We're all about family, fun and love! To learn more about him, please contact us today! 5 … I’m sure L will be so dearly loved in her her new home. We are glad that she had attachment to and loved her old life but hate that she is so sad right now. Our adoption process just took a huge step forward. Grief is real and will not disappear overnight. There are sometimes no seat belts. I think she likes us, but it must be so difficult and baffling to be in her position. Why Our Family Decided to Adopt from China, How I Know God Works Things for Good – An Adoption Story, What to Expect in the First Year After International Adoption, 8 Ways We Raised $35,123.51 for Our Adoption Without Debt. Adoption Day… Posted on September ... beautiful and smart. Wow! <3, Your email address will not be published. Lucy and her friend were being held and our guide/translator pointed each family to their daughter. Need creative ideas to fund for your adoption? JoyfulArtDesigns. Yesterday, I met her for the first time in a nondescript government building — the equivalent to a DMV office in the US. <3 Here, the sunrise view from our lovely hotel room: We awoke after about 4 hours of sleep (our bodies are definitely still trying to adjust to the time change) and were looking forward to the leisurely day ahead. My heart just broke for him. Everyone was nervous/anxious about what the day would bring. Although we knew we were still at the very beginning of the journey, we knew it was God alone who could have transformed a devastated, grieving little boy into the content and contagiously happy creature now sitting in my lap. While my arms were wrapped around the boy whose world had erupted, the man God had given me as my best friend, teammate and partner in crime was loving on and comforting the boy who had just been reminded of the day his world erupted, too. I was her mother, yet she had no idea who I was. I love that baby so much. But I couldn’t, and as Supersoldier videotaped and the boys and I knelt beside him, I could feel his fear and I could taste his loss. They’re not big huggers, our superheroes, but they will romp and wrestle with each other all the live long day. Within seconds, they’d busted out puzzles and Legos and books and toys, and they had him sprawled out on the bed with him just taking in all the entertainment they had to offer. I can hardly keep up with all the messages and comments. No wonder the actual act of being adopted is considered a traumatic event for adoptees. | China Adoption. That affirmation of love and belonging was all Superman needed to rebound, join the group and then joyfully jump into the distract-DJ game that all of us had been playing for the previous 30 minutes. Gotcha Day China 2009. The sweet boy we’d been dreaming about for seven long months had been living in a foster home for the past three years. There we were met by the orphanage personnel and our kiddos. Wo ai ni. Thank you for enlightening us with this wonderful story on Chinese Adoption days. Child Adoption From China. On our way to the adoption center my stomach was all butterflies. It is completely surreal. Adoptive parents can expect a 12 – 24 month process from application to picking up your child in China. “Wait, 8 is a good bedtime for a 3-year-old? 14:19. They tell us that L skipped her nap because of the travel time in and ate a little congee (a Chinese dish) earlier. After 14 months of waiting, we received the phone call on May 3 telling us a beautiful 15-month-old girl is waiting for us in southern China! Fear of the unknown still lingered…until I saw her face. “I’m 11 and I still go to bed at 7:30!”. And although during the first one he called out for Mama, during the second, he just let me hold him and serve to fill her shoes. It’s tricky to say exactly how the ‘gotcha day’ video went mainstream. I have to say, it definitely made me emotional. While some children run into their Forever Family’s arms right away, others may need time to process the loss of their old life as they transition into the new. And I thanked God for His grace, His providence and His ability to make all things new. And the newest superhero didn’t waste a moment getting in on that crazy action. Supersoldier and Superhero 1 ran to the bank and the grocery store with our guide, and Superhero 2 and Superman stayed back in the room with DJ and me, where they looked at each other with twinkles in their eyes and then initiated DJ’s first pillow fight. Gotcha Day! Please keep them coming. With 22 provinces, four municipalities, four autonomous regions, a long and proud history, and with the world's highest population of almost 1.5 billion people, China is indeed a land rich in cultural heritage and tradition. “I was so sad inside because he was so sad missing his mama. I just stood back and videotaped and allowed these brothers to bond the way our boys at home always have — through a little bit of physical play. I wonder how many other siblings have met like this? For two minutes, this boy they called “Long Long” let us just observe him and even gently touch the back of his hand, but when the nanny started introducing us as Mama and Baba and Ge Ge, his lip quivered and the flood gates opened as he cried for the only woman he’s ever known and loved: “Mama!”