On Our Way

Yesterday morning we boarded our flight to Los Angeles. The first leg of this once in a lifetime journey. The flight was, thankfully, uneventful. Here's a photo of us getting ready to board:

Please excuse the photos I post while away. I'm using my phone and have limited editing options! Anyway, we were happy to get to spend time with my brother while in Los Angeles. He was an excellent tour guide! We saw Santa Monica beach, Rodeo Drive, and a few fun neighborhoods. It was so much fun seeing him!

Now we are waiting to board our flight to Seoul. Middle seats for nearly 14 hours. Possible migraine thanks to the two adult beverages I had last night (2 in several hours, so it's frustrating that my head is being awful today). But in the end we will be on Seuol. And we will be meetng Oliver. Please pray for a safe journey and that we arrive feeling healthy!

A Final Set

Today we received the final set of photos before meeting Oliver. For some reason we were only sent two photos, both taken on November 7th. I'll admit, knowing we get to meet him face to face in the matter of days made this update less exciting than normal. And while we are on the subject of meeting him, we'll be laying eyes on him in 5 days and 5 hours, or 125 hours. Eek!

So, here are the final photos....the last ones before we know what his voice sounds like. Before we know how big (or small) he is compared to us. Before we see that full head of hair for ourselves. Before our family grows.

28 Months

One Week

Sunday, November 17th, 7:00 pm in Minnesota = Monday, November 18th, 10:00 am in Seoul.
One week.
In one week we will be playing with Oliver for the first time. After waiting so long to meet him, it's hard to believe that this is really happening.

What else is hard to believe? That we will be able to fit everything we need to bring in our luggage. Thanks to Delta's poor customer service, we only get one checked bag each (with the second bag costing a whopping $100 each way. Ouch!). It isn't that I want to bring two checked bags, but with all of the gifts and dress clothes we need to take with us I was hoping that we had the option of a second bag. So, let's just say packing will be interesting!

This weekend I also bought a suit -- my first ever. Honestly, it probably isn't the suit I would have bought for myself had I taken the time to shop for it over the summer. I would have liked something a little nicer, better fitting, etc. But, it get the job done and looks decent enough without any added tailoring. Seeing that we leave Friday morning, and that I never took the time before this past weekend to even glance at suits, I'm happy to have that checked off the to-do list.

So, gifts are done (duty-free booze aside), letters are translated and pasted into cards, travel items have been bought, we both have suits to wear to court. Let the packing begin!

Gifts, Procrastination and Plans

Just over one week ago we were issued our court date, and in less than two weeks we will meet Oliver for the first time. Tony and I are very excited! We are also very busy preparing for the trip. 

While I am not a procrastinator by nature, I will admit that I have put off doing nearly all things related to the adoption (except for the paperwork, which always seems to be needed "ASAP" and, as it turns out, is something I'm especially good at doing). I simply couldn't bring myself to purchase cute items for Oliver's room, shop for an outfit to wear to court, buy the gifts we would be needing on this first trip. Truthfully, it was emotionally painful to be actively preparing for something that could, in reality, never come to fruition. Thanks to good old facebook I have often been reminded that I am way behind what all of the other parents are doing (thanks, social media!). 

Now the time has come and I am paying the price for my previous procrastination. One area that has been particularly stressful is the gift giving. In Korean culture gift giving is an important component of social interaction and showing respect and appreciation. Our agency provided us with some suggestions, but it's still a challenge to know what the right gift will be for everyone. In addition, how can we adequately express our appreciation with material items? After much hemming and hawing, shopping and googling, we are pretty much done. I just hope we have chosen wisely!

For the Foster Family, we have put together a mix of items: a Coach Purse and a Lancome Gift Set for the Foster Mother; Twins Hats and a bottle of bourbon or whiskey (to be purchased duty-free at the airport) for the Foster Dad and Brother; and some gifts for the family -- a jar of local honey, a box of Godiva mixed chocolates, a bottle of Centrum Silver, Pistachios and mixed nuts (we have been told nuts are expensive in Korea and that they make a good gift). In addition we have a letter translated that we will paste into the card.

Gift for the foster family

For the Social Worker we have the same Lancome Gift Set as we are giving to the Foster Mom, a scented candle and a box of Godiva mixed chocolates. We will also paste a letter into the card.




For the Agency Staff we are bringing an assortment of office supplies, instant Starbucks coffee and a big bin of biscotti. 

*must refrain from eating the biscotti myself!

Finally, the easiest gift is the donation to the Agency along with a letter (translated) of thanks to the director. 

Whew! Now, fitting all of this in our luggage is going to be a challenge. I have absolutely no idea how we are going to make it all work! Good thing the guest house has a washer and dryer, I may not be able to fit very many clothes!

Now that the gifts are pretty much done, it's on to other details that need to be worked out. I don't know how much planning Tony and I can do before we arrive in Korea. I know we will have some time to be tourists, but we are unsure of when we will need to be available for Agency business (i.e., meeting with the Director, having lunch with the agency, possibly seeing Oliver a second time, etc.). I do know that I will in fact get to see my brother while we are in LA (yeah!), and I'm looking forward to that. We have some shopping to do for ourselves (many women wear suits to court -- I should have shopped for one a long time ago; we need a few travel-related items, etc.). And we are still working to get things settled in our newly carpeted house. So the Meyers' home is a busy place!

Before I sign off for the day, please know that Tony and I won't be posting anything about our trip on Facebook -- and it is doubtful that we will have the opportunity to put together nice email updates for everyone. I will try to update the blog if time allows, so check here for updates while we are away. Thanks!