A Real Update!

Dear Family and Friends (a.k.a. my patient readers),

It is with joy and a renewed sense of hope that I share our latest news: 
[drumroll please...]

Our file has been submitted to the Korean Family Court! 

This is big news! We are officially in the home stretch of what feels like a never-ending process.

Let me back up for a moment. I must confess that I have not been 100% forthcoming with information these past few months. Back in late April Tony and I were told that our file was being prepared for submission to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (the agency that reviews the files and approves the child for emigration out of Korea). Given the lengthy delays and continued uncertainty families were experiencing, Tony and I decided to keep the information to ourselves (and the Grandparents, of course). There were a few hurdles to overcome before our file could be submitted, and my nerves were at an all-time high for the month of May. 

On May 31st our file was officially submitted to the Ministry. Tony and I (and again, the Grandparents) were so excited! What a way to kick off the summer. We were told that we should be approved in no more than eight weeks, so I developed and maintained an unhealthy attachment to my phone and email as I kept thinking "any minute now" for...well...what turned out to be 12 weeks. 

On August 23rd, while we were pulling out of our driveway to head to the State Fair, we received an email notifying us that the Ministry issued our Emigration Permission Approval. Before the Special Adoption Law went into effect last August, this was the call families waited for. Once the EP was issued, families were expected to hop on a plane and pick up their child. Now, it is just one more step forward.

So, what's next? 
Now we wait for the Family Court to review our file. Once they have reviewed our file, we will be assigned our court date. We have no say in when this date falls, but generally families are given 4-6 weeks notice (sometimes more). The court date indicates when will make our first trip to Korea -- and most importantly when we will get to meet Oliver. We will meet him a day or two prior to our court appointment. 

During our court appointment we will be asked questions by the Judge (through a translator) who will have the authority to approve us or deny us. Luckily there haven't been any families denied by the Judge -- at least that we know about.

Once the Judge issues their approval (which will likely day a few days), a 14-day waiting period begins. When the waiting period is over, we get to bring Oliver home. There are a few other smaller steps after the waiting period is over (interview at the Embassy and I'm sure more paperwork), but nothing major. 

Tony and I currently plan to take two trips -- the first for our court appearance, the second after the 14-day wait is over. Once we are home, there will be some post-placement requirements we have to meet. Social worker visits, letters, etc. But we will be a family. The end is in sight.

So, when we will get to travel?
Good question! I'll be sure to let you know when we find out. Until then, we are keeping our expectations in check and just looking for it to happen sometime yet this year.

We appreciate all of the support, love, prayers and encouragement. I can't wait to give you the next update -- our court (and travel) date!

Love,
Tonya

Anniversary Getaway

It's hard to believe that Tony and I have been married for 7 years, and that we've known each other for over 15 (and only disliked each other for about 3 of those years). What a journey we've had, and what a crazy year we have ahead of us!

Less than two weeks ago Tony and I decided to head out of town to celebrate our Anniversary. We had some airline miles to use (that won't help us with the Korea trips) and I've been itching to get out of town. Plus, the daily issues of both home construction and adoption drama coupled with busy schedules had us both needing a small escape.

We flew out extra early Thursday and came back extra late last night (Sunday) for a lovely 4 days/3 nights in Chicago. Tony booked our room through this fancy credit card travel program, so our home base was the Trump International Hotel right along the river. As part of the travel program deal we were treated to a yummy welcome (the chocolates were part of the program; the chocolate covered berries painted with gold were for our anniversary):

 

However, the best surprise was the upgrade. We expected a king room with a city view, hoping to be upgraded to a river view. Unfortunately no river view rooms were available, so instead we were upgraded to a SUITE! The suite is listed on their site as starting at 1,200SF...bigger than apartments Tony and I have lived in! It.Was.Beautiful. A bathroom with shower was right by the front door; a full kitchen (all of the Trump rooms have full kitchens, so this wasn't just for the suite); a dining area; a large living room with fireplace and work area. 

This is a photo from the Trump website; our room was actually reverse and just a bit different (work area was beyond the fireplace; sofa was against a wall). But it gives you an idea of the space. Photo taken from the dining area.

Photo taken from the chaise lounge across from the desk; windows behind me. 

Then through the door was the Master Suite, which included a very large bathroom (the deep bath tub was great!); a dressing and make up room; and an extra large bedroom and sitting area. 

This is a photo from the Trump website; our bathroom room was actually reverse of this. Behind the frosted glass is the business area of the bathroom. And yes, there is a TV in the mirror.

The photo doesn't quite do the bedroom justice, but as you can see it is quite luxurious.

This is the dressing and makeup room; there is a large closet just to the right and a full mirror between that and the bathroom (hard to fit it all in)

Unbelievable! The lovely accommodations aside, Tony and I really enjoyed the weekend. We saw a couple of friends (once on purpose; once in a "it's a small world" encounter), ate good food, did a little biking and a lot of walking, caught the Air part of the Chicago Air & Water show, ate more good food, saw "We're the Millers" (very funny), enjoyed some adult beverages, ate even more, and did a lot of relaxing. It was great. 

On Thursday night we stumbled upon a USO concert and got a chance to step into the gunner position of an armored humvee. Here's a cell phone photo one of the army guys snapped for us:

Tony took (literally) hundreds and hundreds of pictures; these are all the ones I have on my phone...sadly mostly of the room, but I deferred to Tony's more professional camera and photo-taking skills for the rest.

Now, back to the real world!

Monthly Updates Suspended

We received notice today from our local agency (CHSFS) that our Korean agency (ESWS) has announced a temporary suspension in the monthly updates (photos, measurements, etc.). 

We have received written communication from ESWS that there will be no photographs, measurements and/or updates for matched children in the months of August and September in an attempt to focus worker time for Ministry and Court submissions.  This is a temporary hold on updates.  It is anticipated that the extra time used now for the new process will result in a systematic, effective process going forward.  Of course, if there are medical test results or urgent news regarding a child, it will be shared immediately. 

The lack of new photos and updates is crummy news, but at least we know not to expect them. Hopefully this temporary suspension really does free up the workers' time and helps to move families forward in the process.

With any luck we will get other updates during this suspension -- movement of our file, perhaps even a court date. So check back every once in a while just in case!