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| FISHING |
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| HI DAD! |
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| INTRODUCTION TO ROASTING AND TOASTING FOR S'MORES -- BROTHERS SHARING |
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FIRST CAMPING TRIP
AT THE LAKE
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| THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES... I didn't even think of the symbolism when snapping this shot... when I was sifting through the pictures of the day later that evening... my heart melted when I came to this one. |
PARK DAY
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| HE IS NOT USUALLY VERY FAR FROM A BASKETBALL OR HIS BIKE |
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| Add caption |
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| MAKING HIS OWN SANDWICH- YIKES! I thought about saying no. Ok, I did say no at first; but he assured me he liked it because he had already eaten one before starting the second one- which he planned on taking to the park with him. After I thought about it... it made sense. In China I once combined a sauce and a food for which I was quickly laughed at and corrected for it; 'No!, You use that for this food, not that one!'. The thing was, I liked the sauce eaten with the food I had chosen, not so much with the food that it was 'supposed' to be, or was 'traditionally' paired with. In addition to the memory of the experience in China, if I was quite honest with myself, I had to admit that most of the food we had given to, Blue, in America thus far was no less strange to him than the food combination pictured above would be to us. Hey, if he was willing to try new things and found something he liked in this foreign world he found himself living in... why not let him? We have had to purposely consider daily life decisions with an open mind. We have tried, for the most part, to have the mindset that we are not sweating the small stuff... because this little guy has enough going on. He eventually moved away from this pictured 'creation' and now enjoys more traditional types of sandwiches. |
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| BLUE AND DAD - We arrived home less than 24 hours before Blue's 14th birthday. China law prohibits adoption after a child turns 14. We are so BLESSED to have our son home with us! |
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| BIG SISTER AND BLUE- He met his sister at 3:45 this morning! |
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| NEW BIKE |
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| LOOK AT ME, MOM AND DAD! |
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| DAD AND BLUE- Guy stuff. 'Nough said. ;-) |
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| BLUE'S FIRST HAIRCUT IN AMERICA- Blue picked out the cut and style he wanted from a salon catalog. He was a bit overwhelmed with the fact that he could choose anything he wanted and there were so many choices. He was happy and a bit proud when he walked out of the salon! He thought it was so funny when mom saved a small lock of hair, taping it to a scrap paper labeled 'First Haircut'. |
Our Adoption Journey In Pictures
Beijing
Our arrival city before taking the train to Jinan
L.J.'s friend Mick traveled to meet with us and treated us to a trip to the Great Wall! Mick and L.J. met at the Bring Me Hope Summer camp for orphans in 2011. The view was absolutely breathtaking... and the company was a delightful treat.
TRADITIONALLY A BRIDE AND GROOM TOGETHER PLACE A LOCK ON THE WALL.
Jinan
Our peanut, calm and confident in manning the camera, while Mom and Dad are rushing around preparing for Blue to arrive in our room.
We are so excited that we can barely withstand the suspense of waiting one more moment... after a year and a half of waiting for our Blue! I am sure we were a pitifully funny sight to see... ;-)
He is here! ... no wait, false alarm.... it was only housekeeping at the door. At least we found out how fast we all can jump over, around, and move beyond things to find our places before opening the door to greet our new son.
He is here!... It is the real deal this time!
Blue, orphanage Nanny, Brother
We are asked to sign the papers while informed that we will have twenty-four hours to change our minds about adopting him if we decide we don't want him... I will not subject you to reading through the fit of grief, sorrow, and injustice for Blue, that I had inside of my heart over that statement! I felt just awful for, Blue. We quickly moved on and focused on the joy of our new son being with us.
Dad and Mom Signing the paperwork
LATER IN THE EVENING... HE IS SO HAPPY
BLUE'S MEDICAL EXAMINATION...
.
BROTHERS
BLUE TAKING A PICTURE OF DAD
Home At Last
We arrived home at at 3:45am, after 25 hours of
traveling... still up and going with two excited and very happy little
boys. Definitely going to have to get these two happy hams to take a nap
soon... Dad and I could use some shut-eye too! ;-) It is good to
be back home for us, and for Blue, it is good to be in his first and only
home ever in his life.
