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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Meeting James Jun-ha

After all the months of praying and dreaming.... hoping and wishing...begging and pleading it was so hard to believe that I really was standing right outside this building and that within minutes I would be meeting the son that I already loved so much.


It was so hard to believe that this was really where our story began.... that after months and months of paperwork and fingerprints....updates and pictures...that behind those walls a mother would be meeting her son for the very first time...and I was that mother.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I had waited for this moment, imagined it, dreamed it, and now after waiting so long the dream was finally coming true. I was moments from knowing the little boy that grew in my heart everyday since I first saw his sweet face.

I walked inside and immiadiately noticed the room where all of James' pictures had been taken. My friend Kristen and I then went upstairs and DJ came right out to meet us. I swear that alone was enough to make me cry. Here I was hugging the woman who decided that James was meant to be part of our family - of all the babies she had waiting for families she knew that James was meant to be a Wong - that I was meant to be his mother. She was so sweet which helped ease my nerves as I waited for James to arrive.

She brought us to the waiting room and it was hard to hold back the tears. It was the same room that my friend Karen was in the same room the day  she met my sweet boy. The same room that she hugged him and held him in while my heart was hurting because I was missing his first birthday. I memorized that room each time I watched the video of that day.... each time I looked at the pictures...and now I was standing in that very same room about to hold my son. The feeling was surreal. It was the one thing I had dreamed of every single night before falling asleep.... it was my day dream when I would get lost in thought.... it was the moment I thought of with every piece of paperwork and every hard setback....and now it was here. It was happening.

 On April 10th 2012 at 2:00PM I was in Seoul Korea meeting my son.

It was like everything that ever happened in my life somehow led me to this moment and finally it was all making sense. That this was all in Gods perfect timing and plan. I was always confident that I was led towards adoption because the thought was planted in my heart.... and that we decided on Korea because we just knew that was where our child was.  At this moment though, it was like the sky opened up... the angels were singing...and God was telling me that all that I had experienced and endured was for this special gift. That I was blessed to have not one child that was a miracle, but two.  

He walked in the room and he was perfect. Better then perfect. The tears slid down my cheeks and for the first time all the pain, the long wait, the setbacks that made my days bitter all slid away with the tears. He looked into my water filled eyes as I wiped the tears away and I knew I had to be strong so my big happy ugly cry wouldnt scare him.

I gave him his new Pororo microphone and he loved it. He handed it to me over and over again so I could make it sing his favorite character songs. He was adorable - everything I dreamed and so so much more.


He was so easy going and so much fun.


After a few minutes I picked him up and held him.

My empty arms were full. They were no longer yearning to hold the son that was a half of world away.
Instead, we were together, mother and son. I couldn't take even a second to stop and think that this was just a visit and that in a few days that big ocean would seperate us again...that we would be a 1/2 a world apart...because in that moment we were together and that is all my heart and arms could know.  I couldn't let that steal my joy. Instead, I made the most of every single second in that room. I didn't need to look at the cup as half full.... my cup was overflowing....spilling out with love, with happiness, with so much joy.




Still, days later, it is hard to put into words everything that I felt that day
and during the second day we visited with him

But one thing I know is that I have been so very BLESSED.



So LUCKY that I get to be his mother.


So THANKFUL to all those who helped us find the little boy who was destined to be our son.


 
So JOYED that pretty soon I get to be his MaMa at home in America.


That we will have all the minutes in an hour and all the hours in a day to be together...forever...forever a family.



They say "An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." - Ancient Chinese Proverb

Tonight, my heart hurts being an ocean apart again.

Tonight I wish I was in Seoul again.... laughing with my sweet boy.

Tonight I have to remind myself that James will be home forever so soon.




That my cup will be overflowing again...


overflowing with happiness when James comes home and makes us a family of four....
together....all under one roof.


We are all waiting patiently ( well I am waiting not too sure of that patient part) sweet boy.

Love you and Miss you more then words can ever say.

Hoping you feel the love on the other end of that red thread - xoxo

Korea in Pictures

The very long flight.... but lots to do on Korean Air. Hands down the nicest flight ever.


After 14 1/2 hours in the air we arrived...

 and we were off to the hotel.

We had the two bedroom suite at the Somerset and loved it. The view was amazing and we had plenty of space. The hotel staff was wonderful and could not help us enough.... and trust me, being that neither
me or my friend Kristen spoke English we really needed tons of help.

