While we Wait

 "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:30-31

Joshua's "Famliy Picther" with Ling Jun

In the adoption process, there is a lot of waiting!  Whenever we're not filling out the next set of paperwork or heading to FedEx to mail it, we're waiting.  The wait is one of the hardest parts of the process but it gets especially difficult once you know who your child is and your heart longs to meet them and bring them home.  The wait is challenging as well for older siblings.  But, while we wait, we are able to prepare in many ways as well.  Nathan, Brooke, and Joshua have each been preparing; praying for their little sister, learning about thalassemia, drawing pictures, journaling, writing notes, researching, and learning, even writing a few words in Mandarin.  Here are a few things Joshua, our 7 year old, has done while he waits.

 "Looking Back on 2017 and 

Looking Ahead to 2018"

 One Happy Moment from 2017..."when I went to Desten Florda"

 Two things I like about myself: "I am... gowin to Cinan and I am from Korea"

For my family, I will... "clen the tolits"

Oh the places I'll go!  In 2018 I want to go to... "Cina"

  For another school project, Joshua was able to choose a country to research.  He couldn't decide between China and South Korea, so he asked to research both!

A note from Joshua to introduce himself...





 





...and the first page of his journal.







I love that the first sentence is "We got ecspdid."  (Expedited!!!)  That's our latest news!  We, and many of you, have joined us in praying that we would be expedited so that we can bring LingJun home sooner in order to get her great medical care.  Our dossier was sent on a Friday, arrived either Tuesday or Wednesday, was logged into their system on Wednesday, went through translation and multiple reviews and was completely approved on Friday.  Three days when it typically takes 6 to 8 weeks!  This was quicker than we knew was possible even with an expedite!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!"  Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:20-21 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.  Our Lord is able to do more than we can imagine, immeasurably more!  Sometimes it may take much longer than a few days, and it may not always be in the way we think or desire at the time.  But, I am amazed again and again as I watch what God does in my life and the lives of others because of his power at work in us.  To him be the glory in Christ Jesus forever and ever!  We have a few more steps to go through in the paperwork/waiting process.  We are waiting for another step to be completed by USCIS, and we are waiting for passports while working on our visa applications.  We will continue to pray for these steps and the Lord's timing.  But, our bigger prayer is that God would prepare each of our hearts for LingJun to join our family and that He would prepare her for this huge adjustment and time of grieving all that she's known as she becomes a part of our family forever.  We are praying for the Lord's grace and his protection on her little body and spirit, that she would soon feel our love and be able to develop a healthy attachment to us and ultimately learn of God's great love for her that she may follow him and be adopted into his truly forever family!   To God be the glory!

DTC!!!

 
In the China adoption world, that means Dossier To China!  This is an important step, and we’ve been working toward this and waiting for it for a long time.  There are a couple of different processes that can occur in different orders when adopting from China.  Some families send their dossier to China, and then it’s reviewed and accepted, and then later on they are matched with a child.  Since we chose a special focus child, who has medical needs and is older, we got preliminary approval to adopt her earlier in our process.  Now that we have all the paperwork needed for our entire dossier, it has been sent to China for them to review thoroughly and then officially grant our acceptance. 

Another step of the process, on the U.S. side, is the I800a and then later, the I800.  One of our kids asked, with sincerity, “Is that because it’s 800 pages?”  It’s not, but sometimes it has seemed like we’re getting close to 800 as we’ve prepared our dossier!  We have over 165 emails in our adoption email folder and 98 adoption files saved (and growing!).  This is, hopefully, at least most or all of the important ones.  In the beginning of the process, I kept a log of each step we completed, but after a couple of pages, we just did it and didn’t take the additional time to document every step of the way.  I think we’ve gotten 11 background checks/clearances between the two of us since we needed one from every state we’ve lived in as well as letters from our local police/sheriff’s office.  Those were in addition to getting fingerprinted (two times each).  One of our fingerprinting appointments was scheduled early in the morning in Des Moines.  It happened to be a couple of days before our anniversary, so we turned it into an overnight get-away to celebrate 16 years of marriage and get one step closer to bringing our little one home!  We’ve also had multiple documents notarized, made numerous photocopies, and answered over 1,250 questions.  Some were true/false for our psychological inventory, others were about a long list of potential medical needs, and others were more like essays.  This gives a little idea of what we’ve been doing in our spare time these last few months.  But, no matter how much paper work, how many phone calls, emails, or questions, we’d do it all again so we can bring our little girl home!


