Korea Adoption Journal
Saturday, September 6, 2008
I (Stephanie) have been thinking about our journey to Noah, and thought I would write down some things that have been on my heart.
Throughout our trip to Korea, Brian and I were greeted with the words, "You are so good to be doing this (adopting Noah). If there were more people in the world like you, it would be a better place." While the words themselves seem to be coming from a kind place, I do not think those delivering the message completely grasp the meaning of adoption, at least to our family, and thousands of families like us.
What I wish I could have told them tactfully and with grace, was that adopting both Sophia and Noah were not acts of kindness. We were merely bringing our children home. We believe with deep conviction that our children were pre-ordained by God to be ours regardless of the circumstances of their births. We believe that God has a plan and purpose for their lives, which started with their genetic make-up, however, we are the ones blessed to nurture their souls, teach them right from wrong, watch them grow and be their parents. What a privilege God has given us to raise two such unique and precious children.
Sophia has worried about whether or not we will still love her, or if we will love her more than Noah. She has the typical worries of a 4 year old encountering a new sibling. I tell her that I love them both for who they are: Sophia for her empathetic, tender heart and her lively sunny nature. Noah for his cuddly soft side, clever wit and endearing personality. They are my children, the children for whom I prayed fervently, and God granted me the petition for which I asked of Him. To me, this is the meaning of adoption. That is why I have devoted my life to adoption, both as a mother and as a social worker. I wish I could convey that to everyone who sees my beautiful family, and I guess, this is my way of doing so.
Tuesday, September 2nd Update
It is currently 3:45am on Tuesday. Our sleep schedules are still pretty much out of whack. I thought we had it together at bedtime last night and it looks like that is the case for Steph and the kids, but at about 2am I was wide awake and couldn't get back to sleep at all. So I decided it was a good time to do another update. Leaving Vegas was more of a pain in the neck than it should have been. Our hotel was supposed to get us a shuttle at 11pm but that driver was about 45 minutes late which put us to the airport only 20 minutes before our flight to Cincinatti was scheduled to board. Fortunately, the Delta staff person that had been so helpful earlier was still on duty and actually had already printed our boarding passes. As I approached the ticket counter, she was already telling me where our gate was and how to get there with the stroller. I spent less than 15 seconds at the ticket counter. Security on the other hand was an absolute nightmare. The Vegas security decided that I need to remove about half of the electronics (portable DVD player, laptop, camera etc...) from my bags, remove my belt, remove my shoes and to make matters worse, I forgot that I had my cell phone in my pocket so I kept having to go through the scanner until we figured that out. I was highly frustrated and sweating like a pig and these clowns just seemed to get a kick out of the thought that I might miss my flight. No worries though, we made it to the gate with a whopping 5 minutes to spare. The flight from Vegas to Cinci was a typical domestic flight. Not enough room for carry-on luggage, not enough room for legs on people taller than 3 feet and flight attendants on a power trip with bad attitudes. Apparently you are considered an idiot if you ask for a bottle of water on a domestic Delta flight. They will bring you a plastic shot glass of water if you catch them in the right mood, but don't expect a refill. Thank God the flight from Cincinatti to Nashville was short, 37 minutes, because it was one of the really small commuter planes. Normally I enjoy these little planes because there are so few seats that boarding and take-off is very quick. This was frustrating though because the kids were exhausted (it was 9am at this point) and there was very little room for our carry on luggage.
We made it home on time and there was a pretty good sized group of family and friends to meet us at the airport. That gave us the boost of energy that we needed to get through the remaining drive home. It was good to see familiar faces again for sure. Noah seemed to enjoy all of the attention and Sophia was very excited to see her friend Violet and after telling her the quick 4yr old version of our trip, the ran around the airport like wild people. Sophia really need to let off some steam after the previous 30 hours of travel.
