Celebrating without the Guest of Honor

Happy Birthday to You!



 

We cannot believe that our little one is already ONE! Time is already flying by. Yes, it is sad that we are apart from her on her very special day, but the sweet part is, is that each update we get shows her smiling and happy. What more could we ask for?! We had the opportunity to celebrate here with our friends and family and rejoice in her life together. The boys would not let such a special occasion pass without a big party!

Dol (돌)

We had a traditional Korean Dol party (like she will be having in S. Korea with her foster family). Dol (doljanchi) is celebrated for the first birthday of a child.

The first part of the dol celebration is prayer. Traditionally, Koreans would pray to two of the many Korean gods; however, as you can imagine, we believe Yahweh is the One true God, so of course John Mark started our Dol with a prayer to God thanking Him for our daughter's life and celebrating that she is going to be a part of our forever family.

Koreans would prepare the praying table with specific foods: a bowl of steamed rice (check), seaweed soup (miyeok-guk) and a bowl of pure water (we left these out). Layered red bean rice cakes (samshin siru) were placed next to the prayer table. The rice cakes were not shared outside the family. (We had pancakes and we shared them with all!)

Before the main part of the celebration, the baby is dressed in very colorful, ornate clothing called dol-bok. The dol-bok that the child wears differs according to the child’s sex. On our daughter's birthday, the agency and her foster family will dress her in one of these and perform the ceremony. I hear that we also get to keep this when we go to visit her.

The Toljabee is the main celebration of Dol. A large table is prepared with over a dozen different types of rice cakes or ddeok (the main food). Some types of ddeok are paekseolgi (white steamed rice cakes), susu-kyongdan (rice cakes coated with rough red bean powder), mujigae-ddeok (rainbow-colored steamed rice cakes) and gyep'i-ddeok (puffed-air rice cakes). Along with the deeok, fruit is also served; the fruit on the table varies, depending on the season. We had omurice, fried rice, steamed rice, and rice balls along with fruit salad and an assortment of colorful whole fruits on the table. We also had samplings of Kim Chi from a local restaurant and other "breakfast foods" for our brunch celebration.



Food is not the only thing on the table, however; there are items placed on the table as well that symbolize different things. I think what these are varies from region to region as well, because I have read different things. After the table is set, the parents sit the baby on a traditional Korean mattress (bolou) and Korean cushions (bangsuk). This is done so that relatives can get better pictures of the infant. There is also a traditional screen in the background.



Training chop sticks

The toljiabee then begins. The baby picks up various items on the table that attracts him or her. The items that the child picks up are said to predict the child’s future. During our Dol party, we had everyone guess what she was going to pick up. We are waiting for the results to come in from South Korea so that we can see if we were right. We had our guests choose a pencil (for intelligence/arts), money (success), thread (longevity), and a ball (athletics). The overwhelming vote was a pencil.

So... where are we in the process right now?

We are waiting... Our 1-600 paperwork was sent from the US to S. Korea on 10/6/2017. This means it may be there waiting for approval (which can take a couple of months). After approval for our exit permit, we can be submitted for a court date. Each step takes us a little closer. For now, we have to look into re-doing our fingerprints (since our identity keeps changing ;-P ). So, another trip to USCIS in Louisville for us.

Upon our last update, our daughter was crawling. She received our puzzle and gifts that we sent. She is teething like crazy. She can say mommy to her foster mom and big sister. Overall, she is growing and always has a huge smile on her face. We received an update from 10/31/17 with some sweet pictures as well.

Keep praying for our little girl and for our family. Adoption is tough stuff and we are preparing our hearts and minds for anything to come. We are currently reading The Connected Child. We would recommend this read for any family (adoptive or not) and any family members who will be helping raise the child. There are so many valuable things to consider, so pray for us that the Lord will guide our actions and guard our hearts in the days to come as we grow and love our little girl while still investing and loving our boys.

"Happy 1st Birthday!"