Second Day with Joseph

Our boy seemed happy to see us this morning. He doesn't make a lot of eye contact, but was quicker, today, to look for us. He reaches for Marty, often. Marty is so amazing with him. It's a beautiful thing to see. He played with us for about an hour, before he scooted over to his ball pit to sit in the sun. The sun comes in through a window and hits the ball pit. He likes to sit in the sunshine and I bet he loves to be outside. If it warms up some we're going to take him out this afternoon and see how he does.

He gets anxious as it gets close to lunch and nap time. This is when he rocks and shakes his head and hands. We saw a lot less of that this morning than we did yesterday. I think, yesterday, was incredibly overwhelming for him and I hate that we have to leave him and start the process all over again in a few months. He relaxed more while we held him today and snuggled in some. He prefers to face outward, but will lean back for a few seconds at a time. Here's what you all want to see...

  He really loves his Daddy...

Daddy's are so much fun!

Love this smile!

He's like a limp rag when you try to stand him up. Just not happening...

I sure do love him, though!

We'll go back for a visit this evening and will have him in a private room. I'm hoping to get his measurements, so we'll know what size clothing we're buying. I'm guessing an 18 month. His shoes are a size 6, but he could do a size 5 still. Sweet little man. 

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Hidden in Christ,

Mandy

We Met Joseph!

Our first visit went well. We arrived a little after 10am and were taken to the director's office to chat about Joseph. We had about a ten minute visit with her about visitation hours and just chatting about some of the other children who were recently adopted from this orphanage and how they're doing. Then, the door opened and in walked one of the workers carrying a very disgruntled Joseph. Obviously, he was in the middle of something very important back in the playroom and really couldn't be disturbed with meeting Mommy and Daddy. I handled it like a veteran Mom and imposed myself directly into his personal space. Sorry, buddy, Mommy waited a long time for this day.

We have tons more video, but it's taking forever to load. We stayed for about two hours and loved on our boy as much as he would let us. He loves to sit in the ball pit and make all kinds of noises and funny facial expressions. He did take to Marty more than me, which I totally expected. He would let me hold his hand, but would reach for Marty to pick him up. He even snuggled in for a few minutes.

Isn't he precious? A Daddy's boy already. Marty is so good with him. They make strange noises together and blow spit bubbles. We're even more anxious now to get our boy home and love on him and watch what God can do in his little life. He has so much potential, we just have to help him find and reach it.

In case you were wondering, Joseph weighs just 20 lbs and is 5 days older than our Julie, who is a small six year old herself. She weighs 44 lbs. We knew he was small, but to hold him. Oh my heart...it's like holding a toddler. Such a tiny love. We're so thankful God has trusted us with the care of this little love.

First Day in Country!

We explored the city, today. We found a McDonald's and had lunch there. The food in our hotel is yummy and we ate here for breakfast and dinner. We leave this hotel tomorrow and we'll come back next weekend, in between regions. The service here is excellent and we've made a friend. His name is Dido (die doe). He works here in the hotel and is ALWAYS here. So far, he's been our bell-hop, delivered our room service and waited on our table for breakfast and dinner. I'm going to see if I can get a picture of him, so you can see him, too. He speaks English, but it's limited and it's hilarious to try to hear us have conversation.

Another funny story from this morning. They serve a buffet style breakfast here at the hotel, very similar to what you find at most hotels in the USA. However, they do not serve biscuits and gravy. They do have yogurt with nuts mixed in that Marty mistook for gravy though. Marty does not eat yogurt. He did eat his bowl this morning. We're big on not offending anyone and try to eat anything we have on our plate. It was hilarious to see Marty's face when he realized his mistake. I knew right away that he had a bowl full of yogurt and not gravy. I don't eat yogurt, either, and felt no need to help him with his. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me at some point this trip.

Other than that, we've been resting and preparing to meet Joseph, tomorrow. We got new information on both boys when we got here. It seems like Samuel was transferred a week after we committed to him. Which is very sad, since he had been in the same orphanage from the time he was 3 weeks old. Every move is traumatic for a child, especially one who has no family to take with them and help them adjust. One more hardship that he just didn't have to go through. What's done is done. Hopefully, he's adjusted well in the past 8 months.

Tomorrow's post should be full of pictures of us meeting our boy! Pray we have a good internet connection at our new hotel. We'll update as often as time and the internet access permit.

Blessings,
Mandy

It's Finally Here!