The past 3 days at home since we arrived have been kind of a blur. We have been trying to get caught up on our sleep. We were all much more dehydrated and sleep deprived than we realized. It pretty much took until mid-day on Monday before we were all rested up. Then we began the process of trying to get our schedules turned back around. I am struggling a little with getting back in the 'infant care' mode but its coming back to me slowly. I had become so used to Sophia and being able to communicate with her that having Noah was a bit more of a shock to my system than I was ready for. The little guy is doing much better than we expected though. He seems to be attaching to us both, but much more to Stephanie, and he is adjusting to his new living situation better than we expected. He really likes Sadie (the boxer dog) and she is very gentle with him. Even sleeps in his room some when he is napping. We are going to be getting him on more solid foods as quickly as possible but for the time being he is still taking forumla, jars of baby food and rice. We fed him some talapia for dinner and he really liked it.
All in all this has been a woderful experience and we were blessed with it being much easier than we expected. We are now blessed as well with a really cool kid who seems to have as much of a dynamic personality as Sophia. So from here we move forward as the Williams family of four and see where God takes us.
Friday, August 29th - Second update
We have made it to Las Vegas. After a relatively smooth 12 hour flight from Seoul, we landed in Vegas at about 4:30pm on Friday. Our departing flight for Cincinnati does not leave until nearly 1am tomrrow so after doing the immigration dance and getting our luggage from the international terminal, we hiked over to the domestic terminal and rechecked it. The lady at the Delta counter was extremely helpful and gave us a 'distress voucher' which allowed us to get discounted hotel rates. Usually these are used for travelers who have flights cancelled etc... but like I said she was extremely helpful and gave us one anyway. We got a ride to an Emerald Suites and by 7:45pm we were checked in and the kids were finally able to roam around without us keeping them under thumb so much.
The flight actually went very well compared to our return flight from China. We originally had three seats together but at the ticket counter in Seoul we asked if we could get a bassinet for Noah. The Korean Airlines agent in Seoul hooked us up. He gave Steph a bulkhead seat with a bassinet, and left Sophia and I in two of the original three seats by the window. As it turned out, nobody claimed our original third seat so Sophia and I had an entire row to our selves which allowed her to lay down and sleep nearly the entire flight back. Noah slept like a log most of the flight in his bassinet as well. That was truly a God thing because Stephanie and I were both suffering from dehydration headaches and we really needed the rest. It seems that no matter how much water we drank in Korea, we constantly stayed dehydrated to some extent. The couple from Dallas that we met in Korea ended up with the other two seats in Stephanies row so she was able to visit with them on the return trip. They are first time parents and the baby they adopted is in the process of getting over some kind of heavy duty stomach illness so they had a slightly rougher return flight than we did. The mother was also suffering from serious dehydration and it was a really hard flight for her. Fortunately for them they had a pretty quick change-over in Vegas and are scheduled to land at home in Dallas by about 11pm tonight.
The hotel room we got is another God thing for sure. It is basically a two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and plenty of room to hang out and get comfortable for a few hours. We ordered some room service and gave the kids a bath. After eating, Steph put Noah down to sleep in one of the bedrooms and he was out like a light. She is sleeping in there with him now so that he wont' wake up alone and confused. Its about 9:25pm in Vegas now and we have to head back to the airport at about 11pm to get checked in for our flight. It will take us a couple of days to get our schedules flipped back around I think, but all in all this has been a fairly easy trip. As easy as it can be travelling half-way around the world with a 4yr old and a 15 month old anyway. As long as we keep moving, Noah travels really well. It is the times when we are just sitting in an ariport terminal, or standing in a line that he gets a little frustrated. Just two more flights and that will be done though and even though we had a good time in Korea, we will be very happy to finally be back home.
Friday, August 29th
Last night was not as rough as it could have been. After Noahs fit prior to going to sleep, he slept until about 3:30am. At that point he woke up and had about an hour long melt down. Steph just kept after it and tried to make him as comfortable as possible and then he went back to sleep until about 8:30 this morning. Throughout the morning he lost control a few more times but they were relatively short. We all took a walk to a nearby playground that Sophia and I discovered and that gave Noah some 'stuff' to look at other than the four walls of our hotel room and it also gave Sophia a much needed opportunity to run, jump and scream.
