Archive for March, 2012

• New Pictures

  Date: 2012.03.17 | Category: Adoption, Benjamin, Maisey

  

  “Really Mom? Another picture?”

  

  Benji doesn’t like to hold still for pictures…

  

  Look at that grin!

  

  Reading with Daddy.

  

  Perfecting the puppy eyes.

• One More Stop….

  Date: 2012.03.17 | Category: Adoption

  Mom and Dad made it safely to Guangzhou, their last stop before flying to Hong Kong and then home! Mom said the kids did great. Dad showed Benji the Ipad, and he was amazed. They said it was adorable. 🙂

• There’s No Place Like Home

  Date: 2012.03.17 | Category: Adoption

  We went to the orphanage with Benji & Maisey. It was a nice, clean place. Had music therapy, water therapy & physical therapy. It sat behind metal gates & walls with glass pieces cemented in the top. The most telling thing was that Benji wouldn’t go to anyone. Not his nanny, not anyone. He wouldn’t even smile at them. Kids need love. It’s not just about providing for them, keeping them clean & protected. We bought them toys that they’ll have nothing to do with. What have they played with the most? A deck of cards and the door hangers. All of us have been ill since arriving home from the orphanage. Dan was hit the hardest. I don’t remember the last time he slept for 14+ hours. At first I thought it was the 3 hour drive there & back, driving here is crazy. There is absolutely no way I could do it everyday. Lanes aren’t a consideration, most of the roads lanes aren’t even painted and it’s 3 or 4 lane interstate. At one point, I saw a guy drive into oncoming traffic for a nice game of chicken. Mopeds, bikes, tractors, huge holes in the road, it’s plain crazy. We had a meeting yesterday and everyone asked how we are doing. I told them & instantly other families were offering to go to Wal-mart for us & one went so far as to offer us Lipton chicken noodle soup only to show up with plain ramen for the kids, soup for Dan & rolls. We have meet some really wonderful families here. We are traveling with 12 other families. They all have amazing stories that have brought them here. Every of those stories start with a big dose of faith. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly when everyone got their babies but a lot more tears & yelling was certainly expected. These babies just want a family. They cling to the moms and the dads. Benji & Maisey have both just opened their hearts to Dan & I. We’ve had a year of thinking about them. A year to grow to love them. I was not expecting the depth of their love & trust already. They have had really tough lives. They both look like poster children for “feed the children”. Benji won’t go to sleep unless he has a cracker in his hand. They cry if I move the ramen out of their site. They don’t understand that there is more food. That I won’t let them go hungry again. Yet, neither of them is impatient with the other. They each patiently take a bite. They smile & wait. You have to be careful with how much food you put in the bowl because they will eat it until it’s gone. I just can’t say it enough. I have been so blessed these past few days. They run at me with big smiles on their faces, arms outstretched, ready to hug & love & giggle. That’s not to say everything is perfect. Benjamin has night terrors that put him into a crying jag that will rip your heart right out of your chest. I just hold him and cry. But they, who’ve had nothing, still have the sweetest spirits. Count your blessings, be thankful for all that you have and hug those kids of yours even tighter this evening and if you just happen to hear Him talking to you about opening your heart and your home to another little one who has been abandoned. Well, be sure to listen. It’s an amazing, amazing thing. But for now, I’m clicking my little red shoes, cause there’s no place like home…..there’s no place like home……

• Texts from Momma

  Date: 2012.03.12 | Category: Adoption

  Notes from Mom: These are texts from our conversations about the babies. So if they’re short and don’t flow, that’s why.

  “Ben is only in 18 months and Maisey is in 12 months. They truly are the sweetest. Haven’t heard Ben talk yet but he giggles & giggles. Mei mei loves to read & chatters all the time; but when she doesn’t want something she turns her head to the side & gives you this big drama queen thing. She’s so you girl’s. :)I love them so much. Our babies truly needed saving. Ben gets out of breath just giggling. Mei mei is bruised and skinny…but she looks at you with those big puss in boots eyes & your heart just melts. She has long lashes & this huge grin. They just want to be loved. We picked them up at the office & they wouldn’t let go.

