Care Package #9

More good stuff headed to South Korea...including a winter coat and an introduction to Ollie.  We have held off on sharing anything about Ollie since our agency said it's not typical to have pets in Korea. They advised against us handing in pictures at referral with pets in them, but now it seems like we're leaving out part of lives as I write letters to the Foster Mother.  Asking around with other families, it seems they've shared information and pics of their pets, so here we go, it's officially out there, Benjamin will now know he's coming home to pet puppy.  We included a collage of Ollie pics, a brief introduction in our letter, and of course a stuffed puppy for Benjamin to snuggle and care for in the time being.

• 2 long sleeve shirts
• pair navy sweat pants
• winter coat
• hat & mittens
• stuffed puppy
• monkey teether toy
• trucks book
• yogurt snacks
• candy
• bath gel and lotion
• bracelet
• pictures  

Look at that winter coat vacuum sealed down...amazing!!

Ollie being so curious.

A little extra duct tape never hurts on those corners that may poke through.

Care Package #8

Benjamin received this Mickey Mouse sweatshirt for his birthday from Grandma and Grandpa, so I went with it and purchased a couple Mickey outfits to stay with the theme.  We also had a vest that I purchase last fall in anticipation of care packages...what do you know, just the right size!!! 

• Mickey Mouse sweatshirt
• 2 tops
• 2 pants
• 1 vest
• 2 wheeled animal toys
• 2 plush toys
• Baby Einstein octopus (teaches colors)
• Frog bath towel
• Three Little Pigs recordable book
• Tea
• Lindt chocolates
• Fizzies grape drink tablets
• Bath gel & lotion
• Scarf

Boy the Seal 'n Saver came in handy on this one!
Poor octopus : ( 

A little fancy packing on this one as I borrowed a suggestion from another mommy...tape your recordable book to the outside of the care package so as not to take up precious cargo room inside the gallon bag.  Really hope no one minds the space this package is going to take up!!

13 Month Update

It just seems like days ago we received pictures of Benjamin at 1 years old and now already we have him at 13 months old.  He really is starting to look older like a toddler instead of a baby and soooooo much hair!!  

So I've been putting off sending pjs to Benjamin afraid his foster mother would use them as clothing (have seen this with other kiddos pics).  As you may remember from a previous post, at the end of August I threw together a quick care package to send over with a traveling family from Springfield, IL.  I broke down and included pjs but did not include a letter to the foster mother.  Guess I figured besides the jacket there were no other clothes in there so it was pretty obvious they were pjs??  Well low and behold he showed up to his visit in his pjs and coat we sent him : )   Our kiddo is running around Seoul with little Elmo's all over his pants...have to chalk it up to being "fashion forward" or maybe he just got up?  

October 9, 2012
weight:  22 lbs
height: 30.32 inches 

 
A very nice surprise indeed that the update came through so fast since he was just in for a check up on the 9th Korean time.  Now that is service!!!

Bee-bim Bop! & Korean Folktales

This months book buy was actually an Amazon.com trifecta purchase!  To start with we love eating Bibimbap (or as I just call it hot stone bowl) so why not check out the cute little children's book about making this delicious Korean dish!  Not sure we'll ever venture into making Bibimbap, but fun read none the less to prepare us for a night out to dinner for hot stone bowl.

I was also feeling a little guilty because our little friend Troy has been checking our Korean folktales at the library lately which made me realize our library is lacking in this department.  So I grabbed 2 folktale books as well on this order and will work to familiarize ourselves with these for when Benjmain comes home.  Pictures on the cover look amazing, if that is any indication of what's inside we're surely in for a treat!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Today's my birthday and first one as a mom.  Even better is that next year Benjamin will be here to celebrate with me and even if Fred has to work, we'll party it up messy style!! Today I also learned that good friends of ours (who are in another adoption program) received the long awaited call last Friday with the referral of a little girl.  Congrats to them for adding a daughter to their family : ) 

The Bad

We've pretty well come to the end of travel for 2012 so not many traveling families left to unite with their kiddos or take care packages over.  Seems there is a batch 7 that has been or will be submitted shortly and will have to run through all the hoops of the new Korean adoption law.  Some progress was made this year in the way of travel in that they made it to December 15, 2011 referrals.  However, would have been much sweeter if they could have squeezed out a few more Exit Permits and closed the books on 2011 referrals all together!

The Ugly

No one has officially shared with us what this new Korean adoption law really entails...frustrating!?!  Sadly I believe it's because even our Korean agency is still trying to figure it out.  Though it was put into place to ensure adoptions are more transparent, no one really knows yet what that means to for the kiddos or those waiting to travel or for referral.  We can only guess this will include more slow downs as they work through the requirements and build out new systems...total bummer!  This year's Batch 7 of traveling families will be the "learn as you go"group for the government and guinea pigs for the rest of us anxiously awaiting any sliver of a detail.

This has been the hot topic amongst waiting families on the groups I belong to as this new law was known back in January and implemented in August, yet no one can fully explain to us or our agency what all changes will be made to the process.   So of course lots of speculation and trying to put bits and pieces together.  

The 4 things that we do know are (1) mothers wishing to make an adoption plan must now register their newborns within the Korean system, (2) there is some additional paperwork that Korean agencies are requesting of adoptive families, (3) government is establishing a family court system to review and make final approval, and (4) families must travel to pick up kiddos (no more escorting).  We have no specifics on any of these and sit sometimes patiently while other times not so patiently waiting for answers, updates, or reassurances that things are still progressing as planned.  I am still hopeful we will only wait a year to travel, but my deep down wish to travel earlier (like first quarter) has fallen out of sight.  

So we sit and we wait...we go on grumbling about it with anyone that will listen...we go on preparing for our kiddos homecomings...we continue to stuff one gallon bags to send over...we look forward to the day when our time has come for Exit Permit submission.  Must keep our eye on the prize and that everyday is one step closer that the last : ) 

Top 10 Funk Busters

The wait for referral is
agonizing.  

The wait for travel is
torture. 

As you can imagine the days are sometimes good (like when your #1 on the referral list or get pictures of your cute little kiddo) while other day are just plain dreary and bleak (like when your still waiting for a referral after months and months or go months without a program update from your agency).  Ho hum, what's a waiting mom to do???   Sometimes all you can do is fall into a funk as one of my fellow adoption mommy gal pals would call it.  So we brainstormed the Top 10 Funk Busters to help lift one another up!  

Top 10 Funk Busters 
1. Drink some wine
2. Hang with girlfriends
3. Pamper yourself
4. Clean
5. Eat chocolate
6. Run/Exercise
7. Indulge yourself
8. Take up a new hobby
9. Watch K-dramas...special shout out to Lee MinHo : ) 
10. Plan as many dinner-movie date nights and long weekend gateways as you can

My fellow adoption mommy gal pals, visit this list often and use as needed to de-funkify yourself and carry on!!

4th Quarter Stretch Revisited

Just reread my blog post on the 4th quarter stretch during 2011 and saw the many great things that helped us to pass the year while we waited for referral.  We again came into 2012 waiting for referral, but in a much better position. In January we were #3 on the list after 2 families received referrals on December 31.  Then one referral was received on January 31, so for February we moved up to #2.  March held us steady at #2.  During the first quarter, I was able to connect with other moms through online groups and our agency.  Best part of this quarter was helping to cheer on the first wave of traveling families in March and reading about their journeys.

Finally the 80 day dry spell broke during the second quarter, and a referral came through in April so we moved up to #1...OMG such a great feeling.  However, not sure how long we'd be hanging in this position...another 80 days?!?  So we had been itching to take a vacation and finally broke down and hit Cozumel for some diving in May.  Low and behold there was even more exciting things to see than the fish and coral.  May 9 while on vacation, we received an email with the referral of Cho, SeungJoon.  The most amazing, healthy, beautiful little boy and no question he was our son.  We accepted the referral of our son Benjamin Cho Westhoff on May 18 and celebrated with some Bibimbap.

The third quarter of 2012 brought about a lot of care packages, beginnings of preparations to the house, and realization of how hard this second wait was going to be! Luckily we again had some camping trips and family functions to keep us busy.  But not a day went by that I didn't wish Benjamin was here to join in the fun with us.  We lived for any updates or pictures we received as well I continued to stay connected to other families. I've been able to live vicariously through these other families as 6 batches of Exit Permits were submitted and a whole lotta families traveled through August.

We're now in the fourth quarter stretch again, and what might be the hardest wait yet as we count down the days to 2013 and some indication of how travel will come together for waiting families.  So glad there is still tons to do in keeping us forever busy.  We've got 1 more month of camping with potentially 3 weekends to take the trailer out; get togethers planned with friends; 40th Anniversary celebration for my parents; 2 holidays with family; and of course much to do with finishing Benjamin's room, creating a new guest room, and starting a Lifebook.

It brings a smile to my face to know that the fourth quarter of 2013 Benjamin will be with us, and I'll be blogging about how our family is working through the transition.  May not be pretty all the time, but surely will be the ride of our lives!