Maybe March???

Another week down and now we can say (unfortunately) that we will not be traveling to South Korea this month to bring our baby home. Nothing has change since my last post a week ago. We are still "stuck" in the same spot and I'm so frustrated. I promised myself last week that I wasn't going to call the visa center anymore and that lasted for one day. I called every single day this week except for Monday. Only this week when I called I was much more prepared for them to tell me that nothing has changed.
Next week is the start of a new month that I pray will be the month when we get our baby. So we'll see. Until then, we will continue to wait and hope for the best.

Uncertain...

I wish I had better news to inform you with but unfortunately nothing has change since I last updated my blog. I called the visa center again today and the emigration papers (EP) still haven't been sent to the embassy in Korea. I have no idea what the hold up is or how their system works. To me is seems that there really isn't any rhyme or reason to how and when things are processed. Bottom line is that it's the last week in February and now I can officially say that February will not be the month that we are going to get our son. With that being said, I'm sad, frustrated, and disappointed.

I wish I wouldn't have been so naive to think that things would happen more quickly than not. I just always pictured that February would be the month that we would be going to Korea. I hate that next week is already going to be March and we still have no further progress. I have decided that I am not going to call the visa center for a while now. I'm so tired of calling obsessively just to be disappointed and frustrated. The call ends up ruining the rest of my day and evening and to be honest I'm really tired of it. I'm tired of always waiting for something and feeling like I have to stop enjoying my life because I am just sitting here waiting for something to happen. I'm trying to remain positive and hopeful but it's so hard to do so and I don't expect anyone to fully understand unless they've been through it themselves. I hate that things are taking longer than I thought they would. I just want Ryan home.

My patience are gone, completely gone at this point. So any one that wants to tell me to "be patient" or to "stay patient", consider this your warning :) I know people are always looking for the right thing to say to me but telling me to be patient certainly doesn't help. It would be like telling a comedian not to tell a joke! Maybe that's not a good analogy but that's all I can think of! I've been patient for a long time now and I'm done!

So, I guess I will sit back and just wait for my phone to ring with our travel call. It could be in a week, 2 weeks, or even another month. At this point, it's really hard to say. The not knowing is the hardest part of this experience! Keep the prayers coming as they are greatly appreciated!

A dog's sense....

I just wanted to add this picture of Cooper and myself. He has been extra sweet and cuddly toward me the last two weeks. I think he can sense my anxiety and frustration. He is seriously the best dog ever!!!!

Another week down....

Once again I called the visa center with a tiny bit of hope that maybe something happened over night. As expected, the status has not changed. The bottom line is that the agency in South Korea still hasn't returned the Packet 3 to the embassy in Seoul. Now, instead of calling everyday to find out if Ryan has an interview, I will be calling to find out if the Packet 3 has been sent because until it is, no interview will be scheduled. Frustrating.....

At this point I don't really know what to expect. Ive been wrong so far so I feel that it's worse to make "hopeful predictions" just to be disappointed at the end of each week. I want so badly for something to happen next week but I am feeling more doubtful than hopeful. It doesn't surprise me that things would pan out this way. The entire adoption process has been very smooth with ZERO hold-ups or delays. It's almost humorous how the very last step in the process is the one that seems to be taking longer than expected. Everything else up to this point has actually happened sooner than expected. So hilarious!!!!!

So instead of feeling sad all weekend I am going to enjoy it. Joey and I don't have any plans this weekend...(probably because we were planning on making our way to Korea) but it will be nice to relax and spend what will be one of the last few weekends we have together before we get Ryan. I'm not going to lie though, I would much rather have our weekend spent as a family of three....well four if you include our awesome dog Cooper!

What the Heck!!!

