Monkeys at the Zoo

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years (Lyrics)

2012-02-03T15:50:00.001-06:00

This song was originally supposed to be a love song....actually a love song for vampires (and yes it is my dirty little secret that I secretly love Twilight). However the lyrics are exactly how I feel during this wait for Yeong Eun. I listen to this song nearly every day while I wait.

STILL Waiting............

2012-02-03T15:11:00.002-06:00

Tom Petty definitely got it right, the waiting is the hardest part. We were so hopeful that by now we would be filling the pages of this blog with news that were reading travel books and shopping for plane tickets. But alas we are not. January has come and gone and we are no closer to our new daughter than we were in December. We continue to wait for her to be granted an emigration permit by the Korean government. We had expected to have our file submitted to the Korean government for a permit on January 2, 2012. As of today February 3, 2012, the Korean government has not accepted any submissions from adoption agencies for permits and is not commenting on when they will accepted submissions. This is such a vast difference from the program that existed when we adopted Ellie just three years ago that is hard to wrap our heads around.

It is hard to explain to anyone who hasn't been through this how hard the wait is. I described it to one person recently as being 27 months pregnant. There is so much anticipation and pent up anxiety that I find it hard to focus on anything else. We know this HUGE life changing event is coming but we don't know when. Yeong Eun will be 20 months old in a few days. We have been waiting for her since she was 5 months old. We only get limited information and a picture or two every other month.

The kids ask about her nearly everyday and I have no answer for them. Ellie often asks if Charlie is coming soon and I don't know what to say. In the deep of the night when things that scare me the most keep me from sleeping I worry that Charlie will never come home. Legally she is not ours yet and if the Korean government ends international adoption I don't think we have much if any recourse.

The other thing that makes the wait so crazy difficult is that we know the delay will only make the transition harder for Yeong Eun. Although we are waiting anxiously for her, she is not waiting for us. She does not know about adoption. She is happy and content with her foster family. She doesn't know the word foster.....they are her family. Having done this once before we know that taking her from that family will be incredibly painful for all involved. The older Yeong Eun gets the more painful it will be for her. I think of each of our kids at almost two and how they would have responded if a stranger took them from us....

The intellectual part of me knows that if Yeong Eun doesn't come home with us she will never have a forever family. The foster family that has her now will not adopt her. If she stays in Korea she will end up in an institution. I know that having a forever family is what is best for her. I know that she is part of our family already and has been for 15 months. I know that that little Korean was meant to be a Germann. I know that we will survive this wait and she will survive her grief over losing her family. I know we can do this.

So for now.....we keep waiting.....

Gabeisms

2011-10-20T21:40:00.003-05:00

Gabe's middle name is Isaac. Isaac means "he laughs." Though we couldn't have known when we chose that name, it is an absolutely perfect name for him. Every single day he makes us laugh. I wanted to share and record a few of the most recent most hilarious Gabe moments...

Pregnant?!?!?
About a week ago at dinner Gabe says he is going to marry Abby. He then goes on to say that she is going to be pregnant. After the word pregnant comes out of his mouth Phil and I share one of those deer in headlights looks as our minds race to figure out how exactly to address this. I am thinking that we had just before dinner been watching Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaur. This is relevant because Ellie the mammoth is pregnant in that movie. I am thinking that the movie is certainly where he got the word and the idea. I also assume that he doesn't fully understand what being pregnant means. Before either Phil or I can say anything Abby responds that she doesn't have to be (pregnant). Gabe then says, "Oh you will be pregnant." Phil then jumps in with the old stand-by of "Let's talk about something else." I also add that you can't marry your sister. Abby then says, "what is there like a law or something." "Yes actually there is," is my response. That ended the marriage pregnant conversation for the evening for which we were glad.

Luke Skywalker
Grandma Patt was with Gabe at school Mass this week for V.I.P. day. When it came to the gospel reading and Fr. Don said, "The gospel according to Luke," Gabe said to Grandma..."That's not Luke Skywalker, I already know that." Grandma Patt says she will never hear the gospel of Luke the same way again.

Hyenas or Scar
Tonight at dinner out of the blue Gabe was raising his hand to be called on. Once Phil called on Gabe he asked this question, "Dad, would you rather road trip with the hyenas or scar?" Tough choice....funny boy.

Family Day 2011

2011-05-24T21:10:00.006-05:00

April 29th is Ellie's family day. Some people also call this airplane day or gotcha day. It is the day we officially landed in Rochester with Ellie and became a family of 5! Our lives have been forever changed for the better by the addition of Eliana Yeong Ah to our family. And if not for this fateful day in 2009 we would not be anxiously awaiting our next addition, Ellie's little sister!

We celebrated the day by making bulgogi, a korean beef dish and rice.

We ate with chopsticks!

We got silly in our handboks!

Ellie is so smart and funny. She is incredibly passionate or at least some day she will be. At the age of two passion looks a lot more like feistiness. But even in someone so young it is a trait to be admired. There is NOTHING luke warm about this child, she is either hot or cold. She is very interested in learning and knows how to spell and write her name. She is very musical and often plays the piano while singing. She also belts out the hymns at church and gets a lot of attention for knowing all the words.

This picture was taken on Ellie's first day home two years ago.

What a difference two years makes. My, how they all have grown.

A little bit of catching up....

2011-05-24T21:05:00.002-05:00

I need to do a little catching up on the blog. While a piece of me says I should just get current and stay current there are some big spring events for us that are not to be missed including family day for Ellie and First Communion for Abby. So I plan to catch up even if the blog gets a little out of order.

One other note...I reported that we received a blank CD from Charlie's foster family but that wasn't true. The CD actually had pictures and VIDEO! We got see Charlie cruising around furniture and saying some words. Technology is so wonderful.

Bad News and Good Pictures

2011-05-13T14:33:00.011-05:00

Last Friday we received some very disappointing news from our adoption agency. The agency has received information about the number of emigration permits that the Ministry in Korea is going to give the adoption agencies in Korea. Charlotte must have an emigration permit to leave the country. There are not enough emigration permits this year for Charlotte to come home. The soonest we will be able to travel to bring her home is February of 2012. We are heartbroken. Charlotte will be at least 21 months old by the time she joins our family. We are so sad to miss another 9 months of her life.

Some good news though is that we received some pictures of Charlotte from Eastern. The first two pictures below were taken at Eastern during a well child check. Charlotte was given the care package from us and is pictured with some of the things we sent.

The other photos arrived from Charlotte's foster family! Another care package from them was such a welcome gift. We got some more pictures of Charlotte and some gifts for the kids. Inexplicably they sent another blank CD. We really hope that they don't think that they are sending us pictures on there when they aren't. We will do what we did with the last blank CD and fill it with pictures and videos of our family and send it back to them.

Enjoy the pictures of our beautiful little girl.

She is crawling on the blanket we sent to her and wearing the outfit we sent.

Charlie seems to like the little musical toy we sent. I will have to look for more musical toys for the next package.

I LOVE this picture. She looks so happy and I love to see her little teeth!

Charles E. Milkfat

2011-04-05T19:23:00.008-05:00

On Tuesday March 22nd, we dared to venture into the place all kids love and all parents fear......that's right we went to Chuck E. Cheese. A Chuck E. Cheese opened in Rochester in December but we had managed to avoid it thus far. I had heard that the pizza was terrible and that it was crazy busy. But being the really cool parents that we are we went there after work/school/daycare one evening. We decided to go on a Tuesday night in the hopes that the crowds would be small. I had a coupon so for the same price would normally spend to have dinner out we got pizza, drinks and 55 tokens! That was enough tokens for a couple hours of fun. Much to our surprise, it wasn't very busy and the pizza was actually pretty good. We had lots of fun and I am sure we will go back.

To Korea with Love...

