Happy Valentine's Day!!
On this day, ONE MONTH ago (Jan 14th) , we were in KOREA anxiously preparing to take custody of our son the next day. On this day, our only plans were to go to "toy alley" and buy some familiar toys so that Beau might feel a little more at home when we took custody. While we were looking around Dongdaemun, we found the exact toy bus (below) that he was obssessed with during our visits with him, so of course we had to buy it! Besides the hassel of trying to pack the said bus into our jam packed suit cases, it was -THE- best $50 we've ever spent! It would provide the perfect distraction in the next few days when little bug was upset.
THE bus AKA meltdown go to.
Blaine with C3PO and Yoda because....duh!!
The next morning we woke up nervous but also SO ready to go get our sweet boy! Custody was fast and furious and I found myself deeply distraught at the thought of never getting to see his foster family or his social worker again. In the rush of those 20 minutes, I was trying to tell them all "thank you" as many times as possible, yet it never seemed enough...always fell flat of explaining the deep love and gratitude I have for these people. I mean really, language barrier or not, how can you express to someone your thankfulness for the way they've loved your son for over a year, treated him like their own, and been his tireless advocate from across the world.
Eating breakfast at the hotel.
We did more pool watching than eating really.
After custody things in my mind turn into a blur!! The cab ride, long hours in the apartment and co-sleeping are all blurred together into a starting point for us as a family. We were SO happy, tired, nervous (we dont know what we're doing!) and also heartbroken for him and the loss he was experiencing. We also knew that to him, we looked weird, smelled weird, and talked weird! We knew that while we'd been preparing for and loving him from across the world for many months, he's only just met us! In the past 4 weeks home, Beau is SUCH a different kids than he was those first few days in Korea! He's gone from the velcro baby, who hords food and who we weren't really sure could even walk, to Mr. Independent! 4 weeks later and he's running (not walking) all over the house, loves other kids, is fearless at the park (giving me a heart attack), and eating ALL the food. He's so much more comfortable with us and is really trusting us now!
The BEST (and last) meal I had in Korea and will dream of the rest of my life! 💓
Family picture at Gyeongbokgung Palace, little bug was SO tired!
Just waiting for an open gate at DFW...for an HOUR!!
As the Korean courts have officially declared him a part of our family, we now begin the post- adoption process. We will have to go through the Texas courts to get his name changed, get his citizenship and we will also work with our social worker over the next year to ensure he's adjusting and attaching well. So as our adoption wraps up on one hand, it's also just beginning! The rest of our lives together with sweet bug are just beginning. It's funny to think that during our adoption process the fundraising and paperwork seemed SO never ending! I just wanted it to all be over and finalized! But now I realize that what was really waiting for me on this side of the process, was a beginning, a new normal and the start of something beautiful, not an ending at all.
There have been several surreal moments since we've been home. On our first night home, we sat at the dinner table where Blaine and I SO many nights sat together and prayed for Beau. On this night though, Beau WAS WITH US ðŸ˜, and we both cried as we prayed and thanked the Lord that he had granted such amazing provision to bring this sweet boy home. At one particularly low point in our adoption journey, I felt led to make an altar in the backyard with rocks. I wrote down all the things I was thankful for and saw God do on our journey up until that point. At the top I put a blank rock to symbolize the next faithful thing the Lord would do. Each day when I left the house and came home I would see my mini altar and be filled with renewed hope. That same little altar has now been kicked over by someone's tiny shoes about a hundred times at this point and the irony of it all isn't lost on me. God has a sense of humor too y'all!
Our amazing welcome home party at the airport!
14 hours on a plane with a toddler = no joke folks!!
Before bed snuggles are my ⭐FAVORITE⭐ right now, anyone else? There's simply nothing better than the smell of a head full of baby hair after a bath. Each night as we rock, read a book and sing, I still can't believe he's in my arms. I think about the other women that I share motherhood with and I can't imagine how they must feel without him in their arms. I pray that they know he's deeply loved and cared for and thank the Lord for their sacrifices. Another scary thought crosses my mind too...we almost missed this. What if we wouldn't have stepped out on this crazy journey? What if the amount of money we needed stopped us from pursuing this little boy. What if I had given up because the wait was so long and so hard. The idea that our sweet boy didn't have a family eats at my heart every snuggle, hug and kiss and every worry I had during this process seems completely ridiculous in light of the fact that he needed a home, a family. I'm so thankful that the Lord was faithful to bring us through this journey, even when I was near sighted and didn't see the big picture. Children need families - the end. They need families who will love them, tuck them in at night, hold their hand while they run down stairs and keep them from grabbing the oven door (oh, does that only happen at my house?). No matter the cost, the anxiety, the distance, the insensitive comments or stares...children need families. And we are so glad we get to be that for our Beau.
After nap snuggles until the frown is gone!
We are slowly but surely coming out of our cocoon 🦋 and hope to see everyone soon and have play dates galore! Thank you for supporting us on this adventure, it's just beginning so we hope you're along for the long haul!
Love you all!
xoxox
#heartandseoul
#bringinghomebeau
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