We want to share a few pictures from our 2 amazing days...
Gotcha day and Adoption day!
We have some technical limitations from here so I will have to simply add them to the end of this post...but suffice it to say it was an AWESOME and INCREDIBLE experience.
We did not know what to expect when we met him.
We had heard the best and the worst stories.
We knew that we would be in a room with TWENTY EIGHT other families meeting their children! And just as suspected...
It was stuffy,
hot
and the emotion was palpable in the air.
It was very noisy...some children were all out screaming as they were handed over to their new parents. All of us understood.
What was happening for each child was the same: EVERYTHING they ever knew was changing.
Caregivers.
Environment.
Language.
Food.
Even their very names.
It would be a lot for any adult to deal with...but they are all children aged 14 and under!!!!
Our little Tobyn BaoKun came out with his nanny, walking on his own.
I could try to describe that moment, but i'll never do it justice. (You'll just have to do it yourself one day to REALLY know that excitement/ joy/concern/love that fills that moment!!)
He just stood there for a moment...
looking at the face of his new mommy.
It must have been too much, because he looked away.
I held out my arms. He stood looking at me and then away again.
Finally, I made the move.
I picked him up, knowing he could scream and throw himself backwards. (Nope, it ain't my first rodeo!)
He didn't scream.
He smiled.
No camera caught it because he was turned the other way,
but my heart did.
I carried him over to where our things were and the nannies and orphanage director joined us.
We oogled over him and he sat silently, wide eyed at all the commotion.
At some point we began asking the list of questions we had prepared ahead of time.
We were being given a little person and knew NOTHING about his diet, routine, likes/dislikes or what helps him feel safe when frightened.
We began a hunt for these answers as it was all beginning to sink in: these dear souls had loved on Toby since birth and were now trusting US to take over.
WOW!!!
Things felt a lot like when you inform a babysitter how to do their job.
Except we were not babysitters.
We were soon-to-be parents.
China allows you this 24 hour period to just be sure you want to go through with your intended adoption.
Wow. (Again.)
How can I capture all these emotions for you??!?
I cannot.
Maybe you understand why I simply could not sleep for days!!
We returned the next day to officially adopt this little delight. It involved several stops in different government offices, signing and answering questions.
And confirming we did not want to, "change the baby."
(I think they could work on improving that translation!)
Then, a few more red stamps and we had done it: added one more precious child to our little clan.
What a blessing. Oh, I simply cannot find the words to express HOW amazing it all is!!!
Later, after we returned from adopting him, I spent two hours alone with him.
I was just DESPERATE to get away from all the noise--and just love on and be with him.
Oh, what wonderful hours they were!
I watched him play with stacking cups and with Toby Bear. (The very special bear I saw way high on a Hilton Head Island toy store shelf and heard a voice say, "That one, over there," and when I got him down I saw his tag said, "Toby!!!!!")
THe boy amazed me.
Although his AMC (special need) is new to me, it is NOT new to him. He has learned ways to compensate for not having bendable elbows and it is very impressive!
A small yogurt melt I had put into his hand was dropped into my flat palm and he dove down and gobbled it up with his mouth.
An itch on his face was scratched with a toy, brought up to his forehead...with his foot!
He giggled as he showed off how he could raise the toy up to his head.
When he needs to move multiple things to a new spot, he uses his feet almost like hands--quickly and pinches with his toes.
Nope, ain't his first rodeo either!!
He began to smile...and then giggle.
Last night we had an all out gigglefest!
I was so curious to see if he would be stoic and silent all over again today, but he WASN'T!
He sang during breakfast, tried any new food we offered him and flashed that melt-your-heart smile that he is going to be known for.
YESSSSSSS!!!!!
Today he began imitating things we say. He especially likes to imitate what his big sisters say. The boy is going to be speaking English by next week!
Tonight, after flashing his "Baba" (Daddy) another melting smile, I could not help thinking back to the time we had to decide: would we say YES or NO? Would we actually say yes to adopting a special needs child?
My heart told me we MUST. My fears told me I might not be enough, I was too busy already, I was not patient enough and we would never get all the money to do a Chinese adoption.
What a wonderful thing that we did not look at our abilities/inabilities but at the Mighty God who called us to Toby.
HE IS ALL WE NEED.
Shortly after saying YES, the Lord gave me this verse for his adoption and parenting: "May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him." Hebrews 13:21
Amen!!!
Gotcha day and Adoption day!
We have some technical limitations from here so I will have to simply add them to the end of this post...but suffice it to say it was an AWESOME and INCREDIBLE experience.
We did not know what to expect when we met him.
We had heard the best and the worst stories.
We knew that we would be in a room with TWENTY EIGHT other families meeting their children! And just as suspected...
It was stuffy,
hot
and the emotion was palpable in the air.
It was very noisy...some children were all out screaming as they were handed over to their new parents. All of us understood.
What was happening for each child was the same: EVERYTHING they ever knew was changing.
Caregivers.
Environment.
Language.
Food.
Even their very names.
It would be a lot for any adult to deal with...but they are all children aged 14 and under!!!!
Our little Tobyn BaoKun came out with his nanny, walking on his own.
