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.