Tuesday, November 11, 2008

REFERRAL!


So we finally got our referral the day after I wrote that last post.  We are both very busy and are trying to get the paperwork done in record time.  Here are pictures of Miles Yo Seb Wyse-Fisher


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yeah, so we're still waiting.  I'm fine with that, but I am getting anxious.  Sooooo, I thought I'd do a little bit of guessing, and anyone is welcome to join me if they would like.  I would like to guess the birthdate of our future little Wyse-Fisher.  Now, we need to take into account that he or she is going to have to be at least five months old due to South Korean law.  
If I had to guess on which day our little baby was born I would guess June 3rd, because that was my last day of school last year, and if I remember correctly it was a very happy day for me, and all of the days that followed closely by were also very happy.  That is the birthdate that I will give our little baby until I hear otherwise.  Feel free to guess along with me.  Maybe we'll even give out a prize for the closest guess!

Tiff (Future Anxious Parent in Training)

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Well, last week we got some good news.  Apparently we are very close.  Now, this could mean that we would get a phone call this week, or in two months...anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand not having a timeline to work with.  However, we are very excited.  It seems to be that the referrals keep coming in on Thursdays, so I'm not sure if that means anything, but every Thursday until I hear otherwise is going to be TORTURE.  

Tiffany

Saturday, October 11, 2008

October thoughts

Lately, I've been thinking more about our wait. Part of it may be due to the fact that the Cubs ended the season unexpectedly early and I have little else to consume that void. But more likely, it's because of the positive news we've received from our case worker. Through September this year alone, they have already had over 35 referrals from South Korea. At the end of 2007, they didn't even have that many total. So maybe we are still on track for everything. I'm trying not to get overly excited because there are so many unknowns that can delay the process.

I also just signed us up for the Eastern Social Welfare Society Families Yahoo! group. This will hopefully give us some opportunities to discuss things and communicate with families who are at the same stage as we are. Being with family and friends who have children really makes me excited about being a dad, and as ready as I ever will be. It doesn't help that on this Yahoo! group site some families have posted pictures of their kids and each one of is adorable!

For now, it's back to my Korean Survival Phrases podcasts!

Dustin

Thursday, September 4, 2008

More waiting...

We're still waiting. There is nothing new to report. However, I felt I needed to write because there are some new feelings surfacing lately with this adoption thing. I am REALLY REALLY excited. I just spent the weekend with my dearest friend, Tiffani who has a 10 month old, Holden. Everything he did excited me and made me want my little one as soon as possible so that I can experience those things as well. I love that age, and everything after it. :) I also started looking at all sorts of baby "equipment". That is really exciting as well. Until then, I'll just keep sitting by the phone. :)

Tiffany

Friday, June 13, 2008

Waiting...

Well it has officially been four months since we've started this process. It seems like we've been doing it forever, and have always been planning for this baby. I have to admit that I don't miss the whole idea of being pregnant, but at least with pregnancy you have some sort of definite timeline - for example, you KNOW that you will have a baby in no more than 40 weeks. It's funny because somedays I think about getting the referral and all I can think is....WAIT! I'm not ready....I have too much work to do.....We don't have enough money saved.....There are more places I want to travel...blah,blah,blah. But then I see a little Korean child, or any child for that matter, holding onto his or her mother's hand and the waiting seems excruciating. This is all probably really good for me in some sort of psychological way. :)

We bought our first official baby purchase about two weeks ago. We went to a garage sale in the Uplands (here in Peoria) and bought a runner stroller for really inexpensive. We were really excited about it, but then I had to walk around the rest of the day with an empty stroller, and it just looked like I had lost my baby somewhere. Finally Dustin bought some items (beer mugs, books, etc.) and so then I turned into the negligent parent who brought her baby's stroller to fill with drinking paraphernalia. I couldn't win.

Since we last wrote we have also been approved by DCFS and are official card holders. I don't think that you actually get any discounts with the cards though - I tried whipping it out at the movie theater the other day and the 16 year old behind the counter thought I was crazy. I think they're just for "pretty" as my mom would say - more of a novelty saying that if you ever come visit us you will not be able to find any of the knives or dish soap, will never have the opportunity to take a shower that is warmer than 115 degrees (which is not warm), and can gaze upon our collection of 10 sets of fingerprints each, that have all been taken in the last year. (That was a bit of an exaggeration - only about the fingerprints.)

