Snowshoeing

For Christmas we gave Josh and Kayla a Joes gift card to rent snowshoes. We went snowshoeing with them yesterday and had tons of fun!

It was a beautiful day for hiking in the snow. The temperature was probably 40 but we never felt cold. The snow was fairly packed down on the trails so after we did a loop we decided to venture off the trail for a little exploration.

We took this picture in a beautiful clearing that we found when we were a little off the trail. We got a great workout and our legs were sore by the end of our day of hiking.

Precious Moment

Earlier this week at school I had just picked my students up from lunch and recess. They were all taking their seats and I was getting ready to read aloud The Invention of Hugo Cabret (which is an AMAZING graphic novel- my class is LOVING the book) when a little boy in my classroom said something along the lines of ... Mrs. Morgan do you have your baby yet? Didn't you tell us you were adopting a LONG time ago? What a precious moment for me. One of my third grade boys was curious about our adoption process. I told him we are still patiently waiting!

Family Dinner

On February 13th Travis and I made a Korean dinner for my family. Everyone loved it! Campbell wasn't able to try the Korean dinner yet... but he did enjoy playing with toys while we had dinner. I got to feed him some carrots later that evening which he seemed to enjoy.

Kalina Gets A Haircut

BEFORE PICTURE

THE HAIR

Yep, 9 inches later here is the new me

It took a couple days to get used to having short hair, but I think I am liking it more and more each day!

This morning I mailed my 9 inches of hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

Travis Interviewed for the MBA Program

On February 5th Travis interviewed for the MBA program at George Fox University. He found out on February 9th that he has been accepted. He will start the program this Fall. He should finish by December 2011.

Our First Attempt at Korean Cooking

On Sunday, January 11th we had our first experience with Korean cooking. It was fun to follow the recipe... and the dinner turned out great and tasted amazing! We can't wait to make this dinner for our family and friends.

Travis is cutting the meat very thinly.

These are some of the ingredients.

I am drying the meat... just following the recipe.

A close up picture of our meat in the drying stage.
The meat is ready to go into the sauce to marinate for 20 minutes.

Doesn't that look yummy?

The flavors were wonderful!

Or course what is a Korean meal without some rice from our good old rice cooker!

Here is what it looked like right after I took it out of the pan. Oops I forgot I wanted to take a picture of it cooking in the pan. Maybe next time=)

The meal is ready and on the table.

My plate!

Travis getting ready for his first bite.

I am getting ready for my first bite.

We love it-Yeah for Bulgogi! I am glad we tried this new recipe. We are excited to add it to array of dinner options.

Multi-cultural Dolls

A Lakeshore 2009 Catalog came in the mail today and look what I found... multi-cultural dolls for our kids! The page above shows dolls that are about 5 inches tall that can be used inside doll houses. The page below shows bigger more real-life dolls.

A Blessing of Treasures

We went to visit the Brunner family during Christmas break and were blessed with several different treasures! Before I explain the treasures it is important to know how we know this family. In April Travis was flying to Denver, Colorado for work. His flight was from Portland to Seattle first, and the from Seattle to Denver. On his Portland to Seattle flight he sat next to a family and soon discovered they were on their way to pick up their son, Caleb from Korea! As Travis talked to the family he found out that they live in Portland, used Holt as their adoption agency, and have the same social worker as us ... is God amazing or what?

So the blessing of treasures included ...

1: a babyhawk carrier (similar to this picture off the babyhawk.com website)

This is a custom designed baby carrier for the style conscious parent. The Mei Tai's (Asian Baby Carriers) are adopted from a Chinese-inspired idea that makes holding your little lovely on your front, back or hip as safe as it is comfortable.

2. A copy of The Seed from the East Book

This is the story of how the Holt family adopted eight Korean War orphans. Intercountry adoption as we know it today owes its beginning to this family.

3. An Opportunity to Taste ... Honeyed Korean Red Ginseng Slices

The side of the box reads: Dosage and Administration

1. Frequency of Administration: 3 times a day

2. Dosage: About 1~2 pieces per administration

3. Direction: Chew it well before you swallow.

All that to say neither Travis or I were a big fan. It was super hard to chew and didn't have great flavor.