So, what’s next?  We wait some more, and fill out our next forms so they’re ready when we get approval from China.  The wait is so much harder once we know who are child is. This was the case for Joshua, and now for our daughter as well.  But, I also love that we know more about her and are able to pray more specifically for her while we wait.  And this time around, since our other kids are older, I love hearing and seeing their hearts as they pray for their little sister and wait expectantly for God to answer.  We’d love for you to be praying with us!  We have submitted a request for a medical expedite.  Since our daughter has thalassemia and needs regular blood transfusions as well as medication, the sooner we bring her home and she starts receiving the medical care she needs, the better.  In China, children with thalassemia often get so anemic that they are unable to play or even get out of bed.  And, not getting the medication she needs can be detrimental to her organs.  If we are granted a medical expedite, we may be able to bring her home a few months sooner than we would otherwise.  This decision in China will likely be made next week.  So, we’d appreciate prayer for each person involved in making the decision along the way.  And, we’d love prayer for our daughter’s heart (emotionally) and each of ours as well, as we prepare for her to become a part of our family.  We’ll share more in future updates (whenever we’re able to take a break from paperwork!) 

My Little Sister

Guest post by Brooke:

We have some exciting news! We found out who we will be adopting! We are not able to share her Chinese name until we are further along in the process of adopting. But, she's a girl!!!! I am so excited that God has answered my prayers for a little sister!!! I have always wanted a little sister and am so happy for her. She is a young five year old and lives in an orphanage in Dongguan China. 

This is how I found out. One day Mom and Dad surprised us with Chinese food for dinner! I was like, "Why?" They were like, "You will see." So we ate dinner and at the end we had fortune cookies. I opened mine up but I noticed something. Usually when you have fortune cookies they have wrappers around them. Ours didn't!  I curiously cracked open my cookie but before I ate it I took out the fortune. Josh was reading his fortune and had a big smile on his face. Nathan opened his and I opened mine. I read mine out loud and it said: "You have a new little sister. She is five years old." At that moment a rush of excitement flowed through me. I was going to have a little sister!!! The boys had big excited smiles on their faces and so did I.  I bit into my cookie knowing my fortune was going to come true. 
 
 








Then our parents handed us all red Chinese envelopes and inside was a picture of my little sister. The first thing I said when I saw her picture was, "Awww, she is so so cute!"

A couple of weeks later we went to the post office and ordered passports. We kids got passports too but Mom and Dad say they are not sure yet if we get to go to China or not. When she comes home, which might be in June, July, or August, but we hope is sooner, we will get to share a room together. I was mostly excited but also a little sad because I like having my own room.  I have learned a few things about her: she has a blood disorder called thalassemia, a disorder of red blood cells.  People with thalassemia do not make enough hemoglobin so she will need to get blood transfusions. Her favorite toys to play with are dolls. She loves milk and snacks. She loves to smile and she is some-what shy. Her legs are a little weak but she does exercises and gets stronger every day.  I am so so thankful that God answered my prayers and this is a great reminder for me how God always answers your prayers. I am so excited and can't wait until I get to meet my little sister!


-Brooke

The Water Is Stirring....

Hey there!

It's been quite some time since we've posted, but we felt it was time to dust off the digital dust, sharpen our pencils, and fire up the old blog again and share some updates and happenings in the Groezinger household.

This past summer, we took a family trip out west to the beautiful areas of the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.  Suffice it to say, the beauty and views were amazing, the hikes were refreshing, and the wildlife we saw was amazing.  For those of you who know about our bear story from Colorado a few years back, I'm thankful to say we didn't repeat *THAT* adventure (although we did spot some bear and cubs in the distance while we were on a hike)!  We love being able to camp, explore the outdoors, and marvel at the incredible beauty God created in this part of the United States.

