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.
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!!!!
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.
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.
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!!!
