More Pictures

OK, so it took FOREVER for my 2 video clips to load on yesterday's post, so I'm now going to load what pictures we do have of Gotcha Day and the ones we have from the day after, when we returned to the SWI to complete Zack's adoption.  You will note that Zack is wearing Lions gear.  Got to start them out right, you know. 

Jill

Zack's orphanage director filling out her part of the paperwork.  He didn't want to let her get too far away at this point. 

 Doing some red ink fingerprinting stuff.  I am not sure what we were agreeing to at this point...I think to keep him with us for 24 hours and that we had the right child. 

 Here you can glimpse the little "Yuncheng heart" Zack was wearing.  He was beebopping around the room making sure not to get too close to us. 

 Finally playing with his toy cell phone, back in the hotel room.   Note his crappy, falling apart crib in the background. 

                       We kept to really simple toys...he knew what to do with everything. 

        The next morning, eating some banana ceral with dad before we went down to breakfast. 

 Still liking the cell phone...this is us before we start another round of signing and red inking fun. 

 This is a great shot of our Taiyuan guide, Lisa.  She was a lot of fun and really wonderful.  Her husband is in the People's Army and she does not get to live with him where he is stationed

                              I am signing and trying to keep Zack's hands away from everything. 

                                                             Getting ready to ink!!!

                                                       EVERYONE had to red ink. 

 We are all done but waiting on our travel buddies while they take their turn at red inking fun.  Time to start getting in to stuff, don't ya think?

 Our picture with the director of Zack's orphanage, who brought him up from Yuncheng Ciy.  Yuncheng means "transportation"...it is apparently a big hub for transporting salt.  He does not look at all happy here but he's really OK.  I think he was just ready to be out of that room.

                           First time we gave him a full bath.  He did and does still love the tub. 

                                      Sleeping after all of the excitement of our first full day together...this crib is really quite a piece of crap. 

GOTCHA DAY FOR ZACK

Gotcha Day is a euphemism for the day an adoptive family meets/takes physical custody of their new child.  In China, this is normally the day prior to the day the official adoption is completed on the China side.  There are some out there that find the term “gotcha day” offensive or derogatory.  I guess everything offends someone.  Here is our gotcha story. 

I read a lot of blogs and looked at a lot of Gotcha Day videos on “YOUTUBE” and I was really excited to be able to have the chance to capture meeting our new son on camera and video.  The experience was surreal – I want to say really surreal, so would I say “surreally”?  Anyhoo…we were all a bit overwhelmed and just didn’t go for the camera like I had envisioned but I remember those first moments with Zack with the same clarity I remember my first moments with Laura. 

So here we go.  Our gotcha was not scheduled until 3PM because Zack had to be brought by the director of the Yuncheng City Social Welfare Institute to the Taiyuan SWI (7 hours by train).  There was one other family with us whose daughter was in a SWI about an hour away from Taiyuan and they had to wait until 3PM also, since Zack was late for the party.  I’m sure this did not thrill them but they were very, very gracious about it…more so than I would have been.  Not like anyone had a choice. 

Our guide Lisa picked us up and we all got in the van.  I had no idea what to expect, but I guess I kind of expected that we’d be shown to a room and the children would be brought to us.  The SWI was about 20 minutes away by car from where we were staying – by the Death Van, more about China transportation later – and we pulled up to what looked like an ordinary office building.  I think it was like a city hall, where official stuff was done.  So, we all trooped in, rode an elevator and went down the hall to a little room – and there he was. 

There were 2 couches set up and each child’s camp – caretakers and the director of the orphanages they were associated with – was set up on one couch.  I took in the setup as we walked in the room and remember thinking – he is one of those kids sitting there – and then my eyes went to him and it was like nothing else was going on in the room.  If you watch our “Gotcha” video, you can see where I handed off the video camera to Lisa.  I had been filming as we entered the room, and when I realized that Zack was in the room, I lost interest in filming.  So, there is a very “Blair Witch Project” start to the video, until Lisa actually started filming. 

