Wednesday's Musings: Life's a Ride

Wednesday Musings: Life's a Ride

• This past week has been a roller coaster ride.  The picture pretty much sums up how we currently feel. The problem: we still don't know which way we are headed next and that's frustrating. I'll start with the good news: we received travel call last Friday.  I always imagined that would be one of the happiest days of our life.  It was, but was tempered by a dark cloud that has been looming for months.  
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• Since April, we have been requesting a picture from Korea to rule out a potential medical issue.  Each month, they have screwed up the picture and not taken the requested measurement.  The end result, our doctor is now requesting that an MRI be performed to completely rule out any issues.  As you can imagine, this did not go over well with Korea.  I truly believe that they think we are over-reacting.  I have a specialist that says otherwise.  Our doctors still think he is probably normal, but can't rule out without the MRI.  
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• So, the initial response was that it would take 2 additional months for an MRI.  After yet another sleepless night, we had enough.  We pushed for an accelerated MRI based on potential medical needs.  The news came back today that his MRI was scheduled for July 8th with the results by the end of the month.  We just requested that the results be given as soon as possible, preferably before the month end.  In the US, results are usually available instantly.  Crazy, that it would take an additional 2 weeks in Korea.  
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• So, we really are riding the ups and downs of life.  We can only hope that this goes quickly and comes out positively so that we can bring him home.  I really feel for this little guy.  Here's hoping that he catches an upward break and avoids a nasty pitfall in life.
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• BTW, par for the course, I had to post in this format because otherwise it won't post.  Gosh, we need to break this cycle! 

So Close But Still So Far Away

At noon, I received a call while walking in the Gallery that Korea had sent over 30 pictures for our doctor to review.  But there was a little problem.  The sheer volume of pictures caused Mike's work email to crash and we only received 1 set at our personal email.  Luckily, she was able to email me at work.  Angie's last words were try to get this resolved quickly because your travel call is really close.

So, I spent the next hour emailing them off to the doctor.  Unfortunately, we have not heard back from her.  She's a very busy lady who heads up the International Children's Program at CHOP.  To make matters worse, another couple who are in our EP group received their travel call today....but, is not able to travel until July 12 because the Korean Social Worker is going on vacation.  Yickes!  So, now we are a little in panic mode trying to get some answers from our doctor in case we need to make additional requests to Korea.  After all that long waiting, it has come down to this rush at the end!  

Wednesday Musings: Family Time

We had a great time with our family this weekend. Amazing how fast the time went.  Two days have already gone by and it seems like an eternity since they were here.  Lately, I can't stop thinking about how our son's foster and birth family must feel.

It won't be easy on the foster family as they will be letting him go in a few weeks.  They have raised him since he was a newborn and we are eternally grateful to them.  I have started to write a letter to the foster family, but it's not easy to put your gratitude into words.  Luckily, I found a great Chinese proverb to end our letter (I know, not Korean but I thought the meaning was spot on):  It goes like this: "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance.  The thread may stretch or tangle, but never breaks."  As they count down their last few days, I hope that they can take comfort with the fact that he will be deeply loved.

At night, while lying in bed, I also find myself thinking of the birth family.  I wonder whether his young mother  is comforted that her unselfish love has given her son a world of opportunity. For her, I hope that she is able to find love and happiness.  She was described by the agency as shy.  May she grow into a strong, confident, outgoing woman.  For the birth father, I wish his time in the military to be a safe one.  He was described as adventurous and allergic to apples.  My hope for him is that he can take that adventurous side and experience all that the world has to offer.  I know this time for the birth family must bring back a world of painful memories.  Because they have given us such a precious gift, we will do everything in our power to live up to their legacy.

Our son is very lucky in that he has three different families that deeply care for him.  It really is about the thread that runs between us.  All for one special little boy.

  

Is that an I Pad 2

Another Day Down

We spent a quick weekend with my parents.  As I write, it is so quiet in the house.  It always makes me realize how much I miss having my family around.  I know one thing, we did a lot of grilling and eating on the deck.  And there is still a whole lot of food still in the fridge.

No real news on the adoption front.  We made another request to Korea to have certain pictures taken.  Unfortunately, last week they failed to include a ruler for our doctor to review.  So, now we are still waiting for the pictures and he'll have to come back into the agency.  Last week, he also had his Visa Physical so the clock is still ticking to bring him home.

Today, we received news from our agency that there will be no EP submissions for June, which really stinks for those families.  The Korean Foreign Ministry has decided that the next batch will be submitted and approved in July.  Something tells me that they are starting to run out of EPs and are purposely dragging it out until a later date.  That's why getting our son medically situated is so important.

And now to a fun fact.  How many days of limited sleep does it take to exhaust Little Miss Ma'tte?  She reached her max last night and we've never seen her so tired.  That would be 4 days without her blissful daytime sleep.  She got so desperate the little stinker snuck upstairs to her bed for some quick sleep time.

