Holy Cow! Even more people have voted for names. It is always fun to see what people think about the names we have picked. But currently, Ian and Spencer are neck and neck. And Addison is catching up to Meredith. And finally two votes for Georgia.
It is just so beautiful out this morning with everything blanketed in white. And it is still snowing. I will have to take a picture and post for everyone who doesn't get to wake up to the beautiful site.
BTW....
Happy Birthday Amy!!! (i know a day late)
Happy Birthday Lynnette!!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Name Voting....Continues
I can't believe how many people in the last couple of days have voted for names!!! It is a good run between the boys names, but Meredith seems to be pulling ahead. Did I mention how long it took Dave to figure out that Addison and Meredith were BOTH from Grey's Anatomy. Way too funny!! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the lunar eclipse tonight. Unfortunately, it is cloudy tonight, so we won't get to see it.
Today's Topic....Korean Names
A Korean name begins with the family name followed by the given name. There are currently only 250 Korean family names used, and the most common are Kim, Lee and Park. The family name is typically a single syllable and the given name is two syllables. The given name is made up of a generational name syllable and an individual distinct syllable. The generational name syllable is shared in South Korea by all extended family members of same generation. One thing that is very interesting is that married couples typically keep their given name, and the children use the father's family name. I know more and more people in the United States that are doing this, such as Dave and myself. The usage of names in traditional Korean society is very important. Generally using someones given name in the Korean culture is considered rude. There are various "rules" that govern what you call someone.
Today's Topic....Korean Names
A Korean name begins with the family name followed by the given name. There are currently only 250 Korean family names used, and the most common are Kim, Lee and Park. The family name is typically a single syllable and the given name is two syllables. The given name is made up of a generational name syllable and an individual distinct syllable. The generational name syllable is shared in South Korea by all extended family members of same generation. One thing that is very interesting is that married couples typically keep their given name, and the children use the father's family name. I know more and more people in the United States that are doing this, such as Dave and myself. The usage of names in traditional Korean society is very important. Generally using someones given name in the Korean culture is considered rude. There are various "rules" that govern what you call someone.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Day 111....And some culture...
Day 111 of waiting....
Wide Horizons updated the wait time at the beginning of this month to 6 - 10 months for referral, which is very exciting!!! Some people have asked what that means, what is a referral and etc. When we are matched with a baby in Korea by Holt International (who is like the mother agency of our agency), we will recieve paperwork about the baby and photos. This is called your referral. Our Home Study to Korea (HSTK) date is October 29, 2007. That date starts the clock for the 6 to 10 months of waiting. Once we have reviewed our referral and completed the paperwork, we can accept our referral of our baby. Then the clock starts again. This time we will be waiting to travel to pick up our baby in Korea or have our baby escorted to the United States. This wait time is 3 to 7 months, and varies depending on how quickly paperwork is processed (particularly immigration and emmigration paperwork). We are fortunate that we live in a state that does not have a ton of immigration issues, so the paperwork on our side gets done very quickly. Thanks CIS in Vermont!!! What might be a problem is the Vermont background check because they have recently changed their policies. (btw...it is exactly the same process of fingerprinting and FBI check as immigration) It was taking a couple of weeks, but now is taking 10+ weeks. So, we have to keep a really close eye on our expiration date (only good for one year) and start that paperwork much much sooner.
So to put it in a nut shell. If we are lucky, we could only have 70 more days left of waiting (a little over two months). Based on the fact that last month (January), there really was only one referral (frustrating!!!) and we haven't heard of any this month yet (even more frustrating), we think that we will get our referral some time in May or June. This adds another good 30 days to our wait (at least). And if we have to wait for 10 months, that would add another 192 more days of waiting.
PLEASE keep us in your prayers for a quick wait. The wait really hasn't been that bad, but it does have its days. It is going to get hard once we have a picture of our baby and know information about our baby. Like they have two bottom teeth. Things that we wish we could be there for and are missing.
We thought it would be nice to add a little something about Korea and its culture to the blog. So today We are going to add a little something with each blog.
Today's Little Something...
Korea is much like Vermont because it has the four seasons and many mountains. Korea is a mountainous peninsula extending south-southeast from the northeastern part of the Chinese mainland. Throughout the country, mountains are not high, rarely exceeding 1,200 meters, but they are found almost everywhere. The contrast between winter and summer is striking. Winter is bitterly cold and is influenced primarily by cold Siberian fronts. Summer is hot and humid due to the maritime pacific high. The transitional seasons, spring and autumn are sunny and generally dry. Temperatures in all seasons are somewhat lower than those at the corresponding latitudes in other continents, such as North America or Western Europe. The temperatures in Seoul, which is in the latitude of Richmond, Va., are closer to those in New York which is located 500 kilometers (300 miles) farther north from the latitude of Seoul.