Zack was highly suspicious of us at first.  He gave both Lee and I what can only be described as the “stink eye”.  The little photo book that we sent to back in April was on the table and it dirty and looked well-used, which I was glad to see.  The orphanage director, who had traveled with Zack from Yuncheng City (we were later told the trip is 7 hours by train and that he’d just arrived right before we got there) was pointing to Lee and I and pointing to our pictures and telling Zack we were his mom and dad.  Zack did not appear particularly enthused at this news and continued to glare at us.  He was (and is) beyond beautiful.  I could tell right away that his right hand was pretty darn functional.  We were led to believe he didn’t use it except as support, and that was wrong.  He manages to hold on to things with it by securing the object (toy, snack bowl, etc), to his torso and locking it in with his little hand.  Anyhoo…I was determined not to overwhelm him, although I wanted to pick him up and smooch him right away.  I tried to meet him at eye level and not make any sudden movements that would freak him out.  I was absolutely confident that I’d win him over very quickly with the contents of his little backpack that I’d carefully selected as ways to make friends with a 2 year old. 

Wrong.  I offered him a small stuffed bear, a toy cell phone, banana cereal, a Thomas the Tank Engine toy, bubbles, a cool cup with a straw attached, and a lollipop.  Zack wanted nothing – nada, zip, zilch - to do with anything I was offering.  He’d push everything away and it was very clear that if I was the one handing goodies out, he was not even remotely interested in taking something from me.  His orphanage director made him take the lollipop, although he did not eat it.  He had a small stuffed pillow on a string around his neck with some Chinese characters on it, and I touched it and commented on it – he did not like that and quickly adjusted the pillow under his arm so that I could not grab on it further.  I mean really….who is this funny looking and sounding lady trying to grab my accessories?!?  The director explained to me that this was a symbol/souvenir of Yuncheng City, and she gave me one to wear also, with different writing.  Zack did not seem to be overly thrilled that we were wearing the same thing, and made a couple of swipes at my necklace.  There was some paperwork doing and stamping our signatures with red inked fingerprints…Lee was holding it together and managed to square that away for us…I was pretty close to being a blubbering mess at this point.  I kept thinking “he hates me” although his reaction was a little more civil than what I’d expected as “worst case scenario”.  I was trying not to cry or do anything that would scare Zack, but it was an emotional moment for me. The director indicated that she was going to sneak out the door while Zack was distracted.  She didn’t quite make it to the door, and Zack realized she was leaving and made a run for her.  I don’t think this woman was someone that Zack was particularly attached to, but she was the person who brought him to Taiyuan and I think she was somewhat familiar to him – she was in the picture of him having his birthday cake back in July.  So, I ran after Zack and scooped him up, seeing that this was the chance to make my mommy move and hold him.  He did that little “I’m going to cry but it’s going to take me a long time to get my breath and really let one out” thing, and boy, did he howl.  He did not hit me, push me away or try to get down, but he was clearly unhappy. 

We had to leave immediately after that to go have our family picture taken for the adoption certificate.  He was screaming the entire time and dragging his lollipop through my hair.  The photographer was insisting we had to sit a certain way and it was hard to understand what exactly she wanted us to do.  She kept telling Zack to stop crying and she wasn’t particularly kind and gentle about it.  I couldn’t understand her words and I’m sure she sees this kind of thing all the time, but her tone and body language indicated “sit down and shut up”.  Our first family photo is ridiculous – I will have to find a way to scan it off the adoption certificate and post it.  We have a very unhappy little boy, a dad who has this “what the hell?” look on his face and me with my terrible cheesy smile like I’m trying to convince everyone who will one day see this picture along with myself that everything is super peachy. 

After we got our pictures taken, we had to stand outside for quite some time.  Why?  I have really no idea.  We had our guide Lisa to lead us around by the nose – I guess she was off doing paperwork or arranging the details of something somewhere.  Lee was there.  There was a family of four traveling with us that were there…but I don’t really have any recollections of anything other than me and Zack…odd, because Lee videotaped me talking and holding Zack at this time. 

Zack was still crying, and he was probably hot and uncomfortable.  It was a very warm day – the ladies were all in summer dresses and the guys were in shorts, but my little hunk of burning love was wearing a sweatshirt and flannel pants.  I started singing to him, hoping that would soothe him.  I’m embarrassed to say all knowledge of baby songs left my mind at this time…I’m pretty rusty, but I just couldn’t think of anything good to sing to a crying baby, so I tried “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” “Hey Soul Sister” and…don’t judge…”99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”.  I literally couldn’t think of anything else to sing, although Lee got me on camera saying I was singing Madonna songs.  Anyhoo…my singing worked…he went to sleep pretty quickly.  Poor thing was exhausted. 

