New pics and an update!

Well, we have been home for almost a month already...it doesn't seem possible! On one hand we feel like Owen just got here, and on the other, it is hard to remember life before his arrival! We feel like Owen is really adjusting to his new life here with Jon and I. The first couple of weeks was total trial and error trying to find out what he liked and didn't, and helping him as he grieved his foster family. His FF was so generous and provided us with over 100 pictures of Owen's time with them. They took him all over and he experienced so much already.
Owen is teething right now, so he is a total drool monster. But we didn't let that stop us from taking him to his first Thanksgiving dinner, or on his first Christmas tree shopping trip. He is a happy boy who loves to be outside, and loves to be anywhere there are people, espeically other kids. He is sleeping pretty well, sometimes all night long. There is no method to his madness when it comes to sleeping all night vs. getting up for a bottle. I am hoping he decides it is much more fun to sleep all night before I go back to work!

Here are some highlights from our first 3 weeks home.....

Well--We are finally home!! Owen is perfect in every way. He knows that it is always better to pee on daddy than mommy and knows that nothing is better than a just woke up snuggle!! We just got back from our first trip to the park and he seemed very relaxed and just taking it all in. He is full of smiles and has been fine sleeping in his crib after I rock him to sleep. I am working on getting more pictures, but these are just a couple from my camera. I didn't have too many from the airport, so I posted Owen's first bath with us, and Owen's first Sweet Potatoe dinner with us too! More pictures to come soon. Promise!

love to you all!
Jon, Kelly and Owen

Today is the day...Gotcha Day!

I can not believe that Owen is finally coming home! He is in the air as I type this. I love the internet, we will be able to track his flights all day! Last night was a pretty restless night of on and off sleep for both Jon and I. We are both so excited and anxious for the day! Both sets of Grandparents are getting to our house around 10 this morning, and then we are off for the day in Chicago. We will try to post pictures tomorrow!

OWEN IS COMING HOME!

Today at 1:50-during my lunch hour I got the incredibly exciting news that Owen is going to be making his State-side debut on Monday, Nov. 9th at 5:03pm Chicago time! We are so excited!

He will be flying United from Seoul to San Francisco, then on to O'hare. The great thing about him flying into SF first is he will go through customs there, so we won't have to wait as long in Chicago. We will be waiting for him at Baggage Claim in Terminal 1. I know, it doesn't seem right, but that is how they do it!

We are so excited,it is so unreal. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come and meet our little boy BUT--Jon and I will be the first to hug and kiss on him!

thanks so much and we can't wait for you to meet him soon!

October Update

Well, unfotunately we still do not know when Owen is coming home for sure. We do know that it can't be too long now. About a week and a half ago we were informed that we would need to sign what is called a Class B Waiver. It is basically a form Jon and I had to sign and have notarized saying that we are aware, and okay with Owen's medical condition. He has some bladder issue that normally clears itself up as he gets older, and if it doesn't is a small surgery to correct it. Unfortunately we couldn't have done this sooner. The form wasn't available until after he had his Visa Physical. So the good news is that he has now had his Visa Physical, the bad news is that we have to wait for the form to get to the US Consulate in Seoul. We sent the form out the 9th to the Bethany headquarters in Grand Rapids, then they send it to the adoption agency in Seoul, then they forward it on to the Consulate with the rest of his paperwork, THEN they can schedule his Visa Interview and a week or two after that he will be home. Hopefully the paperwork got to the Consulate last week and he will have his Visa Interview this week. Of course that is just a guess, we don't really have any idea.

Owen will be 10 months old tomorrow. At his last doctors appointment at the end of September he was 18.3 pounds, was walking along furniture, had 4 teeth and was standing on his own. We are so glad that he is doind so well. We can't wait to have him home with us. We hope and pray that we will have another update before Nov. 19, and if not, you will hear from us then.

New Pictures

Just a quick update to add the 2 new pictures we got today of Owen. Still no word on his arrival, but at least we can see how well he is doing. Check out those teeth! He is going to be eating steak by the time he is home!!

Still no Owen :(

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, we have been busy getting ready for Owen's arrival. Still no word of when he is going be making his debut, hopefully before he turns 10 months (yesterday he was 9 mo.) We are just waiting for the embassy in Seoul to schedule his Visa interview...obviously he won't be interviewed, but that is just what they call it. Once that is done they will schedule an escort to bring him home and then he can come. It could be in a couple of weeks, or a couple of months.
We have really made progress on the upstairs. Carpet was installed in Owen's room last week, and we hope to have the rest of it in within the next few weeks. Hopefully I will have more news soon, if not, I will post on Oct. 19th.

Owen's bedroom

I-600 Approval

Hi all! Well, the piece of mail we had been waiting for was in the mailbox tonight! We received Owen's immigration approval today! Now, don't get too excited, it could still be a few months before he is home, although we are hoping for him to be home much sooner! Just wanted to let you all know we are 1 step closer to having Owen home! I'll post after we get his next doctors report!

Owen is 8 months today

Hi all! Well, it has been 2 months since we got the referral for Owen, and today is his 8 month birthday. Everyday I run home to check the mail to see if we have our immigration approval. Once we get that it should be about 4-5 weeks until he comes home. Hopefully we will have it soon!

