Our Story of God's Blessings Through Adoption
Three stories: All different. All amazing.
It began with Alaina…
Alaina Brooke JiaCen, our sweet baby girl, joined our family on "Gotcha Day" May 23, 2004. Since we have been home with Alaina, nearly 20 families have decided to adopt. Alaina has this charm about her that encourages families to buy plane tickets to China. This is the story of Alaina's journey to our family and how she charmed us into adopting two baby brothers.
Alaina's journey began many years ago with a short passing thought. As a young child, I occasionally thought about adopting some day. The thought crossed Joel’s mind while in college. This was no coincidence as God planted the love in our hearts to love another child that did not come from us.
We were married on June 2, 1990. After being married three years, we lost our first baby to a miscarriage. One year later, in 1994, Alexis was born. Zachary followed shortly thereafter in 1995. Skipping a few years, Joel Bron was born in 1998. God blessed Trina with wonderful, healthy pregnancies while she continued to teach aerobic classes and serve as a personal trainer. After an easy labor of two hours and Joel B's easy birth, Trina began to bleed which required 12 units of blood over a 24-hour period. Joel wasn't sure if he would have to care for the children alone. God spared my life and I left the hospital, in total peace, knowing that we would adopt a baby girl.
I’m not sure how I knew at that moment in time. I loved my boys more than anything and was totally in love with our new little one, Joel B. Some how, I knew someday, we would be blessed with another daughter. After many years of hoping and dreaming of what it would be like to have a sister of my own, I wanted Alexis to live those dreams. One year before I was born, my parents gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Sadly, she died at three days old with a hole in her heart. I always dreamed of what it would have been like to have her in my life. I wanted Alexis to know the love of a sister.
Busy with the children (ages 4, 3 and a newborn), Joel would laugh at me when I would talk of adding another child to our home. After two years of researching adoption, I didn't think Joel was funny any more. I prayed, researched and talked about adopting all the time. The children just assumed they were going to adopt a baby sister. Finally, when the children got older and easier, Joel sensed it was time. Though our hearts were in China from the start, God took us on a detour.
While our intentions were initially to adopt from China, we were "detoured" to Florida as God was leading us to a wonderful domestic agency. Race didn't matter. We wanted a baby girl to love and we knew a baby girl somewhere, needed us. One day, we finally received the call from our domestic agency. One week later, we found ourselves on an airplane going to care for "our" baby in Florida. We had her for one day--before the mother changed her mind. The mother took her home with her as we left empty-hearted. Again, we had lost a baby. We had her in our hearts for one week and had already planned the rest of her life. We were heartbroken.
Six more months had passed before we received another call from the domestic agency in Florida. This time the baby was only 12 hours old. Yet within 24 hours, the mother had changed her mind to keep her baby. Again, we had lost another baby and our hearts continued to be on an emotional roller coaster.
After waiting a year, God began again to impress on our hearts that our baby was in China. Little did we know she was soon to be born on the other side of the World. We began the China adoption paper-chasing process in the spring of 2003. We felt totally at peace with our decision and we knew our baby was in China.
One of the first things we did was schedule to be fingerprinted by our government. Our fingerprint date was April 1, 2003. Little did we know that Alaina was born that very same day. She was found on April 1, 2003, at the gate of the hospital, all bundled up, with a note that told the Chinese authorities about her birthday. While in China, we were able to visit the outside of the hospital and took many pictures of the area around it. While standing there in the streets of FengCheng City, we could only imagine what it must have been like for this mother to release her child. We knew she must have stood at a distance, as she took one last glance at her beautiful baby girl. We pray that Alaina's birth parents know that she is happy, healthy and loved.
Within a few short months, our paperwork (called a dossier) was in China. Seven months later, we received the phone call with the news of Alaina, who was awaiting us in China. She had just turned one year old on April 1 and was living in a foster home in FengCheng City, Jiangxi, China.
After the phone call, we rushed to our computer for our first sight of our sweet baby girl. She was beautiful! We were in love. All of the waiting would soon materialize into the person of Alaina.
