tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76170285795405885152024-03-21T16:21:56.895-04:003 Little Monkeys Jumping on the BedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-7727359737345400612013-12-04T13:51:00.001-05:002013-12-04T13:51:28.433-05:0010 years ago today........I woke up at 6:30 and once the fog cleared from my head, I realized that I was going to meet my baby boy that day. My dad had just come home from the hospital the night before after knee surgery and an infection, he was on a few drugs and bit loopy. I remember clearly walking up the stairs and seeing my Mom at the top of the stairs and sheepishly calling her name and she just looked at me with wide eyes and said "No. No you're not." She was excited for the baby but leaving my dad alone that day seemed like a bad idea to all of us. <br />
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Around 7 the snow really started to pick up (of course, like anything else would happen in December in upstate NY) so my mom called my awesome Aunt J who came throughout the day to check on my dad and a little after 7:30 we hit the road. A little after 9 we arrived at my doctor's office. The receptionists were excited and asked how things were going, they told me I had plenty of time (not exactly the words I wanted to hear) and I believed them until I got back to the doctor who was asking me some questions and then stopped to say my contractions were not every 5 min but every 2 and that I really needed to get to the hospital!<br />
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I refused the wheelchair and walked across the street to the hospital and by the time I got to the L&D floor the woman sort of took her time getting to us and then said that the floor was booked up. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights at that point b/c I was now dying for a bed. I told her my doctor had just called and she rushed into action saying "you're the one who's 8 cm, I thought you'd be in a wheelchair!". I got the last room very quickly, my doctor came and hung out with me since I was likely the next to deliver. I had the crabbiest nurse ever and I was pretty freaked out so it wasn't exactly the happiest hours in the hospital but at exactly 1 pm my baby boy was born! He didn't have a name yet because I needed to talk to Brian first who was in Iraq. I called the Red Cross and sent a message right away. A few minutes later my phone rang and I can still hear my Dad's loopy voice asking "What ya doing?" I told him I just had a baby and he replied that that was nice and I was laughing, I could hear Aunt J asking for the phone! She got on and I gave her the details (since she was more likely to remember them). That evening my grandparents flew into Syracuse. What perfect timing that was - they had planned to be there for a couple of weeks and we were all praying they'd get to spend some time with the baby before flying back and he decided to be born that day! <br />
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Much of that day is a blur, we had many amazing visitors that day and the next which was a huge blessing. I loved having people visit and I loved spending time with my sweet boy! My amazing Mother-in-law came as quickly as she could and got in around 10:30 at night (she was at work when I called and had to pack and come from NJ). I was so relieved to see her! At midnight my cell phone finally rang! Brian and I got to talk and he could hear all the details about our perfect baby boy. When the phone card cut off our Moms looked at me and yelled "A NAME?!?" It was driving them a little crazy not to know. :) I told them that Brian was calling right back and they said fine, they left the room and said that when they got back there better be a name! :) <br />
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Brian called back and Benjamin Hyatt McGarry was named. My first perfect Christmas Gift. I am so blessed to be his Mom and I can't believe it's been 10 years!!! I'm so proud of you sweet boy, you're such a smart, funny, crazy boy with a big heart and I love you tons!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-53411541880682393182013-09-08T17:14:00.001-04:002013-09-08T17:14:36.655-04:00You take the orphan's hand (beware, not entirely a happy post, even if it has a good ending)Today at church we sang a song called "You are I Am" One of the lines in the song is the title of this post and it really struck me. I think it especially comes through when you hear (or read) the other lyrics with it. I'll post the lyrics below and you can listen on youtube if you're interested. It's really about relying on God and not your own strength, and about what God can do. It made me think of my most desperate prayers....<br />
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I was desperate to have my son home with me. I spent nights crying, longing, my arms aching, but those were NOT my most desperate prayers.<br />
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I think that my child's time in the orphanage (we can call it a baby reception house, but it's an orphanage for babies, really) effected him a lot, he was young, but it was hard. With possibly that month long exception, I think the day he most felt like an orphan the day we took him away from everything he knew. He felt abandoned. He felt alone. He did not realize that his foster parents weren't his parents. He felt loved there. I'm not sure he felt as secure as he should have due to all of the transitions in his past, but he did feel loved. Then these strangers who couldn't even communicate with him took him away from those he loved, familiar places, and changed his whole life.<br />
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I saw my child grieve. I saw my child angry. I saw my child reject everything in sight wishing for what was lost, hoping that if he pushes us away enough and shuts his eyes tight enough that he could get back there. I cried myself to sleep once he finally exhausted himself and fell asleep. That is when I whispered my most desperate prayers. For healing for my child.<br />
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Today I can confidently tell you that he wants to be with us. That he feels loved. That he is (mostly) secure! What a miracle because for more than a year I prayed this. Maybe not as desperately as those first couple of months, but there were times I wondered if he would heal further, if he would ever feel secure (because at a year home, we weren't quite there). So when that line of the song hit me today, it was to tell me that Daniel is not an orphan. He is our child and God walked him through that time where he felt alone and needed healing. It was a reminder that God answers our prayers. <br />
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I don't want people to think that prayer was all it took. God tells us to pray but also asks us to put in the work. It has been almost 16 months (wow!) since Daniel came home. October 1st he will be with us longer than he was in Korea. It's been a long 16 months with a lot of hard work on our part and a lot of patience, and a lot of learning on his part. Learning to trust, to let himself love again, to deal with his anger without as many physical outbursts, and so much more. But God sustained us and gave us strength to continue in the darkest times, and he brought healing to our sweet Suhbin-ah. :) I am filled with awe and praise today and I wanted to share it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-46609013019150645632013-07-17T22:25:00.001-04:002013-07-17T22:29:03.193-04:004 Special WordsOn Saturday, July 13th, I finally heard 4 words I have waited what feels like eons to hear! I was putting Daniel to bed and I said "I love you D" and he said "I love you Ommy!"!!!!! :) We have prompted him to say I love you before this, and earlier in the week he told my husband he loved him without any prompting, this was the first time he said it to me. I can't tell you the amazing feeling to hear my child say that. Of course I knew that he loved us and we loved him, but it is such a special thing to hear your child say it. B and E would say "luv oo" really early on so it wasn't something I waited for in the same way. It was really special then too, it's just different situations. <br />
With a more difficult transition than I think we fully expected, with attachment being quite an ongoing process over the past year + and with all of the craziness in our move right now (Saturday marked the end of the 6th week of traveling/being without a home as we are in the process of moving) this was such an amazing blessing! D is doing so much better than I ever expected during this crazy time and I am so thankful to God's awesome provision for all of us. <br />
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On a completely different note - I am celebrating that my friends B and J along with their older son will be traveling to bring home their younger son in August! This news has made me over the moon happy! Adoptions in Korea have been way less predictable than we ever could have imagined, so I am so thankful that they are finally able to travel!!! Praise God!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-32193800847168516742013-05-17T16:11:00.002-04:002013-05-17T16:11:21.433-04:00Family Day!1 year ago today we walked into SWS and the only thing I could think was that I felt like I was going to throw up. I was so incredibly nervous and sad and of course a little excited too. I wanted my boy so much, but I knew how much this was going to hurt him initially and I dreaded that. I don't want to hurt my children, but the only way he could become our child was through that loss and pain. That right there is the hardest part of adoption.<br /><br />We were greeted by our Social Worker, and soon after we saw DS and his foster family arrive. We were all ushered into a room (a different tiny room) where we sat on the floor and all awkwardly talked talked to DS because we didn't understand each other. The Social Worker joined us with some final paperwork which we did quickly. The Foster Family gave us some wonderful things, tons of pictures of DS, some clothes he had worn, his Hanbok from his first birthday, and, of course, Mong Mong. His beloved dog that is his immense comfort. <br />
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We thanked them and all sort of started to say good bye. We headed into the hallway, the foster family got DS ready to go. When it was time they asked us to step into the tiny (very very tiny) elevator with the Social Worker and then DS's Foster Mom handed him to me. It was hard. She had tears in her eyes and his Foster Father was obviously upset to say goodbye to DS. I got the feeling that the two of them were very close. The elevator doors shut with DS trying to reach out of them. He spent the elevator ride trying to push away from me, screaming for his Foster Family and my heart just shattered. I whispered "Kwen chan ah" which the SW and FM had told me to do. I patted his back and tried to comfort him. Nothing seemed to work but after a very long ride (and a stop on one floor where the woman saw that obviously she did not want to share an elevator with us) we stepped out into the construction zone on the 1st floor of SWS. DS was fascinated and stopped crying until we got outside. Once outside I wanted to get him in the carrier, but we knew that there was a chance the Foster parents would be out soon and we wanted to get out of sight before that happened. We hurried down the street, then got Daniel into the carrier once we rounded the corner. We walked back to the hotel like that and once we got to the main street he stopped crying again because he was looking at all of the cars and trucks going by. <br />
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The hotel room was his least favorite place. Maybe it felt too home-like? Maybe it felt confining? Maybe it made this seem too permanent? Not sure, but he hated it at first! So out we went to walk around with him. The entire time in Seoul he wanted to be carried! He would get down for a few minutes here or there - in the hotel room or to play on some stairs - but mostly he wanted to be in the carrier all the time. I am so so thankful that we had the carrier with us. It was a lifesaver. <br />
