Travel Call!!

So it just started out as any other day.....and then it all changed when....we got the call!

After hearing of Joshua's VI being scheduled, we knew it was a matter of 24-48 hours until we would likely receive a call from our adoption agency letting us know we were cleared to travel.  This was exciting to hear, but anxious since we didn't know exactly when it would come.  Every time the phone rang at home, we all jumped with anticipation a bit thinking it may be "the call".

Wednesday morning came and I (Eric) headed off to work at church for another regular day of work, while Jill remained home with the kids.  Thinking I may get a call from Jill sometime, I kept my phone in my pocket so wherever I was in church I could (hopefully) get the call.  Our cell service is a bit spotty at times, but I hoped for the best.

Then around noon, as I was in my office reading, I looked up and saw Nathan standing in my doorway with his hands behind his back yelling "Boo!" with a big grin on his face.  Jill & Brooke quickly followed, and they explained how they had a surprise for me.  Nathan gave me a bag that the three of them had filled with 3 of my favorite items - espresso beans (from Just Love Coffee), Ghirardelli chocolate mocha powder, and a new bottle of toasted marshmallow syrup from Caribou (all essential ingredients to make my favorite coffee drink, a campfire mocha!).  Also in the bag was a little handwritten note from Joshua (with a little help from Jill) which read:

Dear Daddy, I'm ready and waiting for you, Mommy, my big brother Nathan, and big sister Brooke to bring me home!  Here is a little coffee just in case you get a little behind on sleep taking care of me.  See you soon!  I love you!  Love, Joshua

My gift and note from Joshua!

It didn't take me any more time to realize that we got the call we had been waiting for since September 2010 when we turned in our initial application to our agency!  Wow!

After a few minutes of taking a few pictures and celebrating, we retreated downstairs to our h.s. room where Jill & the kids brought a quart of Oberweiss chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and we had ourselves a little ice cream party (with a bowl and spoon reserved for Joshua, of course!).  A lot of fun....and lots of smiles to go around from the whole family!

Daddy & Nathan celebrating our Travel Cal

We continued the celebration later that night by going to the local Korean supermarket (the "Super H-Mart") nearby.  Besides Jill giving me a tutorial on what types of food I may need to run out and get for our little guy, we spent the most time in the fresh bakery cafe area and each picked out a fresh baked Korean pastry.  Somehow I think this stop may be part of any future visit we make to the H-Mart.....  = )

Jill & Brooke, enjoying their Korean pastries

So now we're in "travel prep" mode as we work to finalize flight arrangements, lodging, and other arrangements for our time in Korea.  In addition, we're getting our suitcases ready and packing them tight!  Our Korean agency expects us to travel within 2 weeks of our travel call, so time is of the essence!

But for now, we're celebrating and excited to finally be at this point in the journey...and the best is yet to come!

Thanks to many of you who have been praying for us and this exciting time!  Please don't stop!  We appreciate your prayer and support as we go through the final prep and travel to Korea.  You can read about some of our specific prayer needs here.

Joshua - here we come!

VI Scheduled!

Kinda crazy how God brings surprises your direction and catches you totally off guard, isn't it?

Well, that happened this morning with us when we got word that Joshua's VI (Visa Interview) was scheduled at the US Embassy in Seoul for August 14th at 1pm!  We began to hear over the weekend of some potential delays with approving VI's at the Embassy because of the large influx of VI requests they had received recently.  Because of some changes in the Korean adoption laws that took effect the first week of August, there was a rush to get as many kids as possible through the approval process before the laws changed.  Although that's all good (and we're grateful Joshua was in that group), there was word that this "rush" was going to cause a backup for approving visas at the Embassy - a backup that could take an additional 5 weeks for the Embassy to work through.  Uggh.

Although this wasn't fun news to hear, we were beginning to prepare ourselves for a longer wait than we were originally expecting, and one that would push back our time to travel later into September.

This morning, however, Jill began hearing of some other families who had just received word of their child's VI being scheduled, and so the anticipation was growing to find out about Joshua's VI.  Jill got on the phone to call the U.S. State Department, who has the ability to look in the system and confirm if all of Joshua's paperwork has been submitted and if his visa appointment has been set up yet.  Sure enough...it was!  And she was told his VI is scheduled for Tuesday at 1pm (Korea time)!

Surprise!

We're really excited to hear this news - and even more anxious, since once his visa is approved the travel call comes next - typically in 1-2 days!  Which means.....it's time to hop on that plan and get that boy home!

With the time difference between Chicago and Korea, his VI is actually planned for 11pm tonight (Chicago time) - a mere 1 hour and 10 minutes from me writing this.  If you're reading this before then....would you mind shooting up a quick prayer for a smooth VI process and easy approval for Joshua and the other little kiddos waiting to come home?  If you're reading this after this time....would you mind praying for a quick and speedy phone call to come our way?  = )  It would be much appreciated!

All I know is that there are four people in this house that are getting a little more anxious and excited every time that phone rings......

