It's so funny to watch Jackson and Elliott process what we try to explain to them about the adoption. Because of their ages, we've been very careful about how and when we have shared details with them. Right now, they know that we want to have a baby brother or sister by the time Jackson … Continue reading A word from the Brothers
We did our first class for our Hague/adoptive parent training last week, and it was incredibly informative! It was basically a one hour overview of South Korea. Even though SK is a US ally and we were a major player in their civil war and we have bases there that are key to our East … Continue reading Korea 101
Some good news! The very first step for us with our agency was to submit a short summary of our home study, a family photo and a paragraph about why we want to adopt to ESWS for pre-approval. This isn't required for every family adopting from South Korea, but we are using an out-of-state agency … Continue reading Pre-approval granted!
So we're officially working with a new home study agency. It's wonderful that we found another one so quickly. I'm trying to be really optimistic about that. The new agency requires a lot more from us - including two additional references and applying for a lot of state and federal information that our original agency … Continue reading Round 2
This is a post I can't believe I'm writing already. We fully expect setbacks and twists and turns during the process. It's pretty much par for the course. Today, we learned "Hague compliant" and "Hague accredited" are different things, and that difference is a big deal when adopting from South Korea. We are working with … Continue reading Our First Setback
After weeks of discussions and decisions, we officially mailed in our pre-application and formal application to our agency today! We also mailed our official home study application! So far, we have pulled together everything we can possibly pull together on our end in terms of paperwork. We've been fingerprinted for an FBI clearance, and we … Continue reading And we’re off!
I find myself daydreaming a lot about our first few months at home with our third child. It feels so far away right now, but at the same time, I know how quickly time goes when you stay busy. And with two children, we are very good at staying busy. So sometimes I may use … Continue reading A little Korean Party Culture
We hope you have questions for us as we go through this process! It is quickly becoming a passion of ours to spread awareness and enthusiasm for international adoption, especially South Korea. Here are a few questions you may have -- some you'd ask us in person, some you may just be wondering in your … Continue reading Frequently Asked Questions
While working on adoption paperwork today, I accidentally logged into the wrong email address and didn't realize it until I searched my emails for the name of our agency. When I typed in the acronym, an email caught my eye from 2009. In 2009, I was completing my last semester of college. During this time, … Continue reading A lesson in priorities
Do you know what I have been trying to care less about lately? What other people think. At no point have I faced that dilemma more than in the area of announcing our adoption journey. It reminds me of when I announced our engagement over a decade ago. Do you know some of the things … Continue reading Full Hands, Fuller Hearts
Five Sewells 