We have been somewhat speechless over the past several weeks as we look and see how good God is.
In mid December, we had the privilege of traveling to South Korea to meet our daughter, Jovie, for the first time! It was such a blessing to us to be able to travel (almost 1 year exactly after being matched) to meet her in person - to hug her, play with her and shed tears of joy because this had finally become a reality.
God arranged every detail so this trip could happen smoothly; from having the boys cared for while we were gone, to arranging our trip and making everything work out perfectly. On December 11, we boarded our plane, which happened to be Heather's first international flight! She was a trooper - she even made it without anti-anxiety meds!! It was a 14 hour flight, straight to Seoul. We arrived, extremely jet-lagged, but bogged down with an adrenaline rush because we were about to meet our sweet girl!
The very next day, we went to the Holt office and walked into a room of two other American adoptive families. We said quick 'hellos' and then were moved on to a play room, where all of our kids came in. Heather immediately cried. No matter how hard she tried, the waterworks wouldn't quit. It was a moment we had been waiting for - to look into her adorable little face. We melted.
Our first play date was about what we expected. It was very quick and somewhat difficult for her to process. She was rather shy around us and had a hard time opening up to us being there, even though she had been shown pictures of us over the past few months. We brought out some special toys, like bubbles, which really got her attention! She giggled and chased bubbles for most of our playtime. We loved hearing her sweet little laugh! One of the other great things about our visit was that we had special time to talk with her foster mother to learn as much as we could about her and her routines. Our translator was extremely helpful during this time!
We learned that Jovie's foster mother has fostered about 20 children over the past 12 years! She has such a heart for loving on these babies and hosting them while they find their forever homes. She was so kind and sweet. As we thanked her for all the love and care she had poured out to our daughter, she was so humbled and couldn't believe we were thanking her. We are so thankful for her and we hope and pray she is blessed for the care she is showing to these orphans.
That afternoon, and for the next several days, we spent lots of time with the other adoptive families (two American families and one from Norway) having coffee, dinners, and sightseeing. We laughed, shared stories and hearts with each other and explored the city together. We are convinced that God setup these meetings for us as parents - the support we were able to find in each other because of our similar experiences was wonderful! Another great part was that one of the couples were born in Korea and could speak fluent Korean! Because of them, we didn't starve!! Haha!!
We sampled many authentic Korean dishes; using chopsticks at every meal! Most of the meals were delicious. Our palettes became adjusted to Kimchi, a staple at every meal. (Fermented cabbage in a red pepper paste). We also enjoyed the steaks and pork, cooked right at our tables. Delicious!!
 |
| Kimchi |
 |
| Beef Brisket & Dumplings |
 |
| Chicken Ginger Soup |
 |
On Wednesday, we had another meeting with Jovie, which seemed much more productive on our part. She was more open to visiting with us. Even though she was very busy, checking everything out and moving about the room, she was intrigued by us and even began grabbing Josh's hand to have him walk places with her. We were told she enjoys cleaning and helping with errands around the house - she will be a great helper!! She also likes to clean (right up Heather's alley!!). She cleaned up all the toys in the playroom, then one of the boys dumped them back out again and she walked over and started cleaning again. :) So cute! We said our goodbye to her on Wednesday afternoon, which seemed much too soon and much too difficult. It was extremely hard on our emotions to hug and kiss her, knowing we wouldn't see her again for at least another month, maybe more. But we knew this was part of it and trusted God (with tears in our eyes) as we parted.
Thursday was a day set aside for sightseeing. We had a tour guide that took us on a tour of the Gyeonbokgung Palace. It was beautiful! Seoul is full of such rich history and culture, while also maintaining growth and movement forward in modern culture. She took us on a walk through a district of older Korean homes, to a delicious lunch and then through some of the artistic areas of the city for some shopping.
That evening, we met back up with our friends to go to the North Seoul Tower, which overlooks the entire city. The city, in size and population, is larger than I had imagined! We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain to overlook the city at dusk; it was breathtaking....and extremely cold!! We were bundled up, but it still never seemed warm enough! I'll pack better next time! :)
Friday was our last day in the city, but it was one of our biggest days. Court happened Friday morning. This is where we met before the Korean judge for him to review our home study, and meet us as prospective adoptive parents. He determines after that meeting if he will issue our adoption decree. Thankfully, he issued ours without any problems!! Though we were very nervous and got some unexpected questions from him, it went by quickly and smoothly!
Saturday we boarded our plane for home - getting back to the States was so exciting for us. We couldn't wait to hug the boys and share with everyone about the amazing experience we had.
As for our next trip - well there's great news ahead! We received word this week that our preliminary adoption decree was issued and will be in our agency's hand very soon! We are anticipating our custody trip to take place within the next 2-3 weeks! All could change, based upon scheduling, but as for now, that is our plan. Unfortunately, we can't make official travel plans until they have our visa interviews scheduled, so we will most likely find out very last minute about our travel plans. But, God in all His goodness, is already allowing us to get things ready here so we can smoothly get up and go!
So there you have it - the moment we have been praying for is finally here, friends.I know we say it during every post, but we seriously cannot thank all of YOU enough for the support, encouragement and prayers. We feel blessed.
Now...let's count down the days! The next post will have her sweet face in it!
