The day we got the call
It was a beautiful sunshiney and light breezy yet pretty ordinary-feeling June day; June 24 on Friday. It was also a day that was particularly hard in the waiting, yet I had peace and hope that I felt God was impressing upon my heart. I had just written that blog post and even sent some messages pouring my heart out to another mama that's adopting -- honestly doing a little whining (I know, shame on me!). We were getting ready to head out for a homeschool families' picnic that evening when the phone rang. Something in me just felt this call would be different. I run for the phone, look at the ID number and saw it looked similar to our social worker's. So I pick up and answer, "Hello?!" She begins to tell me about this little boy who just turned 2. "He is described as a smart lovely boy.." "It says he is talkative, though shy." "He is squatting down in one photo and in another stringing a string through a block with a hole in it." And after several more words..."Would you be interested in viewing his file?" With no hesitation I responded "Yes, yes, yes, of course!!!" The director of Holt's China program called to tell some more information, and let me know they would send the file via e-mail shortly after.
My head is failing at even attempting to swim at this point; heart is pumping a million beats per minute. I call Billy, then text asking to call me back. Finally - he answers and says he'll be leaving work as soon as he's able to get home so we can view the file together. ONE hour, friends! I had to wait ONE hour for him to get here! I think I managed pretty well. I finished making fruit salad for the picnic, swept floors, and grilled brats while waiting for him to get here.
He walks in the door and greets our super-excited-as-usual-tail-waggin'-dog and kids, then we head immediately to our bedroom to open the file without the kids around.
We wanted to read all the information about him before seeing any pictures, but right-off-the-bat there was a tiny headshot picture of him. I think I was so shell-shocked with a flood of emotions that couldn't even fully process that picture -- and we just began to read and pour over his file. Every known fact and date about this lil sweetie's life was listed right before our eyes.
His pictures
After reading his file we get down to five amazingly clear and big pictures of this lil guy. One picture it seems he was caught mid-play with this half-looking-smirk (possible attempt of a smile) on his face holding a lil lego-looking-toy car in one hand. In another picture he's squatting like a champ looking at the floor. Another he's at the table putting this thick string through a hole in a block very inquisitively. The next picture he's in a pit of clearish-plastic-balls just looking upward toward the camera with a very solemn look (this is our favorite picture of him). He's got layers of clothing on (common for China of course). A shirt underneath, a thick yellow (scratchy-looking) wool-like sweater, a puffier vest over that, and dark blue jeans (which seem to have layers under as well).
What he looks like
Very short obviously buzzed hair that's beginning to grow into maybe a half inch of pure heavenly-rubbable-fuzziness. Small yet entrancing dark brown eyes. A little drawn-down-mouth with lips that easily purse -- I imagine great for pouting and melting our hearts. Little hands showing amazing dexterity already; and precious little fingers perfect for wrapping mama and baba right-tight-around each one of them. And little cherubic kissable cheeks and forehead for sure. :-)
Some about him
He's described as a "smart and lovely boy." Described as shy but also talkative. He's supposedly a great sleeper (will not get our hopes up on that one!). He loves fish, noodles, rice, rice mush, and "fruit mud" and is described as having a good appetite. He also loves to "bask in the sunshine." Ha! I hope that's true and that he gets fresh air every day. His fine motor skills seem on target. Developmentally doing well considering. He's 24 lbs; 32 inches tall. Though we suspect his weight is under that -- they're known to weigh them with all their clothes (which are usually layered). Over-all, he sounds beyond amazing to us.
Reality sinking in
Amazingly the next two nights we got sleep. The first couple of days we had the file I had tried to just stay calm until we could get a doctor to review the paperwork. The third night having his file is when I really began to process it all; I maybe got a couple hours of sleep that night. I just poured and poured over it all and his story; obsessing over every detail or lack thereof. A flood of emotions overtook and broke me that night. I had seen so many little faces through advocacy and read pieces of their stories, but it's so different when you're holding pictures and the backstory of a little one that very well may be your child. Your. Son.
Billy is smitten. I think that's obvious. The kids? Definitely. There really are no words to describe all of this. You pray, dream, obsess, research, and wait like crazy for months and months, then just randomly one day you get a call that potentially will lead you quickly to your son or daughter. Crazy (good)? Yes. Amazing? Definitely. Scary? Yes. Exciting? For sure. Miraculous? Absolutely!
We had his file reviewed by a doctor specializing in international adoption, who's Chinese himself and reads Mandarin (a blessing because he can read the original file that's in Chinese). The report back to us was better-than-expected. We are requesting additional information from his orphanage, which we now wait for. I don't want to over-share in this post, so I'll keep it at that.
Thank you for taking your time to follow our journey! Thank you for praying! And please keep praying!! Now's the time it's needed more than ever!
...STAY TUNED...
Daddy (Bill[y]) showing our girl pictures of the lil guy >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