2011-04-03T21:43:00.004-05:00

We sent off a care package to Charlotte this week. It should arrive in Korea on Thursday and hopefully Charlotte will receive it on the 10th when she goes in for her well baby check. It turns out that the adoption world is fairly small and when you narrow it to adoption from South Korea it gets even smaller. We met a family on-line whose son was with the same foster family that Ellie had! This family lives in Illinois and they are traveling to Korea this week to bring home their second son. They graciously offered to take a gift for Charlotte. We are very appreciative and hope to meet this wonderful family in person some day.

We sent an outfit, a little sister t-shirt, a photo album with all of our pictures in it, a recordable story book that phil and I read, a blanket, a musical toy, shoes, socks, and baby wash. We also returned the CD that that Charlie's foster family sent to us and we loaded it up with pictures and video of our family.

The t-shirt we sent says little sister in Korean and in English. We got them for each of the kids and took their pictures in their shirts for the photo album we sent. We thought it would be nice for Charlie's foster family to be able to read the shirts too!

More pictures of Charlotte!!

2011-03-30T21:16:00.002-05:00

A most amazing gift....

2011-03-21T21:12:00.004-05:00

What one thing (other than a travel call) can set adoptive parents hearts a flutter more than anything else? What one gift is better than Christmas and our birthdays combined?

That one amazing gift arrived in the mail today....a care package from Yeong Eun's (aka Charlotte's) foster family!! This small connection to our daughter who is a half a world a way took this from an ordinary Monday to an extraordinary Monday. It had 10 pictures of Charlotte, 2 dresses, 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and hair bows for Ellie. It also had a photo CD that was blank. We don't know if the foster family intended to send us some picture on the CD but didn't or if they meant for us to fill it with pictures for them. It is obvious that Charlotte's foster family is very generous and loving.

We only had two pictures of Charlotte before today. Her referral photo (taken at 5 months) and an updated photo taken at 7 months. It was just amazing to see more of her. She looks SO much like Ellie. She appears very happy and well loved. It looks like she is standing and cruising. We are missing so much. The wait continues to be painful but this wonderful surprise makes the wait just a little more bearable.

I will post some of the pictures. We only have original photos so excuse the quality of these pictures of pictures. I will get the originals scanned in soon.

Oh my gosh, isn't she beautiful? Hurry home sweet girl and be well and safe until you are in our arms.

Gabe's Imagination...

2011-03-15T15:42:00.002-05:00

Gabe makes us laugh every day. He is very inquisitive and quite the problem solver. He certainly takes after his Dad. He is VERY much a boy and everything he does is focused on weapons, dinosaurs, Star Wars and ninjas. Every night when we put Gabe to bed he wants us to lay in bed and snuggle with him after we turn out the lights. This is a snippet of the conversation we had two nights ago while snuggling:

Gabe: "After you leave and I am in my room alone, someone comes and knocks on my door. I think it is bad guys so I never answer the door. Dad says it is probably God knocking on my door."

This may have something to do with the fact that Phil has been showing him the Star Wars movies or perhaps the fact that he and Abby are always dressing in black after school so they can play ninja! In any event I told him that no bad guys were going to get past his Momma so he was safe in his room. Oh, how we love our little boy.

It takes a lot of little nuts...

2011-02-24T14:37:00.004-06:00

It has been much too long since I have updated this blog. I have no excuse other than to say life with 3 kids is busy! Much has happened since I last posted....most importantly we are in the adoption process again! We are going to be a family of 6! As I often tell the children....it takes a lot of little nuts to make one jar of peanut butter. We are so excited to be adding another little nut to our jar!

On November 9, 2010 we received a call from our agency telling us that Ellie has a sister in Korea who had been placed for adoption. They wanted to know if we were willing to adopt her. It didn't take us long to say YES and the madness began again. We rushed through home study paper work and criminal background checks. We were finally able to send our acceptance to Korea on January 28, 2011. Now the hard part begins...we WAIT. When we adopted Ellie in 2009 we waited about 3 months between sending our acceptance to Korea and traveling to get her. Our adoption agency now tells us we may have to wait up to 11 months to travel to bring our daughter home.

We have decided to name our new daughter Charlotte Yeong Eun. Yeong Eun is her Korean name. We plan to call her Charlie (everyone at our house has a nickname) but we can't decide how to spell it (Charli, Charlie, Charley, Charlee). Oh well, it seems we have lots of time to debate the spelling issue. Charlotte was born on June 10, 2010 ( a summer birthday just like the rest of the kids). She is 8 1/2 months old. Not seeing her for another 10 months and missing all of her babyhood seems unbearable to us. Today I shopped for things to send to Korea for Charlotte. I loved buying the little girl clothes but it also made me sad knowing I am not the one who will dress her in those clothes. If you have the time and the inclination please pray that she can come home to her family soon.

Otherwise life at the Germann house is good. The children are growing, learning, laughing and loving....and we are loving every minute of it. I won't say we don't get tired or that we don't have our struggles but generally our life is amazing. We are so blessed by the tiny humans who live in our house. Every day they amaze us with their intelligence and imaginations. They make us laugh and they love us and each other. What more could we ask for really?

I am vowing to be better about documenting our lives here. I am not great at keeping up baby books and the adventures of the Germann family should be recorded somewhere for posterity.

Happy Family Day!

2010-04-29T21:13:00.004-05:00

One year ago today we stepped off the plane in Rochester and officially became a family of five! Where has the last year gone? We are so happy that Ellie came to be part of our family and we can't even imagine life without her. Every day it is so clear that she was meant to be part of this family. Phil likes to say that out of the three children Ellie's personality is most like mine. We are both strong opinionated women! Unfortunately I am in the middle of a big trial so our celebration in honor of today was small. We did get an ice cream cake because Ellie LOVES ice cream. Abby thought the kids should celebrate by dressing up in their hanboks so we did that and took pictures.

This photo was taken in our living room after we arrived home from Korea on April 29, 2009. Poor Ellie is jet lagged and a little overwhelmed by her new family.

What a difference a year makes! This photo was taken in our living room after dinner on April 29, 2010. No longer overwhelmed by the big kids, Ellie fits right in a loves every minute she spends with her brother and sister.

Deep Thoughts Friday to Two Wheel Sunday...

2010-04-18T20:49:00.007-05:00

Another weekend come and gone so fast. I have long advocated that a four day work week and three day weekend would be more equitable but so far no one is listening to me. When I run for president perhaps I will put that in my platform!

Each week by the time Friday night rolls around we are TIRED. We plan to either eat leftovers or if there aren't enough left-overs, we get take-out because we are TIRED. We have also made Friday night family movie night because we are TIRED. I think you get the picture. This Friday our dinner conversation turned much too deep for tired parents. First, Gabe started telling us in his most dramatic Gabe voice that "when there were dinosaurs all the people were DEAD!" Smarter parents would have ignored that comment and continued to munch on left-overs, we however, are not that smart. So we proceeded to tell Gabe that people weren't around yet during the time of the dinosaurs. Then Abby says, "I am confused about something that is confusing, how does that work with Adam and Eve?" Thus began our discussion of evolutionsim versus creationism. We told her that not all the stories in the Bible literally happened the way they were written. She then became quite concerned and said, "Christmas, now that's real right?" Did I mention that we were really TIRED?!?! Friday's are for Chinese take out and animated movies not deep thoughts. Next Gabe wanted to know what a vampire is? Can I say we were pretty glad to plop them in front of a movie for a while. We had rented the movie of the musical Cats. They really seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday was a normal busy day. Groceries to buy and errands to run. Phil got some more wiring done in the basement and Abby and I planted a tree. The tree had shown up on the doorstep on Friday night...I had forgotten that I had ordered it from a mail order garden store last year - Oops. We spent the afternoon playing with some friends and having dinner together.

Sunday began with Mass and Gabe's end of the year Sunday school program. This is actually a very sad day for us as we will again have to have all 3 kids in Mass until next fall. The end of the year music program is children ages 3 to 5 doing some strange combination of sign languange and hand jive to Christian music. The kids do not know the songs and only sort of the hand gestures. Some kids stand there like deer in the headlights, some are grumpy and non-participatory and others look as if the were born for hand jive sign language. Gabe tried hard and he made up for the hand gestures he didn't know with enthusiasm. When all else failed he just lifted up his shirt!

