We have our Little Seoul!

Well a lot has happened since my last update.  On Wed, June 27 we were told it could be an additional 2-3 weeks as the social worker who coordinates the visits was going to be out of the office. Obviously very discouraged by this news so we requested additional information from Korea as to what was going on. We were told a request had been made specifically about case and we would hear on Thursday.  On Thursday, I saw where a couple people called DC and had VI's scheduled. So I just happened to call and the woman said, "oh what a cutie she is". I said, "you can see her?" She then said yes, and it is my privilege to say her VI is today at 1:00, congratulations!  (which had already happened in Korea).  I was in complete shock, burst into tears, but also very confused .. did this mean with the news I had gotten the day before that I would not travel for 2-3 weeks. 

Well 10 minutes later our Travel Call came.

We were told we had to book travel that day to be able to travel the next week.  This email followed with our information for travel. Love the Subject line!

So I called Azumano and with the late notice the only affordable option was a United Airline's flight leaving on Sunday which gave me 2 days. It would have cost us $1000 per ticket to fly Korean Air as we had hoped. Somehow we manged to get the kids to St. Louis, get packed, clean our house, take our car to the shop, get our dog to my sisters, I saw Magic Mike with friends, and we had a celebratory dinner out with friends on Saturday night.

We left Sunday at 7:45am. Our wonderful friend Karl drove us to the airport bright and early. Our flight went to San Fransisco and then after just a couple hour layover we sent onto Seoul with arrival at 3:45pm Monday. Perfect flight, friendly, as comfortable as coach can be. 2 meals which were good. Read some, slept some .. no complaints.

The Holt driver picked us up and took us to the DMC ville where we had a 1 bedroom suite. It was very comfortable, but in a "residential area" and I felt there was not a lot to do right around there. We got coffee at the coffee shop across the street, but it did not open until 7:30. We also ate a couple of times in the restaurant above the 7 eleven next the hotel. Breakfast was included which was nice. They had toast, cereal, juice, coffee, and fruit.

The following day was our city tour and on Wed we went on a tour of the DMZ. I will post pics of these 2 days in a separate blog as there are tons of pics. I definitely recommend the city tour (which for Holt is included) and done by a local college student who in both of my visits were wonderful girls who I have remained in contact with.  Also would recommend the DMZ tour if time allows. We did the half day tour with lunch. Lunch both days was traditional Korean BBQ at authentic restaurants chosen by our guides.

I must admit that we did not get much sleep Wed night in anticipation of getting our daughter on Thursday morning. We both got up about 5:00 and just got the room ready to bring her "home". We ate breakfast and took a cab to Holt which was about 15 minutes away. Our appointment was at 9:30.  When I walked into Holt, I first saw her FM sitting outside the doctors office on the first floor. I walked up to her and Kate came out of the office with her doctor. She immediately came up to me and I picked her up.  Her doctor took Dan, myself, Kate and her FM up to the 3rd floor where we were to have our visit. Our visit lasted an hour and was basically a question/answer session with the FM. While we chatted, Kate played and sat on our laps. We got our documents and everything that we had sent in care packages as well as other clothing and favorite toys. I was overwhelmed by the gifts from both Holt and the Foster Family. 

After this, we had our pre-flight physical. We were given our "blue bag" with diapers, bottles and formula and our sealed envelope with our visa documents.

We are now ready to go. DJ got us a cab and we were off. The FM was very professional and said "I'm not going to cry today, I will save that for later" She kissed Kate on the cheek and we were in the cab! I was thankful the FM was so together and that Kate felt so comfortable with me. It made this transition so pain free. She got very sleepy in the cab and eventually fell asleep.

 

When we got back to our hotel she woke up when we got inside and went right up to the toys I had put out for her. We sat on the floor and played for a couple of hours. We also had Pororo on TV. She was so comfortable and never acted scared or sad at all. It had me feeling very uneasy as I was constantly worrying when the other shoe was going to drop!

We got so stir crazy in the room and she was doing so well that we eventually visited the playroom at the basement of the hotel. She loved the ball pit.  We had planned on ordering pizza in, but decided to eat at the restaurant nearby. She sat in a highchair and ate very well.

Evening came and I got very anxious because I know this can be a challenging time as many children grieve hard the first night. She had not had a nap so I knew she was very tired. They said she still takes a formula bottle before bed so we got our PJ's on and she took a bottle. She was asleep in 20 seconds at 7:00pm. I carried her in and laid her in our bed next to me. She slept until 8:45 and woke up fussy so I rubbed her back. Dan was in the living room and when he came in she reached up for him. He took her in and laid on the living room floor with her and they watched TV until about 10. She then fell back asleep and slept next to him until 8:00 am. She woke up happy!

Well we are now up to the day we fly out. The Holt driver was going to pick us up at 1:00. We basically hung out packed, played and ate until time to go. Again, my anxiety was high because of the long flight home.  She had been so good so far, but I just knew the flight would be so hard even for the best of babies.

Here we go!

What can I say about the flight?! It was long, uncomfortable, cramped and somehow, by some miracle she was perfect the entire way! We flew United and our international flight was great, friendly and good as can be expected for coach. Once into the states for our 2 connections, there were delays, weather, missed our connection in Denver, had to run, got on a puddle jumper, were not seated together, ran out of fuel, sat on a runway for 4 hours before takeoff!  All because of mechanical difficulties leaving San Fran. You name it we had it!

But what we did not have was a cranky baby! She was a little trooper. Sat on my lap the entire time except for maybe a short time Dan took her for a little walk around the plane. She slept most of the trip, but when she was awake she snacked and just sat quietly.

We made it home 3 hours later than promised to our friends and family waiting at the airport. And yet again, she handled it all wonderfully!

But I have to say the best part of coming home (at 3:00 am) exhausted and scared out of mind at what was to come was getting everyone settle down. Madeline and Jake insisted on sleeping on her floor with her since this is how she slept in Korea. I held her until she fell asleep and laid her on the floor on her back. Since it was 108 in Kansas, the room was so hot so I went to get a fan.  When, I came back into the room this is what I found.

Life is Perfect!