For me, this is one of those topics that are both old and new. It’s old because once upon a time I was the child being prepared for a new sibling and new because now I have a son who will need to be prepared. How will I do it? I wish I knew. Mostly, I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for the past two and a half years – figure it out while I go.

The first thing I did was observe my friends and family. Many in our group have had more than one child and, though not through adoption, they did have to prepare their children for a new sibling.... more

So, I’m cruising through my e-mail and I see the KAAN newsletter in my inbox. I love KAAN and I love the information that it brings. Front and center is a link to Korea.net about a Korean singer named Rain. (Follow the link to see a picture.) Oh, I’ve heard of Rain before. You can’t surf the world wide web for Korean news and not know about Rain, but this time it was about a tour in the United States.

I do realize that the chances of him coming... more

Several people have written to me because they are concerned that the area they live in is not multicultural enough. Some have expressed the desire to move while others are not able to make such a drastic life change. Here are some ideas that I have thought of (or heard of) that can help you bring Korea to your home.

1. Travel To Korea – Okay, I know this isn’t exactly your home, but traveling can bring the experience home and it’s something your whole family will have forever. If you’re not comfortable traveling on your own, join... more

Someone was complaining to me that the Korean adoption process is too difficult and too long. Why, this person demanded, can’t they make it easier?

So, I started thinking about what you had to do in a Korean adoption…

1. Find an agency 2. Preliminary Application 3. Full Application a. Doctor’s visit b. Biographies c. Reference Letters d. Financials 4. Homestudy 5. Government Paperwork 6. More Government Paperwork 7. Waiting

There were times during the process that I also wondered why the Korean adoption process couldn’t be a little easier. However, looking at it from a different point of view, why should... more

As I’ve talked about in past posts, January 1st marked some changes in the Korean adoption process. The one that I think will affect prospective parents the most is the new five month rule. Korean children will be placed for domestic adoption only for the first five months and then they will be eligible to be referred for international adoption. The initial result will be that children will be older at referral and thus older when the travel call comes.

Because Korean children are generally placed in foster care very early, the... more

The first few times we cooked with tofu, it was a complete disaster. We almost gave up. We tend to favor the tofu that is packed in water. Even the extra firm tofu wasn’t staying firm for us. By trial and error, we learned that it stayed a lot firmer if we used a towel to soak out some of the extra water.

Awhile back, I wrote that I was going to cook Korean food. Well, my mother gave me a Korean cooking set for Christmas. She created a basket with rice bowls, chopsticks,... more

Tofu is something that turns up in many Asian dishes. When the word tofu is spoken, I generally get one three reactions:

1. What is a tofu? 2. Yuck 3. I like tofu.

My husband and I are in the third category and my mother is in the second category. So, you know my fondness for tofu is not because I grew up with it. We started eating tofu about five years ago. We’ve discovered that firm tofu can replace almost any meat (if done right). We have tofu tacos, tofu goulash, tofu stir fry… Even better, my son loves tofu.

What... more

My son worships at my sister’s feet – quite literally actually. He has a real fetish for her feet. We have several pictures of him checking out my sister C’s feet.

C and her boyfriend, J, came to visit us on New Years Eve and the adoration continued. My son was leading C around by the hand and demanded her undivided attention. I’ve always found his attraction very odd. Not because C doesn’t pay attention to him, but because until this last visit, there really hasn’t been an opportunity to bond. We see them at major holidays and family events, but... more

My son is upstairs putting a puzzle together. He loves puzzles and this one happens to be a puzzle of vehicles (cars, planes, trains, etc…). I would be right there with him if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve already put this same puzzle together with him at least a dozen times in the last thirty minutes. No one will ever be able to tell me that he’s not focused.

So, I left my son with his father so that he could put the puzzle together for the thirteenth time. My husband does not mind. He’s watching the third or fourth football game of the day. I... more

On my other blog, I wrote a sentence that I thought perfectly summed up my feelings right now. I wrote, “I plan to revel in the fact that I can look back on 2006 without regrets and that I can welcome 2007 without fear.”

Link: What Did I do in 2006?

This year has been full of firsts and good things. I really didn’t know much about blogging until this year. Oh, I knew it was the latest craze, but I didn’t understand the ins and outs. So, when I decided to apply for a position on this site as a blogger, I was really coming in blind. All I can say is that I wouldn’t have... more