The phone call

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Many things have happened since my last entry....I will try to recap the last 6 weeks!  There have been rumors swirling around that Korea's international adoption program is shutting down.  As you can imagine, we were concerned by this.  Our heart has always been to adopt a child/children who are in need of a mommy, daddy, family and forever home.  After some thought, we decided to meet with an adoption attorney to inquire about domestic adoption.  Around Thanksgiving we met with the attorney.  She gave us some advice and told us to prepare a "profile" book to show potential birth mothers.  I distinctly remember leaving her office and feeling pretty discouraged...the meeting didn't go as I expected.  To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what my expectations were in that meeting, but we both left feeling overwhelmed and overall discouraged. Mickey and I had a conversation on the car ride home about how we felt our adoption didn't seem it would ever happen.  I think its pretty safe to say, when you pursue adoption there are a multitude of emotions, feelings and concerns that you encounter.  I thought I had prepared myself for it...clearly I had not.  There is no preparing yourself for having to look at a referral, praying he/she is your baby and receiving a call from the pediatrician with unexpected bad news.  Or, inquiring about a baby on a photolisting and he/she goes to another family and of course the waiting.  Though there have been some lows in this journey there have also been many highs.  Mickey and I are experiencing this together.  Adoption is uncharted territory for us and it has strengthened our marriage.  It has taught me patience (which is still a work in progress:) and how desperately I need to take my worries, concerns and fears to the Lord.  I have found peace in knowing that God has a plan and purpose in all of this. 

Thanksgiving came and passed and Mickey and I diligently worked on our profile book.  On December 9th, I received a call from our homestudy specialist.  She advised us a birthmother would like to look at our profile book. Her adoptive family backed out and is due to give birth soon.   As you can imagine I was ecstactic and then panicked...we had just finished our profile book, but had not ordered it yet.  Mickey and I scrambled to print out our profile book and turned it into our specialist.  We knew the birthmother would look at our book along with other family's profiles the next day.  As you can imagine, there was a lot of anticipation as we waited for that phone call. By 8 pm we had not received it...we assumed she picked another family.  Mickey and I were getting ready for a Christmas party when my phone rang...it was our homestudy specialist.  It was the phone call that literally changed our world.  The birthmother had chosen us! There were still a lot of unknowns and we made plans to meet with the her on December 12th.  By Monday Mickey and I were a ball of nerves.  We were so excited to meet the birthmother who had chosen us!  On the way there, we received a call from our specialist.  Birthmother was not going to be able to meet with us...she was in the hospital.  The doctors had decided to schedule a cesarean for the next day!

On December 13, 2011 we met our baby girl.  She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz. and measured 19 inches long.  In a matter of days, God revealed His plan for us.   

Life with our baby has been surreal.  I'm still in awe that this little bambino is mine.  Though she has only been with us 13 days, we love her unconditionally!  Our entire family has welcomed her with open arms and they are overjoyed she has found her forever home with us. 

Once we got home from the hospital I called Holt ( our placing agency) to find out what this meant for us in terms of our international adoption.  As long as Korea's international program is still open we wanted to continue to pursue it.  We were informed that Korea announced they would not close the program in 2012 and that we would be on "hold" for six months then could go back on the waiting list to pursue our Korea adoption.  By May 2012 our holding period will expire and we can go back on the waiting list.  What wonderful news!  All this was truly a good and perfect gift from above.



James 1:17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Hello Everyone!

It has been over a month since I last blogged...I'm definitely not receiving the  "blogger of the year" award!  In my last post, I stated that Holt ( our placing agency) sent an email stating their quota had been met for the year.  This meant that even though we could still receive a referral, our process and travel time would be delayed even more.  As you can imagine, this was heartbreaking, but expected.  Since receiving that email, I continued to check Holt's website daily.  A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a familiar face. A little round faced baby boy that I noticed several months prior, but had already been matched with a family when I inquired about him.  Now, he was back on the photo listing and I didn't waste any time calling Holt.  I reminded myself to be cautious and not to become emotionally attached, but that is so much easier said than done.  I couldn't help but fall in love with his round face, almond eyes and hair that naturally stood up like a mohawk:)  I received his medical records and asked for a pediatrician to review them.  We were aware of this little boy's medical condition(s), but the pediatrician's professional opinion was very encouraging. I followed up by calling Holt hoping that because he was on the photo listing that we would have the opportunity to travel sooner if we were to be matched with him.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  We were told we would be lucky to travel in 2012.  Since that phone call, we have been made aware that another family has inquired about him.  We are now in the process of filling out a questionnaire, which will be taken to "committee" at Holt.  They will review each family's questionnaire and make a decision on which family would be best suited for this little guy.  We are praying we are his forever home.