The In-laws Are Coming

Tomorrow is an exciting day for us.  My parents, two uncles, a nephew, and brother with his wife are coming.  We've been busy cleaning for what seems like forever.  How is that a house is clean one moment and an utter mess the next?  I still can't seem to figure that one out.

Tomorrow is also a very big day for our son.  His visa physical is taking place.  We are also hoping that our requested pictures are forwarded.  So, here's praying that all goes well in Korea today.

Now onto important matters.  Have you ever noticed that summer TV programming has gotten really bad?  I mean, how many shows like CSI, CSI Miami, NCIS, NCIS LA can there possibly be.  And don't get me started on a Minute to Win It.  Where do they get those insane people who desperately need a life.  Was that a man eating a sword on America's Got Talent?  Really?  Is that the best that we can offer as far as our talent expectations?  

Notification of Visa Physical

Today, we came home to a notice that his visa physical will be this Thursday.  He must be feeling better.  The agency also forwarded information in preparation for travel.  It usually takes 3-4 weeks from the VP to the travel call.  So, we are getting closer.

Still are waiting for some pictures for our doctor, but hopefully we can get those on Thursday as well.  The VP usually takes place at the Korean Agency. So, it is a perfect opportunity to knock both of them out.  Hopefully, the Korean doctor will be available.

So, this week is shaping up pretty well.  The in-laws are coming in town this Thursday so it is an exciting time for us.  But there is lots of cleaning beforehand!  Now, I just need to figure out where to put everyone.

   

Seeing Double

This morning, I ran into Trojan's twin at the park.  I was checking out the vendors for EG Day, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw another cavalier.  Which is really weird because we rarely see one.  It was a splitting image of Trojan but male....her new boyfriend.  They looked so cute together.

Which got me to thinking.  Could there possibly be a twin somewhere in the world like little Miss Mattie?  Another 13 pound spit fire who thinks she's a 100 pound dog.  Could it really be.

  

Wednesday Musings: Running in Place

It's been a rough couple of weeks for us on the adoption front.  Our doctor wanted some follow up pictures to clear up a question.  Unfortunately for us, the timing for this request has been terrible.  On Monday, Korea had its Memorial Day.  So, the next day the request was received by Korea.  It took another day to get an answer.  And, it was not good news.  Our poor little boy has hand, foot, mouth disease.  He's contagious for 3 to 7 days---so now we are looking at next week (at the very earliest) to get our pictures.

Which also means that he can't have his visa physical done because he can't come into the agency.  So, the hope of being in Korea for his 1st birthday is definitely fading.  (To be honest, I'll just be happy to get the doctor's questions resolved).  Disappointing, yes.  But not much that can be done.

    

Korea's Got Talent

I saw this video and it simply melted my heart.  Hopefully, this show will give him the chance that he so desperately deserves.

TGIF It's Friday

I snapped this picture of Trojan today as she patiently waited for her noon time walk in the park.  On Friday's, the girls and I settle into a routine.  I sit working on the recliner.  And the girls?  From what I can tell, they eat breakfast, take a quick potty break and then make a v-line to cuddle up and sleep.  It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.

We received the little guy's WBC report last week.  Our wonderful doctor at CHOP had a few additional requests for Korea.  We were hoping to get that cleared up late this week, but that didn't happen.  So, we'll have to wait until next week (Monday is Korea's Memorial Day).  We spoke to the Director of the Korea program who indicated that the Korean legal team will still be pushing forward with the travel call material that is needed.  So, hopefully this won't delay us.  

An exciting weekend planned for us.  We're hoping to check off some more items from our "to do" list.  Personally, I'm excited to have a few more weekends to sleep in late--and by late, I'm talking 8:00 am!

  

  

Wednesday Musings: Transitions

Have you ever noticed how one day spring suddenly becomes summer?  We'll we've been having that type of transition on the East Coast.  Cool and rainy one week.  The next mid-90's and humid.  Crazy how fast the seasons go.  Lately, I've been awaken at 5 am to the beautiful sound of the birds.  At first, a small rustling, which grows louder within minutes.  Pretty cool if you really think about it.

We also are looking forward to transitioning into our new life.  Our motto: prepare for the worse, hope for the best.  It will be so good when we get through that transitional period and he begins to adjust.  As for my Baby Girl, she continues to get better after suffering a concussion this weekend.  Her life is about to change as well as she welcomes baby boy.  Miss Mattie, I have no doubt will warm to him immediately.

And for me, I continue to make progress with my hip.  Today at PT, I was finally allowed to do more agility based training.  Let's just say:  it kicked my butt.  Hip feels great.  Lung capacity needs some work.  So, I need to transition as well and learn to trust my hip again.

With each transition, we begin to engage in new life experiences.  It's like an old familiar book.  The more transitional opportunities, the better the book becomes.  I, for one, want a book that is real page turner.