Sunday, March 27, 2016
Jacie's first Easter!
What a blessed day celebrating our Risen Savior! Thank you Lord for giving us grace and allowing us to be a part of your family! Grandma got the kids matching outfits for Easter and CJ and I wore our Forget the Frock- feed an orphan shirt!
3 months home!
Jacie Reese, you are loved more than you will ever know! What an amazing 3 months God has blessed us with this precious child. Her transition has been almost perfect!! Other than episodes of grief initially, she has been placed in our family and it is like she has always been here! She loves all of her siblings so much! She copies everything Tae does, likes Jerri Lynn to do her hair and nails and she loves for Charlie to give her a piggyback ride and to sleep with her:)
She is speaking English really well- she repeats EVERYTHING! She calls herself Jacie AhNeeni (AhRinna). She is learning to share, which is very difficult. She is use to everything being hers and doesn't like for anyone to touch anything near here- even if it is the salt shaker!! She sleeps really well 8:30-6:30.
She has finally attached really well to CJ and he is loving it!!! She gets so excited to see anyone she recognizes and greets them with a big hug. Needless to say, everyone is in love with her!
Thank you, God for adopting us into your family and giving us the most beautiful picture of adoption. What a privilege it is to see it lived out in our family.
She says: ready, set, go
one more time
one, two, three
all of our names
close your eyes
eat, night-night
I love you
She is speaking English really well- she repeats EVERYTHING! She calls herself Jacie AhNeeni (AhRinna). She is learning to share, which is very difficult. She is use to everything being hers and doesn't like for anyone to touch anything near here- even if it is the salt shaker!! She sleeps really well 8:30-6:30.
She has finally attached really well to CJ and he is loving it!!! She gets so excited to see anyone she recognizes and greets them with a big hug. Needless to say, everyone is in love with her!
Thank you, God for adopting us into your family and giving us the most beautiful picture of adoption. What a privilege it is to see it lived out in our family.
She says: ready, set, go
one more time
one, two, three
all of our names
close your eyes
eat, night-night
I love you
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Fun, family day!
So, last night didn't go so well. She fell asleep at 8 pm, however woke up at midnight and did not go back to sleep until almost 6 am:( She woke up at 11:30 am. She was grieving off and on. Today, was very fun. CJ's parents were visiting and the McIntyres came over to meet her.
Thank you to each and every one of you that prayed for us along this journey! We are thrilled to be home together and having so much fun. Jacie misses her foster family, but loves her new siblings and plays so well with them. Today, she was speaking in Korean and CJ asked Tae what she said. He responded, "She said she thinks I am a knucklehead!" (He does NOT speak/understand any Korean!)
It is so much fun to watch her play with Charlie, Jerri Lynn and Tae. She lets them love on her and wants to take them all around the house with her!
Thank you to each and every one of you that prayed for us along this journey! We are thrilled to be home together and having so much fun. Jacie misses her foster family, but loves her new siblings and plays so well with them. Today, she was speaking in Korean and CJ asked Tae what she said. He responded, "She said she thinks I am a knucklehead!" (He does NOT speak/understand any Korean!)
It is so much fun to watch her play with Charlie, Jerri Lynn and Tae. She lets them love on her and wants to take them all around the house with her!
Friday, December 25, 2015
Finally Home!
WHOAH!!! I cannot begin to express how good home feels! After close to 40 hours of planes, trains and automobiles we are home for Christmas! Praises to the Lord for his provision and bringing our sweet AhRina home to us!!!
We woke up early and took turns going to breakfast. Then, we woke up AhRina and got her dressed. She was happy to leave and we got in the taxi. We were able to talk to the cab driver about Jesus and the Drop Box! He said he was a little sad that we were taking her to the US, but he has very thankful for us. We also got to share the gospel with another cab driver that stated he was Catholic and Buddist. He said he planned to get a Bible next year, I so wish we had Korean bibles and a copy of the Drop Box to give all of these precious Korean people!
We got to the airport and got checked in. The nice lady gave us a "Fast Pass" for customs which was great! We met 3 other adoptive families on our flight!! One of the families adopted a precious 5 year old little boy that was blind and autistic. Tears flowed as they shared their story of how God brought their son to them!
AhRin did great on the flight! She only slept 1 hour out of the 14, but played with all her things. She didn't get sad until we landed and that only lasted a moment. We had a layover in Detroit, so we cleared customs and headed to the lounge. We had 2 hours before our next flight. It was about 9 am. Our flight was delayed and hour, so we just waited. It kept getting pushed back further and further. Finally, we got a 4:00 departure time after waiting ALL day in the lounge. We boarded the plane and kept waiting and waiting and never left. Jacie fell asleep, finally! The crew kept saying, "It doesn't look good- we needed a pilot." They came on board and said, "We have called a pilot and he is on the way." Well, 1 1/2 hour later they said, "We are sorry- your flight is cancelled." CJ had been on the phone with Delta in the meantime and basically they said they couldn't get us home until the next day at 6 pm and then only to Nashville, not Huntsville.