Holding Period

This evening  I logged into my email and noticed we received something from Holt International.  I was praying it would be a referral, but unfortunately, it was not.  We have been informed that Korea has met their quota for the year.  We are now in a "holding period" until January.  I will be calling Holt tomorrow to see where we stand with receiving our referral and what this means for our family.  Please pray this is a small speed bump in our adoption journey.

A Baby Changes Everything

Last night I was feeling a mix of emotions....sadness, frustration, and impatience.  Earlier in the day, I went to the store and  it seemed like everyone woman I passed was pregnant ( and looked absolutely adorable) and/or had children.  I could tell I was becoming moody (Mickey would probably say this is an every day occurrence:), but I didn't understand why.  I realized that moodiness stemmed from our experience with infertility and our adoption process.  I will be the first to admit, I am a very impatient person.  So, right there in the middle of the store I was having myself a little pity party.  Why couldn't I get pregnant? Why haven't we received a referral yet?  All I could think about were the superficial things; like, how fun it would be to dress the baby up for Halloween or our first Christmas with our little one.

Later that evening, while watching TV a commercial came on.  I honestly felt like God was throwing out a little reminder in regards to my little pity party I had earlier in the day.  This commercial just made me smile and tear up a little.  I realized I should be praising the Lord for giving Mickey and me the opportunity to adopt!  Not feeling sorry for myself and doubting Him!  He has an amazing plan for us I am certain.

Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


Below is the commercial I saw last night.  

Having a baby changes everything - "Sink"

Fingerprints and Festivals

Hi Everyone!

What a busy weekend!  On Friday, Mickey and I had our fingerprints taken for our I600a forms.  Later that afternoon, I went to Indiana to start off our third festival.  Overall, we had a great weekend and Madison Court Days proved to be a success!  We appreciate everyone who stopped by our booth to purchase items and encouraged us through the process.  Our next festival will be in Bethlehem IN. at Autumn on the River.  That festival will be held October 15th-17th.

Just to let everyone know, I called Holt International this past Wednesday.  Unfortunately, the Waiting Child coordinator could not give me a time frame on when we might receive a referral.  She also advised that if we were to receive a referral soon, we would be looking at 6-8 months before we could travel.  God continues to remind me that our perfect baby is out there and on His time we will receive him or her:)

Commiskey Days

Hello!

I'm a little delayed in posting about our second fall festival...oops!  We are in Commiskey Indiana this weekend for Commiskey Days!  Thank goodness for Mom and Aunt Beckie for  running our booth again, due to Mickey and I having to work.  Hopefully, we will have another beautiful fall day tomorrow for the festival.

For anyone who plans on coming to the festival, we will be at space 107...come visit us:)

More Fall Festivals!

Hello Everyone!
 
You never know what to expect when living in the Ohio Valley! Even though we weathered 100 degree temperatures, torrential downpours and colder weather; our first fall festival was a success!  We were so blessed to have met people who shared our interest in international adoption and shared their adoption journeys.  We are so thankful for everyone who stopped by our booth to purchase our jewelry or give us words of encouragement to reaching our ultimate goal...bringing home our little one.

Our next festival will be at Commiskey Days which will be held September 16th-18th.  I'm not sure of our booth space yet, but will post as soon as we find out!  I hope to post pictures of some new pieces that I am working on in the near future.  These pieces will be sold at the upcoming festivals:)

Family Help

Hi y'all!

Today was the first day of the Vernon IN. festival...and it was a hot one!  Unfortunately, I had to work and Mickey had to stay at home because he is next to pick up a homicide investigation.  But, thank goodness for my mom and Aunt Beckie, who volunteered to "man" our booth in 100 degree weather!  Tomorrow, Mom and I will be at the booth and hopefully we will have cooler temperatures.  We will be at booth 524, which is located on Pike Street between Brown Street and the stone bridge.

Yesterday, we received our letter in reference to our I600a form.  We are scheduled to be fingerprinted on September 23rd. Another baby step...we are getting there:)

Fundraising Party & Fall Festivals!

