T minus 1 day!

I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow for Korea!  After the craziness of the last several weeks (and life in general!) I've dusted off the 'ole blog (it's been TWO YEARS since my last post!) and warming it up for the what will be an amazing trip filled with tons of food, lots of laughter, plenty of photographs, (as well as selfies!) and most importantly, work for The Clover House Project. 

I'm honored to be part of this wonderful project and give back to the country of my birth that I love so dearly, and help support unwed mothers in their uphill battle of raising their children on their own...

So I hope you'll follow along our journey as we navigate Seoul as two non Korean speaking, food loving, photograph taking, fun loving adoptees!

No nap.

This is what happens when your two year old doesn't nap!

It all starts out fine...

{wearing jammies she picked out herself}

when you let her outside to stop the fussiness...

{it was even raining a bit and she insisted no one else come out with her}

and she makes smushy faces on the door...

{that I just cleaned by the way, guess I'll be doing that again soon}

but then the tears come...

{because it started raining too hard}

and then the laughter...

{because I tickled her to stop the crying}

till finally, she falls asleep during dinner...

{guess my taco baked potato wasn't very interesting}

Though I'll admit having her in bed since 6pm was a nice break this evening...

for both parents and older kiddos...

{she's a spitfire!}

as long as she doesn't wake up at 3am!

{fingers crossed}

saengil chukha hae Hui-a!

Two years ago today, 

at 7:50pm in Daejeon City, South Korea, 

a 7lb 5oz baby girl named Hui-a (which means joyful pretty) was born.  

For 15 days, she was cared for by her birth mother.

Because of circumstances we may never know or understand, she was then given up for adoption.

On May 4, 2011, she found her forever family.

She would spend the first 20 months of her life in two different loving foster homes,

and celebrate her first birthday with other children waiting for their families.

Three months ago, she finally made it home. 

And we are so happy to be celebrating the first two years of her life with her here in our arms!

She was beyond thrilled to see her birthday present after church today!

 

And big sister had no problem trying it out as well.

And helping mommy make one of Hui-a's favorites, yakimandu (and really Zoey's favorite)!

Hmmm!  Happily chowing down on some of yumminess!

Mandu, bulgogi, bap and fish cake!

There's nothing better than Pororo on the iPad while you're cruising in a pink car.

Except for maybe cake...

with candles.

That you get to blow out!

And then eat!

She happily shared.

Zoey turns four at the end of the month and we decided to have one big party this year, so that's to come, but I must say, it was a great day just the five of us being together!

To Hui-a's foster mothers..thank you for allowing this sweet girl to thrive and grow and learn and be loved...without you, she would not be the incredibly amazing two year old she is today. (and I promise to send lots of pictures soon!)

And to her birth mother...simply...

Thank you.

Saengil chukha hae Hui-a!

3 months home!

I'm happy to report Miss Hui-a is settling in and enjoying life after stepping off a plane from Korea just three months ago!

She loves her some toys and babies!

Is sleeping thru the night and crazy addicted to her bottle!

Full of life and energy, and still refusing to speak any sort of English!

Has started to give unsolicited kisses and hugs as well throwing down some serious temper tantrums!

She now loves to cuddle with both mommy and daddy, but still sneaking in some pinching and scratching on her poor unsuspecting sister (who I actually think has had the rougher time)! 

Swims like a fish and loves the outdoors, and has had a lots of timeouts for trying to ride the dogs like ponies...including the 8lb mini dachshund!

Loves her some Texas insects and always more interested in pointing one out then smiling for the camera!

Continues to only answer to her Korean name, and still eating lots of Korean food!

I can guarantee you it's been a lot of craziness, adjustment and hard work, (and still is!) but it seems as though she's been here all along...

right where she belongs. :)

2 months home!

2 months ago, Emersyn, my brother and I, were stepping off the plane from Korea and had a welcome party ready to greet us!

While I'm sure they were all happy to see my brother and I, they were really there to meet this cutie!

Love this moment as she takes it all in!

(and how dirty her hair was after the many hours of traveling!)

We have such a loving and supportive group of family and friends!

Which is why I believe that Emersyn continues to do well and she could not be loved more!

2 months in, she still only responds to Hui-a, still only parrots a few words in English, sleeps thru the night, loves swimming, still enjoys bath time, loves being outside, still eating lots of Korean food, but finally starting to like more Americanized meals, loves the dogs (calls all three of them 'hiloh', also known as Shiloh!), enjoys toys and car rides, addicted to her bottle (now filled with lactose free milk!), likes to pick on her brother and sister, enjoys screaming at the top of her lungs, likes to have her hair fixed, has a slight shoe addiction, calls both me and my husband, mama, and both my mom and dad, papa, unfortunately likes to hit and scratch, but gives unsolicited kisses and hugs, and seems to genuinely enjoy life...

We are blessed to have her and while it's only been two months, it seems as though she's been here all along!

And just for fun...

our first moment being united as a family of five!

The week in pictures.

Pre-school graduation!

Swimming,

swimming,

swimming,

and more swimming!

1st grade graduation!

 

Hugs for big brother!

Another attempt at operation 'get all kids to look at camera and smile'

The sisters taking pics of each other!  Zoey took this one!

Emersyn took this one!

After our first day of all three kids home, I can tell you it's going to be a looooooong summer!!  I love having them all home, don't get me wrong, but boy is there a lot more fighting and complaining of boredom around here!  Most days I think you'll be able to find us out at the pool or in an air conditioned library. :)

So let me ask, what are you doing with your kids this summer????