On Sunday evening we had a bit of a breakthrough. So far, one of my greatest failings as a parent has been the fact that Abby didn't know how to ride a bike without training wheels. If you have been to our house you know that we don't have a great practice space with a gravel driveway and no sidewalk but excuses aside, teaching bike riding is one of those foremost parental responsibilities and prior to today we were failing miserably. Even the mention of bike riding today brought Abby to tears. She wanted her training wheels put back on her bike! Phil took her to the church parking lot and they practiced. Before I got there 45 minutes later she was riding like a pro. She did of course run into a Mercedees in the parking lot (leaving a small scratch) luckily the owner wasn't too angry. She also ran over her brother and his bike once but this is a small price to pay for being able to ride on TWO WHEELS! Abby did have one bad spill at the end of the night but I think she will still be willing to get back in the sadle. We got ice cream from Dairy Queen to celebrate!

Abby very proud that she can ride on TWO wheels!

Riding like a pro!

Checking Gabe out for injuries after Abby ran him over. It takes real talent to hit the only other bike rider in an empty parking lot.

Gabe enjoying riding himself even after Abby ran him over.

Ellie, was not so much into the biking.

Where have you been...

2010-04-14T20:30:00.006-05:00

I am sure you are all wondering where we have been since September since that is the last post I made to this blog. I did of course have the best of intentions of keeping up with this blog however due to circumstances beyond my control I have been unable to update our blog. It truly is a harrowing tale. Read on if you have a strong stomach.

Phil and I were taken hostage by three ruthless outlaws. Though they possessed no traditional weapons, they used their cute antics and adorable faces to lure us into their lair. Once inside their lair, the three outlaws managed to suck out all of our time and energy so that at the end of each day we are too weak to even contact the outside world for help. I am only able to send this message now with the aid of diet coke mixed with an energy drink.

The eldest and ring leader of the outlaw gang has kept us running with gymnastics, homework, science fair projects, piano lessons and more. Clearly she subscribes to the theory that exhausted parents tell no tales. She has been enjoying the first grade and is doing very well in school. She does enjoy playing with the younger members of the gang, however, her leadership skills still leave a little to be desired and we have to be vigilant to make sure she doesn't lead the younger members over a cliff or down the white rabbit's hole.

The second in command of the outlaw gang has more of a tendency toward violence and wields weapons of every kind; light sabers, swords and various shooters. He keeps our minds weak by constantly asking, WHY? He loves his school and is already learning Spanish. He is very sponge like and sucks up and regurgitates copious amounts of information every day. His constant jabbering makes our ears tired and keeps us off guard.

The final member of the gang is the most demanding. She keeps us close to her by putting herself in peril every 5 to 10 minutes. She is fearless and careless, a dangerous combination even for an outlaw. She hasn't broken any bones yet but that is not for a lack of trying. She is very opinionated and has enough words to share those opinions freely. She appears to love the other outlaws and keeps them wrapped tightly around her little finger by playing the "I'm so cute card."

I am including some recent pictures of the outlaws so you know who to suspect if anything happens to us. If you see these outlaws in your neighborhood do not make eye contact. If they get the opportunity to smile at you or say anything it will already be too late for you. You will be sucked in and drained of all energy and coherent thought. For now know that we are ALIVE, captive and tired but alive. I will try to write again soon.

The intimidating stares of the oldest two outlaws used to keep us submissive and quiet.

An example of the "I'm so cute tactic" used to tug at our heartstrings and keep us from attempting an escape.

Finally Forever a Germann Kid...

2009-09-08T20:28:00.006-05:00

On Friday September 4, 2009 we finalized Ellie's adoption in court. Ellie will of course always be South Korean but today she also became and American and a Germann! Ellie became an American citizen when we adopted her and although she has been our little Eliana for a long time she is now legally Eliana Yeong Ah Germann. For our part we had to swear that we would raise Ellie and take care of her as our own child. We were more than happy to swear to that!

Judge Debra Jacobson presided over the hearing. I worked for Judge Jacobson my first two years out of law school so it was very special to have her finalize our adoption. Lots of friends and family joined us to celebrate the very special day. I can assure you that court is not usually this festive (no balloons for bad guys) and that all people don't get to have a cake reception in the court room but there some perks to working in the court system. Although we are just beginning the long journey of parenting Ellie, we are relieved to be at the end of the adotpion marathon.

Dressed in our best waiting for the hearing to start.

Swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The brand new Germann family with Judge Jacobson.

Abby, Gabe and Ellie sitting in the Judge's chair.

Every good party needs a cake.

Ellie may not know what adopted means but she definitely knows about cake!

Eliana Yeong Ah is 1 Year Old!

2009-07-27T20:35:00.005-05:00

Today is Ellie's first birthday! We celebrated yesterday with friends and family. We made a Korean dinner for everyone (bulgogi, jap chae, sticky rice and kimchi). Everything turned out great (we were a little surprised since it was our first attempt at Korean cooking and a little nervous because it was all we were preparing for 20 people). Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and everyone made an attempt at eating with chopsticks. The kids especially enjoyed the chopsticks, although I am not sure they are meant for stabbing jellobars!

Ellie, Gabe and Abby wore their hanboks and Ellie performed the Tolijabee (a Korean tradition in which the baby is presented with some items and the first two she chooses are supposed to predictive of her future. Ellie chose scissors (which means she will be good with her hands) and rice (which means she will be wealthy). This was the first time Abby and Gabe got to wear the hanboks we bought for them in Korea and they were very proud to show them off.

By far Ellie's favorite part of the whole party was the CAKE! She jumped in with both hands and managed to get cake everywhere (she may have even eaten some).

Before...

A little taste....

"This is FUN!"

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

And even though she LOVED her cake Ellie was willing to share a bite with Uncle Paul.

All in all Ellie seemed to thoroughly enjoy her very first birthday. She did very well with the crowd and even enjoyed playing with the other babies.

On Abby's and Gabe's birthdays my thoughts often turn to their entry into our world. Phil and I remember back to labor, c-sections and first cries. So today our thoughts turn to Ellie's birth mom. Surely she remembers pains of her labor and those first joyous cries. I am sure she wonders what became of the beautiful baby girl and what her life is like now. Our lives have been so richly blessed by the sacrifice Ellie's mom made. We hope that today and always her birth mom's life is as blessed as ours.

Today we also think of Tae Seog and Mi Sook, Ellie's foster parents in Korea. Ellie has been through so many transitions in her young life but they were all made easier by the foundation she received from her foster parents. We know they love Ellie and we know they are thinking of her today too.

Finally we will end with some of things we LOVE about Ellie:

-Her smile, she is always smiling.

-How she plays bashful by burrowing her face into our chest when she meets someone new.

-How she furrows her brow and glares when she is mad just like Mom and Gabe!

-How fast she is learning to sign and communicate. She knows the signs for more, milk, cracker and all done. She has also said cracker, all done along with lots of other babbling that will be words soon.

-Her tenacity when practicing a new skill. She isn't walking yet but it is not for a lack of trying.

-How much she loves Abby and Gabe and lights up when they come into the room.

-Her LOUD LOUD voice (oh wait...perhaps we'll like that more when she learns to whisper).

-Her long lovely eye lashes (Mom is so jealous).

Happy Birthday Ellie! We LOVE you.

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

2009-06-29T22:17:00.007-05:00

Our little man turned 3 today. He would say he is a "men" ( "we're mens, right Daddy?") and then break into the men's song (men, men, men). The last 3 years have just flown by. Gabe isn't a baby anymore and he isn't even the baby in the house anymore.

As he turns 3 Gabe appears to have found a new source of energy, one with a limitless supply. This energy, bordering on hyper, is exhausting mom and dad but there is only one word to describe our boy and that is...FUN! From the time he gets up in the morning until his last words in the evening, Gabe is hilarious.

Here are some of the other things we LOVE about Gabe:

* His vocabulary... spend a little time with him and Gabe will at some point certainly inform you about your "options."

