It's been 2 months... Crazy Right???

These past 2 months have flown by!!! I know there were days and weeks that were harder than others but all in all life is good.  Both Kamble and Carson have had some sort of cold but luckily they were at different times and Aaron and I are hanging in there with sleep deprivation.

Somethings we've done over the past few weeks....

-We went to the Zoo with friends and had a great time (even with a little NW rain). 

-Aaron took the boys to 2 of our local play places with huge structures and slides. And I took them to a gymnastics place which they loved.  Kamble really loved them and I think they are helping with his muscle tone. 

- I (April) went back to work 2 days a week and the boys are doing great with Grandma and Daddy while I'm gone. 

-Kamble went through his first car wash... he was a little scared and it was hilarious to watch his facial expressions. And now he loves it!!

-Uncle Jon and Aunt Sarah got the kiddos a trampoline for Naunee and Papa's and they LOVE it! It's such a fun toy for all the grandkids to enjoy and gets out a ton of energy which we all love! 

-Grandma spoiled them (and Us) for Valentines Day by taking them out to get presents, candy and dinner food. They made us dinner and desert and it was wonderful! 

-Kamble went swimming for the first time and loved it! He especially loved the huge slide going down on Mommy and Daddy's laps. 

-AND this kid loves Hat's (which I love)!!! He's pretty adorable in them too! 

He loves his Addy girl (and Oakley too)!(It's a little blurry, but pretty much what he does to her all day long!)

Its really been an amazing 2 months home. Kamble is speaking in english sentences and pretty much understands everything we say. Kids are such amazing learners!!!! He's also finally trying new foods and even eating some vegetables! We are so thankful for our boys and our life. This has been such an emotional journey to get here, but so worth every moment! Now, if we could just get them both to sleep through the night we'd be golden! :)

Love, April

One month together.....with a life time to go!

Wow, I can't believe we've been together for a whole month already! Time has flown by this past few weeks. We had a great (short) trip to DRC and have been home as a family of four for pretty much this whole time. We had a great Christmas and Kamble had a great 2nd birthday. I'm pretty sure he thinks that presents are an everyday occurrence now. He's going to be really disappointed over the next few months when he has nothing to open. :)

Life at home has been great so far. We didn't get to cocoon like we wanted to with the holidays, but we are still sticking close to home. We will continue to keep Kamble close for the next few months and still keep our activities to a minimum.

 Here's a few notes about how things are going since we've been home ......

• Sleep is overrated! So neither of our children are sleeping well right now. Both kids are getting up in the middle of the night and joining us in our bed. Luckily we have a king size or we'd really be hating life! Hopefully this issue will resolve it's self SOON!!
• The dogs were a non-issue after the first week! Kamble loves the dogs now (a little too much!). He chases them constantly and pets them all day long. He's even doing good with other dogs we see at families houses and on the streets. 
• Food is still an issue. He won't eat much of anything except chicken, bread, french fries, eggs and sometimes beans and rice. He refused beans and rice the first 3 weeks, but has started eating them again. Hoping to find more foods that he will eat soon, I feel like he's not really getting the nutrition he desperately needs. 
• Kamble is not great at sharing. Both boys want what the other one has at all times. Carson has been great about giving in to his brother. Thats not really the lesson we want to teach, but it helps while we have the language barrier issue. 
• Kamble is starting to use some English. He still talks constantly in Lingala (I think he thinks we know what he's saying). But he's beginning to use words such as chicken, Addy, Oakley, Carson, get down, Noah, daddy, and NO! 
• He has a wonder sense of humor. He loves to laugh all the time and his smile is looking brighter every day! 

• The first few weeks clothes were a huge issue. He refused to wear anything but jeans, but now he is doing great. He'll wear jammies at night and will now let me pick out his clothes (well most of the time). 
• KAMBLE LOVES BATHS! He would take a bath multiple times a day if he could! Every time he goes into the bathroom he wants to take a bath or a shower. 
• Potty training has been an issue for both boys. Each has a different issue, but hopefully with each other they can master this whole potty training thing!!!
• He loves to watch videos and see pictures of his friends from Congo. He laughs and screams at the computer trying to talk to them. It's so adorable. We definitely need to try to Skype with some of the other kiddos that have come home recently and that are coming home really soon! 
• He loves to go for walks in the stroller (and it helps put him to sleep)! Can't wait to take him to the zoo!
• Kamble loves Cars and especially TowMater just like his brother! They can't get enough and we can't wait until to take them both to Cars Land (but it will be a while)! 
• Kamble is still a Daddies boy! He is letting me (April) do more for him, but Daddy still has to put him to bed and is the one he cries for when he's upset. 
• Kamble has gained a few pounds already, even with a horrible diet! We go back into the doctor this week and hopefully will get some more info. He's already being treated for a few things, nothing major though, just a skin issue and a parasite. We're hoping to have him healthy real soon!!