CJ looked at the map and realized we are only 9 1/2 hours from home, so we decided to rent a car. Jacie was still asleep through all this! We got a car and rented a car seat and off we went! This was about 5:00 pm. We finally arrived at 1:30 am. Lots of friends texted and called to be sure we were awake throughout the drive! We stopped at McDonald's drive-thru and the car in front of us paid for our dinner. We just wanted to cry!!!
Jacie grieved in the car and I don't blame her- I wanted out too! I just held her and told her it was ok and I love her! She cried herself back to sleep.
When we got in the house, she was so excited to see Halmuni- Ree Ree. She loved playing in her room and exploring all her new toys. We finally went to sleep in her bed at 3:00 and woke up with Jerri Lynn smiling at us at 7:00 am on Christmas morning! What a gift! Thank you, Lord for my sweet family!
We woke up early and took turns going to breakfast. Then, we woke up AhRina and got her dressed. She was happy to leave and we got in the taxi. We were able to talk to the cab driver about Jesus and the Drop Box! He said he was a little sad that we were taking her to the US, but he has very thankful for us. We also got to share the gospel with another cab driver that stated he was Catholic and Buddist. He said he planned to get a Bible next year, I so wish we had Korean bibles and a copy of the Drop Box to give all of these precious Korean people!
We got to the airport and got checked in. The nice lady gave us a "Fast Pass" for customs which was great! We met 3 other adoptive families on our flight!! One of the families adopted a precious 5 year old little boy that was blind and autistic. Tears flowed as they shared their story of how God brought their son to them!
AhRin did great on the flight! She only slept 1 hour out of the 14, but played with all her things. She didn't get sad until we landed and that only lasted a moment. We had a layover in Detroit, so we cleared customs and headed to the lounge. We had 2 hours before our next flight. It was about 9 am. Our flight was delayed and hour, so we just waited. It kept getting pushed back further and further. Finally, we got a 4:00 departure time after waiting ALL day in the lounge. We boarded the plane and kept waiting and waiting and never left. Jacie fell asleep, finally! The crew kept saying, "It doesn't look good- we needed a pilot." They came on board and said, "We have called a pilot and he is on the way." Well, 1 1/2 hour later they said, "We are sorry- your flight is cancelled." CJ had been on the phone with Delta in the meantime and basically they said they couldn't get us home until the next day at 6 pm and then only to Nashville, not Huntsville.
CJ looked at the map and realized we are only 9 1/2 hours from home, so we decided to rent a car. Jacie was still asleep through all this! We got a car and rented a car seat and off we went! This was about 5:00 pm. We finally arrived at 1:30 am. Lots of friends texted and called to be sure we were awake throughout the drive! We stopped at McDonald's drive-thru and the car in front of us paid for our dinner. We just wanted to cry!!!
Jacie grieved in the car and I don't blame her- I wanted out too! I just held her and told her it was ok and I love her! She cried herself back to sleep.
When we got in the house, she was so excited to see Halmuni- Ree Ree. She loved playing in her room and exploring all her new toys. We finally went to sleep in her bed at 3:00 and woke up with Jerri Lynn smiling at us at 7:00 am on Christmas morning! What a gift! Thank you, Lord for my sweet family!
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Fun day at Lotte World!
We had a super fun day! AhRin went to bed at 2:00 am last night and slept until 9:30 when we woke her for breakfast. We went Lotte World and she was so excited and it was wonderful to see her so happy! She grieved a lot yesterday. We played for a long time and then went to Itaweon and then Namdemeun. She had so much fun- everyone loved her. She decided she likes riding on my back! Nice Korean people would just give her food. One man went and bought her a large bag of shrimp chips, then another gentleman as we were walking by- put a chip in her mouth! Another man gave her a bag of something yummy and the lady at the food shop gave her a donut!! They love children over here. We had so much fun playing in the cab. AhRin was poking Daddy with her fingers, saying "pokie, pokie, pokie!" It was so cute! She will tell people, "Hello" and "Thank you" , she also says my favorite- I love you and will give me bopos (kisses) freely!!! We went to the mall tonight to let her run around some more and now she is playing in the tub. She loves the water. We had a yummy traditional Korean meal. She loves bop (rice) and galbi! We are about to pack and get ready to go home. We have way more than what we come with! We are so excited to have our kids all together!!!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
GOTCHA!
After almost 800 days, we finally have our precious AhRina!!! We cannot explain our array of emotions. We arrived early at Eastern. We were supposed to take custody at 11:30 and we were so excited that we got there at 10:00. We were waiting and all of a sudden I heard her say, "Papa" and she came running in!!! We had her a really cute owl suitcase and she was sooo excited about it! The foster sister and mom brought her to us. We were able to play with them for about an hour before we had to say goodbye. AhRin played on the slide with foster sister and played a little with Papa while her foster mom and I went through all her belongings. She had new pajamas, toys and clothes, as well as her hanbok.
