Adoption Day

Yesterday, May 12, 2015 Ben officially became our son. We traveled back to the office where we met him and we signed the final paperwork to complete the adoption. That's it folks. Only a year and a half and the paperwork is finished! Although God has been weaving him into our family's hearts LONG before today :)

Picture from our official Adoption Certificate

The big bus came to get us again and when Ben saw it from the lobby, he could hardly withstand his excitement. I had to wonder if he thought we were going back to his orphanage and he was ready to do that? or if he really just liked the bus. I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of wondering what's going on inside his little mind for many years to come.

The procedure was done in full toddler chaos as all five families with new children were all in the same room, trying to keep track of their kids, prevent disasters and sign on the dotted line at the same time simultaneously. The coolest part was probably that we had to put a red thumb print next to our signatures. Even Ben got to stamp his thumb. Except he didn't think it was that cool. In fact, he was adamant we wash it off right away.

Remember when I said Ben must understand we don't speak the same language, so he mostly grunts and points? Never mind that. I shouldn't be so quick to think I know what he's thinking. I can only report the facts. The fact is that after day one....he's been a little chatterbox. He has the cutest little voice and he repeats himself, so we have been able to figure out a few of his normal phrases.  The Chinese word for 'done'  is one that has been helpful to know. And also 'watermelon'. This boy loves his watermelon. He's trying out a few more English phrases too.  We've read that there will often be a silent period after he starts losing his first language. Time will tell. But for now, he seems to be OK repeating back a few words.

We've also noticed he loves his shoes. They look really new, so we're wondering if he just got them recently. He really does not like to take them off, even at bedtime. So, for now...he's sleeping with his shoes on. I did pray he'd come with a 'transitional object' of sorts. I probably should have been more specific that I'd have preferred a cleaner one.

Yesterday we also tried out our toddler pack carrier for the first time. I was really hoping he'd like it, or at least not kick and scream. He's taken really well to Kevin, so we decided to let Kevin try carrying him first. He went in no problem as we walked with him for a walk around the mall. Then, this morning when we were ready to walk around again a bit, I pulled out the carrier, he got a huge smile on his face, ran to Kevin and held his arms up. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the day.

Ben and Kevin making duck noises at each other

In the spirit of full disclosure, we have started to experience a few tougher moments. Moments where it is obvious that institutional care is not God's plan and every child suffers, no matter how 'great' the orphanage is.  Kevin and I have decided that this blog out there on the world wide web is not the venue for sharing details on these harder moments. It's not that we want to sugar coat adoption or make it look like every think is perfect. It's an effort to respect Ben's privacy on the internet. But, we did want to share that we've started to experience reality.  And God is proving to be right here in the midst of it with us.