Karen's work surprise !

You got me ! Thanks for my pizza party and gifts ! I had no idea my team was cooking up something behind my back ! heheeh lol...Thanks for all those who signed their best wishes in the lovely card that came with the gifts and gift card ! Thanks again ! Karen

Kijin turns 8 months yesterday !

Hi all.

Kijin turned 8 months yesterday ! It's been 4 weeks or so since we got our "Referral" call. We are keeping our fingers crossed and praying for a "Speedy VISA" for a travel call to pick up Kijin hopefully soon ! Have a great family long weekend everyone !

K.E.K Wiersma -Smile for the camera !

Hi all....

Grandpa Wiersma took a great photo of us so we can send it off to Kijin in South Korea. We are going to be sending a package to him and his foster family very soon. I have to collect a few more photos so this will be one of them for Kijin's little photo book. I found a small box to stuff in a blanket, a recordable book ( these are so great--we can read Kijin a story outloud while it records our voices , so he can listen to it as much as possible and get use to our voices ) an outfit, a pair of booties, a teething toy, a disposable camera,( Foster family can take a photos of Kijin in the next few months ) a photo book of us, and a few yummy Canadian goodies for the family ! We will send a thank you note and ask the Foster family to take photos of Kijin opening his package !

Some Q & A's

Some friends and family have been asking us and will be asking more questions along the way about our adoption journey. I'd thought I would post some of them and do my best to answer them :) However, if there are any more of your own to ask, ask away and post them in the comments box and I will be happy to answer them :)

Q. Why are you adopting from South Korea and not locally/Canada?
A. We decided to adopt from South Korea because--why not? Adoption is a beautiful thing and we are blessed that our family can do this. In South Korea, babies are brought up in foster homes and who are loved and cared for until they are waiting to be adopted. This is very important to us. We also wanted our family information secured ( Canadian Adoptive Parents information is not secured and fully accessable within time ) at all times until Kijin is ready to search out his birth family.

Q. What happened to his parents?
A. There is really not much I can say about baby Kijin's biological (birth) parents. We just know the basics and really, it will be Kijin's story to tell on day. We are blessed and thankful that we were chosen to be his parents for the rest of his life.

Q. How long will we stay in Korea? Are we bringing Kyler with us?
A. About 7-10 days max. We will be able to tour around South Korea for a few days to take in and learn as much as we can about Kijin's native country. Then we will meet Kijin and his foster parents for a brief time then later pick him up , have some bonding time then get ready to head home. Kyler will stay home and anxiously wait for us to return with his new baby brother. Our parents will help with staying home with Kyler, while he attends school. (he has never been on a plane before either, not sure how he will handle a 13 hour flight ! --I hope myself I can do this !! LOL )

Q. Do I get a leave from work and how long?
A. I am able to get off on a "Paternity" leave for 9 months . ( its an option to take off another 3 after that if needed ) I will take the full 9 months off- then see what happens. Ed will take a few weeks off here and there as well. But I am happy to have the summer off !!!!!! Kyler is happy too...not so much time in day camps !!!!!!

Q. When can family and friends see him?
A. This is tough and it is different for every family. We are unsure -until we are home and see how Kijin is adjusting to us, Kyler and his new surroundings. It is highly recommended to "Caccoon"sp? ourselves with Kijin as much as possible until he is familar with us, knows who we are and when we think he is ready to meet everyone. The goal is for Kijin to securely attach to us and once this is achieved then we can visit and see anyone . It is said that usually boys adjust better to change...but who knows...its hard to answer this now.
www.informedadoptions.com for more information :)

Our papers are off !!! What's next?

Our "Acceptance Package" is now fully off to our agent in Ottawa!! She then sends off all our documents back to South Korea and now we wait for a Travel Call. This can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks. We are waiting for a Letter of Invitation from Korea and for Korea to process baby Kijin's travel VISA. When we receive our travel call, we will fly out a week later !

We hope for a "Speedy VISA" so we can get him as quickly as we can !!!

What are we doing while we wait????

We are collecting baby items and needs as we go and preparing his room ! Not yet sure on the theme and all that, we just know we need to paint, put in a floor, and get a crib set ! We have to wrap our heads around being in baby land again !!!

Our South Korea Referral news !!

Hi all !!

Well we finally got our "Referral" and call that we have a 7 month old baby boy on January 17th, 2011 !
Kyler and myself were the only ones at home. Our Agent call us around 5:00pm ! Kyler and I both cried that we got the news !!! He is so happy to be a big brother !
WE had to hold off as much as possible to spread the news for we had to wait for a full "Referral" package with more information on our baby boy ! We had some running around to do and really did not finalize it until a week later !
He was born on June 18, 2010- 6.6 pounds in Daegu South Korea. He is currently 7 months old- 20 pounds ! His birth name is Jinwoo Cho. Which means Truthful and serenity. We will call him Kijin Woo Cho Wiersma! ( pronounced Key-Gin ) which means Korean ( Ki ) Truth. Of course another "K" name :) We are currently finishing up our paper work, it will then get sent on to Korea where we wait for a travel VISA and when Kijins paper is ready. Ed and I hope to fly out and meet/retrieve him in April or May 2011 !! HE is currently staying with his foster family.