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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day 3 in Seoul - We meet Niko

So we met Niko today!!! He was even cuter in person. He was very shy and didn't want to come to us. But he let us play with him and i even got to feed him some yoghurt. He loves his foster mother a lot and reaches for her all the time. She is so sweet and loves him a lot also. It is going to be a rough handover on Friday. We are bracing for the worst and hoping for the best. I will write more soon but hubby wants to go get breakfast!!! Ciao for now :)







Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day 2 in Seoul

Well we spent the day today just doing the tourist stuff like visiting the National Museum of Korea, Itaewon, Naedaemun Markets and Insadong. We almost went to the DMZ today but our friends Jennell and Steve went early this morning and said it was great but don't know if it was worth braving the cold. By cold i mean FREEZING!!!! You can't feel your face anymore. The craziest thing happened too. Tim and i got off at the Itaewon train exit to look around the shops and eat lunch and we were going to try and text Jennell and Steve to meet up after they were done with their DMZ tour. We were just walking along the street when we heard "Tim!!!" in an American accent, and low and behold, of all the places we could have been, Jennell and Steve's tour bus had just dropped them off and they spotted us and yelled out. We were in shock. What are the odds!!!! So we hung out together the rest of the day. We just got back from eating dinner in Insadong and took the train 35 mins home. The train systems are really easy to navigate here which is awesome because that's pretty much all we've done as far as transportation. Now we are back in the room and thawing out. We meet Niko tomorrow at about 9:30 or 10am. I'll post after we get back. Unfortunately i can't post pics on my blog until i get home :(

Ciao for now!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Finally here!

Ok so we made it through the arduous 14 hour flight and 1 1/2 hour bus ride. I didn't realize how much snow there would be and i had to drag my suitcase through quite a ways. Needless to say, we are exhausted are now hanging out in our room chiding down on some food from down the street. I don't know how I'm going to do all of that in reverse order with a child attached and possibly traumatized and screaming. Lord help us!!! We can do this!We are probably going to hang out with 2 other couples that are also here to pick up their babies. It's handy because Tim and I are staying in the same building as where the other ladies are meeting their children for the first time. So that's cool :) Anywho, I can't post pictures from this blog app on my phone so I'll have to add them later. Toodles for now :) BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Waiting at O'Hare

Well it's been pretty smooth so far. Mum and Dad dropped us off at the airport in Nashville (thanks Mum and Dad). We are now at O'Hare waiting for our Asiana flight that leaves at 1am. I've decided that we picked the best possible itinerary because there's hardly anyone here which means we may be able to lay down on the flight there. We also gave ourselves plenty of time between flights so we're not rushing around and stressed. I am also loving my new 4-wheeled carry-on suitcase and attachable bungi cord that keeps all my bags secured. So much easier.
While we stood in line to get our boarding passes with Asiana, there was a suspicious man with a young girl who he had a bike helmet and leash on. The little girl looked about 3 and was miserable. I thought that maybe he had a helmet on her because she had a head injury and he was protecting her head, but he took it off at one point and she had nothing but a overly sweaty head. I overheard him say to someone that she runs into walls. He didn't look like his elevator went to the top floor anyway. So we thought that maybe she was a special needs child. But she seemed almost drugged because of her behavior. Anyway, a security police officer came around asking everyone to show their passports which we thought was a little odd but thought maybe it was routine for this airline. Then the officer went to the man with the child and took his passport and started copying stuff from it on a piece of paper and another female officer came and distracted the child so the other officer could finish copying the man's passport. Tim knew immediately what was happening. They were suspecting some kind of abduction or kidnapping. They stalled the odd man at the counter while checking out his details. They refused his flight because he only had a one way ticket. While all this is happening, the poor girl is crying "Daddy my helmet is hurting my neck" over and over and over and he just ignored her while he begged to be able to fly. His excuse for the one way ticket was because he could get a discounted ticket on the way back. They weren't buying it. It was at that time that we were done getting our boarding passes and had to leave, so we don't know how it ended. But we are pretty sure it wasn't what he wanted. So good on the fine skills of the Chicago security offices who picked up on the odd situation. May be a kidnapping averted.

Well that's it for now. I'll post again once we are in Korea :) BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Friday, January 21, 2011

Ready to go!!!

So we are all packed now....phew! It's a chore and a half to pack lite but not too lite, AND for an extra little person you haven't met yet :)

We will be meeting Niko on Wednesday the 26th in the morning (which is Tuesday in American time). We are nervous, scared and excited to meet him. I hope he likes us, cause we're keeping him!!! :) Please pray for him that he will feel a sense of peace with us "strangers" and that he learns to trust us quickly. And please pray for us too, that we will exude patience and calm and love so that he feels comforted during this very rough time. Many of my fellow adoptive mothers have expressed it in the best way...we have been waiting for him for a year and he has not been waiting for us at all. He doesn't even know who we are, so it will come as a huge shock to be taken by strangers and shipped off to a foreign land. Bless his little heart!!!

That said. We are coming buddy and we love you to pieces already.

Hugs and kisses....Mum and Dad

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Getting ready for Korea!

Tim and I are running around getting last minute things and packing for when we leave on Saturday. It's so hard to know what to take in this kind of situation because we've never done this before...adoption or parenting in general :) I have done my best to collect all the wonderful advice from the adoption forums (lots of advice in there) and take from it what will work best for the season we are going in and the place we'll be staying at and the length of time we'll be going. Let's just say it's still anyone's guess as to what we will actually need and not need. The opinions are so different on packing light and then not packing enough. We only wanted to take carry ons but i think we are going to have to take a checked bag too. Oh well, hubby wants to get packing now so gotta go!!! Ciao :)

UPDATE:
Two other couples are coming to Korea at the same time as us and getting their little cuties. So we are excited about that because we will get to hang out together and shop and eat and share in the joy of this awesome moment :) Yippee!!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

OMG!!!! We got THE CALL!!!!! :)

I got the call at 12:52pm today on my way to get lunch!!!! I am freaking out. We leave for Korea on Saturday and will come back on the following Saturday with little Niko in hand!!! I will try to keep up with the blogging as much as i can. YAY!!!!!!

UPDATE: We just booked our flights. Unfortunately, for all of those who wanted to come and welcome us in at the airport, our flight won't get in until 11:30pm on the 29th :( I will just have to arrange a welcome home party so that everyone can meet him.

Stay tuned!!!!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

9 Months today!!!

Happy 9 month birthday Niko :) (Actually he turned 9 months yesterday in Korea but today in the U.S. with the time differences...but who's counting)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Update

So i called the visa hotline and they said that they are still waiting on the P3 packet from the adoption agency that has his passport and that there may still be a visa interview. So who knows when that will happen. Hopefully soon. This has definitely been the hardest and most frustrating part of the process because we have no control over it. It's like a form of torture to not see the end of the rainbow. It would be so much easier if they gave you a rough date, then you wouldn't stress so much. I was given an estimation of end of December or mid January by my social worker, so she has been the closest in estimation. Pray for my sanity!!!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Our son's photo is in the U.S. Embassy system in Korea!!!

Well i called the Visa hotline today, they said that Niko's picture is now in their system, which i am told means he has made his Embassy appearance. This is great news according to others who have already adopted from Korea. They are all telling me that the photo is for his passport which means we could really be getting the call at any time now. I hate to get excited because they have been telling us the call could come at any time since November. But i know there isn't anything else to wait for at this point. So fingers crossed :)