Holly

June came our referral for Tobias Seong-Bin Kim. November was anticipated travel time. We were originally heartbroken to find out we were one of the first families in 2010 to get stuck after a quota was hit for emigration permits issued. We now see clearly that God gave us this time to negotiate for and move into a better space for 5. Our original plan was that po-po and gong-gong would be able to care for Shayne and Norah during our trip to Korea. Even with the assurance that the girls would be well taken care of and loved, I worried about the level of energy required for my aging parents to deal with the day-in and day-out with energetic 3 year old twins. We prayed about this often.

As 2010 ended, we knew it was a matter of weeks, maybe days before the emigration process got rolling towards a travel call.

We started to consider different options for bringing this little darling home. Neither of us HAD to travel as we could have paid an escort to bring him safely to LAX. Deep in my heart, I knew that I wanted to travel. And I wanted to travel with Cameron. We knew very little about this little prince. All I knew was that so many unknowns could best be dealt with as a team. We prayed that we would be wise with our choices about care for Shayne and Norah. For a while, Cam wanted me to travel alone - the social and cautious side of me wants him to come along. Then, he said he'd travel alone. The mommy side of me wants to be there to soak in all the "moments" that come with Gotcha Day. So I've convinced him (with some whining) that we will go together.

We're so torn about leaving S and N for an extended period of time. My mom has asked that we make arrangements other than having them come care for the girls as she's had a series of other medical issues subsequent to her shingles outbreak. Too weak to handle crazed twins for a week or more. So, we were talking about hiring a nanny for about 10 days...are we insane? To hire someone fresh to the girls to house, dog, twin toddler-sit for a week and a half?

Then, popped in Holly. She'd overheard my conversation with my friend at church while coming in for a hug as she greeted us. She's mentioned that she'd possibly be free...she'd set an end date for her current job, and that she was looking for work. I come to find out that this wonderful, energetic, intelligent young lady happened to be looking for some work to fund her trip to Europe in May.

Then, came the travel call! We were set to leave sometime early February. This timing was truly a God thing. If our travel call had come any later, Holly would be occupied with her tutoring position. Then, off to Europe!

So, the arrangements began...and it is clear that God had been preparing Holly for us all along. How amazing!

I didn't have my first break down about missing them until we were well into the air on our flight to Korea. After the whirl-wind of preparations, it finally hit me...we would be gone longer than we'd ever been since we brought the girls home. I couldn't bear thinking of how much I'd miss them each day. Cameron looked at my puffy face and just shook his head. I know he's crying inside too. Why else would he be holding that newspaper so high up other than to cover his emotions.