Our redneck swimming pool

Last week was the first full week of summer for us.  The big kids of course wanted to do water activities.  I was not yet up for venturing out to the swimming pool with four kids (three of whom don't swim well).  So instead I set up a sprinkler and filled a rubbermaid tub for the filling of buckets and water guns.  Our kids decided that the rubbermaid tub was our swimming pool.  Yes even our Koreans are rednecks!

Happy Second Birthday Charlotte Yeong Eun!

Charli turned 2 today!  We went to church in the morning and she handled it quite well.  After nap this afternoon we went swimming at the RAC and then came home for Korean food and cake.  We made many of Charli's favorites including bulgogi, jap chai (glass noodle dish with veggies), rice, gim (seaweed) and oranges.  She was just delighted to have her favorite foods.  She grinned ear to ear through the whole  meal.  She did a great job using the kid chop sticks.  She ate SO much we thought we might have to cut her off before she made herself sick.  We had brought Pororo (a funny little penguin dude that all Korean children adore) decorations and plates from Korea and also got her Hello Kitty balloons and cake.  She enjoyed blowing her candle out so much that we kept relighting it for her.  She opened her presents and got a teddy bear from big sister Abby and a doll and a Pororo microphone from Mom and Dad.  She loved her gifts. 

It's hard to believe Charli has been with us such a short time.  She fits in our family as if she has always been there.  She is a very happy little girl and is always smiling and laughing.  She even has the ability to joke with us.  She is very smart and she is starting to learn English, though we quite enjoy listening to her Korean.  We are so grateful that she was home for her second birthday.

Airplane Day

Airplane day was Wednesday.  We loaded into the adoption agency shuttle van at 8:00 a.m with considerably more stuff than we brought to Korea including a tiny human .  Charli snoozed on the way to the airport.  The drive takes about an hour.  We had no trouble getting through immigration or security.  We introduced Charli to her first french fries in an airport food court.  She thought they were interesting but wasn't convinced.  She really enjoyed dunking things in ketchup she just didn't actually want to eat the ketchup.

The flight was 12 hours Seoul to Chicago.  Charli slept for about 3 of the 12 hours.  She had her moments but all in all the trip was better than we expected.  We were supposed to have the inside two of three seats but convinced our seat mate that we would be getting up so much that she would be better off by the window.  The most difficult part of the flight was that Charli wouldn't let Phil hold her or even really touch her.  That was a LONG 12 hours holding a two-year-old for me.

We cruised through customs/immigration in Chicago and made it to our gate with enough time to grab some lunch.  The problem with having a lap ticket kid during a long flight is that it is almost impossible to eat. 

The flight back to Rochester was quick and uneventful.  Charli slept most of the 45 minutes.  We were met at the airport by Grandpa and Grandma with Abby, Gabe and Ellie as well as some dear friends.  What a wonderful welcome home.

 Waiting for the shuttle van with all of our acquired *stuff*.

 Long rides make me sleepy.

 This photo would lead you to believe she actually ate the fries.  She didn't. 

 There was a fun playground near our gate in Incheon.

Hanging out in the stroller in Chicago.

 The welcome home committee.

 Sisters.

Family Day!

On Tuesday we went to the agency around 11:00 a.m.  First we met with Dr. Kim, the director of the agency and then we had lunch with other adoptive families.  Then we had one last visit with Charli's foster mother and father before we took custody of her.  On our first visit I could tell that Charli called me something other than Omma (the Korean word for Mommy) so I asked the social worker what it was that she was calling me.  Everyone in the room who spoke Korean laughed and then they said she calls me "mi gook omma" which means American Mommy.  We got Charli around 2:00 p.m.  Taking her from her foster family was as painful as we thought it would be.  Watching them stand on the street crying while Charli wailed for them in the van as we pulled away is an image that will be forever burned in my brain.  Charli cried herself out and then slept for some of the drive to our hotel.

Once in the hotel Charli's grieving continued.  She wouldn't let me put her down but did eventually nap with the help of the baby carrier and a children's Korean music station on the T.V.  When she woke she was willing to eat a little and started to enjoy us.  She LOVED it when Daddy pulled out the bubbles.  She was very anxious and wouldn't let us take off her shoes or her jacket.  I think removing her shoes makes her think that she is staying and she was not ready to commit to that.  She also didn't want to leave the hotel room and would become very anxious whenever we tried.  After three attempts we managed to go to the food court in the mall and get something to eat.  We got a fried rice dish that she seemed to like.  We also hit the little grocery store for some fruit and drinks for her.  We went back to our room and she fell asleep easily and slept all night except for the time she fell out of bed (oops).  All in all I think this day went better than we expected.  We had to wake her at 7:00 a.m. to have some breakfast before heading to the airport.

 Charlotte Yeong Eun and her foster family.

 A sad little girl.

 Hmmmm.... These people brought bubbles.  They can't be all bad right?

 Toys and snacks too?  I guess they could be okay.

 I love the view from the hotel room.

 I also really like to have my picture taken!

Breakfast with Daddy before airplane day.

Almost home...

A picture of Phil and Yeong Eun playing peekaboo waiting for lunch in the Chicago airport. Should be in Rochester by 1:30.

Beginnings and Endings...

Tomorrow at 1:30 Charlotte Yeong Eun Germann will begin a new life with us.  She will become the 4th child in a busy, crazy, happy American family.  She will instantly have new parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who love her.  We have waited so long and are so excited to begin this next chapter in our story.  But as much as tomorrow is a beginning for Charlotte it is also an ending for Yeong Eun.  Tomorrow she will say goodbye to the only family she has known.  She will say goodbye to the mother, father and sisters who love her so.  I imagine that Yeong Eun's foster family is terribly sad tonight thinking about tomorrow's parting.  We are sad for them and know that tomorrow and the days ahead will be difficult for them as silence fills the space where Yeong Eun's giggles used to be.  We are so grateful for the wonderful care Yeong Eun received from them.  We wish we could spare them the pain ahead but without their pain we can't have the joy of having Yeong Eun with us.

Tonight is an anxious night.  I worry so much about how Yeong Eun will handle this transition.  She is not quite two and certainly can't understand what is about to happen.  What will she think when we take her from the agency?  Will she think it is temporary and that we will take her back in a little while?  Will she wonder when her foster mother is going to come for her?  Will she feel kidnapped by us?  When we met her she was such a happy fun little girl.  I worry that this will break her.  That it will break her heart and her spirit and that what is left will not resemble the girl we met last week.  Will we be able to rebuild her heart and her spirit?  Will we be able to help her understand that we love her and will never leave her?

We meet at the agency at 11:30 tomorrow to meet with the director Dr. Kim, have lunch and then say our final goodbyes to the foster family and take custody of Yeong Eun.  Tonight we will pray that she will be comforted by us and that her transition into our family goes smoothly.

Cheongdeokgung Palace and the Secret Garden

After visiting the temple we did some shopping in one of our favorite areas in Seoul, Insadong.  We spent most of our afternoon today at Cheongdeokgung Palace and Secret Garden.  It was a huge place and we did lots of hiking.  We are enjoying our last day in Seoul being tourists.　Tomorrow we go back to being parents.

This is a store in Insadong.  We thought Gabe would get a kick out of the name of it.