37 hours...and counting! What to expect...

That's right, we leave Guangzhou, Lord willing, in 37 hours!  And a mere 24 hours beyond that, we will land in Atlanta!  Words can NOT express how ready Trace and I are ready to be home, and out of this hotel room!  While we have treasured these first 2 weeks getting to know Micah, and him getting to know us in an intimate environment, we are ready to be in sweet home.  We are ready for our whole family to be together!  AHH!  I get so excited thinking about it.  

On our dinner "cruise":)  The sights were actually very pretty!

We wanted to write a "What to expect" letter for yall about what it's going to look like when we get home.  While we are bringing a new son home, it's much different from bringing a new baby home from the hospital.  We wanted to help yall out, and let you know what is going to be best for Micah and our family the next few months.  (thanks Candice for some really good help!!)  

To our family & friends,

It blows our minds when Trace and I think about how much love and support we have received throughout this journey to bring Micah home.  From the bottom of our hearts, we are so humbled and grateful at everything yall have done for us.  It is almost time for us to come home, and we would like to give you an honest idea of what to expect.  I can't believe I just said that.....it's almost time to come home!!! We also want to let you know about what our family will be going through. 

What this will be like for Micah:

Unlike bringing a newborn home, Micah already has a view of the world.  Before he left the orphanage, he already knew from where he would get his meal, how it would be given to him, who would bathe him, and be the source of his care.  He already had best  friends to share his little life with, had favorite toys, and knew what to expect next.  His life may not have been ideal to this point, but it has been HIS life.  He has learned to cope with an unnatural situation of not having parents.  He didn’t even realize she was “coping” with anything, though.  This was just life as he knew it.

While we have had a long time to prepare for our new addition, only your prayers and what little the orphanage caregivers were able to do have helped Micah prepare.  While they did what they could, and he may be saying mama and dada at those pictures we sent him, he can't fully understand that those people are his parents.  He has no capacity to know what parents are. For almost every day of his life, he slept in the same spot and stared at the same ceiling when she was trying to fall asleep.  He had only ridden in a car a few times. He had seen some of his friends leave the orphanage, but never quite understood why they didn’t return.  This new shift in his reality is monumental.   

Because of the trauma he has faced in terms of abandonment at birth, and lack of touch and one on one love and care, wounds have been left and we need to heal those wounds.  Because of this, life for the Ham fam will be very very different than what we're used to for awhile!  

First, we want you to know that this is only a season.  Lord-willing it will be a short season followed by a much, much longer season of our new normal.  Also, please understand that we are leaning on YEARS of expert opinions on adoption; some by professional experts, some by friends who’ve adopted even from the same orphanage, our social workers...etc.  It may not make sense to you, and that’s okay.  We totally get that.  Which is why we are writing this to initially help in understanding!  We want your support, and part of earning that support is helping you understand, so questions are always okay! 

What to expect when we come home:

We are excited to meet family and friends at the airport (our airport party)!   We welcome anyone who wants to be there.   “Welcome Home” signs, taking pictures and making video would be a great blessing to us!  You have no idea how ready we are to see familiar faces!

We hope that our flight will be relatively uneventful, and that we will have been able to sleep.  However, realistically, even at its best, it will be a LONG trip.  We will have spent around 24 hours in airplanes and airports by the time we land in Atlanta.

We will be very tired when we come home.  It is a 13 hour time difference from China to Central time.  We anticipate jet lag for us and for Micah for the first 2 weeks home. 

We will need a different kind of support than when we brought home Taylor, Gray and Cayden from the hospital. 

Our approach to the first few months home:

We do ask that you don't ask to hold him or give him anything at the airport.  If you have special gifts, I know he will love them, but we'll need to initially save them for later!!  His sister and brothers will have a gift for him.  And he will have a gift for them.  Other than that, we feel that it would be best to wait for other gifts (or give them to us, and we will give them to Micah once we are at home). 

We also ask that you allow us to spend our first moments in the airport introducing our children to each other and reconnecting.  After the kids have had their opportunity to meet their new brother and to get a big fat squeeze and and smooch from us, then it's ok for others to hug us and to meet Micah (while he is being held in our arms).

Micah has a pretty strong case of stranger anxiety.  Please don’t be offended if your offer to hug us is met with blank stare!  This will be his first taste of “foreigners” en masse.  As of now, these “foreigners” have been the minority.  Every outing we have here in China he sees people groups he expects to see.  Things you may not even think are scary may scare him.  For example, blue eyes may scare him.  Most likely, he has never seen blue eyes up close before.  Just remember, you can do everything right, and he will likely still be scared of you.  This is okay.

