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.