. I wasn’t hurt. You couldn’t have thrown this turns-into-a-pumpkin-after-7:30 girl a bone?! Jasmine was surprised as her entire eighth-grade class from … I had no idea this was a thing. In the waiting children program boys and girls age 1-14 with minor to severe special needs, are available for adoption. Superman asked to sit next to DJ in the car, and, when he noticed how enamored he appeared to be with electronic devices, asked to use my phone. Out of fairness, one reason we do not celebrate … I’m using it with the utmost respect and reserve the right to change my vernacular in the future should the need arise. See more ideas about gotcha day, adoption party, adoption day. Note: Some people find the term “Gotcha Day” to be offensive. Gotcha and Adoption Day Before I start writing about the whirlwind I am currently experiencing, I'd like to say thank you. It was evident that the girls were loved by the orphanage staff. Then, come back for the story! And Superman, without another word, immediately shut down and retreated. I pulled in Superhero 2 close, and Superhero 1, the practical, logical, total rock of our little falling-apart team, stood up to grab tissues while two nannies, our guide and Superhero 2 and I sat on the floor with the little boy whose world had been thrown into total chaos. So we knew that taking him away from everything he’d ever known — not from a group environment where he’d never gotten to experience one-on-one attention, but from the home of a couple who loved him and another foster child from his orphanage so very well that he even slept in their bed each night — was going to be excruciating. All to move ahead with a family who didn’t look like him, didn’t speak like him, didn’t smell like him, didn’t KNOW him. She hadn’t been lulled to sleep by the beat of my heartbeat for nine months or memorized the sound of my voice from the depths of the womb. In the meantime, I’ll link to articles on an adoptee’s perspective gotcha day language, complications of gotcha day celebrations, and those who want to get rid of gotcha day celebrations completely so that you can see the controversy. This story can certainly help to empower others. And at the exact moment he snapped his first photo, DJ stopped crying, looked into my eyes for the very first time and SMILED! !” Superhero 1 exclaimed. (You get one shot to ask questions. He’s a bright, smart boy who leaves a lasting impact on everyone he meets. After some customary photos and goodbyes, we left the room with one extra kid in tow. We took a van back to the hotel, filled out some paperwork, and went on to our room as a family of four. I could nearly feel my heart in my feet as I knelt down in front of the nanny who held our boy —the boy with the eyes so tender, so fragile, so scared, so broken, that I just wanted to close them and wrap them in love and transport them to a place months and months away from now to give him HOPE for a future I knew he couldn’t possibly understand. All Rights Reserved. China Adoption Map. “We don’t know your whole story, buddy,” Supersoldier told him, “and we maybe never will. What an amazing adoption story. We’d asked in our update request if there was anything holding this precious foster family back from adopting this sweet boy themselves, and at the time, they just said they wanted Superhero 4 to have his own “true family.”. An Adoption Celebration. Gotcha Day – it’s the moment that you look forward to from the second you begin your adoption journey and receive notification that you’ve been matched with your child. Countless families find it difficult to prepare for this moment, as it’s impossible to know how your child will react in the situation. China Adoption Gotcha Day Yesterday, I met her for the first time in a nondescript government building — the equivalent to a DMV office in the US. Oct 9, 2019 - Explore Desiree' Marlene's board "Gotcha Day", followed by 475 people on Pinterest. The staff and our girls were quickly ushered to the room where we were summoned a few moments later. And so do we. But the orphanage people were running late, so the civil affairs office decided to have both of us go at the same time. The building had just opened–promptly at 2pm–and our guide told us the boys were … In fact, when all the other boys were finished (and these boys eat like horses), he kept shoveling in even the relish dishes. This is the inside of the Nanning Civil Affairs office where other government business was taking place. Click here to visit CCAI’S website, the agency that this family used. China’s Waiting Child adoption program. You may not know what a gotcha day is so I will explain it later. It will take time for her to heal and there may be long-lasting effects. I am so thankful and truly humbled by the glory of our “gotcha day”. They specifically wanted our girls to be adopted internationally so they could have opportunities for a better life. :)). Li luck. She will have such a blessed life. Walking into a new room in a new structure with strange people was going to be scary, and I knew it could cement for him the goodbye he’d experienced earlier that morning. See, we have two sons: One came to us through the biological route and the second through adoption. Read our family's experience meeting our daughter for … While I believe it is uncommon for that to be said to the new family, it further cemented the great responsibility before us. May 10, 2018 - Adoption Party ideas. Because “forever” in real life means leaving behind to move ahead. Seriously?! Archived Posts. His foster mama had placed a beautiful handmade silver bracelet around his wrist and sent him with a bag of treats and gifts. Superhero 2, who has more compassion for the pain of others than any other child I’ve ever met, began to cry. We were fortunate to ask a few questions about her background, likes, and schedule. Jan 21, 2013 - Explore California Adoption Solutions's board "Happy Adoption/Gotcha Day", followed by 357 people on Pinterest. The first night went well and L seemed to enjoy J, the toys we gave her, and was curious, yet cautious, with her new surroundings. This is so hard! Are you serious right now, foster mama? :) However day 5 was THE DAY! Gotcha day started out with me waking up feeling incredibly dizzy and nauseous. – It was a wonderful “Gotcha Day” for two families at the Cullman County Courthouse Thursday morning as two adoptions were made official by Cullman County Probate Judge Tammy Brown. China: Day 3 (aka Gotcha Day Eve) Hello