Look what I found today...

Tay and I were in our local Wal Mart today picking up some things for our trip and ran across this!  The sign said regular $35 but was clearanced to $15.  It was the only Buzz Lightyear left.  The others were Spiderman and some other something.  I scanned it at one of the store scanners and it said $14.50.  So yeah, I bought it. This little thing has buttons everywhere and makes all different sounds for each one.  Tay was pushing everyone of them!  Love it!  Aiden, mama has a neat toy for you! :)

I was doing really good...

On January 20th, Aiden's Emigration Permit was approved!!  YAH!!   I was so so SO excited to read that!  It threw me into immediate action!  I washed 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 loads of Aiden's laundry.  It did take me a few days to finish all those loads and put them away.  His crib bedding is all washed and ready, clothes are hanging in his closet,  towels and  blankets put away. You name it, I washed it! I do have to say I was SICK AND TIRED of washing clothes after that! But I do have to admit, I really did like doing them. The room is ready,  I've got all my gifts sitting out ready to be packed,  working on getting Aiden's things together, but I've stopped at this point.  The EP approval lit a fire under my butt, so what's happened now?  I was doing really good.  Maybe it was the 5 loads of laundry, that's enough to send anyone into a stupor!  So what's the hold up?  It was all I could think of for the last week.

Maybe it's the wait again.  I can't believe we've gotten to this point and I've stalled.  We are so close to the end!   Have I run out of gas?  Am I so emotionally spent I have no more?  I don't want to wait for the Travel Call and then freak because all these things I'd planned on doing  aren't done yet. (I am the perpetual planner!)  I almost feel like we're waiting on things to process again, like we're suffering through a major holiday again and they're not there to push that paperwork through again.  But they are there in the Seoul office, processing paperwork, setting up Visa Physicals, etc.  I was doing really good, what happened?

Or, maybe I'm overwhelmed. There's so many details that need to be remembered.  Bulkhead seating on the plane ride back. Buy a lap ticket.  Request baby meal on plane.  Remember to call the credit card company before using it.  Remember all lists of things to buy while there.  Don't forget to keep driver's gift handy for after you land in Seoul.   I could go on for days.   Maybe I just can't figure out how to handle all those little things that need to be taken care of before hand, like right now!  I don't know,  I think I need a little push again.  Give me something else Seoul!  Give me one more little tidbit of info that makes me think we're almost there.  I need another fire lit! ;)

EP APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aiden's Emigration Permit was submitted  on 01/11/2011.  So I was trying to be realistic on the safer side and say okay, maybe it'll take another 4 weeks to be approved, yeah, maybe we'll be traveling the first of March, yeah, that sounds realistic.  

Snow was predicted around lunch time for our area today.  Got word that Tay's elementary school was to release 2 hours early.  Finished work and headed there to pick her up and head home before the major snow was to come.  Usually I check email first, then check Facebook.  For some reason I checked FB first and saw EP's from my batch approved all over the place.  I clicked as fast as my  mouse would click.  And of course the stupid page had to load, which took a couple of seconds, which was an eternity!! There it was EP approval in the subject line!!!  I almost screamed, but didn't want to alarm my daughter.  Aiden now has his Emigration Permit approval,  it's their government's way of saying he's legal to leave South Korea!! I really didn't think it would take only 10 days to be approved, seriously! That was super quick!  

I still can't believe it.  This journey has been so long, mentally tiring, and exhausting at times.  When I read the email from Lisa at Holt International and they approved our child's Emigration Permit, I had to read it three times.  First tears came, then fear, then I felt like I was going to throw up!  Sorry, if that's TMI, but I've bounced back and forth from excited to feeling sick, back to excited, to numb. It's pretty weird.  

I'm so happy to have gotten in contact with a few other moms who were approved in the same batch of EP's as us!  They are so sweet, and it feels great to be apart of a little group.  I so hope we can all be in Seoul at the same time, even if it's only for a day or two!! It's so exciting... okay I'm back to feeling sick again, but that's okay!  Aiden is almost ready to come home!! :) 

So next Aiden will need his Travel Certificate, Visa Physical Exam, P3 to be submitted back to the Embassy from Holt, and his Visa Interview, and somewhere in there he makes his Embassy appearance!  So yeah,  little bit more to go, but this list has gotten so much smaller!! These steps  could possibly be finished in a couple of weeks or longer.  You always need to count on longer!   But this little guy is so worth the wait! 

New picture!!

Here's my little guy!  He turned 1 year old  January 3, 2011.  These are the things that Miss Paula took to Korea when she went to pick up her adorable little girl Zoe. Thanks Paula!! This is Aiden's Christmas and his birthday gifts.  I noticed he has on an outfit I sent in his second care package.

Aiden has on the red jumper that's in this picture!  I can see the little airplane under his jacket in the picture!  I know this may sound weird, but it's such a revelation to actually see something I sent on him.  He's so cute,  but I sure wish he'd smile.  The last  2 pictures we received, poor thing doesn't look very happy.  : (  Which kind of scares me even more.  Maybe he's really shy - translation - he's going to scream bloody murder all the way home on the plane.  This folks is my absolute worst fear of this whole adoption - the 14 hour plane ride home with a child who doesn't know us, is cramped in a confined space, missing everything he's ever known. Yeah, I get a little freaked out when I really think about it!  Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts!

Emigration Permit submitted!!!!!!!!!!!! 01/11/11

Yes!  That's right!  I have been waiting for that EP to be submitted since October of 2010.  Now we just have to wait a little longer.  Now that our Emigration Permit is submitted, it will take about 4 to 6 weeks to be approved, hopefully!  This is the first step in the final paperwork process in Korea.  After this is approved,  there will be a handful of other things that Aiden will need before he is able to travel, that should only take around two weeks to complete.   So yeah,  I'M A HAPPY CAMPER!!! :)   Although it will be another couple of months before we can go get him,  at least I have a pretty good idea of when that'll be!!