On our way back home, we spent the night at a hotel and took some time to enjoy the pool and hot tub.  The kids were tossing the football around, pretending to make NFL-quality leaps and catches into the water, and it was quickly decided that we should try to do a "Dude Perfect" trick video and all catch the football and jump into the water one right after the other with no breaks or dropping of the ball. We quickly made a make-shift tripod (thanks to the hotel's pool towels and a shaky poolside table), and started filming on one of our phones.

As I was in the other end of the pool watching the others practice their catch-and-jump-in-the-water tricks, I began to tread water.  As I did, I began to take note of how my arms and legs were stirring the water below the surface, but yet the actual surface of the water showed no movement or ripple.  Perhaps it was from my own fatigue from the day of driving across Nebraska (sorry, Nebraska friends!), but I was reminded again of how there can be movement and stirrings happening in places that can't be seen from just the surface level or at a quick glance.  But eventually, stirrings from underneath begin to surface, causing ripples and impact on the surface.

Many of you know that seven years ago God stirred in our hearts to reach out and adopt Joshua from South Korea.  This blog was created as a way to journal and share much of that experience with you.  Feel free to look back at some of our older entries here to read about that incredibly beautiful and amazing experience for us.  Since bringing Joshua home in 2012, we have had the joy and honor of being his parents, and he has brought an incredible amount of joy (and energy!) into our lives.  As we look back at that initial stirring God put in our hearts to adopt, we couldn't be more thankful for how he brought Joshua into our family and the blessing he has been to us.

Well, the water is stirring again. 

Earlier this year, we began discussing the possibility of adopting again and if God was opening the door for us to do so.  After some time of prayer, reflection, and seeking God's direction, we came to the conclusion that yes, adoption is the next step for our family.

After some discussion and research into different agencies and criteria, we sensed China was our country that we would explore and adopt a child from.

As we have begun to fill out applications, submit paperwork, and have interviews, assessments, and background checks complete, we continue to bathe the process in prayer and discussion, asking for the Lord's direction as we navigate these stages of the process, trusting that He has the right child for us and our family and will bring him/her to us in His timing.

And so we're re-launching our blog to invite you to join us on our journey to China to bring home our next child!  We desire and value your prayer and support as we continue to move through this process, and look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks and months to come!

Thanks for journeying with us!

Eric & Jill

P.S.  Oh yea...as for that Dude Perfect trick video we were attempting to do in the swimming pool?  Well, here it is, in all it's "raw" glory.... (the celebratory dancing and splashing at the end is probably more exciting than the catches themselves?  You decide!)

Day 6 - Insadong, Seoul Tower, & Padlocks

We awoke to our first full day in Seoul with Joshua (and our last full day in Korea) to the sound of steady rain and signs of clouds outside our windows.  We were a bit surprised, actually, since the weather for our entire time in Seoul to this point was quite sunny, nice, and comfortable.  But hey - we can handle one rainy day during our trip!  (and besides, we learned quickly that Joshua *loves* playing in water puddles!)

Ready for the day!

Joshua had a great first night with us, sleeping throughout the entire night, except for a few short outbursts of tears that woke him up (but then fell back asleep).  It was really cute to hear Nathan & Brooke continually ask us when Joshua was going to wake up in the morning.  They were soooo anxious and eager to play with him!  What a blessing to have two older kids who are eager to love on their little brother!

Our plan for the day was to check out Insadong, a popular outdoor market area in Seoul that has a number of shops, stands, and stores to purchase some traditional (but also modern) gifts.  With rain ponchos and umbrellas in hand, we met up with Rachel, and headed out to the subway to find Jared and explore the city once again!

We had a great stroll up and down the main street of Insadong.  We were drawn to this specific market to try and purchase a marble name stamp for Joshua.  This is one traditional Korean gift we wanted to get for him, and needed to find a good place to do it.  Skilled craftsmen take a small block of marble and hand engrave your choice of design on the side of it, along with your child's name (in Korean characters) on the end - all done in front of you.  The marble block then becomes a "signature stamp" that you dip into ink and stamp onto a piece of paper.  We found a place that gave us a great price and had one made with a design that reflected outlines of the Seoul Tower, a palace, and country flag, along with his name (Joshua) written in Korean.  It was a really neat gift to find, and something we hope Joshua will enjoy having when he gets older.