All in all life is great! Our boys have adjusted so well and are actually playing together more and more (and wrestling!!) Thank you so much for all your support during this! He's the best little man and we can't wait to show him off to everyone. 

And just to show off my adorable boys.... (Thanks to my SIL @ Ashleymarvinphotography.com)

 

Love, April

Okay where was I........

Oh ya...... It's our first full day with our son and he now has Malaria (for at least the 3rd time in 6 months). Thanks to the wonderful missionaries who opened up their home to us Kamble had his medicine and was on the mend. In all of this chaos we had to continue packing so we could leave the following day. We left most everything we brought with us there, so it was pretty easy to pack our larger bags into each other so only had to check 2 bags on the way home.

The next day Kamble was feeling much better and we were just hanging out while daddy went to do some errands. He had to go with our translator and driver to pick up some medicine and test kits to replenish what we used from the missionaries and they were going to try to get some more fabric but the store was closed. They returned from their first outing and grabbed our luggage that needed checked and headed out again. Everyone kept telling us that we couldn't be flying out from DRC on Brussels on a Saturday. It was funny the translator, the driver, the missionaries, and anyone else around told us we had to be wrong. But we went anyway and sure enough there was a special flight out on a Saturday because of the holidays. It was definitely a God thing because that was the only flight that was going to get all three of us on the same flight home before Christmas! 

The airport check-in happens early in the day and at an office in the city not at the airport. This proved to be a little more difficult than we thought. They showed up at the Brussels air building and then were told they had to drive to another place to get a ticket for Kamble (you have to pay for a lap child ticket on international flights) and then drive back to the first place where he finally went through a check-in process. Then you just leave your bags there and they somehow amazingly make it to the airport and on to the right plane!!

Aaron came back to the house and we said our good byes to the missionaries and got our stuff into the car to head to the airport. We left about 6 hours before our flight for a few reasons but the first reason is the traffic! The traffic there is crazy, I'm talking pray for life type crazy! I couldn't even tell you the distance from the house to the airport but it takes forever to drive between the two. There aren't really any traffic laws as far as I could tell, however I did see a police man stop a man on a motorcycle and give him some sort of ticket. Cars, vans, and buses were packed so full of people and were so beat up that they looked like they shouldn't even be on the road as it was.  It was so hot in the cab Kamble was loosing it and we just couldn't move anywhere. We were stuck on an hill/dirt embankment between the two ways of traffic just trying to get through. I saw 15 passenger vans loaded with at least 30 people (and two hanging off the back) drive up over the center dirt/hill section and into the other side of traffic and just start weaving through traffic and going the opposite direction. With all that said our driver was amazing. He did some crazy things, but I could tell he really valued us and our safety. He got us there in one piece and we were ready to get on that plane and begin our trip home to America!

Once we arrived at the airport we met our helper. He was the same person who helped get out of the airport when we arrived. He was wonderful! We heard how challenging it can be to get through the airport with an adopted child but we had no problems at all. It was a quick and painless process and we made it to the waiting area with like 4 hours to spare! :)  So there we sat and waited for our plane. Kamble was not happy with our food options and was having a really hard time while we waited. It was also getting late and he hadn't napped so we were struggling keeping him calm. While at the airport we met a friend of our directors who lives there so that was a fun connection to make during our wait. After hours it was finally time to board the bus to drive us 50 ft to the plane. We got our carry on luggage checked  (again) and then were able to finally get on the plane and settled. All the plane rides have become a blur in my mind but Kamble did great. He cried only a few short times and people continued to tell us how well he had done. We left at 9:50 pm and arrived in Brussels at 5 something the next morning. We were all exhausted, we found a couch in a dark area to sleep for a little while. The next flight left about 5 hours later and we were lucky enough to get a row with an extra seat (Thanks to the nice lady at the help desk).  This helped make our journey a little easier. We still had a hard time getting Kamble to eat anything, so you could tell he was hungry on top of being extremely tired. We (aka Aaron) also left the lingala words cheat sheets on the airplane so that made things The next flight went well but it made our internal clocks all messed up! Poor Kamble didn't know which way was up!

