Pleased to meet you, Mia!

Tuesday morning Carrie and I awoke not sure what we would do today.  We had not yet heard a confirmed schedule for meeting Mia and her foster mother.  We called the adoption agency at 8am and they asked us to call back in 1 hour.  So we decided to go out for breakfast and then call from our rented cell phone.  But as we left our room we found an envelope taped to our door.  It was a message from our social worker, we were to meet her at 9 to go see Mia!  Rather than emailing, or Tweeting, or blogging or even calling, we were notified the old fashioned way, by letter, probably sent by currier pigeon or pony express.

So our day began to take shape quickly.  Having gone through this process before we had some idea of what to expect.  Mia lives about 30 minutes from Seoul in an apartment complex much like her brother Ty did.  As we pulled up to the building we were surprised to see Mrs. Kim and Mia waiting for us outside.  That didn't happen with Ty in January with a foot of snow on the ground.

Mia greeted us with a big smile.  She was in a good mood and very active.  We can see she will be a handful.  She crawls very fast and can pull herself up and stand when holding onto something.  We are told she has not taken any steps yet.  We are looking forward to seeing that first step soon.  She was not shy about introducing herself.  She crawled right up into my lap and didn't mind us holding her.  It sounds like she likes to be held a lot.  She is a very happy baby as long as she gets what she wants.  We are told she cries mostly at night before bed and when she can't have something she wants.  So we are expecting a lot of crying at first.


Carrie says she looks taller than she was expecting, but I actually had the opposite impression.  She is so little, but quite chubby and soft, a lot of fun to hold and hug.  She babbled a little for us and said "bye, bye!"  Apparently she knows three words: Omma (mommy), Appa (daddy), and Bye.  I guess "bye" is the first English word she has learned.  She doesn't know it yet, but she is about to say bye to the world as she knows it.  We are praying that God gives us grace to help her through this tough transition.  We know He planned for this day long before we could have ever imagined it.  Today we were able to touch and hold a very important part of that plan.  It is becoming a reality and we are so thankful.  Thank you Lord, she's a beautiful gift!

The following picture is for our son Ty.  Look bud, Korean fire trucks!