Is that a Red Bean Frap from Starbucks?

We also found a few other souvenirs to help us remember our special time in Korea.  One of them was a set of hand-carved and hand-painted wooden wedding ducks.  These are also a traditional Korean gift and custom that we will share with Joshua, but wait until he gets married.  The tradition is that these ducks are placed in the newlyweds home as a reminder of their commitment and love towards one another.  Tradition also says that their position towards each other reflects their marital state:  nose to nose means their relationship is good, but tail to tail means there's a good chance they're working through a little problem!  So, when in doubt....check the ducks!  = )

After finding a few other souvenirs and taking a little break for some fresh, yummy pastries and a splash in the rain puddles, we headed back to the subway.  While we were getting ready to head back on the subway, we ran into an older Korean man who had set up a table and was creating some beautiful Korean character scrolls and wall-hangings.  We were impressed, and decided we wanted to get something made for Joshua's room.  Since Jill & I had both been meditating and praying over Joshua 1:9 during this week, we decided to have him write out the verse in Korean.  Thanks to Jared (who knew Korean and had his Korean Bible app on his iPhone!), this man created a beautiful wall-hanging of Joshua 1:9, written in the traditional Korean characters and format (vertical, left to right).  It was amazing to watch him create it on the spot, and even more amazing to see the people who would stop and watch.  Jared told us that using the traditional Korean characters and format is rare in modern Korea, and was always viewed with respect and honor.  We are so grateful to have this lasting blessing of Scripture written for Joshua in Korean, and to be able to hang it in his room as a reminder to him of our heart's desire for him as he grows.

Our last stop of the day took us to the Seoul Tower.  This is a famous landmark in Seoul, which sits on top of a mountain and reaches almost 780 feet high in the air.  It has an observation deck and restaurant near the top that people can go visit (for a fee).  But we found the view around the base of the tower and overlooking the city was just our price - FREE!  Our adventure to the tower, however, was quite different - as we had to walk up part of the mountain on a paved road.  Not a bad walk, but it became a great adventure when it was pouring down rain, and the water was streaming down the road like a little river!  Nathan & Brooke loved walking up the hill in their bare feet with the water flowing through their toes, although I'm sure they got a few curious stares from the locals!  = )

Our purpose in going to the Seoul Tower was to put on our "lock of love".  There is a spot near the tower where people bring a padlock and lock it onto the side of the fence to symbolize that their love and commitment to one another can never be broken (cue sappy love music, please).  There were literally thousands of personalized locks hanging from fences and railings that people had put up - it was quite an amazing site to see.  As a newly expanded family, we thought we'd modify that idea a bit and attach a lock to symbolize our commitment and love for one another in our new family of five!  So we braved the clouds, rain, and water puddles and attached our lock to a part of the fence as a remembrance of our time in Seoul and to celebrate our new family!

The day was wearing us out, and we arrived back at the guesthouse for a late dinner and quick change of clothes in order to get the kids to bed.  All the kids were great troopers through all the shopping, subway rides, and climbing we had to do.  Joshua did really well hanging out in the carrier with us, and Nathan & Brooke made sure he was well entertained.  = )   But now, Jill & I had a lot of packing to do, as our ride back to the airport was coming at 8am the next morning.  We enjoyed a quick bite to eat with Rachel and Jared and said our final good-byes to each of them (they were great to have with us on our trip!  Thank you!!).  Yikes - how time flies in Seoul!  It's been almost a week....and now it's almost time to go.  One more night in the guesthouse, and then the long plane ride home.....

Our little guy *loves* water puddles!

Almost done!  Writing "Joshua 1:9" in Korean

The end result!

One row of locks at the Seoul Tower

Our lock, with the Seoul skyline in the background

Forever connected with Seoul!

Day 5 - Family Day!

 
The day has finally come.  September 3, 2012.