* His singing...Gabe has a song for everything. One day while having lunch Gabe started to tell me how Ellie whines and cries and chews on his toys (this is only partially true). He then immediately broke into the chorus of a song called "Bad Babies," which goes like this "bad bad babies they whine and they cry, bad bad babies we don't know why."

* The way he calls anything he doesn't know the name for, thingydoodle.

* His storytelling. Gabe has an amazing imagination. One evening at dinner he told us a 20 minute story about the farm that was pictured on our gallon of milk.

* How loving he is. Gabe is the first to say I love you to Mom, Dad, Abby or Ellie. He is quick with hugs and kisses for the whole family. This is a conversation that occurred recently at lunch:

Gabe: I love you Momma.

Mom: I love you more Gabe.

Gabe: I love you more than cheese Momma. (This is indeed high praise, Gabe really

loves cheese).

Some pictures of Gabe at just a few weeks old. It is hard to believe he was ever that tiny.

Some pictures of Gabe today enjoying his birthday. Wow - has he grown!

Happy Birthday Gabe! We Love YOU!

Rochesterfest FUN..

2009-06-29T21:11:00.007-05:00

Last week there was a week long event here known as Rochesterfest. There are many activities (hot air balloons, dog Frisbee contest, breakfast on the farm, parade etc.) and an entire street in Rochester that is closed down and filled with fair food vendors - YUM! We enjoy Rochesterfest every year and try to take in as many family activities as possible. We also try to consume as much fair food as possible!

On Wednesday night we went down for Family Fun Night. There are lots of free activities for the kids. Abby and Gabe got to paint a house in the Children's Museum of Rochester exhibit.

They also got to ride in a little train.

And shoot a real fire hose with the help of a real fireman!

Poor Ellie was too little this year and had to watch most of the events from the sidelines. Next year she will be able to keep up with the big kids.
Abby and Gabe shared a snow cone. How adorable is that?!?

On Friday night we attended the grand parade. We went early so we could again feast on the delectable fair food. Grandpa and Grandma G. joined us. We appreciated the extra helping hands at the parade!

Other friends joined us for parade watching as well. Here are Tammy, Joe and Isabella standing for the flag passing by. Isa already knows to cover her heart, that is pretty patriotic for a two-year old!

Our friends, Jeff, Polly, Eric, Gina and Luke took in the parade as well.

Some things...mostly the motorcycles were TOO LOUD for Gabe.

Abby and Gabe waiting to run out and catch candy. Yes, a trip to the candy aisle at Target would be safer and easier but in the minds of Abby and Gabe not nearly as much fun.

Ellie and Grandma Patt waiting for the parade to begin.

Father's Day!

2009-06-29T14:51:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed celebrating Phil's first Father's Day with 3 kids! We gave him gifts on Saturday because we were too excited to wait until Sunday. Since it rained much of Sunday it was a good thing he got his gifts early. The kids gave Phil a water gun and enticed him into a water fight. He also got a portable fire pit and marshmallows and chocolate so we could make smores!

Daddy opening his gifts. Gabe and Abby were pretty excited

Let the games begin.Poor kids don't stand a chance against Daddy and his new weapon.

Ah, building a fire. Almost like our pre-kid camping days.
Smores are good!
Ditto!
Ditto, Ditto!

Without these three there wouldn't be a reason to celebrate Daddy's Day at the Germann House. Happy Father's Day Dad - WE LOVE YOU!

A visit from Grandma Ruby...

2009-06-29T14:44:00.003-05:00

Grandma Ruby (Julie's mom) made it over for the grand birthday party and stayed a little extra to get to know the newest member of the family and play with Gabe and Abby.

Swinging with Ellie.

Catching bugs with Gabe.

Playing dominoes with Gabe.

A weekend of Birthday Celebrating...

2009-06-23T11:36:00.006-05:00

Boy, are we behind on the blog. Phil says it is a sign that we have settled back into normal life. Two weekends ago (June 13/14) we had a birthday party for Abby and Gabe on Saturday. With all three kiddos having summer birthdays we realized that if we do not combine some parties we would spend every weekend of the summer having a party. Abby and Gabe did not mind sharing their party though I did have to reassure Abby several times that there would be presents for both of the them. The weather cooperated for some outdoor water fun and I think everyone had a great time.

Gabe liked turning the sprinkler into a weapon!

Abby and counsin Derek filling water balloons.

Gabe appears to be apprehensive about water balloons.

Isabella and Abby look so cute in their matching swim suits.

Sunbathing beauties (Angela, Alissa and Abby) looking a little too much like teenagers.

It was a farm birthday party and Gabe wanted a tractor cake. Aunt Laura made it for him.

Abby got a lamb cake. Thanks Aunt Laura!

Blowing out the candles!

What we have been up to...

2009-06-04T21:14:00.005-05:00

Standing and Crawling

Ellie pulled herself into standing position for the first time on Thursday May 28th. On Saturday May 30th she started crawling on her hands and knees. We had been out to dinner for a friend's 40th birthday on Saturday night. We had a sitter for Abby and Gabe but we took Ellie with us. Ellie got restless in the restaurant so we left before dessert. When we got home we put her on the floor and she spied on the floor the most coveted of all items, the remote control, and quick as anything she just crawled to get the remote. We were happy to witness the first crawling and to catch it on video tape. Now 5 days later it is as if she could always crawl this way and she is getting FAST.

The first standing.
Not the first crawling but a reenactment a few days later.

Look at her go. Look to the right side of the picture and you will see what is causing her to move so quickly...yes the coveted remote!

Enjoying her victory!

Losing Teeth (or Tooth)

Today Abby lost her second tooth. It was the last real day of school and she said it was her best day because she got three treats and her tooth came out. Much like a shark she already has a tooth waiting to move into it's place so she won't have a hole in her mouth for long.

And Eating

Gabe cleaning up the whisk after we made chocolate pudding for afternoon snack.

Even chocolate covered that is a CUTE face!

We take a lot of pictures of eating. Perhaps it is because we like to eat! Here is the fam enjoying orange push ups on the front step.

Gabe LOVED it!

A warm summer evening with friends...

2009-05-30T20:34:00.007-05:00

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day. It was much too beautiful for cooking or eating in so we met our friends Jeff and Polly and their three kids at a local barbecue place to eat outside. After dinner we walked to a nearby park and had a great time letting the kiddos run off some energy. We had been stuck inside the two days before because of the rain so we were all VERY happy to be out. Here are some pictures of the fun.

We spell cool G - A -B - E.

He is SO cool, he is even a chick magnet. Here he is giving Gina a lift in his side car.

Abby and Eric monkeying around.

Gina following after Abby and Eric.

Ellie has no fear. She prefers to fly with her arms open wide.Ellie LOVES swinging!

Gabe and Luke racing down the slide. Gabe won because Luke didn't actually know it was a race.

The four big kids looking in Silver Lake. And yes we were worried that one would topple in head first. The water is not deep but it is gross!

6 Years Come And Gone So Fast...

2009-05-27T21:50:00.004-05:00

Our first born, Abigail Rose Germann turned 6 years old today. It is hard to believe that six years have passed so quickly. As I remember her rather slow painful entrance into the world (30+ hours of labor and a c-section) it seems like just yesterday that she was born. But as I write this I realize that 1/3 of the time that I have with her being a child is already gone.

Abby is such an amazing little girl. I would be proud just to know her so imagine how I feel getting to be her mother. Every day I am amazed by her intelligence, her humor and her kindness.

Some of the things we love about Abby:

* Her energy and enthusiasm for life (even if that means staying up way too late)

* How she will do anything to stop her brother from crying and make him laugh

* That she is a math whiz

* That she can read books well beyond her age

* Her amazing vocabulary that she always uses correctly

* Her faith in God

* Her devotion to Daddy (she is a Daddy's girl)

* The way she paces around when she talks on the phone (more like a teenager than a 6-year old)

* Her passion for bubble gum and blowing bubbles

* Her negotiation skills, especially when it comes to getting snacks or more T.V.