Well... the boys are asking for breakfast now... looks like a dream land and my sheets are going to have to wait.... gladly.
~Wendy
Well... the boys are asking for breakfast now... looks like a dream land and my sheets are going to have to wait.... gladly.
~Wendy
Finally, I was able to get on our blog after
five days. Yay! We are doing well and actually preparing to leave for Guangzhou
tomorrow. We will stay there until the 26th of January.
SUNDAY--As much as I would like to, I won't try to fill you in on every detail of the last five days as that would be way too lengthy. I will just give you some of the highlights so far. We arrived Sunday evening and Blue was brought to our hotel. We met Blue's Nanny and the orphanage assistant director. The assistant director was a key person in our being able to adopt Blue. Blue seemed excited, shy, and a little nervous. The director explained that Blue was happy, but nervous about his English. We assured him that we would help him learn and that seemed to abate his fears for the moment.
Blue and Adam connected instantly. I think that bringing Adam with us was a really good and healthy thing for both of the boys. We spent the evening talking and playing. Both the boys fell asleep quickly while being read to.
MONDAY-- The adoption appointment was a bit fast pace but all in all, went well. Blue uses the handheld translator constantly. I think it comforts him to know he has it. Blue asked us about charging it...L.J. let him know it would be ok... we would charge it if needed.
We took a lot of pictures...I wish I could post them. The nanny and director spent most of Monday with us including a nice lunch. They were quite curious and asked us many questions. They expressed interest in the adoption process, our home, and how we will care for Blue... with concerned voices they asked us if we had heat in our home. When we told them we have both heat and air conditioning in our home they both smiled broadly with shocked expressions and began rattling off something in Mandarin to Blue... who smiled.
TUESDAY-- We have noticed Blue is a very open, affectionate child. He does seem to get quiet when others are around though. Sometimes a bit stressed. He has decided he wants to be called Blue, not anything else... so Blue it is!
WEDNESDAY--We are so happy to have him after all of this time.
Blue called me Mama today!!! He was excited over something and called me Mama, for me to look at the fish he caught in the game. (I told L.J. that it probably helps that he doesn't know my real name yet. ;-) He doesn't know other names for me.) He imitates L.J.'s constantly, every sound or gesture. So Cute.
THURSDAY-- OK... the boy can eat!!! ... and sleeps like a rock. We will have to get him seen by the doctor when we get back though... he falls asleep every afternoon no matter where we are! He will just lean over and go to a deep sleep then wake up fine. Maybe anemic-- poor nutrition??? We will see.
He cannot wait to see his new home and wants to share a room with his brother. He shares everything. Those who know me well... know I don't share food with anyone... but our adoption education training indicated that for him to share the first of all of his food is a huge bonding and acceptance step! So yes, we drink and eat whatever this dear child offers us.
As far as our stay so far, and what China is like for us... it is well. I will write about that another time if I can get back on here.
Thanks to everyone who helped us get here with our son. This Mama's heart is overflowing. L.J. and I are beyond grateful for our family and friends. I know the road ahead of us is a long one, but it is a road worth walking... and we are comforted to know we are not taking this journey alone.
Sorry, this is so long! I just don't know when we will be able to post again.
Wendy, L.J., Adam, and Blue
SUNDAY--As much as I would like to, I won't try to fill you in on every detail of the last five days as that would be way too lengthy. I will just give you some of the highlights so far. We arrived Sunday evening and Blue was brought to our hotel. We met Blue's Nanny and the orphanage assistant director. The assistant director was a key person in our being able to adopt Blue. Blue seemed excited, shy, and a little nervous. The director explained that Blue was happy, but nervous about his English. We assured him that we would help him learn and that seemed to abate his fears for the moment.
Blue and Adam connected instantly. I think that bringing Adam with us was a really good and healthy thing for both of the boys. We spent the evening talking and playing. Both the boys fell asleep quickly while being read to.
