Legals!

We got an email from our worker (Jill, she is wonderful!) with Children's Home Society and Family Services in Minnesota stating that our LEGALS are here. Yahoooooo! This is an important step in the process that allows Stephen to be ready to exit Korea and enter the US. It is a compilation of papers that basically declare him officially an orphan in the eyes of his country. Sad, but a harsh reality. Now, three things have to happen in order for us to get that famous Travel Call, but they can happen all at the same time now that legals are here to get that ball rolling. Stephen has to have a visa physical (c0uld have already happened), we have to receive I-600 approval (Customs and Immigration) and he must also have an Emigration Permit (EP) from Korea. These can happen very quickly and then they set the ball rolling for the Immigration Visa to be issued at the embassy for him to come to the USA. That is then faxed to our agency and hopefully they will call us ASAP to let us know we are free to buy tickets to Seoul and bring home our boy. So, depending upon how quickly everyone is moving..we should be hearing some good news soon!!

Here is a bit of our timeline for those of you who are wondering (okay, my mom is probably the only one who really reads this)

February 8, 2004 : God spoke to my heart about adoption.

February 21, 2004: Stephen was born

March 20, 2004: Calling confirmed by God after much prayer and burden. Isaiah 43:5-6

2004-2007 Three years of much prayer and longing and saying "When God? When?"

February 11, 2007: Cried all day for no apparent reason and prayed about this longing and asked God to take it away (for the 900th time). He, in turn, showed me the face of an angel on Rainbow Kids ( I never got on the computer..his face just appeared as I prayed) who had been waiting for almost three years...hmmmm.. I had seen him many times. He was much older than I expected he would be, but after repeatedly popping in my mind throughout this day, I knew God was confirming in my head what I already knew in my heart. (There is a much longer version, a very bizarre one, as to how I originally noticed him). Later that day, I got online and read a little about him and inquired. Peg with CHSFS was very helpful and sent medical records and info from Korea. He was immediately taken off RBK while we reviewed his information, and we did not even have our study done!

March 20, 2007 (three years to the day) we confirmed our intentions to make this sweet Korean boy our son. This was also the day he was awarded a $5,000 grant from Brittany's Hope Foundation. Just one more affirmation for us.

March - May 2007 Homestudy process

May-July 2007 Insurance delay

August 31, 2007 returned referral information to Korea.

He is ours!

October 11, 2007 Got legals.

Stay tuned.........