adopting Judd

Monday we formally adopted Wang Long Shan in China. We met in a meeting room at our hotel along with eight others (notaries, orphanage workers, translator, basically slew of people rattling on in Mandarin as Anne and I nodded). The whole process was much like buying a house--we signed our names 300 times and had no idea what we were signing. So they asked us questions about our family, our plans for the care of him, and one question that has stuck with Anne: “Are you satisfied with him?” I think I know what they meant, but it does sound like we are buying a new TV which we may want to return. Yes. We are satisfied. So we answered our questions, signed our names, paid them $40,000 Yuan (a stack of red bills about 2.5 inches tall), and they gave us a cool Mongolian hat.

We’ve had Judd for over a day now. Here is what we’ve learned about him so far:

Juddson can eat. And eat. Lots of people say kids from an orphanage devour food, and little man is no different. Tonight for supper he ate a bowl of fried rice, half a big bowl of noodles, a couple pieces of bread, an entire banana, and I’ve lost track of what else. He only weighs 21 pounds, so he can use the weight.

He has a mustache. True story. Lil’ Genghis has a cookie duster. It’s that thin type, like a 14 year old boy. Early bloomer. He’s just manly that way.

Juddidiah is smart. Every person from the orphanage told us that he was “very smart,” but frankly I thought it was polite small talk. It’s not. He has picked up signs quickly and already uses several. He reads people well. He knows that he can do this head-shake dance to make me laugh and ways to make total strangers smile at hime. He picks up things very quickly.

He is determined. I don’t think Micro-Kahn has ever been told no. He gets angry if we tell him he can’t play with a knife, put him in his bed, or tell him to wait while we make his bottle. He gets mad. Angry. Yells. Maybe he is related to the Mongols who came over the Great Wall.

However, in some ways we know less about Judd today than we thought we did a week ago. In our meeting, most of the answers they gave us were nothing like what we had been told before. They talked like he wasn’t part of New Day, but we have monthly medical info on him from New Day, so he had to be. We didn’t get the meet the nanny to ask her questions about his schedule and likes/dislikes. Anne asked numerous medical questions and their answers were very vague. We asked about his clothes he was abandoned in, but they gave them to the orphanage. We sent a care package with several things including a camera, but they never took a picture of him with and the rest is lost. Plus we were told we couldn’t visit the orphanage to learn about where he lived.

So really, we know little about this kid. While it’s somewhat frustrating, I don’t know why it should be surprising. This is why orphans need homes. If the orphanage cared for them well, then adoption isn’t really needed, is it?

-Chris

gotcha

Today we met Judd Longshan. Finally. The strangest aspect of the adoption process for me has been that we have known about him for months, prayed for him, worked hard to get him, yet he knew nothing about us. Today that changed. We met Judd.

We flew into Hohhot around noon, and we were told to be in the hotel lobby at 2:30 to get him. So we hurried to prepare paperwork, get gifts ready, and then it was time. A lady from the orphanage came carrying him in. Anne cried. I may have had got something in my eye as well, dern Mongolian pollen.

The year and a half of waiting is over. Our prayers have been answered. We got Judd.

First, he is a happy dude. The only time he's cried today was when he hit his head. He loves the attention, flirts with the ladies who work at the hotel (Juddly the Studly), and has never met a stranger. They told us that he was smart and fun, and I thought that was polite small talk, but he really is both. Even our van driver and him became buds.

Second, they told us that he just got back from Beijing. And to feed him soft foods. "What? Your broken English is hard to understand. I thought you said something about Beijing." "You know, from surgery." "Uh, surgery?" Good question. Come to find out that they repaired his palate a week and a half ago. We had no idea, but having no idea is somewhat normal in adoptions. So we were surprised, and we hope the surgery was done well. He sure ate well tonight, so hopefully it was a success. We'll see.

Judd seems healthy. He eats well, plays hard, and is as happy as a nineteen month old can be. He really looks good. And dang the boy is a good time. I have joked that we have to get outside genes in the family to have a happy one. Rex is happy because he takes after his mom. I come from a dreadfully long line of foulness (no offense family). Judd is a pleasant as can be. He went straight to Anne. Loves to play. Content and pleasant.

Today was Gotcha Day. The waiting is over. Judd is no longer an orphan. He now has a mommy who will hold him when he falls down and will sing and pray over him each night. A daddy who will tickle him, watch out for him, and tell him about Jesus. Brothers to play bad guys with. Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles. A home. A room. A family.

And God has done this. This process is much to big for us to do. He had a plan, put a desire in our hearts, provided more money than we could ever raise, made a way, and He gets the glory.

There is one less orphan in the world today. Welcome to a family Judd Longshan Graves.

-Chris

great wall/beijing

Today we were a total American, camera-toting, backpack-wearing tourists. But it was fun. Here are a few pics to share.

The Great Wall was very cool. First, it's not only tall, but on the top of mountains, so I have no idea how Genghis Kahn and the Manchurians made it over. It was very hazy today, but the views were still pretty good.

We also did the Hutong (meaning alleys) tour in old Beijing. We once again were cheesy tourists, two of two hundred riding in a rickshaw. But we liked it. Here was our view...

