Monday, February 8, 2010

Dinner and dancing.

Actually, the dancing came first...

On Saturday morning Dave, the boys, and I joined our Families through Korean Adoption (FTKA) group for a Kids' Disco at a local restaurant/brewery. More than anything else, it was so darn good to see so many faces that have become so familiar/so comforting to me over the past year. The get together was centered on meeting with a group of current UW students who also happen to be Korean adoptees. These young adults recently contacted my friend Miya and requested more opportunities to connect and have fun with our little ones. And, have fun they did! Dancing amidst a sea of bubbles, shooting pool, playing shuffle board, throwing darts, eating lunch. It was absolutely a do-again!

For dinner, Rubin and I took a little road trip to Rockford! I was thrilled a couple of weeks ago when I received an invite from my bloggy friend, Kris, to attend her adoption agency's Seollal celebration. Since Dave had to work, I enlisted Aunt Sica to man the big boys while Rubin and I headed south. I am so glad that we made it work. Rubin and I had so much fun finally meeting so many families that I feel like we already know. X's family & Cohen's family & Gabe, Josiah, Seth, and Joel's families. Some of these boys I've "known" since their mama's shared their referral photos and stories on their adoption blogs. I had the honor of reading along as they journeyed, in their parents' arms, home. What a joy, meeting then in real life. In real action.

Now, sadly, my camera is still not well. And so, I had to resort to video of the event. My favorite clip has a little piece of all of these boys that I've loved reading about over the course of this past year. It also display's Kris' uncanny knack for settling a crowd of "5 and unders" for a group photo... I love how Rubin is swinging his legs to her song.


Thank you, Kris, for including us. And thank you to all of the wonderful mamas that I've gotten to know thanks, in large part, to our common thread of adoption. I love knowing all of you.

14 comments:

Elizabeth Frick said...

That's awesome. I LOVE the chaos.

Kris said...

Jason and I are cracking up! It's a fun video - we love that you captured X dancing.

I'm SO HAPPY that you were able to come!!! Meeting you and Rubin in person was the icing on the cake.

sue said...

i spied Rubin swinging his legs in our video too! so cute!

i'm so glad you guys made it!!! i seriously could hardly contain myself when Kris told me you were coming! i wish we could have visited longer - but i guess that just means a trip to Madison is in order!

Rach@In His Hands said...

Like I said before, it was SOOOOO wonderful to finally "know" you in person.....you're absolutely fabulous, my friend.
This video is killin' me with all the cuteness!! Of course, it's *my* son that's totally ignoring the camera....too mesmerized by Miss Kris's mad singing skills.

Kimberly and Ed said...

It is awesome that you were able to join in the Seollal celebration! The video of the children is adorable:-)

kelly said...

I wish I had been there in person to experience all the cuteness, but I am loving all the video of these adorable kiddos. Rubin in his hanbok swinging his legs to Kris singing Wheels on the Bus? Priceless!

JoJo said...

It was such a treat to meet you! I had no idea you'd be there.
And oh yeah...Rubes and Gabers are Trouble together, I'm afraid.

How cool that the young adult adoptees are the ones seeking your group out to see the kids. That's awesome

Christine @ 12,450miles said...

How fabulous is this video?! I love how you captured all the little personalities so well. And how cute is Rubin just chilling in his seat enjoying the music?!

Cori said...

Kris has something special in her version of "Wheels on the Bus." I wouldn't have thought the kids would have sat as long as they did.

It was so wonderful to meet you and Rubin. He's a doll and I hope we can meet again and be able to spend some more time chatting!

Christine said...

It was so exciting to meet you and Rubin! It's so fun to meet people that you only know from blogs. Rubin is such an adorable boy! I'm not able to view the video for some reason--I'll have to come back to watch it later! Great to meet you!!

Bekah said...

That video is too cute! X dancing is hilarious! Little Rubin's legs swinging are too cute! I'm just loving seeing all these little guys in thier hanboks. It just brings such a huge smile to my face that we were all able to connect via blogging! Amazing...just amazing.

Colleen said...

What a fun time it looks and sounds like you all had! The kids all look just adorable and Kris is just so sweet with them. How cool that you were all able to get together!

Kara said...

Hi there,

My family and I were at the New Year's party too. So glad to have found your blog.

The video was hilarious! Thanks for sharing.

erin beaver said...

Each one is cuter than the other! How do you not take them all home at once?

Our Adoption Timeline

  • December 23, 2009- Adoption Finalized.
  • May 7th, 2009- Family circle complete in Madison.
  • May 6th, 2009- Mama's got Rubin in Seoul.
  • May 4th, 2009- meet Rubin
  • April 23rd, 2009- Visa Interview
  • April 22nd, 2009- TRAVEL CALL!!
  • April 14th, 2009- Packet 3
  • April 7th, 2009- NVC out
  • April 1st 2009 (no foolin')- I171 received
  • March 9th, 2009- I171H received
  • February 27th, 2009- progress report from SWS
  • February 24th, 2009- Fingerprinted at USIS
  • February 19, 2009-Rubin's legals arrive in state.
  • February 16, 2009- mailed referral acceptance.
  • February 12, 2009- received referral paperwork.
  • January 29, 2009- verbally accepted referral
  • January 27, 2009- received unofficial referral.
  • January 20, 2009- I600A received and filed with the Dept. of Homeland Security
  • January 16, 2009- submitted I600A
  • January 12, 2009- homestudy document complete.
  • January 12, 2009-received Foster Home Licensing
  • December 22, 2008- A.I.A.A. director approves application, establishes our file, and requests our homestudy documents from J.D.
  • December 5, 2008- submitted Foster Licensing application.
  • November 25, 2008- A.I.A.A. accepted official application.
  • November 15, 2008- submitted formal application to A.I.A.A.
  • November 13, 2008- final homestudy meeting.
  • November 12, 2008- autobiographies completed.
  • October 30, 2008- second homestudy meeting.
  • October 22, 2008- received formal application from A.I.A.A.
  • October 14, 2008- first homestudy meeting.
  • October 1, 2008- submitted pre-application to Americans for International Adoption and Aid
  • September 25, 2008- submitted application packet to Adoption Advocates, Inc.
  • September 18, 2008- first meeting with social worker (J.D.)
  • August 2008- decided to adopt

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