Customs was our next stop on our adventure. We heard this could take us a little while but we hoped for the best, because we wanted to get Kamble some chicken and rice. We waited in a short line and made our way up to the officer. He then said we had to go with another guy to another place. So we followed the officer to the downstairs and sat down while he took our packet to another officer. I think we barely sat down and they told us we were free to go! What?!?! Another place we thought we would have to wait and deal with crazy things and we didn't. It was smooth sailing! So went went and got our bags to re-check them and headed to find some chicken and rice for our son! While we were eating our huge burgers ( yeah, something other than top-ramen) and Kamble was eating his food plus some of our sweet potato fries Aaron ran and bough Kamble a Statue of Liberty. Can't wait to take some pics of him holding it (once he's ready too, of course)! We had another 5 hour layover so we just hung out and walked around. It was so nice being back in the US. We had familiar foods, pricing, and people speaking the same language as us (well not Kamble, but he will soon enough).

This last flight was the worst out of all of them. First is loaded about an hour later than it was supposed to and then we sat at the gate for another hour while we waited for a place broken down behind us to get towed. We were so excited to see family and friends at the airport but by the time we got there we were even more exhausted than we would have been. Kamble slept pretty much the entire flight from Newark to Portland on Aaron which made his flight really uncomfortable. Thankfully a nice older couple who requested aisle seats across from each other were our row mates, because they switched us one of our middle seats (we were originally separated across the row from each other both in middle seats) and allowed us to sit together. Other awesome thing was we were in the economy plus section where there was more leg room! We finally made it to Portland around 10 pm and were welcomed by a lovely group of friends and family! Thank you everyone for who came to support us that night and through this whole journey! We are so in love with our little buddy and couldn't be more grateful to everyone who helped us bring home this little treasure!


One theme I hope I was able to convey in the past few posts, is that God's hand was on us through this entire process. For some reason everything seemed to go very smoothly for us. We had great helpers along the way and they were all followers of Christ. We know we were being lifted up by God while in country and through the whole trip back home. Kamble was meant for our family and we believe that this process has been a blessing to our family. We learned so much about ourselves and our relationship with God has benefited greatly from this process. There were many ups and downs but we learned a lot about our selves and strengthened many relationships along the way. I'm not saying this process wasn't extremely hard and frustrating at times, but in the end every step was worth having our precious son in our arms. I will always wish we were able to get him home sooner, but with all adoptions it's a process. And in the end it really only took 6 months from referral to his Gotcha Day (But during the process these 6 months felt like an eternity)!!

Next post I hope to talk a little bit about our transition and time at home so far!

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Love, April 

Gotcha Day!!!

We made it! We finally have our son home with us (and before Christmas)!

Things have been crazy the past few weeks, but I will try to give you a quick review of what we've been doing. 

Aaron went to Congo on November 26 and finally met our son on Wednesday the 28th. He said it was one of the best moments of his life. He said that he went to the orphanage that day and expected to see all the kiddos playing, but as they got out of the car he could hear them all being shushed. As they opened the gate he saw all 20+ of them sitting in rows in chairs. Then a little guy came running out of the crowd and into his arms. They both had tears in their eyes as they hugged for the first time. Kamble didn't want his daddy to let him go. He then followed him around after he put him down. He was so sad to see his daddy go, but they were able to see each other again on Friday at our embassy appointment. Kamble was terrified to go to the embassy appointment because he thought it was a hospital. But once he saw daddy he was feeling much better. He even took a little nap on his shoulder during their few hours together. Aaron loved being in Africa with our son and hated to leave him, but he knew that he was leaving him in great hands. The Momma's are amazing with the kids and Kamble was going to be okay until we could return. Aaron returned from Africa with great stories and a little travelers illness (probably from the sandwich he ate at the airport, which was the only food he ate that he didn't bring himself!) It took him about a week to recover at home, but he luckily was well enough to get back on a plane on Dec 11! 