E

**We're still in need of your support in our adoption process.  If you'd like to learn how you can support us (through prayer or financial support), click here!  Thanks!

How To Help

As we are getting closer to bringing Joshua home, we've had a number of people ask us how they can help us in these days leading up to us receiving our "travel call".  Here are a few ways that you can help support us as we continue going through our adoption process:

• Prayer:  We value and appreciate those who are praying for us!  Specifically, here are some ways you can pray for us:
• Pray for the final documentation, reviews, and government approvals to happen without any further delays. 
• Pray that we would continue to trust God and remain patient until we receive the word that we can travel to Korea.
• Pray for our family that our hearts would be prepared to welcome Joshua into our family and the adjustments needed of having a new family member in our home.
• Pray that God would give us wisdom and fill us with His love and grace as we raise Joshua to know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
• Pray that God would fill Joshua's heart with peace and comfort as he grieves all that he knows in Korea and transitions his attachment to us, his family.  Pray also for us to have sensitivity and understanding in how to respond and care for his needs during his time of transition.
• Pray that God will continue to provide prayer and financial support for us during our adoption process, and that we would sense God's presence and guidance in our lives as we look to Him for strength and encouragement.

• Financial Support:  We've currently raised approximately $12,000 to offset our adoption expenses (which is expected to total approximately $30,000 - $35,000).  Part of this amount includes an interest-free loan we were granted by an organization, and will later repay.  We're grateful for the financial support we have been offered, and are continuing to trust God for his provision as we continue to move forward.  If you'd like to financially support our adoption, here are a few ways to help:

• Direct donation:  Tax-deductable donations can be sent directly to Lifesong for Orphans, an organization we have partnered with to help us with our fundraising.  Just put our info in the memo line ("Preference for Groezinger #2318 adoption"), and they'll take care of the rest.  100% of your gift will go directly to our adoption expenses - which is a pretty cool deal.  (click here for their mailing address and more info)

• Just Love Coffee:  If you're a coffee drinker, click on the "Just Love Coffee" button on the right side of our blog (or here).  When you order from their online store, a portion of your purchase goes towards our adoption expenses.  Help our adoption....and drink your coffee too!

• Donate Airline Miles:  We are beginning to research flight options for our trip to Korea, and have found a few different airlines that fly direct to Seoul.  Through past air travel, Jill & I have accumulated miles for a few different airline programs (Delta/SkyTeam and American/AAdvantage), but don't have enough to cover the entire round trip for the four of us.  If you would like to donate airline miles for this purpose, send us a message and we can give you more details!

• S. Korean Agency Needs:  Because of the recent changes in the S. Korean adoption law, children are now staying in S. Korea longer than in the past.  This has created some new challenges for the S. Korean agency and the foster families, as they have not been prepared for caring for older children.  Specifically, they've asked for help in providing some basic items they need, and we'd love to help.  If you would like to donate any of the following items, please let us know and we'd be happy to pack them in our suitcase and take them over with us!

• Child-size/toddler toothbrushes
• Fluoride-free toothpaste
• Toddler-size winter coats (size 12m-2T)
• Toddler toys
• Shoes (size 5-6)

 Thanks for all your support and interest in our adoption - we're looking forward to sharing more updates in the future!

EP Approved & Next Steps

About 4 weeks ago we mentioned that Joshua's EP (Emmigration Permit) was submitted in Korea, the next major step to cross before we are able to bring him home.

Well.....yesterday (Aug. 2) we got an email from our case worker at our adoption agency that read:


"The batch of EP's from 7/4 were approved on 7/31.  We'll let you know when you're free to travel, but we're on the home stretch.  Yeah!!!"

Jill was thinking EP approval had begun to happen a few days earlier, as she had begun to hear unofficial rumors of other families getting word of their EP's via some online groups we are a part of.  But we were just waiting for the "official word" from our adoption agency...which came yesterday.

I (Eric) had the day off and decided to check our home computer's email yesterday morning.  The kids were watching TV, when I told them we got an email about Joshua.  Nathan's first response was, "we get to go pick him up?"  After I told them what it was, they both started getting excited, as they know the time is getting closer to travel!

Nathan ran upstairs to grab my phone so we could call Jill and let her know.  Ah - the kids were excited!  (makes me wonder how excited they will be when we get the news that we can travel?!)

So what's next?

The P3 - The US embassy sends a packet of information to the Korean agency.  This packet is referred to as P3.  It requests information such as our application and legal forms we have previously filled out and sent over (I-600, I-864, etc), our birth/marriage certificates, Joshua's legal documents, his vaccination certificates, etc. The Korean agency then submits the completed packet back to the US embassy for them to review and approve the travel visa.

VI - After our/Joshua's P3 has been sent back to the US embassy, a "Visa Interview" (VI) is scheduled.  Joshua's P3 packet will be reviewed, and assuming no problems are found, will be approved....and his visa issued.