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We took walks, went to a beautiful park, picked up a few take out items on the street for dinner (no idea what he would eat - we were told he's picky!), went to 7-11 for soy milk, headed back to the hotel to eat, skype with my parents and the kids, and see what we could do to help him feel more comfortable. It was quite a day but we survived it and we even saw some faint smiles through the tears (not many, we had no idea what a smiley kid he was for a while). Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-84201288420246296822013-05-17T00:11:00.003-04:002013-05-17T00:11:25.735-04:00Remembering Seoul, Day 3This morning was pretty relaxed, we explored near the hotel. Gangnam is a nice area. It really caters towards business people, but lots of restaurants and easy walking. A beautiful area to explore. We met our new friends, Andrew and Ashley for lunch before our 2nd meeting (they were having their second meeting with their sweet boy T, too!). We went to McDonald's. It's just one of those places that is interesting to try in other areas. We got a bulgogi burger. I'll be sticking with the Big Mac and have my Bulgogi somewhere else, thanks! But the fries were decent and it's the most "normal" diet Coke you can find. Mostly it was just nice to sit and talk with another couple who was going through the same thing.<br />
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Then we went to see our boy. He was not happy. I don't think an hour has ever lasted that long in my life. It crawled by. He didn't want to have anything to do with us, but it was worse than that. He was angry at us. He would push us away or sort of hit us away with his toy, turn away and try to get further onto his Foster Mom's lap. He knew something was up and he did not like it one bit!<br />
I could elaborate but really it was just awful. And that room is tiny! It doesn't look that tiny in photos but SWS itself is so small! I think it's so grand in your mind, this place you've thought about for years, and you get there and it's a small office on the 7th floor of a building (OK, the whole building is theirs, but the International Adoption portion is small). <br />
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Afterwards I was depressed. It was really hard to do anything that night. We went to the Coex Mall and looked around but I felt run down, sad, and unable to enjoy much at all. We ate dinner at Outback b/c we couldn't stomach much else. I picked at my food. We went home and tried to process everything. We slept on it. It didn't really improve things. I was really sad for our boy, who was losing so much, and sad also b/c I wanted him so much and knew that we were the last people on earth he wanted right then. <br /><br />I want to end this one on a more positive note than I did last year though. Because now I know what 1 year later brings. It brings impromptu hugs, giggles. Earlier today he came running into the room laughing and screeching, so happy and excited. So at home. Life is good for all of us. So while this day a year ago didn't end happily, there is a happy ending. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-29341798178218170872013-05-15T21:00:00.000-04:002013-05-17T00:01:22.522-04:00Remembering Seoul - Day 2: Meeting DanielOh the emotions waking up! A jumble of nerves and excitement. Snipping at Brian b/c we were going to be late and nothing would be good enough - I'm a joy when I'm stressed, really.... (Sorry Honey!). <br />
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We (finally!) checked out and took a taxi to the Renaissance. The taxis were so cheap! We were amazed! I have heard it depends on which ones though. We just carried cards around that said where we wanted to go (thank you Concierge at the hotels) and we could take the normal taxis and not look for the English speaking (more expensive) ones.<br />
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The Renaissance said that we could check in about half an hour after we got there, so we sat and had breakfast. Their buffet really is terrific, a decent mix of Western and Korean. It's very expensive too, but we needed convenience this morning. After eating we checked in and quickly put our gifts together, got approximate directions from the hotel (yikes) and tried to find SWS. We obviously stand out because I will never forget the sweet girls who stopped and asked us if we were looking for SWS and gave us directions. :) We were NOT headed in the right direction so I am very grateful for them!<br />
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We got there and sat down to wait. I took pictures of the white board for friends who were waiting, and I tried to calm down. We had made it, we weren't late, we were about to meet our boy! Our son! It was really hard to imagine that after all this time it was going to be real! We met DS's Social Worker and got in the van to go to see him. The first thing I noticed when we pulled into their apartment complex was the playground. I wondered how much time Daniel had spent playing on it. He's young but he's a mover and climber. Our SW encouraged us to take some pictures before going up. When the door opened there was a woman with a HUGE boy on her back! I know this sounds funny, but the most recent pictures we had of him were from January. He looked so much older. At first glance he didn't seem like the same kid! But a bit later we could see that the features were the same, just a bit more mature. We also learned he likes to play rough, he likes to laugh. My favorite memory is of him feeding me grape tomatoes over and over. He thought it was hilarious! :) Most of the connections with him came at the end, initially he didn't want to have anything to do with us. But we left there feeling more positive, and hopeful that the next day would be even better (oh boy were we wrong...).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u_-iagycLl-7vTfG3bvYS1J3A_KDhmkJ_QGQbypT_tT3W6LiMgfFqs7bACbMPWwVMwMgZISLvdwKabxKs3D4Y8yuTJ4zTH3YNbRo1JTdIglqehvnEcwtG-VPcHSZc861_79VmnXDLec/s1600/IMG157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u_-iagycLl-7vTfG3bvYS1J3A_KDhmkJ_QGQbypT_tT3W6LiMgfFqs7bACbMPWwVMwMgZISLvdwKabxKs3D4Y8yuTJ4zTH3YNbRo1JTdIglqehvnEcwtG-VPcHSZc861_79VmnXDLec/s320/IMG157.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was so busy it was hard to get a pic of his face,<br />
by the time he relaxed with us we wanted to connect w/o the camera.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The last thing we did with SWS was go to see the Baby Reception home. <br />
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The rest of the day was pretty relaxed. We went out to lunch at a really good bbq place near SWS. Then we went to see Changdeukdong Palace and in the evening we went on a food tour. All things I'd definitely recommend. It's hard to find time to do all that you want in such a short time in Seoul.<br />
We both did well until about 10ish and then we were done each night. The food tour went longer than that and we were completely wiped out when we got back to our room.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-73666724776459458402013-05-14T23:21:00.000-04:002013-05-16T23:21:58.103-04:00Remembering Seoul, Day 1So we passed out soon after checking into our hotel (The Grand Hyatt Seoul). Yes, yes, everyone tells you not to do that, but I know myself, the best thing I can do is catch up as much as possible on sleep so I can enjoy the rest of the vacation (and honestly, it worked). I also didn't want to leave the hotel room until SWS had called to schedule our first visit (and Brian put up with my neurotic tendencies very well while we were on this trip).<br />
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At about noon we woke up and went to get some food. We ate at the hotel buffet. It's a great place for a variety of food, but overall it's expensive and not the best food in Seoul by any means. But it sufficed, especially for this Mama who didn't want to go far from the hotel. We ate, tried to relax, and enjoyed some familiar and new foods there. Then we headed back to the room to freshen up, get organized (we were switching hotels in the morning) and wait for the phone to ring. <br />
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At about 2 pm Seoul time SWS called and we were told we would be able to meet our boy the next day at 9! :) So we prepared to head out of the hotel! This was our one rainy day in Seoul (which worked out great!) so we went downstairs and the hotel was lending out umbrellas. We borrowed one and went for a walk. We found a beautiful walking path and followed it through beautiful trees and flowers until we got into more of the downtown area. Then we got on the subway (pretty much the nicest subway I've ever seen!) and headed to Lotte Mart at Seoul Station. We enjoyed this but it was wet and rainy by the time we got there and we were jet lagged and tired, so a lot of the day is a blur. We bought umbrellas (that we then didn't need for the rest of the trip) and some chopsticks and a few things in Lotte Mart. Really good prices too compared to a lot of other places. <br />
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We were wet and tired so we took a taxi back to our room and got everything prepared for an early checkout in the morning and then zonked out again! That jet lag is amazing!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-43904176669191510882013-05-13T12:31:00.001-04:002013-05-13T12:32:42.869-04:00Mother's Day (travel)A special day to celebrate our mothers and grandmothers, to enjoy my children, but last year brought new meaning to Mother's Day as we boarded a plane towards our baby boy. <br />
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It's actually one year ago today that this happened. We spent most of the day on a long flight from LA to Seoul. It was still Mother's Day in the US when we landed in the Land of the Morning Calm (at 4:30 in the morning Korea time). I was exhausted and excited all at once, but I think adrenaline really kicked in right then. We got our luggage, exchanged some cash, and went to wait for our shuttle to our hotel. While waiting we got to chat with a wonderful couple we met before boarding who was also traveling, along with some of their wonderful family members, to bring home their son. It was such a blessing to realize about half an hour before boarding that we were on the same flight so we met and talked with them, and then were able to see them a couple of times during the week. :)<br />
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We boarded our shuttle and started toward the hotel. The first thing I said to Brian was "It's so green!" - yes, we did just leave the desert to come here. I have to say that Seoul was absolutely beautiful. We got to the hotel and to our surprise we were able to check in immediately (at about 6:30 am! - not many hotels in the US would have allowed that). We headed to our room and took a nap. More tomorrow on this day b/c we're moving into May 14th territory. :) <br />
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I want to say that I hope all of my friends and family had a wonderful Mother's Day, and that I am praying for those who are wishing and hoping to become Mothers soon. Know that you are loved and prayed for each day. We are so thankful that this Mother's Day we were able to celebrate with a sweet boy who wanted to be with us! And that all 3 of our kids were together. We really missed being with Ben and Ella last year. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-70580070403575702872013-04-26T23:17:00.000-04:002013-04-27T23:35:08.210-04:00DS has been with us....longer than anyone else! On Friday, April 26, DS was the cross over - DS has spent more time in our family than he has spent anywhere else! I will tell you that for 2 weeks leading up to it, this kid was a mess. He was miserable, throwing fits, frustrated, extremely controlling and just way above and beyond the terrible twos. We will never know for sure why this was such a difficult time for him. <br /><br />But I think that he's testing us. There are theories about emotional memory that are hard to ever prove with a younger child. I don't know if he could sense that he had felt like this before and that then that feeling went away and it scared him., it's hard to tell. It could just be a naturally occurring time for him to start reaching a newer level of attachment (every few months he tests us for a few weeks and afterwards we see improvement in his attachment and a decrease in anxiousness). <br />