Things are moving along with the nursery/upstairs renovation. My mom and I put the 2nd coat of paint on the walls in Owen's room Monday night, and my dad has been over every night working on getting the other room back together. I think we will be ready for the new carpet (I guess we better get that ordered) in the next week or so. And my goal of having the big stuff done by the end of Jon's summer break should be met!

We got an email from our Social worker last week that Owen was sick and had to stay overnight in the hospital 2 weeks ago. He is better now, just had a really bad UTI. It is so hard to know that he was sick and that there is nothing we can do about it. We just keep doing what we can to get ready for his homecoming.

I did the first load of O's laundry tonight, towels and washcloths from last weekends baby shower. It was fun (and yes I know, the thrill will be gone with that soon enough!) I also washed some of the cups and dishes we got this weekend. The shower was great! Thanks again everyone who made it possible.

I will post some new pictures of the renovation progress and the baby shower this weekend. Hopefully I will have another update with some new pictures soon!

Kelly (and Jon)

Owen's 7 month Well Baby Report and NEW PICTURES~

Hi everyone! It is hard to believe that it has been 6 weeks already since we found out about Owen! We got home from camping this weekend and had an email from our Social Worker with Owen's 7 month doctors appointment information and 3 new pictures of our little man! We are so THRILLED to have the new pictures, he seems so big, probably since the other pictures are so old!

Medically, he is doing fine, he is steadily gaining weight, so we are thankful for that. He is up to 16.5 pounds, almost a pound bigger than last month and is over 27 inches long now. We are just so excited, and anxious to get him home!

Our paperwork was sent to US Immigration last week. It can anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months for that approval to come. Once that is approved we are waiting on the Korean government to give their approval, we have to sign a few more documents and then he should be ready to come home. We are still thinking around 3-4 months from the time we received our referral until he is home, so that means int he next 6-10 weeks and he could be home! How crazy is that!

I am hoping to have some pictures showing some progress in his room soon, but for now, enjoy looking at his sweet face!

Kelly and Jon

Making Progress

Hi all! Just a quick update on where we are with Owen. We have been doing more and more paperwork, and are just about done....for now. Our social worker was out of town last week, so we are going to be turning in what should be the last of the paperwork for the time being on Tuesday. We have had to fill out forms for the Immigration Office, for the Korean government, as well as forms for the State of Michigan. Whew! Of course looking at his picture makes it all worth while. We are sending him a care package this week. We have gifts for him and for his Foster Family.

We are trying to get the house ready for Owen's arrival! We won't get a lot of lead time for his specific arrival date...only a week or so.....so we want to be ready for him by the end of August. We are going to rip out the old carpet this week, get everything painted, and hopefully have the new carpet in by the end of the month.

Last week Jon and I went and registered at Babies R Us and Target. That was WAY overwhelming, but fun! After we got into it, Jon was scanning everything. There are a couple of things that we are going to want that we aren't able to register for, so we will be taking a trip to Grand Rapids to get those things one of these days soon.

We are hoping to have an updated medical report for Owen in the next week or so, and hopefully some more recent photos. I will post when we get anything!

Hope you had a good 4th.

REFERRAL!!!!

Hi All! Just wanted to let you know that today, June 19th, Jon and I received a referral for a beautiful baby boy! He is 6 months today, and is healthy and happy! We have given him the name Owen Michael. I don't know if I can 'legally' post a picture yet, but as soon as I find out if I can I will! More details to follow, just wanted to share!

Kelly and Jon

Sorry I'm late!!

Hi all! Sorry this post is a day late. Yesterday was a crazy day, and while I started to write an update several times, I never had time to finish it!

I can't believe that June is here, and that we have been waiting 11 months for our referral! No news yet...but I think our time is probably coming! We are now number 3 on the unofficial waiting list on the Bethany message boards, and the family that was number 3 got their referral last week. (That is what is tricky about this self-maintained waiting list that is not a part of Bethany. There are so many different scenarios that happen that allow people to get referrals out of date order. You can sit at #1, the 'next' family to get a referral, for weeks and weeks and see many families who were approved after you get their referral before you....it's weird like that!)

We are trying to not get our hopes up, but still stay positive. I just keep reminding myself that when it is time, we will be matched with the baby that God has planned for us. That is hard some days, but I know it is true.

Hopefully I will have some REAL news before July 15, and if not, I'll post another update then!

Happy Summer!
Kelly and Jon

It's getting closer!

Well, 10 months down as of today. Who knows how many more to go, although we hope not too many! We are hoping to have the referral by September, and think that it is possible to get it even sooner. One family who sent their application to Korea just 6 weeks before we did received their referral about 2 weeks ago. It is hard because depending on what state they are in, and what, if any, special needs they were willing to take on determines when the referral is made. There are also other families who have been waiting for their referrals since last February. We are trying not to get our hopes up, while still staying optimistic.