The middle of the day here is just almost too hot to be out and have any fun at all with two kids in tow. Especially when carrying camera bags, diaper bags and the occasional 4yr old who wants to ride on daddy's shoulders. So with that in mind we rolled back to the room. It was getting close to Noah's nap time and we all needed lunch anyway. I walked down to a sandwich shop and got the girls some 'normal' sandwiches - ham/cheese etc... My intention was to get them fed and then take a side trip on my own to this little Korean kitchen across the street. Sophia surprised me and said she wanted to go too. Since Noah was napping I figured it would be best to get Soph out of the room anyway. The Korean kitchen deal was really good food. I have been walking by it all week wondering if it was any good. One of the things that has kept me from going in is that there is always a guy out on the sidewalk in front of the building cleaning fish on newspaper. I can only guess that the fish they cook in this place was handled in the same way. Sophia and I instantly became a big hit with the 3 women working in there. Sophia because of how cotton picking cute she is and me because of my apparently 100% screwed up attempt to say "I do not speak Korean" in Korean. They all got a big kick out of that at my expense of course. There was one customer in the place who spoke enough english that I managed to point out a pork dish which turned out to be more or less Korean BBQ with all of the traditional side items (seaweed soup, Kimchi and various other vegetables).
It is about 2pm on Friday now and we have to be downstairs at 4:30 to catch our ride to the airport. That being said was have a boat load of stuff to do between now and then. Our flight leaves tonight at 8:50pm and we land in Vegas at about 4pm. We then have a 9 hour layover in Vegas so our plan is to get a hotel room near the airport and rest up a bit instead of hanging out in the Vegas airport. From there we fly to Cincinnati and then on to Nashville for a 9:15 arrival time Saturday morning. We are the only family that got to get our son and keep him overnight. All of the other families that are here are literally being handed their new children on their way out the door to go to the airport for their return flight. That sounds like a nightmare to me and I am very thankful that we did not get Noah that way. There is no logic at all as to why they let us have Noah the night before, but that is ok with me.
It is possible that we will have a chance in Vegas to put up one more update but if not, this will be the last one and we will be home soon - (HAHAHA, soon, that cracks me up).
Thursday, August 28th
Today was very eventful in the life of the Williams family. First, and most importantly, we are a family of four!!!! We got our precious baby boy today, which was emotional for all. Noah handled it like a trooper though. More on that later.
After Brian and Sophia went on the morning coffee run, Sophia and I went to the baby nursery, and held a one month old baby girl. The nursery was filled with babies from newborn through three months old. I was really surprised at the amount of babies in the nursery. Sophia really enjoyed holding the baby girl. We told her that some mommy and daddy were praying for her and she would make them very happy one day. At 11 AM, Brian, Sophia and I went to meet the President and Founder of Eastern Social Welfare Society. It was a really nice experience. They gave us an overview of the history of South Korea and the Eastern Social Welfare Society which has been in business for about 35 years. ESWS has placed over 45,000 children during that time.
We got Noah today at 4pm and it didn't take long before he had his first grieving melt down because his foster mother was not around. We got that handled and went out to eat dinner with the couple from Dallas that we meet this week. Noah enjoyed that because he likes being outside but once we got back to the room he erupted into another full tilt boogie melt down that lasted for a good 45 minutes. Anyone with children will know that when a child is grieving and/or emotionally upset, there is just about nothing you can do to calm them down other than hold tight and ride the thing out while trying to give the child as much comfort as possible. As I type we seem to be at the tail end of this outburst. Stephanie is laying on a mat on the floor with Noah and he is in the process of falling asleep - I hope. Our understanding is that he sleeps all the way through the night, but I am not holding out hope for that to be the case now that his life has been turned upside down and I fully expect one or more additional melt downs during the night.
Another cool thing happened today. I (Brian) took a couple of hours to go walking around while Sophia and Stephanie rested up in preperation for getting Noah. I found that once you get away from the hustle and bustle of the main streets and get back into the neighborhoods, you see a whole different side of Seoul. When you get out away from the buses and taxis and stroll around where people actually live, it is actually a fairly peacefull place.
