November 17th at ten minutes after ten o'clock in the morning,
Jae-min became Charlie Jae-min, a United States citizen, and the fifth member of our family!
We went into our capital city, to the seventeenth floor, were sworn in and promised to tell the whole truth so-help-me-God, committed to love and provide for Charlie as if he had come forth from my very own womb, and then the judge offered the boys some candy.
It was a happy, celebratory day.
Here we are in the parking lot.
When we adopted Reuben we were not allowed to bring a camera into the building due to heightened security. So this time we stopped a stranger in the parking lot to take our picture before we went in. Turns out, security is lessened now and we could have brought our camera in to capture the moment with the judge. Oh well. Next time, right? (There is no next time. It was a joke.)
Since we were in The City,
we went over to the Children's Museum,
where our three boys turned into Transformers.
For lunch we went to Naked Tchopsticks.
Some of you have been there with us for other Korean celebrations,
like Reuben's birthday.
This is the Teriyaki Bento Box.
Chopstick lessons for Charlie.
The stab-n-jab is very effective.
Tasting something tasty.
Getting better every time.
Really yummy miso soup.
Astronaut ice cream we bought at the Children's Museum.
It took two years to go through the process to adopt Charlie.
But, we're not done yet.
I am waiting for his new birth certificate
so I can send it in with his application for his
Certificate of Citizenship.
Then I will use the Certificate of Citizenship
to get his social security card.
Then, we're done.
I think.
Oh, we still have post-placement visits
with our social worker
at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months
after arriving home with him.
Then, ta-da! my adoption hormones go into hiding
and Charlie turns two.
Are we going to adopt again,
the world wants to know.
The better question here is,
"Are you going to adopt?"
Did you see that?
Enough about me, let's talk about you...
