BEAUTIFUL BOY

What more can I say? He's beautiful. The first two pictures are the first pictures we saw of our son. Like I said, I waited all day for Imants to come home to open them. I checked my inbox periodically to ensure that they were still there, but I did not open them until we could do it as a family. It was torture, but I'm so glad I waited. It was an amazing moment, meant to be shared.




A week after our match, I received another e-mail from our agency. I was shocked and elated to discover a new updated picture of our sweet little boy. This time I called Imants at work, sent him the e-mail, and at the count of 3 we opened it together.

DIFFERENT TRIPS TO THE SAME PLACE

Along the path to motherhood, you hear everybody's story. The good and the bad. Some have it easy, some have had it hard. Someone shared the following essay with me, and I thought of all those mom's and the path they took/are taking to get there. I thought I'd share it here...

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place; you’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain that you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip. So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there’s no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait---and wait---and wait. Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually get on the plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, “It’s not fair!” After a long time, the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.” “By BOAT!” you say. “Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than by air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip. Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air. People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh, be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy.” You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not the way you get there, but in the place itself.

Author Unknown

I'm lucky enough to make the trip by both plane and boat. Both are equally amazing thus far. Hopefully the boat docks soon though because this trip is LONG. :)

SUCH SMALL THINGS

Finally, I can start designing and planning a baby nursery. I LOVE doing stuff like this. I wanted to pick something special and plan the room around it. I chose the following print by Brian Andreas.

The words perfectly express the journey to our son. It says:

For a long time there were only your footprints & laughter in our dreams
& even from such small things,
we knew we could not wait to love you forever


My sister introduced me to this artist and I love his work. I have a few of his books, but I never bought a print. I was waiting for that perfect one for the perfect situation.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, to all the Papa's out there, especially ours.
With Love,
Marcie, Livija and Kalvis

A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS

Still waiting and dying to post pictures of our son. I finally got the ok to do so, but my laptop is broken and the new one is one it's way. Hopefully this week I'll be able to post pictures of our him. In more exciting news, I have more than just those first referral pictures. One week after our match, I was surprised once again by a new picture of Kalvis. It was a bittersweet moment. My first emotion was excitement and amazement at how much he had grown! My second thought was, "Wow, look how much we have already missed". So it goes, with the roller coaster that is adoption though. You just have to have faith that for whatever reason, this is the way it is intended to be.
We enlarged our pictures into 8x10s and Kalvis' proud papa placed them in our bedroom, so he is the first site we see in the morning, and our last at night. Somewhere in the midst of staring at these pictures a new emotion crept in. An emotion that I truly didn't sense missing, until I felt it. I now look at Kalvis as I look at photos of Livija. Those maternal feelings wash over me at the site of him. It makes this wait more difficult, as I now feel an emptiness that won't be filled until he is home. At the same time, it erases any trace of doubt and fear. And fills me with a sense of awe in the fact that for whatever reason (and we may never truly understand), our son was meant to be born a world away, by a woman we may never know, and cared for by a foster mother that will help mold him as a baby into the man he is meant to become.

QUESTIONS

It seems everyone has the same questions. What is his name? What does that mean? When will he come home? Why the wait? Will we travel or escort? Will Livija come? How long will you be there? How is Livija handling the news?

Our son's (love saying that) name is Kalvis Tae-seong. Kalvis (pronounced coll-vis) is a Latvian name to fit in with our Latvian family. Tae-seong is his given name. We are keeping that to honor his culture. Tae means big and seong means accomplish.

When will he come home?/Why the wait?
The wait for travel can be anywhere between 3 and 6 months. Typically I see 3-4 months, but you never know. During this time the paperwork begins. Last night we filled out a mountain of paperwork for our official acceptance. Once this paperwork arrives in Korea, we start counting down.
Other than that, I am still figuring it all out. Lots of paperwork and waiting for approval. If the government is quick, it'll be quick, but we all know that can be unpredictable.
Will we travel or escort? You don't have to travel to Korea. You could use an escort. We, however, cannot wait to travel. I think seeing his home country, and meeting his foster mother will be an amazing experience. One we can share with him one day. The trip will only be about 5 days long. No, Livija will not come. I'm thinking a 13+ hour flight and a 12 hour time difference will be too difficult for a 3 (probably 4 at that time) year old. Also, I am already nervous about flying home with our son :) . I think he needs our undivided attention during what is bound to be a difficult, confusing transition for him. Livija will meet us at the airport where we will become a family of 4. YAY!

How is Livija handling the news?
She is excited. A bit confused that we aren't leaving today, but excited. I hear questions all day like, "When can we get my baby?" "Can I see pictures of my baby?" "Can we get my baby a baby rattle?" We are starting to push the term, "My baby brother" as I think she believes we are getting HER a baby. Her cousins are starting to refer to Livija as "Having a baby". LOL.

Overall we are all ecstatic! Summer months tend to fly by, so I'm hoping this wait isn't torture. Summer fun, baby nurseries, Livija... they will all help the time fly. I'll reread that part in a few months when I'm tearing my hair out.

WE HAVE A SON!

June 2, 2009 we received a very exciting, highly anticipated (and yet very unexpected phone call). It was time to update our homestudy so I wasn't shocked that the social worker called. I didn't get my hopes up, or expect to hear the words that followed... "We have a baby for you". I just about fell to the floor. I said, "No, I thought you were calling to update the homestudy!". I was wrong. She was calling because there is a beautiful, healthy baby boy waiting for us in Korea. The tears immediately began to flow. I barely remember the rest of the conversation. I searched for a pen and paper, but she assured me that the information was all on it's way via e-mail. The information and a picture. A PICTURE OF OUR SON!!! I promised myself I would not look until Imants was home (HOURS LATER), and we could both see our son for the very first time together.
I first told Livija. I said what do you think about us adopting a baby like in your book, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes? Her eyes got wide and serious and she said, "Mom, what are you saying to me?". I said, "You are going to be a big sister". It took a minute, but a smile slowly formed across her face and she said, "Let's go".
Livija and I kept busy the rest of the day creating a surprise for Papa.

We then waited for about a half hour in the driveway, with my camera in hand (of course), so we could capture the moment Imants found out he had a son.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Finally the time came to sit down as a family, learn about our son and see his beautiful picture. I'm not sure that I can post the picture just yet, but trust me, he is gorgeous and so so sweet.
Our son was born January 30th 2009, weighing 7 lbs 8 oz. He smiles spontaneously in his sleep. He gets a bath every other day between 9am and 10am. He is in perfect health and appears to be hitting all his milestones appropriately.
I'm still in shock. I stare at his picture most of the day, reading and rereading all the information about him. Livi calls him "My baby" or "My brother".
We waited "until someday" for this moment. Now we wait until the next someday for our baby to be in our arms. There is a series of hoops we must jump through from here (visas, immigration...), but hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later.
Until then, check in more often. I have a feeling this blog is about to get a lot more active.