Another disappointing day! I once again called the visa center and spoke with a very nice women. She said the same thing I've heard for a week straight now.... "There is no visa interview scheduled yet but the Packet 3 was received on the 5th") I asked her what has to happen before an interview can be scheduled and she basically told me that the Packet 3 (immigration papers) have yet to be sent BACK to the embassy in Seoul and until the papers are sent back, no interview will take place. What the heck!!! They received the Packet 3 on February 5th which is one day shy of 2 weeks ago. I don't understand what the hold up is.

I will call the visa center again tomorrow even though I already know what they are going to tell me. I know I should just wait until Monday to call but who knows, maybe something will be different. Maybe the Packet 3 was finally sent to the embassy. You never know! I just hate the fact that NOTHING has happened in two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!!! I can't even come up with a scenario in my head as to why things have remained idol for so long now. I really hope that something will happen next week. It just has to.

I'm so tired of waiting. This week has been especially difficlut for me because I was almost certain that we would have gotten our travel call or at the very least Ryan would of had his visa interview. This week my phone has become my enemy. Every time someone calls me I sprint to my phone and my heart skips a beat because I am holding on to a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe it's our travel call. My friends and family have resorted to sending me text messages telling me to call them because they don't want to give me false hope when the rings.

I'm not sure what else to say other than I just want my little baby. I feel like we've waited long enough and to be completely honest, I'm tired of waiting. We both are. Hopefully in the very near future I will have some exciting news to share rather than the same post about how I'm tired of waiting. My hopes are that this weekend will be the last weekend that I am anxiously awaiting for my baby and that next weekend we are on our way to Korea. Keep the prayers coming our way!

No such luck

I'm beginning to become very frustrated with this little thing called waiting. Last Thursday I called the visa center with no luck and promised myself that I would wait until Wednesday of this week before calling again. So, today I called with pretty high hopes that SOMETHING would have happened. As I dialed the phone I notice how sweaty my hands were and how my stomach was doing flip flops from being so nervous to call. After being on hold for 17 minutes I was connected to a visa representative to quickly learn that there still hasn't been a visa interview for Ryan. I asked the lady if she knew why things were taking so long and she didn't really have an answer for me other than she didn't know. She said that it's on Korea's end and there isn't any way to know what the hold up is. I wish I knew. I think that's why this is so difficult. The not knowing is really hard and gets more difficult with each passing day.

I really thought that this was going to be the week we got our long awaited travel call. I thought we would be on our way to Korea this weekend. That's certainly not going to be the case now. To be honest, it's very disappointing that things are taking a little longer than I had pictured in my mind. I really don't know what else to say other than the infamous line I say all the time "I don't want to wait anymore!!!"

Let's hope that tomorrow brings us better luck. I am at least hoping that he will have his interview at some point this week. If he does then our travel call should come sometime next week. We'll see. Let the waiting continue, along with the prayers and patience. Well, maybe minus the patience.

Patience is a Friend of Mine

Well, this is the week I've been waiting for for a long time. I am really hoping that SOMETHING will happen this week. Since our referral I've had hope that this would be the week in February we would get our call to travel to Korea. Not really sure why, its just has been my "hopeful prediction". I would love to get our travel call this week but I'm not so sure that's going to happen due to the Lunar New Year celebration this past weekend in Korea causing the agency there to close for two days. I do hope however that Ryan will at least have his visa interview this week and then early next week we will get our travel call and later next week we will be on our merry way to South Korea.

We were looking at flights last night "pretending' we were booking flights just to get an idea of cost and travel plans. Looks like most flights fly to Chicago with a two hour layover, then off to Seoul. Let's hope that in the very near future we aren't just "pretending" to book flights, but actually booking our flights to bring our son home. I can't tell you how excited I will be when we do get our travel call.

I so badly want to call the visa center in D.C. today to see if there is a visa interview scheduled yet but I am going to stay patient and wait until tomorrow afternoon to call....giving things a little extra time. Until then I will continue to pray and do my very best to stay as patient as I possibly can. That's really all I can do at this point. Something HAS got to happen this week, it just has to. We'll see what this week will bring.....