The day we had been waiting for since first turning in our application to our adoption agency back on September 1, 2010.  733 days of waiting.

And it's finally here.

It's Family Day - the day we welcome Joshua into our family!

As I sat in the hotel room the night before, I began thinking about what the next day would bring.  While I was waiting for Nathan & Brooke to fall asleep, I grabbed my Bible and opened it up to the book of Joshua.  There, sitting on the floor near our door, using the glow from the light of the bathroom, I reread the words of Joshua 1:9 once again and thought about our little Joshua and the challenges he would be facing in the next 24 hours.  This is the verse that Jill had been praying for Joshua the night before our first meeting.  Then, at that meeting we received a photo book of Joshua's first two years from the foster family, and toward the end under one of his pictures this verse was written out.  When Jill came across this, it was so encouraging for her to know the foster family had also found this verse meaningful, and may have even been praying it as well!  What a blessing from the Lord!  So, this night, I, too, began to pray.  I began to pray that Joshua would have strength to endure the unknowns he was about to face in transitioning away from everything he knew.  I prayed that he would be courageous in facing the challenges of adjusting to a new environment, a new family, a new country, and a new life.  I also prayed that he would not be terrified or discouraged by any of these adjustments and changes, but would instead know that the Lord God would be with him wherever he would go.  What a promise!  With the assurance of God's presence and involvement, there is no need for him - or us - to fear!  God's presence provides peace, hope, and life!

2nd Breakfast @ Dunkin'

Our schedule on Monday was light in the morning, so we decided to take a fun family trip down the street from the agency to sample some of Korea's finest morning pastries - Dunkin Donuts.  We loved having a little time to indulge and have a fun donut treat.

We were asked to attend an orientation meeting at 11am with other adoptive families that were also picking up their child.  In total, there were approximately 10-12 other couples represented - a good sized group to accommodate!  The meeting was hosted by one of the Vice President's of Eastern, who shared a few brief remarks and then showed an overview video of the agency and their services in the community.  In addition to adoption, Eastern also provides care and support to unwed mothers, physically and mentally disabled Koreans, elderly/senior citizens, and counseling services all across Korea.  How they do so much with so little is beyond my comprehension!  We were then given a brief tour of the babies room, where each of our kids spent the first 3-6 months of their lives before being placed in a foster family.  (this was the same room Jill & Rachel volunteered in the day before)

We then had a very nice Korean buffet lunch with the other families and were free to go once we finished.  Since our meeting with Joshua was shortly after lunch, we headed back upstairs to our room and relaxed before heading down to the small meeting room where our transfer would take place.

We arrived a few minutes early, but then greeted the foster mom, dad, two of their daughters, Joshua, and our case worker once again.  The foster family brought Nathan & Brooke another gift (children's books), along with a few more of Joshua's belongings and food.  The case worker asked Jill to sign a few papers, while Nathan & Brooke hung out playing with Joshua, sometimes watching a Korean cartoon on an iPhone while eating some snacks....sometimes running around the room playing.  I was trying to snap pictures of all that was happening (it was a little crazy!), while the foster mom and case worker explained a few things to Jill about Joshua's medicine for diahrea he had recently developed.

At one point when we were playing with Joshua, our case worker told us that the foster dad commented, "I can tell your family is very stable and have a lot of care for one another.  I am very happy to know that Joshua will be taken good care of in your home.  I can also see he will have a lot of fun and enjoy playing with your two other children."  Wow, someone pass the Kleenex please!  The foster dad didn't speak much when we were together, but his words carried so much weight and significance at that moment.  We were so grateful and honored for his kind words, and thanked him for all the love and care he and his family had given to Joshua during this time.  From one father to another father who cares very deeply for his son, this was one of those moments I don't think I'll forget.