Next up was a trip to a Wal-Mart like store to buy baby supplies/groceries.  We made an impulse purchase of a very nice stroller.  We had not planned to buy a stroller in China, but little dude is super heavy and I’m glad we had it during the trip.  I was dreading Zack waking up because I thought we’d get tears anew when he saw that we were still there.  He slept through most of the shopping, and did surprisingly well when he woke up.  He put both of his hands on either side of my face and stared at me pretty intently.  I had to put him down for a minute to adjust and he held up his arms for me to pick him back up again, which I took as a good sign.  He whined a little bit when he got handed off to Lee, but that only lasted a few minutes.  In addition to the stroller, we bought some bananas, juice, and yogurt and a package of diapers (Chinese diapers are TERRIBLE, BTW.  If you’re reading this and you’re soon traveling to China to pick up your child, just pack enough diapers for the trip.  They don’t take up that much space.  We brought a few and saved them for long appointments out and the trip home…but I repeat – Chinese diapers are TERRIBLE.  We bought Pampers and they are not the same quality as US diapers).

We all sat on the stools outside the checkout area while we waited for our travel buddies to finish up their shopping and Zack was content to sit on my lap and just take everything in.  In the car ride back to the hotel, he accepted some cereal snacks from us and even fed us some bits of cereal – which is a very good sign.  It was about a half hour ride back to our hotel, and by the time we got there, he was smiling and animated.  He was very excited when he saw the fountains outside the hotel and willingly went with Lee to go check it out.  Once we got up to our room, he went right to the toys we’d put out for him (Legos and stack cups) and started playing quietly.  We didn’t anticipate doing this, but we ended up taking him to the dining room for dinner and he did really well.  We were starving, since we had skipped lunch. 

We decided not to give him a bath the first night – we weren’t sure how he’d react and we didn’t want to put any more stress on his plate that day.  He ate fairly well, although he didn’t eat or drink a whole lot the first couple of days we had him.  Finding what he liked was a small challenge, but once we got the “right cup” and the “right utensil”, we were in business.  We’d brought a bottle and a couple of sippy cups because we weren’t sure what he was used to.  His orphanage director told us he drank out of a bowl…I’m not sure if something was lost in translation, but Zack actually can drink fairly well from a regular bottle or a cup with no lid…you just have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t dump it on himself. 

Zack went to bed easily and slept all night – and that was the last good night’s sleep we had.  More on that later.  The next morning, we had to go back to the Social Welfare Institute/Notary Office to complete the adoption.  The other family’s new daughter really had a hard time with going back in to that building.  She was a little older than Zack and seemed to recognize where we were right away.  She probably thought they were taking her back and she was really upset – just heartbreaking.  Zack didn’t have quite the same reaction, but he was clinging to me very tightly and appeared pretty apprehensive…wanted mom and dad close. 

The orphanage director from Yuncheng City was back and it amazed me the difference in reaction Zack had to her just 18 hours later.  He was OK being in the room with her and was willing to interact with her from my lap, but he showed no signs of wanting to go with her at all.  She seemed like a very nice lady and took our pictures – presumably to take back to his foster family. 

We had to answer several questions that morning – we had to tell why we wanted to adopt Zack and promise that we would be good parents to him and never to harm or abandon him.  We had to re-verify our personal data (ages, income, family info) and sign about a bazillion times (it was like closing on a house).  With each signature, we had to do a fingerprint in red ink over the top of our signature.  Zack also had to put his handprints on the form.  They asked if we were happy with Zack and if we wanted to press forward with the adoption – duh.  He sat on my lap and was very well behaved but very serious.  We hung out while our travel buddies did the same thing, and then were on our way.  As far as China was concerned Zack became our son on 27 Aug 12.  We had to hang out in Taiyuan until Friday to wait for Zack’s passport.  I will post more on Taiyuan later.  It was not the most fun spot I have ever visited, but it is one of the few links to Zack’s history and heritage we have and I tried to find the positives. 

Enjoy the pictures and videos of Gotcha and the day after.  We are very fortunate that Zack took to us both so well and so quickly.  We have adjustments and growing pains as any family does when a new member is added, but our first 24 hours with Zack could not have gone much better.  Thanks for following along!

Jill

 

WE ARE HOME!!!

We arrived back in England yesterday Saturday evening (a little behind on blogging already).  We are still having fun with jet lag and Zack is a little overwhelmed by the size of the house and all of the stuff in it, but he is still doing very well. 

We did not blog in China.  We took only our tablet and I found typing on the tablet to be too difficult for blogging.  I mean…I could have done it but chances are, I would have typed jibberish or something that made no sense.  I don’t have a huge list of “do overs” but one would have been to take the laptop, although I didn’t really feel I had time to be on the computer a lot. 

