We made it!

Well we made it home Sunday night!  Jonah did great on the plane.  There were a few times when he got a little cranky, but I got cranky too!!!  I was so worried about the trip.  The oxygen, him, and ALL our luggage.  Maneuvering was not easy.  I was feeling very anxious when we were about to leave the hotel so I sat down with J while B was getting a cart for all our luggage and we said a prayer (he LOVES to pray).  We got to the airport and B got a cart.  He pushed it with 5 pieces of luggage on it and then pushed another one.  I had J in a stroller with three backpacks and his small rolling luggage.  We got in the LONG line to check-in and immediately a man came up to us and put us in the priority line and we were next.  Like I said, J did great on the plane.  We got to Japan and had to go through another security check...seriously there are SO many checks these days it is unbelievable.  We couldn't find our stroller that we gate checked.  B left me with three rolling luggage bags, three backpacks, and a four year old!  I was trying to go through the long security line by myself when a man came up to me and told me to go to the priority line!!  I think I really looked a hot mess!  While we were waiting in Japan J started talking about the orphanage.  He wasn't getting upset, but I could tell it was coming.  Sure enough, right before we were supposed to leave he said "I don't want to go to America!"  So I picked him up and said "I know you miss your friends, but we have to leave stinky Japan!"  I have nothing against Japan at all and I don't think it stinks, but I knew he would think that was funny and he did.  So we got in line to get on the plane and again, a lady came up and asked us to go to the priority line!  A few hours into the long trip I prayed that God would let J take a nap.  As soon as I opened my eyes he was asleep!  Then we got to L.A. and we had to go through Customs.  We got in line and...yep...someone immediately asked us to go to the priority line and we were next!  Another thing I was worried about was our last flight.  We all had separate seats.  I was praying hard about that.  B went up to the desk and the lady changed our tickets so we all sat together.  I know another family had the same problem and they were not as blessed.  Oh and I didn't even talk about the fact that he didn't need to use the oxygen!!!  THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!!  That was a huge praise.  So the trip went smoothly...amazingly smoothly...supernaturally smoothly.  We were so blessed.  God answered every one of our prayers. 

We were welcomed by a huge crowd of people who love us and who love J.  I was also praying for how he would handle the welcoming party and he did awesome!  It was very overwhelming for me!  I held back tears because I didn't want him to breakdown!  It was amazing though.  A huge thank you to everyone who was there to welcome us home.  Our friends and family also cleaned our house, stocked our kitchen, and have been bringing us dinner every night!  Yes, we are loved...and we love!

We are adjusting at home.  Jet lag has been bad, but we are praying he is over it now.  I got some good tips and here is what we did yesterday:

• We got lots of sunlight
• We got out and tried to get rid of energy
• We stayed outside while the sun was going down so he could see it was getting to be night time
• We kept him up until 11:45!!! 
• We turned all the lights down closer to bed time and we did some low key activities like reading books
• Then we gave him some food so he wouldn't wake up due to hunger

He slept from 11:45 until 10:00...when we forced him to get up.  We aren't going to keep him up as late tonight, but we are doing all the other things.

He is really testing us and seeing how far he can push us.  We are using all the techniques we have seen our friends use.  We have some friends who are amazing parents!  The whining is killing us though!!  But we also have to remember that his schedule is completely off and he is used to a VERY strict schedule.  Overall we are doing great and he his handling everything really well.  I will have to post on attachment at another time.

We are going for our first doctor visit on Friday morning!  You can pray for that!!  He has to have lots of tests done at the cardiac clinic at a local hospital.  Our cardiologist can't wait to see what his insides look like and how it all works together. 

Sorry no pictures this time.  Just be glad I was able to sit down and write an update!!!  Pictures coming soon.

Katie

Leaving

In one hour we are leaving the flat and going to a hotel to spend our last night in Hong Kong.  This has been the greatest, scariest, most thrilling week of our lives.  To sum it up, the Lord has been good to us, and we are filled with joy! 

