Second Visit with Ellie

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.