<br />The good news is that we seem to be moving out of the difficult time and hopefully headed to a really good time. We've also seen an explosion in language in the past week or so. I am really excited to see all that has been happening with him (tantrums aside) and look forward to all that is ahead. We can't imagine our family without this awesome little guy in it and are so happy to celebrate this milestone, and to see how he does going forward now that he will be with us forevermore. <br /><br />I also want to say that we are praying for the courts in Korea. There are lots of changes in Korea and I do believe that the judges want to do what is best for the children, but making all of the changes work for everyone is tough. I am praying for all of my waiting friends, and for those sweet kids who need to be in their homes soon! I ask for others to say a quick prayer that the judges would be able to figure out the new process soon, and that Korea would move forward doing what is best for the children. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-85670660191389439032013-02-17T01:30:00.000-05:002013-02-17T01:32:36.554-05:009 months ago today....We arrived at SWS and walked in with our two new friends. I asked if I was the only one who felt like I was going to throw up (I wasn't). I had met this special boy and knew that he didn't really have any desire to see us again, let alone leave with us. How could I do this? How could I take him from his foster family's arms and walk out the door (after the longest elevator ride of our lives)? Taking custody is not a magical day that people may imagine. It is heartbreaking, sad, scary (for the child and the adoptive parents), and difficult. The emotions are actually mostly negative despite the fact that you've spent years waiting for this day. The fact is your child has spent zero time looking forward to this day and he/she is completely unprepared (I am talking toddler adoption here, I don't have experience with older child adoption which is different). <br />
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Whenever I think of this day I mostly want to cry. But I also remember taking a walk with him in the park. It was emotional but a special time just the three of us. I remember how happy seeing "bahngs" (trucks - he uses it for all vehicles) made him. I remember him smiling at us as he was eating pastries from Paris Baguette (yum!). He clung to me even though he didn't really like me. Such a strange situation. <br /><br />I am so thankful now that our sweet boy has been home for 9 months. He's a happy boy. We love each other! We have a relationship! I know what his cries mean, what is laugh is like, what he is saying (even when others don't since he's just recently 2). He is our son and we are his Ommy and Daddy (Daniel has renamed me Ommy recently - a mixture of Omma and Mommy). He is adventurous, social, out going, friendly. He still has some anxiousness that we hope will relax over time, and a bit more aggression the moment he gets frustrated, but he has come so far! What a blessing! We've seen progress each month and it's a joy to see him grow. <br />
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The first 3 months were HARD. Tears (from all of us), lack of sleep, trying to connect but often failing, just generally feeling not like ourselves. It was the hardest summer we've endured. But we made it through.<br /><br />
The next 3 months were a roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs, but the ups were starting to outweigh the downs. <br />
6 months was a turning point! Daniel relaxed a lot around this time. We're so thankful since we traveled to see family for the first time not long after that. We continue to see progress, are praying for continued healing for our sweet boy, and rejoice that God has made us a family! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-2452672642169616362013-01-04T17:58:00.001-05:002013-01-04T17:58:18.438-05:002 years ago today....An amazing little boy came into this world. A young woman whose heart was full of love for him had to make an extremely difficult decision. I do know that this was difficult for her and my heart breaks for her today while at the same time I am full of joy that I am able to celebrate with this special, amazing, fun toddler!!! <br />
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DS is 2! Here are a few things about our sweet boy:<br />
*He loves vehicles! He calls them all "bahngs" (truck in Korean)<br />
*His Mong-Mong (puppy) is still his favorite possession and has been the most consistent thing in his life over the past 2 years.<br />
*He adores his siblings! He wants to be like them and play with them.<br />
*He thinks annoying his siblings is funny! We're working on this one...<br />
*He does not hit or scream nearly as much anymore. He doesn't bite really at all (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself)<br />
*Both of us love bottle time when I sing and we giggle and play. It's not a quiet time at all but he makes tons of eye contact and still manages to sleep well afterwards!<br />
*He is a SOCIAL BUTTERFLY! This is a surprise to us! This is an aspect of his personality that didn't show itself until very recently. I'm sure part is due to age, but part is due to the fact that he was fairly anxious even with his Foster Family in Korea. He loved them dearly but I think with all of the transition he never felt permanent anywhere. With all the work we have done with attachment I feel like he's starting to feel like he may be a permanent part of our family!!!<br />
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I am so excited to see what the coming year brings. Pics to come after cake and gifts today. I know from Christmas that this boy is a huge fan of unwrapping so B and E helped me to wrap and double wrap the gifts! We even pulled out some of Ben's old toys that he hasn't seen and wrapped those. Since he got so much for Christmas and birthday while we were visiting family we didn't need to bring much more into the house, but we wanted him to have the joy of unwrapping for his birthday so this works really well. We're also taking down most of the gates and moving one to in front of the older kids' rooms. He'll now be allowed in the whole house (toy room! woohoo!!!) except for B and E's rooms. <br />
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Happy Birthday sweet boy. I don't think we can ever express how much we love you. It took time but the love we have for you is so full that our hearts overflow! We are so blessed to have our 3 amazing children whom we all love so much!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-62459703327013754832013-01-03T16:32:00.000-05:002013-01-03T16:32:04.554-05:00It's the 4th in Korea!It's January 4th in Korea and it makes me think about DS's birth mom. Is she waking up this morning thinking about her sweet boy. I don't like to presume anything about her, but as a mother I have a hard time imagining that it doesn't cross her mind. I pray that she is at peace and that she knows that DS is loved beyond imagination! <br />
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I know I have been a HORRIBLE blogger since he came home, but it's my New Year's Resolution to do a better job at keeping people updated on our family happenings! Tomorrow will be a post about Daniel's birthday but then I'll backtrack with some Christmas stories and also an overall update of how we're all doing now vs. a few months ago when I last posted. :) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-64904645879130009992012-07-11T19:36:00.001-04:002012-07-12T17:01:39.300-04:00Bottle Feeding in AdoptionI realize this may seem like a strange post, but one of the major places we've seen progress is here. It is a major attachment tool and a measure of how far we've come. I want to share a little about it because I would never have understood this if I wasn't an AP (adoptive parent) myself. This is specifically D Suhbin's story (who I am going to shorten to DS for the remainder of the blog) and every child's experience and adjustment is different, but it will give you an idea no matter what.<br />
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DS was in a foster home in Busan from when he was 10 days old until 4 months old. Then he went to the SWS Baby Reception Home. At the Reception Home the babies have their bottles propped on blankets. No one holds or cuddles them. They learn to fall asleep on their own with bottle propped, and I believe that this is when DS learned to hold his own bottle (he was there for about 5ish weeks from 4-5 months old). When he got to the foster family's house in Seoul he was able to hold his bottle and cuddle his Mong-Mong (his stuffed puppy) and he would go right to sleep on his own. A foster family who is meeting the needs of a child for a short time would probably appreciate that they could get a few things done while he went to sleep. DS likes to be held a lot, he is wary of strangers, and FM said that he really struggled when he first came to them. So I believe that the chance to put him down with a bottle was a much needed break for FM. I am so thankful for all that they did to love on our amazing guy! This is not judging what they did, it made sense for their family and they did SO much for DS!<br />
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But that being said, our son has not been held or cuddled like a baby (in the position you would give them a bottle in) since he was 4 months old. So at 16 months old this couple comes and takes him and wants to hold him like a baby and give him a bottle! That was not his idea of a good time! The first 2 weeks we didn't try. We let him fall asleep the way he was comfortable. At 2 weeks I started doing more with trying to make eye contact and touch his feet, and sing to him during the bottle. At 3 weeks our SW came and encouraged us to really move forward with bottle feeding more. My amazing friend Becky had the idea of giving him a bottle in the morning when we weren't trying to put him down for a nap and our SW thought the morning was a good idea since there was an increase in hitting and tantrums in the morning, getting some nutrition in him immediately might help. So we started.<br />
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He did NOT like it one bit. Being in my arms was completely uncomfortable for him. But he really likes the bottle so once he realized that was the only way he'd get it was to have me hold him, he did let me, but he avoided eye contact with me pretty much the whole time and asked to go up to his room several times. I tried again and naptime and I only got tears. So I put him down and just made myself as present as possible while he was in his crib. I put my hands through the slats to touch him, sang to him, and tried to make as much eye contact as possible. Then one day when I was about to go upstairs with DS and the bottle he pointed to the chair we had been doing the morning bottle in so we went and rocked together while he drank the first half of it. From then on I was able to give him about half of his night time and nap bottles with at least a little eye contact. During the bottle we do things like "find Umma's koh (nose) or nun (eyes) or eep (mouth), I sing songs, I try to engage him in as much eye contact as possible. He gets fussy if I do too much at once so I engage him then give him a break, then engage him again.<br />
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About two weeks ago I realized that he was doing better and better with the bottle feeding (more eye contact, less fussing, staying in my arms longer before asking to go to his room, sometimes even relaxing enough to fall asleep in my arms!). So I decided to start the next part - touching his bottle. This boy has a DEATH GRIP on his bottle! When I even laid a finger on it he would pry it off and push my hand away. So I had to start small. I'd been trying, but until now I hadn't been consistent with it or pushing beyond his comfort zone at all. It took me a few days (and a pep talk from Becky) but I started consistently putting my finger on the end of the bottle. He'd tolerate it for a while then push it away. After he pushed it away I counted to 10 then told him that I was just going to put one finger on the end of the bottle. He'd tolerate it a while then push it away again - we did this throughout the bottle. After a few days of this I'd start out with a single finger but eventually ease my fingers around the edge of the bottle. When he pushed it away I'd start with a single finger then slowly move to the edge of the bottle. Each day I'd push a bit more/further. Eventually I was to the point of somewhat holding the bottle with him.<br />