We would like to ask you to specifically pray that Jonah would not need to use oxygen on the plane tomorrow.  Our doctor recommended it only as a precaution so there is a good chance he won't.  We did a trial run a few minutes ago and it went OK but we definitely have concerns if he starts getting uncomfortable. 

He's been talking about wanting to get on the airplane and go to America all week but it's hard to tell if he's just talking or what he really knows about it.  We watched a youtube of an airplane taking off today and he just asked me to watch it again.  That's a good sign, right?

We were able to spend some time with the Hartings today and yesterday and it was really good.  Jonah loved seeing Isaac and Autumn.

We are really ready to be home now.  It has been a good week but we're ready to get in a routine.

Thank you so much for praying for us.  We didn't know what all would happen during this trip but we knew a lot of people were praying and that was so meaningful.  Thank you also for being excited for and with us during this huge event in our lives.  We love you.  See you soon!

Worth It!

So we have been with our boy for almost 48 hours straight and he is a complete joy.  I can finally say that all the waiting was well worth it!!

B mentioned in his last post about our visit to the school.  Yes, J was very confused and kept running to me to make sure I didn't leave him there.  But the school was amazing.  The teachers were spectacular.  I wanted to stay there all day just to learn from them!  The kids in his class were good too.  When it came time to say goodbye I just lost it.  I hugged every teacher and told them thank you.  You see when we finally decided to adopt, I started praying that if my child was already born that he would be loved on by Christian people.  I NEVER thought that prayer would be answered.  That just doesn't happen too often.  You should see the amount of people who love him here. Praise the Lord!  His school and his orphanage both had parties for him last week and they asked that no gifts be given.  Oh man...they brought them anyway.  There is a ton of stuff.  So much that they actually let me go through it and donate some things!  Don't worry...I didn't donate anything that was from someone special or that I thought was meaningful.  There was just so much stuff and duplicates on top of that.  So some other kids will get some new toys too.

Yesterday morning was brutal!  We expected it to be bad but B said it was 100 times worse!  As soon as we walked into the orphanage I could tell he was not himself.  He sat in my lap in the circle with all of his caregivers and friends.  They asked him to pick a few songs for us to sing and he did.  Then they told him it was time to go around to each person and say "bye".  He shook his head no.  They insisted and then he screamed "NO" and burst into tears.  It was heart wrenching.  A teacher picked him up as he was sobbing and then our social worker (Christine) made her hand him to me. Christine, B, and I went into another room.  I rocked him and sobbed with him.  B just rubbed my back which was good.  I told him it was OK to miss his friends.  I told him he had a family that loved him and friends in America that wanted to meet him.  We cried for a while longer and then he asked for juice.  After that we went around to all of the rooms in the facility and said "bye" to everything.  They gave him anything he wanted.  His pillow from his bed, his utensils, everything.  Then we went to leave and the kids were on the playground.  The teachers had taught him a Chinese blessing to say to them to pray for them to have parents and he did it!  Of course I started crying again.  Then he ran and gave me a hug and we walked to the flat with ALL of his luggage.  He hasn't cried since...but I cry every time I think about it!  It was very bad, but it was very good.  My friend told me recently that if adoptive kids have breakdowns when leaving that means that they attached to the people there and there is a greater chance of him attaching to us more quickly.  Also it was very good that he had the emotions and showed them.  If he didn't breakdown then, he would at some point and we would always wonder when it would be.  He still might have a breakdown, but maybe it won't be as bad. It was a good response but horrible to watch.

He is just amazing.  He is funny and so smart.  He loves to play games and he loves pandas.  He LOVES to eat.  He loves taxis!  And he tells us every night that he loves us.  Bedtime is the best.  He absolutely loves sleeping in the same bed with us.  When we say it is bed time he gets giddy and jumps into our arms.  We lay down on the bed with him in the middle.  He giggles!  He holds a flash light so B can read Good Night Moon to us.  Then he just goes to sleep.  And he loves to snuggle while sleeping.  In case you are wondering...co-sleeping is a big part of the attachment process.

He does not like it when people talk Chinese to mommy and daddy.  He tells them that we can't understand that and then he translates for us...yeah...I said he was smart!