So we are home and go about the business of re-establishing normal.  Whatever normal was or wasn’t, it isn’t the same now.  As I sit here, I am thinking about how I am going to kid proof the kitchen for pancakes (I am wishing for a painter’s drop cloth) and Lee is upstairs playing with blocks.  OK, I will be nice and clarify that Zack is also playing.  Oh, and our day started before 0500.  HUGE changes…but nice ones.  Here are a few pictures is one picture of our new addition for anyone who did not follow our trip on Facebook.  I have a lot in my head…I want to post our “Gotcha” story, some thoughts on Zack’s home province and some travel tips, but I will wait a bit on that. 

All is well in our world.  Cheers,

Jill

And we’re off!

I’ve been meaning to write another blog post ever since we received our travel notice. It seems like after all of the many months of waiting, that things are moving very quickly. We leave on Wednesday on Emirates Air through Dubai and arrive in Beijing late morning. For those of you who might be skeptical at our choice of airline – Google them. Pretty posh, even for us in the cheap seats. 

Here is our itinerary:

Wed – Leave London

Thurs – arrive Beijing/rest

Friday – Tour of Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tianamen Square

Saturday – Tour of Summer Palace, Hutongs, and lunch at Hard Rock Café Beijing.

Sunday – Depart for Taiyuan (Capital of Shanxi Province) via bullet train. This is about a 3 hour trip. 
 

Everything above this point has been “optional”. We decided to see the sights because we have the opportunity to do it. We need a couple of days to get over the jet lag before we take responsibility for a toddler, and last, it’s an important part of Doodlebug’s heritage that we’re going to be able to experience. 
 

Sunday – Arrive Taiyuan. Doodlebug is from Yuncheng City, which is further south in the province, but all Shanxi adoptions are finalized in the capital.

Monday – Gotcha Day (see FAQs below)

Tuesday – Finalize Chinese portion of the adoption

Wed-Thurs – Free/sightseeing days

Friday – Pick up Chinese passport and fly to Guangzhou
 

We will spend the next week completing the U.S. portion of the adoption – mostly immigration/citizenship stuff. We also have to check in at the UK Consulate because he will need a British visitor’s visa. We will have quite a bit of downtime in Guangzhou as well. A group of families on the same adoption timeline as we are will be in GZ with us and we’ll have an opportunity to get together. Many of us have connected via Facebook and other forums online over the past several months and it will be fun to meet and see everyone with their new kids. We cannot leave GZ until we get the appropriate paperwork from the U.S. consulate there. We will depart directly  from GZ and come back to London through Dubai. 

FAQs-

Will you get to visit with your new child before he is officially adopted?

No. Gotcha day is literally what it sounds like. The officials give you the child (who probably isn’t thrilled with the situation), you sign some paperwork and you go back 24 hours later and finalize. The 24 hours is technically a waiting period. If for some reason we were to change our minds about adopting Zack, we could do so during that period.

Will he be a U.S. Citizen?

As soon as he enters the United States, the sealed paperwork we get at our consulate appointment in GZ will be activated and he will officially be a U.S. citizen. He will take the oath of citizenship while we’re in GZ (actually, we take it for him as his parents). While we are traveling, he is going to be considered a Chinese citizen, because he will have a Chinese passport with visas to enter the U.S. and the U.K. We have six months to bring him to the U.S. to complete his naturalization - and that will be instantaneous as soon as he clears U.S. customs.

Will he speak any English?

We get asked this a lot. From what we understand, Doodlebug has normal language development for his age – but he does speak only Chinese. He lives with Chinese foster parents in a remote part of China. He probably will not have heard English spoken before he meets us.

Does he know he is being adopted?

We hope he is being properly prepared, but it is impossible for us to know. We sent photographs of ourselves and our home several months ago, and we’ve sent two care packages to him while we’ve been waiting. That said, I’m not sure how you prepare a 2 year old for this. Important to remember, we have been waiting for him but he has not been waiting for us, and he will probably find the situation to be stressful at first. Some children adjust very easily and some grieve more intensely. We won’t know until Gotcha Day, and we are hoping for the best. We have a backpack full of cool toys and snacks we plan to take for Gotcha Day and hope that will help. The young are resilient. We might go through a rough bit at first…please keep us in your thoughts as we go through this journey.

Why do you have to stay in China for so long?

