Monday in Seoul.

we woke up to a rainy, thundering monday morning..we are waking up at 6am everyday and unable to fall back to sleep. I wrote a really long post yesterday about our trip to the DMZ and then I wasn't able to post it, I am not enjoying Steve's laptop and the business center does not open until 8am! I am going to try and post pictures today b/c I know that's what all of you are waiting for. We went to a Doosan Bears baseball game last night, totally nuts, loud and very enthusiastic crowd, it was like Fenway park but a million times louder...cheerleaders, drums, fans dressed in complete uniforms and all the dried squid you could eat..no peanuts:( we did manage to find some popcorn for Emma!!

Not quite sure what will be on our agenda today, maybe some indoor shopping. We are staying at the Lotte Hotel and within the hotel are just hundreds and hundreds of stores on every floor, it is really incredible.


We received an updated photo of Nora yesterday, she looks so big..I might have to buy her some new clothes before we leave for home. We miss you all and love you boys.

More later from Seoul...

Hello from Korea!

Yes, we arrived safe and sound last night at 7pm. Our flight was delayed a bit out of JFK due to traffic in the sky so we arrived a bit later than expected. The flight went well, there is no denying that the plane ride is LONG..we were able to get three seats together so that was a bonus. Emma watched alot of movies and Steve slept, he was lucky...I did not sleep longer than an hour at the most.

Holt provided a taxi driver to meet us at the airport, he was not the man in the picture that WHFC provided but he was holdinga sign with our name on it so we figured it was the right man! Our drive to our hotel took about an hour, by the time we got into our room I think I was incoherent...Emma fell asleep right away and I called home and within the next 20minutes was sound asleep...until about 3am and then all of us were wide awake and hungry.

It is 7:30am now and we are going to head out to breakfast, cloudy and overcast but hot. Seoul is a bit of a sensory overload, lot of flashing lights, people, traffic. I know that Nora is only about 40 minutes away from us right now. I had tears in my eyes when we landed in the country of her birth, I can only imagine what my feelings will be on friday when we leave Korea.

The Korean people have been so kind...and it is only the beginning.

This post is a little scattered and probably has alot of typo's, still not sure what day it is but I just wanted everyone to know that we made it to Korea and we are so happy to be here
Owen and Declan...we MISS YOU!!!! Hope you are having a blast with your cousins.

Love to all at home
Kelly

Packed...and ready.

We are ready for our commute into JFK tomorrow morning! Our flight takes off at 2pm and we land in Seoul on friday at 5:20pm.
It is difficult to find the right words tonight to express how I am feeling..we are all excited to begin this new part of our lives and beyond grateful for the support and encouragment that so many of you have given us. It is amazing to me how many people are waiting to meet this new little one...I cannot wait to share her with you. I am so proud of my children and how bravely they have faced this adventure in our lives...they did not ask for a baby sister, they never imagined that at 13, 10, and 8 that they would have to share their Mom and Dad's love with yet another sibling.

I am so proud to be their mom, they have taught me to live in the moment on many days when I was consumed with the what and if's and when's of adoption...they have reinforced the simple fact that a mothers heart has the capacity to grow and regenerate, that love happens in the moment they look into your eyes...and that love never ends.

We are so blessed to be on this journey, looking back the timing was perfect and it is all going to be okay...I know for sure that being a mom is what I was meant to do in my life...my husband is walking this road as bravely and calmly as he did that first time 13 years ago...he is going to be a wonderful Dad to Nora, she just doesn't know it yet.

I am off to bed...I am going to close my eyes on take off and feel all of your love, support and prayers,

I will touch base in Seoul,
xo
Kelly

Pesto anyone??

This is totally off topic, but who makes pesto less than 24 hours before you prepare to fly across the world????

My husband.

that's all I have to say tonight.

K

AUGUST 4th will be our FAMILY DAY!

We heard from our agency today that we will be meeting Nora on August 4th at 1:30pm. I still cannot believe that we will be walking into the Holt offices on wed. afternoon and returning home two days later with a baby!!
We received our referral of Nora on March 5th...so, almost five months later to the day we will be meeting our 4th child.
Here we go!!

Kelly

Car Seat Installed...we are making progress!

It has been a whirlwind since we received our travel call on friday...making sure we have checked everything off our lists. How is it possible that this has been a two year wait and I still feel so unprepared??? Today we made the trip to Babies R Us and purchased Nora's carseat...I was standing next to many couples who looked like first time parents to be, they were debating all the details of each one. I remember doing the same thing with Emma and I am sure they gave us a second glance when we basically grabbed the first one we saw off the shelf and headed to the check out. Don't worry, it's a safe, reputable one and Nora will be safe...:)

Here are a few pictures of our day!! Yes, I know the first picture of the car seat is sideways...don't know how to fix it!! Owen was a big help to his Dad.

~Kelly

TRAVEL CALL!!!!

Today at 7:30 am we received the call we had been waiting for for a LONG TIME!! Nora is ready to come home!
We are busy making travel arrangements now and hope to leave by thursday or friday of this coming week.
Stay tuned for more news when we have an update!!

