Off to his half marathon

It was an early morning rise this morning and to be honest much too early for a Sunday.  After months of preparation, Dada is running his half marathon.  While I initially had planned to take the pups and go with him, we woke to a 30 degree day with a slight chance of snow.  (bulletin to winter, please go home and hibernate).  So, here I sit awake, but in a deep funk.  This is his first half marathon so I think he was a little nervous, but I know that he will do just fine.  Mike is a rock star and there is no quit in him.  While we await his return in a few hours, the pups and I are cuddled on the sofa.  Would it be that wrong to take a little napper with the pups?  If only I could get Mattie to move a little bit to the left and with a gentle nudge of Trojan, there actually might be room for me to sleep.  (And yes, the pups were initially not allowed on the sofa, but somehow they have not only made their way up, but have taken over).  Cavaliers rule!    

Madagascar - I Like To Move It, Move It

Giant Step Forward

True to our case worker's word, our approved I600 arrived today.  Yeah!  The I600 is a notice of provisional approval to recognize our son as a immediate relative.  We now move onto the National Visa Center (NVC). When they approved the I600, it was sent to the NVC and "logged in".  Once it is "logged out" it will be sent to the US Embassy in Seoul.  

The next step?  The Embassy in Seoul will issue the P3.  This is an acceptance packet that contains certain paperwork, forms and a physical form.  On the Korean side, we still need to be granted an Emigration Permit (EP).  The EP is the key.  The Korean government only issues so many EPs per year to each agency.  And you never know when an agency will run out.  So, we are desperately hoping that we are one of the lucky families to receive one.  

As I say to the girls while we walk in the park "I like to move it, move it.  I like to move it, move it.  I like to move it, move it.  You Like to Move It."      

Rainy Wednesday

So, it's a little rainy around here.  And more importantly COLD.  How did that happen?  It was a balmy 70 degrees on Friday.  The birds were happily chirping away.  My spring flowers were showing rebirth.  Trojan, once again, discovered ball ball and boy does she like to play ball ball.  Then, we woke today with calls for snow showers.  What?!  Luckily, most of the real snow is north of us, but the mere thought of it sends shivers up my spine.

It has been one of those gloomy days.  I received a call today that my hip specialist has a surgery opening for next Wednesday.  Next wednesday are you kidding me, was my first reaction.  I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I'll be on crutches for a month.  Ugh.  Honestly, I am really lucky.  This doctor is doing me a huge favor and getting me in extra early so that I can travel to Korea.  He caters to professional athletes and is one of the top hip surgeons in the field.  And when his lead nurse found out that we were adopting, she immediately went to work to secure an early appointment for me.  I'm just a little down because spring time is one of my favorite times of the year and I really won't be able to do much.  But, if it makes me better by Korea time, the agony will be worth it.  I really need to learn to stop these self induced injuries.  Ladies lawn bowling here I come.  (Don't laugh, it exists and yes, I was recruited to play by a group of shall we say peppy 80 year olds).

Funny thing also happened.  With my last post, I mentioned that I had called USCIS about our I600, but thought that I forgot to give my phone number.  Well as luck would have it, I didn't and got a call back from them.  Our case worker indicated that we should be approved by Friday.  Yeah!  And then onto the National Visa Center...  Here's hoping for a sunnier tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday: We're Walking in the Rain

Wordless Wednesday: I Love Goretex

Sunny Saturday

The last few weekends have been spent painting and I must confess that I have a knack for putting more paint on myself than on the walls.  But, I must admit that even I took it to a new level today.  I picked up a sample of a color for the back bedroom.  By the time I hit the check out counter, I somehow managed to get paint on all of my fingers, the entire can and yes a little smudge on my face.  How is that possible?

Yesterday, we requested an update picture from our agency.  They said that they would put word into Korea and that they will send a new one once they receive it.  Yeah.  I also called USCIS to check on our I600.  Funny little story.  The lady who answered my call was super nice and confirmed that it has been assigned to a case worker and transferred me to her.  Of course, it went straight to voice mail.  I left my name, a SIM case number, another A case number and by the time I got to the end I asked for a call back and hung up.  Minor detail here (after all of those other numbers) I really believe that I forgot to give my phone number.  So, I think I'll wait until next Friday, and if we haven't received it, give another call.

DADA is bowling today in a tournament.  So, the girls and I ran errands this morning and will attempt to paint this afternoon.  Honestly, I feel like joining the pups in a little napper.  They really have perfected the ability to sleep anywhere at any time.  What a life!