4. An Opportunity to Taste ... Butter Waffles

These were very yummy!

5. We are borrowing Korean Cooking Made Easy

We are hoping to make Bulgogi (sauteed or grilled marinated beef)

200g beef (strip loin), thinly sliced

Sauce

2 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 1/2 sugar, 1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. pear juice

1 tbsp. finely chopped green onion

1/2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. toasted, crushed, and salted sesame seeds

1 tbsp. sesame oil, 1/5 tsp. ground black pepper

1. wipe beef dry with paper towel to remove liquid.

2. Thoroughly mix all of the sauce's ingredients.

3. Place the beef in a bowl and marinate with the sauce. Let stand for 20 minutes.

4. Grill or saute in a pan without oil.

5. serve on a plate.

The Blessings From Our Suport Letter

Psalm 10:14 says, "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."

Travis and I mailed our support letter to 19 different states and two additional countries. We have had a wonderful response to our support letters. Our family and friends have helped us raise a little over 11,000 dollars! We greatly appreciate everyone who was able to help financially. We are still in need of about 7,000 dollars to pay the whole Korea program fee, but we trust that God will continue to provide for us.

Adoption Process Guidebook

The Adoption Process Guidebook Korea has arrived from Holt International! Time to start reading and learn more about the Korea Program. I have only read a small amount of the book, but each page of information is wonderful knowledge to hold onto and makes me more excited for the day we get to bring our baby home.

Support Letters in Mailboxes

Travis and I mailed our support letters on November 8th so by now they should have reached your mailboxes. We hope that you will join us in prayer and financial support of our adoption journey. One thing we wanted to clarify, because we just got clarification ourselves, is that all financial donations you intend for us to receive for our adoption need to be donated by our goal date of December 24th or 1 month after this date (LifeSong for Orphans grace period) otherwise the donation will just go towards a general adoption fund.

Here is a copy of our support letter:

Dear Family and Friends,

The dictionary definition of adopt is to choose or take as one’s own. We love this definition because of the word choose. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” We know the adoption process is full of completing lots of paperwork, being patient while waiting for the right placement, and paying a large amount of money, yet we still choose to adopt because we know it is something that God is asking us to do. God desires for orphans of all nations to be loved, cared for, and adopted into Christian families-ultimately so they can become saved, and be adopted into His eternal family through Jesus Christ.

In June of 2007, after our second wedding anniversary, we decided it was time to start thinking about expanding our family. Our adoption process became active in August of 2007 when we selected the agency we would use as our guidance and support system. After doing our research we chose to go with Holt International. We found Holt’s approach to be very unique because it is centered on the child.

We chose to adopt a baby from Vietnam. Our homestudy was completed in January 2008 and our dossier was completed in April 2008. We were in the process of waiting to be matched with a baby, however, as of September 1st Vietnam is not open for adoptions at this time. Holt recommended we continue with Vietnam until mid October to see what the time frame is for when the country may re-open. Recently we heard that June 2009 is the estimated date for when the country may re-open for adoption. Through prayer and many conversations with our family and friends we have faithfully taken a step to believe and trust God’s plan for us, and we are now choosing to adopt a baby from Korea.

We knew we were ready to begin the adoption process, and we had support from family and friends, but we definitely did not have an idea how we would acquire the funds necessary. The biggest challenge for us is not opening our hearts and home to a child, but it is finding the finances to make this happen. We estimate our total cost for adoption fees, document preparation, homestudy, airfare, travel, attorney fees, etc. to be $25,000 - that’s certainly money we don’t have, but we know God is faithful and is leading us to trust Him. By God’s grace we’ve been able to pay the initial $7,000.

Hebrews 11:1 & 6 have been our encouragement to follow through with adoption. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. … And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Throughout the adoption process there are many unknown factors, however, these verses remind us that God is with us throughout the whole adoption process. If we continue to have faith in God our hope and choice to adopt will be possible.

We appreciate your friendship and would like you to pray and consider helping us in our adoption. Listed below are two ways you can help.