The yummy restaurant that we ate in the first night.
It was Korean BBQ and right at the begining of Insadong. The food was delish and the menu was in both English and Korean - which was great because a few nights later we weren't so lucky.
Jet lag hit me hard. I did not sleep on the plane at all so I thought if I stayed up until 10 or so Seoul time that I would be able to easily adjust. I went to bed at 10:30 the first night and was up for the day at 330 AM and could not go back to sleep. I thought it could be the excitement of meeting James for the very first time but still have no idea because I woke up the same time for the following 3 nights.

I kept busy preparing and wrapping the gifts to bring to Holt with me.


We had a little time before heading over to Holt so we had breakfast and then walked around Insadong. Insadong soon prooved to be our favorite spot and pretty much every single night we ended up over there.
We would shop and walk and shop some more. This is where we got James' name chop too.


 We bought some good luck 16,000 strand candies after watching in amazement how they turned
cornstarch and honey into a yummy treat.


More shopping....


Then it was time to go meet my boy. 


But of course that will get its very own post :)

That night after we left Holt we went back to Insadong.

A tea house ...

...and a VERY aunthentic Korean meal at a little reastaurant we found in a little alley deep in Insadong.
The menu was all in Korean except one line "Korean Food".... since we can't read hangul that was what we ordered and this is what we got.


I have had my share of Korean food but this was hands down the spiciest food ever ..and the majority of what was served we could not make out. Some have commented that it was seaweed soup and softshell crabs but if you saw it in person you would know it most definitely was not.

These little crabs were about the size of a penny and had a shell as hard of a rock and were covered in chili paste.  They are supposed to be eaten all in one bite.. thick cruchy shell and all.
Kristen and I are both adventourous ( trust me, we even took part in a Korean underwater pedicure) but we had to draw the line somewhere. So, instead of eating those slippery little suckers we laughed about them. I mean like big belly laughing that I am certain we will still be chuckling over when we are seventy. I am giggling again just thinking of it.

Its whats for dinner!!!


Some kind of fish that we though was the most edible.

If your heading to Korea and can't read Hangul this is not the place for you :)


Back at the hotel trying hard to do some laundry. It was all written in Hangul so we needed a traslated manual to help. The dryer took about 5 hours to dry - not sure if that was the same for everyone or just the two of us - lol.


The next plan was a  day of sightseeing on the Red Bus city tour. We couldn't find the bus stop and somehow when trying to hail a taxi the bus drove past. I was so excited that I started jumping up and down and calling to Kristen and the bus stopped and let the two of us on. Then stopped at the bus stop and told us to get off the bus now. Apparently that wasnt how you start the tour - and we quickly hurried over to the right bus.

A long way from home.


Changing of the guards at Gwanghamun Palace


Shopping underground


Namdaemun Market - Our favorite shopping spot after Insadong.


I will never forget the smell of these roasting silk worms.
 Lets just say I would rather go back and eat those little hard and crunchy crabs - lol.


more street food.


Korean War Memorial with Seoul Tower in the background.


Survey time in Itaewon. These girls were so sweet!!!

Sights from the bus.

View from my bed at the Somerset.


Loved watching the sunrise over Seoul.


We recognize this place.


Entertainment while you shop.


Word to the wise - an underwater pedicure involves life fish. Yikes!!

Seoul at night...
Last yummy meal...

 And I have 1,001 more pics so more to come soon.

And stay tuned for the next post - all about my sweet boy!!!


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Happy to report that I am packed and ready to go.

Pretty amazing since I literally had 5 days to prepare.....to get plane tickets, a hotel, airport transportation,
find a travel buddy, buy gifts, pack, figure out adapters for power supply, and get some idea of what we were going to do while in Seoul. For those planning on traveling soon start getting everything you can possibly get done ahead of time finished ahead of time - like now. :) It has been a crazy whirlwind of a week!!! But I did it - I planned the trip and am as ready as I can be - well with the exception of a few last minute things I have to get at the mall before I go.

After several failed attempts at traveling to visit James with other adoptive moms from NJ, my childhood friend who is more like family said that she would fly half way around the world with me to meet my sweet boy. How amazing is that!!!! She only had 4 days to prepare!!! She was the first person other then the grandparents to meet Zoey in the NICU and now she will be with me when I meet James for the very first time. Blessed to have her on this adventure with me - she even remembered to pack the purse tissues.



