Dear Garden

Oh, dear Garden,

We meant well when we planted you.

We gave you tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, lettuce, beans, peas, cucumber, onions, herbs, strawberries, and potatoes.

We tilled the ground and dug rows and put the plants so tenderly in your soil.

We staked and caged some and put wood chips around others.

We even took a break from eating cookies to water you.

But we're going to need you to do the rest.

Have you seen the lists below?

Lists

Herein I compose my list of lists.

Things to take to Korea
gifts for foster family, DJ, tour guide, doctor
baby Tylenol
baby Orajel
dipes, wipes
baby clothes
pacifiers
bottles
baby spoons
bibs
bottle brush
dish soap
passports
money belts
cash
camera, cord, and charger
adapter
immodium
grownup tylenol
mei tai
plastic bag for messes
airplane entertainment for 11 month old

Things to prepare at home before we go
put up crib
clean carpets
prepare meals to freeze
buy gifts for Peter and Reuben for while we are gone
add Jae-min to our insurance
copy passports and insurance cards and give to Debbie
get cash
wash bottles
put carseat in car
vacuum car first
make appointment with pediatrician for week late June
treasure this time with Peter, Reuben, and Paul
buy gifts for people in Korea
pray and journal
learn how to count and say "how much is it?" in Korean

Baby things still to buy
something to store Jae-min's clothes
bottles
pajamas
dipes
pacifiers
medicines


What else?

Approved!

EP - EP - EP - EP - EP!!!

Jae-min was issued his Emigration Permit on
Tuesday, May 24!

We are so close now.

To celebrate, we shall assemble the crib.

This is really real.


Next, he has to get his visa.

Before he can get his visa, he has to have a visa physical.

During the physical they will discover that he has a cleft lip and they will send us a form to make sure we know he has this special need.  Once we sign it and send it back to Korea, then he can get his visa.

When he has his cute little visa...

Our social worker calls us and says, "You can go to Korea!"

And then we will.

Aha!


It's about three weeks until this travel call rings.  This is the special time when my heart jumps and skips and flips EVERY TIME THE PHONE RINGS.

So please don't call me until July.

Faces

Did you wonder if we got snow-banked or avalanched in the Rockies?  We didn't.

If you needed to drive through the Rockies, Friday was the day to do it.  It was amazingly beautiful.  It was not snowing, but it had been and everything was white.  Perfect.

Pics taken whilst driving.

So now we're home and back to things as usual...

My Head

So I was being psychoanalyzed yesterday when the examiner paused to ask me if I had ever had a concussion.  She was baffled by a low score I received on one of the tests (remember the Bible Knowledge Test?) and thought maybe a head trauma was the cause.

Wow.

Do you all know something I don't know?  Do I show signs of mental lackingness?

Only answer that if you can do so kindly.


Other than having my mental power questioned, we are having a lovely time in Colorado meeting with this org about our future overseas plans.  We have gotten to meet with the upper-ups and get all our questions answered.  Tonight we are Presented To The Board for their assessment and approval of us.  We won't be making a commitment to this org quite yet.  We need to get Jae-min home and settled and make sure our family is stable and ready for a pretty big life change of moving to T.  But things are moving along nicely.

Tomorrow we will get up early and drive through the snow-covered Rockies in our rented Ford Fiesta.  Snow-covered Rockies.  As in the roads have snow on them and we have to drive on them.  In a compact car.  I thought winter was over.

The good thing is that our car is an atrocious bright yellow-green that will be easy for rescuers to spot if we get stuck in an avalanche or snow bank or something.  If when we make it to Denver, we'll fly home and enjoy a picnic Saturday with other Korean adoptive families.

Many, many thanks to you who have been praying for us during this trip.  We are thankful for you and appreciate you taking time to talk to God on our behalf.  We have your prayer concerns listed and have been remembering you in our prayers too.

Mom, we stopped in Glenwood Springs and I told Paul about all you and I did there many moons ago.  It was sweet.  Colorado Mountain College is still around and the little movie theater where we saw Jurassic Park.

Love Colorado.

Jae-min

We received a medical update on Jae-min today!

He is ten months old and 18 pounds.

He has one top tooth and two bottom teeth.

He is sitting and standing and crawling.

He is described as "cute and fine," of course, and is right on target for a ten month old.

And I am so happy for this healthy report!!

Look At Me!

I made it to JoAnn's with my 40%, 50%, and 15% coupons and bought bamboo knitting needles and cotton yarn. 

I'm going to knit!  I have another tab open while typing this to a YouTube video that's going to teach me how to make a dishcloth.  I really want my mom to teach me because she makes them and it would be sweet to learn from her, but I'm not going to see her until after baseball season and I need to learn this now.  Many games to sit through.

Peter also needed some more origami paper, so we picked up a couple packs while at JoAnn's.

And I've been rereading Amanda Soule's book The Creative Family, which has inspired me to teach the boys how to embroider.  So I also bought an embroidery hoop, red floss that Reuben picked out, and some burlap because Amanda recommended that as a good starting fabric.  It's going to be great.  They're going to love it.  Amanda said so.

This is me, an eight months paper-pregnant momma who must do something with her time because I'M GOING CRAZY waiting to travel to Korea.  Crying sporadically as needed.  And now crafting.

Passed Out

My favorite stage of a tantrum.

Baseball!

Dun-dun-DUN!  First game today!

 Needs a belt.

But no belt loops.

 Almost his turn to bat.

He's in the zone.

Naturally.

 Number six.

Peter noted that it's an upside down nine,

which was his soccer number.

 Reuben's latest daily footwear.

Too-big cleats,

 no socks.

 The game got a little long.

Time for self-portraits.

