Category Archives: Korea Adoption

The Pile…

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Yes this is my guest room! It is such a mess. I have been shopping and shopping and just piling it on my guest bed. Gifts for the foster mother, sister, father and of course all the fun stuff that comes with having a little girl. Sippy cups, little bottles of juice, playdoh, moon dough and as you can see my list will go on and on and on…. Some of the gifts we are taking to have on hand are local honey, local maple syrup, Ghiradellis chocolate, jelly bellies….

Oh and please notice all the hair bows…be still my heart..I just keep buying….


When things are more organized, I will take single pictures like the foster mother gift, Mia’s first gift…and so on!!!

‘Where The Heart Is’

International Adoption, Korea Adoption, Mia Grace, South Korea 3 Comments

I am just going through the motions.

I am just acting like I am interested.

I am just checking duties off my list.

Because my heart has already gone to Korea. I couldn’t have stopped it, if I wanted. I didn’t even know it was happening.

I am fine with traveling tomorrow. I am fine with traveling in a month. I am just ready for my body to catch my heart and hold my little girl in my arms.

Our First Gift to Mia Grace

International Adoption, Korea Adoption, Korea ziploc bag gift, Mia Grace, South Korea 5 Comments

I need to say that if it wasnt for a few special friends telling me what do with this adoption, we wouldnt be as far along as we are in the process. I just found out today though that I could have already mailed our special FIRST GIFT EVER to Mia Grace!!

So I already have it all together and will be shipping it tomorrow. I thought you all might like to see it, especially those of you just starting the process.:)

It doesnt really look like alot….but I had to fit it all into one ziploc bag! So 2 outfits, a small doll, a family album full of pictures of us, stuffed pink bunny, spiky little rubbery toy, a card for the foster mom and 2 little starbucks coffee for her as well. I am not sure I was allowed to add the card and coffee for the foster mom, but if it werent for certain friends on the adoption forums I wouldnt know as much as I do know. I have also been told, that I may never see any of these things again.

So that’s its, doesnt seem like much to send to my baby girl…but it’s a start!!

Things to Accomplish Before Mia Comes Home…..

International Adoption, Korea Adoption, Mia Grace, South Korea 6 Comments

With this one little picture, I knew…I knew she was the one that I would hold in my arms. She is the one who is in my daughter. The one who has been living in another world away from me, until we could figure out we wanted to adopt. I am already in love her.

I have to prepare for Mia to be home within 7-11 weeks, this is soon!!! I have a ton of stuff to get done.

Things to purchase:

~toddler bed

~car seat

~sippy cups CHECK

~potty chair

~Pororo table and chair

Things to do around this busy house.

~Finish the school year with my 9th grader, 6th grader, 4th grader and kindergartner

~ Get the older three evaluated

~Have Blake tested for 6th grade (should have done that last month) CHECK

~Order 10th grade, 7th grade, 5th grade and 1st grade curriculum(well what I dont have)

~ Clean Front closet

~Weekend in Nashville CHECK

~10 days in Texas CHECK

~4 days in West Virginia

~High School co-op trip to Cedar Point

~Plan High School Sock Hop CHECK

~Reorganize Kitchen cabinets CHECK

~Sort cookbooks..no reason to have about 300!!

~Plan and organize a VBS

~Plant a massive garden

Hold on Mia…Mommy is coming ~!!!!

What every little girl needs…

Korea Adoption, Mia Grace 4 Comments

A place to keep her hair accessories….what else? Camye and I decided to make Mia Grace, a place to keep her hair bows. Everyday we get closer, every step of the way…it becomes more real.

I need get my toddler mom hat back on and start preparing for our new little girl. Mostly we have been preparing by reading loads of adoption books and scouring the internet for information.

But now we need to get moving..a bed, a car seat, toys, clothes and of course, hair bows!!

I am really not a pscho…

International Adoption, Korea Adoption, Mia Grace, South Korea 4 Comments

Today I had to go and run my weekly errands, Aldi, Target, Kohls and Giant Eagle. I really wanted to go to Target to get somethings to put in Mia’s gift bag to send her (blog coming soon). But I knew if I went to Target first I wouldnt want to go to Aldi because it is boring and just groceries……so I decided to I better go to Aldi. As I was getting out of my van at Aldi, I realized I didnt have that quarter so I could get my grocery cart. I thought oh great..should have went to Target. I had a 2 dimes and a nickel. I figured I would just go stand in front of the carts and wait for someone to come by and I would explain my annoying little situation and exchange my money for their cart.

