Checking out the sights:)

Today we had a great time exploring Seoul. Here are a few pictures from our day. We also got to talk to the kids via Skype.....what a great way to stay in touch!! Right now it is 9pm and we are tired....lots of walking. This is a great city:) Tomorrow more sight seeing our tour provided by Holt is in the morning. Only one more day and we meet our little Jia!

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A fire station picture for our firefighting family in CA!!! We always get one wherever we go!!


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We went to the Korean War Museum today. Here is a picture of me taking aim:) ( Look Miles.... a big gun with a scope!)

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TJ "driving" a troop transporter.

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TJ hanging in the rear of the same transporter.

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Here I am showing off our great hotel. I'm so happy we are here:)

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We got to tour the Changgyeongung palace today. We went on the guided English tour. Very interesting!

We are in Korea!

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We just arrived in Seoul. Our last plane ride was a little over 14 hours. We only cat napped here and there so needless to say, we are a little tired:) It is now 6:30 here and we are going to try to find something to eat and go to bed. Tomorrow we are going to do some sight seeing!

We miss you Ethan, Miles and Gracie!! Here are a few pics from today.

Travel plans are made:)

We are leaving Sunday at 7am for Seoul, Korea! We have a layover in Atlanta and will be arriving in Korea on Monday evening. Tuesday we will be able to see the sights and explore Korea on our own. Wednesday we will have a tour guide provided by our agency for the morninhatTIehat day we are also looking forward to meeting another Holt family that I have had the privilege of meeting through Holt's forum.
Then the day we have been waiting for.....Thursday, May 12th.....We get to meet Jia and complete our family at 1:30! We will also get to spend some time with her foster family, what a blessing:). We will then take a few days to get know each other before we fly home on Monday. What an exciting week!!!

TRAVEL CALL!!!!!

Today was the big day!!! We received our Travel Call!!! What a blessing! Of course, I was at work. I only work 12 hours a week and I got both our referral call AND travel call when I was there! Good thing I work with such a wonderful group of ladies and they just rejoiced with me!!! I will update on all the travel details soon. Tom and Sue (Grandpa and Grandma from CA) will be here Friday night. So we are hoping to fly out Sunday or Monday!!! Be praying for reasonably priced tickets!! Right now, Jia's one way ticket is going to cost the same as or more than one of our round trip tickets! Somehow that doesn't seem to make sense.......

Just a few more days baby girl and Mommy and Daddy will be there to bring you home!!!!

Donations :) Update:)

Update:
My lil sis (Amie) was such a blessing that our bag is now full! If you would still like to give to Holt-Korea, little items would be welcomed. Thank you Amie!! Love you!

PS.....yes, I have started packing....I think I must be nesting.....donations packed, gifts packed (for Jia's foster family and Holt staff) and JIA'S CLOTHES are PACKED!!! Come on Travel Call!!!!


Here are the items that are needed in Korea for the little ones. If you would like to donate to the agency that we are adopting through (that cares for the babies in Korea) it would be greatly appreciated:) Just let me know and we will pack an extra bag to bring them (don't tell TJ.....he has already warned me about packing light!!.....surprised???....not sure why, really.....HA!). Here is the list from a on-line board friend that is in Korea now brining home her little girl. So she is seeing the need first hand:)

HOLT KOREA DONATION NEEDS
Updated as of April 19, 2010

TOP PRIORITIES

1. Gerber rice cereal - There are a lot of premature babies in care. These babies cannot tolerate the multigrain cereal that is available here, and single grain rice cereal is not available.

2. Diaper rash cream as like Destin and aloe gel.

3. Moisturizing Baby Lotion or Cream for dry skin is still first priority. Examples include:

* Aveeno baby lotion - Many of the babies get very dry skin (dermatitis), especially in the winter and this lotion is extremely expensive in Korea.
* Cetaphil moisturizing lotion
* Johnson & Johnson baby lotion

4. Sometimes they have older children over 3 or 4. Coloring books, crayons, toys, clothes are very helpful.

SPECIAL NEEDS

** Neutamigen Formula by Enfamil is still needed. **

BIRTH MOTHER NEEDS

1. Stretch mark lotion/cocoa butter- used for relieving the itchy skin of expecting mothers due to their skin stretching to accomodate the baby.

