Getting There...Slowly

OK, so I haven't posted everyday, but only 9 days in between posts is getting better! We had a great week. We had papa's 36th birthday. Ava and I baked him his favorite kinda cake...cheesecake and added bananas for a twist. Ava is becoming quite the little chef. she loves to help cook every meal it seems. We love the new chef attire Grandma Collicott gave us for Christmas...Thanks, Grandma!! There was plenty left so we froze the rest and will have Adam's B-day cake until Ava's birthday I think. We just finished off her cake right before Christmas so having their birthdays 6 months apart works out really well!!!

We are looking into preschools for Ava to start this fall. We went to a preschool fair this Saturday; it was good to see the differences between them all. But I think we have chosen one for her. We have visited a couple of times and she really, really liked it. We stayed longer the second time as she didn't want to leave. She was keeping right up with the 3 1/2 year olds at 2 1/2. The teacher was really impressed. It is a Core Knowledge school. They are very nice, it was clean and well organized. She jumped right in and felt at home. It will be two days a week a couple of hours a day. Just enough for her to get her feet wet before the big K but not too much away from home just yet. A good change for us all. I really feel this will be a positive change. She loves to learn and this setting is perfect for her. We are really excited for her!!

We have started to attend a local Korean church. Boy is that a different experience. We are not Christians perse but are spiritual in our daily lives and beliefs. I guess you could call it New Age Metaphysical beliefs, so a christian based church is very difficult for us to swallow. But the Korean influence and exposure for Ava is so neat. They all love her and she really likes being around them as well. We have a meal afterwards, usually Korean & they are all such good cooks! And wow, do we love Korean spice! We laughed today as one of our goals was to start learning the Korean language but by going to church, all the words we are going to learn will be god, suffering, sinners, bloodshed, etc. Not what we had in mind. But they are such great people. So generous and helpful. It will be hard to stop going if that is what we decide to do. We thought about checking out the Buddhism center. We are on a mission to find out where all the Koreans are in Fort Collins...next stop is the International Center at CSU. We have heard great things about it. Adams Aunt is always bugging us to come, so we have decided in 2010 we are going to get involved. We are even thinking of becoming a friend/host to an international student this year. Every January and August families are need to become a host friend to incoming international students. You do a variety of things like have them over for dinner, go out together and just be there for them in a town and culture where they know no one and nothing about. So will see about that.

Also this week, we visited our favorite local place, The Farm. As usual Ava had a great time!

Until next time...
good morning, good evening and good night!

Way too long...New Year

They say it is never too late, so here it goes. I am going to try and keep up with our family blog in 2010. Ava is growing so much I want to keep these wonderful memories documented somewhere!! So each day I will try to take a picture and write a little something about our life that day (thanks to Sonya for the impetus to do this, again).

Starting off, Ava has grown so much from my last post. It is impossible to know where to start, so I won't recap the past but start with the present.

We have been watching the Movie Toy Story. Santa was kind this year and brought for Ava. She loves it to say the least. We recently took a 2 day road trip for the New Year to AZ and she watch it over and over. It would end and she would say "again, again". Watching it with her is so fun. It is truly a classic movie, for all ages. Loving our local Library system, we reserved Toy Story 2. We watched it a couple of times. Then we went to Barnes and Noble where they sell the Disney Pixar characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, so we purchased them. OMG what an afternoon we had. Turns out Ava is Woody and Mama and papa are Buzz. She played with them all day and night. It is so cute. I can't help but think of the movie and the meaning of how toys are meant to be loved and played with. Play went late into the night and started early this morning. I know T.V is not good for our children and Ava does not watch a lot of T.V but it took a little movie & "T.V" to spark hours of fun and imaginary play. So now as it turns out, Ava has not watch the movie since Woody and Buzz have become our real life friends. We have our own adventures to create with our new, cherished and very loved friends. Thanks Mr. Lasseter, can't wait to catch up on Toy Story 3 maybe we will write Toy Story 4 or at least live our own version.
Til tomorrow...
Good morning, good evening and goodnight!

One of The Hardest Days

Today, one year ago, was the second day we met Ava. Wow, was that a hard day. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until tomorrow afternoon, so after our visit we all had to go our separate ways...yikes... I wanted to just take her in my arms forever and never let her go. I still feel that way today. I just squeeze her and kiss her cheeks a thousand times a day. I know I keep saying that but I can't get enough of her. The other night we were drive home and a car had a bumper sticker that read "Avaholic"...referring to our hockey team the Avs... Adam said I am an "Ava holic" too...lol. It has been a great time in our lives only to keep getting better and better. Thanks for reading and being a part of it.

The First Time Ever...

...ever I felt your touch, hugged you, kissed your cheeks and soaked up your very essence was one year ago today. A morning I will never forget. We met Ava today in Seoul South Korea one year ago. She was so cute and so happy. And still IS!! Knowing how she is now and still is one year later amazing she didn't mind when her foster mother left the room and left us alone to play and get to know each other. I think she knew we were each others destiny. The way she acted that day, is still the way she acts today...plowing thru life exploring everything around her, observing, wanting what she wants and getting what she wants. She is so very curious. Adam commented today about the things she plays with/explores. Like the flashlight & camera, as all the toys on the floor are ignored for a more complicated "adult toy."It has been such a wonderful year. We look forward to so many more.

Travel Call...Life One Year Later

It was one year ago today that we received our travel call from our agency telling us Ava was ready to come home to her forever family! What great thoughts, feelings and memories it brings back. The feeling of finally getting to meet our daughter we had been waiting for, booking airfare, packing, the kindness of our friends, support of families, then actually boarding the plane and arriving in Seoul, sightseeing over the weekend, and finally meeting Ava!! One year later we are as happy as we were that day, maybe even more so...if that is possible. One year later and Ava is such a beautiful, smart, kind, generous, fun, happy toddler. She just turned 22 months old. On her way to being a big two year old. My, my how time does fly. It was only yesterday, well, one year ago, that I held her tiny body in my arms and we stared eye to eye, starting our mother daughter bond. Now I hold in her in my arms and her body is so much bigger, (she has grown 6 inches this past year),she weighs a ton more and she is losing her baby like features and growing into this beautiful toddler/child like person. I watch her sleep so peacefully and all grown-up in her day bed. She can get out of bed herself and run into our bedroom in the mornings. Her cute smiling face is such a pleasure to wake up to!!! She is communicating her desires, she is able to express her feelings and has quite a demanding personality when she wants something. I wouldn't say she is in the terrible twos like everyone talks about. She is defiantly growing up but not in a "terrible" way at all. It is awesome to watch her grow and learn so much. I still can't believe it is coming up on a year that we have all been together. It has been such a wonderful time, but gone by so fast. If anything, I wish for time to slow down so it could stop, and we cherish these moments forever...my sister always says she wants to bottle her up. I know what she means. I must kiss Ava's cheeks a million times a day, squeeze her and hug her a few hundred times a day and always tell her I love her!

