When we got back to our hotel, we saw some friends in the lobby. They were leaving with their daughter. Heading home to the East Coast. Great news for them, their family would finally be together.
We went to our room and started getting to know our new daughter. She was small and so brave.
She still did not cry. We shared mini m&ms; she would feed us and we would feed her. We had sent them to her in her care packages and she seemed to remember and like them. We kept Pororo playing on Grandma Harts IPad; though she didn't stop to watch it much, it was comforting background noise.
Alyvia let daddy read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" to her and she took the book and "read" her version to him. That was a very adorable moment that first late afternoon.
Alyvia was willing to eat some Jook from us. A friend had recommended it from the the local quick mart and she ate enough to keep us from fearing an empty tummy for her. She would eat some puffs and seaweed. She also enjoyed the snacks her foster mom sent for her including grape yogurt.
Our beautiful new daughter has a.mazing fine motor skills. She colored with us the first night and held her crayon the way teachers insist with both hands. Impressive.
Alyvia LOVES shoes. She loves to wear non-matching shoes. That will be fun.
We stayed close to our hotel the first night. We went to the roof top and walked and talked for about an hour. It was tranquil and empty and beautiful. Alyvia rode in the carrier on my front. She stayed pretty alert. For us . . . this night was a million prayers answered and a dream come true. For Hui-mang, it was a night of grief and confusion. Adoption is beautiful restoration but it is born of much heartache and loss.
Alyvia slept well (though tossing and turning) between us the first night. She didn't cry out. She continued to be her brave little self.
We stopped at the playroom to Skype with the bigs. The loved, loved, loved seeing their new sister.
And she was happy to show her cute self to them.
We hadn't planned to do anything outside of the hotel on Friday, but Lyv's foster mom said she loves to be on the go and she loves people. And since she continued to be calm, we were able to hit Insadong to pick up a few last minute purchases on Friday morning. Alyvia rode well on my back in the carrier for the two hour shopping stroll. We were able to get the last few things we needed from Korea + one last cup of Korean Starbucks. =) It was a very enjoyable morning with our new wonderful daughter.
Alyvia napped well on the couch in the afternoon. She cried silently while she slept and woke up with tear-stained cheeks and a tear-soaked spot beneath her eyes. Our poor baby was missing her foster family. We were glad she was grieving (it needed to be done) but sad for her broken heart. We prayed again (as we had for months in advance) that God would heal her broken heart and that His Spirit would comfort her as only He could.
Alyvia's outward grieving in Korea took the form of hyperactivity. Her Foster Omma had said she was "busy" but this crazy, hyper activity went WAY beyond "busy". Our girl's life had just been turned upside down and she displayed her confusion and sadness by acting pretty wild. We saw this extreme hyperactivity many times in Korea and on our trip home but not ever after that. She has grieved in other ways but this was the most extreme grief and loss behavior we have seen from our brave girliekins. Just sharing that in case it helps someone else prepare for their time of transition. Grief can take many forms and all of them are sad to see. =.(
Our friends, Merilee and Mylinda, went beyond the call of duty and hand-delivered our Family Day photos on disc to us. They had such a busy day with work but came out of their way to be sure we had our pictures before we left for America. They really wanted to see Lyv, too. And we were glad she was well enough to receive her first American visitors in Seoul even. =)
We grabbed a sandwich at subway for dinner. Alyvia sat on my back for most of the time. It was at this meal that we learned ALYVIA LOVES CHIPS. =) How fun is that????
It was dark by now but we took advantage of the lovely evening and took one last relaxing stroll down Insadong. It was busy, bustling as much as ever in the daylight. But we walked slowly, knowing that this would be Lyv's last walk in Sweet Seoul for a very long time. We took in the smell of traditional foods being sold in the countless restaurants and by vendors on the street. We awed again at the beauty of the Korean people, the familial love and variety of features represented in each stunning face.
It was a lover's stroll of sorts, surreal emotions running through. But tonight--Friday night, September 14, 2012-- this love was not simply the love of a man and a woman . . . a husband and wife . . . it was the fresh, young love of a man and a woman . . . a father and mother . . . for their long awaited daughter. And it was good. very good.
We got back to our room and braved a first tub bath which went pretty well as Lyv's foster omma said it usually did. Then we finished the last of the packing. Alyvia was not ready to sleep yet so we went atop Somerset one last time and enjoyed a peaceful walk.
Eventually, our girl fell asleep and we had our wake up call set to come at 5AM.
We prayed for a good (albeit short) night's sleep and hit the hay. Tomorrow was slated to be a huge day and we needed all the rest we could get.
Simply grateful for the gift of another beautiful daughter and for being amazingly graced during our first hours together.