Anyway...enough bragging.  I wanted to add some pictures, but the computer is being slow.  Maybe B will add some in the morning.

It is going well, but we do have a 24 hour trip to get home!!!  PLEASE pray for that.  I have no idea how that is going to go.  He is a ball of energy.  I have been trying to prepare him by telling him we have to sit on the plane for a long time.  Who knows how he will handle it?  Part of me wants him to just sleep the whole time, but that will make sleeping at home that first night very hard.  So just pray it all goes smoothly.

Thank you all for the prayers.  We can feel them.  We are thanking God every minute for His sovereign will and this precious gift.  Like I said...the waiting was worth it!

God showed me this verse at the beginning of this week and I have been meditating on it:

"Have strength and let your heart take courage, all you who wait on the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Katie
     

Dim Sum

February 14, 2012

Today we met with Jonah’s adoption unit social worker.  It was mostly just a formality to deal with declaring at what day and time we will be responsible for his care going forward.  She gave us some documents with specific information about his birth parents and told us how to contact the Hong Kong government if he ever wants to look for his birth parents when he grows up.  It was a great meeting and even though there are things we don’t understand about timing – I completely believe the government here has the kids best interest in mind.

I’m sure Jonah would tell you his favorite part of the day was lunch.  We went to a dim sum restaurant.  His favorite dish there is siu mai (sounds like sue my) and it is basically a shrimp dumpling.  I think he ate like 6.  It was funny watching him down them.  Maybe we can find a restaurant in Memphis that makes it.  We got Christine to write it out in Chinese so we can take it somewhere and ask.  After we finished I taught him how to use a toothpick.  There are so many new things to learn.

Definitely the most emotional part of the day was when we visited his school.  Right before this we were all at our flat.  We asked him a couple of times if he wanted to go visit his friends at school and he said no.  We think maybe he was confused.   His last day there was Friday so he had already said goodbye to them.  I think they scheduled for us to go with him today just so we could see it.  It was actually one of the most heartwarming experiences I’ve ever been a part of.  Everyone was sitting in a circle.  The teachers introduced us.  Then since it was Valentine’s Day they let Jonah pass out candy to all the other kids.   They sang a few songs.  When we got up to leave a couple of the teachers were crying.  Katie was crying.  It looked like I was crying even though I was really just having an allergic reaction to the shrimp dim sum.  But it was very moving to see just how much these teachers loved Jonah and how special they said he was.  He is basically a celebrity at this school, it seemed.  They thanked us for taking care of him.  They were sad to see him go because of how much fun he is to be around, but genuinely glad to see him have a family.  It was a strange emotion to put your finger on.  Happy, sad, thankful.  This was probably a preview of how tomorrow is going to go.  Tomorrow he is packing up his things and saying goodbye to the orphanage and will be with us full time for the remainder of the trip.  He is so beloved at his current home.  Many of the staff told us he is their favorite.  But they have also expressed how glad they are that he has a family now.

Tonight Katie and I celebrated Valentine’s at a restaurant on the other side of the harbor.  Jade Garden.  It was in the Tsim Sha Tsui area which doesn’t mean much to me except I remember seeing Anthony Bourdain go there once.

We bought groceries again today because we realized we didn’t have enough food that he may like once he moves in with us tomorrow.  We were showing him around the flat today and he appeared to be very excited about staying with us.  When we left him today and Christine was telling him (in Chinese) that he would stay at his home tonight but then tomorrow he would stay with us, he said he wanted to go to America.  He’s a funny little boy.  We can’t wait to get home with him.

With the adoption unit social worker:

 

Sui Mai

 

Learning how to use toothpicks:

At the flat:

At his school with his class:

 

More photos

This is Brian.  I wanted to post these last night but the internet was getting really slow.  Much faster today.

He loves being held by Mommy. One of my favorites by far.

 

During the first few minutes of meeting him.

He took this of himself.

Check out the backpack.

 

First Meeting

February 13, 2012

What an incredible day!

