EP: Emigration Permit (permission from the Korean government for your child to leave the county.)
Usually families get notice of EP being submitted into the Ministry 1-2 months after the acceptance paperwork is in Korea.
Our acceptance paperwork was submitted in November. We have been anxiously waiting to hear that our little guy has been submitted for EP.
This morning we received an email that said our child's documents were submitted to the Ministry on Jan. 29 for EP!
We ask for your continued prayers that the paperwork moves quickly and our little guy can come home soon.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Bamboo Wood Floors
Travis and I have been wanting to put hard wood floors in our downstairs for awhile. We have been looking at wood at Costco and getting really excited about possibly being able to afford doing the project.
Two weeks ago when my friend Kristin came to OR for our baby shower I started talking to her about if her dad would be interested in helping us do our flooring project. She talked to him that weekend..and he was interested!
The next week we emailed and called to make details. We also went to Costco to get our bamboo wood flooring. We bought 23 boxes!
Our car was full and so was my parents car.
The wood had to be inside to get acclimated to our house. It was fun having 23 boxes of wood next to our kitchen table for a few days.
Last Tuesday, Jon (Kristin's dad) drove from CA. He got to our house Tuesday evening and we started tear out. Travis taking the toilet and some flooring too.
Jon was so excited to start the job he couldn't wait until Wednesday morning to pull back some of the carpet.
Jon suggested we try to sell our carpet and pad on craigslist instead of paying to take it to the dump. Good idea... we sold it for $50 dollars! We were able to sell our laminate too!
Wednesday morning by 8:30ish the carpet was all gone. Jon was working fast.
Jon taking off the baseboards in our half bath.
Wow, tear out was messy.
Before I left for work on Wednesday all the tear out was done. No more carpet or laminate floors.
Our garage was pretty full this past week.
The bamboo flooring still in its boxes.
Jon was still deciding were he would start laying the wood.
Sophie had no idea what was happening in her house. She didn't like having to walk on the floor without flooring.
Jon started by the fireplace. These were his first two boards laid.
This was his progress by Thursday evening. I didn't take any more pictures of Friday because I had a meeting at school on Friday am, then I went to my neighbors house to watch her little boy so she could run a few errands, and then I went to work.
Here are a couple photos now that the house is mostly back in order. We love our new floors!
Two weeks ago when my friend Kristin came to OR for our baby shower I started talking to her about if her dad would be interested in helping us do our flooring project. She talked to him that weekend..and he was interested!
The next week we emailed and called to make details. We also went to Costco to get our bamboo wood flooring. We bought 23 boxes!
Our car was full and so was my parents car.
The wood had to be inside to get acclimated to our house. It was fun having 23 boxes of wood next to our kitchen table for a few days.
Last Tuesday, Jon (Kristin's dad) drove from CA. He got to our house Tuesday evening and we started tear out. Travis taking the toilet and some flooring too.
Jon was so excited to start the job he couldn't wait until Wednesday morning to pull back some of the carpet.
Jon suggested we try to sell our carpet and pad on craigslist instead of paying to take it to the dump. Good idea... we sold it for $50 dollars! We were able to sell our laminate too!
Wednesday morning by 8:30ish the carpet was all gone. Jon was working fast.
Jon taking off the baseboards in our half bath.
Wow, tear out was messy.
Before I left for work on Wednesday all the tear out was done. No more carpet or laminate floors.
Our garage was pretty full this past week.
The bamboo flooring still in its boxes.
Jon was still deciding were he would start laying the wood.
Sophie had no idea what was happening in her house. She didn't like having to walk on the floor without flooring.
Jon started by the fireplace. These were his first two boards laid.
This was his progress by Thursday evening. I didn't take any more pictures of Friday because I had a meeting at school on Friday am, then I went to my neighbors house to watch her little boy so she could run a few errands, and then I went to work.
Here are a couple photos now that the house is mostly back in order. We love our new floors!
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Introducing Lillian Hannah
Thursday February 4th @ 1:16 AM we got a text from Sarah: In hospital, Beulah in crate. Can you pick her up later this AM?
We slept through this first text.
Thursday, February 4th at 7:29 AM we got another text from Sarah: Lillian Hannah born at 6:55 AM 6lbs 4oz, 19.5in.
We heard the second text come through and we were quickly up and getting ready to go get Beulah.
Beulah is an amazing dog! We loved every minute of our four days we had her. It was hard to take her back to her parents, but we knew she needed to meet her new sister.
This is a picture of her at the hospital, but she looked pretty much the same when I got to see her today. She had a pink hat and blanket instead. I forgot to get out my camera when we visited her. Next time I will take more pictures... as I am sure I will need to hold her again soon!
We slept through this first text.
Thursday, February 4th at 7:29 AM we got another text from Sarah: Lillian Hannah born at 6:55 AM 6lbs 4oz, 19.5in.
We heard the second text come through and we were quickly up and getting ready to go get Beulah.