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2 days ago I talked to him. I told him I would always be there and that I would always take care of him. While I realize this is a difficult concept, I figure it's never too early to start telling him. I told him that I loved him and that he could relax whenever he wanted and I would hold the bottle for him. AMAZINGLY my son looked right at me and let go! For about 1 second. Then the death grip resumed and he pushed my hand away. But he TRIED! He is trying!!! He wants to trust me! He trusts me more than he did and is relaxing his standards. In the past 2 days I've realized that when he pushes my hand away I can tell him "We're going to hold it together" and put my hand back. He fusses for a second but then just grabs Mong-Mong's tail and allows my hand to stay (I think he's trying to act like he's ignoring me, but it's still a step). Baby steps leading up to when my child will trust me so much, and relax so much, that he will allow me to feed him. I can't wait for that day, but I am so happy and encouraged by the progress we've made! It truly is amazing - and LOTS of answered prayers!!!! Thank you God! And thank you to all of you who have been a support through this! There is such a learning curve as an AP - even when it's not your first child! You're constantly questioning if something is adoption related or not BECAUSE - how you respond to it matters! If he is grieving you have compassion, if he's throwing a fit or hitting b/c he's 1, you discipline or ignore it. You have to be well attuned to your child so you can respond appropriately and you're constantly second guessing yourself. <br />
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ETA: While this will seem unusual to most people in the US - we plan to bottle feed until at least 2. It is a fantastic tool for attachment and bonding b/c it forces close, intimate time, and there tends to be a lot of eye contact. This has been highly recommended by our Social Workers and by pretty much any book I've read, so that's our plan. I know most people might read this post and think - why are you even trying with an 18 month old, so I thought I would explain that. ;) <br />
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So that's what's been happening in our household! Thanks for reading. If you got this far you are dedicated b/c this is LONG. :) Thanks!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-87357321697539385152012-07-07T12:19:00.002-04:002012-07-07T13:31:16.500-04:007 weeks: ProgressI want to paint a quick picture of the progess we've made. I hope to write more soon! Some of the big victories after adoption would seem small to others, but they are truly to be celebrated!<br />
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We celebrate:<br />
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A mother able to hold her and cuddle her son while he drinks his bottle<br />
before he didn't want to be touched or even looked at while he drank his bottle.<br />
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A father who can gently toss his son in the air to huge smiles and laughter<br />
before it was met with terror and tears.<br />
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An older brother who can hold his younger brother on his lap<br />
before he had to always stay an arm's length away.<br />
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A sister being led (dragged) by the hand to play<br />
before his only physical contact with her was to hit her.<br />
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We still have a long ways to go, but these are milestones to celebrate! I really want to sit and write more about our adjustment so far (the good, the bad, AND the ugly!) but there is a giggly boy who wants Umma so it'll have to be later. :)<br />
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7 weeks home picture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAouF1YGGbL3GW_JFxP4o9qWZzOWZb1mjmqR5SoWzzuhx3BCAFkBg-m00FkP-SEyfRJV5fn2BeNqJSyAPHQq_jnE2mTd-Bt9IwEue8aYV9nvd3w7-60hvrDjljNs0UfwbypFnxeQUkaL4/s1600/End+of+May+to+July+4th+509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAouF1YGGbL3GW_JFxP4o9qWZzOWZb1mjmqR5SoWzzuhx3BCAFkBg-m00FkP-SEyfRJV5fn2BeNqJSyAPHQq_jnE2mTd-Bt9IwEue8aYV9nvd3w7-60hvrDjljNs0UfwbypFnxeQUkaL4/s320/End+of+May+to+July+4th+509.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-60139625572135900022012-06-19T10:46:00.000-04:002012-07-07T10:50:04.972-04:006 months, 1 month6 months ago today, after waiting 2 years 1 month, and 3 days, our phone rang! It was one of the most amazing days ever. It's a boy!!! We have a son waiting for us in Korea!<br />
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1 month ago today, we walked off a plane and our youngest son met his brother and sister! <br />
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In the past month we have come far, and we still have a ways to go, but we are thankful for our family!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-41211610774417531412012-05-18T17:24:00.000-04:002012-07-06T11:50:54.999-04:00Seoul Day 5: First full day with D. SuhbinSuhbin slept pretty well last night and we actually woke up before him. A couple of times during the night I went onto the floor to comfort him a bit, but he went back down well. Once Suhbin was fully awake we decided to go downstairs and pay for the hotel breakfast. It's a buffet so we could try several things with him, and we know that they have Juk so we hoped to find food he would eat. His favorite ended up being eggs. He ate a little of the Juk (rice porridge) but now I realize it was too bland and I should have added some kimchi, etc. to it. We spent an hour or so at the buffet because he was really enjoying it. It was quiet and we could play with him there. After eating we headed back to the hotel room, as we passed by the doors to the outside Suhbin started asking to go out (pointing and putting his hands together for "jusaiyo") and saying "bahng" which means truck. He loves walking out there to look at the traffic! I'm afraid leaving the city life for the middle of nowhere AZ is going to be tough for him!<br />
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We went back to the room (with just a little crying) to get the carrier and the diaper bag packed to set out. We decided to head to the Coex and were hoping to meet our new friends and their little boy there to go to the Aquarium but their little boy had a fever and they couldn't make it out. We didn't end up going to the Aquarium b/c Suhbin was sound asleep in the carrier by the time we got there so we just walked around for a while until looking at things until he woke up. We enjoyed some coffee at 7 Monkeys which was a local coffee shop we saw several places. It was good. Our pictures didn't turn out too well though. We also exchanged a book. One of the books we bought didn't work (they're electronic and say certain words in both English and Hangul - fantastic books - I highly recommend them to other APs). The exchange was actually pretty easy which was a bit relief. When Suhbin woke up we saw a place that sold Bingsoo and I was so excited! I enjoyed Bingsoon in VA with my friends Sandra and Grace and couldn't wait to introduce Brian. Sadly they ran out just before we got there. We found another place that had it though it was a little different (no rice cake, red beans instead) and it was delicious, but I still can't wait to bring Brian to the Shilla Bakery in VA when we move back! Suhbin enjoyed some of the Bingsoo but he was getting restless so we decided to leave (after picking up some Mandu to go). We walked back to the hotel instead of taking the subway and it was a beautiful walk. Suhbin played on the steps outside of the Coex for a while, but wanted to be carried once we were outside the enclosed area which was great b/c it was crowded so having him walk would have been less than ideal.<br />
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On the way back we stopped by Paris Baguette (our new favorite) for some more food to go with our Mandu and figured we'd be in the hotel for most of the night. So we dodged more scooters/motorcycles on the sidewalks (I can not remember if I mentioned these earlier, but they drove on the sidewalks instead of the road to avoid traffic. McDonald's delivers and they have their whole set of delivery scooters parked on the sidewalk). They definitely made me more nervous once Suhbin was in the carrier on me and I felt more vulnerable wanting to protect him. Plus it was a bit harder to see what was around with a 1 year old in the carrier. I know it will become more natural, but right now it's something I have to get used to. Here are some pics, unfortunately they don't necessarily load in order and I'm not fixing them right now but enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the subway (that's the subway glass, it's not real)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel's first subway ride with us.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the craziness riding the subway before - People pushing others out of the way to get a seat - I'm actually sitting, at least 5 people JUMPED up when I got on the subway holding Daniel and offered me a seat. I felt bad since we were only going one stop.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running around outside is fun! :) I love his smile!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard work playing, I'll sit and rest here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hyundai Department Store. WOW! Department stores are not what we have in the US. When you walk in, instead of being bombarded by make-up and perfume, you're greeted with FOOD!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saw a bunch of Preschoolers and Kindergarteners going to the Aquarium</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian was trying to take pictures without looking creepy, but it just made us think of what his life may have been like.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian in front of the aquarium (I have to occasionally show that he was there too!).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven Monkeys Coffee - yum! Sleeping boy - aaawww</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McD's delivery scooters! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing under the Korean flag. Bitter sweet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 2nd attempt at finding bingsoo at Paris Baguette - but I think we ordered the wrong one...Suhbin wasn't a fan.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy food at Paris Baguette - it says "Croissant is an Alien" - not really sure about that.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet snuggly boy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can I say "YUM!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suhbin is thinking that it looks good!</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-55285614485001251252012-05-17T23:59:00.000-04:002012-06-16T00:00:06.628-04:00Seoul Day 4 Part II: Family Day!!!The 4 of us walk off the elevator as 2 couples one last time, the next time we enter we'll have our children in our arms. It was very surreal, and very nerve wracking. Immediately upon entering the main office we saw Suhbin and his Foster Mom and Foster Dad. I know that we are incredibly blessed that we were able to meet his Foster Father twice - I think that they were very close. They greet us and we talk to him. He's fairly happy, much better than yesterday anyway. Not that he necessarily wants to be in a waiting area of some office, but he hadn't just woken up so that was good!<br />
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We are immediately ushered into another small room on the other side of the office. Our Social Worker goes to get the rest of the documents and we try to interact with Suhbin some more. It is very difficult and awkward to be in a room with people who do not speak the same language as you, yet you share a love for this child and you desperately want to tell them how thankful you are that they took such great care of him over the past 11 months! It was hard but we managed. Basically all attention was just on Suhbin and he's pretty good at demanding attention so it worked out OK. <br />