BUT of course, what do you think was sticking out of the shopping cart when I walked up….a quarter..of course there was a quarter there. God wanted me in Aldi for some reason.:) I was so happy to see that little quarter. I joyously went along on my grocery shopping and ran into an old friend and chatted for a few minutes. When out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little Asian girl with her American mommy. I couldnt tear my eyes off of her. She was so beautiful. I told my friend I was dieing to go and talk to the woman. She told me to go for it.

So being the chatty and persistant woman I am…thats what I did. I walked up to her and said, “Excuse me, I have something to ask her and I hope she doesnt take it wrong.” I then proceeded to tell her our story about adopting from Korea. She told her little one was from Korea and how fabulous their experience had been. While I was talking to this woman, her little 3 year old daugher was staring at me, reached for my hand and rubbed the top of it….almost reassuring me everything was going to be fine.

Of course I was staring at her, her profile, her dark hair, her dark eyes, her beautiful skin, her smile…. Anyway, we finished our conversation..of course I was staring at her daughter and maybe that was getting uncomfortable. I know I was feeling that way..so I tore myself away and she starts talking to her daughter and CALLS HER MIA!!!! Being the persistant adoptive mother that I am, I turned around and said Mia..that is what we are naming our little girl???? I then showed her pictures of my Mia. Again..almost moved to tears. I really hope she didnt notice my paper-pregnant tears or emotions coming through.

Thank you Lord, for that chance to meet another Mia. To reassure me, that I am going to see my little Mia soon, very soon.:)

Presenting our daughter, Mia Grace:)

International Adoption, Korea Adoption, Mia Grace 4 Comments

I am so proud to share with you, our precious little girl, Mia Grace. She is adorable, sweet, cute, fun, loves to dance, loves to sing, loves to play the piano. She is 2 years old. She is an answer to our prayers.

Words can not describe how I feel when I look at this babies face…oh wait yes they can. Do you remember that feeling you got when you looked at your newborn? That is the undescribeable feeling. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her. I said, “Thats her..that’s our daughter.” Kenny took one look and said, “That’s her.”

She is so sweet and loving videos. We have 6 videos..We watch them over and over.

She is a sweet little ‘Seoul’.

~Mia Grace’s Timeline~

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Yes I started this blog on December 24th….I wanted to keep track of everything on the day it happened. First, we started talking about adopting as soon as we got married. I always have said that IF God wanted us to adopt I felt that he would present it to me. After going to the City of Children in the summer of 2010 I knew we needed to adopt. Funny thing is I didnt want to say I wanted too unless Kenny wanted too, and I didnt want him to say we could just because I said we could. Soooo….I waited and hoped he would say something. On December 1st, 2010, we got a 12 passenger van. I looked at Kenny and said okay we can adopt now, we have space in the car for more kids!! He said, “Is that all it took for you to decide to adopt? We could have bought a new van a long time ago!!”

Here is our timeline:

12/1/2010- Decided to go for it.

12/7- Mailed in application

12/7- Mailed in HomeStudy paper work and made request for all paperwork to be sent to us.

12/7- Fingerprinted

12/20- Saw HER picture and knew she was the one. Requested her file.

12/23- Our 3 references recieved their requests to write a character reference about us

12/24- We recieved our Childline and Abuse Forms and of course do not have any record. This said it would take 4-6 weeks.

12/27- recieved our Child Abuse History clearance certificates for Kenny, Chloe and myself. Because we had someone living in our house over age 14, she needed a clearance as well.

1/17- Medical Exam ( I scheduled these in December) They called and cancelled.

1/18- Called and kind of threw a small fit to get into see the doctor.

1/18- Pass Medical Exams…Faxed in…

1/20- Requested HERfile…AGAIN.. turned down.

1/28- First Home Study Visit..went fabulous and our social worker who is fabulous told us to expect 4 months!! Yikes!!

1/30- Second Home Study Visit- PREAPPROVED

2/7- BEGGED for HER File..turned down.

2/21- Home Study to our agency….hoping for a file …of our waiting child!!

2/21- We have HER file!!! And she is beautiful and exquisite and smart and we know she is our daughter.

2/22- Try to say yes!! We want this little girl!!!

3/8- We are being told that they want us to wait for one more medical file….before they will accept our YES!! It could take a couple of weeks…grrr…

3/9- Emailed our SW, and explained my feelings on a few things. She said that she told the Korean SW’s and HER foster parents that she has a family for HER and the mother is very persistant..Hmm..who would have thought???

4/4- I600A form was recieved by USCIS

4/5- Fedex delivered the REFERRAL PAPERWORK!!

4/5- We overnighted everything signed and notarized. For anyone wanting to know details on the actual paperwork…and we paid in full today. EEK! 🙂
4/7 Homestudy to Korea
4/7 Legals