Because They Are Korean....

We have always felt strongly about keeping Jae-min and Jaelah's Korean heritage alive....because as we all know....these two cuties are Korean and proud of it!!!!

This week in Korea they are celebrating the Lunar New Year, the year of the dragon. We have been talking to Jae-min and Jaelah all week about the new year and how it is traditionally celebrated in Korea. They were excited to hear about the traditions and that makes our hearts big. Because as an adoptive parent we sometimes feel guilty about taking our children away from their heritage...so any little glimpse of Korean customs that we can provide we embrace it big time!!!

So tonight we decided to dress these two cuties in their hanboks.....

Here's Jae-min looking dapper as always. I couldn't believe that this year it actually fit him. This is the hanbok his omma gave him and he has worn it for the past 3 years. To see him filling it out and wearing it proudly made my heart swell.
And here's little Jaelah, looking like a beautiful princess. This hanbok was also given by her omma and she adorned it on her first birthday in Korea. I think she may have found it familiar as she was very excited to put it on.
And here are the 2 cutest Koreans ever!!!! Ok...I'll be honest here. I did tear up seeing these 2 little souls twirling and bouncing in these hanboks. To think this is how they would be celebrating this holiday in Korea had their lives been different makes me sad. And this is why we are committed to keeping their heritage alive!!! Because they deserve to know all about it. And any glimpse we can give them, we will.
This picture cracks me up. I think Jae-min is saying "look, lets just sit here really still so we can get this over with. What's with all the jumping around little sis??"
And of course no photo shoot would be complete without some silliness!!!!
Happy New Year everyone!!! May the year of the dragon be filled with health, happiness, and love.

A Special Delivery

We received a special package in the mail....a package all the way from Korea!!! If you remember when we traveled to bring Jaelah home, we met our sweet guide Seoyoung. She was so sweet and treated us to a day of fun, culture, shopping, and lunch. She even visited us at our hotel room after we picked up Jaelah with a little gift. Oh, and she was very smitten with this little man.....Seoyoung attends college in the US. We have corresponded with her on facebook and through emails since coming home. We had sent her some pictures of the kids and she sent us a reply asking us for our address. You see she was returning to Korea for the holidays and wanted to send us something special. And this is what came....
It's Pororo!!!!!! If you know anything about Korea and children in Korea you know who Pororo is!!! He's this sweet little guy who has other friends and ALL the kids in Korea love him. He even has his own tv show. Well, when we were with Seoyoung for the day I had mentioned that because of Jaelah's age we were searching for some Pororo stuff for her, you know so some things would be familiar to her. That day we never found anything Pororo (although we found other stuff at Namdeum market that we did end up buying) and Seoyoung had felt bad about it.

And this is why I LOVE the people of Korea......because 7 months later this very thoughtful college student went home and remembered that we were looking for this cute little penquin to make our daughter's transition just a little bit easier. And she sent it to us!!!! With the sweetest note inside.

And this little package made 2 little ones very very happy!!!!

Jaelah yelled PORORO and hugged that little penquin extra tight.

To think that a young girl half a world away that we had spent only one day out of entire lives with would think of our children and remember one little thing about that day and then act on it makes me tear up. But through our experience this is the type of people in this magical land.

We feel blessed to have Seoyoung in our lives. Our children should feel blessed to be so loved and cherished by such a thoughtful friend.

A Brand New Year!!!!

2011 was a year that tested us like no other. A year full of excitement, promise, tears, heartbreak, more tears, and feelings which we had never experienced before. Lets begin at the beginning....

It was very late in 2010 when we saw this little face

And heard the words "congratulations, she's all yours". A whirlwind then ensued. Plans were made, paperwork was completed, and the beginning of 2011 held so much promise....promise of this little girl joining our family.

We celebrated her first birthday without her...
And shared our news with everyone....
And then it was time.....the wait was over and in June we boarded a plane to bring our daughter home!!!!

2011 brought us "home"...to a land halfway around the world which we consider home. It was different this time. It felt familiar...the sights, the sounds, the people were all familiar. It honestly felt like we had never left.

2011 brought a little boy back to his birthcountry...and an experience of "what ifs". It allowed us to share this beautiful country with him and watch as he mingled in with it all. It allowed us to join together and grow our family with all of us there.

2011 allowed a Papa to experience his grandchildren's birth culture first hand. It allowed him to soak it all in and experience one of the greatest joys in life....the "delivery" of a new grandchild.

2011 brought us back to our extended family in Korea
It allowed us to stand on a street corner as each woman in a little child's life encircled the other. From social worker responsible for bringing us together, to forever mother, to foster mother...in that one moment as all our arms connected we encircled a little girl with love.
It was a year full of anticipation and cherishing the last moments with just the 3 of us.

2011 tested us in ways unimaginable and it was a VERY difficult summer.
It brought this little girl to her forever family, but the trust and sadness was overtaking her. The blankness in her eyes was transparent and has just now become a light.
It brought a little boy big changes....starting preschool
And a new family member arrived.....Little Fella....Jae-min's little fish
It was huge in tantrums, tears, rages, and blood curdling screams
It found us at the farm frequently to just get out and about
Then a very small light began to shine....it brought a few more smiles and light in eyes which were once so so distant
It brought our happy Jae-min back to us...a more mature and more confident little man who has been through sooooo much, but he was back!!!
It brought a friendship like no other. From screaming every time she saw Martin, to now feeding him one pellet at a time their relationship has transformed.
It has brought a brother and sister relationship full circle. One minute their fighting and the next we have this....
Yes, 2011 began with such anticipation and became really really hard. There were days when I just wanted the year to end in hopes of a better tomorrow. I can say the end of 2011 is much better than the middle. We have more laughter, more smiles lately. We still have stuff we need to help Jaelah work through and we hope 2012 will bring her a sense of peace and trust.

To think last year we stood at the beginning of a year full of so much promise never realizing what we were headed for.

Here's to 2012 making this little family of ours feel secure, trusted, less anxious, and loved. We've been down a long road....its our time for things to turn around!!!