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