Wide Horizons updated the wait time at the beginning of this month to 6 - 10 months for referral, which is very exciting!!! Some people have asked what that means, what is a referral and etc. When we are matched with a baby in Korea by Holt International (who is like the mother agency of our agency), we will recieve paperwork about the baby and photos. This is called your referral. Our Home Study to Korea (HSTK) date is October 29, 2007. That date starts the clock for the 6 to 10 months of waiting. Once we have reviewed our referral and completed the paperwork, we can accept our referral of our baby. Then the clock starts again. This time we will be waiting to travel to pick up our baby in Korea or have our baby escorted to the United States. This wait time is 3 to 7 months, and varies depending on how quickly paperwork is processed (particularly immigration and emmigration paperwork). We are fortunate that we live in a state that does not have a ton of immigration issues, so the paperwork on our side gets done very quickly. Thanks CIS in Vermont!!! What might be a problem is the Vermont background check because they have recently changed their policies. (btw...it is exactly the same process of fingerprinting and FBI check as immigration) It was taking a couple of weeks, but now is taking 10+ weeks. So, we have to keep a really close eye on our expiration date (only good for one year) and start that paperwork much much sooner.
So to put it in a nut shell. If we are lucky, we could only have 70 more days left of waiting (a little over two months). Based on the fact that last month (January), there really was only one referral (frustrating!!!) and we haven't heard of any this month yet (even more frustrating), we think that we will get our referral some time in May or June. This adds another good 30 days to our wait (at least). And if we have to wait for 10 months, that would add another 192 more days of waiting.
PLEASE keep us in your prayers for a quick wait. The wait really hasn't been that bad, but it does have its days. It is going to get hard once we have a picture of our baby and know information about our baby. Like they have two bottom teeth. Things that we wish we could be there for and are missing.
We thought it would be nice to add a little something about Korea and its culture to the blog. So today We are going to add a little something with each blog.
Today's Little Something...
Korea is much like Vermont because it has the four seasons and many mountains. Korea is a mountainous peninsula extending south-southeast from the northeastern part of the Chinese mainland. Throughout the country, mountains are not high, rarely exceeding 1,200 meters, but they are found almost everywhere. The contrast between winter and summer is striking. Winter is bitterly cold and is influenced primarily by cold Siberian fronts. Summer is hot and humid due to the maritime pacific high. The transitional seasons, spring and autumn are sunny and generally dry. Temperatures in all seasons are somewhat lower than those at the corresponding latitudes in other continents, such as North America or Western Europe. The temperatures in Seoul, which is in the latitude of Richmond, Va., are closer to those in New York which is located 500 kilometers (300 miles) farther north from the latitude of Seoul.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Happy Korean New Year!!!!
Today is the New Year throughout many asian countries, which many of us call is the Chinese New Year. So Happy New Year! I have included some information (or websites) about the Korean New Year below. Hopefully, we will get to celebrate the New Year next year with a new baby.
The 2008 Lunar New Year celebration (Seol) is this week, February 6-8.
2008 is the year of the Rat, which in Asian tradition protects and spreads prosperity. Along with Chusok (the fall harvest festival), Seol is the most important of traditional Korean holidays.
http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0101.htm
http://www.familyculture.com/astrology/rat.htm
The 2008 Lunar New Year celebration (Seol) is this week, February 6-8.
2008 is the year of the Rat, which in Asian tradition protects and spreads prosperity. Along with Chusok (the fall harvest festival), Seol is the most important of traditional Korean holidays.
http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0101.htm
http://www.familyculture.com/astrology/rat.htm
Sunday, February 3, 2008
100 Good Wishes Quilt
Hi, Everyone.
I hope that everyone is doing well. I can't believe it is February already, and before we know it mud season (spring to everyone who isn't in Vermont) will be here soon. We are starting a 100 Good Wishes Quilt (Click on the link below for more information). Thanks.
http://100goodwishes4baby.blogspot.com/
I hope that everyone is doing well. I can't believe it is February already, and before we know it mud season (spring to everyone who isn't in Vermont) will be here soon. We are starting a 100 Good Wishes Quilt (Click on the link below for more information). Thanks.
http://100goodwishes4baby.blogspot.com/
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