Thinking back on this time actually makes me think about how much we don't think of Ava as being adopted, but just about being our daughter. After awhile the "adopted" part starts to disappear and she is just our daughter as if we had her biologically. I don't mean to say we don't think adoption is not part of our family equation just not the focus any more. It is strangers on the street who bring it up more than we do, asking the obvious questions. I think about this because we are attending Korean Heritage Camp in Winter Park next week and we will be surrounded by nothing but forever families. Even at this sort of event it is not just about adoption but about families, togetherness, love, and heritage. I am proud my daughter was born in South Korea, I want her to be too.

In the beginning, when we first got home and were out and about some people said "oh, she is so lucky"...like we "saved" her or something. I must say, it is the exact opposite... Adam and I are the lucky ones who were "saved"...if there was any saving that needed done to anyone by anyone...

So to report...one year later from travel call all is well. June 11 is our Forever Family Day! Stay tuned as the blogs will be more and more this month as there is a lot to rejoice and remember!!!

Mommy's New Business

Mommy is starting a new business (Sweet Cheeks Diaper Cakes by Leslie) that allows her to still stay at home with me but raise money for my Lil Brother!!!! So please check out her new blog at http://sweetcheeksdiapercakes.blogspot.com/ and support her And me.
Remember and tell all your friends... the BEST baby shower gift is at Sweet Cheeks!

Help bring my Lil Brother Home!
Thank you!!!

Ava

Playing the Double Bass @ Music Class

Ava driving the van

18 Months Old and More!

Wow it has been a longtime since we last posted on our blog. The last few months have been wonderful! Ava is growing and learning so fast... and we have been busy with our Facebook walls... oops! Sorry Ava. Here are some new pics and videos that sum up our beautfiul, happy and smart little girl!

Dessert First Day

To coin a phrase from our good friends the Beccards "Dessert First Day" essentially means the day our adoptions become finalized;our children become ours and the State of the Union recognizes them as U.S Citizens. Now granted Ava has felt and been ours since day one of our meeting but today marks the official finalized day...what a great day it was!

We went in front of the Honorable Judge Williams today at 1:30 p.m. What a surreal moment. He asked us a few questions and we must have answered them all right because in just a few short minutes Ava became Ava Seong-yeon Perry... just like that! To celebrate we visited Santa in Old Town and then went out to dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant East Moon Asian Bistro.

We arrived and of course ordered dessert first. The waitress looked at us kinda funny when we asked to see a dessert menu right away. She went on to describe them and started to walk away when we stopped her and said, "we would like to order dessert first, today is a special day." "Oh", she replied and looked at us kinda strange and got our her paper and wrote down our request of Matzo Balls. They came and we all savored the moment (and the dessert). During dinner Ava was mesmerized because we sat at the Hibachi table. The guy put on quite a show during the food preparation. We all enjoyed our dinner and we were off to look at Christmas lights. Then we headed home to put our daughter to bed.

What an exciting day for us. We have wanted a family for a really long time and today was the day that ended the adoption journey and started a new and different journey.

Our Beloved Lily Marie

It is with the greatest sadness that we write this...our beloved Lily Marie Perry passed away on October 29, 2008. Lily was born on February 19, 2000 in Springfield, Oregon a couple blocks away from where we lived. One day the door bell rang and two sweet little girls had puppies in their arms and were tyring to find homes for them. They had an alert male dog and a quiet, sleeping female. We choose the docile female (hahaha, did we find out differently later on) and it was then that our fur baby family grew to two. We had been contemplating a pal for ole Shadow but hadn't quite decided yet. I guess things in life sometimes, well most of the time get decided for you. There is a greater plan out there for us. That is the belief we hold onto as we try to deal with the sudden loss of our precious Lily.
Lily was a crazy, rambunctious girl. She loved life so much. She did everything with such passion and determination. She learned so much from her older brother Shad. The two were like peas and carrots. Lily lived in Oregon for the majority of her life. She spent the last two years living in Colorado, with brother Shad, who passed away in February, and with her Mommy and Daddy and finally Sister Ava. These past few months Lily and Ava had grown so close. It has been really hard watching Ava walk around the house and call for Lily. She was just starting to learn her name and was quite proud of the fact that she could say it. It has taken a while for all of us to realize that Lily is not here. The house seems so quiet and empty.

Lily enjoyed camping with her family, going for walks (well I mean taking Daddy for walks), she loved running on the Oregon coast, howling at sirens (something she learned from Shad) and just lying around, usually on the couch waiting to bark at the next person walking by or that sudden sound. She was such a little protector of her family. I remember a camping trip we went on with the Monroe family and how much of an impact she had on her Aunt Gabrielle. Lily was such a smart, almost person like being that Gabrielle was amazed at her. Everyone who met Lily loved her. Her disposition was so likable. She was so soft and sweet. Her essence will be greatly missed.

Both Shadow and Lily departed our family this past year. Now they are together again with each other and their cousins... Snarts Rule! It has been a tough year on the ole heart. In one sense a great year with Ava coming home and then on the other side very sad with both our dogs dying. Yuck! We look to 2009 with great hope. We are praying for the ability to find peace and happiness in our hearts thru all the loss (Obama won the election, so that helps somewhat).

We love and miss you Lily so much! Thank you for blessing our lives for the last eight and half years.

Love forever,

Daddy, Mommy, and sister Ava.

Non-Violent Revolution

We did it. America pulled together and voted for change. Americans peacefully stood up for themselves, their neighbors and the whole world last night and voted Barack H. Obama the next president of the Untied States of America!!! Yeah! It has been a long time since I have felt proud of this country, proud of its people. We have so blindly been following president Bush and all his atrocities these past eight years, not saying much, not protesting the war, not concerned about our fellow neighbors, the economy or the world. But yesterday that all changed. We have become so disillusioned, so disenfranchised, so disconnected to anything that matters. We needed change, and we got it! Millions of people quietly spoke by the checking of a single box. Way to go America!!
We are ready for change and we are ready to be a part of it. We can't expect our government or Barack to do it all. It takes a village, it takes a county and all its citizens. So in the next four years get involved. Pay attention and speak out to your legislators, they are listening!



We were three of fifty thousand people who saw Barack speak at CSU. It was amazing and very powerful. These are important times in America. Never forget.







Peace

Bye, bye crumbs

Hello, Hello!