Other than the expected melt downs, Noah is an abolutely hilarious child. He has a whacky deep belly laugh and makes some of the funniest faces I have ever seen on a kid. He and Sophia are getting along just perfectly. We could not be happier with their interaction. We are going to sign off now and get this uploaded so that we can get some sleep while we have the chance. We will try and get some more pictures uploaded tomorrow prior to heading out for the airport.
Wednesday August 27th
Today started early, but not quite as early as yesterday. We all managed to sleep until about 5:30am but since we were scheduled to visit with Noah again today there was just too much excitement for us to sleep. I (Brian) took off for my usual morning coffee hunt which is always an adventure. Plenty of places have coffee here, but absolutely none of them are open at 6am. I have also figured out that the shops don't really have a set time that they open each day. Yesterday at about 6:30am I scored coffee and donuts at a place called Rich's down the street. But today Rich's wasn't open that early. So I wandered various side streets until I found a 24hour market that had pre-made instant coffee to be heated in a microwave. I figured that was my best bet so I picked a few flavors and headed back to the room. Shortly after, around 7:30am I saw one of the other guys that is staying in the guest house come walking in with REAL coffee and donuts from Dunkin Donuts! I guess I just need to be more patient and wait for the good places to open up from now on.
I (Steph) have come the conclusion that I am not a good international traveler. Between headaches, the inability to sleep, and stomach aches, I am a mess. I took two sleeping pills to sleep last night, which I did, but then, probably from over medication, I got a headache, so I took Excedrin, and then my stomach got upset. So, now I'm scared to take more headache medicine - for the stomach and for the caffiene. And all I want to do is sleep, but it's hard to do so with an achey head, a child to entertain and a country to see.
But on the upside we got to see Noah again today. The foster mom seemed a little more sad today. I asked the social worker how the foster mother was doing regarding Il Woo going home with us. Her response was that she was worried about him until he met us and seemed to like us. She said Monday night, he ate and slept well, whereas many times her foster children have a hard time eating and sleeping after they meet their adoptive parents because they tend to get nervous being around strangers. But, the social worker and foster mother felt that we would be fine playing as a family without them today, and left us alone with him for 45 minutes. The foster mom gave me a slice of cheese to feed him, which I thought was smart on her part. He played great with us the entire time, and he never cried. He did try going out the door a few times, but he did not cry for her. In fact, he looked for us when she put him on her back (that is how the foster moms carry the babies here) when it was time for her to leave - we have evidence in a photograph. Sophia asked me to lift her up so she could kiss him goodbye, which we took as a good sign.
Our little girl is trying to figure this whole thing out, and her new role, as well as Noah's. I think in a way she is very excited. I think in another way, she is extraordinarily jealous. Her first question this morning was "are we going to see Noah today?" Yet, while playing with him she gets very rambunctious and territorial. She is allowing both of us to kiss on and hold Noah without any protest, which I think is good. However, she does voice to us that she is jealous of all the attention he gets, and that she feels left out. I guess that's part of having a little brother, and we all have to feel our way through it.
Tomorrow we have a lunch scheduled with the agency director and then we get Noah at 4pm and will be on our own with 2 kids from then on so wish us luck. The way things are shaping up, the flight home on Friday could be a real bear but a lot of it will depend on how well Noah does once he realizes that the foster mother is not going to be there for him anymore.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Today we did some site seeing in Seoul. It was quite an experience. We took the subway to Insadong, a shopping district in Seoul. It took us a while to navigate the subway system, and about an hour to get from the agency to Insadong. When we got there, we went in the direction of one of the palaces. On the way to the large palace, we stumbled upon another ancient palace, that was smaller and less spectacular. Although we are in Korea, the architecture and layout felt like it was straight out of the movie Mulan, which is one of Sophia's favorite movies. She got a kick out of it. Then we walked to the larger palace, only to find that it was closed and would not be open for tours for several hours. We decided to turn around, being completely exhausted, and found our way to Dunkin Donuts. Seems that we have encountered this store more on this trip than we ever have in the states. We drank some water and ate a sandwich, and then went to the shopping district. We were stunned to find that alot of the "Korean" items to buy were actually made in China. Hum. So, it was somewhat of a bust, and Sophia fell asleep in the stroller (yes, we brought the stroller, and it has been well worth the effort).