Speaking of fingerprints, we also had to spend our Saturday last week driving up to Naperville JUST TO GET FINGERPRINTED. I'm wondering why they don't just have a record of my fingerprints somewhere (You know, any one of the ten sets I've given the government in the last three years) that they can scan. Do they just scan your fingerprints once and then toss them? Perhaps that is why they can't afford to fix my deathtrap of a sidewalk out in front of my house. I've come up with a new system for the government where they would just take my fingerprints every ten years, save them, and then instead of just having a bank of criminal fingerprints, they have everyones. Nobody asked me though. :) The trip to Naperville went well though. The whole week before Dustin kept on freaking out about it being at 8:00am, which meant that we had to leave at 5am. I didn't think it was a big deal, because that is what time I get up during the school year. We were back by eleven. I guess I was wrong about it not being a big deal for Dustin because despite his multiple mini-naps, he slept for almost 14 HOURS on Sunday night - meaning he went to bed at...you guessed it, 5:00pm. I will never doubt his need for sleep again.

So what are we doing now?? We waiting for one final form from Immigration, and then we are officially marked "READY". We'll keep you posted.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

From Tiffany's Perspective.....

I just read some of Dustin's blogs and I decided that they are getting a little less exciting everytime so I thought I would post one. I think we have some different thoughts about different things that are happening and we tend to focus on different things. Our homestudy was very interesting. Before it was completed we had to complete over 10 hours of online classes. We did really well until the last class and then we got a terrible case of Senioritis. We couldn't focus and it took us days to finish that one class. I realize that this will all be worth it, and that it will be nothing in hindsite, but it was the first time I felt unworthy of parenthood - like I was being tested and failing. Maybe that's how my students feel when I give them a major assignment three weeks before they graduate from high school. Consider it lesson learned. :)

Our adoption counselor sent us our homestudy to read over the other day, which is pretty much a summary of our entire lives, and all aspects of our lives. It was interesting stuff to read as a third person, and to hear her perspective on things. I thought it was pretty accurate, especially the part about me having a great sense of humor and charming. :) Of course, that all went out the window when she had to comment on our physical appearance and she said something about us both seeming to be in "great shape." She must have been ignoring the back muscle I pulled the other day pulling weeds....yet another indication that I am no longer in my mid to early twenties.

Anyway, I can't write much more since I spent so much time making fun of Dustin for being a "blogger." I guess we'll continue to keep you posted.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Cinco de May-O update

It's come to my attention that I haven't written in a while, and a few things have happened since the last time I blogged. We have finished our home study. Our case worked came in and checked everything out, and it seems as though everything is good to go. We did have to install another smoke detector in the basement, but that's about it. 

So now that the home study is done, we just have to wait. There's not much we can really do now to hurry things along. I guess that allows us to take care of some other things here in the house—such as putting in the door to the back yard and finishing the extra room on the second floor. Anyway, more to come soon.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Baby-proofing

We've started baby-proofing the house. It is very exciting. Of course, there's the standard moving of the cleaning supplies. But I'm wondering, if we can't figure out how to install a lock on our knife drawer, does that mean we're not ready to be parents? I really wish Tiff hadn't thrown away the directions. If anybody wants to come over and install a drawer lock, I'm sure we could give you a nice warm meal or something. I did install a cat door in the basement. Consider this your warning for using the basement bathroom at your own discretion. If you feel like someone is watching you in there, you're probably right. The bathroom is now the portal for the cats to eat, etc.

On another note, we have our home visit/inspection on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully it all goes well. I'll keep all of our fans up to date. Interestingly enough, I haven't seen many hits. Hmmm.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Parenting Class in Moline

We traveled to Moline today for an all-day parenting class (it was all I could do to keep Tiff from talking about visiting the John Deere plant). Basically it was a workshop on how we can be adoptive parents to an international child. It was a long day, but it was really nice to meet some other parents who are going through the same process. They were all at different stages—and with different countries—and some had been through it all before. There are a few other families adopting from Korea, as well as a few other families from the Peoria area.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Welcome

In the past few weeks, I began two things that I never thought I would do before. First, I joined Facebook. Second, this blogging thing. At least not for any extended period of time. So we'll see how this goes. I thought this might be a good way for everyone to keep up to date with what is going on with the entire process. After Tiff got done laughing at me for creating a blog, she agreed that she had been planning on doing the same thing. Hopefully at some point, we'll be able to put photos up here (especially when we travel to Korea) for everyone to see. If you wish, feel free to comment or share this with others. Enjoy!