* That she is an awesome big sister to Gabe and Ellie

* Her love for all animals of the stuffed variety, not so much the real ones

* The way she watches herself dance in the reflection in the picture window in the family room

* The fact that she can hula hoop better than anyone I have ever known

Abby's first birthday.

Our big 6 year old wearing the crown from the card her brother picked out for her and showing off the blue tongue created by the ring pop she talked her Dad into. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!

Happy 10 Months Ellie!

2009-05-27T21:38:00.003-05:00

Abby and Ellie share a birth day but not birth month. Today Abby turned 6 years old and Ellie turned 10 months old. Today also marks 4 weeks that Ellie has been with us. Ellie has made her place in our home and our hearts and we barely remember life without her. Even Gabe has warmed up to her and his new role as big brother. Ellie continues to do new things each day.

When we brought her home Ellie couldn't get from laying to sitting without assistance and now she does that with ease. She is now able to pull up on her knees and even bounces in that position to move across the hardwood floor. Ellie gets up on her hands and knees and really tries to crawl though she is not there yet. She babbles and laughs and smiles. She imitates sounds and gestures and has learned to clap her hands. Ellie is a busy wonderful little girl and we couldn't love her anymore.

Some Assembly Required...

2009-05-26T21:05:00.004-05:00

Abby turns 6 tomorrow. We decided to give her a new bike and helmet for her birthday as her old bike was pretty small for her long long legs. On Monday we took her bike shopping so she could try them out and pick out the one she liked. It was a good thing we took her along as she needed an 18" bike and I suspect we wouldn't have gone that big had we not seen her sit on it. Abby and Daddy worked hard to assemble the bike and Abby really loves it. The next challenge will be getting her to give up her training wheels!

First you take all the parts out of the box.

Then add a supervisor to the project. Abby makes a great supervisor. She's even got the stance down.

Next convince the supervisor that the project will be completed more quickly if she does some work.

The finished product.

One happy almost 6-year old girl!

Grandpa and GrandPA G.

2009-05-26T20:25:00.004-05:00

On Saturday we had a visit from Grandma Patt and Grandpa Denny (or Grandpa and GrandPA as Gabe calls them). When he addresses one of them directly he gets the Grandma and Grandpa thing correct however when he refers to them jointly he calls them Grandpa and GrandPA with special loud emphasis on the second PA.

This was Patt and Denny's first visit with Ellie besides a brief encounter at the airport. They have been very patient grandparents. They came in the morning and got to spend some floor time with Ellie. They brought us lunch and after lunch Patt and Abby and I also planted flowers in the front flower bed (no more mudpies). Abby was great help and stuck with the project until we were finished. We went to 4:30 Mass and ate dinner at Culvers. It rained on us the entire time we were planting flowers but by dinner time it was nice enough to eat outside.

Ellie and Grandma Patt making friends.

Grandpa and Ellie sharing a toy.

Some special Abby and Grandpa time.

Looking through Ellie's photo album.

Abby and Grandma hard at work. We planted about 100 petunias.

Tuesday with Two

2009-05-20T20:38:00.005-05:00

Tuesday was my first day of having two kiddos at home. It actually went very well. Ellie is very entertained by him so I think in some respects having him home is easier. Gabe is, however, very demanding of my time and does not yet seem to understand why we can't leave Ellie alone while I follow him on some grand adventure. When Abby is home Gabe defaults to playing with her and essentially ignores Ellie. This time at home while Abby is in school is going to be great for developing a relationship between Gabe and Ellie.Here they are playing together. Gabe is starting to like this older brother thing because he gets to be the one who knows it all.

Gabe thought Ellie could use some help with her hair. Here he is attempting to brush her hair with a princess brush. Don't worry, I intervened before any damage occurred.

While Ellie was taking her morning nap I let Gabe make mudpies in the empty front flower bed.

I was washing down the front porch while Gabe was making mudpies. Eventually he decided clean looked like as much fun as dirty so he joined in the cleaning efforts.

Ellie continues to make strides toward crawling and pulling up. Yesterday she pulled up to her knees on the stairs for the first time. I am sure she will be attempting to ascend the stairs in no time and we will need to install the gate.

Tuesday turned out to be an incredibly warm day. We had highs in the 90s. And when you get 90s in Minnesota in May there is only one thing to do.....PLAY WITH THE HOSE! The kids got into their swimming suits and got out the hose after dinner. It is amazing how much fun can be had with just a hose and a couple of buckets.

And as a busy day came to a close Big Sister Abby decided to share her latest passion with Ellie....bubble gum! Ellie was duly impressed with Abby's ability to blow bubbles!

A Weekend of Visitors....

2009-05-18T08:01:00.004-05:00

We had a very nice weekend visiting with family and friends who have been anxiously awaiting their chance to meet Ellie.

On Saturday Uncle Paul (Phil's brother) and Aunt Tiffany came for a visit. They had a great time playing on the floor getting to know Ellie and spending some time with Abby and Gabe. They grilled brats for us and brought yummy dessert too. THANKS Paul and Tiffany! They even got to stay long enough to play some 500 after the kiddos were all sleeping. Yay!

Kicking back with Uncle Paul. This guy seems alright!

Is that me in your camera Aunt Tiffy? Boy I look cute today!

On Sunday evening our friends Steve and Micki came over with their four kids. All of the kids were very well behaved. You wouldn't have even known we had seven children in the house! They brought dinner and presents for Ellie and even stocked our freezer with homemade lasagna for another day. THANKS Steve and Micki!

Here is Ellie checking out Nate (Steve and Micki's youngest child). He is an older man who already knows how to walk. We are already screening him as a potential prom date so Nate was showing off his moves!

The presents are interesting. Amanda would have been happy to open them for Ellie.

But in the end she just wanted to eat the paper.

Ellie did great meeting so many new people. Allowing her to stay on familiar turf and having the new people come to her seems to work very well. Although Ellie handled her weekend well, she is exhausted. I put her to bed 12 hours ago and she is still sleeping.

Fun with Bubbles!

2009-05-14T21:00:00.004-05:00

Ellie LOVES her baths. Because she has had a cold this week we have been using a Johnson's baby bath product with menthol to help with her congestion. The bonus of that particular baby bath is the that it makes TONS of bubbles. Who doesn't love bubbles?

How many MOMS do you have?

2009-05-11T08:48:00.005-05:00

How many Moms do you have? This is the question that filled my mind today on my first Mother's Day with 3 children. Since we do not yet have the technology to grow babies to full term in jars, we all have a First Mom. A First Mom is the mom who carried us in her womb and gave us life. For some that may be the only mom they ever have but most of us acquire more Moms somewhere along life's journey. Some of us acquire Second Moms through death, divorce and remarriage. We may also acquire Second Moms through our own marriage, our mother-in-laws. Still others acquire more Moms through pseudo adoption. We adopt friends, neighbors or coworkers with whom we develop a nurturing 'mom' like relationship. All these woman, the many Moms in our lives, should be honored on Mother's Day.

On this day, I realize that I am both a First and a Third Mom. I was blessed enough to be a First Mom to Abby and Gabe. I carried them with me for 9 months and I was there when they took their first breaths in the world. No matter where I go in life or what I do, I will always consider the creation of those two perfect human beings my greatest accomplishment.

Now through the beauty of adoption I also get the chance to be a Third Mom. Somewhere in Korea is a courageous young woman who loved Ellie enough to give her life despite the fact that she was probably shunned by family and friends for being a single pregnant woman. Ellie's First Mom also placed her for adoption hoping to provide her with the things she couldn't. That decision had to be one of the most difficult decisions of her life. I hope that on this day celebrating Mothers that Ellie's First Mom is at peace with her decision and I hope someday she will know how much we love the little girl she brought into this world. Ellie also had a Second Mom, Lee Mi Sook. Mi Sook took on the difficult task of caring for a new born day and night knowing that someday she would leave for another family. She loved Ellie as her own until the day we brought her home. Ellie could not have had a better Second Mom. So that leaves me in position number three. It is a position that I am happy to have. I didn't hear Ellie's first breath. I didn't see her first smile or hear her first laugh but I get so much more. I get to be there for her first steps, her first word and her first birthday. I will be there for her first day of school, her first aced test and her first broken heart. I get to be her forever mommy. Yes, third place is just fine with me.