MONDAY-- The adoption appointment was a bit fast pace but all in all, went well. Blue uses the handheld translator constantly. I think it comforts him to know he has it. Blue asked us about charging it...L.J. let him know it would be ok... we would charge it if needed.
We took a lot of pictures...I wish I could post them. The nanny and director spent most of Monday with us including a nice lunch. They were quite curious and asked us many questions. They expressed interest in the adoption process, our home, and how we will care for Blue... with concerned voices they asked us if we had heat in our home. When we told them we have both heat and air conditioning in our home they both smiled broadly with shocked expressions and began rattling off something in Mandarin to Blue... who smiled.
TUESDAY-- We have noticed Blue is a very open, affectionate child. He does seem to get quiet when others are around though. Sometimes a bit stressed. He has decided he wants to be called Blue, not anything else... so Blue it is!
WEDNESDAY--We are so happy to have him after all of this time.
Blue called me Mama today!!! He was excited over something and called me Mama, for me to look at the fish he caught in the game. (I told L.J. that it probably helps that he doesn't know my real name yet. ;-) He doesn't know other names for me.) He imitates L.J.'s constantly, every sound or gesture. So Cute.
THURSDAY-- OK... the boy can eat!!! ... and sleeps like a rock. We will have to get him seen by the doctor when we get back though... he falls asleep every afternoon no matter where we are! He will just lean over and go to a deep sleep then wake up fine. Maybe anemic-- poor nutrition??? We will see.
He cannot wait to see his new home and wants to share a room with his brother. He shares everything. Those who know me well... know I don't share food with anyone... but our adoption education training indicated that for him to share the first of all of his food is a huge bonding and acceptance step! So yes, we drink and eat whatever this dear child offers us.
As far as our stay so far, and what China is like for us... it is well. I will write about that another time if I can get back on here.
Thanks to everyone who helped us get here with our son. This Mama's heart is overflowing. L.J. and I are beyond grateful for our family and friends. I know the road ahead of us is a long one, but it is a road worth walking... and we are comforted to know we are not taking this journey alone.
Sorry, this is so long! I just don't know when we will be able to post again.
Wendy, L.J., Adam, and Blue
January 04, 2013
Gotcha Day Is Almost Here!
We found out that friends from our church, who are also adopting, are going to be in China at the same time. We are getting our boys on the same day and will be staying at the same hotel for at least part of our China stay! They have requested the same hotel we are staying at for the other part of the stay... we are praying for that to happen too. L.J. and I are super blessed to be sharing this time in our adoption journey with this family. I can only imagine what a bond this will bring to our boys.
[Gotcha Day- The day China brings child to adoptive parents]
Please pray for us:
- Safe and pleasant travel
-The adoption to proceed without problems or glitches
- L.J. & Wendy to have discernment and wisdom as we walk these first steps as new parents
-Blue, Adam, L.J. & Wendy to have a close bond form quickly
-For God's hand to be upon us and with us always
-For our three children who will be back in the States while we are away
-Blue... just pray for Blue. God will know what the needs are on the inside and out for our son.
Thank you and see ya when we get back!
~Wendy- for the Raffray family
LOA! Thursday, November 15, 2012
Our letter of acceptance came today! [This is the letter China sends to ask if we accept this child.] We will be traveling to China soon to bring our new son, Blue, home with us.
No words can describe my emotions right now... 20 years ago my husband and I were planning our wedding and our future, dreaming of having five children, the last of the five we wanted to come through adoption. We were two young people trusting God for, and through, our future together.
20 years later, we are blessed with four beautiful, healthy, children and one on the way through adoption. It feels surreal that I am sitting here reading a line on a piece of paper asking us to sign here if we accept this child...
We not only accept him.... we have wanted him, prayed for him, fought for him, sacrificed for him and he is about to really be ours... really be ours to have and call our son forever.... my heart is overwhelmed at the goodness of our God. ~Thank You Lord.
~Wendy
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