The day started with Christine, Jonah’s social worker, meeting us at our flat.  We took a short walk to the orphanage.  I can’t express how nervous we were.  When we entered the orphanage the people there were very excited.  Christine introduced us to a few people and then we went to a large room with two couches facing each other.  She said she would ask someone to go get Jonah.  When he was close we could hear one of his caregivers telling him to go see mommy and daddy.  He walked in and pretty much came directly to us.  He gave both of us a piece of Valentine chocolate.  He also had the photo book we sent of us and family and friends.  He came over and sat between us and flipped through the book pointing at all the pictures.  He was very excited and moving really fast from one thing to another.  Christine was taking pictures of us with Katie’s camera.  Then he asked if I had a camera and I did so we got it from my backpack.  Immediately he started taking tons of pictures.  He really enjoyed that and continued wanting to take pictures for the rest of the day.

He was wearing a traditional Chinese outfit and carrying a small panda backpack.  He loves being called handsome boy and he was getting compliments on his suit all day.  We gave him the bear from our video and he wanted to keep up with that throughout the day.  He remembered seeing the Engeldow girls put the hearts in the bear in the video and he took all the clothes off the bear trying to find the hearts. 

After about 30 minutes we left and walked to a park.  It was similar to a botanic garden but also had large caged areas with different kinds of monkeys.  A baby boy and girl monkey had recently been born so there was a special exhibit just for that.  Jonah had been there before and it seemed like he was having a good time.  He definitely got tired but we were doing a lot of walking and there are hills everywhere. 

We went to a Chinese restaurant near the park for lunch.  This was our first time eating with him.  He did really well at the table.  Everything he did, his bear had to do too.  Including eating and using the restroom. 

After lunch we went back to the orphanage and spent some time in the area where he plays and lives.  He was really proud showing us his toys and things.  We played a few games and did some coloring.  His bed is tiny but they had taped a printed photo of us on the headboard.  We also met with his therapists and nurse.   It was really great hearing how encouraging they were.  Clearly he has been loved by many here.  It’s amazing to see how God has protected him throughout his life. 

When we were leaving the facility he asked when he was going to be able to go home with us.  

We feel really good about how this first day went.  A number of people told us how happy he was to have a mommy and daddy now.  I don’t know how much he really understands, but I know he was loving all the attention today.  It was awesome!

On the way out they gave us 3 huge bags filled with his artwork over the past few years.  They said we should decide what to keep and what to throw away.  So Katie spread it all out over the floor and separated it.

Tomorrow we are going back to the orphanage and will be meeting with some officials to sign paperwork.  Then we are taking Jonah out for lunch to get dim sum.  We are also going to visit Jonah’s school which is right next door to the flat.

Family portrait at the park in front of bamboo.  What is more Chinese than that?

Day One

February 12, 2012 Day One

We are in the guest flat in Hong Kong.  Katie is on the couch.  I just took a walk.  It’s 5pm - definitely feels later than that.  We just bought some groceries this morning.  Life is good.

We started the day in the Regal Orient Hotel in Kowloon.  Out of the 27 hours or so of travel yesterday there was only one hiccup.  We thought we were staying in one hotel, but we were actually staying in another hotel 30 minutes closer to the city.  No big deal. 

We left the hotel in a taxi and travelled to the guest flat to meet Jonah’s social worker.  It was a little surreal talking to her.  She knows him probably better than anyone.  She said he is over his cold and feeling fine.  She also mentioned he is on cloud 9 and really excited about this week.  We briefly talked about the plans for the rest of the week and then she took us to the center of the city.  Our only objective for the day was to buy groceries so she told us where to do that and then she left. 

So we did what any experienced traveler would do.  We went to McDonalds.  Usually I only have one rule I try to follow when I’m out of town.  Don’t eat at a chain.  But I have a different rule for international travel.  When you find something acceptable eat now and eat plenty – you never know when or what your next meal will be. 

Everything I remember from the trip before was confirmed today while I was walking around.  I love this city.  After eating at McDonalds we walked around in the Central area.  In this part of town there are outdoor escalators going up and stairs to take on the way down.  There are a lot of shops and restaurants along the way.  We were there for probably an hour and didn’t even ride all the way to the top.  Things are a lot less crowded today since today is Sunday.  So it worked out pretty good for this to be our first day here. 