Something very good happened today, I vacuumed...hum is that really a good thing? Well, it is for this reason. My advice to new adoptive parents has been to be patient and things that your new one might do or not do in the first few days or weeks might not be permanent. Like when Ava came home and would not lie down to get her diaper changed. She would scream when we would lay her on her back so we just stood her up and changed it that way. It must have been a few weeks later and I tried to lay her down again. This time she didn't cry she just laid there like a good girl and let me do the deed. Moral of the story...time changes things. Ava has been home what 129 days now, but who is counting :-) and I finally got to vacuum with her around. Again, early on I tried to vacuum with her around and all she did was try to eat and pull on the cord. That not being such a good idea we haven't vacuumed with Ava in the same room. Usually Adam or I play with her while the other one vacuums. Last weekend we had company coming and we needed to vacuum so we let Ava be in the same room. Oh boy, she was a big helper this time. She held the cord for Daddy, and helped move around the wand etc. What a big girl Ava is becoming. She learning so much and changing in so many ways. We count our lucky stars everyday!

Peace

Obama Mama

OK, I can't stand it anymore. The thought of a McCain-Palin win in November would be devastating. Devastating to us as a nation and us as a family. Yep, I am going to dive into politics. Why? Because of the same reason you clicked on this blog in the first place. AVA. That's right, Ava and her/our future.

Come on folks take a good look at what has been happening these last eight years and ask yourself...what shape is our country in? How are we really doing as a nation? Our fellow citizens...how are they fairing? The economy, the war, the national spot light...where do we all stand? I would have to say we are not doing very well. We have the highest unemployment rates in years. 2008 has been the deadliest year in the war so far...but the "surge" is working? McCain-Palin will be more of the same politics that we have endured for 8 long, long years. As a woman Palin's nomination does nothing for me and my pride in what women can do and have accomplished over the years. Why? Because she is not the kind of woman I aspire to be or want Ava to become. To shoot polar bears with AK47s out of helicopters is not breaking the ole glass ceiling. Come on, Ava is in the stage of hugging and kissing all her "animal" stuffed friends. To one day take out an automatic weapon and blow them away??? I don't think so. I hope to raise her with peace and love in her heart. And showing kindness for animals and other human beings. I don't think Sara Palin has one kind bone in her body. And McCain all his bones are too frail to be kind.

I look at my daughter and wish for her a future free of hatred, racism and discrimination. An Obama win will be one step closer to that dream. To have her and our nation embrace a man of color, who is articulate and brilliant would make for a great next 4-8 years. We all talk of idols. People we have admired along the way for guidance, self-esteem, recognition and self assurance. I feel that Barack would offer that to Ava compared to a frail, old white man and an abrasive, harsh woman. I want my daughter to look at the T.V screen and identify with someone who she can trust, someone who has compassion, who is educated, someone for peace not war, someone for everyone else when no one else is, someone with family values, someone who will let her choose her own way when deciding to start or not start a family, someone who will not let us be tethered to the middle east for the privilege of driving our cars, someone who has some tact and can actually speak intelligently to foreign officials, someone with the name Barack Obama.

Folks the time has come to look past the color of one mans skin and really educate ourselves and listen to what each party REALLY has to say and put the whole nation, not just ourselves, first.

There is a lot of spin going on right now. If we would get back to business and really talk about the issues, Obama really has our county's best interest at heart. He will lower taxes for over 80% of the country, provide affordable health care to those who want it, will look to end our dependency on foreign oil and look at all options for a clean, energy independent future. He will provide full-tuition scholarships to those who want to become civil servants to the county everyone loves so much but doesn't participate in anymore. Tax credits to families that send kids to college and build bridges and better our roads. The list is endless to all the positive things that would come out of his election.

McCain on the other hand will lower taxes for only the top echelon of our county. Aren't we all a little sick of the really, really wealthy getting all the breaks? Where has the middle class gone? Why are we paying for all the mistakes of huge corporations who send jobs overseas? Our tax dollars keep going for the trillion dollar debt that the Iraq war has mounted. Do we really want to keep funding a war that really had no bearing on 9-11? What did Iraq have to do with 9-11? Wasn't it the Taliban, who now reside in Afghanistan?

Read up, get educated and feel good about voting for Barack Obama. Our country needs your support for this once in a lifetime candidate.

Peace

Summers End

The end of summer. A time when the air begins to cool and the city fills with CSU students again. This year... a time to reflect on the summer of our lives. What a wonderful few months it has been!!! Time goes by so quickly. Ava has grown in so many wonderful ways. I look back at pictures of when she first came home and compare them to now and she has changed so much. She is blossoming into a confident, curious, sweet girl. Her weight is staying about the same but she is getting taller. we are growing up, heading into the toddler years...we are transitioning off the bottle to sippy cups, she is getting more and more teeth; her back molars are cutting (oh what a joy that is for ALL of us, poor girl), she is starting to almost run at times, she is starting to talk more and more. She identifies pictures on the walls of mama and papa :-). She calls us it all the time now. Her little voice is ssssssooooooooo cute!! She knows a "no" object. She will walk up to it and say "no,no, no" and still get into it but hey, it is at least registering that we say "no" when she nears that object i.e. dogs water bowl. Poor Lily is probably dehydrated cuz we pick up the dish off the floor so much...she got her first hair cut a couple of weeks ago. She was pretty good once we got out the bottle of "bubbles". We headed back to the "farm". She was an old pro this time. She fed the horses, tried to feed the goats...but they wouldn't eat her rocks...and the cows, well, they weren't too interested in a little 2 foot human on the ground. But we did love to pet the soft sheep and look at the roosters.
Grandpa and Grandma Collicott were here all summer. We had a lot of fun with them this year. They are semi-retired and travel around in their R.V working seasonal jobs. This summer they were at the Riverview Campground in Loveland. We would head down over the weekend and watch their fantastic Karaoke show. We already miss them as they have left now and are headed to CA to work selling pumpkins then Christmas trees. Last winter they got to meet Lisa Kudrow,Tom Selleck, Linda Hamilton and Drake Hogestyn (John Black on Days of Our Lives). Wonder who will come wondering onto the lot this year...
With summer coming to an end we are looking forward to a wonderful holiday season. Halloween is right around the corner and we are gearing up! We can't wait for the "Great Pumpkin" and all the fun treats. Then Christmas...oh boy it is going to be a special one.

It is getting late and she will be up early. So bye until next time when I have a few free minutes (which is few and far between these days). Have a great fall season.

Hugs and kisses
ALa

Happy 1st Birthday, Ava

Ava celebrated her 1st birthday on Thursday, July 31. She had a great day! Daddy stayed home from work, YEAH!!We rode our bikes into town and had a great breakfast. Ava and I shared ginger, banana pancakes and she loved em (so did I). Then it was nap time and time for mommy and daddy to prepare birthday cake and prep for dinner. We invited grandma and grandpa Collicott over. We wanted to keep it small and simple but yet have a bit of family around. We were planning a bigger party for Saturday when more family and friends were invited. We made bulgogi beef, a stir fry and egg rolls. We (mostly Ava) had banana cake for dessert.