After a few more minutes of playtime and wrapping up details, we were taken downstairs into the lobby, where we met up with all the other families who were picking up their children that afternoon.  As each child leaves Eastern with their adoptive family, it is customary for the President to pray over each child (an act that was started by the founder of the agency back in the 1970's).  Since the President was out of town that day, the Vice President led the group in a time of prayer for the children, foster families, and adoptive families.  Although the entire prayer was in Korean, I knew it was another powerful moment of asking for God's blessing, guidance, and support as each family began the process of raising up their adoptive children.  I was able to record the entire prayer on video, and hope to get it translated into English sometime soon so we can appreciate the prayer even more!  (anyone willing to translate?)

After the prayer, the difficult moment of separation and good-byes began.  The foster family handed Joshua over to us and began to cry, as did Joshua.  Our case worker directed us to get on the elevator to head upstairs.  We were trying to say "thank you" to the foster family again for the care they had given Joshua to this point.  And then the elevator doors closed, and we were on our way up to our room.  With Joshua crying, us crying, and our case worker holding our stuff, we headed upstairs to begin the transition with Joshua.  Words can't express the emotion of watching the elevator door close with his foster family on one side, us on the other.  From his perspective, it may have appeared we were taking him away from everything that he knew.  But yet we were so committed and excited to have him to love and nurture as our own.  Such a range of emotions, mixed with a lot of tears and happiness.

After some down time and cuddling with Jill in the room, Joshua decided it was time to play.  For the next 1.5-2 hours, Joshua was the most joyful, happy, funny little kid you could ever imagine.  Who would have thought?  He spent the majority of his time running up and down the hallway on our floor, smiling and giggling the entire way, while being chased by Jill or I to make sure he didn't fall and hurt himself.  We quickly learned we have a active little boy on our hands!  He also quickly found the two computers that were in the kitchen/common area of the floor and proceeded to not only turn them on (both the main unit and the monitor), but also shut them down properly and then back on again.  This kid knows technology!  He also explored the washing machine - putting in a few balls he was playing with, closing the door, turning the knobs, and pushing the button to start it.  In light of that, we took note that he'll be doing his own laundry once we arrived home (just kidding).  Overall, he provided us with a lot of great photo moments and laughter along the way.

After a little while we went out to a nearby playground area and his boundless energy only continued.  He traveled well in the baby carrier we brought from home, and was content the entire way there.  Once we arrived, he spotted a few older kids who were playing on one of those sit-in pedal cars and pushing it around.  Knowing that he loves those things (and all things cars), it was fun to watch him calculate the exact moment he was going to "move in" and commandeer the car from the bigger kids.  Needless to say, he didn't let anyone stand in his way....and he cruised around in the little car for a few minutes until we pulled him out and let the other kids have a turn.

We later headed back to the agency and the boundless energy only continued while I (Eric) went off in search of some incredible Korean cuisine known as McDonald's.  After dinner, Rachel & Jared stopped over to say hi and meet the little man, and they also got to experience the energy and excitement of Joshua!  So much fun to see him squeal and laugh!  Needless to say, at the end of the day, he was tired and Jill got him to sleep without too much difficulty - a true answer to prayer!

Our family day was filled with a lot of emotion, transition, and change, but one that was also filled with a lot of joy, happiness, and excitement as we finally welcomed little Joshua YoonSeo into our family!  Thank you for praying and supporting us on this very important day in the life of our family - we appreciate the support and encouragement as we've gone through this process and brought Joshua into our family!

Enjoy some of the pictures of our first day with Joshua!

Jill & the kids, playing with Joshua and one of his stuffed animals

Nathan & Brooke - all smiles about their new sibling!

The three kids, dancing and playing together

Checking out his new set of Pororo keys

First stroll out on the town (to the park) as a family of 5!

 

 

 

Our busy little boy enjoying some time at the park

Joshua getting ready to do laundry (he actually did!)

Day 4 - Sunday in Seoul

It's hard to believe our time here in Seoul is already half-way over.  It's flown by so quickly, we're realizing we have more on our list of things to see and do than we have time for!

The morning started off by attending church with some friends of Rachel's, who are teachers here at Seoul Foreign School.  They invited us to join them at Seoul Union Church, the oldest protestant church here in Korea.  They currently meet in a chapel at a nearby university, so we found our way and enjoyed an English service with other fellow believers and friends.

