Update Questions

Tonight I was able to send a request for an update on my children, which would include updates on their weight, height, shoe size, etc., along with pictures. I was also allowed to ask ten questions, and prayerfully they will be answered within a week or two!! Yay! (I will post the answers the minute I get them.) So here is the list of questions I asked:

1. Do they speak any English?

2. Who are their friends? (What are their names?)

3. What are their favorite foods?

4. What are their personalities like? (Are they talkers, etc.)

5. What are their favorite toys they like to play with?

6. What comforts them when upset?

7. What causes them to become upset?

8. What makes them happy?

9. Do they know they're being adopted?

10. Is there a possibility of getting a video of them as well as pictures?

I thought these were some pretty good questions, and hopefully will tide me over until I see them in a few months!

One huge thing about this update request is that I ordered it all on my own, without my nerd-sister's help!! Yay me!! Yes, I know, you're probably rolling your eyes like I'm an incompetent idiot. I'll own up to it. My sister has done all my on-line ordering for me for years. YEARS!! I will get five minutes into an order and start yelling at the computer for asking me so many questions. So tonight was a milestone. I called her and told her I was all grown up now and didn't need her help anymore. Keep in mind she's ten years younger than me. Well, maybe just this one time I won't need her help...I do have to order some bedding for my son...hmmm...Andrea? A little help?

Turtles and X-Box

Just a little Mom hint: When you're trying to bond with your 12 year old son, perhaps don't do it while he's playing x-box. I came in to his man-cave and sat next to him. I was reading some woman's blog and she had a picture of one of the teeniest, tiniest turtles I had ever seen (say that 3 times fast.)  I said, "Look at this tiny turtle, Josiah!" He turned his head, looked, looked back at the screen and his character was already dead...because he turned for a SPLIT second to look at my computer screen. I was promptly kicked out of his man-cave. I left in shame.

What Did I Do Before...

I have been pondering this question today...what did I do before I began my adoption journey?  I can't remember.  What did I talk about before?  What did I THINK about?  People talk and blah, blah, blah all around me, but my brain is on adoption and little orphan's (which I secretly want to go get...you know...ALL of them.)  It has become my life and kind of HAD to because the process is like a part-time job, honestly.  

But then there's another question I'm pondering...what will I do AFTER adoption, what will I talk about, think about?   Hmmm.  I'm not sure I want to go back to the old "norm."  My life has been changed, not just by my own journey, but by the journey of others, books I've read, children's faces I've seen.  My eyes are wide open.  If I turn into a happy little camper who turns her eyes away once I get back from China, then I think I would have failed the purpose of this journey. The old me was just ignorant of the plight of the orphan (which isn't good either), but if I willingly choose to close my eyes and turn away AFTER I know the truth, well, that's the worst thing a person could do, in my opinion. 

So how can a person help after their adoption is complete? Pay it forward.  Sponsor an orphan, or their surgery, or help someone financially who's adopting.  Or email encouraging words to the one adopting.  Do anything. Just don't ever forget your journey, or the purpose behind that journey.

What If?

Last week or so, I joined a Yahoo group concerning adoption.  This particular group has pictures of children who are waiting to be adopted.  I love looking through those kinds of pictures, as I often see these kiddos later on in someone's blog after they've been adopted.  Well, I was sitting in my chair just lazily browsing through the pictures when one pic caught my eye...it was my son.  I just stared at it.  I had no idea he was on a photo listing sight somewhere.  

Then I began to go over all the info listed about him.  The agency that he was listed with at that time was not my agency.  It was an agency that has an odd name, but for some reason (I now know why) I had been drawn to their photo page over and over since I began this process about a year ago.  Sometimes I would go to their photo page daily. I kept thinking I would find my son on that page...little did I know he was with that agency the whole time, but I needed a passcode to see his particular photo.   

Next, I looked at the date my little guy's pic was posted...April.  I remember doing EVERYTHING I could to get to China by spring.  I did everything I could in my power to move my adoption faster, but the process would not budge and I couldn't figure out why...now I know...my little boy was not listed with my agency yet.  I had to receive my little girl's referral first to give his file time to make it's way to my agency.  I remember people asking me why I was asking for my little girl's referral first and I remember saying, "I don't know why, I just feel led to get a referral for a girl first and then wait for a referral for a boy."  That's called your inner witness, your gut instinct.  It's a knowing that you have in your heart, and you're led by peace. 

Had I tried to force "the timing door," I would have missed out on my son...that cute little treasure at the top of this page.  I now understand the waiting "game" with adoption and with life.  Now that I understand why that process took so long, it makes the memory sweeter in my heart, rather than the bitter feeling that was there...the lingering "why."   These are the little bread crumbs; the trail God drops in front of me to lead me on to China.  

Some people may call it pure coincidence.  There's no such thing.  If you have not seen the hand of God in your life, then perhaps your ignoring the bread crumbs.  They are there, whether you acknowledge them or not.  We will all stand before God one day and give an account of all the signs He posted along the way...and whether we followed them, or ignored them.  

Fried

Guess what happens when you spend your whole entire ever-lovin' minute of your week doing adoption paperwork, reading about how to do your paperwork, consulting and emailing people concerning your paperwork...and then you take your pre-teen daughter shopping where all you hear is, "I want, I want, I want!"....your brain FRIES!!! Not french fries people, I mean it's fried, gone, hasta la vista, bye-bye, see-ya-later, adios, sianara. It's gone. My hubby keeps coming in and out of the room and talking and I swear I feel like I'm in some Twilight Zone episode. 

I thought the forms for my LOA were bad...I met my match with that Visa form. Are you sick of me still ranting about this paperwork? I don't care, it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to.  Just an update...yes, I did dream about paperwork again last night. The horror is still fresh in my brain. 

But tomorrow is a new day, no paperwork awaits me, just my hubby and kiddos. I plan to make the most of it. Even if it means laying in a fetal position because I had more nightmares about the dreaded Visa app. I shutter when I even type that word.