I'm writing this post from the airport. We're about an hour and a half from boarding our first flight. The flight that starts the journey to our sons! We'll be meeting Joseph on Monday! We're beyond excited and hope that you'll continue to pray for our safety as we travel. I'll post an update and share some pictures of the city on Sunday, if not before then. Thanks to everyone who's watching and praying and celebrating this journey with us. We appreciate each one of you!

Blessings,
Mandy

I'm Scared

I'm scared. There I said it. I want to be honest here. I want this to be a place where you can come and find transparency. Adoption is hard. I am terrified about what is about to happen. In just three days, we fly across the ocean to meet our boys. We're excited and I'm scared and nervous. I've been on the verge of tears for most of the day, as I pack and prepare to go and meet our boys.

In less than a week, I am going to be holding one of my boys. I am already in love with these boys, but for right this minute they are still just pictures and videos. I'm about to put my hands on them, to feel the weight of them in my arms, to hear their laughter and love on them. Then, I'm going to have to leave them behind and I'm terrified, because I can, already, barely catch my breath when I think about it. Marty and I are about to leave our hearts on the other side of the ocean and that is an exercise in trust, my friends.

Can we put our feet, where our faith is? Do we trust God in every situation? Even the unbearable task of leaving our sons behind, while we finish the race toward bringing them home. I don't know if you can understand, unless you've been here. I just don't know. Pray for us, pray for our children, the ones who understand and the ones who will think that, once again, they are being left behind and forgotten. It's a difficult path that God has asked us to walk, but we'll walk it knowing we'll find more of Him along the way.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy

Christmas Cash, Christmas Cash, Christmas Cash

We're at it, again! It's not because we're bored or have too much time on our hands. It's because these boys need to come home and we're not as close to our goal of being funded as we originally thought. I will know exactly how much we still need in a few weeks, after I figure out how much this first trip costs us, but we may still lack as much as $10,000 to be funded. That's $4,000 more than our original goal. So, while I wanted to take this month off, while we went to meet Joseph and Samuel, that is simply not an option. Here's the reason we're doing this, in case you'd forgotten...

Here's what we have to offer, Christmas Cash and lots of it! Just in time for Christmas, too. We giving away the following giftcards:

Prize #1: We're giving away a $250 Amazon.com Giftcard
 (Available Now!)

Prize #2: A $100 Wal-Mart Giftcard
(Available Now!)

Prize #3: A $50 Sears Giftcard
(Available Now!)

Prize #4: A $50 Lowe's Giftcard (for the man in your life)
(Available Now!)

Prize #5: A $50 Toys-R-Us Giftcard
(Available Now!)

How's that for Christmas shopping fun? The more money we raise the more prizes we'll add. I have some other really nice gifts here, but need to see how well you all spread the word before I post it all! 

We'll run this giveaway until Sunday, December 11th, so the winners will have plenty of time to use their giftcards toward their Christmas shopping.

Ways to enter:

Donations can be made through the chipin on the right hand side of the blog and all donations are tax-deductible. You will receive a receipt from Reece's Rainbow.

Donate any amount = 1 entry

Donate $10 = 3 entries

Donate $50 = 20 entries

Donate $100 = 50 entries

You can also earn one entry per day by sharing on facebook, twitter or your blog. You will need to leave me a comment, letting me know you've shared in order to earn your free entry.

We leave in 5 days to meet our boys, so I really need my friends to rally during this giveaway and share, share, share!

Blessings,

Mandy

Full-disclosure: The money to purchase these giftcards is coming from the money we raise, the Amazon Giftcard is being donated and then we have goals set for each additional giftcard to release. I, also, have other gifts to add, but we need to reach our giftcard goals, first.

I am such a SLACKER!

I had such a busy day, yesterday. I think, I will never commit to blogging 30 days in a row again. Clearly, I'm not fit for the task.

Can I tell you why I'm such a slacker, when it comes to my blog, lately? We are leaving to meet our boys in 6 days! I'm very, very thankful for that, but it doesn't leave me with a lot of time to blog. You understand, right?

I do hate that I missed Forever Family Friday, yesterday...

I was going to tell you about Dwayne. Dwayne needs a forever family. Please, hop over to one of my all-time favorite blogs and read all about Dwayne: Pudge and Biggs. You should have a look around while you're over there. I go check in on LC and Jace when I need a pick me up. These two cuties are always up to something fun!

Please, keep praying for us as we prepare to leave Eli and Julianna behind and go meet Joseph and Samuel. We have a lot to do in the next 6 days.

Pray, Adopt, Advocate, Support...

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy