We were up bright and early this morning to go to Build-a-Bear. We swung by and picked up my mother-in-law and then off we went. My son was eager to go. We’d been talking about it for the last few days. I wanted him to understand (before we got there) that we were making bears, but that we wouldn’t be taking them with us.

In the three year old world, everything is “I want that” and “mine.” I was pretty sure that we would have a melt down if he didn’t have a good grasp of why we were going. The next problem was how to explain waiting children in a way that my three year old would understand (especially a slightly spoiled three year old).

I started the conversation in... more

The truth is that there is no single way that you should celebrate Arrival Days (or whatever you want to call them). The more accurate title for this post should have been “How to decide how your families want to celebrate Arrival Day”. However, I don’t think that would have fit.

Do you want a huge celebration like in Anne Tyler’s book Digging to America? Do you want to keep it as a small family event? Do you want to celebrate the day at all?

Each way is valid. This year, we’re going to be throwing my son a kid party in September or October. His birthday... more

While there seems to be an adoption agency (reputable and un-reputable) every time I turn a corner, there are not nearly as many who have a Korean Adoption program. So, you have to go out and search for them. Here are a couple of ways to find an agency:

1. Word of Mouth – Do you know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone? Did an aunt, cousin, or neighbor adopt from Korea? What agency did they go through? We found our agency because (at that time) the director of the Korean program was my sister’s social worker. Because I trusted her, I trusted the agency. My second choice was the agency that my sister came through.

2. Internet – There are several sites that have... more