I forgot...

At one of our various appointments last week the pediatrician asked me if I was ready for "toddler-hood".   Now, I love this woman, and I trust her completely with my children, but what a funny question. Am I ready? I thought I was before I went to Hong Kong. But I had forgotten a lot!

I forgot that clothes were changed multiple times per day for all kinds of crazy reasons. "Not dose pans momma, new pans" . Really? Whatever.If it makes the kid happy to change pants, what's the big deal? 

And then there is the pee. We change more clothes due to overflow of pee than I can even count.Not to mention the sheets. If you didn't already know, John has diabetes insipidus (different from blood sugar diabetes) which basically means he doesn't produce the hormone to tell him to stop peeing. We give him medicine to supplement this hormone but he still pees SO MUCH! Which leads me to...

Diapers. I can't find one I like. I had just gone to Costco and bought PullUps. Because he's a toddler, right? Nope! PullUps are no match for the Pee Master. Maybe during the day, but not at night. A mother of five recommended Luvs. They work better but he still requires a diaper change in the middle of the night. I'm not complaining. He's a sweet little boy and even more so when he's sleeping.

I also forgot how heavy toddlers are. The muscles on the left side of my body have been spazzing out since we first met John. I took me a while to figure out what was going on. My left hip is my baby slinging hip. My purse and diaper bag tend to go on the left side as well. I've gotta change that.

One last thing I forgot, just how frustrating it is to have a clingy toddler. Last night we went to a friend's Christmas party and John wouldn't let me put him down. I know you've all felt it. The, "if I could just among adults for 5 flippin' minutes without a toddler attached to my hip" feeling.

And then something clicked. The toddler attached to my hip was choosing me to comfort him in a situation that he was uncomfortable with. This is HUGE y'all!

Orphans don't come home knowing what a momma is. They may know the word but they have no reference point. They simply are unaware that there is actually a person whose job is to comfort and protect them. Heck, they've been having to self comfort and protect their own selves for as long as they've been in the orphanage.To rely on someone else to do that for you is a big deal. And John's done just that. 

I was only party kidding the other day when I wrote on FaceBook that John had claimed me as his momma by handing me his booger.In all honesty, he knows me to be the one to take care of things. So when something gross is stuck to your finger, why not just give it to the person who has been taking care of you day and night for the past 2 & 1/2 weeks? I am thankful that God has provided us with such a precious gift. 

It hasn't been the easiest of Christmas seasons. We've had several untimely deaths, but when is death ever timely? As a result we've been sad and stretched thin with a new toddler. Even so, our cup is overflowing. God is good all the time.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Life Marches On

I thought I'd give everyone a little glimpse into our new life for the past week. It's hard for me to believe that a week ago we were boarding a plane for Tokyo to bring John home. Sweet boy was so good for the 25 hours of traveling we did.

My sweet friends ( mother-in-law included) had brought food to my house before we arrived. That was so helpful. I keep digging in my pantry and refrigerator and finding new things. It was awesome! We've still had to make many, many trip to the grocery store for food items that John will eat. So far he really likes grits, Greek yogurt, white rice, and bananas. The irony of his affinity for grits is not lost on me.

Our first doctor visit was Monday morning. John had a lingering cough and runny nose. We dragged Calvin along since his asthma had flared up. It turns out Calvin had a sinus infection and John had a double ear infection. Oh, joy, joy! Both were started on antibiotics.

We had to leave Tuesday to go to S.Ga for David's grandfather's funeral. Papa Buddy died the Saturday night after we got home. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for about 6 months (that we know of). It was a hard loss. Papa Buddy had always been a strong, vivacious man. It was only within the last month or so that his body just gave out. On a side note, we name our son after Papa Buddy, who was the original Calvin Schramm.

John loves to ride in the car. He did fantastic on the trip and even at the funeral. He sat there and whispered quietly to me until he realized he needed to poop. I tried to very discreetly step out of the pew and exit the church so I could get his diaper changed. Of course we were sitting in the middle of the pew so the whole process was not carried out as delicately as I had envisioned.

I don't think I mentioned that the doctors and nurses had a really hard time drawing blood from John. We ended up having to go to Scottish Rite to get the rest of his blood drawn today. He fights us and cries so hard he screams. It is heart breaking. Poor baby lived in a hospital for the first 1 & 1/2 years of his life. I'm actually a little surprised that he doesn't show a stronger reaction to anyone in a lab coat. David went with me today for which I am so thankful. I needed an extra pair of hands to help hold him still. It was also good for David to see John have such a strong negative emotion. It was really hard on both of us to see him so upset.

