And then there were two.

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The day has finally arrived!! We picked up Whitlee today! We started the morning off meeting with Hudson's foster mom, Mrs. Choi. We tried to prep Hudson as much as you can prep a 2 year old 'that a strange lady loves you very much and is going to hug the ever-living daylights out of you when she sees you. This will be ok. You will survive and probably get candy and presents.'



Mrs. Choi definitely did that. and more. We were waiting outside the Post Placement Service door for Hudson's former social worker, when Mrs. Choi and her 10 yo granddaughter (who was a big part of both Hudson and Evan's life) came running up the steps. She scooped up Hudson and kept talking to him. I recognized all of about one word-JoonSeong. We continued to hang out akwardly as we tried to tell Hudson that it was ok. I mean, come on this would be frightening for anyone. The Social worker finally came out and we went to a playroom where we played the telephone game back and forth as the SW translated. I must say it was a pretty incredible experience. She told stories about her 'JoonSeong' and how much she loved and missed him. She also was still a little sad from missing our nephew, Evan.



My sister and bro in law were in the exact same building a month ago saying goodbye to Mrs. Choi as they held their son, Evan and took custody. She told us how since she had Evan for so much longer than Hudson it was really terrible saying goodbye. I explained how I had a pile of pictures of the boys together, along with others of all the cousins and family together from our trip to Minnesota a couple weeks ago...I thought she was going to punch me in the face when I told her the pics had been left along with all the kid's clothing, diapers, etc in a bag still sitting in the garage in good ol Fayetteville, Arkansas.

So, Hudson was a complete champ. He listened as usual and pretty much was the biggest ham known to mankind. He loved the attention and played it up. He also got presents and candy.

Now on to the main event.
Whitlee was not particularly psyched to see us. I brought all sorts of back up, including a bunch of cheerios so that was a big hit. She seemed a little skeptical of me and when I gave her my cell phone (she is a very mature 1 year old- that and the 'my little pony' didn't cut it) she was sizing me up looking through my music selection and pictures. We continued to play telephone in a different playroom with a different SW. We learned that she eats anything (takes after her big bro) and when she gets upset she usually cries very quickly and then she is done. She interacted with both of us a little, but I think will definitley be a daddy's girl. She was very intrigued and interested in Jonathan's crazy noises and facial expressions. After about an hour we apparently were no longer strangers and we were new parents to this gorgeous little girl. We had a quick prayer over all of us and then it was goodbye time. Mrs. Lim is also fostering a little boy who was so cute! He looked about the same age and they had their sweet goodbye hugs and then it was time to board the van back to the hotel. It happened quickly, we loaded up all our stuff and all the clothes, snacks, gifts that Mrs. Lim had given us and then it was as simple as a handover. It was the saddest thing to watch this tiny little girl watch her loving caretaker as we drove away. Mrs. Lim was right, she got upset, cried loudly but quickly and then was done. Mind you she is still very confused and angry. In fact she swatted at Hudson the second she was placed in my arms. Probably not the last of those.

Once we got to the hotel she started crying again so we put her in the carrier and I walked around with her on my back. Soothed her right to sleep and now the 2 are taking a nap. Hudson was super nice and all our coaching paid off. He insisted on sharing his Lightening Mcqueen (even though she didn't want it and threw it each time he gave it to her). He also poured out the cheerios and was sharing so well. He is going to be an awesome big brother.

As for the flight over, Hudson did great! He sang songs and made lots of friends and watched lots of movies. He may take Ebert's job one day. In fact he's a much better passenger than Valarie and myself and I'm pretty sure he spilled less food than me.


Everything is going well so far with only a few minor hiccups. We didn't make it out of Fayetteville with one of our bags, so Hudson only had the clothes on his back and all of Whitlee's cute outfits are at the house. The foster mom brought a lot of clothes for Whitlee so she is taken care of and Hudson will just practice the Jonathan Smith guide to fashion and wear the same thing until it's good and broken in. Just kidding, you know Valarie won't go for that. We found some "authentic" Korean clothing for him near the hotel so he's blending right in.


We also walked in the wrong hotel when we got here and I about lost it. The lady was trying to make me pay for rooms and we had our confirmation in front of us. At least it only took us 15 minutes to figure out the problem. I've never been one to look over the minor details, like what is written on the door you walk through.


Stay tuned and keep the prayers coming!! If you are hearing from us it probably means that things are going well and we all still have our sanity. Oh and we left the camera cord at home so there is no way to upload pics. ugh. sorry.

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Comments

[Jada]

Yay!!
Thanks for sharing! It was really fin to read it all as it is happening. You guys be safe!!!