Everything I Know, I Learned from a 5 Year Old

Its been an exciting week. The travel call, the whirlwind of travel arrangements, emails, faxes, multiple trips to Target, cleaning house, arranging for dog-sitter, kid-sitters, packing, unpacking, packing again. We've been blessed with so many emails and phone calls from all of you - our very supportive friends and family. We've been reading tour books, planning our wardrobe and wondering if anyone has cut Alex's hair yet. In the midst of all this, today I was having a simple conversation with my niece, Grace (Age 5). She was asking me about how we'd drive around in Seoul if we were leaving our car here. After a long explanation about trains and taxi-cabs, she very casually added... "and it will be the first time Alex will have a family".

A family... oh, yeah, thats right. Good for you, Grace. You have helped to remind us that in the midst of what seems to be the craziest week ever, we are going to be a family for little Alex. Thats what this is all about. So, who cares if I forget to pack that pair of socks - we'll make do- as a family. Thanks, Grace.

The Details

Here's the scoop... we will leave on Sunday, Aug. 2nd at noon and return on Sunday, Aug. 9th at 4:30pm. Due to the time difference, we will not arrive in Seoul until 10:15 pm on Monday, Aug. 3rd. Heres the best part... we will be able to meet Alex for the first time on Tuesday, at 4pm (which is 2am in NE). We'll spend awhile with him, his foster mom and the social worker at Holt and then they will turn us loose on the streets of Seoul for 2 days. (watch out!). We will be able to have Alex in our arms forever on Friday at 3pm (which is 1am in NE).

If we are on the ball, you should have blog updates from us each morning when you wake up to let you know what we are up to. Of course, we might be out eating oooodles of Kimchee (just for you, Laura) and be late with our entries. We will try to post the photos, at the very least.

We will be staying in a hotel in Seoul because the Holt guesthouse is full. Its a little disappointing, but the hotel is very nice with lots of amenities. Sounds like its in an area of town with lots to do.

Thats it for now!

We are Outta Here!

We received our call this morning at 9:38 am... its unreal to think that we will be able to meet our baby in less than a week. We are relieved, excited, anxious, and soooo happy. We'll update you soon on our travel arrangements. We hope to leave this weekend! Alex, here we come!

Won't Be Long Now

I just talked to the office that issues Visas and such, and the woman on the other end said "Congratulations!" Alexander's Visa has been issued! So now its just a matter of a few days (hopefully) before we get a call telling us its OK to travel. Whew! As far as big government offices go, this one was very pleasant to interact with - the woman was so nice and talked about how cute our baby is (every Mom likes to hear this, right?). Next stop.... Korea.

Rock Star

In keeping with Alexander's long, handsome hairdo, we got him a little shirt to wear. So, while we wait, lets just envision how totally cute he will look in this little number! (no word, yet).