An Empty House

It isn't very often that Troy and I are at the house all by ourselves! My in-laws are in town and took all three boys camping across the river. I should be doing many different things, but can't seem to get myself off this chair. The house is so quiet. Let me tell you this...I love my boys as much as any mother can love her children, but just thinking about what I would like to do today is lovely. My plan was to plant some flowers, but the rain has dissolved that thought! Perhaps later this afternoon. Troy is parked in front of the television. Two races in one day! And he can watch every minute of them (not that he will because I am sure he will sleep). I love you boys, but I am really enjoying my restful afternoon.
So, where are we in the adoption process? A good guess would be waiting for something. You would be correct. We have sent in the I-600 form, which is basically permission to accept an orphan into our family permanently. This is different from the I-600A, which is the advance petitioning for an orphan. We already received that one back, so hopefully, the next form will come quickly. I sent it in two weeks ago and was told it would be seven to ten business days before receiving approval, so hopefully, it will come this week. Emme's emigration permit has been applied for (I think) and that will take about two months to get back. Then, her visa is applied for. I believe this takes a couple of weeks. There is also a few more steps beyond that. We are hoping she will be home in September or October. The earlier the better if you ask me. Unfortunately, no one asks.
I underestimated the feelings I would undergo as we await our travel call. People ask me often how many children I have. My instant answer is three. That is not true any longer. I have four....one I have yet to meet. It is truly a strange thing...knowing I have a little girl who is nearly one and lives on the other side of the world. It is a difficult thing to wrap my mind around. So, yes, I have four kids...yet it really doesn't seem that way. It will.

Emme

One of the main reasons that adoption takes so long is because of governmental policy...not just that of the United States government, but Korea also. It seems that every division is just so backed up! For example, our little girl's visa takes two months to get and then there is more waiting after that. I just submitted her legal paperwork and our I-600 immigration form on Monday, so hopefully we will hear back from that late next week. Then, we wait. And wait. And wait. And then probably wait some more. But, this is what we signed up for. And I will wait as long as I need to in order to get my daughter home! I look at her picture every day and wonder what she is doing at that very moment. It seems strange to me that I know she exists, but she has no idea who I am! She will eventually....I hope she likes me.
We finally decided on a name for our little girl. Troy took a while to come around to it, but put it on the mother's ring he got me for Mother's Day. What a guy! We haven't quite decided on Emmeline or Emmelyn, but we will call her Emme. Also, we have chosen Joelle for her middle name. This is Jo for my mom, -ell for my grandma, and my middle name is Daelle, so it's close to mine. All in all, I am thrilled. My little prize...my Emme.