Hello!

Our first fundraising party was last Friday and we had a wonderful outcome!  So many family and friends came to visit and purchase merchandise.  We cannot thank everyone enough for all the love and support!

Also, I am excited to share with everyone that I will be selling my jewelry at an upcoming festival!  We will be in North Vernon Indiana at Old Vernon Days September 3rd-5th.  I am not sure of our booth location, but will post soon.  I have also been working on ear rings and will post those pictures as well.




 

Baptism, Parties, and Paperwork...Oh my!

Hello!

We've had a very busy couple days! In the last week we celebrated my birthday, Gabrielle's baptism, our anniversary and preparing for the upcoming adoption party! If that wasn't enough, we received an email from the director of Adoption Assistance, letting us know it was time to send in our I600a form. The official name of the I600A is the “Application For Advance Processing of Orphan Petition”. The form is the key to processing the international adoption and for processing the immigration of the adopted child. Unfortunately, this form could take up to 50-60 days to be processed. Again, we must patiently wait and pray that this part of the process goes smoothly.

Also, I wanted to update everyone on Our Hope Necklace Project. I am in awe by all the people who have purchased my necklaces! I have a few new pearls that I have wire wrapped and are now available!  These will be shown at the adoption party.

The above necklace is a 18" snake chain, with hope affirmation charm and green freshwater pearl.

In the above picture my mother is wearing the 18" snake chain, hope affirmation charm, with a pink freshwater pearl.

In the above picture my mother is wearing the 16" tiny ball and chain necklace, hope affirmation charm, and peacock blue freshwater pearl.  

Our Hope Necklace Project

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to debut a project I have been working on the last couple of months. I started Our Hope Necklace in hopes to raise money for our upcoming adoption.   Thanks to my lovely models (my mother, sister and two stepdaughters) who allowed me to photograph them for the blog!  I am asking $15 per necklace.  If you would like one, please contact me!

In the below photo my mother is wearing an 18" silver snake chain, with the antique silver hope affirmation charm, adorned with a wire wrapped simple pearl charm.

In the below photo, my lovely model (Gabrielle) is wearing an 18" snake chain, silver hope affirmation charm, and beautiful olive green simple pearl.

This gorgeous model (Bella) is also wearing the 18" snake necklace, antique silver hope affirmation charm, and wire wrapped simple pearl charm.

My next model (Susan) is wearing the 16" tiny ball/chain necklace, antique silver hope affirmation charm, and olive green simple pearl.

The below picture is of the 16" tiny ball/chain necklace, antique silver hope affirmation charm, and wire wrapped simple pearl.

Our last model was feeling a little left out.  Of course, I had to post of picture of her:)

Baby Steps...

Hello Everyone!

Its been hectic the last several days so I'm just now getting a chance to write. The summer is winding down and the girls will be heading back to New York for school (they reside with their mother part of the time), but it still seems like life has been nonstop! Since I last wrote, we received some news. Several days ago I was doing crafts with the girls and my phone rang; it was the program director from Holt. She advised they had received all our paperwork and would be sending it to Korea! Of course, I had a million questions and thankfully she was very patient with me. I'm sure that I am being labeled "that woman" in their Oregon office:) Its a baby step, but we are a little bit closer to getting our little one home:)


Also, I wanted to let everyone know, we will be hosting an adoption fundraising party on (Friday) August 19th at 6 p.m. It will be hosted at Richie and Susan Buchanan's house located at 75 North Highway 31 Austin, IN. 47102. The girls really wanted to participate and be here so we are hosting it a little sooner than expected. The plan is to host two parties.  One for family and friends in Scottsburg and another party (at a later date) for family and friends in Louisville. If you plan on attending please leave a comment or send me an email. I will also be sending out invitations and a Facebook invitation.  We will be selling merchandise from 147 Million Orphans, Just Love Coffee and some items that I have been working on.  I'm hoping to get those items posted tomorrow!

Also, I wanted to thank everyone who emailed and said they were praying for us.  Words cannot describe how much that means to us:)

We are on Facebook!

Hi y'all!

We have shared our blog on Facebook!  If anyone has questions for us or about the fund raising organizations, please ask.  Right now we only have four members on our blog, so please sign up too! 

For our fundraising, I will be hosting a 147 Million Orphans and Just Love Coffee parties in the near future.   I will post more information on our blog once we figure out a date. 