Prayer: Please pray for patience and understanding of God’s timing, as well as that God would tenderly care for our baby in Korea until we are able to bring him or her home. Please pray also that God will give us wisdom, discernment, and insight as we raise our baby to know Jesus Christ.

Financial support: Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining $18,000 in adoption expenses, to bring our baby home.

If you would like to be a part of God bringing our baby to Himself through our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift between now and December 24th to the address below. Life International is a trusted organization administering the funds on our baby’s behalf, and will pay adoption expenses out of funds received.

Please make your check payable to: Life International. You may preference how the donation might be used by writing “preference Morgan Adoption” in the memo section of your check.

(Note: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Life International, which retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor’s suggested use.)

Mail checks to:
Life International
Attn: Morgan Adoption
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744

Thank you for investing in the Kingdom through prayer and finances. It will be an investment with an eternal return. If you would like to follow our adoption journey visit http://lovesamazingjourney.blogspot.com/. We will send another update letter as we receive more details. Please pray this entire process will glorify God and fulfill His purposes.

In Christ,


Travis and Kalina Morgan


Here is a copy of the letter from LifeSong for Orphans that accompanied our support letter:

Dear church, family, and friends of Travis and Kalina Morgan,

LifeSong for Orphans (www.lifesongfororphans.org) is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and obey God’s call to "visit the fatherless…in their affliction" (James 1:27).

The number of children worldwide without families to love and care for them is astounding… there are over 3.5 million orphans in Asia alone!

God tells us in His word He has heard the cry of the orphaned and abandoned children (Psalm 10:17, 18) and He has made a way for them to be cared for – through adoption. As believers, He adopted us into His family through Jesus Christ, and did not leave us as spiritual orphans!

We believe adoption at its core is evangelism--a vital part of the Great Commission is bringing the mission field home. God desires orphans from all nations to be adopted into Christ-honoring families so they may ultimately be adopted into His eternal family through Jesus Christ. God calls us to fulfill James 1:27, "visit the fatherless…" but not all are called to adopt. Some are called to pray, some to give financially, some to go on mission trips, and some to adopt.

Travis and Kalina have sensed God’s call . . . and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt an infant from Korea. As you may already know, international adoption can cost around $25,000 and prevents many godly families from adopting. LifeSong believes God has raised up the Morgan family "for such a time as this…" We invite you to support them financially to make this adoption possible. Funds donated to LifeSong for Orphans will be given as an Adoption Grant to help cover adoption expenses for this special child. Your gift is tax deductible and you will receive a tax-deductible receipt.

*100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for LifeSong for Orphans administrative costs.

Will you invest financially in the life of this precious little baby? . . . It will be an investment with eternal return.

God bless you for laying your treasures up in Heaven,
Andy Lehman Vice President

p.s. I trust God will do great and mighty things through this, and all for His Glory!

PO Box 40
202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744
phone 309 747 3556
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/
bringing joy and purpose to orphans

Support Letter

Travis and I wrote a support letter to send to our family and friends. The Korea program fee is around $18,000 where as the Vietnam program fee was closer to $ 11,000. Despite the increased amount of money we need we know God is still leading us to adopt and will provide the funds.



Travis and I signed each of the support letters we sent out. Here are a couple photos of us trying to be artistic and/or silly!

Immigration Number Two

On November 8, 2008 we mailed an update letter to Immigration. While reading the instructions for completing the I-824 form we found a $340 filing fee. We were pretty sure our social worker had informed us that switching to the Korea Program wouldn't cost us anything so we clarified and she said we didn't need to send another check to Immigration. Praise God!


To Whom It May Concern at Citizenship and Immigration Services:

We have already turned in our I-600A application and have been approved. However, since this approval we have changed country programs. Please switch our approval to the Korea Program and please hold our file in Portland, Oregon. I have enclosed a copy of our I-171H, as well as our home study and summary report for Korea, and I-824 which our social worker recommended we fill out and enclose.

Thank you for taking the time to make these changes.

Home Study Number Two

Home study number two was completed on November 4th! What a blessing...our social worker did the majority of the work. She updated our document so that everything would be current. The home study now acknowledges that we are going through the Korea Program, we are a year older, and my nephew was born this summer. We got to proof read the doucment before it got mailed to the Eugene office.