A cute pic, to keep your interest in this LONG post:)  Micah and Becca Fei:)

After the airport, we're going to try to lay low for a while.  In the adoption community it is called "cocooning".

We understand that this is going to be hard for everyone involved.  However, we are trusting all of the attachment/adoption experts on this.  We will focus our time on connecting as a family of six.  For the first couple of months, we will live a pretty "boring" life.  Limited trips out, and limited time with visitors.    This does NOT mean we don't want visitors meeting our new son, however our time will just have to be limited for a little while to keep from overwhelming him.

It will take time for her to understand that we are her parents.  We are starting at a place where she has no concept of parents or family. 

Also our parenting will look very different.  He has lived his life, up until this point, in an orphanage.  He has shared a room with around 10 other babies/kids, and he has had to do what has been necessary to survive and to thrive.  Once we are home, helping her find security in her new family (mommy, daddy & brothers) is very important to her attachment in the long run.

What do we mean by attachment? There are many articles and studies and professionals who can speak to this; but for a child who has experienced loss, finding a secure place is very important. Even if he is very happy and energetic, at the core he is still not sure what is going on yet. For him to thrive he needs to know that we will take care of him. He needs to know that he doesn't have to charm his way into being fed or getting a toy or being held.  He needs to know that he can give up his survival mode.  While we feel, initially, he has begun this process very well.  He seems to be attaching here.  But when we get home, out of his familiar surroundings, we need to be ready for things to be completely different.

We don't want anyone to have their feelings hurt or feel that we are keeping him from all of you. That is so not the case.  Everyone in our family, our precious friends and our college ministry family has been a HUGE part of this journey!  From helping us financially, physically to helping us emotionally and spiritually, we are so humbled by you and eternally grateful for you.  So, we are asking you to join us on the second part of this journey.  This isn't the glamorous part.  This is when we parent and love and grow into a forever family with a new child who has come from a hard place.  The reality of his past doesn't go away, even when she maintains a playful disposition. Prayerfully, with time, he will develop a strong sense of security and true joy in his forever home and family.  We are trusting the Lord for this, and look forward to seeing His faithfulness!

What you can do:

*Please allow us to feed him, hand him toys, food, and anything else he needs.  It is important that we are the only ones to meet his needs (ALL of his needs) at this time.  Trust me, Trace and I will be VERY ready for a good date night soon enough, and look forward to Micah joining his brothers and sister for a good babysitter night!  

*If he reaches for you, go ahead and smile at him, but please point to us.

*Please don't give him any gifts at this time. If you want to give him something so she knows it is from you, you can hang on to it, and we will let you know when it is appropriate to start giving him gifts.  If you do have a special gift that you want him to have now, you can give it to us, and we will give it to him at home.

*We are so so so thankful for how well our kids have been loved at home while we have been in China!  Truly, it's made our hearts so full knowing that they are being showered with love and attention.  Please continue to remember as we come home they will continue to need some special TLC too as their world is changing too!

*Please feel free to bring meals, call or text to check up on us, or anything else you would normally do for a family that has just added a child.  Just bear with us and understand that we will need to limit visits to very short/front door meetings for the most part.  (This will keep Micah from getting confused and/or nervous with lots of people coming in and out of the house as he will still have stranger anxiety.  Again, we will be focusing on teaching him who our immediate family is!)

We know that this is a lot to ask. And we know this is going to be hard for the first few months. We've always considered it a monumental blessing that our kids have strong, loving, Christ centered relationships with so many people, and we want the same for Micah. However, it's going to have to come at a slower pace. We have been taught that if a child connects more with someone else, rather than the parents, in the first few months, it can delay their attachment by months. So, we are grateful that you all understand and are going to allow us to have a different approach for a few months.

As his parents, we have to be his voice and make the best decision for him and help him to thrive in the best way possible.  We really appreciate all of your support in this adjustment.  Thank you for loving us, giving us so much grace, and being with us through all of this. We WELCOME you to the next phase with us! 