Paul's favorite part.

The end.

Peter was so cute each time he walked up to bat.  So smiley and just loving where he was and what he was doing.  After the game he announced he wanted to sign up for baseball again next year, as if this season was already over.

I think, really think, I'm going to take up knitting.  All that precious time just sitting at games and practices.  I could make something.  And feel productive.  Let's see if I make it to a knitting store and find the time to look up youtube videos to learn.

The Bird Whisperer

Reuben.  I love him.

Working in the 85 degree sun to find worms for this poor bird he found this morning.

He is very concerned.

His story goes...

The neighbor dog was going to get it.  He put his head through the fence into our yard and had the bird in its mouth.  And then he dropped it.  So Reuben picked up the bird and brought it to the front yard.  This is when he came to me.  "Mom, I'm trying to feed it a worm but he won't eat it."  We watched it hop across the street, prepared to stop traffic if needed.  Then we just let it be.

But then some people came to mow the grass WHERE THE BIRD WENT.  So we ran, he and I, across the street, looking both ways for cars, to stop them.  The bird was carefully relocated back to our yard where a four-year-old is obsessing about him.  Thus the shoveling pictures.

And this is our day.

Today's News

Firstly, it is so hot.  Out of the blue we have to switch from using the heater directly to the air conditioner.  85 and humid.  Feels great to be hot.  I've waited a long time to feel warm again.  Washed and stored the winter coats.  And painted my toes.  Stay around warm weather.

Secondly, we went to Arni's (Paul's favorite restaurant) with Inbum (our Korean college student) tonight.  He has been super fun to spend time with.  He called this afternoon to tell us he is going back to Korea tomorrow morning.  We don't know if we'll see him again, but we were glad to have him in our lives this year.

 

And thirdly, I got this timeline today from our social worker...

(BCS is our adoption agency.)

• Referral  (done)
• Acceptance documents sent to Holt  (done)
• Legal documents come to BCS, to be received by the branch office  (done)
• Acceptance documents submitted to the Ministry - BCS is typically notified of this step  (done)
• Ministry Approval (EP = Emigration Permission) - BCS is typically notified of this step, currently running about 3-5 weeks.  (We are here.  We have waited 2 weeks so far.  One more week to go?!)
• Apply for child's passport (must have ministry approval)
• Visa medical at hospital (must have passport) -  BCS is typically notified the scheduled date of the visa medical
• **Children with special needs will have special "class B" acceptance form -  BCS is always notified of this step, but it only applies to children with special placement needs  (this will apply to us and will slow us down a few days)
• US visa appointment is scheduled by Holt's visa worker.  The Foster Mothers and children go to the Embassy for the visa interview.  
• Travel Call (Has been about 3 weeks from Ministry Approval)
• Travel, within 7-10 days of travel call
  

So I am estimating a travel call four weeks from today ~ June 7.  Which has made me an emotional, teary mess this afternoon.  This is the hardest part of the two-year process ~ We're so close, but still uncertain of when things will actually happen.  I will put the crib up and buy the baby essentials once we have Ministry Approval - maybe next week!

That's the news.

Our Date

Paul came home at noon and changed into a dapper suit.  So I stayed in my gown and we went out.  It was a lot of fun.

The Museum of Art had a 2:30 tour with the theme of Love.

So Sweet.

We enjoyed having the docent all to ourselves.

And she even obliged to our suggestion of a detour to show her my favorite painting.

Sunlight

by Frank Benson.

Makes you think of Anne of Green Gables, I know.

Painted during that same time.

1909.

 Then to the Nourish Cafe for a fancy salad lunch

overlooking the fountain.

 Then to a very Pride & Prejudice location

on the grounds of the museum

for a relaxing, romantic picnic of

Martinelli's, chocolate, and cheese.

 Isn't that Mr. Darcy's home there,

in the background,

past the fountain and long lawn?

 Cheesy us.

 It was a beautiful day.

Many thanks to Steve for our new picnic blanket.

We then went over to The Circle to purchase

all the varieties of raspberry chocolates at

South Bend Chocolate Company.

(They have six.)

While circumnavigating the Circle

we received many 'Congratulations!'

and 'Did you already have the wedding?'

To which we replied,

"Thank you." and "Yes."

and then giggled to each other.

Thank you to Debbie for watching the boys.

And to my husband for being so romantically fun.

Happy Love

"Thereto I give thee my troth," for sure.

I feel like I've been quoting these closing words from Kate and William's vows a lot, but I shall.  Because they're so romantic.

We're romantic too.

And betrothed.

Eleven Years of Trothedness.

Today.

Reading Franklin.

I've washed the dishes, watered the flowers, read books, played Chutes and Ladders, killed an ant, taken a temperature, administered Children's Tylenol, eaten a handful of mini Oreos...

Now I need to go to the bathroom,

but I'm trying to wait until Paul comes home

so he can enjoy a glimpse of the dress before I take it off

and get back to real life.

And a daytime date to The City!

I love him.

 

Active Boys

We were allowed to observe Reuben's gymnastics class today.  Peter was our videographer.

He was the Line Leader today. 

Here they are doing a lap around the track.

 In the middle of class he told me his hair was itching him.

He's really due for a trim.

Back bend!

Then this evening I got to go to Peter's
second baseball practice.

This is week four of the season,

but he's had three practices rained out

and had a fever for one.

Games start May 14th.

I can't wait to see him in a little uniform and hat.

He did end up hitting the ball,

but got out at first base.

He was really interested in watching where his ball went.

We'll have to work on hitting and then sprinting in a focused-like manner.

The coaches seem really nice and good with the kids.

And I have a new group of moms
to get to know in the stands.

Can't wait for the weather to warm up.