The Courtney family laid eyes on a sweet baby boy from Korea on February 9th, 2014, and it was love at first sight. They waited 568 days to meet him face to face for the first time and 618 days total to bring him to his forever home and officially call him their own. We were honored to get to join Rachel & Patrick on their first trip to Korea to meet Simon in person for the first time. They visited him twice in Korea before getting to bring him home, and on their first visit, they had a mere 2 meetings with him for an hour each time. The time was precious and fast and they made the best of their time by bonding with him by playing cars (his favorite toy), taking selfies, FaceTiming with his siblings, and slowly warming up to each other with high fives and eventually hugs and kisses.
Their second one hour meeting…more smiles, hugs, high-fives, and even kisses!
Around 3 months after being brought home, I went to the Courtney’s home to see how they’ve adjusted. While it hasn’t been without struggle, Simon is adjusting well, learning new things and words everyday, and loves his family very much!
Alison AgnewI adore these pictures. I can hear Rachel’s laugh through the pictures; Some of the interactions between Patrick and Simon just exude such a loving and already strong bond; you can just see Keith’s orneriness and playful interactions with Simon and it’s obvious Simon loves every minute; Layla is so proud and looks like a little momma toward Simon… These pictures capture everything SO well! Its as if 20 years from now, they’ll just be able to nearly “feel” this life with three young kids climbing on them all over again… just by looking at these pictures.So, so special!!! Great job Phil and Briana. You are so talented!!