Just to keep everyone up to date in the process...

After having to turn down our first "referral", I immediately turned in our paperwork to Holt International (the placing agency we had decided on before we were called about the referral).  I was getting concerned because I had not heard back from Holt, so I called.  Unfortunately, they did not receive all the  mailed paperwork or the application we submitted. The last couple days have been spent resubmitting our application, getting paperwork notarized and mailing off documents again. I seriously believe God is teaching me a hard lesson in patience...He knows I definitely need it:)

Now, we wait to hear back from Holt. 

Stop the Traffic 5K

To the right of the blog, we placed a link for "Stop the Traffic 5K".  The website contains information on an upcoming 5K run (October 8, 2011) for the purpose of raising awareness of an often unknown or unthought about epidemic known as human trafficking.  The victim's of human trafficking are often women and children and effects every major city in the U.S., including Louisville.

800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year an estimated 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked annually in the United States alone more than 200,000 American children are at high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year ~80% of trafficked persons are women and children Check out the website and run away for those who can't!

Helping the "Little Ones"

Hello Everyone!

We just added several links to our blog and would like to share with you all. Mickey and I discovered fairly quickly how expensive international adoption would be. In order to bring a child home, it is costing us approximately $25,00-$30,000, as of now.  To help with the costs, we are attempting to raise money through fundraisers, possible grants, donations, etc.  We have listed a few links to the left side of our blog regarding such possibilities.  A couple of the organizations listed will help provide food, water and medication for children in need, as well as help fund our adoption.

Just Love Coffee

 

A little bit about Rob, coffee and his cause...

"Rob Webb knows coffee.  When Rob was two years old, his father started Webb's Coffee Service, which blossomed into a full-blown refreshment service supplying businesses in Nashville, TN and the surrounding areas, and is now run by Rob. 

Rob Webb knows the adoption process.  In the summer of 2008, Rob and his wife Emily were called to adopt from Ethiopia. After much prayer and discussion with their first two children they started their adoption journey in August 2008. During the flurry of paperwork and preparation, Rob & Emily read books not only on adoption in general, but specifically on Ethiopia. Learning that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee caught Rob's attention, and after reading about the living conditions and wages of the average coffee farmer, he was compelled to take action. What developed through his reading and his trip to Ethiopia to unite with his daughters was a realization that he could combine his expertise and longstanding desire to roast his own coffees with his desire to help others.  Just Love Coffee Roasters was born!  Roasting Fair Trade Specialty coffees, Just Love uses proceeds to help an Ethiopian orphanage and families adopting not just from Ethiopia, but from anywhere in the world."

On the left column of our blog you will see a link to "Just Love Coffee".  When you click on the link it will take you to the Cohn Family store front where you can buy these gourmet coffees.  Everytime you purchase a bag of coffee from our blog, you will be helping a child in need and $5 of the proceeds fund our adoption.


147 Million Orphans


Mickey and I were fortunate to have crossed paths this summer with the founders of 147 Million Orphans Organization.  Below is their story and what their organization stands for.

We are two moms who love orphans! We met six years ago as we were both going through our first adoptions (one domestic and one international) … Thirteen kids and seven adoptions later, we are bound together through faith and mission. We love “doing life together” and accepting the call to speak up for orphans everywhere. We want to help as many people as possible to see the 147 million orphans as scripture calls them, “…those who have no voice.”   We want you to see YOUR PART in helping change the life of an orphan. Could it be adoption, sponsoring a child, volunteering for orphan care ministry, rocking babies at an orphanage, financially supporting someone adopting, or buying these products?

 
    Helping You Help 147 Million Orphans...
Your purchase provides food, water & medicine to a child in need

When you click on the 147 Million Orphans link on our blog, it will directly take you to the fundraising merchandise.  When you purchase fundraising merchandise it will not only help a child in need, but part of the proceeds will help fund our adoption.  

If you would like to purchase a fundraising item from our blog, please contact us and we will place the order for you.  Unfortunately, the program is not set up to where you can go to our blog and directly order the item yourself at this time.

Amazon.com

                                      

On the left column of our blog you will see a link for Amazon.com.  If you purchase items from Amazon, you can click on the link on our blog.  Every time you use this link and purchase something (it cost you nothing, except for the price of the item) a small amount of the proceeds goes towards our adoption fund!  So if you routinely use Amazon.com, or plan on ordering from it, for any item, PLEASE access it through our blog : )

Donate Button

                                      

If you feel the desire to donate directly to our adoption fund, you can do so by clicking the "donate" button.  


