Happy Family Day....

The day had finally arrived...the day we would become a family.  I remember walking into Holt and seeing Jae-min in the lobby in the arms of his very biggest fan....the lovely nurse.  Then I remember her handing him to me and from that moment on I've never let him go.

I remember walking upstairs to the meeting room again with his Omma and taking more pictures and gathering all his belongings.  I remember her talking to me in Korean and somehow I knew just by the tone of her voice and the love in her eyes exactly what she was saying.  And I remember seeing the necklace we had given her on our meeting day hanging proudly around her neck.

I remember his Omma stroking his cheeks as we stood on the streets of Seoul, whispering into his ears.  I remember her hugging me so tightly and then getting into a cab with this little bundle.  I remember the door shutting and the silence...and looking back to see his beautiful Omma waving both hands as we drove away.

I remember the looks as we walked through the hotel and the words of congrats from total strangers in Korean.  I remember taking Jae-min out that day into the streets of Seoul to take pictures of him and us in his homeland.  And then I remember the TEARS....the night full of tears, fear, and grief.  And all I could do was hold that little boy and snuggle him close and cry right along with him.
It amazes me to have watched this little boy grow and change over the last four years.  It amazes me to think back to that very first family day and to remember that little baby so so so afraid.  And to remember how our relationship formed and how he began to trust and how he began to love....us....

And it amazes me each and every day to see glimpses of that boy now in this one, in this bigger boy with the same exact heart, the same exact smile, and the same exact spirit as that very first day.

We loved you the moment you were placed in our arms.  But that love has grown each and every day since. You are the PERFECT fit for us and know that God truly chose you to be ours.  We love you our sunshine!!!  Happy Family Day.