After dinner, we performed the traditional Korean Toljabee. The Tol is a Korean tradition that is performed on the child's first birthday. It is supposed to be fun, yet tell the child's "future". Ava was dressed in her Hanbok and ready for her telling future. We put out thread (for long life), fruit (the child will have many descendants) scissors ( child will be good with their hands) a CD ( from the karaoke DJ's), a book, paper and pen (child will become a successful scholar), rice (child will become rich or is foolish perhaps :-)) a CFL (compliments of daddy), an Obama button ( representing peace) and a calculator (engineer perhaps?) so what did Ava choose??? Ava first choose thread, then dove into the bowl of fruit and finally grabbed the scissors. We think those were pretty good choices! Way to go Ava. You will live long, have lots of children and be good with you hands.The official 1st birthday party had come to an end and preparations were underway for the Monroe family from New Mexico to arrive Friday.

Finally the Monroe family got a chance to meet Ava. Cousin's Adam and Isabelle were so wonderful with Ava and she loved them around. We all had so much fun. It was great to see them again. Aunt Gabrielle brought some of her cute clothes from her children's shop...check it out at http://www.ellelunaboutique.com/ and Uncle Bill was the bearer of Cousin Gracie (the dog).


Finally, the big 2nd first birthday party day had arrived. We went to Spring Canyon Community Park. It was a great place for all the kids to play, run around and splash in the fountains. We made some Korean salads and had a woman make some egg rolls and wontons. Then we ordered some sesame chicken from Asian Bistro and chowed down. There were lots friends and family there. I think a good time was had by all. Again, Ava got to dive into her birthday cake. This time it was carrot cake. I think she finally got the hang of digging into soft, sweet yummy desserts. She got so many cute and wonderful gifts. Thank you to all who were there.

Sunday arrived and it was time for the Monroe's to go home. We were sad to see them leave but have a feeling we will be seeing more of each other very soon :-)
All in all Ava's first birthday was a success.

She is growing up so fast and has changed so much these past 2 months. It has already been 8 weeks, almost nine since we all arrived home. She is doing so well. Exploring her world around her and learning new things everyday. She is walking like a pro now and speaking a few words here and there. She knows exactly what is going on but can't quite verbalize it. That will come in time and I am sure some would say enjoy it while it lasts...

Everyday I just look at her and kiss her a million times!!! Her cheeks are so soft and supple and so darn cute I just can't get enough. We are completely in love...life is good!!!

Slow Going

It has been a while since we have posted anything on this blog. Not that time is standing still here and nothing is going on it is quitethe opposite...lots has happened in the past few weeks. It is just very time consuming to upload pictures with dial-up Internet. So we are breaking the bank and have ordered high-speed Internet which is scheduled to be up and running Monday the 11th. So please check back soon for new and exciting pictures.... of Ava's 1st birthday July 31st, a second one on Sat Aug 2nd and more cousins came to visit.

The baby is up...bye

Aiden Is Home!!

Hooray...our friends Ann and Chris Jones brought Aiden Seong-Jae Jones home July 10, 2008. Adam and I were thankful to be able to be a part of this special time for Ann and Chris. Aiden is so adorable. We stopped by on Saturday and Ava and Aiden "played". Ava even offered a kiss out to Aiden. He was sitting so cool, all laid back in his little walker car. She kept pushing him around (He playing hard to get and she the bold Leo not shy!) She the giver and he the taker???...typical relationship??? already?? Hummm...we might have to work on that! I still can't believe it. Ava's first kiss at 11 months and Aiden's first kiss after 2 days home...where are these kids headed??
Another friend of ours who is also adopting a little girl from South Korea, Kelly, was also at the airport and made a wonderful video of the gotcha-day. Check it out at the following URL http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=65d7feeeb713886f112865&skin_id=1703&utm_source=otm&dmutm_medium=text_url

Congratulations to the Jones family! and prayers to Kelly for that referral of her little girl...it will happen soon!
Love and happiness,
The Perry family

All In The Family

Four weeks home and family has been flocking to town! First we got to meet Uncle Chris, Aunt Katrina and Cousin Alia. We had lot of fun with them. They are moving to Kansas so they will be closer and we are excited about that! Ava is doing so well around people. She takes a few minutes to open up but after that she is her adorable self. She sure knows how to put on a Q-T-Pie show. Once you lay eyes on her it is hard to look anywhere else :-) Then we had Adam's family come to town over the 4th of July. We had fun with our other six cousins ( Brendan, Autumn, Sean, Kieran, Finn and Josen) and five aunties and uncles (Aunties London and Annette and Uncles Shane, Josh and Ian.) We had lots of firsts...first 4th of July, first swim, went out to dinner for the first time and survived off our schedule for the first time :-) The Monday after everyone left Ava slept lots!! We sure enjoyed all company. It is good to spend time with family. Thanks to everyone for traveling all this way...come again soon!
Love, the Perry Family

True Blessing

It has been an incredible couple of weeks! Ava is doing great. And so are Mom and Dad!! A little less sleep these days but heck we have been sleeping for years. Who needs sleep when there is baby Ava around!! Ava is a handful and is feeling right at home these days. She is crusing the walls, climbling the steps and acting like a silly 10-1/2 month old should act. Priceless :-)

There isn't a minute when she is not curious about something. She has to be wherever we are doing what we are doing and eating whatever we are eating. But give her a T.V. remote or a plastic lid to a travel mug and she is content for ummmm....minutes!

We went to Daddy's work today and had a blast. The people at Platte River are so nice. We can't wait to see them all again.

Ava is adding so much joy and happieness to our lives we can't imaging life before her (we must have been sleeping). She is almost 11 months young. Her first birthday is right around the corner. We are excited to meet more of our relatives. We hope they can make the journey to see us!

Our friends Chris and Ann should be getting the call that Aiden is coming home soon. We can't wait to meet Aiden. We know we will all be best buds!!!

I had better run and get a few things done while Ava is napping.

Till the next nap... bye, bye

And On the 7th Day...

Parenthood is awesome!! It has been a wonderful week with Ava. She is adjusting SO WELL. She is a bundle of joy. She is such a happy baby. Once she feels comfortable with something there is no stopping her. She is cruising all around the house, her room, the yard and anywhere she can get to! She has had enough with crawling, she is onto walking. With our assistance she wants to walk everywhere. She and Lily are getting along so well. She loves the "doggy". She is now starting to "go to " Daddy more: Less crying when mommy leaves the room :-) Her appetite is great. She is eating all kinds of things and loves em all! We are very blessed to have Ava in our lives. We can't wait till she meets all her adoring fans out there and all the Aunties and Uncles who love her so much. We are on he way for a little check-up this afternoon. One thing she has NOT adjusted to is the car seat...luckily the Dr. is not far away...