We don't know exactly how long this will take; but we've been advised to cocoon (lay low) for the first three months home.  So, that's where we will start.  It is really going to depend on Micah, and how he adapts.  We will be following his queues.  Please keep praying for us!  We will be posting trying to post updates on the blog, regularly. :)

I really enjoy being behind the camera and capturing candid pics, but I had to get in some with this ham too!:)

These precious children we have been with since Gotcha day almost 2 weeks ago.  Their beautiful faces and the families they represent will always have a very special place in my heart.
Ivy Ann, Oliver, Micah and Becca Fei

Please feel free to contact us or ask us in any way if you have any questions on attachment or cocooning.  We aren't sure how crazy things will be; but we promise to be open and honest.  We appreciate all of your grace during this next phase. We feel as prepared as we can be, but are depending on the Lord to lead us in this next stage, as it is so unknown.  The comfort comes, in knowing He will.  He is SO faithful.

"Your lovingkindness oh Lord extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies."  Psalm 36:5

Guangzhou

Falling in LOVE with this boy more and more every day!

Ok, let's get it out of the way.....WAR EAGLE!  Yes, Trace did get up at 445 to turn CBS.com on and I, shortly after, and Micah actually even woke up SUPER early that morning (not planned), to cheer our tigers on to VICTORY!  It was so fun, and a special blessing to be able to watch the game here!  We have a fun picture, but it's on my camera, and I don't know how to get them off right now:)

First bath to actually SIT down!  Victory!  

We have made it to Guangzhou, the second half of our trip!  Someone said it feels like we were living in black and white and it turned to color.  That is SO TRUE!  I had been to Chongqing several years ago, so I knew someone to expect in terms of the gloominess, nasty different smells, craziness on the roads and cheer busyiness.  But I had not visited too many other citiies.  So when we got to Guangzhou on Friday night, we arrived at our amazing hotel, and hit the hay immediately, but we woke up to SUNSHINE!  While Chongqing will always have a very special place in my heart, being the place where my son was born, and spent 3.5 years of his life, sunshine was welcomed.  It was almost like we were a hop closer to home.
Micah is opening up more and more to us each day.  I feel like he is starting to get the feeling, these people aren't going away!  We are learning his personality, and let me tell you, this kid is so full of life. He is a giver, he loves his friends, and he is pretty passionate about any emotion he feels!  When he isn't happy about something, he just becomes a wet, limp noodle.  Doesn't matter what surface he crumbles to, he just crumbles and slaps on the floor.  It scared me half to death one day, because Micah dropped a small piece of food, and Trace picked it up off the ground before he would eat it.  Micah is still learning that his food is not limited.  So he was very hurt when that food was picked up, he just melted and fell flat on the tile floor, face first.  No screams, no crying when he does this, just limps.  I thought for sure he had knocked a tooth out.  Nope!  We have figured this must be a defense mechanism for him when he is upset, scared or feels out of control.  He was very limpy when we first met him and picked him up last week.  He snaps out of it very quickly, usually, and is back to his normal self.  We are thankful though for seeing these patterns, so that we know what to expect!
When we tell him we love him, he says it right back.  He has said it in English once, but for now it's "Wo ai ni."  I'll take it:)  It is music to my ears.  He is slowly showing us more and more affection.  The other kids on the trip were giving hugs and kisses early, and just yesterday I got my first kiss!  Trace got one first a few days ago!:)  He reaches for our hand frequently, and now loves to hold my face and make silly eyes.  Again, I'll take it!:)

Chen Chen and Fei Fei (Micah and Bekah Fei)

We have made quick friends with the families on our trip.  So thankful to be walking this road with them, and traveling with them.  It's made for some sweet community.  Back in June, when they sent us videos and pictures of his birthday party, and saw he shared a birthday with another little girl.  Come to find out, she is another little girl in our group!  This precious little girl, named Fei Fei, has his same Chinese family name (bc they were found in the same province and were taken to the same orphanage), she has the same birthday, and you ready.... their cribs were next to each other at Love Manor.  These little buddies have something special.  I get emotional thinking about it.  Micah LOVES her.  If he even faintly hears her from a distant, immediately he yells....Quay Quay!!1  (that's how it sounds coming out him) These precious souls have lived life together since they were 6 months old.  They look out for each other.  If Fei Fei is crying, Micah, says, from wherever he is, Quay Quay!  This little boy is a protector, and one thing I do know, is he has taken care of this precious girl, and she has been a precious companion to him.  He is constantly giving her food, and looking for her.  They beam when they are together.   They have such a precious history together that we and her parents will, to an extent, never know.  What we do know, is we live only about 2.5 hours from each other!  I see many planned play dates in our future.  They also have a 7 year old daughter and 3 year old son.


