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.