Counting Down

In less than 3 days we will be on a plane to Korea! I can hardly believe it is coming so soon! We have been rushing around all day to get things finished, organized, washed, packed, or put together. Throw in to that mix an emergency visit with our cat Titus to the kitty ophthalmologist over an hour away, and you have a recipe for stress! Good news is, Titus is OK...just a false alarm. For those of you not aware of our farm, it is comprised of 20 animals, and nearly all of them have been rescued, and several have health issues. Titus has been through a lot this year and is most recently recovering from a surgery to save his eyesight. He was at our local regular vet this afternoon for a checkup and booster shots to save us having to take him when the baby first comes home, and the vet was worried that his eye was building up pressure and if not treated immediately would cause him to either go blind or lose his eyeball!! Not something you want to hear three days before you are leaving the country!! We are just relieved it turned out to be nothing major. Since we have had vacation plans canceled more than once by visits to or from the emergency vet for a downed horse or an injured dog etc, we have made the critters promise to be on their best behavior and stay safe and healthy while we are gone! I am sure grandma and grandpa would appreciate that too! I must run to bed now...last day of work for awhile! :o)

Packing....

We are booked and ready to go! We will leave for Korea on Saturday morning and arrive in Seoul on Sunday afternoon!! I can't believe we are going to meet our son on Monday! I have been busy packing our bags and tying up loose ends. It has been a bit crazy at work canceling patients and figuring out our future schedule on such short notice! Luckily most of them have been very supportive and understanding. We borrowed a large suitcase to take from my in-laws and I have already filled it with stuff for Christopher and gifts we have to take along, so packing our own clothes is going to be a bit of a challenge. We were thrilled to get an updated well baby check from both November and December today along with a couple updated pictures. Our little guy is up to 22 lbs, has two bottom teeth and four top teeth coming in (yikes, I guess he is teething) and has started walking three steps at a time!! I am so glad I have a little better idea of his size so I can bring appropriately sized clothes for him. We will meet him on Monday, spend Tuesday and Wednesday touring the city (we're not sure yet if we will get to see him on these days) and we will get to pick him up forever on Thursday Jan 7th!! This is known as "Family Day" or "Gotcha Day" in the adoption community! It is absolutely freezing in Korea right now, with snow predicted several days next week, so we should feel right at home! :o) I have posted our latest pic of our little guy....I just love that hair!

My first Christmas B & E!

Belated Merry Christmas everyone! We had a wonderful (and busy) couple days with the family and everyone is so excited to meet our new addition! We only had a few minor snags along the way, and the weather (sort of) cooperated, so in the end a good time was had by all! Thursday afternoon we traveled home to Phil's parents to drop off the dogs before heading to my parents home for dinner. When we arrived, we pulled into the garage as usual to unload our excited little critters (they always love a good trip to Grandma's house...aka "the cookie lady"). Unfortunately, the door from the garage to the house was locked and we didn't have a key! His parents were away at a Christmas eve celebration, so rather than drive all the way home to let us in, they gave us the go ahead to break in! About 30 min, a damaged COSTCO card, and a plastic putty knife later we were safe inside! My first breaking and entering! :o) We got the dogs settled, snatched a few Christmas cookies for the road, and on we went. It was a great time at my parents' this year. My cousin and her family joined us, and my brother and his girlfriend were there too. My dad looked the best he has in years (he has been recovering from open heart surgery for the last two months) and once again my mom went way overboard with amazing goodies to eat! After a lovely party we went back the in-laws to catch some zzzzzs (and sample a few more cookies!) Christmas morning we had a great breakfast with the family, then opened presents for everyone (including Christopher). An early dinner of prime rib and some very tasty mashed potatoes (a personal favorite). Then back to my parents to spend the evening. We played Scrabble slam and my brother's girlfriend Becky dominated! It was a long slow drive home in the freezing rain, but we arrived safely in the wee hours of the morning, unloaded and then off to bed!! Thanks to everyone for making this such a wonderful family Christmas once again!

This IS My Lucky Day!!!!!

Ok, somebody pinch me!!! I was just dialing the phone to call DC and see if the agency has returned our paperwork to the embassy, and I got a call on the cell phone from OUR agency....We can Travel!! I can hardly believe it!! I thought it would be weeks yet, so to get this news today is just crazy!!! We are supposed to be there within 7 days, but with the Korean offices closed for New Years next week, we may have to wait until the first week of Jan!! I will keep you all posted! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! I can't believe it! :o)

I Won!

I woke up this morning to a call from a local store that I won a Christmas gift basket! I had put my name in the box to win when I was there last week buying some last minute gifts. The basket wasn't really anything spectacular, but I never win anything so I still think it's pretty cool! It was a nice way to start my vacation, and who knows...maybe today is my lucky day! I wasn't planning to call DC today to see if there has been any movement on Christopher's paperwork, but I think I may call after all. Fingers crossed my luck spilled over to Korea!
I stopped on the way home from work yesterday and rented a few "chick-flicks" to watch while I work on my projects and my hubby is at work. So far I am loving my vacation!

Vacation!!

Yeah! I am officially on vacation!! Finished with my last patient at noon, now home to wrap presents and enjoy the beautiful day! I have been working hard to finish up some projects (scrapbooks etc) that I will not likely have much time for once Christopher comes home, so I am planning to use my time off to finally get them done!
No news from our agency. :o( Each month, Christopher makes an appearance at the Korean agency for a well baby check up with the doctor and a report (sometimes with pictures) is sent to us giving updates on his health, height, weight, and milestones etc. We haven't received one since October, so we are really hoping to get some updated news this week.... it would make for a very nice Christmas present! I will keep you posted if we hear anything!!

It's Monday!

Well, it's Monday and a new week in Korea...hopefully this means some movement in our paperwork! At this point in our paperwork process the Embassy has sent a packet of information from the US side to the agency in Korea. They will compile with the US papers all the paperwork from the Korean side including Christopher's visa physical. Once this packet is completed and Christopher makes a personal appearance at the embassy, we will be ready for the visa interview. This is the last step before we get our "travel call" saying it is time to come and get him! We are hoping the agency doesn't take too long to get things together. We have seen other families wait only a few days for this step, while some wait a couple months...you just never know!!! I spent most of yesterday evening putting what seems like a library full of books on the shelves in Christopher's room, folding clothes and organizing his dresser. The nursery is definitely starting to take shape!
In other news, it is snowing....again (wait that's not really "news" for West Michigan!) We are looking forward to visiting with family for Christmas this week, and I can already taste the cookies! My in-laws usually make hundreds of Christmas cookies in all different shapes and varieties, so the gluttony doesn't stop for days! I am hoping to get some good winter pics of the farm critters this week, they always look so cute in the snow with their fuzzy winter coats .
I will keep you all posted with any news!

Acorn Adventures...

I decided to start this blog to document the many adventures of Acorns Landing...our little hobby farm. Over the last 4 years we have welcomed many additions to the farm, but there has never been an addition to our household more eagerly awaited than our son Christopher!! We are in the process of adopting Christopher from South Korea and are looking forward to having him home soon!! Only a few more steps in the very long process before we get to travel to get him! In the meantime we are busy preparing the house and the nursery.