Thursday, December 08, 2005

Update Report Picture


Andrew at 8 months old.

I love the mailman

I about broke a hip on the ice running from my mailbox to the house. Our mailman left two gifts in our mailbox today. First, we received our visa approval!!! This is a huge step towards bringing Andrew home. This visa allows him to enter the US as our immediate family member. Now the only item preventing Andrew's arrival is his Korean passport. Unfortunately, Korea implemented a passport quota which means they will only issue a set number of orphan passports per year. So we know Andrew will not be arriving in 2005 but hopefully this quota will not cause too much of a back up in 2006. Nevertheless, it is very exciting to be in the final stage!!!

Icing on the cake was the second item in the mailbox. An update report from Korea! It included new pictures and report of Andrew's progress. Our little one is now 8 months old, 18 pounds, 25 inches long. He is crawling, sitting up unsupported and sleeping from 11 pm - 6 am. He is also noted as easy going & loves fruit.

Andrew was moved from the KSS orphanedge to foster care on Aug 25th. His foster mom is Lee, Hae Kyung who has been a foster mom for 11 years.


~Heather

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Happy Birthday

Today our little Andrew turned 8 months old in Korea. He should be in foster care by now so I hope his foster mom made it a special day for him.


~Heather


"Happy Birthday Andrew" Love, Mommy

Friday, December 02, 2005

A New Name

After much deliberation I think we have finally agreed on a name. Andrew David Min Lavelle. We both like Andrew, that was going to be Sydney's name had she been a boy. David is Matthew's grandpa's name. Min is his given name and what they have been calling him in Korea.

We are still waiting for the visa!


~Heather

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Birth Certificate

Today we got a Lee, Min Shik's birth certificate in the mail. EXCITING!!! Of course, we couldn't read it but they sent along a translated version also.

Out of curiosity I checked the time & temperature for Seoul, Korea. Today it was sunny and 44 degrees in Seoul while it was 34 degrees in Canton, Ohio. Not much different! But they are 14 hours ahead of us.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Busy Holiday Season

Thankfully the holiday season keeps us busy. Otherwise, we would be dwelling on the fact that the government takes forever to process adoption paperwork!!! So, still no word on our visa, but I doubt we will hear anything before the new year.

In the mean time we have been working on the nursery. We decided to go with a vintage baseball theme and Matt & I hung border for the first time. Its looks straight and hasn't fallen down so I would call it a success. We also registered at Babies R Us and deliberated on baby names.

Happy Thanksgiving


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Saturday, November 12, 2005

What next?

Yesterday, we submitted the paperwork to officially accept the referral of MinShik. Yeah!!! So what's next you ask???? Well, we are now waiting for the USCIS (U.S Citizenship and Immigration Service) to grant our petition to allow an orphan child to enter the US. This step can take 2 months or longer. Uhhh! I guess those government workers don't move quickly. :)


Heather


"I chose you.... because the love of family is meant to be shared."

Minnie Mouse


I just had to post this cute picture of Sydney.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Still Smiling

Well, I am still smiling from yesterday's big news. I love looking at his picture. He looks so cute with that post it note saying who he is stuck to his chest. I also started on the next round of required paperwork. Thank goodness I love doing busywork. Hey! The faster we get it submitted the faster we can bring our little guy home.

Our agency is planning one more trip to Korea this year so we are putting together a care package for them to deliver. I'm going to include a little photo album with pictures of us, our house, and dogs. This way he will be familiar with us before he makes his journey home. A special thanks to my great neighbors Susan Rank & Dr. Chae who helped me label all the photos in Korean.

Picture


"We didn't give you life, life gave us the gift of you"

Monday, November 07, 2005

It's A Boy!

WE JUST GOT THE REFERRAL!!!!! Our social worker called at 7:00 pm tonight with the news and she was standing in our kitchen by 7:20 pm. His name is Lee, Min Shik. Born: April 7, 2005 Weighing: 5.5 pounds He was born at home to a 16-year-old girl. He was turned into the orphanedge the next morning. He does not have any known medical problems and is said to be a happy baby & a good eater. We got a bunch of pictures too but, I don't have a scanner so I will have to work on that tomorrow. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

We hope to have him home by March, just shy of his first birthday.