Beulah is an amazing dog! We loved every minute of our four days we had her. It was hard to take her back to her parents, but we knew she needed to meet her new sister.Congratulations on your beautiful daughter!
This is a picture of her at the hospital, but she looked pretty much the same when I got to see her today. She had a pink hat and blanket instead. I forgot to get out my camera when we visited her. Next time I will take more pictures... as I am sure I will need to hold her again soon!
Baby Shower
My sister (Elise) and sister-in-law (Kayla) planned an amazing shower for me in honor of bringing baby Isaiah home soon.
Kayla made this amazing decoration - a cake out of diapers. It was a perfect shower decoration, and will be a well used gift.
The shower started at 11:30 so an amazingly yummy lunch was served.
Yummy homemade pizzas! My friend, Kristin took this photo and I love the artistic look!
During the first game everyone had to try and match different languages with different versions of baby. Congratulations Amy for getting eight correct!
During the second game everyone had to put a paper plate on their head and try to draw Isaiah.
Reviewing my options.
I picked a winner, but too bad you can't really see how good Kim drew Isaiah.
My brother-in-law (Dan) painted a sumi-e tree for Isaiah's room. It represents his family tree, and the loving family he will be a part of over here. At the shower everyone there wrote a word of encouragement on a leaf made out of Korean hanji paper.
We were very blessed during this shower! We are so thankful for all the amazing gifts.
Opening gifts-thanks everyone!
My friend Kristin flew up from CA to attend the shower. It was great to have her here for the weekend.
Me and my sisters!
After the shower I got to read all the blessings written on the leaves.
Sweet words!
And what is a blog post without including my adorable nephew. He loves giving the dogs a kissy.
Kayla made this amazing decoration - a cake out of diapers. It was a perfect shower decoration, and will be a well used gift.
The shower started at 11:30 so an amazingly yummy lunch was served.
Yummy homemade pizzas! My friend, Kristin took this photo and I love the artistic look!
During the first game everyone had to try and match different languages with different versions of baby. Congratulations Amy for getting eight correct!
During the second game everyone had to put a paper plate on their head and try to draw Isaiah.
Reviewing my options.
I picked a winner, but too bad you can't really see how good Kim drew Isaiah.
My brother-in-law (Dan) painted a sumi-e tree for Isaiah's room. It represents his family tree, and the loving family he will be a part of over here. At the shower everyone there wrote a word of encouragement on a leaf made out of Korean hanji paper.
We were very blessed during this shower! We are so thankful for all the amazing gifts.
Opening gifts-thanks everyone!
My friend Kristin flew up from CA to attend the shower. It was great to have her here for the weekend.
Me and my sisters!
After the shower I got to read all the blessings written on the leaves.
Sweet words!
And what is a blog post without including my adorable nephew. He loves giving the dogs a kissy.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
This was supposed to be Christmas Break Project # 4
We were supposed to put up our baby gate during Christmas break, but it just didn't end up getting done. In fact, it didn't get done until this past weekend. But now we are pretty much done with all our projects we needed/wanted to do before Isaiah comes home.
I was trying to get a picture of Travis and his handwork (the gate), but he decided to be goofy instead.
I was trying to get a picture of Travis and his handwork (the gate), but he decided to be goofy instead.
Office Picture
I finally took a picture from our Christmas Break Project # 1- painting the office. Thanks to my sister (who is letting us borrow the bedding) we now have a matching comforter for the newly painted office.
Toys!
One of our wonderful neighbors gave us a couple of toys that her kids were no longer interested in anymore. I think Isaiah will enjoy playing with both of these new toys!
This train sings a cute song!
An activity block that will be tons of fun. We already had some friends come over and both a one year old and a seven year old were entertained by this toy. Perfect!
This train sings a cute song!
An activity block that will be tons of fun. We already had some friends come over and both a one year old and a seven year old were entertained by this toy. Perfect!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
National Visa Center Update
Travis called the National Visa Center today and we have been logged out! Our paperwork has been sent to the embassy in Korea. Now we are just waiting for stuff to happen in Korea. Everything US wise is done at this point. Come on Korea-we want to bring Isaiah home.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
January 13th: Korean American Day
I just learned from the Holt forum boards that today is Korean American Day!
Korean American Day was first proclaimed by Congress in 2003 in acknowledgment of the centennial of Korean American immigration to the United States and the contributions of Korean Americans. "This will be an annual occasion to celebrate the lives, history and accomplishments of Korean Americans in the United States, and acknowledge the many ways in which they have helped to build and enhance American culture."
The first Korean immigrants arrived in the U.S. on January 13, 1903. Like many other immigrants, these 102 men, women and children faced language, cultural and economic barriers. Since that time, the Korean American community has blossomed to a population of nearly two million.
Korean American Day was first proclaimed by Congress in 2003 in acknowledgment of the centennial of Korean American immigration to the United States and the contributions of Korean Americans. "This will be an annual occasion to celebrate the lives, history and accomplishments of Korean Americans in the United States, and acknowledge the many ways in which they have helped to build and enhance American culture."