A few short weeks of packing and we found ourselves on a plane going to China. We met our travel group of eleven other families in San Francisco, California. From there, we traveled together the entire trip. Our agency, Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI), has wonderful representatives in China. The representatives are in each province and speak the local dialect. The dialects in China are so different that the local dialects become a different language even though China only claims to have two spoken languages. This makes it very difficult for the people to communicate with others in different provinces. Having CCAI representatives who spoke the local dialects and lived in the town helped make the trip feel like a vacation. We stayed in five-star hotels, ate at the most elegant Chinese restaurants (for about $6 a meal), and I had time for some great shopping.
Our flight from San Francisco landed in Beijing. While there, we climbed the Great Wall and visited tributes to the many Chinese dynasties. From Beijing, we traveled to Nanchang, which is the capital of Jiangxi province. As soon as we arrived, our CCAI representative met us at the airport with the news that we would receive our babies in a few short hours. Incredible excitement and nervousness filled the airport as we hurried to the bus. After carrying our luggage into the hotel, we had a group meeting. Soon, we were off to get the babies. It's impossible to describe the emotions at this point! After having experienced the miracle of birth three times, the experience of meeting Alaina for the first time was incredible!
From the time we got off the bus, the adrenaline was pumping. Half of us had biological children and half of us were experiencing the "birth" of their first child. We had waited so many years for this moment, and within minutes, our babies would be in our arms. It's extremely difficult to explain the miracle that took place that day.
At the same time, it was so simple. We all stood around in a small room waiting and watching as each family's name was called. It wasn't long before they called our names. We simply walked up to our baby and the sweet Chinese nanny released her as I reached for her. We walked back to the back of the room, holding tight to our precious Alaina. She was ours. Almost all of the other babies were screaming. These precious little ones had never seen people that looked like these Americans. The babies in our group had been loved and cared for by loving foster families all their lives. Alaina was strong and tried not to cry. She was scared, with tears in her eyes and her little chest was pounding. What a precious little face, and little hair that stood straight up on top. She was beautiful! Holding her close, we decided that maybe Cheerios could help the moment.
Within 24 hours, she wouldn't allow me out of her site, crying instantly when I would leave the room. The Snuggly was a blessing. Within 24 hours, she said "Mama" and looked for "Da da" but didn't want Joel to hold her. Within 48 hours, she could blow a kiss. We learned quickly, her most favorite time of the day is after dinner. She entertained in China with all our friends and she continues to entertain her brothers and sister at the dinner table every night. She has an amazing smile that melts our hearts. It didn't take long for her to sound out, "Daddy, Daddy" when he would enter the door at the end of the day. Within a month, she had an amazing comprehension of everything that was said. It wasn't long that she was saying everything she heard. Her vocabulary was the same as an American born child and actually, she could talk at a very early age. Now, at almost 6 years old, she never stops talking and singing. Alaina is incredibly smart and continually amazes us.
After returning home, it just felt like she had always been with us. God created her inside her biological mother for our family. He knew before the creation of the world that Alaina would be in our family forever. He knew it and planned it just as clearly as He planned Alexis, Zachary and Joel B. She was made for our family and we were made for her.
As a result of Alaina's amazing journey, we have dedicated ourselves to helping other families experience the joy of adoption. We began speaking as volunteers at CCAI seminars shortly after we returned home. During this time, I felt those desires to buy plane tickets to China for another little one. Our story repeated itself again. Our very first seminar, God spoke to Joel, clearly, that it was time.
And then God gave us Hudson….
We started the process to adopt a healthy boy or girl from China in June 2005. When we started the process, the timeframe was expected to be no more than a seven month wait in the Traditional Healthy Child Program. Patience and hope saw us through a long almost two year wait.