Change in Plans = Korea

Through many converstaions and lots of prayer we have decided to switch to the Korea program. Hebrews 11:1 & 6 have been our encouragement to follow through with adoption. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. … And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Throughout the adoption process there are many unknown factors, however, these verses remind us that God is with us throughout the whole adoption process. If we continue to have faith in God our hope and choice to adopt will be possible.

Another Email Update

Dear Adoptive Family,

Greetings from the Vietnam program. I wanted to provide you an update on the status of adoptions in Vietnam. I know that you are anxiously awaiting information.

Status of the Adoption Agreement:
As you are aware, the Adoption Agreement between the US and Vietnam expired on September 1, 2008. As a result no new adoptions can be processed at this time.

Negotiations are underway between the US and Vietnam to establish a new agreement. To date, the two countries have established negotiating teams and identified issues for discussion. At the end of October there is a formal meeting between the two governments to discuss issues that need to be resolved before a new agreement can be signed. We are very hopeful that at this meeting will be an important step toward a new agreement. However at this time we cannot predict when a new agreement will be completed.

Status of family dossiers without referrals:
The Ministry of Justice Department of International Adoptions, has to date agreed to hold all family dossiers at the Ministry of Justice logged in - pending adoptions re-opening. At this point we do not know how long they will continue to do this, but for now dossiers are still at the DIA. If this changes we will notify you immediately.

Thank you so much for your patience while this new agreement is negotiated. We will provide you monthly updates during this time with the latest information we have. Please know that Holt is advocating with Vietnam and the US to implement a new agreement as soon as possible.

Umm...now what?! Travis and I are thinking it may be time to switch to another program. This is not the news we were wanting to hear. Our eyes are being opened to having understanding and patience for God's timing.

Email Update

September 1, 2008

Dear Vietnam Adoptive Families,

Today is September, 1 - the day the current Adoption Agreement expires between the US and Vietnam so I wanted to write and update you with what we know at this point.

New Agreement: The US Government and the Vietnam Government both assure us that negotiations for the new agreement are beginning. Both sides report optimism about the ability to reach a new agreement as significant progress has been made on issues that had been identified as concerns. There is no way to know for sure when the negotiations will be completed. As there is new info we will provide it.

Holt families with children matched to them: The Department of International Adoptions has assured us that all Holt families have the required DIA Letter to document that you have a formal match. That means that your cases continue to process.

Families with dossiers in Vietnam: If your dossier is in Vietnam and you are waiting on a match at this point the US or DIA have not provided us with new information about what will happen to your dossier. At this point there has been no agreement to "grandfather" the dossiers as we had earlier been told, and there is no information about what will happen yet. Robin is going to Vietnam later this month and will be providing an update as we get new information.

I do understand that this is not much information, but as new info is available we will be updating you. If there is specific information on your case we will of course provide it to you individually.

We recieved this email with sadness. We knew the country was closing, but we hoped they would give us words of encouragement that we would be "grandfathered" in since we already had all our paperwork in Vietnam. We are not sure where God is leading now...

My Birthday Call

For my birthday Travis took me to the Portland Rose Gardens and Japanese Gardens in the morning. Then we went to Olive Garden for lunch. He planed a very fun day for us. During the day I missed a call from someone at Lifesong. I tried to call back the next day, but wasn't able to find anything out until a week later when the volunteer handling our application was in again. We were accepted! Lifesong was going to partner with us and help us send support letters to our family, friends, and church members. What a great birthday!

Yard Sale

We had an adoption fundraiser yard sale. Family, friends, and church members graciously donated items for us to sell at our yard sale. We made just under $400.

Check out all this loot!



My mom and I are trying to get some organization in the garage the week prior to the yard sale.


The nigth before the yard sale my sister and brother-in-law came over to do some last minute pricing of items.

Travis handled the sales in the morning because I was in grad school.

Dossier and Grants

We complied a lot of paperwork together to make our Dossier. We are pretty proud parents of our baby.

We applied to a couple different grants but sadly we weren't awarded either. We were disappointed but we knew God must have a different plan.