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