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| Tai's Room (We'll just call this the BEFORE photo) |
I promise to share more Italy and Europe stories soon. There
are many lessons that need to be shared. I’m working on them. They are
marinating while I sort them into the “stories that need to be told” pile and
the “stories that should probably/maybe not be shared with the world” pile. :)
In the meantime, I am staring at an empty room. Well, sort
of empty. It is filled with the leftovers and randomness that remain after Anna
moved out and waaaay across the house (in her opinion) to the bedroom on the
other side of the playroom. What makes it empty is the fact that there is no
baby boy sleeping or playing in it. No little boy crying for mama or daddy or
knocking down block towers. This is Tai’s room now, and with only a few days
before Mother’s Day, I’m pretty much bummed about this empty room. Not having this
smiley little guy home yet? Well, it sucks. I don’t let my kids say that word,
but since I am a big kid now I get to have access to ALL OF THE WORDS. It’s a
perk of parenting… getting to use the "bad" words when warranted by the
situation.
That joy-filled, chubby-cheeked baby that many of you saw in
the photos and video is now walking and talking (in Korean). He is twice as
old as he was when we accepted his referral. He is growing, healthy, and meeting
all of his milestones, but HE IS NOT HOME. He is being loved on by his foster
family. He is kissed by his foster siblings before they leave for school each
day, but HE IS NOT HOME. It was easier while we were in Italy because we were
in survival mode for much of the trip. We were either attempting to keep the
kids busy and distracted from our less-than-perfect Italian life or working to
find a store or restaurant that was actually open long enough to sell us food.
I felt like a tour guide, spending hours researching, planning, and booking our
European travel using uncooperative wifi. It was a crazy life, but I didn’t have the time or energy to
get too upset about how long it was taking to bring Tai home.
We received promising news in March that we were making
progress. Unfortunately, we have made no progress since that time, and neither
have any of the other waiting families. I won’t go into details, but let’s just
say that all of those little boys and girls waiting in Korea for their forever
families need some serious prayer. Specifically, I ask that you please pray
that Tai is submitted for emigration permission ASAP. That is our next step. We
would love to have him home by Christmas, but it will likely be another year
before we bring our “baby” home. There are plenty of little ones still waiting
to come home who have celebrated their second and third birthdays in Korea.
Please pray for these children, for the parents who wait for them, and for the
foster families caring for them. Pray that those in power will see the harm
that is done by keeping matched children from their forever families, and that
they will be moved to action. We are seeing more children left in the orphanage
for longer periods of time because it is becoming difficult to find foster
families willing to commit to raising a child for two or three years. It is
heartbreaking for everyone involved.
While we wait, I will clean out the empty room and slap some
paint on the walls. I will continue to send care packages each month, along with
gifts for the foster family. I will purchase two of everything so that Tai will
recognize these items when he comes home, and I will pray for the day when my house
and heart are so full that there are no empty rooms.
