Care Package #2! Sending love to Little Brother in Korea

You know, one of the most unexpected riches about being an adoptive family is the many wonderful people we have met! I met my friend Jane through a Facebook support group for mom's who are adopting from Korea. Jane and I got on very well right away, and she brought her son home just before we brought Little Man home.

When we went to Korea to bring Little Man home, we carried a package to the agency from Jane. It was filled with photos and thank-yous to the foster family that cared for her son.

It was super awesome when we found out one another we adopting again. Jane and I are both at the upper end of the age-range, and we joke about being the "old ladies" in the group. We have commiserated, cried and griped to one another during this very long process. Because of our ages, we had to begin our adoptions at a time of extreme change in the Korean program. Which meant a lot of ups and downs and a process rife with angst.

Jane was matched with a girl last March! I remember crying as I read her text and feeling so overwhelmingly happy for her. So can you imagine how happy we are that Jane is in Korea RIGHT NOW MEETING HER DAUGHTER!? So very thrilled for them all!

And...in a nice turn of events...Jane is carrying a package to the agency for us! We were able to send Little Brother another package, this time with a few things for Christmas. It helps to keep feeling hopeful, to keep our spirits up as we shop for things for the package and prepare special things to let him know more about us.

So, here's what we sent! (top, going clockwise)

Until We Hug Again bear by Hallmark:
We debated on this because we sent another tiny stuffed animal in care package #1. But this one has 30-second recording and is oh-so-soft. We thought he'd be more likely to play with this and hear our voices than with a recordable book. The 30-second recording feature gives you plenty of time to say sweet things. Little Man offered up "I love you baby" and Anyonghasseo (hello) all on his own!

Melissa and Doug Peek-a-Boo Barn:
This tiny sized toy was perfect. Babies can open the barn doors to see animals inside.

Snowflake Photo Ornament:
Thanks to my super good friend Carol who knew I was going nuts trying to find a Christmas ornament with a photo slot. She picked it up at Target and had hubby deliver it to our house! (You are the best!) This ornament is for the foster family.

Baby toothbrush/teether:
We sent a teether in the last care package, but had this cool one with a toothbrush on it too. Never too early to start!

Robot T-Shirt:
The boys' first matching t-shirts! We found this at Crazy-8 and bought one for Little Man and Little Brother.

Family book:
We made a little family book. The photo book we sent in our first care package had limited slots. In this one, we have more photos of us, but it's mainly filled with pictures of grandparents (who will be here caring for Little Man when we come home with Little Brother, and The Man's mother will probably be out later too) and photos of the rooms in our house. We wanted things to look familiar to him. The photos are labeled in Korean (yay for all the things I learned in Korean class!!) and are laminated to handle baby drool.

Engraved Heart Ornament:
What to send a family (strangers) who are caring for your baby?! Since we don't have any idea what type of family they are, but we did know they are Christian (this was referenced in our referral) we decided to send an engraved ornament. We wrote something in English, and then signed Little Brother's Korean name. Hopefully they have a tree, but it's really beautiful so it could work hanging anywhere, throughout the year.

Thumb drive:
As with our first package, we sent another thumb drive with videos of us, our home, and when we sang Happy Birthday to Little Brother.

Sooo...doubly excited that Little Brother will be receiving this, and so very hopeful that we'll be in Korea soon. Just like Jane. About to embark on the next phase of our lives!