No EP yet.....

It seems the first batch of Emigration Permits has been submitted in Korea- YAH!  To my knowledge, Aiden's wasn't in it - BOO! To recap,  all of Aiden's required government "things" are completed on the United States' side.  All he needs is the hand full of government "things" on Korea's side. They will submit his Emigration Permit according to when our acceptance papers of him were received in Korea.  Most all the mid July 2010 referrals have been submitted for their EP.   So I'm hoping for his to be in the second batch, which could be mid January or first of February, who knows!  We're a late July referral - which means - it's when we accepted Aiden after reviewing his medical file, (which told all they know about him, his biological parents, siblings,  where he was born, all medical visits to that point in his life, anything and every thing about our little guy). Actually, there was way more info in his file than I really expected to know.  That's what's so great about Holt International,  they have such a great relationship with Korea.  It seems they let us know so much info about those children, it's awesome! :)

So yeah,  waiting..... again ......

Oh the shopping.....

Oh yes, I did! And it was FUN too!  So yeah, here it all is! :)

I went to Babies R Us today!  Love the Safety 1st car seat! Got the idea from a couple of other moms, thanks Heather and ML! Had a coupon for it, and we needed a gate for our stairs.  Got the little umbrella stroller FREE with the purchase of the carseat.  All the clothes you see were clearanced, which I had the coupon "save 40% on all clearanced clothing, shoes, & apparel."  The coupon was to be used for all the items that would fit in the shoppers bag.  I asked the clerk what bag I was suppose to use, they said they were out of "the bag", that the coupon was good on ALL clearanced clothing items - Okay, the happy meter just blew up at that point! Oh, and I had a coupon for 10% off the total purchase on things that were on my registry - car seat and gate.  What I really loved was these little finds:

Okay, next stop - Old Navy! Got these little jumpers, 4 items clearanced, and got 10% off the whole order, not a great sale - but they're so cute.  I'm thinking these little jumpers will be comfy.

So, I had a great day, except for the headache, but I didn't let that ruin my day.  I had fun shopping for Aiden, so I'd say that pretty much wraps up any other buying besides minor things before we travel.  I'm so ready and  now he's ready too! :)

Tol in Korea

In Korea, on the 100th day after a child's birth, a small feast is prepared to celebrate the child's having survived this difficult period. If the child is sick at this time, the family passes the day with neither announcement nor party, for to do otherwise is considered bad luck for the infant.

At this time the samshin halmoni is honored with offerings of rice and soup in gratitude for having cared for the infant and the mother, and for having helped them live through a difficult period. The family, relatives and friends then celebrate with rice cakes, wine, and other delicacies such as red and black bean cakes sweetened with sugar or honey.

To prevent potential harm to the child and to bring him or her good luck and happiness, red bean cakes are customarily placed at the four compass points within the house. If the steamed rice cakes are shared with 100 people, it is believed that the child will have a long life. Therefore, rice cakes are usually sent to as many people as possible to help celebrate the happiness of the occasion. Those who receive rice cakes return the vessels with skeins of thread, expressing the hope of longevity, and rice and money, symbolizing future wealth.

Such customs are also part of the tol, or first birthday, celebration. Because of the high infant mortality rates in the past, this celebration is considered to be even more important. Like the 100th day celebration, it begins with offerings of rice and soup to the samshin halmoni. However, the highlight of this celebration is when the child symbolically foretells his or her own future.

For this ritual, the child is dressed in new traditional Korean clothes. A male child wears the traditional hood worn by unmarried youths, and the female wears make-up.

The child is seated before a table of various foods and objects such as thread, books, notebooks, brushes, ink and money which have all been given to the family by friends and relatives. The child is urged to pick up an object from the table, as it is believed the one selected first will foretell the child's future. If the child picks up a writing brush or book, for example, he is destined to be a scholar. If he picks up money or rice, he will be wealthy; cakes or other food, a government official; a sword or bow, a military commander. If the child picks up the thread, it is believed he will live a long life.

This is followed by feasting, singing and playing with the toddler. Most often guests will present gifts of money, clothes, or gold rings to the parents for the child at this time. Upon departure, guests are given packages of rice cakes and other foods to take with them. This sharing of rice cakes is thought to bring the child long life and happiness.

Now, with all that traditional stuff being said,  today was Aiden's 1st birthday,  January 3rd!!  Technically, since Korea is 14 hours ahead of us in time, today, for the most part, was Aiden's 1st birthday!  I wanted to celebrate by eating at a Korean restaurant this evening, but soon found out the 2 we considered weren't open after 5 on Sunday, and the other one was closed - go figure!  I was really bummed about that, since I really wanted to experience Korean food!  But,  now I'll just have to wait till we get to experience the real thing.  I can wait! I've waited this long, right?! 

So I've been thinking about Aiden all day, wondering what his birthday celebration was like, trying to be happy for him and his foster family. When yeah, I'm a little bummed about that too.  But hey, we'll have a lot more celebrations for the rest of his life!  

On a different note, Paula and her hubby are in Korea this very minute seeing the sights, enjoying themselves, and oh yeah, playing with this little cutie till time to come home! 

I am hanging on every last photo, post, and comment!  Paula was so nice to take Aiden's Christmas and Birthday gifts to Holt in Korea for him.  Remember this stuff?

So I hope you enjoy all these things Aiden. I hope you've had a fantastic 1st birthday!!! We'll have a lot more celebrations when you come home to us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aiden,  I can not wait to see you! :)