On February 2, 2007, we knew CCAI would be calling us with news of our child. Finally, at 1:10PM, the phone rang and the caller ID said Chinese Children. We answered the call and Penny’s sweet bubbly voice was on the line. The first thing she said was, “It’s a boy!” She said his birthday is December 25, 2005. At that point, I couldn’t get past those two bits of information. One, we knew we could get a boy but for some reason I was in shock. In my mind, I just couldn’t stop thinking “BOY!” Then I realized that his birthday was on Christmas. My birthday is close to Christmas and knowing what that was like, all I could think about was how in the world are we going to pull this off….a Christmas birthday. She continued to tell us all the details about him but my mind totally zoned and didn’t hear anything else she said. Joel took the pen out of my hand and took over the note-taking. Thankfully, we had the camcorder running so I can go back and watch it. I'm so happy that we recorded the smile on Joel's face while she was talking...priceless. Hudson, was 13 months old and was living in an orphanage in XiangYin, Hunan, China.
After we hung up, she emailed a picture of him. All the kids were around waiting for the email to arrive. The kids went crazy when they saw their little brother. I could hardly see the computer because they were on top of it. I finally was able to really notice his sweet little cheeks and perfect little lips. He really looked like Joel B. and Alexis at that age.
Hudson
The Miracle of Gotcha Day!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Twenty months of anxious waiting evaporated as our travel group #1142’s ten families waited with overwhelming tears to embrace our babies for the first time. Each family’s name was called and they walked up to receive their baby. The babies wearing matching snowsuits were content in their new parents’ arms. As we waited, we could see Hudson in his nanny’s arms across the quiet room. He was so adorable! Ninth in line--we rushed eagerly to meet our precious Hudson. We could see the uncertainty on his face as we held him close. Hudson, the only boy, quickly broke the quietness of the room as he began to cry igniting a chorus of crying from his “sisters.” What a miraculous moment to finally hear our Hudson’s cry, to hold him close, and to know that he is ours.
After fifty-six hours, we were overjoyed to see Hudson’s first smile. His laughter came soon thereafter and continually fills
our house as he enjoys the love and attention of his siblings.
Everybody loves Hudson because he's so friendly, smiling all the time and such a good boy.
Hudson has an amazing memory and entertains us with his singing and memorizing scripture. He sings everything from Jesus Loves Me to Hannah Montana's, Nobody's Perfect. He already knows Alaina's Sing Spell Read and Write ABC song. Alaina is such a “ little mommy” and enjoys teaching Hudson how to count in Spanish.
Every night, Hudson and I pray for each of our family members and especially for those out of the country. He won't allow me to forget anyone. If I do, he is sure to remind me.
Again, God had planned this little guy for our family. Hudson loves the kids so much, laughing with them all day long and the kids adore him. It feels like he has always been in our family. We cannot imagine life without him.
Benjamin stole our hearts…
October 10, 2007 our sweet Benjamin was born in my heart.I feel led to share every detail, even the details that make me appear like a basket case. Before I begin telling Benjamin’s story, you must know that my husband is a wonderful godly man that loves the Lord, loves me, and loves his children more than life. Benjamin’s story will sound familiar as God shared his plan with me before he shared it with Joel (for the third time…ugh). As I have been working on Benjamin’s story, I’ve been thinking about all the families that have gone through the same experience. I pray that Benjamin’s story will give you hope and peace as you wait on Him.October 9, 2007, an "angel" named Rebecca sent an email to a yahoo group that encouraged viewing the pictures of the precious children waiting. I had not been on this yahoo group in almost a year. While on the group on October 10, I saw Rebecca’s email. I have always viewed the children’s pictures, prayed for them and hoped they would find families. So naturally, I clicked on A Helping Hands website to see the sweet children. The agency gave the children English names and the site also listed the child’s special need. My heart was drawn to the children with limb differences.Months before, I believe God put in my heart and mind the desire to adopt a child with a limb difference. I had been noticing children with limb differences especially two little boys, both missing most of their arm. One little guy, American born, played sports with Zachary and another who is a friend of Joel B’s and was just adopted from China. Both of these little guys fascinated me with their ability to accomplish anything.I never told anyone these thoughts and just prayed about these feelings that I was having. The thoughts were crazy really, since we had just gotten home with Hudson a few months before and actually was feeling very overwhelmed by having 5 children. I wasn’t the only one feeling overwhelmed as Joel and the children were adjusting to having more laundry, dishes, and generally taking care of a toddler.To a man especially, I believe, the finances hold them back from adopting. In our case, we had just gotten home with Hudson and were still recovering from those adoption expenses.Joel’s mind was definitely somewhere else. He was nearing the end of soccer season for the boys. He was coaching both teams and spent much of his free time planning for games. Pro and college football season were in full swing, and, if that weren’t enough, he had recently opened his own business and was still dealing with new office facility issues and taking care of his clients’ needs. I know that he really expected me to be a part of his new business, and probably felt like I wasn’t supporting him enough. And, Hudson had barely been home six months. Joel has always felt like each of the kids needed their own special time to be the center of attention. For many of these reasons, he didn’t feel like this was the right time to adopt—no matter who the child might be. Could this be God’s timing?Our lives were busy and we were content. I loved my five children and felt so blessed.
