Van is a big brother! We got the call!!

Well what a day last Thursday was!I had the day off work because I had to go to day surgery to have an IUD placed (a story for another day but man the process is painful! Needed the sedation!). It is not recommended to have any valuables there so I gave my cell phones (yes I have two, work and personal lol) to Pat. While I was waiting to get wheeled into the OR the thought that today might be the day and I don't have my phone crossed my mind. I dismissed it as too much of a coincidence as this would be the first time I wouldn't have my phone for 5 hours. I mean come on. Well when Pat picks me up a couple hours later he's looking a bit misty eyed and I'm thinking how nice, he was worried about me...but come on it was a minor (and I mean minor) procedure. Not like him to be that emotional. He was also being extra affectionate and squeezing my hand. Then we walk right past the parking machine and I wonder why. He seemed distracted. Once we get in the car he reached into his pocket and pulled out this little packet of pictures and said "I have something for you". I could just see this little smiling face as the pictures were moving towards me in slow motion (well it felt like slow motion). I knew then what was going on and I started to bawl. Then Pat started to cry and laugh and we both started to cry and laugh like maniacs. We then set about devouring the 14 pictures of our second son like kids in a candy store. It was such a different experience than with Van. Van's referral came on the heels of a failed referral so was bitter sweet. We were not able to experience the pure joy as in this case. We finally got to have the referral experience that everybody speaks of. And it was glorious! Of course there is always still going to be a bitter moment (okay, a lifetime of moments) while you process the loss experienced by the birth mother. There is great loss associated with adoption and that can never be forgotten. More on that in another post.

So without further ado please meet Yihyun, Van's little brother. He's just over a year old and our wait to travel will be from 2-4 months (the wait for a visa). It's cool to be able to post pictures right away. Another difference in the process. Indeed so far this process has been remarkably smooth with no surprises. Virtually no stress.












Finally, to make the moment even sweeter, May 31st was also Van's gotcha day. 2 years since his adoption. Happy gotcha day little man!