We had a fairly quiet Mother's Day around the Germann household. We went to Mass and ate lunch at Subway (Abby's choice). Who knew a five year old could eat a whole meatball sub? We spent a quiet afternoon at home with all three children napping (that is a gift in itself). We then went out for Mexican food (Mommy's choice). We had hoped to capture some pictures of our Mexican dinner but we were too busy surviving eating out with three kids to remember to take pictures. Here are some pictures we took after church of me and my beautiful children on Mother's Day.

Muffins, Mass and the END of Paternity Leave

2009-05-06T15:11:00.006-05:00

Today was a busy day for the Germann Household. First we had muffins. Gabe and I headed off to his daycare for "Moms and Muffins" in celebration of Mother's Day. It was nice to have breakfast with him one on one and spend a little time playing in his room. He will continue to attend this daycare all of next week and probably part of the following week to allow Ellie a little more adjustment and bonding time. After that he will be at home with mom. Then in July both Gabe and Ellie will start at a brand new educational daycare center just opening next month. We have been at our current daycare center, Knowledge Beginnings for nearly 6 years so it is hard to make the change but we are very excited about the new school, Primrose. They seem to have great curriculum and the directors there were formerly the directors at Knowledge Beginnings so we are very comfortable with them. Still transitions are hard and this is another one. Here are some pictures of "Moms and Muffins."

Phil was left home to get the girls ready and Abby to school by 9:00 because Mass was next on the agenda for the day. On Wednesday Abby has school Mass and today was the Kindergartners week to 'plan' Mass. Abby read a petition the last time the Kindergartners lead Mass but this time she sang in the choir. I met Phil and Ellie at school for Mass. Nothing beats Kindergartners belting out Mass music!

Abby is on the top row in the middle. She is wearing a yellow shirt.

Today marks the end of Phil's two weeks of paid paternity leave so after Mass he headed back to work. Wow - where did those two weeks go? We spent the first one traveling and the second on recovering. I will miss having Phil home. Ellie is fun but she is not much of a conversationalist yet.

I should note that Ellie slept for 11 hours last night and only got up because we had to wake her to start our busy day. We missed her afternoon nap yesterday so she fell asleep at 8:30. We were so afraid that she would be up in the night or very early in the morning. I was quite surprised when I woke up at 6:00 and had not heard from her. We finally woke her at 7:30 so she could eat before going to school with Abby. It appears that our little Ellie may be a good sleeper. YES!

Jet lag has lifted and Ellie sits up

2009-05-05T11:59:00.003-05:00

I think we are finally over the jet lag. Woo Hoo! Ellie slept last night from 9:30 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. At 4:30 she was only up for 45 minutes took a bottle and went back to sleep until 8:30. We slept through the alarm and were awakened by Abby at 8:00! It was a mad dash to get everyone fed and Abby to school on time but we did it and we were grateful for the extra sleep.

Ellie is settling into the family so nicely. I have heard and read of so many struggles with attachment in adoption that I keep waiting for something bad to happen but each day gets better and better. Ellie takes bottles easily for us now (though she still won't look at Phil when she takes her bottle at least she drinks all her milk). When we first came home she would arch her back and scream when we tried to put her to sleep. I just put her down for her morning nap and she just snuggled in my arms and drifted off to sleep without any fighting or crying. We feel so blessed that she has such an easy going disposition.

Abby and Gabe have been struggling a little bit with all the changes. There is no outright hostility toward Ellie or anyone else but there are more temper tantrums and tears. They are both really sensitive and a small injury that wouldn't have phased them two weeks ago is now a terrible tragedy. We are working hard to find some individual time for each of them each day (no easy task). I know in the long run their lives will be richer and fuller for having another sibling but it is hard to see them struggling now. In a month it will be as if Ellie were always here. Gabe is already rewriting history in his story telling to include Ellie in things we did before she came.

Ellie's newest trick is getting from laying to sitting on her own. She is very proud of herself when she does it and looks to us for praise. She gets herself in some pretty funny positions and she appears to be incredibly flexible. Perhaps she will be a gymnast. This is usually the last developmental milestone before crawling so our house will get even busier soon.

Almost there...

Look at me sit up. I am so proud!

Ellie has also become an avid reader of any book containing pictures of babies.

It's been a hard day's night...

2009-05-02T14:33:00.008-05:00

We should be sleeping like a log.

We are, however, not sleeping like a log, in fact we are not sleeping very much at all.

Two things seem to be interfering with our ability to get some sleep:

1) jet lag; and

2) our three children.

Three children can you believe that?!?! Though we have been in the process of this adoption for a year and half it is just now sinking in that we have three children. We are out numbered. Be afraid be very afraid!

Those of you who have more than one child know that the whole theory of "sleep when the baby sleeps" goes out the window when you have other children to care for. Also, we are trying desperately to recover from jet lag and get our bodies back into this time zone and we know that sleeping during the day will not help with that process. We are also trying to get Ellie adjusted to this time zone without much success yet. Thursday (her first day home) she slept almost the entire day. We decided to let her sleep considering the stress her little body had been through the day before and the fact that she slept very little on the plane. We did wake her around meal times all day to expose her to some daylight and keep her eating. After being up with her quite a bit on Thursday night we decided on a new plan of attack for Friday. We kept Ellie up as much as we could on Friday. We took her to Target and walked around just to entertain her and keep her happy while awake. We took her to daycare and school to pick up Abby and Gabe. We did allow her to nap twice but woke her from those naps after 2 hours and despite this valiant effort last night was worse. Ellie slept from 9:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. and then she was awake until 7:00 a.m. She was great fun during this time laughing and playing and only cried when we would try to put her to sleep. We are trying again today to keep her awake so that she will start to sleep during the night. She is currently taking a nap but we will be sure to keep it short. Hopefully this works. Phil says we are not jet lagged, we are sleep walking.

So far, in our mere 36 hours home we have really only encountered two struggles with Ellie; sleeping and eating. These are the times when she seems to miss her foster mom the most. For the first two days home she didn't want to take bottles from us. We had a bit of a break through on that yesterday and she is now taking her bottles better. She also really seems to fight going to sleep. She arches her back and cries and tries desperately to get away from us. This also seems to be improving a little though I think it will take some time.

In all other ways things are moving along splendidly. Ellie is opening up and smiling and laughing more with each passing day. She is very bubbly and engages people she encounters when we are out and about. She babbles a lot so she fits in nicely in this family! We did not get to see this personality during our time in Korea and it is so fun to see her come out of her shell. Ellie is growing accustom to Abby and Gabe and the commotion they create. She really enjoys the kids and they are always attempting to make Ellie laugh or smile. She also enjoys her bath. She is not a big fan of the car seat but we are working on it. I sit in the back with her and that seems to help.

Abby and Gabe are adjusting very well. We have seen a few bouts of jealousy out of Gabe when I am holding Ellie but Ellie expresses the same displeasure when I am holding Gabe. Gabe will recite a liteny of toys that he does not want Ellie to chew on but then he and Abby fight over who gets to sit by her at dinner.

So that is the update for now. We are VERY tired but surviving. Here are some pictures of our first days together.

Wow these are adorable children!

Abby is such a good big sister. She is always willing to help out and fetch something and wants to hold Ellie whenever she will sit still long enough to be held.

Gabe's job currently consists of explaining the intracacies of toys to Ellie to make sure she is enjoying them properly.

Ellie does not yet crawl, however, she rolls everywhere. She can turn on dime and practically bend herself in half to get where she wants to go. She takes off her socks as soon as I put them on and likes to chew on her toes. She is such a joy!

Better than Expected...