TC - Our travel call!  Typically the TC comes quickly after the visa is approved - 1-2 days after approval is not uncommon.

All in all, this next step of the process can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks, which could put us to travel in the middle-end of August. We're continuing to pray and wait patiently, and looking forward to hearing updates on these areas as we are able to!

Thanks for your continued support, prayer, and encouragement.  If you'd like to learn more about how you can get involved in bringing Joshua home, check out our "Ways To Partner" page at the top of our blog!

Hold on, Joshua....we're coming soon!

Kookies + Kids + Korea

We've had a fun week at our house after hearing the news of Joshua's EP being submitted in Korea, and how our time is getting closer to going to pick him up.  It's a bit surreal to believe that we could be traveling in less than two months to pick him up!  As we're waiting for the final call to come, there are a number of "to do" items we are hoping to figure out and/or accomplish before we bring Joshua home.

One of them is deciding if Nathan & Brooke will be able to travel to Korea with us to get Joshua.  There are pro's and con's for taking them with us, and we've been weighing them over the past few months and looking at what would be best for Joshua, the kids, ourselves, and the whole process of adjusting to having another family member with us.  We've learned from others who have and haven't taken their kids over, and have thought through what might be best in our situation.

Since we initially told Nathan & Brooke about the adoption process back on New Years Day (2011), they've been very excited about having a brother join our family.  We've had a lot of fun conversations, questions, and discussions with them about Joshua over the past year and a half.  It's been fun and very encouraging to see how the kids have embraced and welcomed Joshua into the  family, even though he hasn't even arrived yet.  They both already refer to him as "my brother", and occasionally talk about him to others as if Joshua has always been a part of our family.  We've also been praying for him regularly, looking at the pictures we received of him, and even making some fun videos for him that we hope he'll get to see.  But their biggest question on their mind remains:  "when will Joshua come home?"  Only to be followed by: "will we be able to go to Korea too?"

Now that it's getting closer, we decided that since we've been in this adoption journey as a family from the beginning, we wanted to experience this significant part of the adoption journey as a family too.  So the kids will be able to meet Joshua in Korea too!

To tell the kids what we decided, Jill baked up a large chocolate chip cookie in a heart-shaped pizza pan, decorated it with icing and a picture of the S. Korean flag, and wrote:

"Joshua, we're coming soon! 

Love, Mommy & Daddy, Nathan & Brooke"

We set it out on the table, along with all four of our passports, and a new 22 month picture of Joshua we had just received from our case worker.  Then the kids came into the living room, read the cookie, and got big grins on their faces when they realized what it meant!  (well, Brooke first asked if we could eat the cookie.....oh, how I love my little sweet tooth girl!)

After we had a little celebration, the kids recorded a few short little video messages for Joshua.  I think these thoughts sum up how excited we all are at coming to Korea to meet Joshua and bring him home!

C'mon EP and travel call!  Let's go!

Joshua, we're coming soon!  Love, Mommy & Daddy, Nathan & Brooke

 

EP Submitted!!!

These are the words we’ve been waiting to hear for the last year! This is what has made the wait so long. EP stands for Exit Permit, which is what South Korea must grant in order for us to bring little Joshua home. Each year they have been reducing the number of EPs granted, thus increasing the length of time for all families waiting to bring their children home. We now have an approximate time frame until we get the next important step, our Travel Call! Once we get this, we will book our flights and be on our way to meet our little boy and bring him home! Most likely we will get this call in August and be traveling later that month or at the beginning of September.

Joshua ("YS") turns two September 16th. Once we found out about the long waits, I began praying we would be able to bring our little boy home before he turned two. For a long time this looked nearly impossible due to several months where no EPs were granted, and due to changes in South Korean adoption laws. As the wait got longer, I prepared my heart, and trusted in our Sovereign Lord’s timing. But, in June and July, many EPs were submitted. So tonight when Brooke prayed, “Thank You, Jesus, that Joshua gets to come home for his second birthday,” my heart was praising the Lord right along with her.

I recently heard Psalm 100 referred to as the “10 Joyful Commandments”. They are not commands that we could follow on our own as we walk through life on this earth. But because of what Jesus has done for us, His joy may be in us, and our joy may be complete (John 15:11). My prayer has been that I will wait joyfully on the Lord during this long process, that I will praise Him joyfully in each blessing along the way, and that I will continue to worship Him joyfully as we begin a very challenging transition as little Joshua joins our family and grieves all he has ever known.

 Psalm 100 

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 

Worship the Lord with gladness; 

Come before him with joyful songs. 

Know that the Lord is God. 

It is he who made us, and we are his; 

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 

And his courts with praise; 

Give thanks to him and praise his name. 

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; 

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

10 Facts About Adoption That May Surprise You....

Just caught this interesting list and infographic this morning over at Adoption Journey with 10 interesting facts about adoption....

A few highlights:

Click here to read or download the rest of the list....

Makes me want to ask.....What's your response?