We had his medical appointment yesterday, we saw a nurse, an ENT, and he got blood taken for a TB test.  If we don't hear anything from the test, he's good!  If we get a call, we go back for x-rays and possibly stay SIX more weeks.  It's highly unlikely that will happen, but praying against it!  He did great for the physical.  We were there with about 20 other adoptive families, some with us, some with other agencies.  It was chaotic!  Thankful they had us all in and out within about 1.5 hours.

We went to a great place for pizza last night.  For a split second, I forgot we were in China.  It was delicious!  This story is topping the charts, for Guangzhou at least.  We were sitting in a booth next to this PRECIOUS young Chinese couple.  I was about 2 feet across from the girl.  I maybe wanted to ask take a picture with them after dinner they were so cute...I refrained.  I mean, the guy had mocossins on, and she had her patent leather heels on!  They were OUT on the town, and so cute.   They giggled off and on the whole meal, Trace and I figured it was probably date 4.  They flirted about who was going to pay.  Hilarious.  Anyway, about midway through the meal, Micah has been known to on occasion throw crumbs of his food....he thinks its funny:)  (cayden, your food throwing competitor is on his way)  So he goes and CHUNKS this small piece of crust and it lands in HER HAIR!  Yes, the cute girl, who has curled the ends of her hair for her admirer.  I'm sure my chin dropped to the floor and my face turned the color of lava.  But neither one of them noticed!  They both just keep gazing into each others eyes and giggling!  Trace told me I had to tell her, i just kept laughing uncontrollably trying to figure out how in the world I was going to tell this Chinese girl (who doesn't speak English) that my son, (who does speak chinese) just chunked a piece of food, and now it's in your hair.
Thankfully, it fell to her lap.  Phew.  But it made for a very enjoyable dinner.  Probably our favorite out yet.

We have quite a few sightseeing trips in Guangzhou as we wait for our consulate appointment on Wednesday.  We have been shopping, and to an ancient dynasty house so far, and visit the Botanical Gardens tomorrow....and to complete the day tomorrow, we have a "Boat Cruise."  Thankful we have things to fill our time though!  We are becoming very homesick, and can't wait to come home and our family be complete.  We are able to FaceTime with the kids almost every day, but it's not enough for this mama!  The second we step off the escalator at Hartsfield International Airport, and I see those beautiful faces, is climbing the charts in my book of top moments in my life...and it hasn't even happened yet.  Longing for them in my arms!

Silly Boy!!

Be looking for a post about what to expect when we come home!  We canNOT wait to introduce our new son to you, but he will need several weeks to adapt to his forever home, and forever family.  We know this is a process, and we are going to take his cues on when to branch out of the house further.  But I will share details with you soon!  We do welcome anybody who wants to come to the airport when we get home to come!  We've seen several families who have come home have these "airThis is an earthly homecoming for this precious son of ours, and I can't WAIT to step off that escalator with him and hold all 4 of my babies in my arms, together.

