July 22, 2009 will always be Forever Family Day!

What an amazing day it has been!

There are hardly words to describe it all, and yet I will try to put some of it into words... for both you to read now and for her to read someday. And of course there are so many precious pictures to document today!

We took our time this morning getting ready and getting down to breakfast. I could hardly sleep again last night and was up pretty early. We headed out around 12:00 and looked for a place called Lotte Mart. I had heard that it was kind of like a Korean wal-mart, so we wanted to go and check it out. Well, the taxi driver was confused and dropped us off at Lotte Department store instead. Uh, this was definitely NOT a walmart! It was like the Nordstroms of Korea and I'm not sure if there was anything in that store under 100,000 won! So we rode the escalators all the way to the top just to say we did, and then headed back out to the street. We walked around for a little bit and then our eyes caught something that reminded us of HOME. :-)


Ah yes, a familiar sign and I was jumping at the chance to have a bbq chicken salad- my favorite!


Randy and the boys opted for the pizza...



After lunch we decided we should go ahead and start heading to the Holt office. It's a good thing we did because it took a very long time to get there with all the traffic and by the time we made it, I was so glad to be out of the taxi! We were there right on time.
We walked into the office and there was Mrs. Kim waiting for us. She started handing us stuff for us and the boys and then we saw her...
Little Sa-ra was asleep in a crib in the hallway wearing none other than the little white ruffle shirt from Monday. She looked like a little angel and I was on the verge of tears just looking at her and thinking about what was to come.


Pretty soon she was awake and Foster Mother slapped this while baseball cap on her and put a knitted purse around her chest. She awoke a very happy girl.





Elliana was very happy when Mrs. Kim was right there holding her or near her. She did really well saying goodbye and I think it was harder for me to watch than anyone else. We got it all on video and I'm sure I will cry again when I watch it through.


After a few instructions and paperwork, it was time for me to strap on the baby carrier and carry my daughter in it for the first time. It was an amazing feeling. I can't describe the joy I felt on that ride home as she looked up at me and as the boys doted on her trying to get her attention.


The first thing we did when we got back into the hotel room was lay her on the bed and just stare at her. I think she may have a few of them wrapped around her little finger, what do you think?



She loves her daddy and thinks he's funny.


Next we stripped her down to change her clothes. Again, she was pretty calm and happy and i was again suprised. At the moment she is wearing a 6 month sleeper, but for most things I think she will be a 6-9 month size... which means all the clothes in her closet should fit just fine!

My very favorite one of the day...


Can you tell how excited they were about this sweetie pie??!!


Mommy's little girl- finally!


Daddy's in LOVE...


Having her first bottle with mommy


And she was back asleep before we knew it. So peaceful and precious


There is even more to share from our adventures tonight, but as I write this it is midnight here and I have got to get some sleep. The foster mom said she sleeps crazy hours from 3am-7 am so we'll see how tonight goes.


About Elliana: She has been extremely easy-going but very quiet and seems more reserved tonight than she did on Monday. She hadn't even made a peep until later tonight. She has had a few times where she has looked at either Randy or I and burst into tears because we are not familiar. This is completely normal and I actually am relieved to see this, as it shows us that she truly did form a bond with sweet Mrs. Kim and eventually will do that with us. She absolutely LOVES the carrier and we walked around town with her in it tonight. To me she seems more like a 6 month old baby- her eating and sleeping schedules, development and social interaction are approprite for that age baby. She loves her brothers and studies them intently.
At the present moment, she is asleep on her daddy's shoulders... so sweet.

So much more to write, but I need to go for now. I am so tired and I update as soon as I get a chance.

What a terrific forever family day! We have our daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love to all,
Candice