Tomorrow we'll go back to the pediatrician to get her to recheck her ears. I'm thinking the amoxicillin that was prescribed isn't cutting it. It is probably time to bring out the big guns. Hopefully he'll keep eating yogurt so that his tummy won't hurt. We also have our first post placement visit with the adoption agency. I pray that goes well.

As I type this John is sacked out. He loves his room and is happy to go to sleep in there. As long as I don't tell him he's going to sleep. His automatic response has been " I no sleep". To which I respond, "ok, but you have to stay in your bed". He's usually out within 10-15 minutes. He's been sleeping through the night which is such an amazing blessing. I never did real well when Calvin and Holley Kate would wake up in the night to be fed. To be honest, having to wake up in the middle of the night and feed a baby was one of my biggest fears in adopting. I'm just a zombie when I have to get up in the night. How sad is that?

God did such an amazing job when he created John for us. And yes, I believe that before time God knew that John would be our child. He answered our prayers to adopt a child who was truly an orphan Even if you're a non-believer it would be difficult to not see God's hand in this whole process.

John fits in with our family so well. I couldn't love him anymore if I had given birth to him. I feel like I've known him for years. He's clinging to me and always wants to be picked up. David is better at making him walk ( it is good for strengthening his muscles) than I am. If  he lifts his arms and says please I melt and tote him around.



He does so many cute things. I'm going to have to save that for another time though.

Happy Birthday Calvin!

Today is Calvin's 12th birthday. It is hard to believe he could be that old. Unfortunately, he woke up coughing again. I started the steroids a few days ago but it seems to be taking longer for the cough to subside. So, since John had to have his very first doctor appointment in "Uh-mer-ee-ka" I figured I'd drag Calvin along with.

Calvin's diagnosis: sinus infection. Oh well, at least we know. John's diagnosis: double ear infection. Ugh, well that explains the slight fever and runny nose. And let me tell you, home boy does not like his ears looked at. My mild mannered three year old morphed into a crazy beast when they tried to look at his ears. Apparently the tubes aren't working so well.

On top of that it is hard to get a vein on John to draw blood from. There were 5 of us (including me) trying to hold him, albeit lovingly, to draw blood. He broke my heart. In the end, they only got about 1/2 vial. We were written a prescription to go to Scottish Rite to get the blood drawn.

I guess I haven't written about our flight home. John did so well. He didn't cry the whole time. His main focus was on making sure he was buckled and that everyone around him was buckled too. Once he got tired of the seat belt he played with my Chapstick. He's just a happy little boy.

We were all exhausted when we got home Friday night. I think John may have slept about 5 of the 24 hours we were traveling. He was beat. We've mostly recovered from the extensive travel except for the fact that I turn into a pumpkin about 9pm. I just can't go any further.

I would like to thank everyone for praying for us and I ask that you continue during this transitional period of our lives. It was hard for me to pray on the trip since I was sick and constantly going. Not to mention being overwhelmed trying to get back into the groove of taking care of a toddler with medical issues. I appreciate knowing that y'all were praying on our behalf.

David's grandfather passed away this past Saturday. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for about 5 months. His body just finally gave out. We'll be laying him to rest on Wednesday.  I think I speak for the family when I say that we are glad that he is now at peace and with Jesus. Cancer is an awful way to die.

On that happy note, I'll leave you for now. Talk to you soon.

Gotcha Day!!

Hello everyone!

If you hadn't noticed, I didn't post yesterday. It was a baaaaad (sheep sound, here) day. It started off fine enough. We met Stella (social worker) at the orphanage and went with the kids to the library where they played in a special area for little kids. We hung out there for about 45 minutes then went and had lunch at the cafe in the building. The 5 of us, including Stella, then headed back to the hotel so that John could take a nap. That was the first time he had been to our hotel.

Here is John playing outside the library. It had been raining so he was playing in the water.



John is such a little trooper. Sweet boy came in our room, played a round for a bit, then fell asleep for one and half hours. No fussing, no fighting, no screaming. I have to tell you, I don't expect this to me the norm. I think he is in shock, so to speak. The ladies that work in the orphanage say he talks non stop, but we haven't found this to be the case. That is one of the main reasons I don't think we're seeing thre real John. But for now, I am totally digging the no fussing thing though.

John finally let David carry him. This was a big deal!