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When the SW got back she got down to business. She showed us the important customs documents (DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE!!!) and his placement report, which was basically his immunization record and a quick update on his health and stats (84 cm, 12 kg). She invites the family to give us the things that they brought for Suhbin. There are bags of snacks, clothes, everything we sent to Suhbin in his care package (they said that the 24 month clothing was too big! Hurray!), Mong-Mong, a few pieces of clothing and some mittens and a hat that her children had made for him (sob!). We also got a book of pictures (that I just looked at this week, more crying), and a CD of pictures. We finally have pictures of him younger than 10 months old! They took custody at 5 months and she has pictures from the day they took custody. It was such a gift! We are so thankful to have these things. SWS also gave us formula, bottles, a Korean flag, and CD. We were weighted down with stuff! It was amazing. Also on the way to the elevator, one person who I had brought a gift came out with a beautiful jewelry box for me. I'm not sure if that's customary but it was wonderful and beautiful and I hope to give it to Suhbin one day for his home (OK, to his wife...). Brian became a pack mule while I took some pictures of Suhbin and his foster family getting him ready one last time. We were told what to expect - the hand off would be at the elevator, after we got on. The doors opened, we stepped in, I turned around and Suhbin's FM handed him to me. We both choked back tears as she waved goodbye and I held a screaming, unhappy boy! The elevator doors closed and we started the longest elevator ride of our lives! It stopped at maybe the 3rd floor? Someone was about to get on with their baby, but saw what was going on and said to go ahead. Thank you! He continued to try to arch out of my arms, push away from me, and scream. I patted his back and said "Kwen chan ah, Mienhamnida, O gee mah" which are the things FM told me she would say to comfort him (they mean "It's OK, I'm sorry, and don't cry"). It was heartbreaking and I was a bit freaked! But the elevator doors eventually opened and we walked into the blessed construction! Our boy was fascinated and stopped screaming or fighting immediately! Brian said he wished we could take it with us. We headed out and he cried a little more but then we got to where we could see the cars and trucks going by (the main road) and he was fascinated again. He was so interested in all that was going on, what a blessing! We hadn't fully figured out the carrier yet, so hadn't had time to put it on at SWS, and I was trying to carry him best I could. We felt like we had to hurry out of there in case the foster family came down right away, we didn't want him to see them at that point, it seemed that would be even harder. We made it around the corner and our hotel was just a block or so away so we just walked as quickly as we could. He was interested in the inside of the hotel, but the moment we crossed the threshold to our room they crying started again. We dropped everything off and Brian entertained him by looking out the window for a few minutes while I cleaned up a bit and tried to figure out the carrier. Then we got him in the carrier (quite a bit of trial and error - poor boy was NOT happy still) and wrapped Mong-Mong around my neck and we hit the street with our newest addition! We walked to a very nice park that had terrific walking trails. It was quiet and he loved being outside so it was a great walk! We mostly just let him see what was around. Here are a few pics of our first night:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tiny little elevator (don't let the mirror deceive you!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our boy napped in the carrier. Foster Mom said he hadn't had a nap that day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet sleepy boy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LPeHRq8rk_WYV3dhk1BYLnXSoZuke-EW9UOI56DFLLEkktOZx0bCIwR17_4Oe7maoinv2XEjlOGVcIMHgXRRVQqH4vlsYyAg2wVOxeFt-ulrg3sr_DOg3Z7ozFoGzgJsyuPfX6BSt9Y/s1600/IMG093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LPeHRq8rk_WYV3dhk1BYLnXSoZuke-EW9UOI56DFLLEkktOZx0bCIwR17_4Oe7maoinv2XEjlOGVcIMHgXRRVQqH4vlsYyAg2wVOxeFt-ulrg3sr_DOg3Z7ozFoGzgJsyuPfX6BSt9Y/s320/IMG093.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the park we found! He woke up and enjoyed it. We tried to let him walk once, but he wasn't having any of it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQADneMQFej0TMCb9rGDs_HUJoXh8lTITnfnP96hTlbtF76cYAHqK4JGgikln7FP7g80eMVsMxSfu9ctwWsxHpOrzugPFi24sMefdRtK7iGUOuRCF_7i3FfBvpqOGr3HJJJn844KCqaKI/s1600/IMG210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQADneMQFej0TMCb9rGDs_HUJoXh8lTITnfnP96hTlbtF76cYAHqK4JGgikln7FP7g80eMVsMxSfu9ctwWsxHpOrzugPFi24sMefdRtK7iGUOuRCF_7i3FfBvpqOGr3HJJJn844KCqaKI/s320/IMG210.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at the hotel, looking out the window (his favorite spot in his not so favorite hotel room) with the Paris Baguette snack we picked up! Sweet Potato filled pastry! He was a fan! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyyc926OGLbDMJgSA7axx5ZXMCsXSnx4KUDrbUt0JPLxRjvHz5mXYWSQDQPjTuNc7aDm3v4lP9xI5zxyQULZBb8v7tYTUTIisdya18wrqbKHZwpzbOoWa5ZVgh2xdKU5zCF48FYK9Bhg/s1600/IMG211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyyc926OGLbDMJgSA7axx5ZXMCsXSnx4KUDrbUt0JPLxRjvHz5mXYWSQDQPjTuNc7aDm3v4lP9xI5zxyQULZBb8v7tYTUTIisdya18wrqbKHZwpzbOoWa5ZVgh2xdKU5zCF48FYK9Bhg/s320/IMG211.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out at Seoul.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sm33iHVpJSiUyi3LTzVDl-BiNZcRuQpa4zZ2PqfvN8Oih3g47AMHRpUBN4k3BELoqZtp1bThzgsOeA2vLxpgRZdlJTRpisyYvmmt52Bz920qO7O_bqFHRZp1qPbQLALrJRAdYCHqGx4/s1600/IMG221-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sm33iHVpJSiUyi3LTzVDl-BiNZcRuQpa4zZ2PqfvN8Oih3g47AMHRpUBN4k3BELoqZtp1bThzgsOeA2vLxpgRZdlJTRpisyYvmmt52Bz920qO7O_bqFHRZp1qPbQLALrJRAdYCHqGx4/s320/IMG221-1.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaning against Daddy and keeping Mong-Mong close!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBy9edps6JxMjKb13Czf0pAsv3sOShyaT-bN0tpgB3DHMy47zUMCwpXL-oKadHqBynwyC3fhd-URXxOeAClMMXVzun1mGLNqpPsPJpL1ILsJZ_LuTtMNqJCc9ZXiGSQe0I79o7Xyr6jA/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBy9edps6JxMjKb13Czf0pAsv3sOShyaT-bN0tpgB3DHMy47zUMCwpXL-oKadHqBynwyC3fhd-URXxOeAClMMXVzun1mGLNqpPsPJpL1ILsJZ_LuTtMNqJCc9ZXiGSQe0I79o7Xyr6jA/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Umma, Suhbin, and Mong-Mong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KhzK37w1EzYS1uwRr4c7i2jpdRQzxWvngETUOFWNzFNJqdpgDXwBgg5nH6gE9doVO4ZS_tjBRjA8cVdzKRJsKUV73cA-ETtTsJAp5TRbDLxX6ZYPwsUqjNH51npoy9k0c_ETiCHhY7I/s1600/IMG_0587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KhzK37w1EzYS1uwRr4c7i2jpdRQzxWvngETUOFWNzFNJqdpgDXwBgg5nH6gE9doVO4ZS_tjBRjA8cVdzKRJsKUV73cA-ETtTsJAp5TRbDLxX6ZYPwsUqjNH51npoy9k0c_ETiCHhY7I/s320/IMG_0587.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perking up for a little bit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOG-GZ_73HKXKDS5WJRPLS_HwNLIDwpSe6grrzCdlsD8cM2cCeK_SEhZqHhD7AALQ2zlli28ncDEm72Hr5USfY17p_oyBE3dkU5qK3eJ8RlfvnE-f4v_5-FUlrOqjS-n6UQZSzCRKt74/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOG-GZ_73HKXKDS5WJRPLS_HwNLIDwpSe6grrzCdlsD8cM2cCeK_SEhZqHhD7AALQ2zlli28ncDEm72Hr5USfY17p_oyBE3dkU5qK3eJ8RlfvnE-f4v_5-FUlrOqjS-n6UQZSzCRKt74/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It actually took him a day to fully figure out the whole sippy cup thing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUphygOTJWy_Wj9WtgySVf7xGD-FUV6USir8WR7-XV-t4TVYAIqI3WtsuptzvUwYSqOF2a55eTGKa1EIhyphenhyphen9abGm9-BHk0SzvgdncK1fHlhpaydiqL8MX0BALZicsaAjilqQFLCouavs4M/s1600/IMG_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUphygOTJWy_Wj9WtgySVf7xGD-FUV6USir8WR7-XV-t4TVYAIqI3WtsuptzvUwYSqOF2a55eTGKa1EIhyphenhyphen9abGm9-BHk0SzvgdncK1fHlhpaydiqL8MX0BALZicsaAjilqQFLCouavs4M/s320/IMG_0591.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silly people - nothing is coming out! How do you expect me to drink this?!?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s320/IMG097.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking his bottle on the floor (he didn't want to have us near him while he drank his bottle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oQInTjl1yF-UUGU-mRiz1w7TKedGiqvHUglFESQ849NHsN7Df-f4fTYTNjstLJCBDmrcdxZSolIj9_rcdi8QJaFbJlE6v0K6l3xeEN_Nqwgsn_E0ymXtK0Zlg61dse9Xj6vbWfMQ7Ps/s1600/IMG222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oQInTjl1yF-UUGU-mRiz1w7TKedGiqvHUglFESQ849NHsN7Df-f4fTYTNjstLJCBDmrcdxZSolIj9_rcdi8QJaFbJlE6v0K6l3xeEN_Nqwgsn_E0ymXtK0Zlg61dse9Xj6vbWfMQ7Ps/s320/IMG222.jpg" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;">He actually slept fairly well. He called out a bit, but slept better than I expected for the first night. Of course we haven't hit the jet lag yet... </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sound asleep! See that monkey blanket? His FM said it's his favorite! It's the one we sent in the care package!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow we will see how a full day together goes....</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcW0Q-4gViPh8OcpCwJNXDqx8Eg2RFnglblWtRcGlEqQCJGRM_ymTVipiPXjhRS2FYjVEwrMHTIxnKme7iyaaazjWOx3wlM3gbUR9AZ8LID44NYXYx8Q-o4tGGYLsKRK4Ns2TBKqZyjVc/s1600/IMG097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-33447536806325770662012-05-17T01:51:00.000-04:002012-06-13T18:23:19.441-04:00Seoul Day 4: Part 1Waking up this morning all we could think about was that tonight a little one would be sleeping in here with us. I want to say we were excited, but I think we were mostly nervous. The meeting yesterday went so poorly and we were going to have an unhappy child with us for the next 36 hours and THEN travel for almost 24 hours with that child. We were not brimming with confidence. Plus we were just so heartbroken for him. He didn't really know what was about to happen to him and it was just so sad. He was leaving everything he knew to be with us. There is so much about adoption that is truly heartbreaking and difficult. Though the end result is usually a happy family, it's always born from difficult situations and way too many transitions for a baby to have to have gone through!<br />
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We were going to Namdaemun Market today. We figured shopping wasn't going to be easy with a little one in tow so this was our last chance. We got moving and out the door fairly quickly and grabbed coffee and some breakfast at Angel-in-us Coffee shop. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPXd9yp0NYRoaoCJKRHoZ8fe-5m6giGBuTsSA4fnqzbjXs1QQZMhLAgjb1h7hJbJiG1e1io4NKoawCtlxtfvjlu9pEGTT5Ntcix0WhUl3q7jvFSwmMNyAVllIZeTTm2jwNJNAf9T9tCk/s1600/IMG082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPXd9yp0NYRoaoCJKRHoZ8fe-5m6giGBuTsSA4fnqzbjXs1QQZMhLAgjb1h7hJbJiG1e1io4NKoawCtlxtfvjlu9pEGTT5Ntcix0WhUl3q7jvFSwmMNyAVllIZeTTm2jwNJNAf9T9tCk/s320/IMG082.jpg" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angel-in-us coffee shop. I was a bit stressed out and Brian made me sit and relax. It was a nice place to do it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QgkitfZa7eESXzsx1cA8lS878sEzGoFn3ud7P6VIf4SlQ_pPofI39aUq9oRc8DvWO1cR7Omb_6WbyqNUAcFMhWVQHmPpskaaIv1PcTzeW3BrDNYBwr6FMKj7HWJSt5FAzodtXgng3J0/s1600/IMG202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QgkitfZa7eESXzsx1cA8lS878sEzGoFn3ud7P6VIf4SlQ_pPofI39aUq9oRc8DvWO1cR7Omb_6WbyqNUAcFMhWVQHmPpskaaIv1PcTzeW3BrDNYBwr6FMKj7HWJSt5FAzodtXgng3J0/s320/IMG202.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exit sign at subway and some other public places.</td></tr>
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Then we hopped on the subway. And I took a picture of one of the exit signs, because I want to remember little things like that. And we headed to Namdaemun. I have to tell you that I am in awe of the subway. So clean, things to see and do at each stop, crowded, but I didn't get sick (I often got nauseous on the DC subway) and we often traveled for 45 minutes. We never had to wait long for a train. It was so well done! <br />