2. Maternity clothes- Assume XS, S, or M size. (maternity clothes are expensive in Korea)

3. Aloe vera

OTHER ITEMS

* Multi-vitamin with iron - polyvisol (for babies)

* Cleft-lip/palate bottles and spoons

* Baby toys (rattles and teething toys)

* Preemie baby clothes (unavailable in Korea)

ETA: For those families who mail donations, please ensure that the value marked is less than $100, so that Holt Korea does not get charged taxes on your donation. Thank you.

New Photos and WBC

A video of our little girl! We are all in love:)

This is part of the video we received from Korea of our little Jia. It was taken in December. I edited the video with my iMovie feature on the laptop (very amateur, but fun:). I also added this little Korean Children's song. The name of it is "In our Hearts". Although we can't understand the language, the title seemed appropriate. A little taste for us of what she might feel when she comes home. I have downloaded a whole children's album in Korean and I'm in the process of finding children cartoons in Korean as well, in hopes that she may have a little comfort in listening to them when she is with us. I don't expect to receive another video before we meet her, although we should be receiving a WBC (well baby check) next week. It will give us some information like how tall she is, how much she weighs, if she has been sick etc. I hope it also has some fun info like her interest and a little glimpse into her personality. We just received our Korean/English dictionary......Keep us in your prayers as we try to learn a few key Korean words and phrases! At least TJ knows how to count up to 10 from his Hap Ki Do days!! I just wish he would have learned important phrases like...."gotta potty?"

Has it been awhile???

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(Jia with her dear foster Mother)

OK....OK.....so we have taken a little time from posting anything on our blog. The last post documented Miles' 2nd birthday....well, in a couple of weeks he will be 4! Where did the time go? As you know, we are now in the process of bringing home our sweet little Jia. She is 2-1/2 and we couldn't imagine a better way to complete our family. She is from South Korea and we are guessing that we will be traveling somewhere around April to bring her home (although we can not be sure when). We love to talk about and tell anyone who will listen about our journey to bring her home. Many have asked why it takes so long to bring her home once we have a referral. I have copied and pasted this information from another's adoption journey and I hope this helps explain all the details in the paperwork.

Acceptance paperwork is filled out notarized signed and turned in.
Then the wait for legals.
Then once you have legals you can file for I600
Then you wait for I 600 approval.
At the same time you are waiting at anytime you could end up with a "EP" Immigration Permit. (that is on the Korea side)You have to have EP for a Visa Interview.
Once you have I 600 approval you can start calling NVC (National Visa Center) where you will be logged in ( your info is logged into the system) and logged out (your info is sent to the embassy in Korea). (they can give you your case number)
Once you are logged out you can call DC and give them the case number you got from NVC, but it usually takes a day or two before any info shows up. DC can tell you if the US Embassy in Korea has sent out P3 which is a packet of information that the agency in Korea needs to fill out and return to the US Embassy in Seoul.
While you are waiting for DC to tell you that VI is scheduled they may also inform you that your child has made their Embassy Appearance. They can usually see your child's picture in their system from that point on.
Once P3 is filled out and returned to the US Embassy, the US Embassy schedules your child's VI (visa Interview) Once DC tells you this date you know your P3 has been returned from the agency to the embassy.
Usually within 24 hours after your child's visa Interview, DC can tell you your child's visa has been issued and from that point on, sometimes before because it has happened, you can get the CALL!

This is a lot of info and I'm sure once you start reading (or just take one glance at it) it, your eyes will start glazing over. There are a lot of steps and "terms". I enjoy following our timeline and I can do that with peace because we have such a great agency that takes care of all the details.

So where are we in the midst of the paperwork journey?? We are waiting for our EP (Emigration Permit) approval. We were just informed that we were submitted for the EP approval on 2/17. We should receive this within 3-4 weeks. We could get our travel call anywhere from 1-2 months once this is received (because all of the other details listed above are being taken care of). Once we get the travel call we have less than 2 weeks to get ourselves to Korea. We will probably stay there for around a week. We are so blessed to have Tom and Sue coming to our home to stay with our kiddos during this trip!

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Miles is Two!!!

Happy Birthday Miles!! We love you!

Miles is two!!

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