God had other plans as He lead me to this list of children. As soon as I clicked on “Jasper’s” file, I fell in love. I clearly saw an angel, a little cherub, a beautiful baby that was so pretty, he looked like a baby girl. He reminded me so much of Hudson. Then I noticed his birthday: December 20, 2006. Hudson’s birthday is December 25, 2005. I called Alexis to the office and simply said, “Look.” She smiled and aw’ed and thought he was so pretty.
Joel came home and I called him into the office and he walked into the room and realized what I was doing, and turned right around and walked out without saying anything. He thought I was “dreaming” about another baby and didn’t take me seriously. Alexis and I printed off 8x10 size pictures of the baby and Alexis posted them all over the house.
I instantly emailed A Helping Hand to get more information since his medical report said he was missing fingers on his left hand and he had vision issues (which was a translation error). Several days went by and I didn’t hear from them and Joel continued to ignore me when I would talk about this little guy. All I could think about was “Jasper.” At this point, I wasn’t sure if there were others interested in him. Apparently, his file had been on the list for over a month and he had no petitions of interested parents.I called and emailed several doctors and all of them were so gracious to give me their time and medical advice. They said his hand was probably caused by Amniotic Banding. This happens often even in America. Amniotic Banding happens during pregnancy where small fibers in the mother’s womb wrap around the baby’s hand and cuts it off or stops it from growing. You can read more about Amniotic Banding http://www.amnioticbandsyndrome.com/
The doctors said that amniotic banding is not genetic or does not affect the baby’s mental or physical health in any way. They said “Jasper” is very healthy and in America, he will live a normal and happy life and he will be able to do everything he wants to do. He can play soccer, baseball, or whatever sport he wants to play. In China, he might be a beggar on the streets because of his deformity. In America, he has all the opportunities in the world.
One doctor knew several Chinese residents that could read the Chinese medical report. I knew the missing fingers wouldn’t be a problem but the vision issues concerned me. After the Chinese doctors read the reports, they couldn’t find anything on the report in Chinese that said he had a vision issue. It said he had perfect vision. Later, we found out that there was a child from the same orphanage that was actually blind. The AHH translator in China had accidentally left that information about “optical nerves” on the English version that was left over from this child. The same information was also on the other children from that orphanage, which should have been a clue that all three of the children couldn’t have been blind.