~Heather


"Min, Mommy loves you. Hurry home! "

Air Mail ????

Today our agency flew 3 babies home from Korea. There is a chance our referral paperwork is on that plane. I have my fingers crossed!

~Heather


"Welcome Home Babies"

Friday, November 04, 2005

Still Waiting...

Well, another week has past and we are still waiting for "The Call" with news of our little boy. I am starting to hate Fridays because its very unlikely we will get baby news over the weekend. Matt keeps telling me to be patient but I want to see his face so badly. Thank goodness we have sweet little Sydney to keep us busy. I really feel for those adoptive parents who do not have other children as a distraction.

This feeling reminds me of the days leading up to my first ultrasound of Sydney. I desperately wanted to see if it was a boy or girl and to make sure she was healthy. Waiting for this referral is very similar. Although we already know its a boy, we still want to see his face and find out his birthdate.

In a strange way I think once I see his face he will become "real". Even though he has been real in my heart for months my brain needs a visual.

~Heather

"I chose you..... to add new joy to my life"

Friday, October 28, 2005

Just Waiting

We are waiting...... we should have a referral of a child any day now. We are keeping busy with Sydney trying not to focus on the telephone. Once our social worker gets a match for us she will be calling to set up an appointment to look at his photo and review his file & medical information. I can't wait to see what our son looks like!!!

~Heather

I chose you...
because I wanted more than what nature had in store for me.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Training Class

Today, we attended a workshop for adoptive parents. The focus was on attachment and bonding issues. The instructor taught us some techniques to better help our baby transition from his life in Korea,to his new life here in the US. And, some red flags to look out for along the way.

I am going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. She said some babies transition easily and bond very quickly with their new parents, while others do not. Some babies will even grieve the loss of their foster mother. But, this is a healthy sign. I know that his arrival day will be a big shock to his system. He will be taken from everything and everyone he knows and thrown into a situation where everyone is touching him and overcome with joy and emotion, talking a language he has never heard and faces he has never seen. Not even his formula is not the same. Poor Guy!

The instructor told us to remember that even though we have been waiting for him, he has not been waiting for us.

Hopefully, our little one will adjust easily, if not we can use what we learned today to make his transition as easy as possible. Thankfully, babies are resilient and with time & love he will learn to love & trust us in return.

~Heather



I chose you.... To teach me new traditions.

Pumpkins


Well the leaves have begun to fall. We took Sydney to a local farm to find the perfect pumpkin. She seached through every pumpkin available and choose the smallest one she could find. We tried encouraging her to pick a big smooth one that would be perfect for carving but she was content with the small pumpkin pie making kind. :)

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Fingerprints

Today we got to visit the US Citizenship & Immigration office in Cleveland. As part of the adoption process we are required to be fingerprinted twice. Once by the BCI/FBI which we completed back in August and today we were fingerprinted again my the US Dept. of Homeland Security. I have never had so many background checks in all my life. Even though this process is long and stressful, we can take comfort in knowing that everyone is looking out for the children.

Still no word on our referral. Hopefully the next few weeks will bring us good news!


~Heather

I Chose you...... because you needed the love that I had to give.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Homestudy Completed

Tonight we had our last homestudy visit with our social worker. So, we are now officially waiting for a referral. A referral is when the agency matches a child to an adoptive family. When that happens we will receive photos, medical information, and any social or medical history the birth mother may have provided. With that info we will be left to make our decision to accept or decline the referral.
We will be waiting on pins & needles until that phone call comes. I am feeling the same excitement and anxiety that I felt when I was pregnant with Sydney. Its amazing how you can fall in love with someone you have never seen or touched.

~Heather

"Every child deserves a family, and we had one to give"

Monday, October 03, 2005


Aeros Game 2005 Posted by Picasa

New Addition Update

Currently, we are in the homestudy stage of our adoption. Which means we are assigned a social worker, she interviews us, performs a home inspection, and guides us through the process. Her last visit is set for October 13th. After that we will wait to be matched with a baby. Our agency said we should have a match within 2 months. But, right now there are more children waiting than adoptive parents so we shouldn't have to wait long.