Our first problem started outside the hotel. In the madness of getting 4 adults out of the taxi, handing John over to David so I could pay the taxi driver, and actually paying the driver,  I misplaced my wallet. We scoured the room and called the front desk. It was nowhere. Of course, we then had to call and cancel all of  our credit cards. Unfortunatley we did not have much money on us and when we cancelled the VISA credit card that left us without a way to pay for things. The debit card would not work. It was the middle of the night at home so there no one to help us. Thankfully, David  had his work AmEx card. He was able to pay for meals with it until we got somebody on the phone in Ga. Apparently AmEx is not accepted as worldwide as the commercials would have you believe.

Later that afternoon I began to feel weird. Kind of a thirsty, nauseated, cold feeling. I knew something was wrong when we were riding in the taxi back from the orphanage, and I was cold. Westerners are not cold in Hong Kong. If we're cold then the locals are freezing. It is really comical. The locals are decked out in hats, scarves, and heavy coats and we're in pants and short sleeved shirt. I honestly would have been more comfortable in shorts for most of the time.

Anyway, I digress. I got back to the hotel and puked. Well, that explained it. I'll spare you the gory details but it was food poisoning. I have no idea what I ate, but my body was having no part of it.  The blessings in all of this are 2-fold. Number one, I was the one and only one who got it. I would've felt awful if Holley Kate had been sick. If David had been sick then he wouldn't have been able to take care of the credit card/money issue. So, praising God for that. Number two, it couldn't have happened at a better time. John had already been here and had his nap. I didn't have to worry about getting him back to the orphanage and explaining what was wrong with me. I also didn't know at the time if it was the flu or some other such bug.

Today was Gotcha Day!! It was just great. I'm not sure that John really understood what was going on though.  They had all the kids in a semi circle in the room. They sang song after song. John got to go in the middle of the circle and sing and dance. He was the star of the day.

They did a candle ceremony where John held a (fake) candle and took it around to all the kids in the room. The children would put "good wishes" into the candle for him. At some poing during all this I looked around and noticed the workers crying. Crap, y'all! I lost it. And it just kept getting better. They started to sing the I Love You Barney song while John went around and hugged everyone goodbye. By this point I'm a blubbering mess and Stella is feeding me tissues.

All in all, it was really sweet and well done. After that they took him to each room to tell the room goodbye. We even had to go down to the office to tell the piano goodbye. It was finally time for us to leave. I think John was just done by that point.

I can't imagine how hard this was for John's workers. He primary worker, May Yi (sp), wasn't even at the going away party. She said she just couldn't do it. We did get to tell her goodbye yesterday though. She was such a nice woman. John was so blessed to have had such a kind loving woman to care for him.

Y'all would not belive John's suitcase they bought him. It is huge!! They filled it to almost overflowing. I had no idea he was going to come home with so much stuff. It wasn't just clothes. The ladies that work there bought him gifts!!



Can you believe it? It is 75% gifts. I'm just floored.

As I type this John is napping. We'll wake him up in a bit and head out for some exploring.

I found out some information about his biological parents which I'll share in a later post. My mind was really opened and my heart changed with this information.

I'll post some actual pictures of John over at my other blog.

We're praising God that John is officially ours today! It almost doesn't seem real. I guess once we get back to the states and settle into a routine, it will be more real for us.

Talk to you tomorrow, Lord willing.

We Met John!

So today was the day. We met our son. How weird is that? For 3 years he has lived in a country without a mommy and daddy, and today he got them. How would I have known that on July 12, 2009 my son was being born half way across the world. I have often wondered what I was doing on that day. For the life of me, I can't remember. More than likely, I was schooling Calvin and Holley Kate and spending the afternoon at the pool.

Ok, enough contemplation. On to the meat of the day. Our case worker, Stella, met us in the lobby of our hotel at 9:15. She is a very sweet, petite Asian lady. Very warm and friendly. And she loves those kids. We all took a taxi over to Mother's Choice which was only about a 10 minute ride.






Here is Holley Kate posing out in front of the sign. Mother's Choice (MC) is in a really pretty part of the city. Funny thing is, we went right past MC yesterday and didn't even know it. The tram that goes up and down to The Peak is right next to it.

They are very big on cleanliness. You have to take your shoes off and put on some of their slippers. You then wash your hands with soap and water. After that, you spray your hands with alcohol. It was kind of like going into the NICU.  We then went into a waiting area. Stella could hear John before he even got to us. He came in wearing a traditional Chinese outfit. We sat a while and got to know him. He then wanted to go play with the piano.