Family Day

Well, Family day was June 11th at 3 pm Seoul time (June 11th at midnight Colorado time). What an exciting and exhilerating "birthing" process to get Ava Seong-Yeon Perry home to Colorado!! We met with Ava and her foster mother about 2:00 pm so that she could say her "goodbyes" (still tears us up today). Still isn't easy for her still after 27 children she has cared for. She said that she was very happy to be able to meet us and finally meet the new parents of one of the children she has fostered over the past 8 years. What a wonderful women and we are blessed that she raised Ava for these past months. Ava is so happy and smart and will be a better person because of her foster mother's care. We hope that we can live up to her high fashion standards:-) Thank you very much!!! She brought with her some of Ava's things including the ball and bunny we sent to her. She said she does not sleep with out her bunny and had to wait until that day to bring it. She also made us a wonderful picture book of Ava taken over the last 10 months. It is really nice and she did a very professional job on dressing her up and taking photos. WOW!!! We got another quick rundown on Ava's idiocincracies and food habits and were off to meet Dr. Kim for the final prayer that he does with all of the departing children from their care. It was hard to see Ava and her foster mother be so sad to leave each other. After a while on the way to the airport she slept and was beginning to attach to her forever mommy. We were pretty earlier to catch our flight at 8 pm and hung out in the terminal. She did ok and Leslie walked her around to calm her down. Then we found out our flight was delayed until 9 pm, boy what a journey. Thank goodnes the flight to LAX is faster than the one to Seoul!! We requested a bassinet which came in really handy for storing Ava's toys and formula in front of us... Yes she did NOT want to leave Leslie's body for anything!!! Ava slept most of the trip and was pretty good compared to the LAX to DIA flight (that's all I am going to say about that, except she has a good set of lungs!). We arrived in LA and made our way through customs. They zipped us right through because we had a baby (we love this special baby treatment stuff!) Christie at AAC said that that was not typical though, but thank goodness because we were on a short time line to catch the connecting flight to DIA. It was about 5:30 when we in customs and our flight left at 6:11; and LAX is B-I-G!!! But we made it ok...
We landed in DIA and made it through the terminal with whispers around us saying, "yeah she's not crying now" and we were happy to see Christie from AAC waiting for us. She was so gracious in helping us with our luggage and to get us to our car. Thanks Christie! The struggle to get Ava in the car seat was a challenge, but she was ok once we started to drive. We were all ready to get home, whew! We still are off on our time, but Ava is right on schedule with eating, sleeping, playing, and so on. Very attached to Leslie still and it has been tough for her being in new surroundings and travelling (which is very understandable for Day 1). Well on to day 2 and more playing!! If we had to do it over again, we would not have changed a thing about this whole experience; even with the crash course in parenting and not bringing enough socks!!!
Thanks for your support and take care!
Love the new Perry Family

Homeward Bound

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Today is the day. We are leaving Seoul and headed home to Colorado! YAY!!! Called the airline last night to confirm our flight and found out it is delayed 4 hours. Instead of leaving at 4:30 p.m. we are scheduled to leave at 8:oo p.m. the flight already sounds like bunches of fun...??? We get Ava at noon today...guess we will get to know the Incheon airport well.

Yesterday we visited with Ava again. There were some tears shed...poor girl. We decided to try her in our Becco baby carrier. Her foster mom has been using a Baby Bjorn. After a bit of a struggle and definite confirmation she has a great set of lungs we dashed off to the nearest department store for a Baby Bjorn! Fact: Big city Seoul Koreans like to shop. There are shops, stores, kiosks everywhere. You can't go one block without someone trying to sell something. Whether it be food, clothes or SHOES! High-heel shoes at that! So this department store was 10 floors high...we got the new carrier and are confident it will be a seamless transition...(crossing fingers and praying lots!!!)

Our time in Korea has been awesome. We have learned so much about the people, traditions, our child's birth and life so far. It is hard to put into words all the thoughts and feelings we have had this past week. It is one experience we would not trade for the world. We urge all adoptive families, if possible, to travel. It is one experience that you will never forget; and the sights we have seen and things learned are so valuable and precious for all of us.

But granted, we are ready to come home and start our forever family!

Little tidbits about Korea....
They are a very proud people
The city is relatively clean
Everyone is very nice and helpful
They stare at 'white' Americans :-) say a few Korean words then giggle...
Their toilets have a bunch of buttons on them...thinking enema??
Women walk all over in high-heels
No one wears shorts or flip flops (except Adam and I)
Adam was the tallest man in Korea for 1 week
You can buy anything on the street..octopus, garlic, lettuce, cell phones, chicken on a stick, SHOES, SHOES and more SHOES!
Koreans are naturally very sustainable. They don't use plastic; everything is made out of ceramics.
You get charged for take-out (to go) containers. A paper coffee cup costs and extra .20 cents
Everyone is one their cell phone 24-7
They sure make cute kids!

Anyong-hi kyeseyo (final farewell said by person leaving; means to stay in peace)

Adam, Leslie and Baby Ava

Speechless in Seoul

Well first we are sending our prayers for Grant to make a full recovery!! We love you Grant!! Please get well soon! Monroes please keep us updated on this blog. Anyone who reads this please take a moment to pray for our nephew Grant. He is in a Minnesota hospital battling encephalitis/meningitis.

Tuesday June 10th at 10 am:

Yesterday was a day of joy for us, we finally met precious Ava! She is so cute and wonderful and smart and happy and.... We arrived at Easern and met with Mrs Park, travel coordinator, to get Ava's papers and passport for her trip back home. Then plan was to meet with Dr Kim, founder of Eastern in his office and Dr Kim, President of Eastern. We had some time to spare and found the Wilman's in the business room and joined them until the 11 am meetings. I had to use he bathroom (by the way Koreans don't know "bathroom" or "restroom", it's "toilet") and walked past the foster mothers and their babies on the way; this was where they bring the children for check ups. I wondered if I would see Ava or Aiden. (we look at all the kids we see and think that) When I left the toilet and began to walk back it happened!!! I saw Ava and her foster mother walking towards me in the hall and I approached her. She immediately knew who I was and we smiled at each other. I ran to grab Leslie and we all were together in the hallway. She took Ava out of the carrier and proudly showed us how well she is walking while holding her hand and Leslie and I were just balling. Other foster mothers were looking at us and talking and smiling at the site they were witnessing. While we were there, a women form Dr Kims office came by and said we were late to our 11 am meeting him! Oh boy, we are crying and the time just flew by. We gathered ourselves up, waved goodbye and said see you in an hour. When we got to Dr Kims office, the Wilmans and another family were there with him already. Dr Kim likes to meet all of the new parents and the children when they leave his custody. He is a young 94 years old and told us about the history of Eastern and all that they do for Korea. Next we all met with Dr Kim, President. She is very nice and thankful for caring for their children. It was about 11 am now and was time for our scheduled meeting to see our social worker and Ava! After we dropped off the AAC gifts we headed back to the business room and Ava and her foster mother came in. By then our social worker already found out we met before and laughed. We exchanged gifts and the foster mother bought us very nice Korean gifts and gave us Ava's beautiful Hanbok and she loved the picture we gave her of her and Ava. The social worker said that they need to meet privately and said that Ava is not used to strangers and could cry when they leave the room. The left the room and no crying! She loves Leslie and is a happy little girl. We already can see her Leo personality shine when she shakes her head "no" and gets what she wants. And she is active!! Grandma, we need walker toys too now, plus more baby gates!! She is so interested in the toys and books and shiny stuff. We had a great time together and will meet with her again this afternoon for a longer period of time. Can't wait to take her home! At noon, they fed us all lunch and we met a couple mothers and their adopted daughters visiting from Minnesota. Seem nice... The Wilman's had set up a trip to Pyeongtaek, where John Martin, Ava, and Aiden were born and we really wanted to go. We asked Mrs Park if we could and after a long korean conversation and a few strange looks, they eventually said yes! Yay! But we were out of memory on our camera and could not get back to the hotel to download pics in time. We asked if they knew where we could buy a new memory card. The Hi Mart was down the street and we ran to get there and back in time!! By the way it was about 100 Degrees F today, HOT! We found a memory card and bought a 4 GB memory card!! Nice, now we are good to go!!! Our destination was Eastern's Pyeongtaek facility. Where they have a school for the mentally challenged, and Esters Home; where the pregnant mothers stay before they give birth to the children. What a great place. Dr Kim has done alot for the underprivileged in this country. What a neat, neat place. It took about 1.5 hours to get there and we toured the campus. Very nice place and we met the caretaker of Esther's Home. We bought some crafts that the mother make. After that we visited the hospital where our children were born. Overall a priceless trip!
Wish us luck today and see you soon! We love you Grant!!!!! Get well soon!!!!!!!
Adam, Leslie, Ava and Lily :-)

Monday, June 9th evening

Indescribable

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!!!!

Monday June 9, 2008

Today we meet our precious Ava Seong Yeon!! We are getting ready to go to Eastern around 9:30 am to meet Ava, her foster mom, social worker, Dr Kim, and the rest of the staff. How excited are we! We'll get pics on the blog later...

All Relative

Sunday June 8, 2008

Today was a more mellow day for us in Seoul; It was kind of rainy today. It has been overcast almost the whole time. Does the sun ever actually shine here? Do they ever get to see blue sky? Maybe the resident meteorologist in the family could add a bit to that???We decided to go downtown to Cheonggyecheon Stream and plaza. It was a beautiful canal that has water flowing through the downtown of Seoul to the Hangang River. People walk along the stream and cool off or have lunch. The stream was originally built and used by the Joseon King and the people of "Seoul" in early 1300's for laundry and drinking water. For hundreds of years it was this way eventually became a place for housing and poverty. The shantytowns along the banks of the stream were torn down in the 1960's and replaced with a two level highway. In 2003, the people of Seoul decided they wanted to restore it back to its original water flowing form to represent their love for the environment and the government started to demolish the road and reconstructed the stream by 2005. Cool place to visit! After the stream, we did some shopping and found where all the fashionable shopping for Koreans is. Koreans in Seoul pay alot of money to wear american clothes. Pair of Levis was about $140 (exchange rate is about even here)!! Should have brought some with us I guess. They had alot of american stores sort of like an outlet mall. And Starbucks has short cups for iced drinks!!! Something we always wished for the american SBs... After shopping we went to Olympic park and visited the museum. Cool that the olympics were here in 1988. The winter olympics will be held in Korea in 2014? I think... Pretty cool day and it was nice to see some of Seoul while we wait to see the girl we came to see!!!!!!! Loves to everyone and thanks for your help and support!!!! Say hi to Lily for us and give her lots of kisses. Mommy and Daddy are almost home with sister...

Americans in Korea!

Today was a great day in Seoul. I think we got our bearings and saw much more of the city, maybe a little off the typical tourist path...

But the first thing we did was fill up on american and Korean food in our hotel. Not any day you can have fruit loops and kimchi together! After we ate we headed for Eastern to see babies! Because it was the weekend it was not obvious how to get in, but AAC mentioned that we enter through the guest house door. Once we found it, we entered and saw a lady sitting at a desk to the guest house. She knew very little English (about equal to our Korean). We were trying to ask if we could see the babies and she was not understanding us at all. As a last ditch effort we showed her our Ava pics and she recognized her foster mother, which helped a little. Then we pulled out the "Instant Korean" book and looked up "babies". "Aegi" (aa-ghee) I said and before we knew it we were met by another women and we were holding and feeding BABIES in the nursery!!! They are about 2 weeks old and CUTE!!! It is pretty hard to see all of the babies in the nursery waiting for their forever families.