We took a taxi back to the apartment and Katie chilled while I took a walk down the hill to Hong Kong Park.  I couldn’t have picked a better time to go.  I saw three weddings, a graduation, and a model photo shoot.  I’ve included some pictures from the walk below. 

I would like to ask you to pray for Katie.  The devil is really attacking her.  We are both anxious about this week and we ask for your prayer on that matter.  But please ask God to calm her heart and relieve her from worry.  Thank God we have a refuge and hiding place in the Lord and his Word.  I don’t know how anyone does anything without that.

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 we are going to meet Jonah for the first time.  We are only a 10 minute walk away at this point.  We first decided to adopt 5 years ago – and it all comes down to tomorrow morning at 8:30.  Wow. 

Thank all of you for praying and thinking of us.

Our flat.

 

 

Lock and Load

In 2011 I read a lot of biographies.  I am currently reading A Heart for Freedom by Chai Ling.  I love reading other peoples story because it makes journaling less weird.  Over the years many people have either directly or indirectly encouraged me to journal.  My Mom – who gave me a journal right before a trip to Africa.  Jeff Jordan – who made it seem so practical.  Matthew Bellamy – just because his creativity is infectious.  Many more unnamed.  I have journal-ed pretty consistently for about 8 years.  Over those 8 years I have grown to feel strongly that journaling is healthy.    

Some people workout.

Some people juice. 

I journal. 

My journal for the last 2.5 years is electronic because typing is faster than writing.  Anyway the point of this is in two weeks, when we are in Hong Kong, we will be sharing our journal on the blog.  We want to document the trip and each day’s events.  I’m not exactly sure how that is going to go down yet.  We have a friend who has agreed to post emails that we send her should we be blocked from blogspot while we are there.  Either way, we’re taking the laptop, and we WILL be journaling – and at some point hope to post those entries here.

Did you like how I just snuck in that little information about us going to Hong Kong in 2 weeks?

We are freaking out!  Do you know this feeling: For me it is like right before giving a presentation…nervous, terrified, excited, adrenaline.  Or like being in line for a scary rollercoaster…you can see what is coming and it’s crazy, but you love it!  And that feeling hasn’t stopped since we got the call last Thursday.  I remember talking to Katie a few months ago about how we probably won’t get any sleep in the days after we get the call but before we leave.  In reality, we probably won’t be sleeping much when we get back J 

I was at Central Barbecue with my work friends when Katie called me.  It was such a fitting place to get the call, that being my favorite restaurant.  I am already planning to take Jonah there at some point.   He will learn to love the pig as I do, I just know it.  My boss came over and gave me a huge hug, my friends cheered.  It was overall a wonderful experience and I was glad to share that moment with my work friends. 

In a way it feels like there is a ton to do before the trip.  And also, in a way, everything is kind of already done.  The house is ready.  Mentally I am still trying to wrap my mind around the reality of things like telling a 4 year old to not pick his nose.  Or helping him cut up food.  Taking him to the restroom on the plane.  Singing a song while helping him in the shower (which we heard he likes to do).  In a recent update they told us he sometimes has trouble getting to sleep if someone sings to him right before bedtime because he gets so excited trying to sing along that he won’t calm down and go to sleep.  It is impossible not to smile when I think about that. 

It is also impossible for me to describe just how excited we are right now.

We are thankful for your prayers.  Nothing brings more peace than knowing other people are praying for you.  We are so looking forward to this trip and starting a new life with Jonah.  But we also know that some difficult and trying days are likely ahead of us.  So please continue to pray for us.  If you are interested there are a few things you can pray for specifically regarding the trip.  Pray that our flights go as scheduled.  Pray that we all stay healthy.  Pray that he will respond well to us and begin to trust us early on.  And then pray that all three of us would have realistic expectations for how the first few days and weeks are going to happen.  Again, thank you for praying for me and Katie and Jonah. 

Can you believe in two weeks he will be spending his first night with us?  No I can’t.

Here are the dates of our trip:

Leave on Friday February 10.  Return on Sunday February 19.

Next post should be interesting.

Brian