We cannot leave Doodlebug’s province until we receive his Chinese passport and we cannot leave Guangzhou until we receive all of his visas and medical clearance. There is a lot of downtime on the visit, which we can use for sightseeing, shopping, visiting with other adoptive families and…most important, playing with and getting to know Doodlebug learn how to be a couple with a small child versus just a duo. Although this isn’t a vacation, we are excited to be going on this trip and want to experience all that we can of China. Much of that will depend on how his adjustment is going.

What happens when you get home?

Hubs will return to work about a week after we get home, and I will stay home until October 1^st. Doodlebug will be going to day care in our town when I go back to work.  I will be taking him in small doses so that he can get used to “school” and being there with me and being there for short periods before he has to go to full time nursery. We hope to make a trip to the U.S. before the end of the calendar year to get the rest of our paperwork finished and visit our family. 

 We “locked” Doodlebug's file on November 7^th, 2011.  We will leave China with him as our son on September 7th, 2012. This has been a very long process but good things are worth waiting for.  Thank you for following our journey - we hope to have exciting things to post in the coming days. 

A's A's and More A's...OH MY!

So.  For those of you who have been living on another planet for the past year or so, let me share something with you.  Adoption acronyms contain A’s.  For instance:

PA – Physician’s Assistant?  Pennsylvania?  Oh, that is just silly.  PRE-APPROVAL.  That means that China said we could proceed with Zack’s adotion!

LOA – Letter of Admonishment? Letter of Appreciation?  Oh, poo poo. That actually means Letter Seeking Confirmation!  Why we call it an LOA and not an LSC – well…I have no flipping idea.  Sue me.  I know lawyers. 

TA – Tuition Assistance?  Title and Artist?  How silly would that be?  It means TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So.  For those of you who know me well who can picture me doing a victory lap with the U.S. Flag around the track – well picture that.  This means that we are invited to China to finish our adoption.  And you guys know we don’t go where we aren’t invited.  OK.  Lies. Total lies. 

So. After TA, what do we have – well, friends at home, we have a CA – which stands for…..drum roll…not California…CONSULATE APPOINTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So.  We have been invited to the China to pick up (and exit with) a certain little guy that currently goes by "Mao Mao".  We’re totally thrilled about that. 

More later…I will leave you with a shot of the sea of paperwork that has become my life….and yes…I will be really happy to taken on all the below:  snot monsters, closet monsters, potty trains, interrupted sleep, and whatever whatnot this adventure throws at me.  I have just bought myself another 20 years of kissing boo boos, nagging, organizing carpools…and I’m LOVING THAT.  Cheers, people.  I’m a boy mom now.

AND THE PRIZE FOR MOST OFTEN ASKED ADOPTION QUESTION GOES TO:

”How much longer”?

I have decided that we are traveling on August 23, so that is what I have started telling everyone.  I just need the paperwork to fall in line with this, and honestly, at this point, expectation of going wheels up on this date isn’t unreasonable.  Right now, we are waiting on the U.S. to complete their processing of Doodlebug’s visa to enter the United States.  Once the State Department says “China, we’re done”, that tells China that they can issue the “Family, come visit our country and make sure you exit with this particular child” paperwork.  That is an overly simplified version, but that is what is going on.  Our “Article 5” – this is what the visa paperwork is called (do not ask me why)is picked up, then we get in line for the “Travel Approval” wait.  Our Art 5 will be picked up on 18 July, this we know for sure.  TA takes up to 3 weeks, although most families are getting theirs a little quicker right now.  Once we get TA, our adoption agency will secure for us a CA – consulate appointment.  This is the appointment we have with the U.S. authorities in Guangzhou (gwan/joe) China at the end of our adoption trip and this is what triggers all other travel arrangements.  Clear as mud?  I thought so.  So, lots of moving parts, but things are fairly predictable from this point on. 

I don’t mind answering the “how long” question, but the answer is long!!!  And hard to understand!  It makes perfect sense to me…I could recite the entire IA process to you in my sleep, but hey…I am a pro at this now. 

Doodlebug has officially entered the terrible two’s now.  I had really hoped we’d have him home for his birthday, so we could have at least been a small part of his “one year old years”.  He was 17 months old when we received our PA – AKA green light from China to adopt.  The referral pictures we saw were of Doodlebug at about one year or so.  It has been a blessing and a curse to watch our boy grow up in pictures and we are very excited to be the ones taking the pictures very soon!  And we will be!  We received our travel visas today...not to be confused with his  visa to enter the U.S. (see above).