But thankfully, nobody noticed it on all three children’s reports. I believe that God allowed that error to happen so that nobody would petition for him. Now that I know the adoption Special Needs programs well, I know that “Jasper” should have been grabbed in a heart beat. His report said he was otherwise perfectly healthy. Many people would love to adopt a child like “Jasper” so for him not to be chosen early on, something wasn’t right. A better explanation is that "Jasper" was just meant to be ours.I have to say, it was a very lonely time of my life. I cried all week thinking about him. I knew the deadline to petition for him was approaching, October 19. If nobody petitioned for him by then, his file was to be returned and he may not have ever been given another chance to be adopted. I also cried because Joel wasn’t ready. As far as I know, he never even looked as his file. I bet he secretly looked at his pictures since they were all over the house (wink).My heart also hurt because my friends didn’t understand. They thought I was crazy for wanting another child so soon. Many would just smile and say nothing when I would share my love for this child. My house was a wreck. I looked so tired trying to accomplish so much with five children. Some friends thought I should be more “submissive” to my husband and if he said, “no” then that should be the end of the discussion. I didn’t “nag” but I prayed. I grieved. I cried. He could tell I wasn’t myself and that I was very burdened. My kids continued doing their school work…mostly alone as I thought about nothing more than “Jasper.”But thankfully, God gave me some friends that I believe he sent just at the perfect time. I won’t mention their names but they know who they are. I have called them my angels and my cheerleaders. They encouraged me. They prayed for Joel. They prayed for this precious child to find parents before his file was returned. They understood why Joel wasn’t ready but they prayed for him that he would realize that through God, we could be wonderful parents for this little guy.
One thought that was in my mind during that somber week, was what a wonderful dad Joel would be to “Jasper.” Joel loves his children so much. He is such a loving husband and so helpful around the house and with the kids. We are a team.
Joel loves the Lord with all his heart. He grew up in a Christian home with amazing parents that taught him well. Joel’s parents love The Word and taught Joel how to study scripture. Joel has a degree from a Christian university and has taught Bible classes for many years. One of the great lessons of life that he has learned through counseling others are, that God’s will for your life is something that other people cannot discern. God may use other people to confirm and support you, but His plan for you is unique. Whether it is taking a new job, moving to a new city or adding a child to your home—God’s ways, and His timing, are often not what we would plan.
I knew this little one would be taught by his daddy to love the Lord with all his heart.Joel played soccer in college and has a gift of teaching and coaching. Our boys are among the best soccer players around because Joel knows how to encourage them to be the best that they can be. He trains them and spends hours with them. One very clear vision I had was Joel coaching “Jasper” someday and teaching him like he has done our other children. I knew in my heart that he would love this little guy. I knew it. I knew it. It was so clear. I could have painted a picture of Joel with his four sons in our back yard. I knew it with all my heart that Joel was to be this little guy’s dad.But I knew that “Jasper’s” time was running out. Joel didn’t feel the calling.So, on Wednesday October 17, I woke up and I cried and grieved all day for the loss of this little one. In my heart, he was already mine and I had to give him up. I loved him so much and wanted him to have a family and a home that would love him forever. I sent this email to the adoption community, which includes thousands of families.“I just want to update you all on Jasper. I have fallen in love with this little guy but my hubby is not ready. I have had three doctors look at his medical report and they say he is healthy. Missing fingers is his only SN and he will live a normal life. He is just 10 months old right now. If you are chosen for Jasper, please let me know as I would want to follow his life. Email me personally. Call them today to let them know you are interested because the deadline is this Friday.”Wow, I said, “If you are chosen for Jasper, please let me know as I would want to follow his life.” God knew all along that I would get to follow his life as he would be IN my life. He would be in our arms to love, kiss, hold, play, and teach. God knew.The next day, October 18, was a difficult day to face but I knew God would see me through it. Later on that day, AHH called to inform me that “Jasper” still didn’t have anyone petitioning for him and he was ours if we wanted him. Oh my! My heart found hope again but logically, it was never to be, so I thought.Later that evening, the thought crossed my mind to do a search for the orphanage and maybe I could find someone that had more pictures of “Jasper” or maybe had visited his orphanage. I found a website for the Gejiu orphanage and an email to a family that lived in Yunnan, China. Before I could look back at the website, Steve Wajda emailed me. For what felt like an eternity, I sat there staring at the computer, frozen. I finally clicked on the email to discover that “Jasper” (also known as Wu Hui, his Chinese name and HuiHui, his nickname) was indeed in Gejiu and was loved and cared for by a wonderful staff. Steve and Kim Wajda have worked in China for 10 years and have spent many years living in Gejiu and working with Sunrise Foundation.Steve’s message was titled “Wu Hui”:What wonderful news! We love WuHui and he is a very special child for many reasons that I hope to be able to share with you some day in person.We were just in Gejiu for an extended period and gave WuHui lots of love. We lived in Gejiu while working with the orphanage for almost 7 years….We are supporting the orphanage and staff as much as we can. I can tell you that all our staff are hired and trained by us and that the children in Gejiu receive some of the best care in China. I will not be able to return to Gejiu until next month so will be unable to answer your questions until then. I have some photos that I can send you when you have made your final decision to adopt him.
