Happy Thanksgiving to our village!
Some time has passed since our last blog post and we feel the need to give a little update even though there hasn’t been much adoption news to share lately.
On August 30 our dossier was sent to Korea. (See adoption timeline).
In October, we completed our home study update with our social worker and adoption agency. The visit was great. We have a great social worker. However, the update paperwork was repetitive, and the slow-moving approval process was not without its frustrations. At this time, we are not even sure our approved update report will arrive in Korea on time despite us begging to start the update process way ahead of schedule. Our agency has been very slow in communicating with us and it seems they are very behind in assisting all of their families.
We anticipated some difficulties with the home study update, but that has not made the hang-ups less frustrating. The wheels turn slowly, even after you’re this far into the process. The slow pace of the home study update approval and the communication issues are a frustrating part of the adoption process that are nearly guaranteed no matter which agency you work with. It’s just something you have to manage. We have been assured that the home study approval will not affect our overall timeline to get Brooks home, but it is just one more thing that we have had to work through.
Next steps
We are still waiting for EP submission for Brooks. Our information and Brooks’ information (the dossier) is submitted to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for approval of an Emmigration Permit (EP). The emigration permit gives permission for a specific child to emigrate from Korea for the purposes of an international adoption. It’s the initial start to an international adoption process. The timeframe from dossier submission to EP submission is unpredictable. New cases for EP are only submitted at the invitation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We are hopeful that after the first of the year we will be submitted quickly and the process can start to pick up speed.
Then what?
Once we are submitted for EP then we wait for EP approval. Seems obvious. Once we have our EP approval then we wait to get a court date with the Korean family court system where we appear in front of a judge.
Some things we are looking forward to this fall and winter
- Putting together Brooks’ puzzle (We are accepting pieces still to help cover the cost of our travels to Korea)
- Continuing to put together Brooks’ nursery
- Celebrating Brooks’ first birthday
- Having an adoption shower
- Creating a video message to send to Brooks and foster family
- Receiving more pictures and videos of Brooks (He’s growing up so fast and is SO stinking cute!)
- Learning more about South Korea and planning our travel there
- Learning more Korean
Upcoming blog topics
- Grief, Attachment, and Cocooning
- Brooks’ nursery reveal
- Packing for our first trip
September 2019 – Some Brewers gear to coincide with the Brewers’ run to the playoffs
October 2019 – Our “little monster”/ Halloween themed
November 2019 – Our “little turkey”/ Thanksgiving themed
With love,
Bri + Chris