Everything went pretty smoothly and Kamble's visa was issued on Dec 10, 2012! We then called the travel agent and book tickets to leave that next morning. Carson was at a sleep over with his cousins so we were able to get packed up that morning with no distractions and then spent a few hours with him as a family. My mom then came and picked him up so we could say our good byes like it was a normal fun evening. Aaron and I then tried to sleep so we could get on a plane at 6 am the next morning. All of our flights actually went really well, everything was on-time or early making it a very stress free experience! We took a ton of solar panel equipment with us, so the most stressful part was waiting to see if all our bags made it there with us! They did and after a hour or so we were ready to leave the airport. We then walked with our escort out to our taxi where we met the translator and driver. They are all such nice people and seemed genuinely excited for us (I know we are paying them for their service, but still they just seemed so happy we were going to be getting our son!) 

After a long and crazy drive (okay only about an hour, and they tell me it was an easy night) we stopped by a market to get some waters and then made our way to the hotel.  The hotel was really quite nice and the staff was great. We made plans to go to the orphanage first thing in the morning and then went to bed. We had carried some documents for another family so those were picked up by our in country representative first thing in the morning and then we went down to eat breakfast before our translator and drive came to pick us up. Hotel had a great little breakfast of eggs, toast and tea that came with our stay. I can't eat eggs so I shared with Aaron, but they did have Nutella (which I normally don't like, but it tasted really good there) for the bread so I was good! 

A little while later they showed up to take us to the orphanage. It was a long crazy drive. I couldn't even tell you where it was if I tried. We drove on paved roads for a while and then on some crazy dirt/rock/water roads. The craziest part was the hill we had to climb that was so covered in pot-holes that we bottomed out many times and I was sure we were going to have to push ourselves out of the tiny streams we had to cross (it's the rainy season so their were quite a few). I felt very insecure in the tiny car we were in and was terrified being behind (and next to as we passed them) huge trucks filled to the brim and tipping over on the same road. I just knew one was going to fall over, but none did (at least when I was there). There were also so many people on this tiny dirt road walking and riding on the back of motorcycle taxis. (The motorcycle's are actually the way most people travel up and down that road.) I was scared we would hit someone or someone would hit us, but our driver was great and he kept us (and them) safe. We finally made it up to the top of the hill where the orphanage sits. We opened the gate and all the kids were running around. I think they had all just gotten dressed or something because they were a little flustered and were trying to hurry and get the chairs out. Kamble came running out through the crowd and into his daddy's arms. We passed out squeezers (those pouches of fruit and vegetable's) for the kids to enjoy. We brought them with us figuring they would be a healthy snack to share. The kids loved them and they had a lot of fun trying to get every last drop out of them. After a little while Aaron handed me Kamble! I was so excited to hold him for the first time. I made sure I didn't cry because I didn't want to scare him, but in that moment I knew I loved him already! He was so tiny and just seemed to melt into my arms. I held him for a long time, until it was time for them to eat. He then sat down for a meal with his friends while we took pictures and measurements of the orphanage and also put together another wire shelf we brought for them to store clothes in. 

Almost as soon as we got there it was time to go, we had to go surrender our passport to get our exit letter. We had to leave Kamble at the orphanage to be brought to us later by one of the Momma's for security reasons, which we hated but completely understood. We didn't want him to think we were leaving him again, but the Momma's were great and let him know he would be coming to us later in the day. We went back into the city and dropped off what we needed to before heading back to the hotel. We went back and tried to take a short nap to pass the time. The power went out almost immediately after we returned (a daily occurrence) so it got pretty miserable in our room. We then went down to the bar and ordered a few Fanta's and just hung out down there. 

A few hours later we were back in our room when we heard a knock on the door. It was one of the Momma's with our son!!! We were so excited but with the language barrier the moment was less than perfect. She handed him to us and asked for money for the taxi and then just left. I don't think I really had an expectation of that moment, but looking back I guess I just wanted to hug her and tell her thank you for everything! So there we were in our hotel room with our son in our arms ready to start the rest of our lives. The power was back on and we were watching some soccer so we just sat in silence for a while together before we made some dinner. 

Kamble was pretty good that first night. He cried a little but really I expected it to be a lot more difficult. The language barrier is hard, but we had a list of words provided by our agency and we were able to communicate pretty well. He hated his first bath but loved pepperoni sticks. I'm pretty sure he had one in his hands at all times until we stepped foot on that first plane. That next day was a little crazy. We just hung out at the hotel and tried to keep ourselves busy with the small amount of toys we brought. In the afternoon we had another knock on our door. This time it was one of the workers saying we had a visitor. We weren't really sure what was going on so Aaron went down to check it out. It turns out it was a missionary who our agency had contacted about us staying with them in their guest house. They literally live like 1/2 a mile from the hotel so instead of playing email tag with the people in the states to get info to us he just came by. Aaron went with him to check out their place. He came back about 20 minutes later and said pack! So we quickly packed up all our stuff and headed over to their house. 

