Merry Christmas

We got an update in December with pictures. Rachel was 14 months old. This should be our last update. Next we get to meet her in person. She is 16 months old now and I'm sure she is full of energy. Not sure we are prepared for that! Our SW said we should hear something by mid-January. After all the waiting now I don't feel like we are ready!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Blessings

We got a call and a letter from our agency. They now know the Korean gov't is not giving out any more passports for 2006. Now we expect Rachel home in January. It's what I thought in the back of my mind but it is still hard. She's getting so much older and we don't even know her. The time is going by rather quickly though. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time to start working on really getting ready for her.

We got two unexpected checks in the mail this week. We feel that God is blessing us through this adoption.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19

November

I can't believe a year has gone by. Last November we were working on paperwork and getting our fingerprints done. We never thought we would still be waiting at this point. Our dear little girl is still not home. Our agency said we could send a letter to her foster mom in Korea, so I delivered a Thanksgiving card and some photos today. I realize that Thanksgiving is a distinctly American holiday. They actually celebrate a type of "thanksgiving" holiday in Korea called Chuseok, also known as the Harvest Moon Festival.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

What's in a Name?

Way back when we got our referral- we decided on the name "Rachel". We also decided on the middle name "Lee". Rachel's Korean name is "Lee, So Young". "Lee" is her birthmother's last name. So we decided to keep it as her middle name. No we have decided to keep all of her Korean name as her middle name. So her official name is going to be "Rachel Lee So-Young ___". Kind of a mouthful but I think it's important since she is going to be so much older than we thought. The name "So-Young" is all she knows.

...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land... 2 Chron 7:14

Latest Update

We were able to get the MRI films from Korea and have a doctor here look at them. The doctor here agrees there are some abnormalities. But what that means for her future we do not know. It is likely she will have developmental delays. Her pictures look good and we got a video that looks good. So it's hard to believe that she might have "special needs". We had to have a meeting with our agency and it seems like they're trying to talk us out of this. We feel more committed to her than ever actually. We've been waiting 7 months for her to come home. There is a slight chance she could get consideration to come home in December. If not we are now probably looking at January. There were nuclear tests done in North Korea yesterday. That worries me and make it seem even more urgent that she comes home now. She's 13 months old. I feel like I've missed so much.

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Prov 21:1

Tol

Our social worker called Aug 22 to say that Rachel had a few tests done in Korea but their not sure why. After having two doctors look at the results we have decided to ask for more tests to be run. I have gone from thinking something is terribly wrong to thinking nothing is wrong. Last Sunday Rachel also celebrated her 1st bithday which is called "Tol" in Korea. They have a special ceremony called a "toljabe" which her foster family had for her and they dressed her in the traditional "hanbok". At least she will always have that.

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. IS 40:31

Not home yet

Last Friday, Renee called and said most likely Rachel won't be home until the end of December. That's what they've said all along, but we had gotten our hopes up because things were moving right along and even a March referral came home in July. It just seems so unfair. Our baby girl needs to come home now. KSS has decided to give remaining passports to special needs kids first. We have been waiting for her so long.

When I wander through the desert
And I'm longing for my home
All my dreams have gone astray
When I'm stranded in the valley
And I'm tired and all alone
It seems like I've lost my way

I go running to Your mountain
Where your mercy sets me free

(Chorus)
You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I seek

In the middle of my darkness
In the midst of all my fear
You're my refuge and my hope
When the storm of life is raging
And the thunder's all I hear
You speak softly to my soul

Strong Tower- Kutless

a shower

My friends Lisa, Valerie and Terri gave me a baby shower Sunday 8/13. It was really nice and Rachel got a lot of cute outfits. It's weird though because we haven't even met her! I just want her home! more later...

Email

Got a suprise email today from Rachel's foster mom in Korea. She writes:

I send some So-young's photos
she has 6 teeth and she can speak "umma" ("umma" means mom)
She is crawl about all fours
She likes cookie, banana and cheese
She is very cute baby
so, my famiy and I love her
I'll send you too some photos next time
God bless you~~!!

Such a nice surprise! She also sent some pictures attached- she looks so cute!

11 months

Rachel's 11 month birthday was 7/27/06. We want her home now. But I think I can hold on a little longer. She turns one year old this month. It will be sad without her. We bought a new (to us) minivan. Now I'm feeling a little nervous about spending money. I found a bible verse on another site that is very fitting for a Korean adoption...

Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east, and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:5

Update!

We got a new update and pictures in the mail on Wednesday. It is from 6/30/06. Rachel is now 10 months old and 20 1/2 lbs. She has 6 teeth and likes bananas!
We heard about some babies coming home this month so we think we're getting close. My friend Valerie helped me paint her room this week yellow and green.

Happy Independence Day!