Love Manor visit and Mao Maos

I can't believe I am sitting here on Friday morning (China time) writing this last post in Chongqing!  I was thinking about it yesterday, and although I am excited about flying to Guanzhou, our next stop for a week, it is bittersweet as we take our new son from him hometown.  He won't understand, and Praise God for his adoption and his "new hometown", it's just a weird feeling.  We went with our group and guide sightseeing yesterday to the Panda Zoo, and what our guide called the "old town."  For all you previous CQ'ers out there, it wasn't Sujiko, it was another place, that frankly was.....quite boring:)  But more on that later:)
The day before yesterday we started our day early downstairs to board of travel bus to the orphange.  2 other families and us traveled to Love Manor, while 1 of our families went to Fuling orphanage where her daughter was from.  Our guide was so good to tell our children before we left in Chinese language where we were going, and that they wouldn't be staying there.  They would leave with mama and daddy.  As he went to each kid, they just kind of solemnly nodded up and down.  I was still unsure what the feel of the orphanage was like.  I had every reason to believe it was a great orphanage from articles I had read on it, but in my mind, that wasn't reality until I saw it with my own eyes.
We loaded up and rode a highway for awhile and got to a windy windy road.  It was beautiful though!  If you know me well, you can imagine I was a bit nervous the windy road was not going to fare well with my carsick stomach!!!  Thankfully I was fine, but another family's ride didn't turn out so well.  The little boy behind us had had enough, and threw up all over him mom, and the back of our seat/floor!  I felt terrible for that sweet boy, but for Lindsey, the mom who now had throw up all. over. her. pants. and shoes.  And remember what I said in the previous post???  These kids eat. ALOT right now:)
We were talking, and the guide said these kids most likely have not been in cars too often.  Good thought we hadn't thought of.  And most likely, nerves were setting in too, as they knew where they were going.
When we got off the bus, Micah was not far behind.....  As I put him in the ergo, I saw it coming, that's right, about 6 inches from my face, attached to my chest.   TRACE I called yelled!  And sure enough, I kind of aimed him mouth to the side, and he got sick as well.  Thankfully, most of it made it to the ground!  After that though, the kids seemed to feel great!:)
The grounds of the orphanage were SO CLEAN!  It was a peaceful environment with friendly people all around!  It was set up like a compound, with a guard at the gate ( it's a federally funded orphanage) and a BUNCH of condo looking buildings inside.  Some were the classroom buildings, some were group setting, and several were the foster family condos and facilities.  Love Manor is moving towards placing all kids in a "foster family model" at the orphanage where the government hires foster parents, a legally married chinese couple, and they live with 3-5 children on campus.  Such a cool thing.  We knew Micah was not in a foster family, but we learned when we got there that he had been moved to a foster family for the month of November before we got there, to help him adjust to a homelike environment!  We were so thankful!  And for those 2 weeks, he didn't have foster parents since it wasn't an actual foster family, but a caretaker who stayed with him and 4 other children there.  We got to meet her and she was PRECIOUS!  She loved our Chen Chen!  She was SO EXCITED to see him! More than anything else, what we got out of our visit to the orphanage was seeing with our own eyes how adored and loved our son was for the 2.5 years he lived here.  They cared for him WELL.  They have school, they have craft rooms (where pottery crafts were drying!), there is a hospital on campus, many teachers and caretakers.  One of my favorite moments was when we walked into his classroom, Trace was holding Micah, and about 15 little Chinese children, immediately jumped with smiles on their faces and excitement bursting from their heart, yelling MY Chen Chen!!  Chen Chen, Chen Chen, my Chen Chen!!  He had the BIGGEST grin on his face, and kind of leaned back to Trace almost as if he was puffed up with pride.  Pride that comes from having a family.  Joy of belonging.  We couldn't help but to be so proud for him, and at the same time, I look at these precious, beautiful children, and began cringing inside that these children don't have a home.  It just shouldn't be this way, never was meant to be this way.
We had asked who his best friend was, and our guide pointed him out to us.  He did tell us that he had been matched, and his family was coming in a couple of months!  Praise the Lord!  He was so cute!!  We got some cute pictures of him!!  We not only were able to visit his classroom, but also the room where he slept, the playroom, playground, MUSIC room, (yes they had a music room!) and the foster facility where he lived for 2 weeks.
As we were reaching an end to our visit at the orphanage, the teachers and caretakers wanted to hug and hold Micah.  We allowed his main caretaker to hold him, but the others just hugged from our arms. We were advised not to let them hold him from other friends, but we felt like he was handling this well, and this lady loved him so, and constantly was talking to him about his mama and daddy.  Micah handled it well!  We were a little afraid at the end, leaving would be difficult, but it wasn't, to the best of our knowledge!  Prayers, yet again, answered in abundance.  It was emotional for me, getting back on the bus, leaving this place that has been just a pivotal part in his life.  He may not right now, but at some point, whether we ever know it or not, he has got to think about those people and friends he left behind.  I was overflowing with thankfulness to the Father as well for allowing him to be in a place like this.  Because when it comes to orphanages, this is not the norm.
The rest of the day was pretty low key, as we went back to the hotel, ate lunch at a dumpling place with our guide and group and tried to take a little nap!  By the end of the day, we were spent.  Physically and emotionally.  Thankful for rest, and a little boy who is still a great sleeper!
We have been able to facetime with the kids at home almost everyday!  Again, so thankful for technology!  Miss those babies something fierce, reassured them we would be home very soon!  Gray sung at church on Wednesday night, and it just about killed me not to be there, but thankfully mom got a video!  Already watched it 3 times!  When we facetime, if they don't see Micah, they ask for him!  Trace and I are really in prayer for this transition when we get home!  We really have no idea what it will look like.  Micah seems PUMPED about them through facetime, and the opposite is true.  Well, Taylor and Gray at least:)  Cayden just keeps saying mama and daddy:)  At night, Micah LOVES to get his picture album that we sent a few months ago (which is falling apart at the binding) and points to each person and says our name.  (mama, dada, jie jie (sister), di die (younger bro) and guh guh (older brother).  He gets so excited too!  Thankful the orphanage staff did this with him so regularly!  We think it has helped A LOT!