We saw all the predictable stuff today: the Olympic Stadium (Bird's Nest), Tiananmen Square, etc. We drove by but didn't tour the Forbidden City. All in the van of Chen who makes a New York taxi driver look like he's Driving Miss Daisy. Once we drove on the wrong side of the road, honking all the way, and passed a cop who didn't seem to mind. That dude made getting anywhere exciting.

Tomorrow we do what we came here for. We meet Judd. We fly out in the morning and hopefully get him that afternoon.

We'll post some pictures and tell all about Gotcha Day soon.

-Chris

ni hao

We are in China. Wow. It took four airports, thirty hours, several naps, four awkward airline meals, a handful of books and movies (to distract us), one very aggressive van driver in Beijing, and around 9000 miles to get here. But we are here, thankfully, without any problems.

It's already tomorrow night here--try to figure that sentence out--so we need to get to bed. We are tried, but it's hard to sleep since our minds are racing. Tomorrow we tour the Great Wall, so we need some sleep.

We wanted to tell everyone we are here safely. Overwhelmed with it all, but safe. Thanks for the prayers.
-Chris

leaving

In less than 24 hours, we will be on a plane to meet our little boy.  It makes my stomach flip to even just write that.  We are beyond excited.  Lately we have just been struck with how big this process is.  Gaining a new child.  Traveling to a very different country.  Met with financial hurdles that we couldn’t do on our own.  We have seen time after time how the Lord has been faithful to guide us through this process and it is such a relief to trust that He will continue to do so for the next 2 weeks. 

We do hope to blog frequently, if possible.  We feel like so many of our friends and family have been such a huge part of this adoption and we want to be able to share the exciting culmination of it all.  The past 18 months of paperwork, fundraising and preparations are all about to result in a sweet little boy coming home.  We are so thankful and glad that you are on the journey with us.  

Since this is our last day at home, I will share a few of my favorite things that we have done in Judd’s room to welcome him. 

- A crane mobile over his crib.  It is difficult to tell in the dark picture (sorry!), but each crane is made of a map.  The bottom crane, more clearly shown in the second picture, is made from a map of China.  If you looked super close, you'd be able to see the city where he was born.   

                           

- A print.  I had this made on Esty and asked to customize the locations.  The maker was nice enough to insert a variety of locations that have been involved in Judd's adoption.  They are all places we will travel to, the city of our agency, or where our family lives.  I think it will be special for years to come. 

So once again, thanks for your support.  Thanks for following our journey.  Next time we blog, we hope to be in China.  This is the fun part.  
-Anne

7 days

It's hard to believe that in one week we'll be on a plane to China. We are excited. We are busy. We are thankful.

A few quick answers to things that people are asking us:

• We will get Judd on our third day in China and he will be with us from then on, and yes, we get to bring him back home with us. China only requires one trip.
• On the side of our blog we have posted a more detailed itinerary for those who are curious. 
• We will be posting (hopefully) daily from China.
• The boys will be staying with Chris' parents every night, and playing with some great friends of ours a few times during the day, and they are excited about that. 
• Most of our big needs are taken care of. We have friends from church housesitting, mowing the yard, etc. We are thankful for our church.We literally couldn't have adopted without our church.

Keep us in your prayers. We have lots to do over the next 7 days.
-Chris

Travel Approval (Translation: We're going to China)

Last Monday we got our Travel Approval, which is the very last piece of paper in the process. Honestly, it was anti-climatic because, though approved, we still had no idea when we'd actually go. Thursday we got our travel info, and Friday we booked our plan tickets. So we are going to China.

Here is the rough plan:

• Thursday May 26- Fly from Knoxville to Houston to Tokyo to Beijing. That's 16 hours to go from Howdy to Konnichiwa to Ni Hao. Arrive Friday night in China.
• Saturday- See the Great Wall of China. Boo yah.
• Sunday May 29- Gotcha Day. We fly to Hohhot (where Judd lives, it's in north China near Genghis Khan country, on the map left of Beijing) and we'll get Juddster. He will stay with us the rest of our time.
• Monday-Thursday we'll do adoption paperwork appointments in Hohhot, hang with Judd the Stud, see the sights, Chris will eat a Mongolian hot pot, Anne will eat things that look safe.
• Friday-ish we fly to Guangzhou (aka Canton) in south China near Hong Kong. Everyone who adopts from China goes here.
• Saturday-Wednesday- Explore Guangzhou with the Juddinator, celebrate the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (whatever that is), have visa and consulate appointments in Guangzhou, Chris will eat Cantonese food, Anne is bringing granola bars. At some point we head to Hong Kong to fly back to the US.
• Thursday June 9- arrive back home in Knox-vegas.

This is the rough plan. We'll keep you updated on exact info. And a few people want to come see us at the airport, which is great, provided the roar of the crowd doesn't freak out Judd. We will give you info on that later.

We are very excited. I honestly feel relieved that the months of waiting and total unknown are over. Since Thanksgiving we've just been waiting on Chinese paperwork, and that's over. The paperwork is done. The unknown is over. The waiting is almost over. And we are very, very thankful.

We'll keep you posted as we get closer.

still don't know when we are going to China

Thanks for asking. Many of you have... "So when are you going to China?" "Have you gotten news yet?" The answer is no. We are surprised not to have heard, but no news from China. We hope to travel this month, but we'll have to see. So thanks for asking. We'll let you know something once we do.