Recycling...

With all the paperwork we have done it just can't be good for the environment. My carbon foot print looks like Big Foot. I had a three hour conference call with our agency to discuss the next wave of paperwork. I started the call with a feeling of excitement and finished with knots in my stomach. With me traveling alone we have extra stuff that must be complete ASAP to have a prayer of leaving in April. China in the summer is the hottest place I have ever been...an I have been to Africa ....and live the DEEP South. I just want my son home and in his bed. Please keep him in your prayers.

My Other Man..

Thomas McConnell has the best smile in the world with chubby cheeks and dimples. He is my snuggle bunny and has been Momma's boy from day one. The first few hours with Tommy were typical he was scared and mad all rolled in a pint sized package. I remember getting down on the floor with him and looking him straight in the eyes and whispering...you are my son and whatever you throw at me will never make me stop loving you! The grieving didn't stop but the trust between us started that night. Tommy got his giggle box turned on (my nick name growing up was giggle box) and laughed for an hour, Chris went in the other room to sleep on the floor. I can be in another room and hear that laugh and a smile comes across my face and my heart is lightened. Tommy and I had a special day Wednesday...Mommy & Tommy Date!!!! We discussed for days what we would do.. a picnic and the park. Macaroni, chicken and juice were on the menu and Wilshire Park was the place. All the years dreaming about being a mother never came close to the LOVE that I have for this child. My heart aches knowing he will face many hardships with his speech and not fitting into the mold the world had designed. My Children have been placed in my care....God has got my back??

THANKFUL

I can’t stop praying for this sweet boy, who has been given the name “Adam” by the agency who has his file. He reminds me SO MUCH of my sweet girl! I do look at many agency-only listings of their waiting children, and I saw him here months ago. I can’t help but notice his beautiful, wide smile. He has a special donor who is hoping to help his family find him! Please go HERE to read more about “Adam”, scroll down and he is the next to last child listed. He is also the same age as our Li’l Miss. Please pray with me that his family can find him soon.

The LOA Dance....

LOA...LOA...LOA...LOA..LOA..LOA...LOA.....Come on TA.

Is this LABOR????

I can't think clearly about anything but LOA...Letter of Acceptance. Two things you can count on when adopting...1- Lot of Paperwork 2- You are going to WAIT...WAIT..and WAIT some more. not sure what labor is like but this stage of adoption is painful and make you crazy. I keep telling myself this our third time and it should be easier but each adoption has been it's own unique journey. Ian's story is very different because of the first family that did not complete the process. The problem is the Ian has been looking out the windwon waiting for that family for over three years and now is told we are going to be that family. The PAIN is that he has been adandoned twice and what he must be thinking about adults and their actions. Chris and I know that love and lot of patience will be beeded to Ian the time to trust we will be his forever family. The other thing that is very different this time - Chirs will be staying home and I will travel alone. We have discussed this over and over...Shy Guys concerns...I can't see the board at the airport...remedy will be wear my glasses. Can't carry all the suit cases...my remedy....pack less. STINK at paperwork....I will have to work on that one. Traveling alone doesn't worry me much as a 4yr old throwing a fit in the middle of China or having a meltdown on a 13 + hour flight. The one thing that I can count on is GOD HAS GOT MY BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

WARNING.....

The Waiting Child
by Debbie Bodie

---

I saw you meet your child today You kissed your baby joyfully And as you walked away with her I played pretend you'd chosen me. I'm happy for the baby, yet Inside I'm aching miserably I want to plead as you go by, "Does no-one want a child of three?" I saw you meet your child today In love with her before you met And as I watched you take her out I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year! I knew I'd seen your face before! But you came for a second babe. Does no-one want a child of four? I saw you meet your child today But this time there was something new A nurse came in and took MY hand And then she gave my hand to you. Can this be true? I'm almost six! And there are infants here you see? But then you kissed me and I knew The child you chose this time was me.

Ian Christopher Zhi Kang Davis

Once Upon A Time...

There was this wild child and shy guy that went to their 20yr high school reunion. Fast forward a year later - married. OH... what a first year of fun we had. The shy guy tried and tried to teach the wild child how to load the dishwasher his way and clean the toilets his way, but she had other plans. I would describe myself as a 80's girl with a large dose of hippie...very intense about my beliefs and would die for what I love and believe. My husband is the what you see is what you get kind of guy. He is honest and loyal and my best buddy. We have two adopted kiddos (soon to be three), all from China and two are cleft palate kids. I can't remember going to bathroom alone or having a full nights sleep, but being a mom ROCKS!
Shy guy here - although there hasn't been a shy bone in my body for decades, she remembers that from school. Aside from that, we have a daughter - McKenna, who is 5 now. We adopted her through the regular processes and is from Changsha in the Hunan Province. She was just over a year old on Gotcha Day in July of 2005. Once we found that we could keep a child alive and having them can actually be fun, we decided to return to China again. We were diving into the paperwork for the next one when we started to discuss special needs children. We had visited McKenna's orphanage while we were there and saw many children there that were older or special children that had been waiting much longer to get a forever family. Then we were filling out the medical checklist for this when we came across the "gender" question. We looked at each other and the three choices - Male, Female, or Either. We checked "either" knowing it would be a girl because they had so many more than boys, or so we thought. Once we sent in our checklist, we were told we were number 159 on the list so we thought it would be a while before we had a referral. Twelve days later Nicole got a phone call - "Congratulations Mommy, it's a boy!". Tommy came home in May of 2007 and has had surgeries to correct his cleft palate. He was 19 months when he got him - he is 4 now and doing great. Later we came to find out that boys outnumber the girls in special needs because the girls usually get adopted first. Currently we are in process to bring home a 4 year old boy, also with cleft palate, who will be named Ian. We hope to travel in March or April 2010 to bring our boy home.
We have started this blog to help our family and friends follow our journey to Ian and the other crazy adventures of our family.