The paper work continues

During the past week Chris' passport arrived as did his birth certificate. The lady at the post office had been very kind to let us know that the certificate would not be returned in the same envelop as the passport so we would not get freaked out. However, we almost ended up recycling the certificate because I didn't pay to much attention to the brown envelop that it was mailed in. Thank goodness Chris found it.

Today Chris and I went to the credit union to get the adoption agreement notarized and pick my birth certificate up from the safe deposit box. I received a notice in the mail from the homestudy agency telling us that they had received the legal agreement and 2 of the references. Now Chris has agreed to call the other two people that were asked to fill out references and see if he can get those rolling. Attached to our copy of the legal agreement was a list of everything that the agency still needs. I didn't realize that it was standard to send the materials in as they were completed and not wait until all of it was done. I spent about and hour getting documents ready to mail and making notes to myself regarding additional copies that I need to make come Monday.

This week Chris will be going to get his second TB test. He forgot to get the first one checked on time so he has to do it over again. Next Sunday Chris and I will take care of the autobiographies, get photos of the house and ourselves and mail all of that out. The only thing we will then have left is the record of job stability from the district. Both of us have people on campus that are suppose to be doing that for us. Maybe we need to remind them.

Seoul Garden = Yum!

Chris, Peggy, and I had our first experience with Korean food last night. We went to a restaurant in Spring Branch, just a few miles from home, called Seoul Garden. We started with an appetizer of Kim-Chi pancake. They were very good. The sauce was a bit salty for our taste, but not inedible (we just had to drink a lot of water). Seoul Garden specializes in Korean BBQ so we decided to give it a try. We ordered a beef dish and an octopus dish. The meat is drought to the table marinated, but raw, and we got to cook it ourselves on the in table grill. It was a lot of fun. The BBQ came with all kinds of sides: miso soup, lettuce salad, 2 different types of seaweed, potatoes, sticky rice, and marinated cucumbers. The beef was wonderful and easy to cook. It had great flavor and was very tender. The octopus was very hard to get up off of the grill and while it had a flavorful marinade Chris and I decided we probably wouldn't order it again. We really enjoyed our first Korean food experience and can't wait to go back and try knew things.

Homestudy Headway

Thank God for Yom Kippur!! Frig and I have managed to make amazing headway with our home study paper work in the past 24+ hours. I had my doctors appointment yesterday after school. She drew blood, had me pee in a cup, and I have to go back for the TB test on Monday because they have to read it 48 to 72 house later. Initially, Frig was supposed to join me, but it didn'y work out. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

This morning we started with the Yale St post office at 9 am and the application for Chris' passport. It went very smoothly. The intake woman was very nice and there was only one person ahead of us. Next, hungry as we were, we stopped by Dry Creek for some sustenance. We went home, the plan was for Chris to fill out paper work while I tried to get him a doctor's appointment. The first number I called was able to see him at one. We worked on applications and forms for almost 2 hours. Chris took a short nap while I map copies of various documents. The doctor, once all said and done, took 3 hours. But I couldn't be happier. Chris felt very well taken care of and said that he would be very willing to continue seeing this doctor in the future.
Next, we went to find Rich at Under the Volcano and pass out the fourth reference form. While waiting for him to return from an errand we complete 2 more forms regarding our marriage and parenting.

I feel so good about the work that we completed today. The list has certainly shrunk and that is an amazing feeling. I hope that we will have all of the forms in the mail in less than 4 weeks from time of reciept!

Long, Long Meeting

By far the best part about today's meeting was the networking with other families that are adopting. There were 7 couples total. The 3 couples of Indian heritage all plan to adopt from India (although hearing about Korea made them think they may want to switch programs). The 2 oldest couples were adopting from China. There was one other couple that is adopting from Korea - a Caucasian woman married to a Korean man (and no he is not an adoptee). Richard even offered that Chris and I could use his family home in Korea should we travel before they sell it. I sure hope that works out!

We learned some great stuff on bonding and attachment. The one rule that is going to be very difficult to enforce, but very important, is keeping visits to a minimum for the first 6 weeks while we bond.

The doctor that came to spoke with us made all the couples feel good that our children would be relatively well taken cared for while still in their birth country. Now we need to contact his group to see if insurance covers their pre-placement services. They specialize in adoption pediatrics and will look a referral files prior to placment to give us an idea if we can handle the child's needs.

I left the meeting tired, but energized at the idea that Chris and I really are making the right choice!

Adoption Meeting & Home Study Packet

Chris and I will attend a 10 hour adoption meeting tomorrow. I am very excited and hope that it lives up my expectations. Yesterday I received an email from the coordinator asking all participants to arrive earlier than originally planned (8 am as opposed to 8:30). This is because they will have a doctor from MD Anderson who specializes in children that have been adopted internationally. Since Chris and I are willing to adopted a child with certain minor special needs this should be very helpful to us.

I am sure we will be very exhausted at the end of the day!

Speaking of being exhausted; I got tired just reading through the requirements for the home study (HS) packet that we received in the mail yesterday. One of the requirements is to get your doctor to fill out medical forms. I had no idea how extensive they would be. Thank goodness I went to a doctor 4 years ago for a bug bite and have sent Chris there are a few times when he was under the weather. That way when she asked if I was a patient I was able to say yes since they are no longer accepting newbies. The nurse was so kind when she found out why we needed to come in, and that we are teachers, she penciled us in for the end of the day next Wed. We have to get HIV, Hep, and TB tests. The results for that and all other questions have to be current within the past 6 months.

Chris and I will have to complete pretty length autobiographies speaking to specific questions, 5 of our friends will have to complete references, we have to do a floor plan of our house, and get a whole bunch of documents together. The bulleted list took up a whole page so you get the idea. Chris and I have off next Thursday so maybe we can work on some of this stuff then!