After church, we decided to do a little shopping at the local E-Mart to find some new toys for Joshua and possibly a few much needed groceries for ourselves.  E-mart is a huge department/discount store chain here in S. Korea that has almost everything you could imagine.  The one we visited was 4 floors tall, complete with a food court and full grocery section.  One could spend hours going through all the different departments and floors and find what you needed.....while the store goes through your wallet and finds every bit of won you have!  = )

We hung out in the toy section, and the kids helped us find a few Pororo the Penguin toys for Joshua.  Pororo the Penguin is a very popular kids cartoon character here in S. Korea, and we were told Joshua was a big fan (as most kids his age are).  We stocked up on a few special Pororo toys for him to open when we brought him back to our room at the guest house to help him feel more at home and have something he was familiar with.  We took a break for lunch at the food court, where we found some Korean food to eat.  Rachel ordered bibimbap, a signature Korean dish, that was prepared with baby fish and fish eggs.  Rachel, in her gracious loving way shared part of it with each of us, and we all got to try a bit of the tiny dried baby fish (even the kids!).  They've got something to share with their classmates at school when they return!

After lunch, Jill had expressed interest in wanting to spend some time in the baby room here at Eastern, where all the newborn babies are kept and cared for until they are able to be placed in a foster family.  With only four paid workers working in a baby room that cares for approximately 45-60 babies (low estimate), they are always eager to have volunteers come in and help hold babies, feed them bottles, or help them fall asleep.  I'm sure Jill will share later about her experience of spending time in the baby room, but suffice to say....when I walked in to check on her and Rachel, I counted 36 babies in one room alone.  A second smaller room was also full with babies.  In some cases, there were 3 babies sharing a space where typically only one or two would sleep.  Many of them were crying, a few taking their bottles (that were being propped up by something in their crib), and a few sleeping.  The workers were doing their best to meet the needs of each of the babies, but it was pretty overwhelming and heart-breaking to see all these little babies just lying there looking for someone to care for them and nurture them in the ways they needed it.  Joshua was also in this room when he was initially born for approximately 3 months, before he was transferred to his foster family.  It brought a deeper appreciation for these babies, the workers, and the incredible care they receive here at Eastern.  They do so much with so little.  Absolutely amazing to see.

Our evening plans took us to a true South Korean cultural experience - baseball!  Being big baseball fans (especially Nathan), we knew we had to take in a baseball game while we were here.  Jared (who lives here), bought tickets for a game between the SK Wyverns and the Doosan Bears, so we headed to the ballpark for a night of fun.  Jared told us that baseball games in Korea are unique, in that each team has equal number of tickets to sell to their fans.  In addition, those tickets are all located together, on opposite sides of the field, which results in huge group cheers, chants, and all out pandemonium when that team scores runs.  We were cheering for the SK Wyverns, which meant we were on the first base side, and surrounded by a sea of red and white jerseys, along with red "air bats" that the fans would beat together in unison to create the most deafening sound that could be heard blocks away.  Of course, we had to jump in on the fun, and so we grabbed a few sets and tried our best to mimic their motions and cheers the best we could!  Each team even provided their own cheerleaders and emcee to work their side of the stadium crowd, and got everyone involved in non-stop chants that lasted the entire inning.  We found a hot dog stand to grab a bit to eat at (in between the traditional Korean food stands that offered bulgogi, kimchi, and fresh dried squid, of course), and were quite pleased to see how cheap the prices were compared to ballparks in the States.  Hey Cubs....are you listening?  Nathan had his heart set on getting a baseball jersey, so we even took a trip to the souvenir shop and he was able to pick one out.  As for the game itself - it went back and forth all night until the 8th inning when the Bears took the lead 6-4, and the Wyverns weren't able to come up with a late 9th inning rally.   Either way, we still had a great time and it was a fun way to end another day in Seoul.

Our big "family day" happens tomorrow - when we finally welcome Joshua into our family!  Our most exciting and overwhelming day yet.....

A bite of Rachel's bibimbap - see the little fishy on the top?

Nathan & Brooke ready to make some noise!

Nathan sporting his new team loyalty!

Nathan & Brooke, loving the game!