U.S. Military base

During our last day when we were staying at the adoption agency and volunteered one last time on the baby floor, we met a really nice Korean-American woman that volunteers weekly.  She lives with her husband and two kids on the U.S. military base in Seoul where they have been stationed for the past 1.5 yrs.  She was adopted as a baby from Korea and grew up the States so being stationed here was her first time back to Korea since she was born here.  This is why she likes to volunteer regularly at the agency that she was adopted from. 

 

We exchanged emails after she generously offered to invite us on base because she thought Auden would like a little "taste" of America in Korea since they are all English speaking, have lots of American foods in the shop on base and a great playground and bowling.  So we took her up on her offer yesterday and had a great experience and afternoon with her and her family.  Auden loved the playground SO much because it had a rocket ship and we had to bribe him off of it with ice cream because he was a sweaty mess after an hour.  After some ice cream we went bowling with her, her husband and 8 year old son.  Her son was so great with helping Auden and they actually played two rounds together, the longest Auden has ever lasted with bowling:-)  Cody got to go to the bike shop on post because her husband was buying a new bike that day as he recently has taken up road biking, so that was right up Cody's alley, ha.  I had a great time talking to my new friend, it's always great to hear the perspectives of adult adoptees so we can understand what Grant's feelings may be some day. 

Here are a few pictures of our fun afternoon. 

Itaewon and the Korean War Memorial

Yesterday our adventure was going to Itaewon which is the part of the city where the large U.S. Military base is (so you will see a lot of Americans).   Cody wanted to go to this famous store called Hamilton's custom shirts.  At this store you can pick your fabric, they measure you, and for a good price they will custom make your dress shirt for you.  This is of great interest to Cody because he always has trouble finding work shirts that fit his body right and don't look too puffy in the back.  So, we shall see how it looks in a week!   Did I mention that Cody also got shoes designed and handmade for him last week?  Someone is living large here, haha.  It makes sense though because men's work clothing/shoes never really go out of style and he'll be able to use them for many years to come.  Not to mention the price is the same for custom made here as it is for off the rack at a department store in the U.S.

We had a great lunch at a Mexican restaurant in this neighborhood and then we walked along the military base wall to the Korean War Memorial.   It was beautiful and Auden loved running around looking at all the planes, tanks and a battle ship.   Almost felt like we were back in D.C. at the monuments/museums!

 

Grrrrrrr!!!  Big drum with a tiger:-)

News!

This morning we got the news (unofficially) that we have been waiting for this week!  I have stealthy Korean American adoption friends that found the public Korean family court website online where you can look up your case by your case number (have to be able to read Korean so they graciously do it for me).  By looking at your docket online you can find out when the judge issued preliminary approval 2 business days before the agency actually knows because the clerk writes it up and sends it by snail mail.  Soooo, my awesome friend has told me that our Judge issued our preliminary approval on late Thursday afternoon.  Our social work probably won't get it until Monday or Tuesday by regular mail though and as soon as she does, we can set up the custody date.  So, hoping for a Tuesday or Wednesday custody day! 

So, we are definitely going to be here for the long haul now.  Once you get custody there is no turning back and you have to stay in country until you get final approval from the Judge.  As I said before, normally this would only take about 14 business days if Grant's birth mom was able to be located and sign off on the adoption for the second time (first time at birth but since he was born before the enactment of the special adoption law, the Court is making them do it again), but they have tried her three times now with no luck.  So, that means we have to wait here while the notice of preliminary approval gets sent to her, comes back undeliverable again, then they do a public posting on a website for due process, then our 14 day waiting period can officially start.  So unfortunately our scenario isn't the best because of the length of time we may have to stay here but we are trying to look at it as a once in a lifetime experience and wonderful family bonding and attachment before Grant comes home. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers to get custody early next week and for as speedy process as possible given our circumstances!

We bought Auden a traditional Korean special occasion outfit today called a "hanbok."  Usually the foster mom gives you the one the child wore on their first birthday so we will likely have one for Grant already.  Auden was excited to have one for himself now.  Oh, and in Korea, pink is actually a little boy color, not girl, so most of them have a lot of pink:-) 

Day trip to Nami Island!

Last week when we were walking around the college campus near the agency an American guy spotted us and Cody's Penn State t-shirt and said hello.  He is an English professor at the university and lived in Seoul for 4 years now, grew up in Pittsburgh, PA.  We exchanged e-mails and he told us of some fun "off the beaten path" day trips outside of the city. 

So yesterday we went to Nami Island which he recommended and it was quite the adventure and a blast!  The day started with Cody rushing us to make the 10am train.  It didn't look like we were going to make it but then Cody comes running from the ticket booth with tickets in hand and we jumped on the train.  He was really proud of himself until 10 mins. into our ride when we found out we were on the express train that didn't stop at where we needed it to- Gapyeoung station.  But it turns out taking it almost to the end of the line then transferring to the local train backwards got us there faster, so Cody was proud and thought it was a perfect "Amazing Race" type situation.  Sometimes the wrong train works to your advantage:-) 

It was about 1.5 hours on the train, then we got a short taxi to the ferry that takes us to the little island.  The island is like Disney World meets nature.  It is very kid focused with lots of kids activities but also very beautiful so a lot of adults go there to get away from the city.  There are so many different activities you can do there- zip lines, rent bikes (motorized and non-motorized), family bikes like at the NJ shore, a little train for kids and all the water sports like tubing, water skiing, wake boarding, etc.  It was really cheap to get there and the activities really didn't cost a lot either.  We were definitely the only caucasians on the island because most tourists don't know about it, it was pretty neat.  Cody was a little apprehensive to water ski because the guy driving the boat didn't know English but we found a younger woman that could translate and it turns out all the hand signals are the same in Korea too, haha- thumbs up for faster, thumbs down for slower, finger going around for turning around, etc.  So, I encouraged him to go for it because it was only $20 and Auden and I could get a fun boat ride on the water at the same time:-)  Cody did great and it was awesome, definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity to water ski in South Korea! 

