And Away We Go (aka The Craziest Thing I Think I've Ever Done)

I don't have any news to report on the Final Approval front -- we are still waiting to hear that the court has signed off on our case and that we are legally a family. 

I DO have news, however, on a big decision Tony and I have made.

....We are going to Korea anyway....

Crazy, right? 

• No Final Approval (yet). 
• No scheduled transfer of custody (our agency hasn't been able to coordinate our taking custody yet, which we can do before final approval is issued, so long as we sign a million forms!).
• No place to stay (yet; that's next on our list).
• No appointment at the U.S. Embassy for our Visa Interview.

But we are going anyway. Our hope (and request) is that we can take custody Friday, with our back up request being Monday, allowing us to be a family of 3 on Christmas!

What does that all mean? It means we leave TOMORROW. Yes, that's right. We booked our flights today and board our first leg for a 5:50 a.m. departure tomorrow. Our trek out there will be filled with stops (Denver, San Francisco, Narita (Japan) then Seoul) and will take us about 24 hours of traveling, plus the 15 hours time difference. We land in Seoul Thursday night. 

Thanks to Tony's talent using miles and points, we are flying first class (!) on United for the final 3 legs (including the long trip from CA to Japan). Not necessarily the itinerary we had hoped for, but out of pocket the flights are now about $4400 one way -- in economy -- and even then there's not much available. 'Tis the Season!

I can't say we are as ready as I'd like to be. Nor can I say that I'm comfortable with this crazy plan with absolutely nothing being certain. I'm a planner, after all! I like to have my ducks all in a row...perhaps this is the appropriate introduction to parenthood? :)

So, why the impulsive, very "unlike Tony and Tonya" decision? Why such short notice? 
Basically, we don't want to go any longer without Oliver as a part of our family. While I've been struggling with the ups and downs of this whole process, it has finally caught up to Tony too. Yesterday was brutal as we waited to hear...and heard nothing. He watched as flights kept filling. And we realized that if we didn't fly in the next few days, there would be no way to spend Christmas together. 

We're taking a risk. A pretty big one, actually. With how things have gone for our family during this process, who knows how long the judge will take issuing our final approval! But, we will just have to face the potential consequences when they come...if they come. 

If you are the praying type, please please please pray that all of the pieces fall into place. Specifically:

• All of our flights there go well and we don't miss any connections
• Custody transfer gets arranged and is either Friday (ideally) or Monday
• Final approval is issued this week
• Visa interview is early next week, or Thursday at the latest
• Our visa is issued on the spot and we are cleared to return home on our scheduled flight, Friday, Dec 27th.
• And of course pray for Oliver and his Foster Family. This will be a difficult time for them.

Okay. Well, I better get back to all that needs to be done before we leave! The house isn't ready....car seats aren't installed....packing is nearly done but not fully ready....etc. I will work to keep the blog updated as best I can.

I can't believe this is happening!!