Wow, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It’s as if God dropped the most wonderful angels out of the sky and they landed in front of me. All I could do was cry. I emailed him back and thanked him for responding. In a few short minutes, he emailed several pictures. Wu Hui was almost 10 months old, which was 5 months older than the pictures in his file. He had lots of hair and was so handsome. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Steve immediately called the orphanage and they answered my questions. They confirmed that he was not blind and it was indeed a translation error. He was already beginning to walk and had been crawling for months.
Oh my, what was God saying to me? Joel came home and I called him into the office to see the email and pictures. He couldn’t understand what I was saying because I was crying. I never get this emotional but I had been touched by God and was enjoying the moment. They were tears of joy as only God could have orchestrated something so amazing.I know Joel’s heart was touched but he still didn’t feel called to adopt him into our family….or at least he didn’t say so at the time.
I know that Joel firmly believes that God’s will defies explanation sometimes. When this is true, our Christian walk is one of obedience, trusting that God will make a way and provide through all of the unknowns. There is no amount of “explaining” or “understanding” that takes place. In such times, submission to God’s will is where peace is found. Joel knows that adoption often means first accepting a child into your life and second loving that child as your own. The first step is mostly mental; the second step is a deeper commitment that grows with time. After all, to have a deep commitment to a child you have never met is a spiritual matter that God grows in our hearts.The next morning, I called AHH as soon as they opened to tell her what had happened the night before. While we were talking, she checked her emails and discovered that other families were responding and they were going to petition for “Jasper.” Dana gave all the families that were interested in “Jasper” a new deadline to mail in our petition.All weekend, I prayed and asked God to give me peace. I knew God was going to use me either way to help “Jasper” find a home. The Wednesday before, when I sent the email to the big group, I had created “competition” for us but that was a good thing. It was certain that “Jasper” would have a forever family to love him. I was praising God for that but wishing we were his forever family.Monday passed and Joel was not mentioning his desires to adopt “Jasper.” Tuesday morning, October 22, I woke up, and immediately looked for Joel hoping he was still home. I gracefully walked in the room and made a suggestion. I mentioned that several families want him now so he will have a home. I suggested that since there are others wanting him, why don’t we petition and see what happens. If we are chosen by the board of directors at AHH, then he is ours. I told him that I didn’t want a child that belonged to someone else. If he is meant to be ours, then we will be chosen. The board at AHH prays over the children’s files and they wait for God to tell them in their heart and mind, who the parents should be. To my surprise, Joel agreed to petition for little “Jasper.”It’s really funny though because Joel didn’t ask any questions about his health, about this new agency, about anything. He knew I had done my research and he trusted me.Well, October 24, past and then the next Wednesday past and finally on November 9, 2008, we received a phone call from A Helping Hand, that the board prayed and felt that “Jasper” was to be our son! It was a perfect moment as all the kids were home and Joel just happened to be home. We turned on the speaker phone so everybody could hear the news. Joel turned white as a sheet as I think we were all surprised. I had prepared myself for the reality that my purpose in all of this was to find “Jasper” a home. I was honored that God chose this task for me to help him find his forever family. I was thankful that he had blessed me so much through this process that I was at peace…but my heart knew.Immediately, Joel started talking about airline tickets. It didn’t take him long to love this little guy like I already did.