I've also attached some pictures of Doodlebug's "birthday party".  He is thriving and growing.  We are not sure whether or not he has been moved back to the orphanage or not.  Most of the children in Shanxi province are in foster homes/group homes.  They are transitioned back to the orphanage about a month prior to the adoption in order to ease their transition to their new family.  We are not able to tell what the deal is from the pictures...but he is healthy and seems relatively happy.  The report says he's not receiving any special care for his "disability" but his hand appears to be growing with the rest of his body, which is good.  He is described as "sometimes obstinate" and he seems to have a sweet tooth.  His caretakers say his favorite foods are fruit and sweets.  He cries when he is sleepy and when he is cranky, his caretaker cuddles with him or takes him outside.  He should fit in well around here. 

               Hello Birthday Boy!

         I wonder what he thinks about all of this?

      The other kids look so excited for the treat!

King of Cake

                                                      

                                                          Every time they send us pictures, they make him hold out his little hand for inspection.  Ugh. 

Enough with the picture taking, ladies. 

                                                         

So…how long?  Not much longer.  Trust me…if you’re anywhere near my friends list, share my DNA or family tree or in my zip code…you will know when I know something more.  But thank you for asking about Doodlebug…it really does mean the world that people are interested and happy for us.

Waiting on the NVC - Now what the heck does that mean, Jill???

Someone recently asked me “is it hard to adopt”?  This was a casual question asked by a couple we met while on vacation.  Polite conversation turned to our upcoming adoption.  After the initial “why China/you’re so noble/the child is so lucky” comments, the woman asked me “is it hard to adopt”?  I can’t remember just how I answered, but the question has weighed on my mind since it was asked. 

We’re to the point in this 1+ year-long process where we can see light at the end of the tunnel.  As I sit here and type this, we’re waiting on the National Visa Center to complete their processing of our final adoption paperwork on the U.S. side so we can get in line for the big T to the A…Travel Approval.  This is the “magic document” that triggers all of the dates, appointments and arrangements that will bring us face-to-face with this child that we've waited so long for.  Not too much longer…probably about another 6 weeks. 

So.  Considering we’re near the end, I again consider the “is it hard” question.  That is a hard question to answer.  It has definitely been an exercise in patience.  I am not a patient person.  I want everything to happen exactly when I want it to happen, which is usually right now…sometimes even yesterday.  The last year has been one of endless paper chasing, form filling outing, and waiting.  We track down documents, fill out forms, and wait.  Once we’ve reached a milestone, we fill out another form and wait again.  There is precious little about this process I’ve had control over.  So the waiting and the lack of control – yeah, that has been hard.  For a more chillaxed, go with the flow kind of person…maybe not so much. 

But really, what is so hard about this process?  Is filling out a form that hard?  Has waiting really been that hard?  It hasn’t been pleasant, but while we’ve waited, we have lived life.  Good things have happened.  While I wish Doodlebug could have been part of our lives for the past 14 months, I can honestly look back on the wait and say we haven’t wasted it being miserable because we’re waiting.  We’ve taken advantage of our time without a little one in the house and done some things that won’t be feasible with a toddler in the home. 

Our wait has also brought connections with many other parents in the same boat as us.  These connections have been a blessing and a lifeline, and although I am excited beyond words to meet my son in a few weeks, the thought of connecting with a few of the moms on our adoption timeline that I correspond with every day and share my thoughts with is also pretty awesome and exciting. 

Our wait has also brought frustration in the really stupid things that people say in response to our decision to adopt from China at this point in our lives.  I recently posted on some comments and questions that we get in response to our choice, but the list continues to grow.  A couple of people have suggested that I “pick up an extra” for them while I’m in China.  Um…I’m not going to the corner store for a loaf of bread?  And for those who have asked if I’m trying to be like Angelina or Madonna?  Really?  Um….sure, minus the acting/singing talent and the gazillions of dollars.  Maybe there will come a time when I will have just heard everything and develop a tolerance for these kinds of comments, but I’m not there yet. 

So back to the question, is it hard to adopt?  I say it is not hard but it is also not easy.  It’s not for the faint of heart.  It is an exercise in tolerance and patience.  People expend their time and energy on things that are important.  And for us, this is important. 

My musings are my musings.  It’s a snapshot of my perspective at one moment in time.  We’re almost done and I’m weary…but I’m really excited.

P.S.  The pictures I've added just for fun are:  1 from our recent cruise of the Western Med and 1 from our weekend in Cardiff, where we ran in to a lovely family we know at the train station.