If you made it to the end of this post...i am IMPRESSED.  Apologize for the extreme length.  The truth is, I could of written so much more about the orphanage.  Love you all...dearly.  Again, I can't say this enough, truly.  Thank you, thank you thank you, for supporting  our family in this journey.  Our prayer is that as we are actually going, and adopting, that yall would feel apart of this process to, and use your influence in your community and circle, to advocate for adoption.  Advocate for the millions of orphans worldwide, and the issue of adoption.  We know not everyone is called to actually adopt a child, (but it IS stinkin AWESOME)  but we do know from Scripture we are all called to care for the orphans.  YOU CAN make a difference.  And I am here to say, while Trace and I are here picking Micah up, and have the joy of parenting him and grafting him into our family, SO many of yall have cared for him.  I don't say this lightly, without your obedience in caring for the orphans (whether you knew it was that or not!) this process would not have happened like it has.  From beginning to end.  It has not been problem free from the beginning, and don't anticipate it being problem free until the end, but we are so thankful for His guidance, grace and wisdom on our path.  So again, thank you.  Keep praying, keep advocating, and keep sharing about your spiritual adoption.  Remember, the gospel, and issue of adoption cannot be separated, Praise God!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished up on us, that we should be called, sons and daughters of God."  1 John 3:1

"but I game them this command, Obey me and I will be your God, and you my people.  Walk in obedience to all I command of you that it may go well with you.  Jeremiah 7:23

Although the Isrealites did not heed this command coming out of Egypt, I pray that I will be faithful by His grace to "obey all that He has commanded of me."  Is there something he is calling you to?  Obey, and the richest blessings of His favor await you.

We get Micah's passport today!  We leave for Guanzhou tonight, to begin the next part of the trip.  In Chongqing, it was made official in China's eyes that Chen Chen is ours, next in Guanzhou at the Consulate's office, it will be made official in America's eyes, that THIS BOY IS A HAMITER!  

Please continue to pray:

• attachement and bonding to continue to develop.  
• continued prayer for energy!  it's getting better, but could be alot better too!:)
• flight to Guanzhou.  this will be a good trial run to our LOOONG flight home next week!

view of the grounds of Love Manor from the front door of main building.

Micah and his best friend at orphanage!

playroom/music room  (Micah has shown us he LOVES to sing!)

outside playground

dining room table in foster condo where he stayed for 2 weeks

his bed for those 2 weeks! (every color seems to be gender neutral in china!:)

his crib in the cribroom where he stayed the majority of the time at Love Manor.  This did make me sad, bc it made a pac 'n play look like a King size bed.

the view from the foster condo

Micah waving to all his friends as we first walked into the classroom.  They were SO excited to see him!  But he didn't want to get down either!  Great sign of attachment!

sweet sweet lady.  Micah's primary caregiver.  you can see he was leaning over here, he wanted the car we had given him to show her, he was so proud!

yeah, i have no idea what she is saying, but she was so sweet, so I acted like I did!

not sure who this girl was, maybe a teacher, but she was CRAZY about him.    almost didnt let him out of her sight.

several of the kids still there walking back from school.  love that their holding jackets to keep a straight line!:)

Our first picture of Micah that we got was taken in this spot.  Loved taking a family photo here!

Micah's best friend.  would of taken him if he fit in Trace's backpack. :) 

So thankful for this precious woman.  She loved my baby well.

At the entrace to the Panda Zoo.  Panda's are called mao maos.  Hence the blog title:)  He LOVED the zoo.  Loved animals, our guide was telling us, he was naming every animal we saw, and what it was doing. This zoo was actually very very pretty!  (and that's saying a lot for someone who strongly dislikes the zoo:)  It was refreshing to be outside, not totally smoggy for a little bit!

It's official!