Let me just say that they were AMAZING!!!! They live in a compound with a house and a smaller house they rent out. For half the price of the hotel we were able to be in a walled compound with an entire house with a kitchen to live in. They even had a grass yard so we could go outside to play. After settling in we visited with them and some other missionaries next door. The work they are all doing is so wonderful and it was an honor to meet all of them. 

Later that day we got the CALL! Our exit letter was completed! What?????????? We had just surrendered our passports the day before. This was a true act of God! We immediately got on the phone with our agency and let them know it was complete and to try to help us get home as soon as possible. With the holidays we knew flights were going to be hard to come by, so we were prepared to stay the entire duration of our trip, but we had to try to get home sooner. A little while later we got an email saying the only flight that would get us all home together was the next day! We had so much we wanted to do in Congo still, but decided this was the best thing for our family. 

Our translator had just returned from the store, about 10 minutes before we got the call, with a ton of groceries for us for our stay now that we had a kitchen. The great news though is that we were able to give it and all the other food we brought  to the missionaries to have and share with the people around them. I know it doesn't seem like much, but we brought things they cant get in Congo, so it was an added treat for them and we were so happy to share!!!

Later that afternoon Kamble was taking a nap.  I went in and checked on him and he was burning up! I didn't have a thermometer (in our haste to pack so quick we forgot a lot of things), so I went over to the house to ask the missionaries to borrow one. Luckily they are so knowledgeable that they set us up right away with a Malaria test kit and thermometer. They told us Malaria fevers usually strike at night and these little $5 test kits can tell us if that's what it is. So after Kamble screamed while we took his temperature and then pricked his finger for the test kit, we had a kiddo with another bout of malaria. The missionaries were leaving for a funeral that night so they sent out a worker to get us the medicine and gave us some Tylenol for his fever. We are so extremely grateful for their knowledge and generosity. We would have been sitting at the hotel in fear on our own, had we not moved to their guest house (another act of God I'm sure!!). (Heres a pic of the $5 test and the $10 medicine. Crazy how inexpensive in our world this is, but there it would be extremely expensive for the locals to get). 

                                    
To Be continued.....
Love, April

What a difference a year makes.....

Our adoption journey started about a year and a half ago.  Some days it seems like it was forever ago and others I feel like it wasn't too bad of a wait (although I think I can only say that now that we are so close to bringing our son home). Looking back at our timeline I am so in awe of our journey,  it wasn't easy, but we are almost to our "Gotcha Day"!

On November 28, 2011 we send our i600a paperwork in to the US.  This paper was asking the US government if we could adopt a child and bring him home to become a US citizen.  Now this year on November 28, 2012 Aaron met our son for the first time! The son we have been praying and planning for the last year.  I am a little sad that I wasn't able to go on this trip too, but in the end it won't matter. (And Carson got his first flu ever and  I was sick with a cold. So I guess in the end it was good for me to still be at home). We will soon have our son and bring him home to meet the rest of his family and all his new friends!

So what happens next:
Aaron will be returning home this weekend and we will wait for our sons visa to be issued. Our embassy interview was on Friday Nov. 30th and were praying the visa is issued some time in the first week of December. As soon as it is issued Aaron and I will travel to DRC to get our Son. He will then be ours! We will then apply and wait for our exit letter.  This will allow us to leave the country with him. That could take from 1-2 weeks.  Once that letter is issued we will return home and start our new lives!

I am so excited to begin this next step in our adoption adventure.  I am very realistic when it comes to knowing the challenges we will face , but also know that we will do everything for our kids well being. Our two boys are the most important things in our lives and they will be our first priorities especially right after we come home. There will be a big change in our everyday workings, we will spend more time at home than we ever have in our almost 7 years of marriage. Please take a look at the previous post for more information on our "Cocooning" plan and if you have any question please talk to us!

Thank you all for your love and  support! This journey has been apart of  your lives as well and we can't wait to show your family of four!

Love, April

Waiting again....

