The Journey to Katelyn: Picking Up The Pieces.

It's been awhile ~ I'm sorry ~ the last post on this blog left a bad taste in my mouth. Because it came from my mouth. I am blessed to be this child's mother. It was not her choice to be my child and I am so lucky that I was chosen! And I love her so much. It's different than my bio kids because that love had to grow ~ it didn't come just because the papers were signed. I want to continue the story that I started....

After the first meeting, our social worker concluded that all had not gone very well and suggested to Kate's foster Mom that we come to her house and stay a bit so that Katie could get used to us and feel a bit more comfortable. FM agreed and arraignments were made for the following day. We were a bit shell-shocked that this little girl didn't even look at us, not to mention play with us or let us hold her and we talked about ways we could entice her a bit at our next meeting. We were exhausted and emotionally spent at this point in the trip and we decided that we'd wait and see what the next day brought and we prayed that we'd make some progress with our new daughter.

We took the bus to the FM house and rode the elevator up eight floors to a tiny two bedroom apartment that was brightly lit, comfortable and scattered with play things for Katie. A sign to me that she was well cared for and loved. FM had made an extra effort to set out the thing we had previously sent. She also prepared a small, traditional Korean celebratory meal for us with special rice cakes, Asian pears (my hubs ate nearly all of them and the FM loved that so much that she bought him another on our way to the bus stop), small candies and juice. I was so touched by her efforts to make us feel welcome. My heart ached that the next day she would hand over the baby that she had doted on and raised for the last 14 months. I cannot begin to understand that kind of love. I am truly forever grateful that she gave Kate a running start in life! We had also purchased small gifts for FM and her family and had brought them with us. I had chosen a special necklace with a heart shaped charm for her. We gave the family American treats and coffee and a few pictures of our family to keep. She gave us most of Kate's things, a few gifts from her family to Kate, the PJ's Kate wore home from the hospital and a hand written letter for Katie to read that included a prayer and hopes for her future. I love these items and I will treasure them forever. My girl is so lucky to have two women in Korea that love her enough to let her come home with me! I hope one day to re-meet FM and maybe even Kate's birth mom.

Kate allowed me to feed her a bottle and hammed it up for us while we were in her "space". She smiled at Brian a lot and nibbled on the treats. After a few hours, it was time for us to go and FM bundled her up in a sling and walked us to the bus stop. Kate fell asleep before we left and I watched her; all snuggled up to the women she knew as "Halmoni" or "Grandma", so content and completely unaware of what was to take place the next day.....