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We got to Namdaemun and started off with a snack. :) Yum! This was really good. We ended up buying another toward the end of our time there. Then we hit the streets. I had some major shopping I wanted to do. Hanboks, name chop (completely failed), Korean Air toy plane, Pororo stuff, gifts for friends/family at home, etc., etc. and we only had a few hours before we had to head back to take custody. Sadly, I didn't get the number of pictures I wanted to because of this. :( But I have a few. It poured while we were there so we went underground for lunch and I have a lot of pictures of that. It was a HUGE market with groceries, make up counters, all kinds of things you could buy, but the pictures are mostly of the food area. :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUe_yC3L6Hnca8SCMpRkyON-IbhCkv9AmdwJRmMg3bje3FFrG-pTHw_byFcX0I4XefHYeJaCZlcBS33Qat1KlD6ersD78Ug7NzzA2EX8giKjeMGz4FnDA9o1FNifG9-CuQRTkq-53uWQ/s1600/IMG083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUe_yC3L6Hnca8SCMpRkyON-IbhCkv9AmdwJRmMg3bje3FFrG-pTHw_byFcX0I4XefHYeJaCZlcBS33Qat1KlD6ersD78Ug7NzzA2EX8giKjeMGz4FnDA9o1FNifG9-CuQRTkq-53uWQ/s320/IMG083.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy Snack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2xQvxsz5hgJ_bqlagVUs_rrDgTwHIdzLzRG2Qn6xwN1un41wfXOpTl30u7awvPI1lbTYbPBX_X9RFb7nV7TeBhKaHsSINjuoXpTjBUEun08xq5VQ-B2O1CclFOM3NJ-hJmatbgTGhC0/s1600/IMG201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2xQvxsz5hgJ_bqlagVUs_rrDgTwHIdzLzRG2Qn6xwN1un41wfXOpTl30u7awvPI1lbTYbPBX_X9RFb7nV7TeBhKaHsSINjuoXpTjBUEun08xq5VQ-B2O1CclFOM3NJ-hJmatbgTGhC0/s320/IMG201.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This creepy clown was our landmark, when we got to him we knew were where we had been before. :) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YMslUpxMQKbqokxTOk3dXrBh_FMRXgkaF66MioF-rsCs9IBDSBsHXftnj29HP8oKJAvjDzo2FNpB_6mbl8eu2L8B6by9x1DjJjPxIzX0SGxKPHYqNQTzHbzv4DtfAmy1hi8cKlh9PVU/s1600/IMG085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YMslUpxMQKbqokxTOk3dXrBh_FMRXgkaF66MioF-rsCs9IBDSBsHXftnj29HP8oKJAvjDzo2FNpB_6mbl8eu2L8B6by9x1DjJjPxIzX0SGxKPHYqNQTzHbzv4DtfAmy1hi8cKlh9PVU/s320/IMG085.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It POURED while we were there so we went underground. Look at this place! Here is the make up center, but we moved on to yummy food....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbhddFUprEhiozVUGoUC3uxl88_j4OQ1h-2Xsp-ILuzbUZ6b96qW2L3Tc6-mR8h2YxMRNvsU1U4rMWKo3PSTTy3fOfzFQjUVFGhdG_tq1z3QX11FWhdnp0iS5J2quEsGcrUIF-LdyOi0/s1600/IMG086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbhddFUprEhiozVUGoUC3uxl88_j4OQ1h-2Xsp-ILuzbUZ6b96qW2L3Tc6-mR8h2YxMRNvsU1U4rMWKo3PSTTy3fOfzFQjUVFGhdG_tq1z3QX11FWhdnp0iS5J2quEsGcrUIF-LdyOi0/s320/IMG086.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch was a bunch of snacks, here are some DELICIOUS meat skewers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijl7SEDBqTdV_o4DVJ3Hi4xKlGFMMzDiHJEGYjg0CpO4WAoX5O7KOLyYTWOlwsDGLwCM_Q6pFjcAFT9YI3Z-wMynRxH6HbM-_NT60zlIZ3159aSnG2sfY6KSp-oZ8EmOKnOXXwWEImb1A/s1600/IMG087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijl7SEDBqTdV_o4DVJ3Hi4xKlGFMMzDiHJEGYjg0CpO4WAoX5O7KOLyYTWOlwsDGLwCM_Q6pFjcAFT9YI3Z-wMynRxH6HbM-_NT60zlIZ3159aSnG2sfY6KSp-oZ8EmOKnOXXwWEImb1A/s320/IMG087.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was Korean-Chinese food - that black bean sauce is delicious. The shrimp fried rice was quite good with it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvb34yciSTjaXgQDTaTqezFzZW-R6fkBGsIgOWki6NLO2DVHsqKgh9Q-e0Lrac46o2xFYuql0qM_SrFAjkdeTjGaOTI8MDq3vz2I54V1oWC8l-2deqmNqnbr4UUTzrDoXaQW_6MbJ8UE/s1600/IMG088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvb34yciSTjaXgQDTaTqezFzZW-R6fkBGsIgOWki6NLO2DVHsqKgh9Q-e0Lrac46o2xFYuql0qM_SrFAjkdeTjGaOTI8MDq3vz2I54V1oWC8l-2deqmNqnbr4UUTzrDoXaQW_6MbJ8UE/s320/IMG088.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandu!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp40rVMkt2g0sFSZJE7YljTZz3Ae7aO7KrHBJBh70tXR2T3getEPUEAbPlbxHj_JP7H-EKiHX8IHp0sRum7QgrtnrfTpRvu50RBwBDJcu09EqRzJMeCj228bokidB4duKnghic-HecGI/s1600/IMG203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxp40rVMkt2g0sFSZJE7YljTZz3Ae7aO7KrHBJBh70tXR2T3getEPUEAbPlbxHj_JP7H-EKiHX8IHp0sRum7QgrtnrfTpRvu50RBwBDJcu09EqRzJMeCj228bokidB4duKnghic-HecGI/s320/IMG203.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This place was huge - here's the Johnny Rockets inside. Everything else we saw in here was Korean, then there was a Johnny Rockets, it made us laugh.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9HvNKBGiWwn1fYgNG9y0lLpCvWHykxfoDXnmC3RszY_JMCDpLkiePyRvk7Kcj-Nod80KKoq6Se-5ei8RMfw3hkvpT9gqhhAcERYCg4Fq1If1kL1DQ4jmEkueXLB50fMAvB-CIG0cYLY/s1600/IMG204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9HvNKBGiWwn1fYgNG9y0lLpCvWHykxfoDXnmC3RszY_JMCDpLkiePyRvk7Kcj-Nod80KKoq6Se-5ei8RMfw3hkvpT9gqhhAcERYCg4Fq1If1kL1DQ4jmEkueXLB50fMAvB-CIG0cYLY/s320/IMG204.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More food!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_4Sz2PTX_SEea6oRuhN21aEIpRcf4Rygz4GpTBWr1FE-drEZdZkO4JS3q2FhWws90Sg7XjJ5ux7IO8GddE1IFkt4sPwITMfMlsqOpMqVouuUJ2Nnd_fAxowIbhO1MC7V2b3eA75tBUw/s1600/IMG205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_4Sz2PTX_SEea6oRuhN21aEIpRcf4Rygz4GpTBWr1FE-drEZdZkO4JS3q2FhWws90Sg7XjJ5ux7IO8GddE1IFkt4sPwITMfMlsqOpMqVouuUJ2Nnd_fAxowIbhO1MC7V2b3eA75tBUw/s320/IMG205.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBRp0M7vP0qkBCdDx0cTtpLe7UDAKuYLkKjUTAAHbT2cn756T31msnq5kI-WKVPl49mqLf8hPTP4ibwk-a7VtuaLspXgm7F_Y_rNlJ4ryEUI1N7iYJFqDOqfJ2HvYkLyL0YUFFTSU9eA/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBRp0M7vP0qkBCdDx0cTtpLe7UDAKuYLkKjUTAAHbT2cn756T31msnq5kI-WKVPl49mqLf8hPTP4ibwk-a7VtuaLspXgm7F_Y_rNlJ4ryEUI1N7iYJFqDOqfJ2HvYkLyL0YUFFTSU9eA/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pictures of the marketplace.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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So we enjoyed this and then came the trip back filled with tons of emotions. I really felt like I was going to throw up! My stomach was in knots. We went to the hotel and changed into our clothes. We headed to SWS and as we were walking up we saw our friends A & A (I didn't ask permission to put their names). A (wife) and I agreed that we both thought we might puke before we got there. It was so unreal. I can still imagine how I felt. Not really how I thought I would feel after all this time waiting. So nervous, sick, sad, very little of me was excited even though I wanted him so much. It was very strange. We walked in through the construction and up the tiny elevator one last time.....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-48664776187884268322012-05-16T23:09:00.000-04:002012-06-06T19:45:13.504-04:002 1/2 years and 2nd meeting2 1/2 years before our second meeting with Suhbin we walked into an office and met with a woman who told us all about the Korea program at Barker. That day we paid the first payment and filled out the preliminary application. The official start to our adoption process.<br />
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2 1/2 years later, half a world away, we stepped off an elevator and walked into another office. We were greeted by our Social Worker and told that the van wasn't back quite yet but that they'd be here soon. We waited.<br />
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Before I tell you how the second meeting went, I want to post about what
we did earlier in the day. We had plans to meet our new friends for a
quick lunch before their meeting with their son so we took it easy in
the morning. We checked out the Coex to see what was there. We walked there and stopped by Paris Baguette for some tasty treats on the way. It was a
beautiful walk (have I mentioned that I love the green! Seoul made me
realize how much I miss seeing grass and big full trees). We went in
and checked out some of the stores, saw the movie theater and food
court, our favorite spot was the book store. We really just walked
through and figured we'd come back at some point since it's so close to
our hotel and has a ton of restaurants (some really yummy looking Korean
places as well as American chains).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqUNKftt3nKN-Sx88CJPfbDUOhWnAskydCWrczq6vnSl0smJud4_48guVQYpfWw9UJLvoG0joxdCpnTPaY_AyLhORjCF8aJjp6S7BolVp1NqydqVwQM9qoPRw4y543LomECtprXPzOag/s1600/IMG180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqUNKftt3nKN-Sx88CJPfbDUOhWnAskydCWrczq6vnSl0smJud4_48guVQYpfWw9UJLvoG0joxdCpnTPaY_AyLhORjCF8aJjp6S7BolVp1NqydqVwQM9qoPRw4y543LomECtprXPzOag/s320/IMG180.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband hates being in pictures but I had to show that I was not in Korea alone! <br />This was one of our favorite places! :) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEzWc24bfCJb6_-bT4g7IeUgybAxH5-rcVCJYhQopUv5qbCMUGeAbuxmaw-5VhZEhBlLuUhmcZSeJX64s8RvEmbfvnHPFRSEGNgLPBFKc6i_XVHZqc8HrBgPPM_bq9rm-uL0jDpd4Vk/s1600/IMG073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEzWc24bfCJb6_-bT4g7IeUgybAxH5-rcVCJYhQopUv5qbCMUGeAbuxmaw-5VhZEhBlLuUhmcZSeJX64s8RvEmbfvnHPFRSEGNgLPBFKc6i_XVHZqc8HrBgPPM_bq9rm-uL0jDpd4Vk/s320/IMG073.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A yummy treat from Paris Baguette</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUijvpXsoxrOiRwh5Rn-keVGiDLPHoxf0GBBp0_AAJ9Boj9Oj0fEyT90HKxQ5BX_vijGYxa3xjYGNXGnYv2xp0MGBluQkxL06Ciwd8z2ZbB12H9xIjjjwXn5k0LWDPTdhZLH2hIy683V8/s1600/IMG183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUijvpXsoxrOiRwh5Rn-keVGiDLPHoxf0GBBp0_AAJ9Boj9Oj0fEyT90HKxQ5BX_vijGYxa3xjYGNXGnYv2xp0MGBluQkxL06Ciwd8z2ZbB12H9xIjjjwXn5k0LWDPTdhZLH2hIy683V8/s320/IMG183.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sweet potato donut! This was AMAZING! We couldn't find it again after that day, but wow - YUM!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFyQ4maHU8zKSlQoMP7K87olr_vFIAwGtFgTxLRUxzANLrYA5QigaW-WVCrsfN8_U8NDiRsH7hGQoBM1fxuAdskPbh2uImLYkC4wmlTXHdFB6YTjro9gykauF-esHU9V0C0dHtsu36xQ/s1600/IMG079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFyQ4maHU8zKSlQoMP7K87olr_vFIAwGtFgTxLRUxzANLrYA5QigaW-WVCrsfN8_U8NDiRsH7hGQoBM1fxuAdskPbh2uImLYkC4wmlTXHdFB6YTjro9gykauF-esHU9V0C0dHtsu36xQ/s320/IMG079.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The green walking guy! This picture is for B and E - whenever we cross the street we look for the white walking guy - but in Korea it was the GREEN walking guy! :) Made us think of them every time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoIt6e1z-wxdoBxqe803sigfrQdJ1ZS6XXfDhVj86TmSa5iOfMI1vRybP2aMPBf8_pIz5NmEtrzCfKCohDsWwJ3Te8cqcGbv3yq-euHJHDZ72m5yp-zgFn2LDC7o4iFgvBOs6sU9jrIA/s1600/IMG184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoIt6e1z-wxdoBxqe803sigfrQdJ1ZS6XXfDhVj86TmSa5iOfMI1vRybP2aMPBf8_pIz5NmEtrzCfKCohDsWwJ3Te8cqcGbv3yq-euHJHDZ72m5yp-zgFn2LDC7o4iFgvBOs6sU9jrIA/s320/IMG184.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the directory at the Coex Mall - interactive. Very fun! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMPLjdBioMER1Cd0UjaT_fsx4QqzuhsGIDopHZmdqRW5xW9LSpp7PlICirbJpWrnyzXRoSAwbIuYdTk3eW3I6pRBIjj3E-j7sWKEkkeSWJtMQ21SnljDtHSvXJY74BwMDOkjRcgbBypI/s1600/IMG186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMPLjdBioMER1Cd0UjaT_fsx4QqzuhsGIDopHZmdqRW5xW9LSpp7PlICirbJpWrnyzXRoSAwbIuYdTk3eW3I6pRBIjj3E-j7sWKEkkeSWJtMQ21SnljDtHSvXJY74BwMDOkjRcgbBypI/s320/IMG186.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For E - The Hello Kitty Store! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqQUwd3dGtpQDAIJw4tXCHs_jNbbqRMkkumcHo32fLTvwFyoARdKQDhOpKghb0nEauWPU7W1oJRoMYbaq5KqIh1QRY8RjUJkrD2KaCJ4pe1krNoQtNDhUjkGZGHwU-C-PNmSZzTeRDZM/s1600/IMG187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqQUwd3dGtpQDAIJw4tXCHs_jNbbqRMkkumcHo32fLTvwFyoARdKQDhOpKghb0nEauWPU7W1oJRoMYbaq5KqIh1QRY8RjUJkrD2KaCJ4pe1krNoQtNDhUjkGZGHwU-C-PNmSZzTeRDZM/s320/IMG187.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MEGABOX was the Movie Theater - but right in that area were the concessions and the food court. Kind of fun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2Zn_ld33WwjycKT75AJyd1EZY5BaS5JFS1xfd0Whyl6ZS9FkbxzJZ1sm2fVR6nnQ-MfP1vmjx19EsdY3MsCMn3GNr_Wf91GrnoTNWeWAcz3U44IXxNS1P915ZPXBGAfGlZoy3eXO-jQ/s1600/IMG188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2Zn_ld33WwjycKT75AJyd1EZY5BaS5JFS1xfd0Whyl6ZS9FkbxzJZ1sm2fVR6nnQ-MfP1vmjx19EsdY3MsCMn3GNr_Wf91GrnoTNWeWAcz3U44IXxNS1P915ZPXBGAfGlZoy3eXO-jQ/s320/IMG188.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know if you can read any of it, but more reasonable concession prices than in the US!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8XcTaS_7-aoNctaincn1H2CiLuFTBAMpSqVtcXYyn46Nnf3c1a2OfQWndlOUspj9S04uK3iDNWBhA71xWUoD_FalHWjMLNp2KYwnOF-2ZWZMpzO_44xpp1i_oNAM-2KWMUUdIrJ7lKU/s1600/IMG189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8XcTaS_7-aoNctaincn1H2CiLuFTBAMpSqVtcXYyn46Nnf3c1a2OfQWndlOUspj9S04uK3iDNWBhA71xWUoD_FalHWjMLNp2KYwnOF-2ZWZMpzO_44xpp1i_oNAM-2KWMUUdIrJ7lKU/s320/IMG189.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weird, so I took a picture! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thought this looked like a fun place to take Suhbin after taking custody.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GREEN! And FLOWERS! It looks like home (the east coast is home to me)! :)</td></tr>