The time came and we had to get on the van and go to the embassy. The foster sister held her hand to lead her outside. She had to pick her up, because she didn't want to go outside and get in van:( CJ and I got in the van with another family and foster sis handed us AhRin. She protested and did not want to stay in the van. The foster sister was weeping uncontrollably and reaching for her. The foster mom had tears in her eyes, but was trying to be strong, so AhRin would not be so upset. They shut the door to the van and she held on to the window, crying Omma the whole 20 minute ride. She was not able to be consoled:( I sat there with her in my lap and prayed for peace for her little heart. The grief was immense for all.
As we got out of the van at the embassy, she let Papa- CJ hold her. She calls me Mommy and CJ- Papa!! It is pretty cute. Anyway, she did great at the embassy- running around and playing. We were there about 1 1/2 hours and she would tell the security guard that she needed to go outside, because her Omma was out there:(
We came to the hotel and opened her gifts. She was ok for a little while and then began to cry, so we went to dinner at the mall, which is in the basement of our hotel! She did great, laughing and playing. She would say "I-da-wa Papa" which means Come here Daddy!!!
We came back to the room, played in the tub for an hour and then she started to cry again. We put on one of her favorite cartoons- Robocar Poli!! She laid in the bed with us for hours and finally at 4 am fell asleep!!!!!!! So, we woke her at 9:30 am for breakfast. She would not eat anything this morning. So, we took her across the street to a convienence store and she picked out some of her favorite foods!
We came back to the hotel room and she got sad again, so we decided to go shopping in Itaweon. She loved that. We ate at a yummy restaurant, The Maple Tree.
Got in the cab to come back to hotel, with plans to go back to the mall. She fell asleep at 2:30pm and so we brought her to room. She slept until 8:30 pm! So, CJ and I slept as well!!!
Who knows what tonight will bring?? :) She is eating noodles right now with Papa!! I think she is ready for central time!!! Love you AhRina!!! This is fun!
The time came and we had to get on the van and go to the embassy. The foster sister held her hand to lead her outside. She had to pick her up, because she didn't want to go outside and get in van:( CJ and I got in the van with another family and foster sis handed us AhRin. She protested and did not want to stay in the van. The foster sister was weeping uncontrollably and reaching for her. The foster mom had tears in her eyes, but was trying to be strong, so AhRin would not be so upset. They shut the door to the van and she held on to the window, crying Omma the whole 20 minute ride. She was not able to be consoled:( I sat there with her in my lap and prayed for peace for her little heart. The grief was immense for all.
As we got out of the van at the embassy, she let Papa- CJ hold her. She calls me Mommy and CJ- Papa!! It is pretty cute. Anyway, she did great at the embassy- running around and playing. We were there about 1 1/2 hours and she would tell the security guard that she needed to go outside, because her Omma was out there:(
We came to the hotel and opened her gifts. She was ok for a little while and then began to cry, so we went to dinner at the mall, which is in the basement of our hotel! She did great, laughing and playing. She would say "I-da-wa Papa" which means Come here Daddy!!!
We came back to the room, played in the tub for an hour and then she started to cry again. We put on one of her favorite cartoons- Robocar Poli!! She laid in the bed with us for hours and finally at 4 am fell asleep!!!!!!! So, we woke her at 9:30 am for breakfast. She would not eat anything this morning. So, we took her across the street to a convienence store and she picked out some of her favorite foods!
We came back to the hotel room and she got sad again, so we decided to go shopping in Itaweon. She loved that. We ate at a yummy restaurant, The Maple Tree.
Got in the cab to come back to hotel, with plans to go back to the mall. She fell asleep at 2:30pm and so we brought her to room. She slept until 8:30 pm! So, CJ and I slept as well!!!
Who knows what tonight will bring?? :) She is eating noodles right now with Papa!! I think she is ready for central time!!! Love you AhRina!!! This is fun!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Made it to Seoul!
It is 8:15 pm here and we cannot believe that in a few short ours, we will have our AhRin forever!!! We can't imagine the grief she and the foster family will experience being separated after being together for 3 1/2 years. We are praying that God will ease this transition and she will feel secure in our love.
When we checked into the hotel, our bell hop asked where we were from: we replied, "Alabama." He said, "I went to school in Alabama!" Turns out he lived in Madison, graduated from Bob Jones and studied engineering at UAH!!!!! He said he was just there 2 months ago!!! So fun!!!
Gotta go sleep! So excited!!!
When we checked into the hotel, our bell hop asked where we were from: we replied, "Alabama." He said, "I went to school in Alabama!" Turns out he lived in Madison, graduated from Bob Jones and studied engineering at UAH!!!!! He said he was just there 2 months ago!!! So fun!!!
Gotta go sleep! So excited!!!
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