So close, but not really

Two weeks ago today we received our I-600 approval in the mail. I thought for sure by now there would have been a visa interview scheduled for Ryan. Well, I finally got through to the Visa Center in D.C. this morning after my third try and they informed me that as of today there still is yet to be a visa interview scheduled for him. I was so frustrated because I would have thought for sure that when I finally got a hold of someone at the visa center they would have had happier news for me. I was informed however that his Packet 3 was sent and received in Korea on February 5th. Not really sure what that means. Point is, he still hasn't had his visa interview and there still isn't an appointment made for him to go. Oh well. There isn't much I can do at this point but continue to wait. I know this may sound crazy, but the closer we get, the more difficult it is for me to be patient.

I sit here and think about Ryan all the time, no matter what I'm doing, he's on my mind. I try to picture what is doing and how much he has change since his referral pictures. I can't help but think that his foster family is starting to get a little sad knowing that he will soon be leaving their family. This weekend in Korea Ryan will experience his one and only Lunar New Year celebration which is a very important holiday that consists of celebrating with close family and friends.

We are just about half way through February and I pray that my "hopeful prediction" will still hold true. I just want my baby home soon. I know we are in the home stretch and so close, but some days it feels that we have so far to go. We'll see what next week will bring :)

Baby Food & Ramblings

Today was my attempt to making my own baby food. Yikes!!!! My kitchen was a disaster and it literally took me most of the morning and well into the afternoon. It's way more work than I thought it was going to be but I really wanted to try it. I bought a few recipe books that are filled with all kinds of yummy recipes. Some are really quick and easy and others are a little more time consuming. I really enjoyed it but was not expecting it to take as long as it did. I only made it through the veggies. Tomorrow I will tackle the fruits and a meat or two. After tomorrow I will probably have about a months supply of baby food. I'm definitely not going to make ALL of the food as I already started stocking up on jar food as well. I will just have to wait and see what Ryan likes best and then go from there. Either way, it was a learning experience.

My plan over the next couple of days will be to make a few meals and freeze them. My goal is to have about 10 meals frozen so for the first two weeks after we get home from Korea I won't have to worry about cooking dinner. One less thing to worry about. Plus, I'm sure some of my wonderful family members will help with dinners too.

Other than that nothing is new. I would however like to give a special thanks to mother nature who has shut down the federal government in D.C.for the last 4 days which could possibly be holding things up. I'm praying that this is not the case but with our luck, it is. I just want Ryan home and to be completely honest I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANYMORE!!!! Joey is so tired of me repeating myself over and over saying that I don't want to wait anymore. This is probably the most commonly used line that has been coming out of my mouth lately and at least a dozen times of day!! At this point, I really don't know what else to say other than I just want my baby home and in my arms. Next week has got to be the week we get our travel call or I will seriously lose my mind and that won't be good for anyone.

8 Months Old!

Today our baby turns 8 months old. I can't believe that he is already 8 months. We received is referral exactly 3 months ago today and he was only 5 months at the time. So, today also marks exactly 3 months since we saw his sweet little face for the first time. I'm not going to lie, it's really hard not being able to be part of life as he continues to grow. I wish I could freeze time so he would stop growing until he was in our arms. I just pray that something will happen very soon. Turns out that the Visa Center in D.C. has been shut down since Monday due to the storm they had there and will also be shut down again today because of the weather. This means that I once again won't be able to call to find out if there has been a visa interview scheduled for Ryan. So, the wait continues with no exciting news to share. Please pray that things will move quickly and we will get our travel call very soon.

Silly Dog!

Yesterday the last and final piece of the baby's furniture arrived. We have been waiting for a bookshelf that has been on back order. So, when I walked past the baby's room just a moment ago, I found Cooper laying on top of the bookshelf box. He often wanders into the baby's room and will just sit there in the dark. Almost as if he too is anxiously waiting for his little brother to arrive. Silly dog.

Frustrated!

