Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
-Jeremiah 1:5

I love this verse, knowing that my God knew me before I was ever conceived and has always had a plan for my life. Although I may not understand His plan, and try to make my own plans, my faith tells me that His plan is more glorious than mine.

Soowan and I were talking last night and discussing plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Should we stay here in Dallas, go to California again to spend time with family, etc. Then it dawned on me that during this time we should be receiving our referral. Once our home study is accepted, then we wait for a referral of a child. Currently the agency is stating that the referral time is taking somewhere between 6-9 months from the acceptance of the home study. We are hoping our home study will be approved by the end of April. So with this said, we are anticipating our referral sometime between October-December of 2006.

With the Korea program, generally the baby is 1-2 months old at time of referral.... Meaning our child has already been conceived. He or she is now growing in the womb of a mother who is about to make a huge decision for her child's life. First off she's already chosen life for a child she knows she cannot care for. Most likely she is an unwed mother, and she knows the pressure that will fall upon her from her family and society. In Korea it is unacceptable to be an unwed mother. A woman is considered a shame to her family, and is shunned from her family when they find out she is pregnant. Most women turn to abortion in Korea, usually forced by parents who are pride-full and are more concerned about their family honor than the life of a child.

Soowan and I prayed for her last night. We can't imagine all that is going through her mind at this moment. She already knows she's pregnant, and most likely will not be able to hide her secret much longer. Knowing all the judgment that will fall upon her, and her unborn child. It's hard for me to put myself in her shoes. I could never grow a child inside me, and give it to someone else to raise. It's hard for us to fathom.

That's where our faith begins in this adoption process. I may not understand God's plan, but I know he has a plan for each and everyone of our lives. He knew this child would become part of our family, before he/she was conceived. I also believe he has a plan for the life of this child's mother. And from this day forward I will lift her up in prayer and be forever grateful that she chose life for her child.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
-Hebrews 11:1

Finished With The Interviews!!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!! This part of the process is finally over. We had our last visit with the social worker on Wednesday. This visit went much smoother, considering that we did not touch on the topics that we knew we disagreed on. I think we've agreed to disagree, and like Soowan says, "At the end of the day it is our adoption, our choices, and there is no way she could not say we are not deserving parents!"

So the next step in the process is kind of a two part process. The social worker will write up her report on our family, (we get to see the report before she turns it in) and we need to send in a form called a I-600A visa petition form. This form is to request an immigration visa for the child we will be adopting. Later on we will file what is called I-600 form once we know exactly what child we will be adopting, and put all his/her information of the request form. So sometime next week our social worker will turn in our home study to the U.S citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), and we will mail in our I-600A form simultaneously. Once the USCIS reviews both the home study and our I-600A form then we will need to go to our local USCIS office to be fingerprinted. Then once our clearance check comes back we wait to see if our request to adopt internationally is accepted or not. We hope to know by late April/early May!!! So basically we sit and wait.

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is Soowan's birthday!! We started off by going to church and then headed back home. My mom came over after church, and we all went out to lunch. I wanted to take Soowan someplace that had a fun atmosphere, but with good food, so I decided on The Hard Rock Cafe downtown. It was quite an adventure getting there, considering it rained extremely hard the whole way to the restaurant. We decided to take advantage of the valet service, so we wouldn't get too wet if we parked and walked ourselves. Unfortunately we were not that "lucky". We still seemed to get our shoes, socks and the cuffs of our pants soaked in the small walk from the valet port to the front door! Once inside we dried off, and were ready to have a good time. Lunch was delicious, and to top off the meal our waiter had Soowan stand on top of a table while everyone that was dining sang "Happy Birthday" to him!!!

The drive home was 3 times worse than on the way there. What should of been a 20 minute drive took well over an hour! The rain was relentless, and never let up. The streets were flooded, and it seemed like at every other intersection there was either an accident or a stalled vehicle in the high water. Soowan did a great job navigating around the city and getting us home safely.

For dinner I prepared Soowan's favorite, POT ROAST!!! He had two servings, and he even kissed the cook! (That would be me). We ended the night with a yummy ice cream cake!!! I even lit 33 candles on top, and the cake looked as if it were a blazed!!! Micah helped Soowan blow them all out, and by the end they were both out of breath.

Happy Birthday Soowan!!! I love you with all my heart. - Nancy

Interview

This morning Soowan had his individual interview with the social worker. I had mine this past Wednesday. These interviews are so nerve-racking!!! The social worker has NO personality what so ever, and all she does is ask questions, and writes things down on her note pad as we answer. We feel like we're at a "shrinks" office or something. Because Holt International does not have a main office here in Texas, we are assigned a social worker through the county. She does home studies for International adoptions, but this is her first home study that she's done through the Korea program. It really frustrates Soowan and I because she always making little comments like, "Well with the China program you have to do......" Or "With the Russian program you need to...." I get so frustrated, I want to say to her "Well we are adopting from Korea, so how the China or Russian programs work is entirely irrelevant to our home study!"

We just have one more meeting with her, and then she'll write up her report on our family. It's humbling, but yet insulting that we have to be interviewed to see if we are "fit" parents. I know why we must endure this process, because adopting is so different than getting pregnant and going to the hospital and giving birth. Noone asks you the intrusive questions that we've been asked, to be allowed to adopt. Most anyone can have a baby, but does that mean they are "fit" to be parent(s)? I think that these social workers should be doing interviews with some parents before they bring their babies home from the hospital! I bet the incidents of child abuse and neglect would decrease. I should ask our social worker that question at our next visit. I'm curious on how she will respond.

Welcome!!!!

We decided to start this blog so we can communicate better with our family and friends. This will allow you to keep up with our families comings and goings. Also, to keep everyone updated on our process of adopting a child from Korea. We will try and post as often as possible........ so keep checking our blog to see if there is any new posts.