After leaving the nursery we headed to the subway to get on our way to the Bukhansan National Park. I know, leave it up to us to visit a national park in Seoul! Well the subway was the easy part, but the connection to the bus to get there was not. We have found that figuring out the subway system is easy, but once you get up to the surface street, the confusion starts again... This was no different. Our travel guide says to catch the #120 green bus and all we saw was the #120 blue bus and the signs were all in Korean. We ask a fellow by pointing to the name in the book and he confirmed that #120 was it. So off we went on the "Blue" bus. As we stood on the bus, Leslie noticed a young man next to me that was reading a map and had on hiking boots. She nugged me to speak to him... and thought I should ask, "do you speak English?". He said he did and I pointed to the map he was holding and said, "can we go with you there?" He was very happy to help. We got off the bus and he said we should take a taxi to the park entrance. The travel guide says you can walk, but it is 30 mins. But it also does not say that it is all uphill!!!! No problem riding in a cab... The young man actually paid for our cab fare and asked if we wanted to join him and his friends. We knew that it could be a bad idea because they were experienced rock climbers. We said we were fine on the "easy" path. He seemed disappointed because we think he wanted to show us off to his friends. It is very obvious to us that foreigners (Caucasian) do not visit this area at all, we get a lot of stares. We entered the park and "spoke" to the park ranger for a map. She was very nice. Ok off we went on the mostly uphill all the way climb. It was tough, but very beautiful! Most people were nice and tried to say hi, and the first time we stopped we met a family hiking; mom, dad, and two teenage girls. The father sort of bowed to us, mustard up a "hi" and asked where are you from? We said USA and the daughters giggled and kind of hit each other as if they had a bet going or something. He asked how far we were going? We may have looked out of breath or something because he did not want us to commit to a long hike and run out of daylight. We figured out we were going the same way and we just followed them. It was an amazing hike through the trees and we saw campers and a lot of people! They take this seriously! True to Koreans in Seoul style (insert stereotype) alot were decked out in hiking gear and fashion. After a long hike we made it one of the temples and eatery where hikers stop to eat before they descend the Buhkansan mountain (1 of 3). The family we met asked us to join them and they were very gracious by offering us tomatoes and sandwiches. The older daughter spoke a little english and we managed to exchange information about ourselves. The father is a pastor of a christian church in Seoul and their daughter was teaching herself English. We eventually showed them our pictures of Ava and they were very happy to see why we were in Seoul. The father said "thank you" to us and that could have made us cry if we hadn't dried up all the moisture in our bodies from the hike. We took pictures of all of us and they asked us to email them to the daughter, her email is potatochipxx@xxx.com, funny. They asked if wanted to continue and we declined, it was a long way down... Once we made it down we found the #120 bus and back to the subway. Fun day at the mountain and by the way we saw all the clothes for sale to be a fashionable hiker in Seoul on the way down. It was like a ski resort or something.

We made it back to the hotel and decide to venture out to Iteawon District which is supposed to be a happening night life scene. Iteawon is a mix of all nationalities and races and same sex lovers lane. It was funny, we got off the subway at Iteawon and we saw americans and other races and thought that this must be the place. It was our mission to find Hard Rock Cafe for some american food for once. We walked down the stairs to get to the restaurant and almost busted out laughing at the site we saw. I think all of the americans in Seoul were in this restaurant!!!! Wow, we flock together I guess. Most of the americans were military and their families. By the way, Koreans in Seoul are very nice, americans not so much. No place like home... After we ate we headed down the street and saw a lot of partying and wondered what next. The travel guide mentions Our Place. Why not, we headed up to the terrace and found a nice quiet setting above the city for a couple beers. According to the newspaper, we apparently saw a Korean soap opera star that just came out of the closet? We said that's him!

Well it was a fun packed day and our day to finally meet our little girl is almost here!!! We are glad we can see Seoul first before our meeting her.

Love The Perry's!

Saturday - June 7, 2008

Yesterday was our first day in Seoul. We got off the plane at 5:50 a.m. (friday, june 6) and our day had just begun. We got the hotel and showered we were really tired but figured there would be time to sleep later in life like 18 years from now, so we headed out on the streets of Seoul. Hungry, we were hoping to find somewhere to eat. We keep hearing about all this great Korean food but I guess that must be for folks who like lots of fish and seafood. For a girl who has a shell fish allergy things aren't looking so good here. Not knowing where we were going we headed up this cool looking street. The backstreets here are lined with shops and very narrow. We are near Hong Ik University so it is very you know university district like. So the shops were very small, trendy and no one spoke english. So we decided to use our eyes for food. Ah a bakery, you would think that would be easy to find finding something right...20 minutes later we decided on a loaf of bread stuffed with something that looked like maple frosting. Now after being fed we decided we would venture on a city wide bus tour. We headed downtown to find the starting point. We entered the subway and stood weary eyed at the subway map wondering how to read it and where we needed to go. The subway attendant did not speak english, he just gave out tickets and didn't speak a word. I guess he doesn't have too since most Koreans already know where they are going. So low and behold Adam spotted a guy with red hair. Yeah!!! A fellow foreigner. Ian, a guy from D.C here teaching English. Boy was he a lifesaver. We told him where we would like to go, he helped us read and understand the subway maps. He was heading where we were planning on going (to the start of the bus tour) and we all jumped on the subway and headed to our destination. During the trip we talked more about Korea what to see and do. He was very helpful and gave us a bit more confidence for our days journey.



We get to where we are going and get off the subway pop up streetside and look around and say now where? We were headed near Gyeongbokgung Palace because we heard the city bus tour starts near there by a blue pole. We knew it would be hard to find but little did we really know. So we start up the street thinking we were headed the right way...but were we? We stopped the next nice looking lady walking down the street. Speak English is like the first question you ask. She nodded. Is that a bad sign rather than saying yes??? Anyways we then point to our palace destination. She smiles and gladly waves her had to follow her. We try to talk a little. (Koreans like to practice their English. Another guy on the subway told us that they learn to read it in school but rarely get to speak it.)



Making small talk with our tour guide, laughing a lot and sure we were going to find that tour bus stop we were getting more confidence but then we walked by police in riot gear...we asked her what that was but she could only must up the words embassy and american something or other. Looking at each other with doubt in our eyes we turned the corner to see a magnificent beautiful palace. I kept wondering why this lady kept walking with us all the way to the palace. It was after she left us that Adam said she worked there. When she said she was tour guide I had no idea she was talking about at the very palace we were heading to. Things have been very serendipitous today, thank god!!! The palace was amazing. It was part of Joseon dynasty. Amazing the attention to detail and craftsmanship. The use of color is so awesome! We had a ball. We then went to the Korean Folk Village Museum. By then we figured the bus tour was not going to happen. We were told of a traditional shopping area, Insa-dong. As we turned the corner, those policeman in riot gear we mentioned now stood like a wall and marched, and chanted and rows of buses lined the streets. Again we looked for that English speaking foreigner. Ah ha, a light haired guy. He was from Germany visiting on business. He gave us the whole scoop...Ok by now those new savvy folks probably know where this is going...Koreans have been protesting in the streets against cheap, american beef imports. Unlike Americans today, kids, women and men march peacefully by the thousands (over 100,000) in front of the embassy in protest to their government importing cheap american beef instead of using local Korean beef. Watching the news and seeing people unite, kids dancing to music, parents teaching their children values in which to stand up and protest against things you feel unjust, is refreshing. I asked is it working...as our german friend said...yes.



We thought of turning around and heading back to our hotel. But we ventured on thru the police line and bus barricade towards Insa-dong for shopping. Insa-dong was filled with a lot of people and of course Adam stood out as the foreigner, sort of what I imagined Seoul to be like. As a matter of fact, we were interviewed by some middles school kids for their school project. They asked us what we liked about Seoul and why we were there. They were CUTE!!! After we browsed through the shops and made it to the end of the market, we decide it was time to go to bed (we have been up for hours and it was about 3 am Colorado time). We made it back to the hotel and went to bed. Sort of a crazy day, but it has prepped us for a more exciting and "efficient" today. Let's hope...