March WBC Report

Today we received at least one thing from our wish list:  His WBC Report came and boy has there been progress.  With the last report, he really wasn't sitting and the doctor made it a point to ask the foster mother to work in this area.  Today, I am happy to report that he is not only sitting but standing and beginning to walk.  He is also beginning to form one syllable words.  And is reported as cute and fine.  We always send the report to our doctor at CHOPS, who has been so helpful through this process.

I must admit that I was a little disappointed that there was no picture.  We really haven't seen pictures since the referral, at which time he was 6 months old.  So for now, we have to use our imagination.  I'm going to imagine prince charming with big brown eyes, jet black hair, a smile that makes ladies swoon and a personality larger than life.  By goodness Watson, I think we have discovered the perfect man.

And a Happy Birthday to my Uncle Dick.  A man that exemplifies self sacrifice and love.  I wish him all of the happiness in the world and a long life.  And a quick prayer to wish Grandpop B a safe surgery and an even quicker recovery.

All Quiet on the Front

It has been a relatively uneventful week on the adoption front.  We are still waiting for I600 approval and really can't move forward until we receive it.  We have also been patiently waiting for our next WBC report to get the latest update on his progress.  Hopefully, we'll get a new picture as well.  Could we possibly get the trifecta: I600 approval, a new WBC report and pictures all on the same day?  Luck, be a lady tonight.

Sadly, we were reminded this week just how fast things can change in life.  Last week, Japan had a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which obliterated the northern part of its country.  To add insult to energy, they are now dealing with radiations concerns from a now crippled power plant.  Words cannot describe the images coming out of Japan.  But if there is nothing that I learned from my good Japanese friend from college, they are a resourceful people and will come back from this.

Which makes the news that we received today even more special:  Jason & Toni had their 2nd child this morning.  His official name Jason Jr or JJ.  Mom and baby are healthy and doing fine.

Sometimes you have to take the bad in order to REALLY enjoy the good.  So, I'll leave with these words from Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies, "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying".

Wordless Wednesday: I Thought I Saw A Pussy Cat

Wordless Wednesday: Injured Baby Girl

Baby's Room

We are starting to make progress.  Last night, Mike put the convertible crib together.  Today, we need to put the finishing touches on the paint job and assemble the changing table.  Mike then needs to do touch up painting in our bedroom.  Unfortunately, I do more damage than help with painting the edges.  So, I manage to get out of that work!

Yesterday, we got up early to go to a baby sale sponsored by mainline mom's with multiples.  We were told to be there early because the line gets long.  Little did we know how prophetic that would turn out to be.  We were there early and were close to the front of the line.  After about an hour wait, they let us in and that's when it got interesting.  We made our way over to the car seats (which were mostly for infants) and were immediately swarmed.  So, we grabbed a cute high chair that was nearby  By the time we turned to go the other side of the room, the place was a buzz.  We decided it would be best if Mike stayed with the high chair and I check out the toys.   It was like a whirlwind and I grabbed as many toys as I could that looked age appropriate.  We actually made out pretty well with two big bag full of stuff (mainly toys and a cute lamp).   With their fall sale, the little one will be with us and we can actually check out their clothing sale...just in time for fall and winter.

While we were happy about our finds, we came home to find that Trojan was badly limping.  And this after we spent most of Friday night watching after Mattie who was throwing up.  Off we went to the vet.  As soon as the Dr.  saw us, he laughed and said don't tell me the other dog is having issues.  After a few anxious minutes and x rays, it was confirmed that she didn't break anything (thank goodness), but she did badly pull a muscle around her hip area.  So, my big girl has been limping about and needs to be carried up and down the steps.  Today, she must be filling a little better, because her bark is back, but she still has a slight limp.  And what of baby girl?  Well, let's just say that she is back to 100% ornery, but boy did she take advantage of the attention she got while sick.  So as we limp into next week, let's hope that there will be no more emergency visits or calls to the vet!

Early Morning Wake Up Call

It's been a relatively quiet last few days.  We did get a little stir in the middle of the night when Mike's phone rang with a text message.  Evidently, the USCIS sent us a notice to say that they received our package for the I600.  Who says that government workers don't work---let's just say that they do it at their own pace.  (We sent the I600 material overnight to them almost a week ago).  And a text message at 1:30 in the morning?  I can tell already that this step is going to be exciting.

We have also been working on a photo album to mail to the foster family.  Our agency (which facilitates this process) has asked families not to send gifts over to their child.  Instead, they recommend compiling a photo album.  The foster family loves to see picture of the new parents.  So, we have selected about 22 pictures that covers different members of our family.  And, of course, there were a couple of cute pictures of the pups as well.

Wordless Wednesday: Threat of Rain