Last Call

This is the last Vicksburg blog as a family of three.  I forgot some of my favorite quotes the other day:

My cousins little girl, Alissa Grace:  "I'm part Chinese.  I fixing to get a Chinese cousin so that makes me part Chinese."

My Mamaw when we told her we were adopting and that I had been nervous about telling her.  I mean she is 86 and this is not really the norm.  "I don't know you would be nervous.  I don't see anything wrong with adopting from Japan or China."  Sorry all you adoptive families outside of China.  I can't worry about you or your feelings.  What's important to me is that she loves Sam.  I have no idea where she got the notion that Japan had an international adoption program.

Kelsey Ann about 10 years ago when discussing the expense of buying a spider monkey, "I could get two Chinese babies for that!"  Um, no you could not.

One of the most common questions we get is what do you know about his parents.  The truth is that we know nothing of his biological parents.  What we do know is that they could not meet his needs and risked criminal prosecution to get him to the orphanage where he received much needed medial care.  We will always be grateful that they gave him life and protected it.  There isn't a legal means to give up a baby in China so it is often done in the dark of night with fear of criminal prosecution. Because of this, most children from China do not come with a family history. Therefore, we are not revealing anything sensational about Sam's past.   I get a lot of gasp when I tell people that we do not know about his family.  There is no need to gasp.  I knew exactly what we were in for in this respect.  This is a leap of faith and that little piece of the puzzle is insignificant to me.  Our family will always speak of his first family in a respectful, thankful, and loving way.

Some adoptive families may find some of the comments that I found funny to be offensive or be very protective of their child's family history.  I do ask that you not ever ask those type of questions in front of Sam. I think one reason that I can roll with some comments is because adoption does not come from a place of loss or pain for us.  I say that while recognizing that there much pain and loss for Sam: his first family and then his caregivers that he loves at the orphanage.  Sam's adoption was born out of my transformative love for John Hinton and God's constant reminder that every child deserves unconditional love and devotion through a forever family and that we could be that family.

Lets do this.

Bye, y'all.

Merry Christmas!

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Less than one week and people say the darnedest things

We are less than one week away from leaving!!!! We understand that blogger and Facebook are censored in China so we are hoping to email my dear friend Jessica and she will update the blog and post in "Fried Chicken and Egg Rolls" on Facebook.

If you want to join the group on Facebook, let me know.

I want to remember some of favorite quotes from this journey. I'll start at home.

JR, when we got our travel dates: "I mean this just got real!" Um ok JR, I've been doing paperwork for 18 months and drained all of our accounts and NOW it is real for you?

My favorites from John Hinton:

He and I lay in his bed at bedtime and talk until he falls asleep.
Me: what do you think Sam will want to talk about when he gets here?
JHA: Jesus!!!

Does Sam like cookies?

We need to get one (does matter what we are buying) for Sam!

JR and JHA in the truck:
JHA: what is that terrible smell. Did someone toot?
JR: I think you tooted.
JHA: Maybe Sam did it.

Nerf bullets all over our living room.
JHA: who made this mess?
Me: I think you did, baby.
JHA: maybe Sam did it.

My Mamaw: Does Sam have a TV?
Me: um, I don't think so. Things at the orphanage seem pretty basic from what I've gathered.
Mamaw: well, he should have a TV. I mean he is in China.

One of JR's clients: I knew someone who adopted and within weeks they got pregnant with twins!
Me: oh I hope not!

Everyone, and I mean 4 out of 5 people: so does he know English?
What I say: no. He has a cleft palate so he will need lots of therapy before he can speak. We expect that he will understand us pretty quickly after he comes home.
What I'm thinking: well sure. His orphanage has only offered him milk paste and porridge and he was wearing girls clothes in his picture but they offer English as a second language enrichment classes.

Those are just a few of my favorites. :)




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Finally

New Years Day 2012, JR and I went to church.  We had communion and open alter.  When I knelt at the altered I prayed earnestly that God would either bring me a child through adoption or unburden my heart.  JR and I had been in the China program for five months.  I was discouraged.  I was tired.  I was frustrated.  I was so frustrated because I felt like God had placed a heavy burden upon my heart for over two years but had not led us to a child.  And there are plenty of children who need families.

It was just days later that I saw Sam's sweet, sweet face and dimples.  God answered my prayers with Sam.  I hope we are the answers to his heart's prayers.  Now, almost a year later, after hours of training, lots praying, some crying, and a ton of paperwork, we are going to bring Sam home. 

Sam is my grandfather's little brother's name.  John Hinton is named after my grandfather, John Hammond Hinton.  In Hebrew, Samuel means "God has heard."  How appropriate. 

Many of you have asked how you can help or if there is anything that you can do for us during this time.  I ask for your prayers for John Hinton.  He will be in excellent hands, but we will gone 19 days.  He burst into tears when we talk about leaving.  I know he will have a difficult time adjusting to Sam.  I'll be kind and say that John Hinton is currently living up to his only child reputation and a delayed terrible twos.  Please pray for Sam.  Not only is this a terrifying experience for him to leave the only familiar faces he knows, he will be overwhelmed with sites, sounds, and people that he has never experienced before.  Please pray for our travel and for Sam to remain calm.  On our way home, we will fly one day within China back to Beijing, spend the night, fly to Seattle, spend the night, fly to Denver to New Orleans, then drive home.  That is enough to exhaust anyone much a toddler. 

I'll keep thinks updated.  We leave in 17 days...

Blog hoppin

My friend, Erin, blogged about us today over at http://erinhern.blogspot.com/. Thanks for the support and encouragement!


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Just in case you forgot...

Just incase you forgot how stinkin cute this kid is. Which is totally understandable since I haven't blogged in forever.

Super heroes and candy collection. Nicholas, Jacob and Plum.




Stealing said candy. Notice the chair



Drag racin with daddy in the hallway. Safety first, Mama's rule.




My view for the week.




I can't wait to get home to my guys!!!

Party Like a Rockstar

You only turn three once, but you can celebrate for days!

You have Mexican with the big hat.

 

 

You enjoy cupcakes with your friends at day care.

This kid is the spitting image of his daddy but his love cupcakes is straight from his mama.

 



 

I love this kid.