2009-05-01T11:57:00.007-05:00

Better than expected is the phrase I use to describe the travel home. I had geared myself up for 13 hours of non stop crying. I figured if I could handle 30 hours of labor I could handle 13 hours of crying. Ellie, however, was a trooper and greatly exceeded our expectations and handled the trip quite well.

We had a direct flight from Seoul to Chicago leaving at 12 noon, then a hop from O'Hare to Rochester after a brief layover. Ellie fell asleep in the van from the agency to the Inchon airport. At the airport she had a tough time and did some crying but fell asleep again after I tied her on in my podaegi (a traditional Korean baby carrier). She even slept through the boarding process.

There were lots of babies on this plane so we weren't able to get bulkhead seats where we would have had more room and a bassinet but it still worked out OK. We had two seats alone toward the back of the plane so I had lots of space between my seat and the window where I could stash the diaper bag and other necessities. Phil and I worked out a system for meals where one of us would hold Ellie on the back of the plane while the other one ate. Ellie was upset and crying 3 different times. The first two times we were able to walk around the plane and get her to fall asleep (yeah podaegi!). She even took one nap that was three hours long allowing Phil and I to zone out to a movie. The last time she was upset was the most difficult. We had only a couple more hours to go and Ellie was definitely mom shopping. She would reach out to every Korean woman on the plane. She was missing her foster mom and could not be comforted by me. One of the stewardesses was nice enough to hold her for a while. Ellie was very glad to have a Korean face to look at and Korean words to listen to. These times of crying only seemed to come when she was tired and needed to sleep, other than that she would play with toys and eat snacks and generally entertain us. Phil and I both think the flight home went faster than the flight there, who would have thought!

We had a small welcoming committee great us in the Rochester airport. Phil's mom and dad, Abby, Gabe, our good friend Polly and her children Eric, Gina and Luke. It is good that Grandma Patt was snapping pictures because we were too tired to think clearly.

Abby and Gabe were very excited to meet their new sister. Abby especially seems very smitten with Ellie.

The end of the beginning

2009-04-30T21:44:00.006-05:00

Our time in Seoul came to a close on 2009 Apr 29 (Wednesday), one week after our arrival. When we arrived in the lobby of the ESWS guest house, everyone else was already there (Kimberly, escorting a little girl; Julie Post and her mom -- we were all on the same flight). The foster families were also there with the babies. After a flurry of last-minute paperwork, photos, tears, and a prayer by ESWS director Dr. Kim, we were hurried into to the waiting van and waved goodbye.

So there's the clinical version of what happened, but that isn't the real story.

For several days before leaving, we began to understand the enormous sacrifice and love of Yeong Ah's foster parents, Lee Mi Sook and Kim Tae Seog. As one of our new friends wrote about their daughter (and all our children), "... She already had a family with loving foster parents. She had routines, a secure environment, and everything she needed. True - this couldn't last because a pre-adoption foster home is temporary - an infant can't rationalize that. ..." Indeed, Korea is a beautiful place. Julie and I would talk often of how surprised we were by the strength of our emotional connection to Mrs. Lee and Mr. Kim, and how it felt like we were, in a sense, breaking a family up by taking Ellie home. We had considered our own family, the birth mother, Yeong Ah's needs, but very little about her foster family. We were excited and heartbroken at the same time.

We just couldn't leave on Wednesday morning without hugging Mrs. Lee and Mr. Kim. I don't know if we broke any Korean 'protocols' by that, but I will testify that the strength of their return embrace told me that we had arrived at an understanding for the mutual benefit of Eliana Yeong Ah.

I type with tears in my eyes for the thousands of foster families who have loved children and watched them fly away to foreign homes. Perhaps someday adoption will not be necessary, and all children can be raised in stable homes within their native cultures.

The central element of the Catholic faith is something called the "Paschal Mystery." Simply put, it's our understanding of how God gave life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the mystery of how pain, loss, grief, and failure can coexist with love, joy, life, and hope. It cannot be explained, but is understood through experiences. I have rarely felt such a strong presence of this as in the few days leading up to our trip home. Anticipating the pain of taking Yeong Ah and the challenge of the flight home reminded me of why we celebrate Holy Week. It is to remember that the pain of this week was born because Yeong Ah's mother loved her enough to place her for adoption, and because Mrs. Lee and Mr. Kim dared to invite her into their home. The splendor of Easter would be diminished without the pain of Good Friday.

Our "Easter"

Rocking and Packing

2009-04-28T04:00:00.007-05:00

We spent this morning volunteering in the Eastern baby nursery. We fed and rocked babies and even changed poopy diapers. All of the babies adopted through Eastern have their start in this nursery. Ellie lived there from the time she left the hospital where she was born until she joined her foster family on September 18, 2008. We know that other adoptive families and volunteers held and rocked our little girl when we couldn't be there for her and we were happy to return the favor.

Here is the window into the nursery. We counted 28 babies all waiting for foster families and forever homes.

There are so many they have them double bunked. This little fellow that Phil cared for has a trundle bed underneath three other babies.

Phil took care of this smiley boy first. They said he was 3 months old.

I had this little peanut. They did not tell me his age but I guessed him to be no more than a couple of days old. His skin looked like a newborn and he was still learning how to suck. It took nearly an hour to get a few ounces of milk in him.

And two more babies for us. I have a little boy and Phil has a little girl. There was no shortage of babies needing some love and attention.

After our nursery time we finsihed our souvenir shopping. We have also been busy packing to come home. We have to meet the foster family at 8:30 and then we will be shuttled to the airport. Our flight leaves Korea at 12:00 p.m. (10 p.m. Tuesday night at home). We are anxious to come home and start our life with Ellie as a part of our family. We also miss Abby and Gabe terribly and are anxious to see them.

Though we are anxious to return home we leave the land of Ellie's birth with heavy hearts. We have really enjoyed our time in Korea and we know how much Ellie is losing by leaving her culture. We know tomorrow will be sad as we say goodbye to Ellie's foster parents. We can't imagine how hard it is for them to let her go. We will be forever grateful to them for the love they gave her. We will be forever grateful to Korea for our beautiful daughter.

This is Julie signing off until we are home.

Second Visit with Ellie

2009-04-27T04:27:00.006-05:00

We had our second visit with Ellie this morning. The visitation room where we were the first time was occupied so we just took her back to our room. She cried for the first 30 minutes. It is heartbreaking to listen to her cry. She looks at our faces and crinkles her nose and just lets loose. What is even sadder is that all the while she is crying she is hugging us. We know that the foster family is not a permanent family for her but watching her loose the only mother she has known is so sad. After we couldn't settle her in the room we decided to try going outside in a stroller. She loved the hustle and bustle of the city and she settled right down. After 15 or 20 minutes of strolling she was content to be held by us again. After an hour we met with our social worker and the foster family. Ellie was content to let Phil hold her even though her foster parents were in the room. We think that is a promising sign.

This is one of the few pictures we got before Ellie got upset. Her foster mother always has headbands on her that have fake ponytails on the side. We think they are a hoot.

The foster family then gave us gifts. In fact, they gave us the best gift we could have recieved. They made Ellie a wonderful photo album (like a shutterfly book) and also gave us a CD with all her pictures on it. We are so happy that she will have some record of her first family and the first 9 months of her life. Did I mention that today is Ellie's 9 month birthday? In the photo book they wrote a beautiful letter to her in Korean. Our social worker translated it for us. As you can imagine we were all crying (except for Ellie). The next few days are going to be very emotional.

They also asked for our blog and email addresses and would like to stay in contact. They are such amazing people we are more than happy to keep them updated on our family and Ellie's growth.

Here is a picture of the photo album they made for us.

They also gave Ellie a Hanbok which is the traditional Korean dress.

After our meeting we met the director of the agency and had lunch with her and the other families who are here right now. It was such a nice time to visit with others in our situation. We met a nice family from Seattle and another from Australia. Unfortunately Phil has a cold (he says cold I say swine flu) and has lost his voice so he didn't get the benefit of visiting with everyone.

This afternoon we went to a Buhddist temple.