Aaron was able to meet our son last week and it was the best story I've ever heard! Can't wait to share everything on the blog once we are back home with our son for good!. We're praying his visa is issued Monday so we can book a flight to go get him and bring him home!

We're so close.... And waiting again.

Letter to our family and friends

Dear Friends and Family-

Our "Gotcha" day is almost here. As I write this I'm waiting for a call from Aaron hoping he got to meet our boy today. We wanted to take a minute to share with you "our plan" for transitioning into a family of four.

In a perfect world, babies would be raised by their birth moms and never have to experience the trauma of separation from them. They would be given the gift of knowing their mom's hearbeat, voice, and birth language. With adoption, this is interrupted, or lost for a variety of reasons.....and trust is broken.

Thankfully, there is a window of time where healing can take place for adopted children. In the adoption community this is referred to as "cocooning."

Cocooning will look different for every family. During our time of cocooning, we will be going above and beyond to help Kamble attach to our family and to heal....

Soon he will be saying goodbye to the familiar surroundings he has grown accustomed to. We are very confident that he has grown attached to the caregivers at her orphanage. But, when we start parenting Kamble, trauma will again happen in his life as he leaves another caretaker's arms. There will be grieving even from leaving the orphanage he has grown familiar with.

We want to be very sensitive to our little guy. We want to remember the realities of his transitions in life thus far:

-The first part of his life he heard one language and connected to one caregiver, his mother.
-And now, he has has spent 6 months hearing a new language, and bonded again with another (or multiple) caregivers.

In the coming weeks, he will meet his new parents (us!) and be introduced to yet another language, environment, and family. It is very important that our son gets to know me as Mommy and Aaron as Daddy. He needs to see us as his caregivers and establish a strong, healthy bond with us-which will enable him to establish healthy bonds in the future with other members of our family, and our friends. It will also help him to establish healthy boundaries, and solid relationships in his future.

We know you have walked alongside of us through our adoption for nearly 1.5 years. When we announced our joyous news, you were there with us. When our path began taking many twists, and turns, delays, and more delays, you offered your encouragement, support, prayers, and finances. We are forever grateful for each of you. We know that you, just like us, want Kamble home to his family, and you want your chance to meet him, hold him, play with him, and love him. We know that just like us, however, you want his transition to his forever family to be as positive as it can be. Kamble needs to learn to trust us. And we need your help in doing that.

Through careful consideration we have considered a cocooning plan for our son. We want to take into consideration that adoption professionals recommend cocooning for a duration of 3 months. Our plan may change as we see possible new needs arise, or if we feel he is bonding/attaching to us better than expected.

It is important to keep Kamble's world as small as possible. For the first month we will be establishing structure, and we will be staying home a lot during this time. We hope to not ever leave his eyesight. You are welcome to text, email, and send cards. I will likely be limiting my phone conversations though, so I can devote more time with the kids.

We want him to know that he will never again have to change his environment, or loved ones. When we feel he is ready, we will gradually go out and about for short times so he doesn't feel overwhelmed. For a time, we will ask you not to hold, kiss, or hug him as he learns that we are his primary caregivers. We would love for you to talk with him, wave, blow kisses, and high five. Our desire is for Kamble to learn that we, his parents, will meet his physical and emotional needs.

We also want to share some of what we have learned. Research has shown the benefits of parenting an adopted child according to their "family age" not their biological age. This means he will be rocked, cuddled, fed and soothed much like babies are. We will carry him around with us as much as he likes (and our backs will allow!). Only Aaron and myself will provide food, drink, bathing, dressing, etc. All caregiving will be done by us.

As you can imagine all of this will not be easy. But we are certain that our investment will be worth it! Our little Man is worth all of the hard days ahead. We truly can't wait to get started!

Please let us know if you have any questions. We're happy to discuss our plan with everyone. We will also invite people to visit us at the airport when we come home. You will be able to say hi and snuggle him if he will allow it. Please remember even though this is a joyous occasion for us, this will most likely be very traumatic for him. He may not want others to touch him and will will respect that. After that night our time In as a family will begin.

Thanks for all you love and support during this adoption adventure. We are so close to the end of the waiting and can't wait to share him with all of you. Special thanks to my friend and fellow adoptive mom, Kerri, who let me use her letter she wrote to her family and friends. It was so perfect and really said what we wanted to say!

Love,
The Marvin's