Well, we haven't really written anything lately....mostly because nothing has happened. We keep getting sent forms that we keep signing and sending back....most of which we have no idea what they are for. All of this paperwork seems to be a foreign language to me.....We also belong to a yahoo group of waiting families called ESWS. I read the discussions, but never comment because I am so confused by all of their acronyms and such. I feel like I should be much more on top of things than I really am. I guess I'm just not down with the foreign adoption "lingo." For some reason God has really blessed us during this waiting time with a lot of patience and a realistic view on how long it will take. Over Christmas we started getting the nursery ready and we are still putting the finishing touches on it. We painted the walls a really light blue. We mixed the paint ourselves out of old paint we had in the basement. My mom made the bedding for the crib and my parents helped us buy our crib. Dustin's parents bought us an antique rocking chair that is perfect for the room. That took up pretty much all of December and kept us quite busy.
Januray was spent refinishing an old dresser that we are going to use as a changing table. This was my first refinishing experience, and it was sort of fun. We also had our first baby shower - and perhaps our only one before Miles gets here on January 24th. I want to post photos, but I will have to get them around. My college friends also came out the weekend of my birthday and brought lots of cute gifts for little Miles.
So that brings us to February.......the 6th marked our official 3 months mark. I did the math and if we get to leave on or after March 11th, then I will be out of school for the remainder of the year. I guess that is what is going to make February a little easier. Now, if we start getting into the bulk of March still waiting.....I guess we'll cross that bridge when it comes. :)

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

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)

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

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

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

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.