Still nothing. I tried calling the National Visa Center in D.C. this morning on several accounts only to continuously get disconnected. I'm trying to call to find out if a visa interview has been scheduled for Ryan. I'm not sure what's going on over there but I'm being told I am going to be connected to a representative to answer my question and at that point it disconnects. Maybe it's God's way of telling to me to just be patient. Who knows. It's killing me having to sit here and wonder what's going on and when things are going to happen. I'm done waiting. I really don't want to wait anymore. It's so frustrating. Maybe I will have better luck tomorrow.

Regardless of the fact, at some point in the very near future we will be going to South Korea. When I take a moment to stop and think about what's really happening, it gives me chills. Not only are we going to South Korea, we are adopting a child, and we are becoming parents for the first time. So much will happen in such a short amount of time I'm sure it's going to feel completely surreal and won't sink in for quite a while. I'm so excited about visiting a foreign land but I am even more excited to meet my son for the first time and to finally become a mommy. Joey and I are going to spend the next few days figuring out places we want to see and visit while we are in South Korea so we can make the most out of our trip.

That's all for now. Hopefully I will have more exciting news to share very soon. Meanwhile, I am hoping and praying that his interview has been scheduled and we will get our call to travel much sooner than later.

Hopeful Prediction

It's been one week since we received our I-600 approval in the mail. I was so excited to receive our approval in the mail being that it is one step closer to getting our baby. However, here we are back to the waiting table. So what's next you ask? Well, here is my hopeful prediction as to what I think will happen next. So in South Korea, Ryan needs to be taken to the Visa Center. Whether or not an appointment has been made for him we don't know. I am hoping that by now an appointment for him HAS been made and is scheduled for sometime next week. The agency is South Korea is shut down for holiday February 12th and re-opens on February 16th. If my hopeful prediction holds true, then Ryan will be ready to travel the week of February 15th and sometime that week we will get our travel call and prepare to travel the last week in February. I'm trying to remain as patient as possible but the closer we are to getting our baby the more difficult the wait becomes. You think it would be the opposite. Let's hope that my prediction will pan out and the last week in February we will finally be holding our baby in our arms. Just thinking about that makes my heart flutter!!!!

Tick....Tock.....Tick....Tock....

Nothing new....still waiting. Some days go by so fast while other days go by incredibly slow. Today being one of the days that feels to be moving at the pace of a snail. So annoying. Anyways, people continue to ask if "we've heard anything yet" so I figure I would update people to inform them that no we have not heard anything yet. I wish I could answer them with something other than "no, we're still waiting." But we are. We are continuing to hope and pray that something will happen this month. This just has to be the month. It just has to be!

Oh wait!!!!

This morning Joey faxed over our I-600 approval to our agency. Joey also called the agency just to find out exactly what happens next. The agency informed him that at this point everything is out of U.S. hands and now in Korea's hands. Basically a few things have to happen with the National Visa Center......kind of confusing to explain. I do know that in South Korea there needs to be an appointment made for Ryan to go to the Visa Center. Once the appointment is made and he goes, the agency in Korea will call our agency here in the US to inform us that he is ready to travel. Our agency didn't really have much of a time frame to give us. I did however just receive this email from our agency that said...
"So far no travel yet this year from Korea so I have plenty of families waiting though they are still within the 3-4 month time frame. Hopefully things will be moving soon!"
The 3-4 month time frame I believe is from the time we received his referral, not an additional 3-4 months.
On a good note, our agency received a fax from the Korean agency in regards to the letter and pictures we sent to Ryan. Here's what was said in the fax from the agency in South Korea....
"I received a lovely letter and a couple of pictures for him from his adoptive family. The presents will be sent to him and his foster family with his adoptive family's love. Please tell them words of thanks. He grows up very well in a loving foster family."
It makes me so happy knowing that Ryan will very soon receive the letter and pictures we sent him.
So for now the wait continues. We ask for everyone to pray that things will move quickly and we will hopefully get a call to travel sometime this month.