The first Korean immigrants arrived in the U.S. on January 13, 1903. Like many other immigrants, these 102 men, women and children faced language, cultural and economic barriers. Since that time, the Korean American community has blossomed to a population of nearly two million.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Another Picture
We were blessed this morning by receiving an email with another picture of Isaiah. The picture was taken with his foster mom(this is the first picture of her we have gotten- she is beautiful and has glasses too!) and all the stuff that we sent to him in the care package. I am so thankful for his foster mom who is taking such good care of him before we get to be his parents. They both look so happy in this picture. I can't imagine what the transition will be like for all of us. Good thing God is amazing!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
January 4th = I-600 Approval
January 4th is our date of approval of petition. However, we didn't get the letter in the mail until Friday, January 8th. Yeah we are one step closer to bringing Isaiah home!
The agency in Korea already had generated a set of documents known as legals. Then we filled our I-600. Our local USCIS office used the legal documents to verify that the child meets their criteria of an orphan and that it's okay for the child to immigrate to the USA. Once they have issued the approval (we have this) they will forward it to the NVC (national visa center) in NH. The NVC logs all the information and sends a hard copy to the embassy in Korea by DHL (this is like fed-ex).
We know that our paperwork has been sent to the National Visa Center, but now we are waiting to be logged in and logged out. We will keep updating our blog as we learn more about our steps completed.
The agency in Korea already had generated a set of documents known as legals. Then we filled our I-600. Our local USCIS office used the legal documents to verify that the child meets their criteria of an orphan and that it's okay for the child to immigrate to the USA. Once they have issued the approval (we have this) they will forward it to the NVC (national visa center) in NH. The NVC logs all the information and sends a hard copy to the embassy in Korea by DHL (this is like fed-ex).
We know that our paperwork has been sent to the National Visa Center, but now we are waiting to be logged in and logged out. We will keep updating our blog as we learn more about our steps completed.
Updated PIcture
On New Years Eve morning Travis was upstairs working on the computer and I was downstairs talking to my mom on the phone about a cooking question when I heard Travis yell down to me, "Kalina we got a new picture, come up here!" I raised upstairs and we opened the email and this is what we saw
We are so in love with him. We can't wait to hold and care for him! We love his hairs, eyes, toes, pretty much everything about him.
We are so in love with him. We can't wait to hold and care for him! We love his hairs, eyes, toes, pretty much everything about him.
Christmas Break Project # 2 and # 3
The last weekend of Christmas break we took everything out of our closet and redid the closet. My dad made the design plan. Travis and my dad spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evening getting project # 2 done.
While the boys were busy upstairs my mom and I were downstairs working on putting away my Christmas decorations and organizing the stuff that had come out of the closest so it would all be in tubs and labeled before getting put back into the closet. We finished before the boys so we created another project for ourselves. Thus project # 3 was reorganizing my kitchen. We moved shelves so more things could fix per self. I even got rid of a few things that we haven't been using since we moved into the house.
It is a great feeling to have so much new organization in our house!
While the boys were busy upstairs my mom and I were downstairs working on putting away my Christmas decorations and organizing the stuff that had come out of the closest so it would all be in tubs and labeled before getting put back into the closet. We finished before the boys so we created another project for ourselves. Thus project # 3 was reorganizing my kitchen. We moved shelves so more things could fix per self. I even got rid of a few things that we haven't been using since we moved into the house.
It is a great feeling to have so much new organization in our house!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
New Years Party
The New Year Party was at our house. We made wedding soup and broccoli cheese soup. We had salad, homemade bread sticks, and homemade oatmeal bread. It was a very yummy meal.
Our fancy table before we ate.
While we played games we snacked on chocolate covered almonds and pomegranates.
I decided that mixing them together was like trail mix in your mouth.
Yummy!
In case we hadn't eaten enough yet Sarah made an amazing Australian dessert for us.
Group photo shot... with Michaela sleeping upstairs in our crib and Isaiah in Korea still.
The girls were trying to be funny and act really tired from all the group shots. I guess we ruined the picture.
Adam and Brook celebrating the new year!
Josh and Sarah celebrating the new year!
Travis and I celebrating the new year!
What would be a blog post without a silly picture of me.
Our fancy table before we ate.
While we played games we snacked on chocolate covered almonds and pomegranates. 
I decided that mixing them together was like trail mix in your mouth.
Yummy!
In case we hadn't eaten enough yet Sarah made an amazing Australian dessert for us.
Group photo shot... with Michaela sleeping upstairs in our crib and Isaiah in Korea still.
The girls were trying to be funny and act really tired from all the group shots. I guess we ruined the picture.
Adam and Brook celebrating the new year!
Josh and Sarah celebrating the new year!
Travis and I celebrating the new year!
What would be a blog post without a silly picture of me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)