By the time we got back from our shopping excursion, it was three o'clock and we were tired. We did run into another couple that arrived here on Monday to adopt their son, and is staying at the agency guest house. We mentioned that we were going to try to find authentic Korean food and if they wanted they could join us. Around 6 PM, they knocked on the door so we set off tofind some bulgogi. Brian asked sweet Mr. Shin - the agency security guard and our source of information on Seoul - if he could point us to a restaurant that has good bulgogi. Mr. Shin wrote a note for Brian to show Korean pedestrians, and in big bold letters, the Korean words for Bulgogi Restaurant. So, Richard, Shannon, Soph, Brian and I went walking blindly down the street, and found a really interesting spot full of Korean bistros, cafes, restaurants, etc. One was appealing because of it's decor, so we sat down, and instantly became the entertainment of the restaurant. What we ate was certainly not bulgogi but it was good food, and we did notice that the items they suggested for us were the most expensive on the menu. It was kind of a Korean Hibachi style place where they bring out raw/semi-cooked food and put it on this big grill in the middle of the table. Cooking the food and eating it is kind of a group effort and was a perfect setting for us to get to know our new found friends a bit better.
We have another visit with Noah tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1:30pm so we are excited about that to say the least. I'm sure we will have more pictures to share after that visit and will post them on the Gallery page. Sophia is handling the trip like a trooper considering there is not much here to entertain a four year old for any extended period of time. 6 hours of subway riding and street shopping was NOT on her short list of fun stuff to do, but other than a few stumbles she kept herself in line pretty well, all things considered.
August 25, 2008
We met little Il Woo this morning! He is a sweet little charmer with personality, that is for sure. And he is as cute as he is sweet, funny, and playful. He lights up the room when he enters, and we all were quite smitten with him as soon as we saw him!
Our trip started off very smoothly. All of our plane rides took off early and went with out a hitch. We got to Atlanta about 20 minutes early, ate breakfast at the food court, and then found our way to our Korean Airlines flight. The plane ride to Korea was long, very very very long. And on the second half of the flight they must have turned on the heater - we were flying near the North Pole. But, we were sweating, and it was very hard to sleep. I think we all got only 4 hours of sleep. The plane was a double decker, and there were probably 25 to 30 flight attendants on board. All of them could have been Korean models. Sophia was tired and cranky for part of the trip, but for the most part, she was a trooper. She watched movies and made artwork. The food on the plane was good too.
When we got to the Incheon Airport in Seoul, we got through immigration and customs easily, and made our way to transportation. A man named Mr. Kim, saw us coming from a mile away. He is a taxi cab driver, and he approached us saying, he would take us to our hotel. Before we knew it, he had our cart that was carrying our bags, and loading them in his van. He was very nice, but as we started to move Brian asked him how much the ride would be, and he said about $130. Welcome to Korea! Oh well, it was a smooth delivery, and he gave Brian a Korean language lesson.
We got to our hotel, Seokyo Hotel, went to the room, and had dinner in the restaurant downstairs. By this time we were about to fall asleep in our plates because we were at approx 27 hours travel time since we left home and only about 4 of those were sleeping. The food was good but we are starting to figure out that one way or another most everything tastes like sesame oil. We all fell asleep pretty easily after that, but since our internal clocks were still on U.S. Central time, about 5 hours later we were all awake (1am) and we spent the remainder of the morning tossing and turning while listening to our leaky air conditioner drip water on the carpet. Much to mine (Brian) and Sophias happiness, the hotel breakfast buffet had bacon. They also had other western goodies like bacon and then there was bacon with a side of bacon. Steph said the other stuff was really good too. After breakfast we checked out and caught a cab for a very short 5 minute ride to the Eastern Social Welfare Society which is the agency that we are going through to get Noah. They have some guest rooms on site so we are staying in the building where all of our 'stuff' is happening. It is a full service adoption agency, birth mother facility, baby hospital, and Christian church, where everyone here has chapel at 9 am every morning. As I (Steph) am typing this, a doctor is sitting next to me doing research on the computer. It's an interesting environment. I ran into three birth mothers while getting Sophia grape juice in the guest house kitchen. It was an odd moment for sure.