I could try to describe that moment, but i'll never do it justice. (You'll just have to do it yourself one day to REALLY know that excitement/ joy/concern/love that fills that moment!!)
He just stood there for a moment...
looking at the face of his new mommy.
It must have been too much, because he looked away.
I held out my arms. He stood looking at me and then away again.
Finally, I made the move.
I picked him up, knowing he could scream and throw himself backwards. (Nope, it ain't my first rodeo!)
He didn't scream.
He smiled.
No camera caught it because he was turned the other way,
but my heart did.
I carried him over to where our things were and the nannies and orphanage director joined us.
We oogled over him and he sat silently, wide eyed at all the commotion.
At some point we began asking the list of questions we had prepared ahead of time.
We were being given a little person and knew NOTHING about his diet, routine, likes/dislikes or what helps him feel safe when frightened.
We began a hunt for these answers as it was all beginning to sink in: these dear souls had loved on Toby since birth and were now trusting US to take over.
WOW!!!
Things felt a lot like when you inform a babysitter how to do their job.
Except we were not babysitters.
We were soon-to-be parents.
China allows you this 24 hour period to just be sure you want to go through with your intended adoption.
Wow. (Again.)
How can I capture all these emotions for you??!?
I cannot.
Maybe you understand why I simply could not sleep for days!!
We returned the next day to officially adopt this little delight. It involved several stops in different government offices, signing and answering questions.
And confirming we did not want to, "change the baby."
(I think they could work on improving that translation!)
Then, a few more red stamps and we had done it: added one more precious child to our little clan.
What a blessing. Oh, I simply cannot find the words to express HOW amazing it all is!!!
Later, after we returned from adopting him, I spent two hours alone with him.
I was just DESPERATE to get away from all the noise--and just love on and be with him.
Oh, what wonderful hours they were!
I watched him play with stacking cups and with Toby Bear. (The very special bear I saw way high on a Hilton Head Island toy store shelf and heard a voice say, "That one, over there," and when I got him down I saw his tag said, "Toby!!!!!")
THe boy amazed me.
Although his AMC (special need) is new to me, it is NOT new to him. He has learned ways to compensate for not having bendable elbows and it is very impressive!
A small yogurt melt I had put into his hand was dropped into my flat palm and he dove down and gobbled it up with his mouth.
An itch on his face was scratched with a toy, brought up to his forehead...with his foot!
He giggled as he showed off how he could raise the toy up to his head.
When he needs to move multiple things to a new spot, he uses his feet almost like hands--quickly and pinches with his toes.
Nope, ain't his first rodeo either!!
He began to smile...and then giggle.
Last night we had an all out gigglefest!
I was so curious to see if he would be stoic and silent all over again today, but he WASN'T!
He sang during breakfast, tried any new food we offered him and flashed that melt-your-heart smile that he is going to be known for.
YESSSSSSS!!!!!
Today he began imitating things we say. He especially likes to imitate what his big sisters say. The boy is going to be speaking English by next week!
Tonight, after flashing his "Baba" (Daddy) another melting smile, I could not help thinking back to the time we had to decide: would we say YES or NO? Would we actually say yes to adopting a special needs child?
My heart told me we MUST. My fears told me I might not be enough, I was too busy already, I was not patient enough and we would never get all the money to do a Chinese adoption.
What a wonderful thing that we did not look at our abilities/inabilities but at the Mighty God who called us to Toby.
HE IS ALL WE NEED.
Shortly after saying YES, the Lord gave me this verse for his adoption and parenting: "May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him." Hebrews 13:21
Amen!!!
Love the progression of life in Toby's face. He's coming alive with his new family! What a miraculous answer to prayer and a fantastically beautiful step of obedience!
ReplyDeleteCathie
He is PRECIOUS! I'm also a soon-to-be adoptive mom through Lifeline. I've been following your blog recently and we're so excited for you! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you the amount of joy I feel in seeing these pictures :). He is absolutely beautiful! He will always hold a special place in my heart...
ReplyDeleteSarah
Oh my goodness - what a beautiful and amazing story of God's goodness! He is adorable and you can see the joy on his little face. I could also tell that the adults who passed him off to you loved him very much. That is a sweet thing to know. Hugs to all of you!
ReplyDeleteSo, so, so precious!
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to admit that this:
And confirming we did not want to, "change the baby." (I think they could work on improving that translation!)
Totally cracked me up! That is very funny :-)
Praying for you guys as you begin this new phase of your family journey!
LOVE the verse He gave you, Amy!!! And after the miraculous ways He has provided for this adoption, I think it's safe to say that He will follow through on equipping you and producing every good thing in you!!! He is good, He is good!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!! Toby is beautiful. Your descriptions brought back so many memories. :) So thankful for the way he is being grafted into your family. And yes, our AMC babies are AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteI also needed to be reminded of the verse you quoted from Hebrews at this point in our journey. Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Toby is so cute.... and blessed to have such wonderful parents. I have AMC to and it's effected much of my body. But with God grace's (which is different from being graceful) I lead a ordinary life as a child an teenager I had a few operations. As adult I married and have children, have a good education and have a interesting job. Every day stuff like other people.
ReplyDelete