The Science Center

St Louis has an amazing Science Center. Sadly it took us 4 years to visit. I guess that's par for the course. We left many things "on the table" when we left Denver.

Benny loved the dinosaurs (life sized and moving) as well as the aircraft/space exhibits. Everlie loved to sleep.

Everlie's foster family gave us a traditional Korean dress for her first birthday. They were kind enough to film her while trying it on. They also sent us a video on how to tie the belt. She is quite beautiful in it...don't you think?

This morning Geri made breakfast and propped up the kiddos to look at the snow, squirrels and trees.

Benny's riveting phone conversation

A nice thing about another baby is that old, forgotten toys come out of retirement. Benny is finally reunited with his old phone.

Can this girl eat! Formula, rice cereal, Cheerios, Gerber jars of assorted food. Day and night. Yes, even a strand of her Mama's hair...do not ask specifics. Only know this was confirmed.

This first week, we are simply observing her mannerisms and personality. She is very observant and likes to know what is going on around her. She smiles and laughs when you make sounds. She is ticklish on her ribs and tummy. She loves dangling from Geri in the Baby Bjorn. She still closes her eyes and cringes when I try to give her a smack on the lips (that's ok. I'm used to that dramatic reaction). Evidently she likes to tinkle when we take off her diapers. This has happened twice at night during diaper changes (2 different beds), and last night all over my jeans and shirt as I was about to put her in the bath with Geri.

Today is extremely icy, and I am thankful we are all "buttoned up" at home. Cold outside and warm inside always makes for a good combination. Don't you think?
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For some perspective, I wanted to post this picture of Benny. He was Everlie's age when this was taken. We certainly have beautiful children. People might quickly realize that our kids are adopted (at least when I walk in the room, and they put 2 and 2 together), but my heart makes no distinction as to their genetics. I look at them and love them. Nothing more, nothing less.

First Bath With Benny

Ahhh...these were the good times. Daddy and daughter finally "home". Home being room 1506 at the Seokyo Hotel. She was having a blast and smiling (ie: this picture), until she started looking around for (am am sure) Mrs. Go. She looked at me and started bawling...like mother like daughter (that was a joke). Everlie finally got settled, and we both slumbered off until morning. The plane ride wasn't exactly a breeze, but she did exceptionally well. Many thanks to the KAL flight attendents and crew. At one point, she had 5 hovering around competing for her attention.

감사합니다

These pictures were of when I was leaving Holt with Everlie. Everlie's foster family was gracious enough to offer me a ride back to the hotel. The first picture is of Ms. Lee watching as we were leaving. She did much legwork during the adoption process. The last pictures are of her foster family (mother, father, daughter), along with a friend who translated for us.

Home At Last

Thank you Kelly, Aaron, Grace and Jonah! We landed safe and sound yesterday afternoon, and Kelly did a wonderful job taking these pictures. After a somewhat sleepless night for Everlie...consequently everyone else, we finally went to sleep at 3 a.m.

Everlie is adjusting wonderfully, and seems to love the plentiful attention from Benny...who keeps showing her how the siren works on his new Korean toy car.

Through it all, we must thank Mr. Shin and Mrs. Go who took care of Everlie from July 3rd until Valentines Day. They are wonderful Christians, who attend a small (22 member) Baptist church in Seoul. Their main prayers were that Everlie was healthy and her family was Christian. Those prayers are answered.

Seeing the city

Here are April and Jasmine. They were my Holt volunteer guides, and are some of Seoul's best ambassadors. We are at the gates of the Korean Folk Village. At the village there were traditional games you could play. One such game involved throwing 3 multi-sided sticks, with writing on them. Depending on how they landed, a wall chart would reveal your fortune for the year. Based on my throw, I would be in trouble, a good friend would help me solve my trouble, and I would have a wonderful year after that. We then tried the Korean version of washers. It is played with blunt arrows that you try to throw into rings elevated off the ground. Needless to say, we were all bad shots.