Which leads us to our first meeting with Noah. Brian and I were very nervous before the meeting because our travel guide told us how formal the meeting was supposed to be. We did not want to mess up and we did not know what to expect. Brian dressed in full suit, and I in my required dress and hose. We met Noah's social worker at her office, and she took us upstairs to the observation room. She gave us Noah's passport and immigration paperwork, and asked us to start filling out paperwork for the guest house stay and Brian's passport information for when we leave Korea with Noah. As I (Steph) am filling out the paperwork, the foster mother brought Noah into the room, and all I wanted to drop the paperwork and go snatch Noah up. But, I contained myself, finished writing the paperwork and went to sit on the floor next to the social worker. Sophia immediately started to play with Noah, offering him toys and calling him by name, Il Woo. Brian was busy sweating to death (it was about 100 degrees in the observation room) and video taping the entire meeting. I started asking the foster mother questions, through the interpretation skills of Noah's social worker. I asked her to describe Noah's personality, and she said that he is easy going, happy and outgoing. And he is. He crawled in my lap, and I hugged him and tickled him and he laughed. It was awesome. The foster mother also said that he puts himself to sleep at night, sleeps by himself, and sleeps through the night. Brian and I thought, yeah, until Thursday. At the end of the meeting I asked the social worker when we could see him again and she said Thursday. I gave her a sad look and she asked the foster mother if she could bring him on Wednesday instead. So, we will see him on Wednesday again, and then on Thursday, the Williams family will become an official foursome at 4:30. At that moment, the whole thing became very real to Brian and me. Two kids. Wow.
But we could not have asked for a more perfect child to add to our family. He is a sweet, healthy, strong, loving and adorable little guy. God is definately good.
The good news is that Steph and I were made aware of a wonderful little boy in Korea that was a 'waiting child' and since our homestudy and all associated paperwork was complete we were able to move things around and get the process started to adopt him. He turned 1yr old on April 29th and his name is Ha, Il Woo. If everything stays on track we will be traveling to Korea in late August or early September to bring him home. Here is one of the pictures that we have so far. He is wearing a traditional Korean outfit called a hanbok which children wear on their first birthday.
We will of course put more updates on this page as things happen so feel free to check back every now and then to see what is going on.
August 20, 2008
Wow. It is amazing that I have not written in two months. Seems like I wrote only yesterday, however, it also seems like we have been waiting for Noah forever.
Much has happened since my last post but not until the later part of July.
My best friend Ginny, her sister in law Becky and mother in law Carolyn threw a Korean baby shower for me on July 27, 2008. It was a beautiful shower, very well thought out. Ginny and Becky made bibimbap from scratch with bulgogi, and they had a niece who's father is from Korea come to explain Korean food to the group. The food was phenominal. Frank, Ginny's father in law wrote a very touching poem for Noah, which left every one in the room crying. I plan to have the poem framed and placed in Noah's room. Friends from every area of my life came, and it was so nice to be with everyone at one time. The next day, my co-workers threw a surprise baby shower for me at the office. It too, was so sweet and thoughtful. (Also made me realize how much I have to learn about cooking. Everyone who cooked for my showers are amazing good cooks).
Then, we received immigration clearance on the following Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Our agency told us not to expect a travel call for 5 weeks after that. Well, surprise surprise, we got the travel call this morning at 8 AM. Talk about a whirlwind day. We were told that we could see Noah on the first full business day we are in Korea. So, being me, I informed Brian that we would leave on Friday if we had to. I know, you are all shocked.
