The First Care Package

Care Package #1

This weekend Tony and I went on a little shopping trip to pick up a few things for our very first care package. The items have to fit in a one gallon zip lock bag; no liquids allowed. We wanted to get him something soft and cuddly, so we found this cute cuddly bear-blanket he can carry around. We also found a fun mirrored lion teether and a soft squishy stuffed bear. Finally, we are including a framed picture of Tony and I. And, the bag is full!

We had a lot of fun shopping together for it, though we also realized that we have a lot to learn about little kids' stuff. We plan to bring it with us on Saturday when we go to the waiting families seminar at Children's Home. I can't wait for him to receive it!

Already Dropping the Ball?

Call the 'bad mother' police! It is possible that I'm already proving to be unworthy of being called a mom. 


In all seriousness I realize that's not the case. However, I'm feeling as though I've completely failed in the first few months alone. You see, we have been told all along that we are allowed to send our little guy TWO care packages during the entire wait (and both must fit in a one gallon zip lock bag, contain no liquids and be only for the child, not the foster parents). Given the length of the wait, we want to space out the two packages so he gets one soon and one close to our travel time (so we can include what's called a "transitional item," something he will bring back to the U.S. but will be familiar and smell like home). We thought the first could go around his first birthday, and hadn't decided when the second would be sent.


Fast forward to today. I was just told that we are, in fact, allowed to send ONE PACKAGE PER MONTH. One per month. That means I'm already two packages behind! Goodness gracious. 


Time to get moving!

Waiting

The #1 question Tony and I get asked is why we have to wait so long to bring our little guy home (and if we can do anything to speed up the process). The #2 question is often about whether we've gotten any updates on the wait time.


To help answer and explain #1:
The beginning of 2012 did not look promising for families waiting to bring their little ones home from Korea. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the first families received permission to travel, and those families had been waiting for quite a while. The wait time is a roller coaster! For example: 
- When we first began the paperwork process last May we were told the wait from referral acceptance to travel was about 10 months. 
- When we submitted our formal application in the fall we were told things were now at 14 months. 
- When we accepted our referral in February we were told to expect a 19 month wait. 


Really, I don't think the agency knows exactly, but they are trying to help us manage our expectations and not get our hopes too high.


In the weekly program update, CHS&FS provided a good -- and detailed -- explanation as to why we have to wait to travel to bring our little guy home. I hope it helps to clarify the WHY, even though it doesn't do much to help the wait go faster. It also helps to answer the question about whether we can speed things up from this side of the globe. 


Here's what the Agency said:

Can CHSFS control travel times? Unfortunately, Children’s Home has nearly no influence over the length of time that passes between when a family’s acceptance paperwork is sent to Korea and when they are able to receive their child.  Rather, that timeline is determined almost exclusively by the amount of time it takes for the process in Korea to be completed (the U.S. process for obtaining a visa is usually completed relatively quickly). The Korean process is dependent on Korean adoption and emigration policies— in particular, the emigration quota system which establishes a limit to the number children who will be granted permission to emigrate out of Korea for the purpose of adoption. In recent years, the quota has been dramatically decreased resulting in longer waits for children who have been matched with adoptive families to be issued emigration permissions. Although Children’s Home is not able to directly affect the number of emigration permissions granted or the speed with which they are processed in Korea, we are very proactive in advocating in the best interest of the children with organizations in Korea such as the Korean social welfare agencies, the Ministry, and other non-agency advocacy groups. Through all of our efforts we promote ethical child welfare practices and we urge for prompt issuing of the emigration permission so that children can join their adoptive families soon after acceptance.

To help answer #2:

We do hear updated wait times every now and again, but the agency has indicated it will have a more solid idea of our travel time later this year. Our hope is to bring him home before his 2nd birthday, though we are preparing ourselves for the previously stated 19 month wait, which puts us into September 2013. If there are dramatic changes to the wait time or the overall relationship with Korea, we will be sure to update everyone. In the meantime, the little changes the agency posts from time to time are really just guesses and estimations. 

Cooking Korean

I have a 3-ring binder on my cook book shelf that is full of recipes I've cut out of magazines or found online. It's my "sounds good, I should try this sometime" book. When I do try a recipe out of the book, we then make a decision: is this a keeper, or is this a one-time only recipe. Many have turned out to be one time only, though only a couple have been complete failures. 

Last night I tried Sesame-Soy Meatballs and it's a keeper! Tony said that it has all of the traditional Korean flavors, so I'd like to think that I finally made something Korean. I clearly need to up my repertoire a bit, but I am pleased that my first try went so well. 

Feeling like you need a little Korean flavor in your life? Here's the recipe (and note that Tony said that his kimchi was especially good with the meatballs).

Sesame-Soy Meatballs

from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/3 cup minced green onions

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon chile paste (such as sambal oelek)

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 pound ground sirloin

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Add beef; mix gently to combine. With moist hands, shape beef mixture into 20 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs.

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs to pan; cook 4 minutes, turning to brown meatballs on all sides. Arrange browned meatballs in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining meatballs. Bake meatballs at 400° for 7 minutes or until done.

Serve with brown rice or asian noodles.