This weekend I had a surprise in my in-box: my father-in-law sent a link to an article...something he's never done before. Of course I was instantly curious and had to check it out right away.
The article, "A Korean Adoptee Does Her Own Detective Work in a Gamble to Find Her Family," documents a woman's journey to discover her past and, thereby, dramatically changing her future. I know there are many stories and books about people searching for birth families, and many lead to pain or disappointment. This woman's story, however, ends on a positive note. It's an interesting perspective on adoption from Korea in the late 1970s as well. If you have a few minutes, I recommend reading it through. Here's the link: click here
Monday, June 11, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Update and Photos
We just received an update with photos taken on May 23rd (he is 10.5 months old in these pictures). He is sure getting big and looking like a little man! Our social worker also said she thinks he looks a lot like Tony. I don't have any of his baby pictures to double check, but I do some resemblance -- and both are very handsome.
Speaking of getting big, since his 9 month update he hasn't gained any weight but he has grown over an inch. Clearly his hair has been growing too!
We were happy to get this picture:
He got our package! What a nice way to start the week. And to think his first birthday is just around the corner (July 7th). Pop over to Our Little Guy to see the other two pictures we received.
Speaking of getting big, since his 9 month update he hasn't gained any weight but he has grown over an inch. Clearly his hair has been growing too!
We were happy to get this picture:
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| Package #1 arrived - he is checking us out! |
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thank You Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security sent us a wonderful package yesterday. The cover letter began:
Our I-600A application and fingerprints are approved! That means we are all set to bring the little guy home (legally). While we were not worried about gaining approval, this is the final "big" paperwork step in getting things set up for the adoption. Some families run into issues when applying for approval (past criminal history, including a DWI; discrepancies in your paperwork or with your birth/marriage certificates; or other unexpected items can cause delays in the processing of the application).
We have now received approval to become parents from a variety of people and places: our families (as they've been endlessly supportive); our primary care doctors; the State of Minnesota; our agency, Children's Home Society, and our social worker, Laura; the Korean agency Eastern Social Welfare Society; and now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Here is the official certificate of approval:
So, we are now nearly done with the hoop jumping -- one more full day course is required. We will take that in July and, at that time, will finally have met all of the requirements to adopt. Whew. At this point it is hard to imagine becoming a mom without having to prove myself worthy over and over again. I can't say I feel much more prepared than I did when we were trying the old fashioned way, but it's kind of cool to have the U.S. and Korean governments backing us up! :)
NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING
APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF ORPHAN PETITION
It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan(s) as defined in Section 1010(B)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.Our I-600A application and fingerprints are approved! That means we are all set to bring the little guy home (legally). While we were not worried about gaining approval, this is the final "big" paperwork step in getting things set up for the adoption. Some families run into issues when applying for approval (past criminal history, including a DWI; discrepancies in your paperwork or with your birth/marriage certificates; or other unexpected items can cause delays in the processing of the application).
We have now received approval to become parents from a variety of people and places: our families (as they've been endlessly supportive); our primary care doctors; the State of Minnesota; our agency, Children's Home Society, and our social worker, Laura; the Korean agency Eastern Social Welfare Society; and now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Here is the official certificate of approval:
 |
| (Name blurred to protect our little guy's identity) |
So, we are now nearly done with the hoop jumping -- one more full day course is required. We will take that in July and, at that time, will finally have met all of the requirements to adopt. Whew. At this point it is hard to imagine becoming a mom without having to prove myself worthy over and over again. I can't say I feel much more prepared than I did when we were trying the old fashioned way, but it's kind of cool to have the U.S. and Korean governments backing us up! :)
Friday, May 18, 2012
Fingerprinted
I am happy to report that The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office, a division of Homeland Security, now has our fingerprints. Today at 8:00 a.m. Tony and I appeared at the local USCIS office to have our fingerprints taken (again...we already did this for the state of Minnesota) as part of our I-600A application. Assuming there are no issues with our fingerprints, we should be seeing our I-600A approval soon. This will allow us to bring our little guy home (legally). This also wraps up all of our paperwork until we need to begin renewing things next year. Yeah! (I wanted to photograph us getting fingerprinted but there were signs all over saying no cameras, no phones, etc. They even verbally told us we had to have our phones full shut down.)
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