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We left the Coex to walk back to meet our friends. All of us were really nervous about our second meeting so we met at McDonald's. Brian and I split a bulgogi burger (strange but not bad, not amazing either, I'd rather have bulgogi or a burger) and french fries. It's also one of the few places I could get a decent Diet Coke. Most importantly we could pass the time with new friends while waiting to see our sons. Sadly, we didn't get any pictures of us together. We'll have to meet up sometimes so we can do that! :) Plus we'd love to get our boys together. They were both born in the same month and I hope they can meet one day.<br />
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We walked A and A to SWS and then walked back to our hotel to change. On the way we stopped by the 7-Eleven to pick up Soy Milk - which wasn't easy to identify but eventually we found some. Subin's FM told us she mixed soy milk in with the formula. So once we changed and regrouped for a few minutes we walked to SWS for our meeting.<br />
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So back to the waiting. While we waited I took a picture of the white board that has their schedule for the next two weeks posted. It was all in Hangul so I was trying to figure out where Suhbin's info was written. :) <br />
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Then Suhbin and his Foster Mom walked in. It was great to see them but he was not very happy. Our poor baby fell asleep in the van and was quite groggy and fussy. I now know enough about him to know that he wakes up hard! We went into the room with the tiny pink chair (which is so little - you don't realize it in the pictures - I think I assumed it was child-sized, but it's baby-toddler sized - really small). That room is awful! We spend a torturous hour with our sweet boy. Once or twice he started to engage and play with us but then seemed to remember that he didn't want us and stopped. Then he went and sat in his Foster Mom's lap and anything we touched (toys, etc.) he would pull aggressively out of our grasp and try to scoot further into his FM's (Foster Mom) lap. It wasn't physically possible, but he tried! He knew something was UP! That boy was NOT happy!!! I was ready to cry the entire time. It was SO hard! I can't even think about that time without feeling like I might cry. Eventually our Social Worker said that if he's not really engaging we might as well end for the day. This was the most merciful thing she could have done. I left and then started to cry. We were both so depressed. We went back to the hotel to try to regroup. We'd had plans for that night and I didn't want to do anything at all. I knew that wasn't an option but I was so depressed it was really hard. Eventually we decided to walk back to the Coex for dinner. Our stomachs were in knots. We ate at Outback. It was OK. Honestly I hardly tasted the food. It took quite a while for me to calm down. We had fun talking, but it was really not as much fun as we hoped since we were both a bit emotional. OK, I was a lot emotional and even Brian was a bit emotional. <br /><br />The next thing we had planned and I almost said that we shouldn't bother b/c I was emotionally exhausted, but we decided to go. We got a cab to make it easier on us and we went to N Seoul Tower. I'm SO glad we did! Our cab driver got quite lost and it took a while - at least 45 minutes to get there - and it cost about $15! Amazing to us that a cab could be that cheap! And that was the most expensive one we had!<br />
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OK, so we arrived and took the cable car up. It was a beautiful ride and looking down it looked like a beautiful walk! A LONG walk, but a beautiful one if you had the time (and emotional energy). I'm still looking for the picture, but there were lights under the trees along the way and it was just gorgeous! The stairs we did walk up were still plenty and beautiful. N Seoul Tower was the perfect last date night for a while! We loved it! And ended it with Ice Cream at Cold Stone! LOL! :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwjruy_3DW9dpfqwmaZX-QBIYhf6PBDTppX1KK08IZ18-86D8iX8i7Zg5CRTqG8W158LY-sz-hVHgizmOO8EeVzoyp8tj86PySmZsPTRnMyVTYOK-5NW9OAMotuUK05dsTDk7MISpvvM/s1600/IMG_0537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwjruy_3DW9dpfqwmaZX-QBIYhf6PBDTppX1KK08IZ18-86D8iX8i7Zg5CRTqG8W158LY-sz-hVHgizmOO8EeVzoyp8tj86PySmZsPTRnMyVTYOK-5NW9OAMotuUK05dsTDk7MISpvvM/s320/IMG_0537.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a beautiful gazebo when you got to the top of the stairs. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting a lock on for Suhbin. We are your family FOREVER! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tiUTg_XPTRzpHfUrIHvg4ptRK_8A3V7-FpPcjeTXhv1DcmdA8yaniQWBkjQtuRrZVG6yrsJGQIzhz9T9cR4oOBd1BGqwv6flO0qX-wPlZsghA_XR_BErLzMfIW232-i-Wh3YXWjIA0Q/s1600/IMG_0538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0tiUTg_XPTRzpHfUrIHvg4ptRK_8A3V7-FpPcjeTXhv1DcmdA8yaniQWBkjQtuRrZVG6yrsJGQIzhz9T9cR4oOBd1BGqwv6flO0qX-wPlZsghA_XR_BErLzMfIW232-i-Wh3YXWjIA0Q/s320/IMG_0538.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">N Seoul Tower!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBxSEmyQuJvTCK8yWHB8PwwXaMgpwuiHdUDE7HvS5rYTPXF4YIMB6z7QdBQ-jxJEOWUeVW24SwgNqB0AgOHiNWT0En9BoUpDOH47YnSw7U-R94Dh-FG9udT8z-3z5G5ErhWRFBsiyNek/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBxSEmyQuJvTCK8yWHB8PwwXaMgpwuiHdUDE7HvS5rYTPXF4YIMB6z7QdBQ-jxJEOWUeVW24SwgNqB0AgOHiNWT0En9BoUpDOH47YnSw7U-R94Dh-FG9udT8z-3z5G5ErhWRFBsiyNek/s320/IMG_0544.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One view from the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many locks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FjgHg9u7Lf8dyibVtWT_YQrM3FOsKM3aJUbdfXC7aZEDxwPzKtykhXKf8ZX7qN7GLraJ1aJkrbN-w83Dj7H7OK_7qmV6Fw1du8-MSkl7KWYrCS_0h9ymBiiK_lHd_0aoDK0CzoxWLN8/s1600/IMG_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FjgHg9u7Lf8dyibVtWT_YQrM3FOsKM3aJUbdfXC7aZEDxwPzKtykhXKf8ZX7qN7GLraJ1aJkrbN-w83Dj7H7OK_7qmV6Fw1du8-MSkl7KWYrCS_0h9ymBiiK_lHd_0aoDK0CzoxWLN8/s320/IMG_0552.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The size of towers. I really liked this! :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towers continued! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOJbXOVZpnR3XFjWjmFq10xnlcq7XvHnJ-txFJPo6lfuB1caxquxhvfLnL4jOMYuyDdwYCqA0cX04dLbXo7gOWoLyrhPlVt228IrYZAQ3haOX_x1_H1SzseYSoFqnwtVKd16T1p2U8XE/s1600/IMG_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOJbXOVZpnR3XFjWjmFq10xnlcq7XvHnJ-txFJPo6lfuB1caxquxhvfLnL4jOMYuyDdwYCqA0cX04dLbXo7gOWoLyrhPlVt228IrYZAQ3haOX_x1_H1SzseYSoFqnwtVKd16T1p2U8XE/s320/IMG_0559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We miss you all in DC and NY!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwy0Ie7aOx4SBitjymLjKL5ElvYZcyllxhJFEIPNASjGWGw2GjpFLewyhmwBy5Sf13b22bP0bMnZJ9mD4xTtiB4o5y_nDlvNhZed84EwxFS899AMYmYoygilbNaEnBOfyacM0Cw-E2X1s/s1600/IMG_0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwy0Ie7aOx4SBitjymLjKL5ElvYZcyllxhJFEIPNASjGWGw2GjpFLewyhmwBy5Sf13b22bP0bMnZJ9mD4xTtiB4o5y_nDlvNhZed84EwxFS899AMYmYoygilbNaEnBOfyacM0Cw-E2X1s/s320/IMG_0558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ended up having a terrific date night!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-63734273624412684482012-05-15T17:52:00.000-04:002012-06-05T17:52:59.288-04:00Seoul Day 2 Part 3!After meeting our boy we returned and went to the SWS baby reception home. So sad to see babies now staying there until 6 months old before being able to be placed with a foster family because of all the delays. There aren't enough foster families for all of these sweet children and it broke my heart. It also was obviously very heartbreaking to our social worker. Have I mentioned how great she was? I really liked it her a lot!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyRzS1YFnPQIYznegMlcQaOwpDPYZjsbgHPbXX4tFnOz5e8Nh323xdxprCfFYc-wgEhJjKPtNSweJGK0jW5ECK_0Gl2XK-GjZfWVcr_z6VSU6PKBUoOnvI598gHJcRw6mTLIngyBAYPk/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyRzS1YFnPQIYznegMlcQaOwpDPYZjsbgHPbXX4tFnOz5e8Nh323xdxprCfFYc-wgEhJjKPtNSweJGK0jW5ECK_0Gl2XK-GjZfWVcr_z6VSU6PKBUoOnvI598gHJcRw6mTLIngyBAYPk/s320/IMG_0453.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Newborn Room. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The older baby room. Can you imagine that this is all the stimulation some babies get until 6 months old? And Korea has one of the best programs! There are just too many babies and children are staying in Foster Families so much longer that they have to stay in the reception home longer. :(</td></tr>
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When we left SWS we took a walk for a while and found a yummy Korean BBQ restaurant! We had fun trying to cook the food ourselves. Since the people at the restaurant spoke zero English and we speak very little Korean, it was interesting how they came over and took over for us once or twice to make sure we were doing it right! The food was delicious! :) Here is a picture of our food (I have more, but I'm struggling to find them):<br />
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After lunch we headed to Insadong. What a great place! We had rescheduled our food tour (I had scheduled it for Thursday b/c we were told SWS had an event on Thursday, but then they told us we would take custody that day. Fortunately we were able to reschedule for tonight! - we actually found out AFTER our big lunch). :) So we walked around Insadong a little, saw what a great area it was. Poked around a couple of alleyways, then headed to Changdeukdong Palace. What an amazing and beautiful place! We loved it and walked around for quite a while.<br />
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After the palace we walked around Insadong a bit more then headed to our food tour which took place in the same area. It was fantastic! Daniel was adopted when he was 5 and was very congratulatory and shared some about his views on adoption. It was really terrific. The food was fantastic and the places we went were definitely not places we would have found by ourselves. I would definitely recommend checking out their website and considering a food tour if you're headed to Korea: http://www.ongofood.com/</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Stop - Korean BBQ! Yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> We then went to a place where they served Tofu. It was strange but actually good (reserve judgement until you try!). :) </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, I really liked this place, this was a soup that had delicious rice cake noodle things and a chicken in it....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then you add this stuff in your own bowl to your own liking with the soup. It was really good! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two were HYSTERICAL! We loved them and brought boxes of the honey candy home to share. So fun! :) You can watch similar videos on You Tube - search for Korean honey candy or something similar.</td></tr>
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I'm still organizing my pictures, so hopefully I can add more later. Sadly a lot of my Insadong pics were really blurry. :( If anyone has good ones they want to email me I'd be very appreciative! :) <br />
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We got back to the hotel fairly late and crashed. It was a fun day, one of our favorites! :) I still wish we had been able to spend more time in Seoul, but I know that there will be a day where we can do that as a family.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-57721742132678405122012-05-15T01:50:00.000-04:002012-05-27T02:29:24.138-04:00Seoul Day 2 - Meeting Our Boy!!! :)OK, thanks to Megan who made my day by saying that waiting for this was like waiting for the next Harry Potter book! Miss you and can't wait to see you again!!!! Here it is....<br />
