On Monday we took it easy in the morning and then left around 10 am to head to Eastern Adoption Agency to drop off some letters for a friend's daughter. I had promised to take the letters and made sure I explained who they were for to the lady that greeted me when I walked in. It was neat to see a different agency and I'm glad that we got to quickly see what Eastern was like. We had the cab driver wait and then we headed to Holt to drop off all the donations that people sent with us and to say hi to KatieJoy's and Calen's social workers (they each have a different one) and then we got to have a meeting/lunch with KatieJoy's foster parents and her social worker, DJ (who translated for us). While we were at Holt we also ran into the foster mom that took us home the day we got KatieJoy- it was so neat to see her and for her to see how well KatieJoy has adjusted to us as she was the one who got to witness KatieJoy grieve so hard the day we took her. We took a few quick photos and parted ways. It was such a nice surprise that she happened to have an appt at Holt that day- God has such awesome divine intervention! We saw a few babies in and out of the office, but none that I recognized since we aren't really in process.
KatieJoy, DJ & I in front of the donations many others helped us gather for the babies in Korea!
KatieJoy's Foster mom and Ji-Yeon (the foster mom who helped us last time we were in Korea) with a super shy KatieJoy & I
We left Holt and had lunch at a place called Bulgogi Brothers with DJ and KatieJoy's foster mom and dad. OHMYGOSH is this food SOOOOO good. We had mandu (we've never tried mandu before this week and I'm officially in love), bulgogi and the kids had dolsat bibimbop.
We also tried plum soda after hearing of several other families trying it and it was so yummy- I didn't think it would be but man was it good! KatieJoy's foster family brought what felt like a million gifts for the kids- the foster mom knew it would help KatieJoy warm up to her and it really did! Her foster mom also handed me one small package and told DJ that it was KatieJoy's umbilical cord…I shook my head yes that I understood but after a few seconds it actually hit me what I was holding. I won't lie- I lost it and was very close to breaking into a sobbing mess. I was holding a piece of my daughter that was attached to her birth mom- how could I possibly be more in awe of a gift. It was the most precious gift I have EVER received- that may seem weird to some of you, but to me it means the world.
KatieJoy was very timid around foster parents for a bit, but as soon as we were done eating her foster mother got on the floor with her and started writing with her crayons on a drawing pad they had given her. I can't remember exactly what the note says- but DJ said it said something along the lines of "I love you and miss you. I'm so happy to see you." I need to have it actually translated! lol Once she drew with her (for those of you who know, my daughter LOVES to color and clearly her foster mom knew that about her) KatieJoy was more open to sitting near her and playing for a few minutes.
KatieJoy held her hand for a few moments and it melted my heart!
She still completely knew the best place to tickle little miss and KatieJoy ate it up!
I had DJ explain to her that KatieJoy had a rough transition at first and that even after four months with us she saw one photo of her foster family (the story is here) and she cried for them for 3 days- that made the foster mom cry a bit but she understood why we took photos down for a while. We talked a bit about what KatieJoy was like and they told us that she used to scream as loud as possible until she got what she wanted…uh- yup that still describes my daughter- hence the plane trip here! It's good to know things like that though- it reminds us that she is being herself and her tantrums are not at all attachment related but more personality related! We're going to have to work hard on that as she ages! haha. After that it was time for a few photos and lunch was done. KatieJoy's foster father is a taxi driver and asked DJ if we would mind if he drove us back to our room so even though we had no translator we got to have a few more minutes with her family and those few moments were of course precious to us. It was so hard for me to let go of the foster mom when we took custody of KatieJoy and Monday was the same way. I am so so so grateful for her and how she and her family took care of KatieJoy- I have absolute adoration for our children's Korean families and feel so blessed to have some connections with them.
After we left the foster family we attempted to get the kids some nap time, but they had other plans. They ran around our room like a bunch of wild animals while allen fell asleep and then later in the day we went out to do some window shopping
and as soon as KatieJoy hit the stroller she was out- she took about a 45 minute nap and then we headed to a new place for dinner that was like a 5 course meal! Seriously it started out with soup, went to a salad with some shrimp,
then it was some salmon with a potato type side dish;
then it was steak with rice and finally dessert (the orange thing is like 5 teas put together into a gel & the other had like bean powder on it and it as super cold on the inside).
It was insane- it was very good but there was SO MUCH FOOD- it was also very cheap- we paid less than 100,000 won for our dinner (less than $100 bucks)- no where in the USA could you have a meal like that for that cheap!
After dinner we hit the sack for our adventure the next day! :) And finally, that night, KatieJoy slept all through the night without any wake-ups. We weren't sure what seeing her foster family might do to her (& honestly had people telling us at home that it was a bad idea to come here) but you know what? God is good and he took care of the details- once again we are overjoyed in knowing that being here this week was absolutely God ordained.
~Mandy~
She still completely knew the best place to tickle little miss and KatieJoy ate it up!
I had DJ explain to her that KatieJoy had a rough transition at first and that even after four months with us she saw one photo of her foster family (the story is here) and she cried for them for 3 days- that made the foster mom cry a bit but she understood why we took photos down for a while. We talked a bit about what KatieJoy was like and they told us that she used to scream as loud as possible until she got what she wanted…uh- yup that still describes my daughter- hence the plane trip here! It's good to know things like that though- it reminds us that she is being herself and her tantrums are not at all attachment related but more personality related! We're going to have to work hard on that as she ages! haha. After that it was time for a few photos and lunch was done. KatieJoy's foster father is a taxi driver and asked DJ if we would mind if he drove us back to our room so even though we had no translator we got to have a few more minutes with her family and those few moments were of course precious to us. It was so hard for me to let go of the foster mom when we took custody of KatieJoy and Monday was the same way. I am so so so grateful for her and how she and her family took care of KatieJoy- I have absolute adoration for our children's Korean families and feel so blessed to have some connections with them.
After we left the foster family we attempted to get the kids some nap time, but they had other plans. They ran around our room like a bunch of wild animals while allen fell asleep and then later in the day we went out to do some window shopping and as soon as KatieJoy hit the stroller she was out- she took about a 45 minute nap and then we headed to a new place for dinner that was like a 5 course meal! Seriously it started out with soup, went to a salad with some shrimp, then it was some salmon with a potato type side dish; then it was steak with rice and finally dessert (the orange thing is like 5 teas put together into a gel & the other had like bean powder on it and it as super cold on the inside). It was insane- it was very good but there was SO MUCH FOOD- it was also very cheap- we paid less than 100,000 won for our dinner (less than $100 bucks)- no where in the USA could you have a meal like that for that cheap! After dinner we hit the sack for our adventure the next day! :) And finally, that night, KatieJoy slept all through the night without any wake-ups. We weren't sure what seeing her foster family might do to her (& honestly had people telling us at home that it was a bad idea to come here) but you know what? God is good and he took care of the details- once again we are overjoyed in knowing that being here this week was absolutely God ordained.
~Mandy~
1 comment:
I can just taste all of that wonderful food you are enjoying! What a wonderful trip!
Myra Beth (pavlovspup)
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