Our First Day in Seoul

We have arrived!

We had a fairly easy day of travel and were so thankful for the incredible service on Thai Airways.  The boys were able to play games, listen to music and watch free movies on their "private screens."  Needless to say, it really helped the hours to pass!  Mike and the boys wrote letters to Hailey in my adoption journal and each letter was so precious.

We all actually stayed awake until the bus ride into the Seoul (at 3 am our time).  By that time, our eyes were heavy and it was almost impossible to stay awake.

The guest house is a wonderful set up for adopting families.  There are seven rooms available for families on the top floors of the Social Welfare Services offices.  Our apartment has two bedrooms, a small kitchen and living area.  We didn't sleep well last night, but were excited to wake up to our first day in Seoul!  Look what we have in our bedroom...

We spent the day walking throughout the city, where we were captivated by the contrast of old and new.  Seoul is filled with ancient palaces, "hanoks" (traditional Korean homes) and modern skyscrapers.  We learned that Seoul is the fourth largest city in the world and it definitely feels like it.  It is humongous!  Seoul reminds me a little bit of Hawaii, especially since it is hot and humid during this season.  The city is cradled in mountains, surrounded by water and it's extremely lush and green. We are loving it!

Tomorrow we will meet with our social worker here in the Social Welfare Services offices.  She will escort us to Hailey's foster family's home.  We will be bringing gifts to express our gratitude, along with a long list of questions!  I really can't believe that we'll finally meet our long awaited daughter tomorrow.  We'll take custody of Hailey later in the week and are waiting for further details from our social worker.

As I sat on our Thai Airways plane for twelve and a half hours, I was blessed to re-read my adoption journals.  I was overwhelmed as I read the miracles, heart-aches, joys and answers to prayer that we have experienced along this road.  There have been moments of total frustration, confusion and anger.  There have also been unbelievable miracles, truly the evidence of a God who defends orphans and places the lonely in families.  As I re-read the stories, I was reminded again of the incredible support that we have received from family members, friends and even strangers these past five years.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of our journey!