It's now official!  We are the Hamiter 6!:)  My heart is longing to the together Hamiter 6, but know the ones left at home are being well loved and cared for.
We have so enjoyed continuing to get to know Micah.  His nanny's told us that he is a happy, active boy, (among other things such as naughty!)  and boy, are they right!  This kid is so full of joy.  Trace and I are so so thankful that things have gone very smoothly so far.  He sleeps so well, and this kid eats more than bam bam eats at home, and that is saying A LOT!  I'm sure he is enjoying having food whenever he wants it as well, and this will probably even out.  Some people told us as he is getting used to life, he will probably over eat because he doesn't know when to stop, and then throw up:///.  So it's a fine line between not depriving him of food, so he knows he now has an endless supply, and making him some boundaries so he doesn't make himself sick!  We also know, and have heard on several occasions from friend who have adopted that the first few days are usually pretty good, and then the real grieving and hard part sets in.  So, we're going on 2 days in, so please continue to pray for him and his heart that he would know he is deeply loved and safe.  And that we're not going to leave him.
Yesterday we went back to the civil affairs office, where we first picked him up, to have a ceremony, taking an oath that we will "never abandon or abuse him, and we will take care of him until he grows up."  We had no idea what to expect out of yesterday, and when we went into this formal looking room, with the other 4 families, we were the first ones up!  Because we hadn't seen one happen yet, and we were the first, as the Chinese official was talking, and giving us our oath, I was so emotional!  This process in bringing him home, was becoming official.  He is no longer an orphan.  HE IS OUR SON!

We shared a lot of laughs yesterday which was so so fun.  I love to hear him cackle!  I also started wearing him in the ergo, and he loved it!  He is far surpassed the size where I would use it with kids from birth, but I really think he liked the closeness!  It has helped in attachment across the board.  Thanks Kim and Nathan for the ergo on loan!  Great last minute pack.

We are visiting his orphanage today.  I have mixed emotions about this.  On one hand while I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world, to see where he spend 2.5 years of his life (he was in another orphanage for the first 9 months), how he did life, and who cared for him, I know this is still "home" for him.  I have heard horror stories about going back to the orphanage, and I am praying against these things.  I think it's important for him to go back, and carry him back out ourselves.  His nanny's and teachers that I met on Monday were precious, and I am so thankful that he was well cared for and loved while here.

You're in for a treat today with the pictures to come.  Trace was tossing him in the air yesterday and catching him, and I caught some awesome smiles.

Please continue to pray for us, while we have had a great first few days, I know we still need the prayers and harder days may be coming!

• Please continue to pray that Micah feels knows he is loved and knows he is safe.  
• Please pray for attachement and bonding.  While it looks like it is happening very well, I want to be eyes wide open, and doused in prayer for it to continue this way
• our visit to the orphanage.  It really could go any way.  I have no idea.  
• Our babies at home.  I miss them terribly!  Please continue to pray for them as well, that they never doubt how loved and adored they are, and for their minds to be pre-occupied that they wouldn't think about missing us.  And for Grandbubba and Cece who have them this week!  

Thank you for all the facebook comments, texts and emails.  Yall have been truly precious, and we have felt your prayers all the way.  Forgive me if I don't get back to all of them, I have limited time in the hotel where we get wifi, and try to do it when Micah is asleep!  

It's official!  Chen chen is a Hamiter!

all of us after it's been made official!  4 less orphans!

Gray put this dinosaur in my suitcase for Micah, and boy was it a winner!  He doesn't go anywhere without it!

Gotcha Day!