Tomororw at 8:45 AM we will leave in the only car service we could find with availability.

They will be picking us up in this - A Toyota Prius!!!! Pray the luggage all fits!!!




We will be leaving on Korean Air at 2:00pm....in the air for 14+ hours...

and will arrive in Seoul, Korea at about 5:00PM.



and then on Tuesday at 2:00pm (1:00am in NJ) I will meet the little boy that I have watched grow in pictures for the last 11 months. I will finally be able to hold the child that I have carried in my heart for so long. I will meet the little boy that so many have prayed for so many times. I cry just thinking about the very moment that I have dreamed of for so long. This trip will be the most life changing trip I will ever take.

I can't wait for the plane to touch down and to know that I am in the same city as my son. That we are know longer a half a world away. That for one week we really are sleeping under the very same sky.

This journey has been so hard. It has had so many blocks and delays. Some days we would hear bad news and the pain would be so great I would think that I would never meet my son.  It was supposed to be predictable and turned out to be anything but. It was nothing like what we set out for. Today, the 11 months seems so long ago, and only 3 days seperates me from my son. Today, I am crying tears of happiness instead of the bitter sad tears of  finding out the wait was going to be longer. Today, I am rejoicing knowing that it really is in Gods time and not in ours because it is a miracle that this trip is happening. I was meant to be in Korea this week meeting my sweet baby James.







Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Best Two Letters

E......P.....EP...EP...EP

For the last 11 months James has needed  to be submitted for his
EP in order to come home. Originally we thought that he would have gotten his just
 a few months after we were matched with him but then we were stuck in the quota
backlog and delay after delay set in.

 It has been a long wait but today while stopped at a light on the way
to take Zoey to OT I glanced at the messages on my phone and saw the email
I have been waiting so long for.  "EP will be submitted tomorrow". The very moment
I saw it my phone rang and a friend who is also in process and just about to meet her son
was screaming in the other end. ***She rocks because there I was trying to keep my composure
and she was screaming for me because she totally gets just what this means.***

So, what does this mean?!?!!?!  
James has the one thing that has prevented us from bringing him home.  
His EP is being submitted as we speak to the ministry and should be approved in four weeks.
Then it will take about 2 -4 weeks for him to have an embassy apperance and visa interview
and then he will be coming home. Ahhhh, still can't believe that we are so close now.
In 6-8 weeks James will be here with us forever.


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Amazing News


Some pretty amazing things transpired in the last week and the result is
that I will be traveling to Korea next week to meet the son that I have carried in my
heart for eleven very long months. It is so hard to even think about walking into our agency and
seeing my sweet boy there without getting tears in my eyes. I have prayed for this moment over and over and over again every single day since I first learned that he was my son. Now, eleven long months later
I will be on the same side of the world, in the same city, and in the very same room.
I think I need to pinch myself - after so long I think I must be dreaming.

I will be leaving this Sunday in the late morning after we do a little egg hunt and baskets with Zoey.
I will leave from JFK at 2:00pm and arrive the following day at 5:00pm Korea time. This will surely be my
longest flight ever - 14 hours - but at this point I would swim the Atlantic Ocean for a
chance to meet my baby.

I will be in Korea until Saturday the 14th. My plane leaves at 10:00 in the morning and I will land at 11:00am. Yes, I get to repeat the day!!! 

I will meet James for the first time on Tuesday afternoon - exactly one week from today.
I can't even put into words how I have dreamed about this day.

I can't wait to spend time with my little boy.... To get to know his likes and dislikes and
see his personality.... to get to hug him and hold him. I can hardly wait.

I can't wait to take it all in. I want it all to be etched into my memory so that 
as James grows up I can tell him all about his birth country.  

The only part I am not looking forward to is saying goodbye... to leaving Korea...
and to then being a half a world away all over again.

He won't be able to return to the states with me because he still needs that magical EP
but we know that it can't be much longer after we return. We are very optimistic that he will be home
sometime in May. Keep those prayers coming :)

So back to packing, planning, and preparing Zoey for spending the night (well 6)
away from me for the very first time. I explained it to her  today and she wanted to help me pack. :)
We made a calendar to count down the days until I leave and then again until I get back.
I will be leaving a new gift for her for each day I am gone and I think
that she is going to do just fine.

5 days!!!!