The moment I have been waiting for...a post about our baby boy from China!
On Monday, September 16, as I arrived home from dropping Nathaniel off at school the phone rang. Thankfully it was freezing outside so Fredrick and I didn't head to the park before coming home. My intention was to come home and get some painting done. That didn't happen!
It was our resource person, "Is it a good day for me to send you an email?" Ummmmmmm...YES!
I couldn't get to my iPad fast enough...moments later I was smiling ear to ear as I saw my baby boy for the first time. He is the cutest thing I've seen (since Fredrick's proposal picture HA!). It's funny, during our meetings with our social worker, he kept saying this proposal would be different than the other 2 since this child will have a special need. He reminded us we had to think with our heads not with our hearts and wanted to be sure we were strong enough to say no, if necessary, after seeing a picture of a waiting child. We assured him we would definitely think things through and wouldn't fall in love. Who the heck were we trying to fool? The moment I laid eyes on this child, he was mine (ours)! He is our son!
Jon thought a little more with his head than I did and asked that I get the medical checked over by the pediatrician. I'm no doctor but I am getting pretty good at figuring out blood tests and the meaning of the results. I did go to the pediatrician today and she told me exactly what I already knew.
Details:
Our baby boy's birthday is March 01, 2012. He is 18 months right now and 20 months younger than Fredrick. I am hoping they will be good playmates once he is home.
He was born with cleft lip/palate but his lip has been repaired. He will still need surgery once he arrives in Canada for his palate. (I'll be asking for prayer when the time comes!!!!)
His growth is right on target according to the Chinese growth charts.
His motor development and speech is also on target. It says that he is a very smart boy. That he is very friendly and active. His favorite activity is being outdoors. He already fits into our family life perfectly! He'll be joining Jon and the boys in a game of street hockey in no time! And I'm sure he will enjoy all the park time he'll get during the summer.
Jon and I have chosen the names JACK ROBERT (part of his Chinese name -- haven't figured that out yet) deSOUZA. If you're wondering where Jack comes from...well I will be completely honest with you...I am a huge Three's Company fan and a John Ritter fan...if you are unaware John Ritter's character's name was Jack. While on vacation I asked Jon what he thought of the name and he loved it. My mom also had an uncle named Jack, so we'll go with that story! Robert is my dad's middle name and also Jon's late uncle's name, so we get to honor 2 important people. Pretty strong name, don't you think???
"If all goes well" dad and I will be travelling early December or beginning of January. OH PLEASE pray with us that we will leave at the beginning of December! The city where Jack is from is very north of China, and apparently it is just as cold there as it is here in Montreal in December/January. Here dad and I thought we'd be getting away from the cold for 2 weeks. My mom said she had a moment of sadness that she wouldn't be coming with me, but then she got over it once she heard it was going to be cold!
I love my boys, I love adoption and I love that I have been blessed to be an adoptive mom but there is something so much greater I hope people can get from our stories...and it is this...
None of this would have been possible without God. He has pieced every process together perfectly. No matter how many time I fail and disappoint my Heavenly Father, He continues to forgive me and even bless me. His plan is perfect. Had I been the one in charge, I would have chosen a child months ago, and the timing would have been totally off! Yet because we gave the process over to God, He chose now. Because He chose now, we will travel in the winter months which means my parents don't have to give up any time at their trailer, Jon's work will have slowed down, and Nathaniel will still be in school. I also get to do a short-term work contract to earn some extra money that will come in very handy for the trip. This also means I will be able to collect parental leave when I come back from China.
I was reading a devotional for moms the other day and it was entitled, "I Want To Go Fast!" The verse used was, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..." Psalm 37:7 Let me tell you for each adoption process I wanted to go F-A-S-T! But for the first two I had no choice but to wait "patiently" and we were blessed with 2 amazing kids. This time because I could access lists of waiting children (with special needs) I felt I could beat God to the finish line. I was determined I would find our third child on my own. Every day I searched and searched...I searched for any possible links to waiting children. Then God gave me a gentle reminder...(the devotional). If we had truly given this process over to Him, why did I think I could do a better job putting all the pieces together? Why did I think I could get it done faster on my own? All I had to do was wait patiently for Him. He knew when the time was right. He knew when the child of HIS choosing would be ready. He knew what special needs we could handle. I am just so amazed at how much I am loved by my Heavenly Father and how truly slow I am to learn that I just need to wait patiently on Him!!!!
Bear with me...this blog is also meant as a journal for Jack...so here comes the sappy part!
Jack...oh how much you are loved. I keep checking the time to see what you might be doing. It's almost 11pm here, so 11am where you are. It's nap time baby boy! Have a wonderful sleep and dream well. Mommy and daddy are so excited to have you join our crazy (but pretty awesome HA!) family. Your picture is up and I keep glancing over to look at your precious face. You now have 2 pretty amazing brothers who will probably drive you nuts at times (especially Fredrick -- he's got some serious attitude) but mostly they will just love you to pieces! Oh, and a word of advice...lay off Fredrick's cars! NO ONE messes with Fredrick's cars! Love you to infinity and beyond (we say that a lot around here).
Love mama.
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