Mickey and I cannot express enough how grateful and appreciative we are for purchases or donations made.  We are humbled by everyone's generosity.  Thank you!


  

Proverbs 3:5-6

Hello everyone.

A lot has happened in the last several days and I am just now getting around to blogging.  I felt the title of this particular blog needed to be Proverbs 3:5-6 because the verse spoke to me and is helping me get through this adoption process.

Several days ago, Mickey and I had finished our paperwork for the placing agency and was getting ready to mail it off. We had just ate lunch and while sitting in my patrol car (literally putting all the documents into a folder to be mailed) my cell phone rang.  It was our homestudy specialist, who called to say the director wanted to talk to us about a little girl at a different placing agency.  I cannot describe how excited I was to think a week after our last homestudy visit and we could possibly be matched with a child!   Several minutes later, the director called and said there was an eight month old little girl who has not been matched yet; her special need was that she was visually impaired.  The placing agency wanted us to send our medical checklist before they even officially "referred" us this little one.  Mickey and I had put "minor" vision impairment on our checklist so we were uncertain if we would be referred.  Again, I can't emphasize enough the timing of how all this played out and how God is working in our lives. 

The next day, our director sent an email saying the placing agency was sending this little one's medical records...we were told she specifically matched our medical checklist!  I couldn't believe how fast all this was happening....and I couldn't stop staring at pictures of this sweet little face.  I quickly called the pediatrician and contacted a pediatric ophthamologist since we knew she had a "minor" visual impairment.  Both agreed to look at her records and give their professional opinion. 

Yesterday, we received a copy of her medical records and took them to both doctors.  Several hours later, we were at a friend's house eating dinner and my cell phone rang,it was the ophthamologist!  I listened to what Dr. Douglas said and my heart sank.  Our "future" little one did not have a "minor" visual impairment.  She was blind.  Words cannot describe how I felt at that moment and how I still feel.  How could this happen?  We were told she matched our checklist.  My friend consoled me and she was able to relate to what Mickey and I were going through (our friends had been through a similar situation with their adoption). 

Later that night, (10:57pm to be exact) my cell phone rang again; it was the pediatrician.  When I thought my heart couldn't be any more broken, Dr. Hinkebein gave us even more devestating news.  He described her medical conditions in detail and they were not "minor" by any means.  I just sat at the table and sobbed.  My mind raced and I felt guilty...and still do.  I felt guilt over the fact if I was pregnant with this little girl and she had all these conditions I wouldn't say "no" to her.  I wouldn't abort her or  get rid of her because she was special needs.  I would love her unconditionally and she would be perfect.  But, these were different circumstances and this was not a pregnancy.  We filled out the checklist with realistic expectations of what we felt we could handle given our situation. Mickey consoled me and expressed that we need to pray for this little girl and pray that a family, who is open to her needs, will adopt her.  It was such an overwhelming feeling of mixed emotions to know she was not our "little one".

This morning, I was looking through scripture and came across Proverbs 3:5-6.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding;
       ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.

I don't understand "why" this happened, but I must lean on Him.  I will pray for that sweet baby girl, her birthmother, foster parents and for that very fortunate family that will someday adopt her.

This is a learning experience and we are learning.

The Furbaby!

Our Family

Family Photos

Our first post!

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are in the process of adopting out of South Korea and thought it would be fun to share our journey with family, friends and anyone else who would like to follow!  We began our adoption process in May 2011. Since we are new to blogging, I will give you a little history of our family and what our adoption journey has been like thus far!

My name is Jacklyn and my husband's name is Micah ( but we call him Mickey). We got married on August 16, 2008. I have two wonderful step-daughters and a pug named Sydney ( who I will often refer to as my furbaby). I will spare a lot of the details here, but after doctor visits, tests and a fertility specialist I was given a diagnosis. At that point, we really felt as if God was pointing us down the road to adoption. On May 23, 2011 we met with the director of Adoption Assistance Inc. and turned our initial application in on May 24, 2011. We had officially started our Korean adoption journey! On June 13, 2011 we had our first homestudy visit and on July 13, 2011 we had our second "in home" homestudy visit. We are in the process of turning our paperwork into our placing agency.