Sunday, September 4, 2011

Forever Family Day

Our second meeting with Joshua and his foster mother wasn't until 3pm on Friday so we decided to go to Seoul Tower that morning before the meeting. There is a tradition of couples going up to Seoul Tower and placing a lock together to symbolize their endless love. Among adoptive families it has now become somewhat of a tradition to place a lock at Seoul Tower as a symbol of their endless love for their child. I was so happy that John and I were able to do this on our actual Family Day.


The time finally came and we had our meeting with Joshua's foster mom. She and I were both crying almost the entire time. She left for a bit to see how Joshua would do without her. We ended up rocking him to sleep with John singing and me holding him on my shoulder.


Then the time came. We all gathered around and Dr. Kim prayed over both the children (there was one other family with us) and their foster families. Here is the English translation of the prayer:

Precious life, one of our many country’s saviors, we send away this life to a foreign country with scarred memories of his homeland.

Please forgive our sins and allow Korea to be a better country so that we will adopt children [someday] from other countries instead of us always sending ours away.

We send this child for care, so please protect his life.
And make it so that he can lead a happy life in his new home.

Please always provide him with grace and intelligence and lead him to live by the rules of Jesus Christ, To have all good fortunes, to help benefit others, and to return the glory to our Lord.

It is our sincere wish that this life will not forget his home country and the love of the people who took care of him.

Father, please remember all the foster families who work hard, whether in favorable or unfavorable conditions, to protect these lives. And bless them for the benefits they are provided with.

By Your blessings, this adoptive family will be full of love and under Your protection.

Now this child leaves. Please make his way as easy as possible and lead him to the most pleasant of lives.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.


After the ceremony, his foster mother took a few more moments with JoonSeo and then placed him in John's arms. I hugged her and gave her the flowers we bought for her. She then hid in the office while we walked upstairs to our room in the guest house.

Here are a first pictures with our boy:











Later that night we joined some of the other families in the kitchen and let the kids play together. This is when we got to see a bit of JoonSeo's personality, what one of the other families called "hurricane Joshua."









I still can't believe he is finally in my arms. I really never thought we would ever get to bring him home. I was sure something would happen to cause the whole thing to fall apart. For those of you waiting, know that those feelings are not real. Our children really do come home!

I can't get over how blessed I am to be a mom to such an amazing little boy.

15 comments:

Niki said...

Aaaaaand more tears.
I love the picture with the ball in his mouth. That's adorable!

I was so grieved the day we brought Emma home. I was heartbroken for her birth family. I cried probably harder than I have cried in my life (and after infertility and loss, that is saying something).

I'm so happy your boy is home!

A said...

wow, that prayer is AMAZINGLY touching!! praying for you as you begin life as a family of three!b

Wendi Kitsteiner said...

I understand the feeling that they will never get here! they do!

I hope you are prepared to post a lot!!! I'll go thru withdrawl w/o updates!!!

Joanna said...

So, so very happy for you!!! Thrilled that you have your son in your arms now! HUGS!!!

everythingismeowsome said...

I am just so happy for you.

Chrissie said...

Just wanted to send congratulations and thanks for the reminder that the adoption process will have a happy ending...I needed that hope today! Blessing to you!!

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful story and he is such a handsome boy! We are so happy for you and we keep praying for the 3 of you! Can't wait to meet him!

Michelle

Deni said...

Awesome!!!!! So happy for yall!!!

GrandmaDe said...

What an experience for all of you. Maybe you will be able to keep in touch with the foster mom - but that may just make things more difficult for her . . .
The prayer was beautiful - how can anyone pray that without tears?
My newest grandmotherly advice - nap when he naps!! Hurricane Joshua has more energy than the two of you combined :)

Hugs to all of you
De

Buttercup said...

What an adorable child! Blessings and good wishes.

Elizabeth Price said...

AMEN! What a beautiful prayer to start your life together! PEACE & BLESSINGS on you and your little hurricane. :-)

hannah kv said...

Becky,
What an amazing sight. Thank you for sharing the photos- it's a prayer come true!! Much love as you start your new life with Joshua.
Hannah

Rachel said...

So beautiful! Love the pictures of you and your gorgeous boy! I'm so glad he is home with you at last.

We call our youngest "Little Hurricane" as well - he sure does keep me on my toes! So much fun though.

Congratulations!

Courtney said...

Best post ever :)!! He is adorable, and I can't wait to hear more about his little personality in future posts!!

Stacey said...

That prayer brought tears to my eyes. I am so happy for you, Becky! I know there must be a flood of all kinds of emotions for all kinds of reasons. Praying for you three and for Joshua's foster parents as you all make this transition.

LOVE all of the precious pictures!!