So we began the paperchase for our little guy…A couple of months later on Christmas day, before the kids opened their gifts, Joel read the Bible to them, picking different scripture, starting in Genesis and ending at Christ’s birth. He began to ask them questions. Alaina raised her hand to every question and shared the answer. We knew she was around when the kids do their Bible lessons for homeschool. We knew she loved her Sunday school class. We read Bible stories to her. But we didn’t know that she was absorbing every lesson taught. Joel and I were so touched by this. We didn’t share our feelings at the time, but both of us were thankful that Alaina was in our lives and that she would have this opportunity to know Him.
Several weeks went by, and we had a praise time in our Sunday morning Bible class. Joel began to ask prayer for our adoption and that we had some road blocks with the paperwork preparation. He also shared with the class our experience with Alaina on Christmas day.He told the class, “If you adopt for just one reason, know that a child will forever know the name of Jesus. For that reason only, it’s enough to bring a child into your home that may never know him.” I was so touched by his words. I knew that meant he totally felt God’s calling to our little guy and he loved him with all his heart.We continued working on our paperwork and waiting on China to Pre-Approve us. Normally, agencies like families to be Pre-Approved before they begin their dossier/paperwork. No way, I could have waited that long. Because we already had 5 children in the home, China requires one extra signature. We waited 118 days for Pre-Approval.
I think the hardest part was waiting during the winter when we knew the orphanage was only 30 degrees with no heat. We prayed for him that he would be hugged a lot, kissed often and loved much. We prayed that God would wrap angel wings around him and keep him warm. Although the waiting was so very challenging, it helped so much receiving pictures and many updates about our little guy. Every month, I would get so excited knowing that our friends would visit and check on our HuiHui. I knew pictures would arrive soon. Once the pictures arrived, I would sit all day looking at them. I had the pictures printed and put in an album and just sat and looked at him. Then, I would get sad. I wanted my baby boy home with us. I was sad because each month he was changing and getting older. I was missing all his “firsts.” But God gave me peace and I was so grateful for our friends, HuiHui’s angels, the Wajda’s. I knew he was loved.
Finally, our paperwork was finished and mailed at the end of March 2008 and we were logged into the system in China on March 30, 2008. 70 days later, we received our LOA, which officially, without a shadow of doubt, knew that China had given us permission to adopt him.
It was at this point that we felt like we could name him. We had tossed names around, created a baby name poll and still couldn’t agree on a name until we received our official approval from China. His name was to be Noah “Benjamin” Hui.July 17, 2008, we began our flight to China. We were on our way to bring our little guy home. Our God in his infinite wisdom and amazing love for us, planned for us to leave that day. You see, July 17 was exactly 9 months from the time I saw Benjamin’s picture for the first time. It was exactly 9 months from the time he was “conceived” in my heart. God has a sense of humor, ya know. All our babies were “over due” by at least one to two weeks. Alexis was 15 days late. Zachary was 10 days late. Joel B. was 7 days late. Alaina, well…we expected to adopt a baby girl one year before we decided to switch to the China program. Hudson, we thought would join us in 10 months and it ended up being 22 months.
Benjamin’s Gotcha Day
July 20, 2008
On July 20, 2008, 9 months and 4 days from the beginning, I held Benjamin for the first time. Here is the journal entry from Benjamin’s Gotcha Day:
We arrived first and then within a minute, HuiHui came through the door...reluctantly. He is so cute!!! XiaoFang, the manager at the Infant Care Unit in Gejiu came with him. We were so happy to meet her. She is such a wonderful "mother" of the babies and an eternal sister.
And he cried...and cried...and cried....
So I could talk to XiaoFang and give her the gifts, I gave him back to her hoping he would stop crying.
While we signed some paperwork, the boys played with him for a little bit...in Xiaofang's arms.
And then it was time to say goodbye. He was crying...I was crying ....and I'm sure XiaoFang was crying,too. He was so pitiful...reaching for the windows and looking for his XiaoFang.
We went back to the room and changed a dirty diaper. He did not like that at all. He is extremely strong. He gathered up all his clothes I had taken off, especially his shoes. He handed the shoes to me to put them back on him.
