Receiving Day

**April 21, 2011**

Thursday

After rushing to SWS, we rode the elevator up to the 7th floor. We went inside and sat down. Cora and her fostermother were taking care of the pre-flight check-up so I felt much better that they weren't just sitting there waiting for us.

I'm sure she was wondering why she was seeing us again.

I was starting to get a little nervous, knowing what was coming, and how hard this was going to be on this little precious girl.

I just wanted to get her home...home to her brother and sisters, home to her forever family, and home to a life full of hopes and dreams. I knew the obstacles and trials of attaching and bonding, but I was ready to face them head on. I wanted to start our journey together. Knowing full well that this was going to be a another loss that she would deal with for a lifetime.

While they finished up all their paperwork, we went to the children's hospital at SWS. There were lots and lots of little babies in there. It's such a heartbreaking scene. Knowing there are so many children who are waiting for their mommy or daddy to come get them...to offer them a forever family to call their own.

The front room is where the wee little ones are and the back room is for babies that are 3 months and older. You can no idea how I just wanted to scoop each of them up. And you have no idea how emotional I am getting just looking at this picture again. Not only for the babies in there...but also just knowing that 3 of my children started their life out this way.

This is the mural in the hallway. It was the perfect reminder I needed of why SWS exists and that God has a plan for these childrens' lives. "Plans to prosper and not to harm"... That He knows their every desire and holds each of their tears in His hand. That He loves them dearly.

Once back up on the 7th floor, we spent some time getting re-aquainted with our sweet Jihee. Once it was time to go, we were escorted to the elevators...and the rest of the story...well, as much as I want to share it, I've decided that I need to save it for Cora to hear first.

Just know that it was hard...incredibly hard, that lots of tears fell, and lots of hearts were broken.

*sigh* It's still hard to relive even a year later.



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Once we left SWS, we walked back to the hotel to start our journey...the journey that would bring us back to the US where we would become a family of 6.

Looking at this video now, I can see the emotional toll from the last hour on my face. I think I may just be in a little state of shock that this day has finally come.

The more time we spent getting to know her those first few hours, both Jason and I fell madly in love with her.

And one last video...just cause she is so crazy cute...

The day went relatively well, all things considered. We decided that for supper, we needed to get out of the hotel for a bit. Cora was stuck in a small room with complete strangers, her fosterfamily no where in sight, and nothing familiar to be heard. We felt that we should take her out to relieve some of the pressure. Familiar sights, smells, and sounds can do wonders for a diversion.

We took the subway to the Techno Mart Food Court. This food court is located in the basement and has stalls and stalls of food. It was so delicious. Jason got some awesome melon flavored ice cream with fruit (well, I think it was made from soy milk or something) for dessert. It had shaved ice at the bottom with sweetened red bean paste. Yes, it really was this big. It was a great way to celebrate our day.

We headed back to the hotel and bunkered down for what would be our last night in Seoul. We would need to be up bright and early the next morning to get packed up and on our way to the airport.