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| This was our first meeting with Gabriel and his foster family. We went to the Holt office at 9:00 a.m. when it opened, but we were too early (not surprising, considering that we couldn't sleep all the night before, because of excitement.) When we came back at 11:30 for our appointment, Gabe and his foster mom were in the lobby and we recognized him on our way past. Soon afterward, his foster mom walked in with him and we were introduced. He was dressed in the most adorable little outfit and hat. |
| Gabe was enthralled with Eric's voice and face - he was contorting his little body around to see Eric throughout the visit. We got to talk for about one hour, and asked questions of the foster mom through an interpretor. She was about 62 years old, and had three grown children (her oldest and second-oldest were our ages). She had taken care of 6 foster children for Holt, including Gabe. We heard from many people that Holt's standards for foster parents are very strict, with many rules, and she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. We took a full notebook page of notes on his care, and then she quizzed us about where he was going to live. |
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| The foster father also came to the appointment - apparently, he was very involved in Gabe's care, and he rearranged his work schedule so that he could meet us, too. We had taken gifts for him, the foster mom, the social worker and the Holt office, so we exchanged gifts during that first meeting. We also left a gift for the birthmom, to be included in her file, in case she ever contacted Holt again. The foster parents were very glad that Eric and I seemed young and energetic, they said, and they wanted to be sure that our son would be raised in a Christian home. |
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| The foster mom wanted us to know that Gabe doesn't usually go to strangers, but he didn't fuss with us when we held him, and even let me give him part of a bottle. I think maybe she was trying to make us feel better- he doesn't fuss much at all, and he's been handed around a lot! He wasn't exactly jovial during that first meeting, but content, anyway. |
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| Back to the front page Receiving Gabe Holt Il San Holt Reception Center Holt Offices Activities in Seoul Logistics of our trip At the Airport in Seoul Welcoming Gabe in Seattle |
| We were sorry when the first visit had to end - because of the Korean celebration of Arbor Day, we had to wait two days more after the first visit before receiving Gabe. |