It was so sad watching him cry. He walked to the door reaching and crying...bless his heart.
We walked to Walmart to get some baby things and on the way he fell asleep after he had cried about an hour. He woke up calm and very, very content in the Snuggly. He is so cuddly and would look into my eyes. He wrapped his arms and legs around me. I'm in love...
Notice the rag...I mean blanky in his mouth? He wanted it in his sight constantly.
It didn’t take long for Benjamin to trust us and know we are his forever family. We have been so very blessed to have Benjamin in our lives. He is more than we could have hoped for or ever dreamed. Words cannot express the love we have for him and the love we feel from our Heavenly Father.
Benjamin is very lovable, affectionate, and caring. He is always making sure Hudson's needs are met. They continue to be best buddies. From time to time, we might hear some crying...and a little biting from both of them. Overall, they play really well together and love each other. I enjoy dressing them alike so everyone assumes they are twins.
Benjamin is such a strong little guy. He loves to climb and jump and always lands on his feet, solid.
Benjamin is very independent, persistent and determined. We are so proud of him and always amazed at his abilities. Really, the kid is amazing. He likes to do things by himself, no matter how challenging it might be at first. He works at something until he gets it, and normally it's pretty quick. It only takes him minutes to do something, even quicker than other kids his age. There are times when I help him do something. He will put things back the way they were before I helped him and redo them so he can do it himself. He's not being defiant or mean about it. He sweetly wants to do it himself. I'm so happy that he is determined to make things happen. He will have no trouble at all in life accomplishing anything he wants to do.
With his Sunday school teachers approval, we decided to put him in Hudson’s class with kids one year older than he is. His teachers say he is very well behaved. He follows along even though the kids are one year older than he is, doing whatever the teacher instructs. They don't baby him and purposefully allow him to do his crafts by himself. Most people don't even notice or realize he is missing fingers on his left hand. They love him and are so amazed by him.
He loves music and attempts to sing and is actually in tune. He knows several songs. He can say anything now but we are not always sure what he is saying. I normally can tell what he wants or is saying. He loves Baby Einstein and sing along song DVDs. He is so cute when he is tilting his head and dancing.
He and Hudson still love trucks and Hotwheel cars. They play with dolls...making sure their babies are warm and fed. So cute. They are getting really good at building with Legos.
We researched and discovered that Shriners Hospital will take care of Benjamin until he is 18 years old. They will do the xrays and create a prosthetic hand for him until his 18th birthday absolutely free. My understanding is, they will make his first one when he is five years old. They use to do it earlier but realized the toddlers prefer not to have it on. They are so use to doing things independently and learn how to accomplish things on their own, their own way. I do want Benjamin to have the opportunity to have a prosthetic hand if he wishes. He is an amazing little guy and will be fine either way.
Benjamin is such a happy little guy...always smiling and laughing....(but knows how to cry persistently,too). We can't imagine life without him. We love you Benny HuiHui!
Words cannot express what we have experienced through adoption. Several years ago, Joshua Zhong, the director of CCAI, told us that adopting is a “spiritual experience.” We didn’t totally understand until we held our babies for the first time. I don’t think we could feel any closer to God than we felt the day we held our babies.
God loves adoption. He adopted us into his Forever Family. He loves us unconditionally and we will have eternal life through Him. We are now, a child of the King. He is my “Forever Daddy.”Thank you, Lord for allowing us to have this sweet little guy in our lives. Before the foundation of the world, you already knew that we would.
Looks like the girls are out-numbered in our house. We are so excited and feel so blessed by God, the one who created each for our family.
If you would like to follow our life-journey, our website is http://www.ouradoptionblessings.com/. We have shared our travel journal for each China trip in detail with pictures. Our website also shares adoption questions you might have with fundraising ideas. Please contact us if you have more questions. We love sharing our stories.
Blessings to all who read our story and we pray that your heart will be opened to the calling and blessings of adoption.
