She's HOME!!!

I have to fill you in on all the details so bear with me. On Monday we started off our morning by going with AAC's group to see the Pyeongtaek Center, this is one of Easterns facilities. There they have the unwed mothers home (Esthers home), Jacobs home for infants and toddlers who's parents have not relinquished birth rights (not adoptable), a school for children of all ages with special needs and a vocational school for the same children- plus housing for them all. It was great to see and made me feel like all the money we put up for adoption in part is going to a very good cause. Easterns vision and what they do is really cool.
Anyway, after that we went to the Korean Folk Village where we saw a few performances and enjoyed seeing the traditional side of Korea and hearing all about where the traditions came from. We got on the bus to go back with the group to go pick up our girl, the timing couldn't have been better, than what happens- our bus turns right and sideswipes another bus. It wasn't bad but delayed us significantly. Fortunately Christie from AAC was with us and was able to call Eastern and tell the foster family what happened so they would know to hold off for a few hours. We finally made it to Eastern- totally sweaty and disgusting but we were there.
When we got there we just had to sign another form and then the foster family (mom and dad) brought Samara into the room. They brought two bags full of stuff for her so we spent a few minutes going over what was in them, formula, diapers enough for overnight and the flight, plus a photo album and memory chip, blanket and favorite toy and a few other misc things. In those few minutes foster dad played with Samara and a driver came around to pick us up. Since it was late Dr. Kim wasn't available to do her normal prayer before the we left. So within a few minutes we were taken out to the car, put inside, and then handed Samara. Off we went back to the hotel, I was expecting it to be incredibly emotional and very difficult but it wasn't at all. I think because foster mom was like a rock it made it easier and it all happened really fast. The only one who seemed a little sad was foster dad but he also held it together. I guess since foster mom has done this so many times she was prepared.


We only had two blocks to go to the hotel but in that time Samara fell asleep on Chads chest. She seemed exhausted.


When she woke up in an unfamiliar place with just me (Chad ran out to get dinner) she cried hard. I really think she knew changes were happening and foster mom and dad were really gone. She cried for about an hour maybe a little longer then whimpered a bit more. We tried everything we could to sooth her during that time but she needed to grieve. After she was done that was it- she stopped, ate a little, and played with us. Then she fell asleep in my arms about 11pm and stayed asleep until 8am. I'm so glad we had that time with her before getting on an airplane. I would highly recommend it to any family traveling soon. It was the best decision for us.
So Tuesday we packed up and went out to Itaewon to pick up some shoes Chad had made for him there. She did great being out with us, we rode the subway and walked all over and she was a little angel.

As soon as we finished it was time to head to the airport. I believe we had the "very fast" driver from Eastern. The speed limit was 100kmph and he was over 140 at parts! We went through the airport quickly and met a really nice guy who came over to us and said "she'll be a new immigrant, right?" At first I was taken back but then he started to tell us where to go as soon as we arrived in San Francisco. (for anyone traveling soon- go to "New Immigrant" line 35 when you arrive. ) His advice saved us a lot of time.
The fight went very smoothly. Here are a few pictures of the bassinets in bulkhead. She did actually sleep in it! She slept a significant portion of the fight so that was nice. We took Asiana and they were wonderful.





In San Francisco we had United they are not friendly nor helpful. But at that point it really didn't matter. Our flight was supposed to get into Denver about 6pm but due to weather we weren't allowed to land. So we had to stop in Salt Lake and refuel so we could just hover over Denver until we got the all clear. Samara was awake most of this flight and she did great. She was a little squirmy but so were we. Finally at 9:30 we made it home safely. The boys and our parents were at the airport to greet us and they were precious. Both boys came with a gift for her, Dillon had a doll and Dane had a Little Pony (the first in our home), they were more excited than I anticipated and they were so gentle and sweet to her. All they wanted to do was kiss her and hug her. They just made my night. Our family's are wonderful they had a great meal waiting for us when we got home. The house was decorated with a big welcome home sign and balloons. They all scooted out fairly quickly and left us to just be together. The boys and Samara are hitting it off very well and Samara is quickly becoming familiar with the house.
She slept with us at night but took a nap in her crib today. After three hours though we woke her up to try and begin switching her days and nights to our time. So far she hasn't shown a lot in the way of grieving, except that when Chad steps out of her sight she cries- even if I'm holding her and that doesn't go the other way around :) . She is already a daddy's girl!
We have discovered that she does not like showers or having her diaper changed. But she is very playful and smiles and laughs a lot. She's tough too- she likes to climb under my coffee table and when she does she hits her head but keeps right on going. I think this little girl has a lot of spunk and will fit in perfectly to our family. She is definitely the one God had picked out for us. I'm looking forward to the days ahead to see and learn more about her and for her to do the same with us.
One last thing, she turned her head at her name today. I was worried this may take a while since she's never been called by it before but maybe I was wrong and some of those things will happen quicker than I imagined.