I wanted to update yall last night, but I think I fell asleep sitting up!  Exhausted is an understatement as I went to bed at 9:30 the night before we got him, and I was up at 2:15....wide awake.  Trace was up at 4.  Restless, anxious, nervous, excited were all emotions we were feeling all day.  We started the day with breakfast downstairs in the hotel, not believing the culmination of something we had thought about and prayed about for nearly 10 years was about to come to fruition.   After breakfast, we headed to the grocery store in the rain, to stock up on some snacks, fruit and last minute small toys to take with us to Gotcha Day.  We knew our first gift to him would of course be....an Auburn football.  And of course.....he immediately started throwing it:)  But we are so glad we picked up some small trucks too, because they were a great conduit to building a safety between Trace and "Chen Chen!"
After the grocery run, we headed back to the hotel to meet up with 3 other families that were getting their children too.  2 other families from Love Manor where Micah was from, and 1 from another nearby orphanage.
After paperwork, we headed upstairs to our room to do some final getting ready to meet him!  I told Trace, "I feel like I'm going on a first date!  I want him to think I'm pretty!:)"  He felt the same way!    We went to lunch with a sweet couple we have become friends with from Seattle who are also adopting a little boy from Love Manor.  We came from the airport with them and have walked this road with them in CQ.  It was a great lunch as we talked about our journey to this point, our families, and just had sweet fellowship and laughter.  It was such a blessing.
When we got back from lunch, we waiting with the other families for our guide and bus to get here to head to the civil affairs office where we would meet Micah!
We rode the bus for about 15 minutes, and arrived at the office.  Such a surreal experience.  We walked in to a long room that was pretty dim, they turned the "lights" on, and it was still dim:)  But that was the best it was going to get!  The room was decked out in traditional Chinese decorations, with a Merry Christmas wreath on the door to boot:)  Typical!  This is the office where adoptions take place and international marriages.  We didn't see any of those yesterday:)
Soon after we got there, the little girl who came from the other orphanage just walked right in, with her nanny!  Just as if she walked in the door to school, so non chalant!  She was a precious little girl, and was FULL of energy!  It was really sweet and good to see the meeting happen before Micah got there.  I was crying watching them, and thought, Oh boy, Cassie you need to get it together, you don't want Micah traumatized the first time he sees you because you can't hold it together:)
About 30 minutes later, we heard some stirring in the staircase outside the door, and in walks several ladies and 3 precious little people holding bags.  I spotted him instantly and could not believe he was IN THE ROOM!  He looked just like his pictures!  He was shorter than the other 2, stocky and BUNDLED up!  They recommend the mom make initial contact as the children have mostly ever known women, and if an initial bond is made, it most likely would be to the woman.  Trace was close by with the video camera and still camera!
We walked over to him, I bent down and started talking to him.  Bless his heart, I know he was thinking, who in the world is this woman, and what is the world is coming out of her mouth.  He did look at me straight in the eyes, and let me hold his face.  He was called "Chen Chen" in the orphanage, so that's what we're going with right now!
He was very skiddish and very shy initially.  Really for the whole time we were there until we started throwing the football and playing with the cars!  His caretakers say he is very stubborn, happy, and sometimes "naughty!"  We think he didn't quite know what to do with himself yesterday, and didn't have much of a reaction at first, but the smiles came quickly after we started to play.  We were able to ask a lot of questions we had written down through our guide to his nanny's and teachers.  They were so helpful!  We had sent him several pictures the nanny's put in a picture album, and it was so neat to see the picture album was falling apart!  They had been showing it to him a lot, so he called me "mama" fairly soon!  Baba, is daddy, and we couldn't get that out of him, but later that night, Trace taught him dada, and he said it!  He also taught him a high 5!  He will fit right in!
We stayed at the civil affairs office for about an hour, and then rode back to the hotel and were free for the rest of the day.
This was such a precious time!  This time was when we heard first laughs and had a lot more smiles.  We played with the trucks and ball for a long time, and this was such a sweet time to watch Micah and Trace interact and truly have lots of fun!
We put his first outfit on that we had set out for him, but he did not want to take his shirt off, so it stayed on!  This was a problem too later when we gave him a bath.  Bless his heart, he did NOT want to take a bath, so we had the first cry there too!  He stood up the whole time... whatever works!:)
We were also able to FaceTime with the kids after bath, and it was so precious!  We taught the kids wo ai ni means I love you in Chinese before we left.  Taylor and Gray both said "Wo ai ni!"  and HE SAID IT BACK!! He hasn't even done that with us yet.  It was so cool.  He would call Taylor "jie jie" and Gray "die die".  (Sister and brother in mandarin)

We all crashed HARD after the phone call!  Trace and I even think we were out cold before Micah fell asleep.  He slept in between us in the bed last night, and slept until 6:30 on the dot this morning.  Thank you Jesus!  I was a little anxious about last night, have heard nightmares about sleep.  I don't know what the next nights hold, but counting last nights full night of sleep a HUGE BLESSING!

I'll leave you with several pictures of our Gotcha Day!  Thank you thank you thank you for all the prayers.  Keep them coming!  We had a great day yesterday, but there is still a very long road ahead of us.
I was just praying this morning, thank you God for being so faithful.  And because of His faithfulness, I can count on His faithfulness in the future, for our bond and attachment with Micah, and for our family as a whole.  Praise Jesus!

"This I call to mind and therefore I have hope.  The steadfast love of the Lord never fails.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  GREAT is your faithfulness."  Lamentations 3:21-23

So most of these are not in order, my blogging skills still aren't up to par!  

Add this picture to the short list of pictures we have taken before our lives change forever:)   5 minutes before we met Micah!

First picture of mama and daddy with the new Hamiter!

first 2 minutes he saw me.  So skiddish!

playing catch with the football!

Daddy and his third son:)

Our group before going to the civil affairs office!  Sweet sweet people!

back at the hotel, favorite picture!!

playing with Trace, oh maybe this is my favorite...:)

laughing!!

great last minute purchase!

love that smile!!

Micah (chen chen) with his nannys and teachers.  You could tell they love him so!

Micah still unsuuuuuure:)

showing him I was the same mama in the picture album.  This is when he said...Mama!