the lions den was established to keep people posted on major events happening in our life and to keep a family history, an online scrap book of sorts. we understand our shortcomings in keeping up with family and friends across the country, so this is our attempt to put the ball in your court.
the inspiration for the lions den came from our kids beniah and haneul, we want to be able to share their exciting developments with people who want to know. enjoy.
Namsan Tower is a popular tourist attraction in Seoul. We didn't do many touristy things since this was Dave's third trip to Korea-instead we did more kid stuff..oh and we shopped a lot. :) But this was one that was on my list for a specific reason.
Dave was planning on editing this video..but he really won't have time for a couple months, so I hope you don't mind the non-edited version. :)
high fives all around
on the cable car: Dave, Haneul, and Halmoni
a view from the ride up on the cable car
our family lock
Psalm 121: the psalm Dave read to me when he proposed
8.24.12 the date Haneul joined our family
So I heard that this tradition first appeared on a Korean drama and since then couples have brought their locks here to "lock their love together forever." Its kinda cute..and when we came to Korea last time we visited Namsan, but I didn't know about the lock tradition till we got up there. I was a little disappointed that Dave and I didn't do one at the time, but now I'm happy that we were able to do it as a family.
a wall of locks-they're really cool to look at
my attempt at a sibling photo.... wah wah..
our lock on the wall, with Seoul in the background
family photo (notice both kids are not smiling. see they were happily running around chasing each other and we made them stop to capture the moment. what horrible parents we are ;) )
Daddy with his kiddos
annnnddd a fun side note. Meet Simon & Martina, a cute Canadian couple that used to teach English in Korea. Now they make videos and blog about life in Korea full time. One of their video segments is called Wonderful Adventure Now Korea or WANK (this is a perfect title as nonsense English can be found all over Korea) where they take an adventure and have challenges. For me its pretty comical to watch, but I do warn you its not 100% clean so no kids around...but they are cute and I like that they love each other and Korea so much. Anyway, for more info about Namsan, here is their WANK to Namsan.
Haneul is a very happy girl who loves to jump around and lives to play. So far she has taken an interest in Pororo, legos, cars, following her oppa, coloring, singing, and dancing. She shouts "ball" (in Korean) anytime she sees one and loves to throw them around (daddy is excited!). In fact, she was yelling at all the red stone circles at Target today and was quite upset that she could not play with them.
fun with daddy
We had to visit Pororo land before we left..both the kids had a blast and we basically had the place to ourselves because we got there pretty late. They ran crazy for almost two solid hours. My favorite part: a replica of Pororo's house that you could play in. The kid's favorite part: the ball pit...something we could find anywhere! lol..
It just so happened that Beniah's birthday fell during our trip to meet Haneul. Our meeting was scheduled for the day before his 4th birthday. So the night before the meeting we took some time to celebrate Beniah turning four years old. I love this sweet boy with all my heart and can't believe its already been four years!
Blowing out his candles
These characters are from an older Korean cartoon. Aunt Yumi told Beniah that the shorter character's name is pothead (because his head is made out of a pot..) and B thought that was pretty funny.
He has been phenomenal during this transition process. We've talked so long about bringing Haneul home and I wasn't sure how he would react. I often talked about how he would have to share everything: his toys, the dogs, his bike, and his parents. I have to say he has really blown my expectations out of the water. He has been such a help to me and is always looking out for his "little sister". Especially when I'm trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to and she starts to fuss-Beniah will calmly say "Mama, I don't think she wants to do that." Good point, my love.
I can't wait to see how their relationship grows as they get to know one another. (And yes, I know, this is the honeymoon stage of our transition-I'm soaking up every second!)
Like I mentioned before Haneul was quite smitten from the start with her oppa, Beniah. After our meeting with the foster parents Haneul did great leaving with us and she didn't cry at all. She didn't even seem nervous, she was more observant. So we pack into the car and start to drive. Here are some snippets from our first moments as a family of four.
on our way with gifts in hand
our gifts for the foster family and social worker
the new Holt building
first brother and sister shot, note the huge pororo that she brought with her
first mother-daughter shot in the car
she studied him
and found him pretty funny
Here is a video of them playing in the car. I have to admit, watching it now it doesn't seem all that amazing. But in the moment we were watching our two kids play together for the first time ever. She had been so quiet and unresponsive up until she started breaking smiles at Beniah. We were pretty thrilled.
p.s. how the family got her hair into those adorable braids still amazes me..I can barely keep her still for pigtails!!
To protect the privacy of the foster family we cannot show their pictures on our blog. We have a video of when we all met Haneul for the first time and I'm still figuring out how I can show that to you. Once I figure something out I would love to share it with you.