YEAH!! Nora will be home before she turns ONE on Sept. 21st.

Happy Weekend,
Kelly

My favorite place...Maine.

These pictures make me feel calm, we spent a great week last summer in Belgrade Lakes...can't wait to go back someday as a family of six. Hope Nora likes the outdoors!! We had gorgeous sunsets every night and shooting stars...

~K

Here's Nuala..

Nora's (almost) finished room!

Nora's room is almost done, we need to put some finishing touches but it is ready for a baby girl to come home to sleep...or NOT sleep!! Just thought I would share some pics. Nuala is our choc. lab and she is getting ready for Nora as well...I have already found her sleeping on her bed:)

I love the sweet birds on her crib bedding and comforter, hope it makes Nora smile.

~K

VISA PHYSICAL on JULY 21st!!

Normally most people are not thrilled to hear they have to visit the doctor but in this case it means that Nora will be coming home soon!! She has to be seen by an embassy doctor before they can issue her visa, we have waited so long to hear about this appt and it is going to take place this coming wed.!! I am "predicting" that we might be in Seoul by the first or second week of August...almost two years to the date that our initial paperwork was sent to Korea..that is hard to believe.

When we started this process my children were 10, 7 and 5...now our oldest will be going into 8th grade!! (oh, yeah and Steve and I aged as well..) I cannot wait to pack up all the gifts for the foster family, agency staff, tour guides etc. I have not seen the top of my dining room table in months, everything has been out and ready to go, it's time for it to find a new home!!

I am thinking about the day that Nora is placed in my arms and although the setting will different and she will join our family in a different way than Emma, Owen and Declan I know that in my heart it will be just as amazing as when I saw E, O, and D for the first time. I hope I can remember to breathe and take in the moment, it will be a day that I will never forget.

Someone told me at the very beginning that adoption was not for the faint at heart...and she was right. This has been a long road but in the end I would wait every minute we had to wait to see that sweet face...

thank goodness for good news before the wknd...

Kelly

A sneak preview...

Nora's room is almost done just waiting on a few things..well, more than a few...I need Steve's help with the crib...tried myself and it was a disaster. some things you just need them for!!

K

It's monday in Korea!

I have always loved weekends...however, now that we are in the final stages of bringing Nora home the weekends are getting harder...but, the good thing is that it is monday in South Korea right now and Holt should be very busy arranging for babies to come home to their forever families this week. We are hoping that we will hear when Nora's visa physical is, after her physical, which is done by an Embassy doctor she will have her visa interview...once the visa has been issued we are just waiting for those two words.."TRAVEL CALL!" Emma will be joining us when we go to Korea and it looks like with the timing that she will be able to go to her overnight Summer Camp without it conflicting with our trip. I am so happy for her that she will be able to enjoy both experiences this summer.

Nora's carpet will be insalled this week and her bed is coming (we will have a twin bed set up in her room as well as a crib.) Babies sleep with their foster mom's on the floor in Korea so a crib might not be the happiest place for Nora in the beginning...I will post pics of her room soon...

We are so close!! I hope I can publish alot of good news this week~

K

News from our agency...

Nora is scheduled to go for reahab. consult for her right foot on July 16th in Korea. We have made a request to our agency that they let Holt know that we do not want this to hold up Nora's travel call...we will bring her to a specialist here if needed. We are waiting to hear from our agency that Holt Korea would be agreeable to this..it is time for this little one to come home to her forever family...

K

Still Waiting...but ready!

We have waited close to two years to bring this little girl home...I have started this blog as a way for friends and family to follow our journey to Nora while we are in Korea. We have a feeling that we are getting closer to our travel call and as we do I have such mixed emotions. I am beyond excited and ready to be a mom again however I am thinking tonight of Nora's foster mom and the feelings that she must be experiencing right now as she prepares herself to say goodbye to a baby that she has loved and cherished for more than 9 months...my thoughts of Nora always involve her birth mom and her foster mother...two women who selfishly gave Nora the gift of life and the gifts of love.

Although I will never have the opportunity to meet Nora's birthmother I will have the fortunate and heartbreaking chance to meet her foster mother in Seoul. My hope has always been that I can convey to her foster Mom how very grateful we are for her presence in our daughters life. Nora will always know the story of her life, I will make sure that she knows how much these woman loved her.

I am also thinking of Nora and how much we are gaining with our journey to bring her home and how much she is losing...everything that has ever been of comfort to her will be lost...her foster mom's touch, smell, food, surroundings, culture..etc. it is almost too much to fathom right now. We will be so incredibly happy to finally hold her, however Nora might not be as excited to be held by us. So, we ask for your patience and understanding as we try to settle in as a family and do what is right for Nora, and we hope we will know what that will be.

Thank you all for sharing in our adoption, we will post when we are in Korea so that all of you can follow along with us.

I truly have waited my entire life for this moment.

Please pray for us and for Nora and her foster family as we travel to bring her home.

K