Mother's Day 2012

In Korea, pink or red carnations are used for showing love and gratitude on Parents Day. Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated together in Korea.

On this Mother's Day, I received flowers, cards, and celebrated the occasion with family.  I cherished each and every moment, but my heart and thoughts kept turning to Emerson's foster mom and her birth mother - two women to whom I will forever be grateful.

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Dear Emerson's foster mom,

Happy Mother's Day to the only mother Emerson has ever known.  For the past 22 months you have raised her, made her food, changed her diapers, taught her how to walk and talk, played with her, taken her to her monthly agency visits, and on and on...  You have done so much, but most of all, you have taught her what a mother is.  You have been the one to whom she has turned to for love, comfort, and reassurances.  You have been her rock and her fortress.  You have taught her to know that when she's at home and with her family, that she is in a safe place and loved.

On this Mother's Day, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being Emerson's mother while I could not.  While my heart is overflowing with joy and excitement as we count down the days to bring her home, I can only imagine what you must be feeling as you are facing the same day, but for you it will be a day when you are letting go of the little girl you have loved and raised for almost two years. She has been with you longer than you could have imagined when you first brought her home as a newborn.

I am thinking of you with so much gratitude today.  Happy Mother's Day.

Foster mom propping up Emerson from behind at Em's first birthday celebration. 

EP Submitted!!!!!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..."

James 1:17a

It is with humbled and overjoyed hearts that we share the wonderful news that our Emerson's Exit Permit request has been submitted for approval!!  What does this mean?  It means we are in the final home stretch of our wait!  Her EP will take about 4 to 6 weeks to be approved, and then about a week after that, we expect her to receive her travel clearance!!  The end is in sight!

I have been dreaming about this day and it's still so surreal.  I was hoping we'd hear news of EP submission today and logged on to my computer first thing in the morning.  But by 8 am, all the boards were quiet and depressing, and I hadn't received an email from our agency.  I shut down my computer dejected and resigned myself to another quiet day of no news.

I took a shower and when I got out, my landline was ringing, my cell was buzzing with texts from other adoptive parents who were hearing word that our agency in Korea had submitted their new batch.  Drenched and with just a towel on, I ran to pick up the phone but missed the call.  Then my cell rang, and it was my dear friend who works for our agency to say it was our time, and that Emerson had been submitted.

Emerson's. EP. Has. Been. Submitted.

That's all it took for the water works to start.  Then Gene started calling on my other line since by then he had received an email from our agency notifying us of the same.

All this happened more than 12 hours ago and it's STILL sinking in.

Our little Emerson is going to come home.

Home.


Praising our wonderful Lord for this day!!!