I'll tell you now, I can't show John's face on this blog because it is public. If you'd like to see him, you'll have to go to my private blog. I'll give directions at the bottom.


I just can't express to y'all just how sweet he was. He absolutely LOVED Holley Kate. He sat there and played and played the piano with her. I really think he would've done it for an hour had he been abe to.

We first met with the physical therapist. John gets around real well but is a little unsteady. I'm not sure they know exactly why, but they guessed that it was due to his poor vision in his left eye. He pulls everything up very close to look at it. He even makes his fist into a sort of telescope to look through to see more clearly. I really believe his eyes are going to give him trouble. We'll be seeing lots of specialist to address it. It make my heart lurch a little when I think about it. But really? How many people live with just one good eye? My brother for one. I somehow know many people who only have one working eye. And who knows what the docs in the US can do for his eyes?

Stella said John wasn't talking anything like he usually did. She said he was nervous. Can you blame him? How strange all of this must be for him.

We then went upstairs for lunch. They fed him rice, egg, and eggplant. He seemed to love it. He scarfed it all down. They then gave him dragon fruit which was similar to kiwi. After that, yogurt. He at every.single.bite. Water came after lunch. He pours his own water and gulps it down.

It was then time for a nap and lunch time for us. We joined Stella at a resteraunt about a 10 minute walk from MC. Poor Holley Kate. She's having such bad luck with food. She didn't like her lunch. The good news is that there was salad bar that came with it. She was able to fill her tummy on salad and fruit. I think I made need to try and broaden their palates a bit once we get back to GA. The most adventurous we get is
Italian.







After lunch we walked back to the orphanage and got to hang out with John a little bit more. I was able to see a little more of his personality. There are 2 or 3 boys in his room that are quite rambunctious. And I mean, they take those walkers and run with them and ram into the walls. The slower kids ( not mentally just physically) have to steer clear or they'll get run over. John is one of the slower ones. He sat on a mat way out of the way. David, Holley Kate, and I sat on the floor with him and played. He had a little cash register that he was very interested in. Truly y'all, he was happy just to sit there and play with his toy. He enjoyed playing with us, especially since Daddy have him some Hong Kong coins to put in his register, but I really think he would've been fine by himself.

Bathtime was next. He seemed to really enjoy it. I can't wait to get him home so he can just sit and play in the tub. They have 12 kids to bathe so there is not "tubby time". I think he'll thoroughly enjoy getting his bath toys and hanging out in the water.


The only little glitch is that he seems to be a bit afraid of  David. I think it is a combination of him being male (most of the workers are female) and the Grizzly Adams beard David has going on. John gave Holley Kate and me tons of hugs and kisses but only when we asked. He just wasn't quite as warm with David.

I know that once he gets more used to us he'll cling to David. Both Calvin and Holley Kate did that. They love me but they see me all day long. Daddy is always the fun one :0)

Anyway, I've posted some "real" pictures of John at www.schrammclan.wordpress.com If you haven't already, you have to sign up. It will send me an email to see if I allow you to see the blog. Let me know if your username is something weird that I won't recognize. I have to be careful who I let see his pictures. That just basically means I have to know who you are. Family for friend. Hong Kong has some pretty strict guidelines on how their kiddos photos are used online.

We're praising the Lord for such a wonderful first meeting with John. It really was what I wanted it to be. Very sweet and low key. I didn't want there to be lots of drama. With that being said, please pray that John will grieve the loss of his friends and substitue moms at MC. He needs to miss them and feel that loss. That way he'll cling and bond with us. As his mother, I don't want him to hurt. But, I know that this is an important part of the process.

On that happy note, I'll leave you for today. Tomorrow we go for an outing. Woo Hoo! Talk to you then.

Day 2 in Hong Kong

Last night I fell asleep at 10pm which is waaaaaay early for me. And when I say I fell asleep, I mean I went completely unconcious. I think David and Holley Kate tried to call Calvin or something, but I was out. My body is so stinking confused. We are downing the coffee.

The good news is we got up early enough to get dressed for church and go out in search of a McDonalds. We really wanted to go to one of the bakeries we've heard so much about, but apparenty they aren't open on Sundays. The nerve of them!

McDonald's has all the normal breakfast foods that the states do along with some other very strange foods. I watched the woman next to me eat a breakfast soup that had an egg, sausage patty, noodles, and vegetables in it. Yack!