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We were greeted at the door by a woman with a toddler strapped to her back! I couldn't believe how big (and how much older) my boy had gotten!!! It's truly amazing when your most recent picture is 4 months old how much your child will change in that time! Both foster parents were there. I was thrilled that we got to meet his foster father! Afterwards I was even more thrilled because we're pretty sure Suhbin was VERY close to his foster father.<br />
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We walked in and were invited to sit on the floor of the living room. His foster family lives in a 3 bedroom apartment. It was interesting because there is very little furniture and it is extremely child friendly! They have mats down on the living room and bedroom floors. They eat at what we would consider at coffee table, while sitting on the floor. They were obviously more comfortable sitting on the floor and relaxing than we were. I probably spend more time on the floor than Brian so I was able to relax more than he was at first.<br />
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Let me be honest. The first 20 minutes were a bit torturous. Suhbin was very clingy to his foster family. When Foster Dad (FD) stood up and walked out of the room he cried and threw a huge fit. He is very attached to FD! At first we thought that we weren't going to get much interaction with him. I really was afraid that he was going to ignore us until we left. Fortunately, just as I was beginning to give up hope, he warmed up! :) Thank you God! He is amazing! This boy LOVES to play! He is active and likes to roughhouse! He is going to have SO much fun with his siblings! Unfortunately, a lot of our pictures did not turn out too well because he was so active that they were blurry. Then I had to pay attention and give gifts to the foster family (which I was happy to do) while Brian got to play with Suhbin (I was jealous because he was so happy at this point!). Toward the end he was feeding us food, smiling, playing, and just such a happy boy! So glad we got to see his personality! OK, I made you wait long enough.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initially staying very close to FM but finally allowing us close enough to look at the pictures we sent.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with Brian</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fully engaged with toys and showing us that he likes anything that makes NOISE!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span id="goog_2075186323"></span><span id="goog_2075186324"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-21555545649839595532012-05-15T01:32:00.000-04:002012-05-26T02:15:13.179-04:00Seoul Day 2 part 1....We woke up early in the morning to get ourselves ready and out the door. We went out and got a taxi (Brian got a taxi card for the Renaissance the night before). We got to the Renaissance at about 7:30 and the front desk told us that they'd have our room ready in 50 minutes. So we had breakfast and checked in at 8:20. We had to hurry and get all of the gifts together and wrapped and walk to SWS by 9:10. It's really only a 5 minute walk from our hotel, but we had to find it! <br />
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We left at about quarter of and started walking. After turning one way and wandering a little looking OBVIOUSLY lost two very nice women came up to us and asked if were looking for SWS! :) Wow! Did we stand out or what?!? There was obviously no other reason we would be there holding a bunch of gift bags looking lost! They pointed us in the right direction and we made it just on time. Our awesome Social Worker was just finishing up. She jumped up and greeted us and asked us to wait on the couch for 5 minutes. Then she said, ready to go? Wow! We're actually going? We gave her and the directors their gifts and headed to the van. The van ride seemed endlessly long to me. So far I had enjoyed any rides we had taken because there was so much to see. Brian kept pointing things out and I would just nod and smile and was completely useless, lost in thoughts of my son and what this meeting would be like. <br />
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When we finally got there our SW (social worker) encouraged us to take pictures of the outside of where he lived (we wanted to but were hesitant) so we can show him one day. Then we went in....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-51174562012201449802012-05-14T01:24:00.000-04:002012-05-26T02:15:25.915-04:00Seoul Day 1We got to our Hotel at about 7 am and checked in immediately! We were floored! And thrilled! We got to our room, explored it a bit (it wasn't huge), admired the view, took a shower, and took a NAP! We woke up at about 11 am and started the day much more refreshed. I know many people wouldn't recommend this but it allowed us to stay up until a decent hour that night and we really didn't struggle with jet lag much at all (thank you God for melatonin each time I woke up in the middle of the night too!). <br />
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I will do a quick plug for melatonin - it helped me adjust SO well with ZERO grogginess at all. For anyone traveling soon - we brought the 3 mg pills that we bought at Walmart and one of those just as I laid down to relax had me dozing quickly with no problems waking up. I'd even feel fine using it with my kids around, I'd wake up just fine.<br />
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OK, so then we ate lunch at the hotel buffet that had a mix of more traditional Korean food and some western food. It was a good start since we were hungry and didn't have to search far. The hotel buffets are expensive but they are very good, easy, and not intimidating (you can take things on your plate and try it without committing to a whole meal). There were several kinds of Kimchi and seafood was prevalent. The desserts are always interesting in Korea. You never know what might be inside, but often it's good!<br />
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After lunch we went back to the room. I was a little hesitant to go out until we heard from SWS and I was thrilled when they called soon after we returned. We were going to SWS to meet Suhbin at 9:10 the next day. I could now enjoy the rest of the day.<br />
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Once we were set with SWS we decided to explore the subway. We went to Seoul Station and checked out Lotte Mart. Lots of fun! We walked around the city a little bit and tried to get oriented. We knew we weren't going to accomplish a ton that day due to getting adjusted and spending more time than we'd hoped at the hotel, but we got out and explored. We ate in a little Pho place (which isn't Korean but the weather was pretty miserable and we wanted something warm so we decided to try it). It was very good. We also got an interesting appetizer sampler. We still don't know what we ate but it most of it we liked. A couple things didn't have much flavor so we didn't eat anymore. The thing with the claw sticking out was surprisingly good. I'll have to add some pictures soon! :)<br />
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We headed back to the hotel. It was raining and we were getting tired. We decided to take a cab back. At each hotel they will give you a card with their name and location written in hangul - it's wonderful so you can always get back. And taxis are cheap! We were so surprised. I think the MOST expensive taxi ride we had was $14 and that was 40-45 minutes in length. Amazing!<br />
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Back at the hotel we got everything organized b/c we had to switch hotels in the morning before going to SWS. We re-packed all of the gifts and gift bags in one suitcase so we could access it easily, set out our clothes, got everything set and went to sleep! I was so excited and anxious about the next day I'm surprised I could sleep. But we both slept well!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-19970353718498808902012-05-13T00:51:00.000-04:002012-05-26T01:05:07.059-04:00Happy Mother's Day!I spent Mother's Day flying to my baby boy! Wow! Such a blessing! :) The trip was fantastic. I slept for at least half of it. Korean Air was great. The flight attendants are beautiful (really!) and attentive, they always have a smile on their face. The food was way better than expected. I had Bee Bim Bop that was surprisingly good (I like Bee Bim Bop, the surprise was that airplane food was good) and Brian had the American food, he liked it a lot. <div>
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I had some books on the Kindle and read a little. I watched part of Jurassic Park. I prayed. My mind wandered to my sweet boy quite frequently, and I slept (I knew we were getting in at 4 am so I figured it was a good idea). Breakfast in the morning was also good, I stuck with the continental breakfast (my stomach was slightly off by this time and in the morning normally I struggle to try new things) and it was really decent. It was wonderful to touch down in Incheon.</div>
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When we got there we went through Immigration. I had no problems but of course Brian did. They saw his military back pack and possibly his hair cut and made an assumption and asked for his orders. He was trying to communicate with them that he was not there on orders, he was just visiting. It was only a couple of minutes but I didn't know what was going on since I had already gone through and I got nervous. But he came through just fine.</div>
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We got our bags and went through Customs VERY quickly! We exchanged money (definitely the best rates around at the airport - so glad we brought cash to exchange - we exchanged enough for the whole week). </div>
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Then, after a bit of exploring, we found the correct KAL Limo Bus to get to our hotel but we had JUST missed it. We had about 40 minutes until the next bus so we went in and found Dunkin Donuts. I had a sticky rice-based donut that was actually a bit different but good. And we had much needed coffee! We got back to our stop and saw A and A with their families. Some of the nicest people you could ever meet! So we talked with them until we boarded the bus. The KAL Limo Buses are fantastic. I loved the ride into Seoul. I was fascinated by everything I was seeing. I took a lot of pictures though they only turned out OK since they were through a bus window. I couldn't believe we were FINALLY in Korea!!! Happy Mother's Day!!!!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7617028579540588515.post-40180884217837343332012-05-12T01:02:00.000-04:002012-05-22T01:20:24.279-04:00We're leaving on a Jet PlaneWhat a crazy day! We left the house at about 5 to be there early (perhaps a little earlier than necessary). Our flight out of AZ was at 9 but it takes us an hour and a half to get to the airport. Things went smoothly and we got to LAX. We had 13 hours until our flight. We went to Korean Air to check in and get rid of our bags, but you can't do that until 4 hours before your flight! So we were stuck with all of our bags for 13 hours and weren't sure what to do. We looked into paying to go to one of those lounges for the day, but for $100 (the cost of the lounge for 2 people) we were able to rent a hotel room near the airport with a shuttle. I took a bath, Brian took a shower, and we slept! It was wonderful! We then went down to dinner without any bags and just had a relaxing day. It was a bit indulgent but totally worth it (especially since we saved over $300 by flying out of AZ in the morning instead of later in the day so we still saved over $200). :) <br />
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At about 8:00 pm we checked in (we were thrilled that we were sitting together), we looked around a bit then went through security. As we were checking in I saw that a couple on one of the adoption boards that I frequent was on the same flight! So fun! We found them at the gate and the wait for boarding passed quickly talking with them. :) <br />
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At 11:20 pm we boarded our flight and at 11:50 we took off for Seoul! I went immediately to this screen that I watched for a large part of the trip! :) <br />
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More about the flight to come. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1