older, you will gradually become more and more independent.  So, we want you to be prepared for the hard questions that may come your way and confident that you can handle it.

Some questions that you may hear are:

"Why didn't your real mom keep you?" or "Is that your real mom?"

Just reading these questions, makes my heart hurt, so I can't imagine how they would make you feel. The best responses to these questions are--"that's private, and I don't have to tell you."  As for me being your real mom or not, ask them if they think I'm pretend.  (Last time I checked, I am a real person.)  Really, though, you don't have to answer at all.  It's totally okay to walk away without saying anything. 

"My parents said adoption is expensive.  How much did you cost?"

The truth is, Sam, that adoption is expensive, but don't ever let that make you feel guilty or bad in any way.  Nothing in this world comes without great cost, and you are worth it all!!  Again, don't feel like you have to answer this.  You can walk away without answering, or you could tell them that it's impolite to talk about money matters according to your Southern, manners-loving mother. ;)

"Wow, your parents couldn't have children of their own.  That's sad."

The only answer for this is that YOU ARE OUR VERY OWN.  I want you to know that deep down in your soul and cling to it whenever someone asks you a question like this.  Children do not have to be biological to be someone's "own."  You could answer telling them that, or of course, you could just walk away.

 "Why don't you look like your mom or dad?"

The long and short of this is that we're white and you're Asian.  Don't be ashamed of your heritage; you were uniquely created by God for a purpose, and you were created in His image the same as us.  You could answer by saying that you're adopted, or you got it--you could just walk away.

"Is that your real sister/brother?"

Only God knows if you're going to have a sister/brother, and if He does bless you with one, I guarantee it will be a real sibling.  I've never known of him handing out pretend siblings.  Remember, biology does not dictate "realness."

"What are you?"

I would reply, "well, I'm a child, of course."  But, this is not what they're meaning.  They want to know your race when they ask this.  Again, I want you to be proud of your heritage and the fact that you're Korean; however, if you don't want to share that, you don't have to.  You could tell them that you were born in Korea and only speak Southern, and/or you could shoot a few fun facts about Korea at them to take the focus off them asking private questions and put it on something easier to talk about.  As always, never feel obligated to answer.

With everything in me, I want to shield you and protect you from the difficult things in life, but God doesn't want us to parent that way.  He doesn't parent His children that way either.  Instead, He loves us through the good times and bad; He's a constant source of strength and help; He's our strong tower when we need it most.  Your dad and I will do our best to parent the way God does.  We will be a source of strength and help for you.  We'll be a refuge and strong tower when you need it.  And, most of all, we'll lead you to the One who is a refuge like no other!

Love you, sweet boy, more than you know!

much in common

The journey of adoption can be an emotional roller coaster where you experience unexpected twists and turns that leave you feeling weary and alone, like you're the only rider.  Needless to say, meeting those who are traveling similar journeys is good for the soul.  Last night, I was blessed by meeting others who are traveling this journey and eagerly waiting for their babies to come home.

Although we all started the journey for different reasons and have details unique to our particular stories, there are many things we have in common.

We are all in love with the children of our hearts and desperately want them home.

Our faith is being stretched by the many unknowns and lack of control that we have in this process; our only hope is in the Lord.

While others are experiencing their babies' milestones first hand, we are reading about ours on progress reports that never seem to come often enough.

Most of the time, our minds are halfway around the world, thinking about the babies who have stolen our hearts.

We struggle with the difficulty of waiting and try not to show it when the waiting gets to us and turns us into one big hot mess.

Time spent on our knees, storming the gates of heaven with prayers for our babies is time we consider well spent.

Today, I am thankful for these women who understand the ups and downs of adoption.

I'm thankful for the One who has called us all and placed us on this journey.  May He be honored through our travels.

look out for the mail

Sam,
Look out for the mail, sweet boy, and for the package of goodies that are coming your way!  May they bring you much joy and put a smile on that sweet face of yours :).
You are a constant presence in our thoughts and always in our prayers!  We are praying and expecting you to come home soon.  Until then, we'll keep loving you from all the way over here on the other side of the world...

the blessings of being still

Hurry.  It is a word that runs through my mind too much & very often comes out of my mouth.

Hurry up; we can't be late.

I need to hurry and finish this; I have many more things on my to-do list.

Yes, you can tell me about ______, but do so quickly; we need to get started on our assignment.

If I hurry, I can squeeze in a few minutes of "quiet time" to hear what God has to say.

God, can you hurry this period of waiting and bring Sam home already??

Hurrying through life is incompatible with the some of the most precious times in life * holding hands and walking in step with a two year old * patiently waiting while a fiercely independent toddler says, "me do it." * taking time to listen to him as he "reads" the book to mom and dad * extending bath time because he's having so much fun * recognizing opportunities to model for one sweet boy what it looks like to be still and wait patiently on God.

When Sam comes home, I don't want to be so hurried that I miss these precious times with my sweet boy.  I want to be still and soak up the love of my Heavenly Father while thanking Him for the joys of motherhood.

What if God is using this period of waiting to eradicate this desire that I have to hurry through life in the name of getting things done?

What if, during this period of waiting, I am supposed to be learning how to be still??

to our amazing traveling companions

Jeremy and I are beyond blessed to have two amazing church families.  Both are walking this journey with us and waiting with open arms and hearts for Sam to come home.

Sunday, our TN church family, once again demonstrated how absolutely amazing they are.  It was a simple act of gathering around us and beseeching the Heavenly Father on our behalf that left my heart overwhelmed with thankfulness---thankfulness for belonging to such a wonderful group and thankfulness to have so many people praying for Sam's arrival!

It was two years ago this month that we walked into the adoption agency to start a home study.  Two years is such a long time to wait, but our wonderful friends and family have not given up.  They continue to encourage, support, and pray, which blesses our hearts beyond measure!

What amazing traveling companions we have for this journey!

So, THANK YOU to everyone who is waiting for our sweet boy to come home.  Thank you for your words of encouragement, your love and support, and most of all for your prayers!

*A special note to our TN church family--when we moved to TN, we were far from home.  We were young and newly married, living in an unfamiliar place.  You surrounded us with love and support at a time when we needed it most and became our family here.  As a result, we're fortunate to have family in two states :).

counting on pictures

Unlike a lot of families who are adopting internationally, we have been blessed to receive monthly pictures and updates about our sweet boy.  To say we look forward to this each month is an understatement!

However, the agency in Seoul is so overwhelmed with paperwork right now that they've put a hold on new pictures for the next two months; this will allow them to spend more time on the additional mountain of paperwork being requested of them.  So,  we won't receive new pictures for August or September :(.

It probably doesn't sound like that big of a deal to most people, but when your only method of knowing your baby is through pictures, you come to depend a great deal on seeing pictures of  his face each month.

Will you join with me in praying for some very specific things?
*Pray for the government to continue processing paperwork and for them to process it swiftly and without added delay.
*Pray for the adoption agency in Seoul; they are working very hard on the behalf of many children and families.  This new law has caused them to have to crank out a lot of added paperwork, and take it from me--the sped teacher--paperwork eats up tons of time and energy!
*Pray for our paperwork to be submitted very, very soon.
*Continue praying for our sweet boy!