from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, aka where our daughter has spent the first two years of her life. Visit the photo listing to request his file! But “forever” in fairytales is so different than the “forever” that happens in real life. Kathy must have noticed the glazed over panic in my eyes, because she reached out to me and said, “You try 8:30. Superman giggled his infectious giggle and named himself the car ride photographer as he had the very important job of documenting DJ’s very first smiles inside our family. This boy who had experienced two different foster siblings but never older brothers paused momentarily, not knowing what to make of these two older boys tossing him pillows. Picture Books About Adoption for Gotcha Day Kate Krug Aug 15, 2017. As I held him, my heart melted for us … and just broke for him — for his story, for what he’d been through that day, for the deep loss I knew he was experiencing again for the SECOND time in his life — and all I could give, all I could muster, were a few measly words that I kept whispering into his ear over and over again. 2020 Jessica Goodpaster. 10 p.m.?! Your email address will not be published. There is something truly symbolic and wonderful about it. The profound responsibility and privilege of raising another mother’s child were not lost on me. <3. Keagan Jayse. As we took the elevator back upstairs, Supersoldier and I prepared ourselves for the meltdown we were fully bracing for at bedtime. She didn’t recognize my familiar smell or search out my face in the crowd. With four boys now on a lap and either side, I looked up at Supersoldier, who had spent his entire Gotcha Day experience loving on the first boy who ever walked through civil affair office doors. But within seconds, he began laughing hysterically and immediately joined in on the fun. How cute.” Read our family's experience meeting our daughter for the first time. We love you!! Thank you for the many prayers that are being lifted up for our family. "Gotcha Day" is a term for the anniversary of the day on which a person joins a family by adoption. She let me know that he took a nap every day from 12:30 to 3 p.m. and I should probably go put him down before she shared with me all the rest of the detailed information. WE went with a driver to a somewhat run down strange building. Until, that is, she told me what time he goes to bed every night. It is part of what influences & inspires my art. The images below are from Registration day, which is typically one day after Gotcha Day. As the nanny who brought him to the meeting place knelt down to introduce us to him, we all tried our hardest to give this precious boy a tiny bit of space. As I sent the boys to go check on Superman, who had curled up tightly in his daddy’s arms, I moved out to the room where we had first met. We met downstairs in the hotel lobby at 3:00. My free list of 101 Adoption Fundraising Ideas has something for everyone! You think you’re going over there to rescue some kid, but believe me when I say this, they are going to “rescue” your heart more than you could ever imagine. These special ladies worked for the orphanage where L spent her first 18 or so months. Our China Adoption Journey This is a photo essay about our China Adoption Journey, our daughter's orphanage, the people & captivating land. And then a new child is just handed to you, unaware they are being ripped away from everything they’ve ever known. And his eyes lit up and he smiled again. What a beautiful story about meeting your daughter. Having him on the trip eased the transition for her. Thanks for following our journey. A Family for Baby Hope. J and L playing on one of the toys they had in the room. Our number one goal is to make her feel safe and secure. Supersoldier brought him over, where he snuggled up beside us to meet really for the first time his baby brother. When we arrived back at the hotel, I prepared myself for another breakdown. Monday, 11/11/19 was my gotcha day! He stuck his fingers in his mouth and within five minutes, fell fast asleep. GOTCHA DAY!!! We celebrated that our angel likely already knew the meaning of love, because we SAW love in his pictures, we saw love in his family’s eyes, and we EXPERIENCED the love his foster mama had for him as we read every word she wrote in each of her reports. In order to not disrupt the awesome, happy flow God in all His goodness had graciously established all afternoon, we decided to hit up the Korean restaurant inside the hotel for dinner. Your email address will not be published. Superhero 1 didn’t waste a moment taking advantage of the opportunity, and he immediately pulled up animated games that might distract his new brother for a moment. Countless families find it difficult to prepare for this moment, as it’s impossible to know how your child will react in the situation. Even if for only a car ride home. According to Adoption.com, “Gotcha Day is celebrated by some Adoptive Families as the day their adoption was finalized or became “legal.” Each year the family sets aside this day to celebrate the day they legally became a family.” Typically, this day is set aside with some fanfare and celebrated almost like a birthday. Nothing calmed him. But he snuggled up next to me, looked into my eyes and just smiled. Leo is a wonderfully sweet boy who will bring joy to his forever family! In all his wisdom, Supersoldier just held that boy we love so much tight and told him how much his mother loved him — that she loved him so much that she wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in the corner of a hospital ward in a place where he could receive the immediate life-saving surgery he needed in order to survive — all at great risk to herself. What an incredible gift to have that kind of bond. Pray for J as he adjusts to sharing us and being away from home. 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