We\’re still here…no travel call yet. However, we got the next best thing to the real thing…a picture from Henry\’s foster mother. They received the gifts we sent, so you can see Henry with ABe, his teddy bear. He just looks so cute!!! We can\’t wait to pinch those cheeks!

So, we’re on track, they know exactly where our paperwork, and it is going as fast as it can through the process. At this rate, we’re hoping we get the call this week, but in theory it could be the following week. We’re just thinking we’ll get the call, leave, and come back with Henry by the end of the month. Could be a little off, but that’s what the schedule is looking like.

I felt so bad on Thursday after my meltdown, but Betsey said all families get to that point eventually. She said we’ve been great up until now, but that it’s understandable that this close to the end we’re on pins and needles with every day that passes. I also felt like a complete heel because there are two other families that were ahead of us on the waiting list and they still don’t have their referral. We could still be waiting for a name and a picture…at least we’re close. I can’t imagine if we had to wait through the lack of referrals in January and February, just hoping to get the call to say we have a child. So, I’m off the ledge and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll get the travel call this week. No matter what happens, we are in the last stretch and the wait is almost over…soon the past year(s) of wait will pass as if it was nothing.

Why would this otherwise relatively sane woman lose her mind at work? We are well past the point when our paperwork should have shown up at the Korean embassy from the Holt agency in Korea. We even have the poor, harrassed folks at the national visa center (who we call daily), telling us that something is wrong and it shouldn’t take this long. Okay, I’m impatient, but why would that bring me to tears? I was doing okay. It feels like a lifetime that I’ve been patient – 5 minutes is too long for me normally, so it really has been a lifetime. I was managing it and only getting slightly irritated. Well, today we gave an award out to someone on our team. I went up and down the aisles, rallying the troops to get everyone together outside my office to present it. The buzz started almost immediately…she got the call. This is it…she’s going to tell us she’s going. This is so exciting…I’m so happy for her. I almost lost it right there in front of my whole team.

Silly me…I lost it in front of my boss instead. Luckily, she’s a working mom and has had her own such moments. She laughed because she told me she would hug me, but was afraid I’d slug her. Finally she just did it anyway and let me cry. I ended up making it through most of the day…just feeling run down, unhappy, and more than slightly ill. I called Christopher at one point in the day to get me a few more hours of energy, and then finally came home and called my dad for his famous logic. While I know that “not everyone in the world operates at my level of expectation. It sucks having to depend on them for something so important. I have to accept it and move on. I may not like it, but sometimes that happens in life.”…it was comfortaing to hear him say it and know that another overachiever control freak with OCD has had to depend on the abilities of others where his children were concerned – and not always so happy to have to deal with it.

With those words of wisdom, some laughter , and a bit of political debate (sure to fire me up and make me “mad away” my unhappiness), I was well on my way to recovery. Now I’m working my way through writing it down to purge it out…and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate jimmies. Not everything can be fixed by talking it out or writting it down…but ice cream can cure A LOT.

I have to trust that things are happening the way they are supposed to. I know for FACT that Henry was meant to be ours. There are families that were on the list before us that are STILL waiting. There is a reason why they picked us out of order to be Henry’s parents. Patiences doesn’t come easy to this OCD control freak and I’m truly losing my head. I just hope we get that call soon. While I know in the end that this will all be a nit in our memories and seem like it was long ago and a small price to pay, it seems overwhelming while we’re in it.

Here’s our timeline…

• 4/17/07 – Application to WHFC (Wide Horizons for Children)
• 7/31/07 – HSTK (Home Study to Korea)
• 12/21/07 – Referral (Received the call that Henry is our son)
• 1/16/08 – Referral Acceptance to WHFC
• 1/18/08 – Referral Acceptance to Holt Korea
• 2/14/08 – EP (Emmigration Permission) Approval; trigger for passport/medical exam
• 2/19/08 – We are notified of EP
• 2/20/08 – 1600 (US Visa Authorization) Approval
• 2/26/08 – NVC (National Visa Center) Approval to US Consulate in Korea
• 3/3/08 – P3 (Packet 3) to Holt Korea, requesting Henry’s passport and medical exam
• ??/??/?? – VI (Visa Interview), usually 1 week after P3
• ??/??/?? – TC (Travel Call), usually immediately before or after VI
• ??/??/?? – We leave for Seoul Korea to pick up Henry!!! Likely 2 days after TC

When we were done in Korea Town, we went to Union Square to get cannoli’s at the world-famous Veniero’s. We also did some shopping for the foster family, as it is recommended that we bring them small gifts, as well as some for the people that will end up helping us at the agency and hotel. Then we spent some time at this really cool neighborhood bar called Pete’s. We met up with Lonnie – Bec’s boyfriend – who we really liked, and then went to see the show Jump. It’s a Korean off-broadway musical…a cross between a Jackie Chan movie and a comedy. It was very good and they even pulled Christopher up on stage. Of course, Bec and Lonnie set it all up and Christopher was a little irritated that I knew about it, but it was really funny. I got in trouble for taking pictures during the production, but it was worth it to see Christopher’s face when he was pulled out of his seat.

When we were done with all of our activities, we were going to head home, but Christopher wanted Wo Hop. It’s a great little Chinese restaurant in China Town on Mott Street. It’s the only restaurant down there that we trust and MAN is it good. After a little snack, we took the subway home and racked out before leaving early this morning. All in all, it was a good trip. Actually, I almost forgot. Christopher dragged me into Macy’s while we were there, with plans to buy me a 3-stone ring. I made my own engagement ring, so he thought it would be nice to buy me my “motorcycle” – at least the equivalent of one. I did find one very nice ring, but we’re going to Korea AND plan to initiate the process for kid #2 6 months after we get back. That’s enough ring for me. My kids are more important, but it was nice for him to think of it.

We did get an update on Henry’s paperwork this last week. The US Visa approval went to the US Consulate in Korea last Tuesday. Now we’re just waiting for it to arrive in Korea, the consulate to send the Visa request paperwork to Holt, and Holt to send back Henry’s passport and visa medical exam results. With everything we have done so far, we really could get the call this week or next. It’s most likely next week, but we’ll keep hoping for this week. We need a couple of days anyway – even though we’d prefer to leave now – because we are meeting with the Au Pair agency on Friday after work. They need to interview us immediately so we can start the au pair interviews as soon as we get back (earlier if we don’t get the call until next week). It will be good to have our day care situation nailed down.

Our I600 form has been approved, which is the US equivalent of the EP. That’s good news, as the I600 approval had to be received by Korea before they would let Henry leave the country. Now there’s nothing standing in the way and we’re hoping the passport and visa medical exam goes quickly. I’ve been watching online and most folks are saying 3-6 weeks after the EP approval…here’s to a quick travel call!!!!

The great thing about getting the I600 approval is that it included some of the original Korean paperwork, with Henry’s Korean name in Hangul (Korean alphabet). Now we can make sure we’re pronouncing his name correctly. In my Korean classes with John, I’m finding that there are nuances in how Korean words are translated into English. Hangul has distinct sounds for each symbol. In English, however, letters can have multiple sounds, such as the letter a for “ah” and “ay”. If we have the original Hangul spelling, we can convert it into the intended sounds, instead of trying to assume how the English translation is supposed to sound. All in all, the Korean lessons are going well and we’re going to practice next weekend in New York’s Korea town (assuming we don’t get the call before then).

Trip planning is going on in earnest. My work transition plan is already 11 pages and our home project plan is well under way. We even bought diapers and a baby bjorn today…hopefully we can try out the bjorn with the little peanut Morgan tomorrow when the McGees come by to help out with setting up the baby seat in the Forrester. They will also be checking out the play room, which is finally almost finished and will hopefully withstand a visit from Morgan and her older brother, the human monkey Liam. Now we just need to get Henry home so he can use it and maybe share playtime with the aforementioned peanut and monkey.

Well folks, we have received the last checkpoint in our journey before we get \”the call\” to get on a plane and travel to Korea to meet our son. We received our EP (emmigration permission) today…it was approved on Valentine\’s Day (kind of messes with Christopher\’s plan to never recognize that hallmark holiday). What that means is we are between 3.5 and 11.5 weeks away from getting the travel call. We essentially need to start our project plan to get ready to fly at any time.

Luckily, we\’ve been working on getting prepared leading up to this point. Our home construction is almost done…we\’ll be finishing up this weekend with painting our french doors and new storage closet in the family room (don\’t ask). We have started Korean lessons and have a trip to NY\’s Korea town next weekend (assuming we don\’t get the call first). We also had a baby class – thank you McGee family – with little Morgan Rose, Henry\’s future girlfriend (it\’s way to early to be thinking marriage). Finally, we used a list from the McGee\’s – thank you Elizabeth – of what we must have to travel and take care of Henry when we first get home, and went to BabiesRUs to do our part for the economy. Since we haven\’t done our shopping yet, other than the nursery prep, we bought EVERYTHING. Well, except diapers. We don\’t know what size yet, so we\’re going to buy those right before we leave. It\’s in the project plan…hopefully we don\’t forget. That would be bad.

That\’s it – we are on notice. Keep an eye out, we could be leaving any time. We\’ll try to keep the blog up to date before and during our trip. Korea is 98% wired…we should have no problems. Once we have Henry, however, there are no promises. I think it\’s going to take all our focus to get him home, diapered, fed, etc…so internet will need to take a back seat, but we\’ll update once we get home and get some sleep.

FYI – this is a picture we received with the last set. Some of you haven\’t seen it, so we figured we\’d share. He is such a cutie and we can\’t wait to pinch those cheeks!

No new news on Henry\’s paperwork, but we did get a medical update. He had another ultrasound and his tummy and liver are all okay. He continues to get checkups following his hospital stay last year, and everything has come back as normal. Between these updates and the latest pictures, we are confident he\’s healthy and doing well.

We may not be. I think we\’re losing our minds. In absence of Henry being here, we\’ve been spending time with his Adoption Bear, ABe. ABe is going to Korea to hang with Henry and we\’ve been sleeping with him for the last few weeks so our smells are more familiar to Henry when we meet him for the first time. That\’s okay, but we\’ve been talking to ABe, speculating on his political leanings (he wants bear-rights and supports McCain), and have even taken pictures that I\’ve turned into artwork for Henry\’s room. The kid better get here fast or we\’re going to get locked up before we can go get him!!!

Don\’t worry, we aren\’t completely nuts. Focusing on the bear, projects around the house, etc is the only way we can manage every day knowing Henry is thousands of miles away. Just thinking about it gets us both upset. Pretending that the bear is interested in the outcome of tonight\’s potomac primary is definitely preferrable…not to mention pretty damn funny.

Jon’s goal is to have me speaking sentences and common words in time for our trip to the Korean section of New York so I can practice. We’re going the first weekend in March, so that’s only a few more lessons. I’m very excited – this will help sooooo much for our trip to Korea to pick up the little man. I can also make flash cards for Christopher so he knows how to say common things like “where’s the bathroom”.

Jon’s bringing me a workbook tomorrow so I can practice between lessons. Soon I’ll be speaking and writing Korean almost as well as a local!