Speaking of which, I don't think I mentioned how everyone just sits together at the tables in restaurants  here. It was rather strange and somewhat uncomfortable in the beginning. I'm getting more used to it. I guess since we speak another language nobody feels the need to engage us in conversation. So we're sort of still sitting by ourselves. Maybe???

The church we went to today was pretty interesting. It was very different for us but not because it was a "Hong Kong" church. It was different from what we're used to simply b/c it was a non-denominational, contemporary service. The leader of the worship music was Chinese and did a fantastic job. They did the whole American contemporary service thing where they had the words to the songs on screens.

The sermon was on sex. Oh.My.Stars. Welcome to Hong Kong! They had asked for members to text their questions that they wanted answers but were too afraid to ask in person. The preacher and his wife sat on the stage and answered these questions. Y'all, I thought Holley Kate was going to DIE!! That of course made it all that much funnier to me.

This afternoon we took a bus up to The Peak which they say is the highest point in Hong Kong. Unfortunatey for us is was foggy and drizzly, so we weren't able to see very far. We rode one of those double decker buses up the mountain. I couldn't watch out the front of the bus. The roads were tiny and we were in the outside lane ( they drive on the opposite side over here). I'm pretty sure we were having to pull over so other buses could pass.

We're planning on going on the Star Ferry tonight. It's supposed to be a really cool place to watch the light show.

Oh, I almost forgot! One of the sweet ladies at the church told us some restaurants to go to that were more "normal" for Holley Kate. You know, I blame her for all this but I'm more than happy to accomadate her. After seeing the cooked chicken heads in the market next to our hotel I'm good with going to the American joints.

We meet John tomorrow! So excited and nervous! Thanks again for your prayers. We know that God ordained that John would be our son. That gives us peace in knowing we are doing the right thing. As crazy as it sounds, I'm not very nervous about meeting him. I'm just really looking forward to it. I pray that his heart is opened to us and that bonding can begin. That is the part that worries me. But good or bad, he's ours now.

Talk to y'all tomorrow!! Love you!

Day One in Hong Kong

So we made it! That was one massive trip. We left Atlanta at 12 noon on Thursday and arrived here at 11:30 pm. I think that is about lunch time in GA. We were beat. I think I slept, at most, 1 & 1/2 hours the whole trip. David and Holley Kate got in about 3 hours. It was really hard to sleep on the plane. Delta did a great job entertaining us. There was a tv on the back of the seat in front of us with tons of movies to choose from. Not only that, there were some television shows we could watch as well.

I am not a big movie person but I figured I needed to become one for the trip. The first one I watched was Breaking Dawn part 1. Oh my stars, it was awful. I read the book and actually enjoyed them. The movie was a completely different story. I think I ended up watching about 4 movies. I finished the trip with the Kardashians (on the plane from Japan to HK). Yep, that was awful too. But you know, it was entertaining enough to keep my mind somewhat off my aching body.

Once we made it to the HK airport we had to go through customs. Ugh! Think Six Flags in the summer only a little cooler. Not to mention only working on 1.5 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours. Yea, that was fun.

I could have kissed the guy that was waiting at the airport to drive us to the hotel in our limousine which was minivan :0) I guess we finally made it to the hotel around 2am. Everybody got a hot shower and a dose of Benadryl. We slept hard.

I guess we woke up about 10am and headed out to explore. You know how skinny the streets are in Atlanta? They have NOTHING on Hong Kong. HK is crowded, hilly, stinky, strange, congested etc. It was totally cool though. We found ourselves at a mall where we ate lunch. Our choices were either McDonalds or Asian food places, duh. Have I mentioned that Holley Kate doesn't eat Asian food?
We shared some sort of beef dish. She did eat a little but we had to buy her some M&Ms afterward. We're looking for an American food joint for dinner tonight. Poor Holley Kate needs some "regular" American cuisine.

At some point during the day we ended up at the Lady's Market for souvenirs. We found lots of cool gifts. You get to haggle over the prices which is totally fun for me except when they vendors follow you down the street, grabbing your arm, trying to get you to buy the wares.

Tomorrow we're going to church with a friend of our pastor's. Hopefully we'll go on a tour afterward. Then Monday we meet John!! Woo Hoo!

Thank you for all your prayers. This has been a relatively easy trip so far. We miss Calvin something awful but we know he is great hands right now. We've been able to talk to him via FaceTime,which is really cool, btw.

Talk to y'all tomorrow!