We are off to Eastern to see babies in the nursery! Yay! We'll see if we can get in on the weekend. Then we are going hiking and more site seeing.

We are getting very excited and anxious now to see our precious Ava and can't wait until Monday. If you see Grandma Alyce and Lily, ask how things are and please let us know. I am sure all is ok! We love you all and 'til next time! Thanks for the comments, it is very nice to have the support!!!
Love us

Heart & Seoul

Whew! We made it Seoul!!!!! The connection at LAX to Seoul was CRAZY!! We barely made it through security and onto our plane. The first thing we heard at the desk was that we did not have seats together which bummed us out and she said she would try to request the change. Once we finally made it to our gate, the attendant said they got our request and said we were together, YEAH! That would have sucked flying 13 hours apart. Speaking of 13 hours on a plane, it is looooooong... But Asiana airlines rocks and we had the best plane food ever! US should take some notes on plane food --- Bi Bim Bab with rice, veggies with packets of red pepper paste and sesame oil to mix it all together. Yumo! We passed on the octopus breakfast. Omelet instead.Leslie had a great time being in a place where she can reach everything and suspect that will be the case throughout the trip. Everyone is so nice and a lot Koreans speak English and signs are in English as well. Well we are here in our hotel and already rode over from the airport to our hotel with a couple and their previously adopted son from Korea (from Tulsa) who are picking up their new son Keegan like we are Ava. Well we will add more later today after we go see more of Seoul. And a shower:-)
Love, The Perrys

On a midnight plane to Kor-e-e-a...

Well we made it to DIA and are now waiting for our 9 o'clock flight to LA then midnight flight to Seoul. We are getting anxious and thinking about getting some sleep at the same time. Can't wait to get to Korea and finally meet Ava Seong Yeon. To pass the time, we thought our first entry in the blog would be fun while we wait, THANKS LINDA for loaning us your laptop for our trip!!!!! And thanks for everyone who helped get us to this point! We'll try to keep this updated, so check back. BTW, you are supposed to sing the title. Christie from AAC gave us a BIG bag to take with us for Eastern and waiting children and their foster parents. Kind of cool since our gifts to Ava and her foster mother travelled in similar style. Hope all is well and write you later, Ava's parents

Our Water Broke...we are having a baby!!

The time has come, the moment we have been waiting for in this 16 month long process...WE GOT THE CALL!!!! Christy from AAC called and said, "your daughter is ready for travel"...words we have been waiting to hear since day one! Oh my gosh it is really here. We are going to travel to Korea and bring home our precious little Ava. We are soooooooooooooo excited!!

AAC called home first but both Adam and I had already left for work. Christy called Adam at work around 8:50 a.m. I had rode my bike to work and was just walking in the door around 9:00 a.m. when my cell phone rang. I quickly looked down to see if it was AAC, it wasn't, it came up as unavailable. I almost wasn't going to answer it as I was sitting at my desk in this quiet, office setting but something lead me to open up the phone and say, "hello." It was Adam on the other end elated as he said those magical words, "Christy called, Ava is ready to travel!" My heart stopped and my water must have broke cuz tears just started streaming down my face. Sky, one of my office friends, came over as asked, "good news?" I said, "YES!" We hugged, I cried more then the rest of the office gathered 'round and we all celebrated this joyful moment. Joan then looked at me and said, "GO!" So I hurried and gathered my things, changed back into my riding gear and peddled as fast as I could to get home to call the travel agent...we were headed to Korea.

6 hours later the travel arrangements were made. The ticketing process made me feel like I was in labor as I was feeling a lot of pain and having trouble breathing a few times throughout the process, like when the travel agent called and said that my ticket was issued, Ava's ticket was issued but Adam's ticket wouldn't go through...WHAT?? you must be kidding their should be no problem with funds, the account should have plenty of dough in it. Shaking my head in disbelief, our travel agent with two phones to her ear, I call my bank to see what was up. I now have two phones to my ear, the agent on the East Coast has had a long day and is ending her shift now pushing into OT, with her phone to her ear. My bank tells me their is a spending limit per day on my card and I have reached the maximum so I have to wait to purchase Adam's ticket till tomorrow...OMG lady did you just hear what I said, we are adopting from Korea I am purchasing airline tickets and I need to be able to access all my funds in my account right now!! "I am sorry Ms. there is nothing I can do you will just have to purchase the other ticket tomorrow." With my heart now stopped and tears on the verge of falling, I asked to speak with a manager immediately. By this time we all have so many different conversations going that the bank's "on-hold" music is actually kinda soothing at this point. The manager gets on the phone, I reiterate my spiel and she says there is nothing she can do to increase the spending limit, but that I could use the other cardholders card for the ticket purchase. Click. I hung up with her and immediately called Adam to get his card info. Ring, ring ring he is not picking up. Mean while the East Coast agent is now getting a little impatient. I think to myself, "Crap, what is his blackberry number?" It is just so automatic to access his number through my Contacts on my cell. I run up stairs rummage through my wallet no number. I am on my cell phone but I gingerly push buttons to get to my Contacts without disconnecting my life line to Korea! It worked. I found his number. He finally answers his phone. He read off his card number... it went from him, through me, through my travel agent then into the ear of our patient East Coast ticketing agent saint. Whew, confirmation Houston we have purchase. Word to the wise or the adopting, some credit cards have purchase limits per day for "security" reasons...no where in 'What To Expect The First Year" or "The Ultimate Insiders Guide To Adoption"did I read that my credit card might have a daily spending limit, so be weary when purchasing airline tickets or any big ticket items. My epidural to all other adopting families...call a head and find out BEFORE hand what your daily limits are to avoid unnecessary labor pains :-)

So after that excitement and fear I was traveling to Korea alone our best friends Chris and Ann brought over a much needed six-pack and Asian take out. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

As we woke up this morning it dawned on us that tonight would be the last night in our bed, in our house, alone (except for Lily of course :-) a moment we have been waiting for for years!

We are leaving for Korea tomorrow (June 4) and will return Wednesday evening ( June 11). We will try and update this blog on the trip so stay tuned for exciting news and new pictures.

"Thank You" to everyone for all your love and support this past year and a half. We don't want to say or think that the journey is finally coming to an end but that the journey is only beginning. We have been traveling pretty steadily down the straight path of life's road now we are heading towards the Y in the road and have decided we are are going to see what lye's to the right...or will it be the left? Whatever direction we decide to head we are sure that is it going to be a big, big change. Like Barack Obama says, " It Is Time For Change." We couldn't agree more :-)

We had better get to packing...