Why Korea??

Surprisingly, few people have asked this question, but probably many more have wanted to. So, I will attempt to entertain your curiosity. After making the decision to adopt (which is a huge decision in itself), we found we had many more decisions to make before we could even start the process. There are so many options: Domestic or international? Open or closed? Private, agency or independent? Then, what agency? Which lawyer? What country? If open, what degree of contact to have with the birth family? Needless to say, we felt a little overwhelmed. At this point we had told very few people of our decision (not even our family...sorry!), but we did feel international adoption was the right for us. We also knew that we wanted to adopt a healthy infant, beyond that we were clueless. We felt totally lost in this big world of adoption, and Joe confided this in a co-worker (whose husband just happens to work at Holt). Cosette and Dean (can't thank you guys enough!) invited us over for dinner just to talk about adoption. What a huge surprise when we learned they invited one of Holt's intake social workers and her husband to dinner also! She was gracious enough to give her own time, on a Saturday, and detailed each of Holt's international programs with us, giving us good points and not-so-good points of each. This helped us so much. We instantly decided that if Holt had staff this dedicated to the job, it was the agency for us. So, in the end, we decided on Korea because we fit their criteria (China was also at the top of our list, but we did not meet the age requirement), and they fit ours. The age of child at the time of travel (in 2006), was about 4-6 months; the babies are well cared for while waiting to travel- in foster care, not institutions; they are generally healthy; and most importantly, Holt has been working with Korea for over 50 years, their Korea program is very stable, something that was very important to us after going through several years of repeated miscarriage and unexplained infertility. Finally, a plan that would end in the arrival of our child!
RA

In full bloom

One of my favorite things about this time of year
is watching my garden grow daily. Yesterday this is what we came home to; this daylily opened entirely during just one day...amazing! What a great reminder of God's miracles...
For good measure, I threw in a shot of my new rose garden and patio pots, also brimming with blooms and buds. The pot just to the left of the daisies is a Rose of Sharon, which is the national flower of South Korea...can't wait to see that one in bloom!
RA

Different trips to the same place

I ran across this on an adoption board, and it's just too perfect not to share. It puts into words the feelings that are so hard to describe.

Different Trips to the Same Place Author Unknown

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place; you’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain that you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip. So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there’s no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait---and wait---and wait. Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually get on the plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, “It’s not fair!” After a long time, the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.” “By BOAT!” you say. “Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than by air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip. Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air. People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh, be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy.” You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not the way you get there, but in the place itself.
RA

Good wishes quilt

It's not too late! Many of you have been asking if you can still send fabric and a wish, and the answer is "YES, YES, YES"! Thanks to everyone who has already sent them, but if you haven't, you still can! I am just starting to sew them together. If you need the info again, please email me and I'll send it to you.
RA

9 months and counting...

It's been a little over 9 months since our homestudy was sent to Korea (our adoption process started about 13 months ago). We are now waiting, sometimes patiently-sometimes not so patiently, for our referral (or assignment/match with a baby). We are hoping for the news any day, but more realistically our social worker has told us it could be another 1-2 months. So, as we continue to wait we will bring you all up to date on how we got this far, information about adoption and international adoption, and anything else we deem worthy of note. Make sure to check back often for updates!!
RA