After that we went to another market to do some shopping. Now we are resting a little before heading out for some dinner. More tomorrow.

A busy busy day...

2009-04-26T08:08:00.013-05:00

Well we had our first day in Korea without rain (almost). It didn't rain until evening and even then it was just drizzly. We tried to make the most of the dry day and see LOTS of stuff.

First we went to Gyeonbukgong Palace.

There we saw the changing of the guard.

Next we went to the Korean Folk Museum.

Then we went back to Insadong where we attempted another Korean meal with success. Mmmmm dumplings.

Then it was off to the toy market to shop for some kids we know. No Walmart here everything is sold in open air markets.

And finally we took in the Lotus Lantern Festival parade. This is a celebration of Buddha's birthday. The floats were awesome (see picture above).

Then a subway ride and stop at Burger King...you can take the Americans out of the United States but you can't take away their fast food. Now we must head to bed. Tomorrow morning we get our next visit with Ellie. We are excited to see her again and to see how she will react to us. We figure the first time we were a novelty but now that she is seeing us a second time she may be starting to figure out that something is up.

Pics (with a little help from new friends!)

2009-04-25T08:03:00.007-05:00

We met a couple from Arkansas in the computer room at the guest house. We thought we wouldn't be able to post pictures until we got home but they were much smarter than we are so you can now see our new daughter.

Here she is! Isn't she cute?

Daddy (Appa) and Ellie (Yeong Ah). Her foster family calls her by her Korean name. She has been Ellie to us for a long time but now we find ourselves calling her Yeong Ah.

Momma (Omma) and Ellie. She is really interested in touching and pinching our faces.

These are Ellie's foster parents. They were both so kind. It is obvious that Ellie has gotten wonderful care from both of them. It is also obvious that she has gotten sufficient food - she is a chunk!

Be quick or be squished...

2009-04-25T07:36:00.002-05:00

Doors here close very quickly. They also don't seem to have the same safety features that electronic doors have at home. We have seen a number of people squeezed between subway doors and Phil was almost tragically squished in an elevator.

We tried to do some sight seeing today but the weather would not cooperate. We did go to the Korean war memorial and museum. It is a museum of Korean war since the beginning of time and it is HUGE but very interesting. Strangely enough this museum also had a Thomas the Train exhibit so there were lots of kids around. Made us miss Abby and Gabe. We got tired of being cold and wet so we headed back to the guest house around 5:00. I snoozed a little while Phil watched a movie. We are now trying to keep ourselves up later in the hope that we won't be awake from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.

We are hoping that tomorrow is at least dry so we can see some more of Korea.

Minnows and Peanuts?!?!?

2009-04-24T19:26:00.002-05:00

Well yesterday we ventured into Insadong which is a large shopping area. There were many Korean restaurants and we wandered around until we found one that had pictures and some English. I am trying to be adventurous but I am just not up for eel, octopus or squid. I ordered bulgogi which a Korean beef dish that I am familiar with. It was not what I was expecting (it came in a big pot like soup and was mixed with several unidentifiable things) but it wasn't bad. We had several side dishes which is common in Korea. One of them no kidding was little fried minnows mixed with peanuts. How do I know they were minnows you might ask. It is because they still had their little faces and tails. Needless to say I didn't eat much of my lunch and we ended up at TGI Fridays last night for a margarita and a burger. We will try to find another place for a Korean food adventure today.

We are still struggling a little with the time change. We are exhausted by 9:00 and fall immediately asleep but I woke up at 2:00 and couldn't get back to sleep until after 4:00. By the time our bodies have this figured out it will be time to come home.

The weather here has been lousy. We hear you have 90 degrees at home. It was chilly and rainy all day yesterday and today looks to be the same. We think our vacation weather has been cursed since our rainy Vermont vacation with Jeff and Polly. Perhaps we will have to have a successful weather vacation with them before our luck will turn. We had a very strange experience where we were standing at a stop light together under one small umbrella when an elderly Korean man walked up and joined us under our umbrella. He stood there and spoke Korean at us very quickly until the light changed to green. We don't even know how to say we don't speak Korean in Korean so all we could do was stand and smile at him and laugh about it later.

We decided we will go visit a few museums to do something that allows us to be dry. We are off to Itaewon to do some more shopping and have lunch and then we are going to the Korean war museum.

She is WONDERFUL!

2009-04-23T21:57:00.002-05:00

We met Ellie for the first time and it went really well. She is really beautiful. She has super long eye lashes that curl. She is MUCH bigger than we expected. She weighs 22 lbs. and has the chubbiest little thighs. :-) I don't know if the clothes I packed for her will fit. She eats a lot and her favorite snack is something similar to cocoa puffs (just like Gabe she is coocoo for cocoa puffs). She sits up well and rolls around but is not yet crawling.

She was very interested in both Phil and I and liked to touch our faces. The foster family is so nice. They stayed for the first 40 minutes of the meeting and then they left us alone with Ellie. She did really well initially and was happy to play with us and let us hold her. Toward the end of the meeting she got upset but the foster mother said she was due for a nap.

Our social worker had warned us in advance that Ellie had some stranger anxiety and was prone to crying very loudly. She also said, "all the time she is so smart." We didn't find her to be particularly anxious around us and for that we were glad. We get to spend time with her again on Monday morning and then it is our decision whether to get her on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning before we leave. Our social worker is encouraging us to wait until Wednesday. We can see advantages both ways - one way gets us and Ellie a good night's sleep before a long trip - one way lets us start bonding with her and start her grieving process before we get on the plane. If we understood the social worker correctly, the foster mother intends to come to the airport to see us off. If that is the case we may wait for Wednesday as all the hard work we would do on Tuesday night would have to be done again after she sees her foster mother again.

We are now off to Insadong to do some shopping and grab some lunch. No pizza hut for us today we are going to eat native cuisine.

We miss you Abby and Gabe.

1 Hour to Contact

2009-04-23T19:09:00.002-05:00

We made it! We are in Korea and in about 1 hour we get to meet Ellie for the first time. We're so excited!

The flights went well. Our planes both left on time or slightly early. 13 hours is a crazy amount of time to be on a plane but I survived. I was unable to sleep on the plane so by last night after being awake for 27 hours and sleeping only 4 hours the night before that (Phil's Asia plan) I was awfully tired. We walked to a pizza hut (boring I know) and had pizza about 8 o'clock last night and then crashed. It is amazing how much better you feel after some sleep and a shower!

We will try to write more later today and fill you in on Ellie!

Travel Plans

2009-04-21T23:50:00.003-05:00

We are flying directly out of Rochester tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 9:00 a.m. If you are now wondering why I am still awake see the post below about "Phil's Asia travel plan." We arrive in Korea on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. (their time). Korea is 14 hours ahead of us. We get to meet our new daughter for the first time on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and we are SO EXCITED!

We are staying at the Eastern guest house. Eastern is the adoption agency in Korea and they have their own on site hotel for adoptive families. We were very happy to get a room there so we are close to all the action. In the same facility is the baby hospital where Ellie spent her first weeks of life. We hope to visit there and spend some time rocking babies because we know that others did the same for our little girl.

We promise to try to keep this blog up while we are away. We are excited to share our adventures with all of you.

The Finished Product

2009-04-21T23:41:00.003-05:00

Yes even late this evening we were putting the finishing touches on Ellie's room. It is all part of Phil's Asia travel plan which is to stay up incredibly late the night before you fly so you can sleep on the plane and reset your clock. It worked for him when he traveled to Taiwan. We'll see if it works on this trip too.

THE CALL!

2009-04-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

THE CALL finally came at 8:45 this morning. Yes, that is right we are having a baby! We are working on getting flights for Wednesday the 22nd. We should get to meet Ellie for the first time on Friday! I am so happy and so excited. What a great day!

Getting ready for Ellie!

2009-04-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

We have been busy getting ready for our baby girl to come home. Abby and Gabe have even gotten involved! Painting was messy but great fun! The room is done now all we need is for Ellie to come home.