Rachel turned 10 months old on June 27. I wonder what she looks like now, what she can do, and how big she is. She also missed her first 4th of July in the U.S. I hope we get another update soon. I really need to see some more pictures! Her first birthday will be sad if she is not home, but she will get a Korean Tol ceremony with her Foster Family.

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day this weekend. I got DH a one-time use digital video recorded that we can use when Rachel comes home to capture the moment. I am starting to think she may be home sooner than we think. We found out there are only about 18 babies ahead of us. So maybe September if everything keeps moving along.

The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. Proverbs 23:24

Visa Approval

We got a letter in the mail today that our I-600 was approved. The approval form is called an I-171. The petition now goes to the U.S. Consulate in Seoul Korea. Now we wait for a passport. My guess is since we got our referral in March- the whole thing should take about 6 months- so we hope Rachel will be home by October.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Eccl. 3:1

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day and got some nice gifts (surprise!). We have sent off a care package to our agency that should arrive in Korea next week. Hard to decide what to put in one ziplock bag- but we sent a little doll, toy keys, 2 disposable cameras, a pink "hoodie" and some lotion for the foster mom. We have now decided on a name- and we kind of had this name picked out all along- we are naming her "Rachel".

Update!

We got a surprise update today! Our little girl is doing great. She is now 8 months old and living with a foster family. We got a lot of pictures and she looks so different- still not a lot of hair though! Her update says she is very alert and responsive and looks very healthy. She can sit up (kind of wobbly) and roll over from side to side. She is getting up on her knees like she wants to crawl. She likes to bang toys on the floor and makes faces. She was described as easy-going. She weighs 20 lbs.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Psalm 84:10

Happy Easter

Easter this year was kind of bittersweet because our little girl was not here with us. So Young celebrated her 7 month birthday in Korea on March 27. We were pleased to discover that she was sent to live with a foster family on March 16- the day after we received her referral. We just found out this news- so we are learning news travels slowly. We don't know which foster mother she is with at this time. Hopefully we will be getting an update this month or next month. As soon as we find out where she is, we are going to send a little care package.

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Matthew 28:6

It's a Girl!!!

Well to our great surprise we found out we have a little girl!

Her name is So Young Lee and she was born 8/27/05. We got some pictures and info about her at 6 weeks and 5 months old. Right now she is 6 1/2 months old. She is still living at the KSS orphanage as far as we know. She looks very chubby!

We have been calling family this weekend to make the announcement.

Surprise!

Wednesday March 15, 2005

Our SW called at 7:20 am and said she had some news and wanted to meet with us after work. We set up a 6:30pm appointment for Renee & Pat to meet at our house. Pat got here first but she didn't know anything. Renee arrived a few minutes later with a large envelope. She said do you want the information first or to see the picture first? We said information first. She said she had the information on our referral in the envelope and the big surprise was...

(to be continued) :-)

Approved

We finally got our homestudy approval letter. We are officially approved as of 2/24/06 and we are now officially waiting for a referral. And we got a bill for $3000. I think the referral should come any day now. There have been a few given out already.

A Decision To Make

Our SW called us last Friday and said that passports are still coming through slowly and it's taking a long time to get caught up from last year. We were given the choice to take a referral now, or wait until summer when things may be more caught up. If we take a referral now, the child will probably not be able to travel until the end of the year. She said it would be the last group to come home in 2006. If we wait for a summer referral, they will probably travel in the first quarter of 2007. The only other hitch is the babies now are a little older than we were expecting- so we are probably going to be bringing home a 16 month old instead of a 12 month old. I think we are going to go ahead and get the referral now. We can send a care package to Korea now and we will get pictures and a couple updates probably.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Cor 9:24

Happy Valentine's Day

(Well, a day late)

There were finally some travel calls for February. 10 more babies got passports to come home this month. It looks like FAC is caught up to the October referrals. So hopefully there will be some more news in March.

A special Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetie.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col 3:14

Slow Down

First the good news. We finished our homestudy last night. We don't have the official approval letter but we are basically approved by the state to be adoptive parents.

But we just learned last night that there has been a hold placed on Korean referrals. In January we were told that a referral would come very soon and we could have a baby placed in by summer. There are still many babies waiting to come home from 2005 because the Korean government stopped issuing passports early in the year. Now they are trying to get the waiting 2005 babies caught up and home. That means they are using up 2006 passports. Until this situation can be resolved, they don't want to put any more babies in the waiting line. So we are put on hold. There is really no way to know when things will open up again. I hope it doesn't last too long and we can get a referral soon.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:14

Travel Calls Start

What a great day! Three FAC families got the first travel calls of the New Year. Their babies are coming home January 18. We have our next two homestudy (individual) interviews next week also.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Mt. 6:33

Happy New Year

We had our first homestudy visit on January 4. We actually met with two social workers because one is in training. They are both very nice! We have three videos to watch and a big stack of articles to read. We also have to start working on making our home baby safe. We will have about three more meetings I think. So far, so good.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2