We found a really good itinerary at a really good price (for these days), and jumped on it. We will be flying Korean Air, which should be really fun for Sophia - the flight attendants wear traditional hanboks and make-up. And, we leave at 7:30 Saturday morning, getting into Seoul (after one brief layover in Atlanta) at 5:10 Sunday evening. Enough time for a nice dinner and bed before meeting Noah on Monday. By the way, Brian and I are still in absolute shock.
This evening, I was very pleasantly surprised with an update on our baby boy. His social worker met with him on August 1 for his 15 month visit, and he is doing so well. The child is a miracle from God. He sleeps very well - in fact puts himself to sleep, eats well, is crawling and cruising, dancing to music and says four Korean words. He was 19 pounds and 28 inches on August 1st and has two teeth. He is developmentally on target for his corrected age of 12 1/2 months, and in all that time the only illness he has had is one urinary tract infection. The parting statement from Noah's social worker is "I look forward to Il Woo being held in the embrace of his adoptive parents as soon as possible." Amen,sister, so do I!!
Doing the math today, I realized that we started Noah's adoption process on September 7, 2008 (the exact date Noah was released for international adoption), and we will be coming home with our son one week shy of a one year process. Praise God!
We will be posting photos of our trip to Seoul, and of course of our children together for the first time. We can not wait.
June 17, 2008
June 6, 2008
Noah's room has been painted, his curtains and crib are in place, and he has a small wardrobe waiting for him in his closet. It is now time for us to send a care package to him. We can send him anything that will fit in a 12x12 Ziplock bag. Sophia has drawn a picture for him, in which he is on top of a castle. She says he will be the king of our house (probably true, as she is the queen bee). She wants to send it to him. I, Stephanie, will be sending him a Baby Einstein's soft teether type photo book with pictures of his new family inside. I think I will also send him a Pottery Barn Kids blanket given to us by his uncle Paul and aunt Jeanne for Christmas. It is my hope that he will like it and that he'll be used to it before he comes home (a comforting lovie). Hopefully he'll like it as much as Sophia loves hers.
June 5, 2008
We received our travel packet from Children's Home Society and Family Services today. In the packet we received a book on Korean food, a book on Korean travel, a map of the subway system in Seoul, a travel guide to Seoul, and a suggested list of places to visit while we are there. It also detailed our accommodations and visit with Noah. We are able to stay at the agency guesthouse, which is in the same building as the Korean placing agency. The rooms are on three floors of the agency, much like hotel rooms, and each floor has a communal kitchen and lounge area for adoptive parents who are picking up their children. In this building, there is also a nursery for the new babies who will be placed for adoption. We are welcome to visit the nursery while we are there. We will have lunch with the agency staff one day, as well as a formal meeting with the president and the founder of the Korean agency that has cared for our son since his birth.
On the first business day that we are in Korea, we will meet Noah. Those included will be his social worker, his foster mother and Noah, as well as Brian, Steph and Sophia. This first meeting is formal (Brian has to wear a suit, and I have to wear a dress), and at this time, we can ask the foster mother questions about Noah; his likes, dislikes, habits, etc. Apparently, the meeting only lasts for an hour, and during the course of it, the social worker will determine if another meeting is necessary according to how Noah reacts to us.
The rest of the time we will be free to tour the city, buy gifts and mementos, and relax. On the last day that we are there, we will have the giving and receiving ceremony, during which the president of the agency prays for our son and our new family, and the foster mother hands him to us. Immediately following this ceremony, we are taken by van to the airport!!! Oh my. At the airport, they have a nursery where we can take him to get acquainted, change his diaper, and feed him until we board our plane.
Talk about a whirlwind trip. Our son will be getting used to us on an airplane!! Pray for us. . . . .
May 20, 2008
This date was very important to our adoption, as it was the day that our referral acceptance package went to Korea for Il Woo, whom we plan to name Noah James Lee- Woo. We will name him after both of our dad's; James for Brian's dad and Lee for Stephanie's. On this day, immigration also accepted our change of country request, as well as our change of address paperwork. Our placing agency, Children's Home Society and Family Services, sent Noah's legal documents to immigration on this day as well. So, we are on our way to our new son.