  Daddy saw him at the door & cried. It was so sweet. I don’t know with Maisey. Her facial stuff makes her eat a bit slower, and shes got a tiny little mouth 🙂 Ben’s is partly due to his heart I’m sure. Thy ate non-stop for a couple of hours yesterday. Daddy bribed Benji with M&M’s. When we go downstairs I’ll send more videos. The one with Ben laughing is hysterical. He sounded like he hadn’t laughed in years; Then he wouldn’t stop. He brought me cards & laughed with each one. Ben already figured out the push button on the I phone video. They weren’t just starving for food. They are starving for attention. Mei mei already signed more a couple of times. M looks like she’s 12 months old. Mei doesn’t like dolls either. 🙂 Oh & mei said dada. You’re daddy was a goner after that!

  Yep. Ben doesn’t talk. But mei mei sings. 🙂 “

• Look at those sweet faces

  Date: 2012.03.11 | Category: Adoption

   

  

  Maisey cuddling with her momma and her crackers.

  

  Benjamin talking to his sisters 🙂

• THEY HAVE MADE CONTACT!

  Date: 2012.03.11 | Category: Adoption

  Hello everyone! My mom and daddy have their hands on their babies!!!!! Mom said they are super sweet, really shy, and refuse to let mom or dad let go of them. An overall good sign 😀

   

• March 12th

  Date: 2012.03.11 | Category: Adoption

  Today we arrived in Zhenghou. This small town girl is amazed at the size of these cities. The hotel we are at is beautiful.  I can’t imagine what the kids are going to think. When we got in the bus at the airport, they handed us our name tags that said our kids names. Then they handed us sheets with questions & answers about our little ones. Maisey & Benjamin both love water & their baths. Benjamin likes to be rocked to sleep – tears flowed over that tidbit of information. I was so afraid he’d be too big to want to be held. Maisey likes to sing to herself. They are both introverts but from what they sheet said they can be bribed with cookies & candy. :). I can NOT wait to hold them. Pray for their peace. We are so close.

• Our Trip

  Date: 2012.03.11 | Category: Adoption

  This has been an amazing adventure. Dan & I were discussing this morning how blessed we are to be allowed to love these children.  My heart overflows with love for them. I have had many people comment on Benjamin’s heart defect. They ask if it’s easily fixable & we say there is no fix. They say we’re brave. It’s funny because I’m not necessarily the most courageous person but I do have faith. I trust that this is right. I have the knowledge that 5 days is not enough & what I wouldn’t have given for a year with Kyle.  A month is precious, a year a gift beyond measure & a decade an eternity.  I don’t take things for granted but I know not to give up hope either. Codey should not be here, yet he is. Hopey has defied the odds. Who knows what the future holds for my Benjamin. Who knows what it holds for any of us.  I shall shower Benjamin with a mother’s love for as long as I am allowed & await the day when we are together again when that day comes.

• Flying

  Date: 2012.03.10 | Category: Uncategorized

  Its 7am, March 11th, mom and dad are leaving their hotel to get on the plane to fly to Zhengzhou, where they will get the kids on the 12th! They should land about 10pm our time.

• Note From My Momma

  Date: 2012.03.10 | Category: Uncategorized

  From Mom, to me, to you 🙂

  “I think the scariest thing here is the driving. So many people & cars everywhere. There are 20 million people in the city with another 10 million coming in to work. We went to a silk factory. Watching how they do it was amazing. We also went through a Jade factory. Dan bought me a “happiness ball”. It’s very pretty. It means family that can’t be torn apart. I love hearing everyone’s stories. The way God works in people’s lives is amazing. They way He brings people together – awe inspiring. Believe it or not we aren’t the biggest family here. One gentlemen is picking up number 7 while his wife is at home with number 8 still waiting to be born. We leave in the morning [Remember, they are 10 hours ahead of us: it’s 530 on Sunday morning there:)] to get ready to pick up our little ones. I realized yesterday that since they are the same size everyone will assume they are twins. Dan says it’s a gift. I’m not so sure. Something’s are still really painful even after all these years. I will try hard to not cry if someone comments on that & find joy in second chances.”