Here are some pictures of our fun adventurous day!

In the picture below you can see the zip line tower in the background, you can take a zip line to the island instead  of the ferry!  It's pretty tame though, I think they regulate your speed.  Pretty neat though.

 Hello Mr. Ostrich! 

Who needs the New Jersey boardwalk for a family bike ride?! 

The island is known for its large beautiful trees and apparently they film a lot of scenes from Korean soap operas/movies here.

 

They had several areas for performances like this, I think it's a big performance arts place and they have camp grounds to stay overnight on the island. 

 

All Auden talked about was this little train ride, he was so excited for it.  Looked like Thomas the train:-)  

 

Got a new pair of sunglasses on the island, let's try not to lose these! 

Go time for Daddy!  And Auden and I got an awesome boat ride!  Well worth the $20!

 

Almost looks like the finger lakes with the valleys and mountains

 

All done!  Proud son with his cool Daddy!

 

 

Bye Nami Island!  Thanks for the fun...time to get back on the ferry!

Seoul Tower

Today we decided to do Seoul Tower.  It is something that we hope to do again with Grant at nighttime but we wanted to do it today because Cody wanted to take the cable car up to the tower and then hike down it so it was a long adventure planned and it wasn't something we thought a 2 yr old would be up for in the coming weeks. 

First we found this beautiful arch on the way to Namdaemun market. 

                                              

 

 

 We went to Namdaemun market to find Auden cheap sunglasses since we forgot his at home (all 3 pairs).  The cheapest kid's pair we could find was $20 and he/we promptly lost them 3 hours later at Seoul tower, ugh!!

We took the cable car up to Seoul tower and put our lock on the "lock of love" fence.  We put the names of our family on it and then found a good spot to lock it up and then Auden put the key in the key deposit box. 

Then we took the elevator up, up, up to the top of the tower.  Unfortunately it was pretty hazy today but it was still fun to look at the beautiful view. 

 

Found our home city!

After a  yummy lunch at the burger place at the top, it was time to "hike" down the mountain.

 

Bye Seoul tower!  Hopefully we can come again with Grant and see awesome nighttime views:-) 

 

Moving Day

Last night was our last night at the agency guesthouse.  For dinner we did a local Korean barbecue restaurant where they grill the meat right at your table.  Then you put all the ingredients together that they give you and you make these delicious BBQ pork lettuce wraps.  It was so good and we even got Auden to eat a few lettuce wraps without the spicy sauce:-).  Then we let Auden get a treat that we've been seeing around called "Cool Stix" where they fill this silly shaped cone with ice cream.

                     

After we packed the room up we wanted to take Auden to see the babies on the 3rd floor now that he is over his cold. You aren't allowed to take pictures but we snuck a few.  Auden thought the babies were sooooo adorable and did well playing with them.  He understands that Grant spent his first two months in the nursery and we were glad he was able to see it to help him understand more why Grant needs a family (and that Mrs. Moon is his not "tummy mommy").  

My friends Grace and Rich sent us with 3 stuffed monkeys from their new toy start up company that is a "buy one donate one to a child in need" concept and we already saw the monkeys in three of the older kids cribs.  Sorry, couldn't get a picture of that Grace, but they are being loved!

 

 

 

So then it was time to pack up and go to our new home away from home.  Although it was only a 15 minute van ride, we went from a part of the city where no one could speak English, we had no idea what we were eating and people would make a fuss over seeing a little Caucasian boy to a touristy part of the city in a high rise hotel where many people from all parts of the world stay and there  is English speaking people everywhere and an amazing burger joint across the street!  It was a whole new world. 

 

We unpacked our stuff, went to the supermarket nearby, went for a swim in the awesome pool, then made a home cooked meal in our kitchenette.  The supermarket, Lotte Mart, was an interesting experience to say the least.  I'm already not the biggest fan of grocery shopping, but add in not knowing what anything is, can't read the ingredients for dairy products, more crowds than I've ever experienced in a grocery store and guys with microphones and music in the meat section trying to lure you over to what they were selling = my personal hell, haha.  We did our best to get the ingredients for a few dinners at our place.  We still can't understand why after check-out there was a shipping section where people were furiously boxing up all the food they purchased and using packing tape to seal it all up...where were they sending to?  Either way, Cody cooked a delicious stir-fry dish for dinner and it felt great to eat at "home." 

 

Here are some pictures of our awesome extended stay hotel room.  It has a bedroom with a king bed and two bathrooms.  We are more than pleased and it feels like the Ritz compared to the agency guesthouse, ha.

 

Here is the living room that has a pull out sofa bed and dining/kitchenette/washing machine.   There is a view of a beautiful church outside our window.  The hotel also has a beautiful rooftop terrace you can bring food up to and eat at tables and a cute little playroom for kids.

 

 

 

 

 

Bedroom

 

 

 

 

 Every little boy's dream...a construction site to watch outside the window!

 

 

Time for dinner!