In my last post I talked about Corey going to Korea. Well he brought back SO many wonderful gifts for the baby. Colorful picture books with words and numbers in Korean, the traditional carrier I asked him to find and Korean magnet letters. He also brought a few 'bonus' gifts that he found at a thrift store...the baby may be able to play with those AFTER they are heavily sanitized. But on a serious note, we are so excited and grateful for the things he brought and hope that they will help our son/daughter to stay connected to their heritage.

Tonight we are going to an Adoption Support Group at a church by our house. We have to have a certain number of training hours before the adoption is complete. Plus it will be a good opportunity to connect with other families at various stages of adoption. Hopefully we will meet some others who are also waiting that we connect with.

That is it for now, yet another month of no news! But just think, it is very possible that our baby is already born and in the process of being ready for adoption! Crazy to think about, isn't it?

Thinking Spring!

I can't believe that I am writing my April post already! Well, as of today we have officially been waiting 9 Months for our referral! It's hard to believe that this time last year (the 24th to be exact) is when this crazy journey really started with the informational meeting we went to at Bethany. Now, a year later we are trying (unsuccessfully) to wait patiently for our turn. The Winter seemed long, and I found myself feeling very impatient with the wait. But now that Spring is here I am realizing just how many projects we want to get done before the baby comes home and that Jon and I have to get our butts in gear! With Jon keeping busy with coaching baseball, I know that April and May are going to fly by. And I am sure everyone in Michigan agrees with me that the summers ALWAYS go by fast.

So, no real news. There is a shirt on one of the adoption websites I visit that says 'Yes, we are still adopting. And no, we haven't heard anything yet.' So that basically sums us up!

Corey Johnson is going to Korea next week for work. I told him to be nice to every pregnant woman he sees because she could be carrying our baby!

That is all for now. I'll be back in May, hopefully with news (I am finding it harder to make up something to write that is remotely interesting, bare with me!)

Kelly and Jon

March Update (or lack there of)

Today, March 15, 2009 marks 8 months of our 'official' wait for the adoption. Not much new to report since my last post. We did sign our updated Service Plan, which I had previously said we signed every 3 months, but it is actually every 4.

With spring just around the corner, Jon and I are starting to do a little spring sprucing, and have decided to postpone starting on the nursery until June or July. That is unless we get our referral phone call sooner than that, but we aren't planning on it.

Here is a link from the Bethany Christian Services Blog that shows how our baby will be used to being carried. http://www.wearsthebaby.com/babywearing/podegi.html
While I don't think we will use a Podegi, but most Korean adopted parents who are on the discussion board recommend a baby carrier called the Ergo. We are hoping to use this instead.

Well, that is all for now. Sorry we don't have any more news, we will keep posting every month, just to assure you that A) Yes, we are still adopting and B) No, we haven't heard anything yet!
HAHA!

Thank you all for your love and support!

Lucky Number 7?

If only we were in Vegas! That's right, as of today we have been 'officially' waiting for seven months. And while, yes, 7 is a lucky number, probably not for us. It looks like we are still on track with our original timeline, so we probably have about 5 or 6 more months until we get our referral, and about 9 or 10 months until the baby is home with us! We are just REALLY hoping the baby is home by Christmas!

Jon and I continue to plan out things to do around the house before the baby comes home. This weekend we went to Target and Toys R Us to see what kind of crib we may want. Jon was a little uncomfortable with it all at first, but after a few minutes he was shaking the cribs to see which one's were most sturdy. He is not happy with any that we saw, but I tried to explain to him that we are not going to be getting a Pottery Barn crib, and that there are safety standards, so I am sure the ones we saw will be just fine! We had fun though, going through the aisle's to see what we might want to register for. It will be very different than when registering for a newborn though, a lot of things we won't need since the baby will probably be around 9 months when they travel. It will definitely be an adventure.

As always we will keep you updated if there are any new events, otherwise, check back the 15th of each month for our monthly 'No News' update!

I leave you with these pictures of Jon. As some of you know, he prides himself on his pancake making abilities. They used to be HUGE, lately I have convinced him that they should be more silver dollar in size...he's not buying it and we usually meet in the middle. He said to me recently that he wanted to make sure that we had 'real breakfast' on the weekends after the baby gets here....I guess he was practicing this morning! And he wonders why he is so full still!

Kelly (and Jon too!)

6 Months and counting

Well, it's official, today is marks 6 months since our information was sent to Korea, so 6 month of waiting down, and hopefully 6 monts or less to go until we get our referral! There is really no way for us to know for sure, but some of the families on the message board I read received there referral in as little as 9 months, while others are still waiting 14 months after their information was sent. Hopefully we are closer to the 9 month side, we just keep praying for patience!

Our first grant application is filled out, but we still need to write our personal statment of why they should give us $15,000....hopefully my marketing skills from college will make their way into that letter!! I am also getting a second job to try and off-set some of the expenses, I figure I can work until the baby comes, and then we will have a little bit more peace about the cost. Once school is done with, Jon hopes to get a job working with a friend of ours at a marina by our house.

Well, this isn't much of an update, but there has not been any news from Bethany Christian Services, so we just keep waiting. We do our 3-month update in a few weeks, so hopefully we will get an updated timeline then!