A year ago, Jay and I were anxiously awaiting word from
China about the acceptance for our sweet boy. Every day a year ago seemed to
drag on, and time felt like it literally just wouldn’t move on our behalf. A
year ago we tried to keep ourselves busy, but the thought of Jude was always
present. A year ago we had a stable routine, had quite evenings, simple
weekends. We were strangers to medical complexities, frequent doctor visits, sibling
rivalry, and well... chaos. Its crazy to
think about a year ago, it seems like FOREVER ago! We were certainly a different
family and all of us different people back then. I look around now and see this
crazy, busy, fun, loud life we are living and I thank God for every second of
it.
Jude has been a part of us for 6 months now! I am shocked
but at the same time I also feel like he has been with us so much longer than
that. In fact I feel like he has always been here. He has changed so much in
such a short time.
He has learned a completely new language, had two surgeries
and numerous medical tests, learned to ride a bike, has started school, has his first best friend
(a girl cough cough), he has started karate ( with other children adopted from China), can sleep alone in his own bed in
his own room, had his first ER visit for stitches, he has developed his own
sense of style (which leaves us scratching our heads sometimes), wears big boy
underwear (at least for most of the day), has grown 2.5 inches, and above all
else has adapted so beautifully to his new life.
(stiches after a fall at school)
A year ago our sweet boy was
spending his days in an orphanage and his nights in a foster home with several
other children. He was never rocked, or sang to, never had his own toys or
cloths. A year ago, he lacked adequate medical care, wore constantly soiled
diapers, went to sleep in a cramped toddler bed which he was forced to share,
and didn’t have the slightest idea what a true family looked or felt like. He
is starting to open up about life in China and some of what he describes is
hard to hear.
(the picture to the right was taken shortly before we arrived; his eyes are so sad and he looks like a totally different boy from who we know today. Thankfully we have never seen those eyes since).
He grew up in a nice orphanage, compared to so many others, but
that is not where children belong, they need to be in families. Children thrive
with the love of a family and I am watching it first-hand every single day. People
say he is such a lucky little boy now, but I promise them always that we are
truly the lucky ones.
Our oldest loves being the
comedian and center of attention and Jude is certainly learning from the best, but
Jude is more the dry comedian type. He has us laughing aloud everyday with the
things he says and does and the faces he makes. Our oldest loves to wrestle and be physical,
while our little Jude is sweet and gentle. While he may be sweet and gentle, he
is LOUD! All boys can be loud but Jude, well he is loud always! He is constantly
talking or singing and doesn’t seem to stop until he is asleep. His big brother
has to remind him that other people get to talk sometimes too. 
Both the boys
are constantly moving, running, jumping, climbing, shooting guns, and riding
bikes…they are boys through and through. It has taken some time for big brother
to adjust to having Jude around. I imagine it isn’t easy giving up the spot
light as the only child and only grandchild, but he is adored by Jude (which I
think helps!).
Everything that big brother does, little brother needs to do
too. Jude was actually the big brother
in China, but now he is the little one and he is learning what all that
entails. It truly is fun watching our boys together because even though it’s
only been 6 months, they are true siblings; they bicker, they yell and tattle,
they constantly want what the other has, they need to be where the other is,
and are distressed when the other is in trouble or sick or hurt. I never grew
up with siblings so I love watching their relationship play out. Don’t get me
wrong there are days the bickering and fighting drive us crazy but I try and
remind myself what a gift each is to the other. They are learning about life
and relationships together. They have a
bond that I hope will be unbreakable as their futures play out. Though they
were born in two radically different countries to two radically different
mommies, they now share a new life together. But their pasts, while drastically
different, are strikingly similar too. Jayden may not agree at this exact
moment, but adopting Jude has been one of the best things for him too. I know
that Jude has changed all of us, for the better.
With all that said, there have been scary times along our
six months together too. Jude is far more medically complex than we ever knew. He
has endured countless medical exams, tests, and surgeries since his arrival and
nearly every test has come back with another surprise dianosis.
It became quite overwhelming in
the beginning, even for a seasoned nurse practitioner, but God has literally provided everything we need to care for
this little boy and more. Our insurance coverage recently changed providing amazing completely
covered care to adopted and special needs children, we were accepted into an
assistance program for disabled children that covered nearly all his recent medical
bills, Jays job reimbursed a substantial amount for adoption related expenses,
and we have been blessed with friends and family who have worked to ensure
amazing and timely care at the local hospital and clinics. It has been quite amazing watching the details
of his needs, and ours, be met. I think back to when we were reviewing Jude’s
file. If all his needs were spelled out in black and white would we have felt “comfortable”
taking on these needs? I shudder to think what the true answer to that question
would have been, but thankfully God knew what we needed and didn’t need to know
to move forward. Trust me there is truly bliss in ignorance. Now, we would and
WILL move mountains for Jude and he deserves nothing less.
We were very concerned about bonding and attachment with our
Jude. As I have discussed previously many orphans have difficulty attaching to
anyone given their history of abandonment and constant change in caregivers.
Lack of attachment leads to so many difficulties with maintaining relationships
and understanding basic feelings like empathy. When we first met Jude he really
didn’t seem to care that he was leaving all he knew behind. He didn’t cry when
he came to us, in fact he was all smiles (not a good sign). When we walked the
halls of his orphanage he showed us around but no one really had an impact on
him. It was like he really didn’t care and wasn’t attached to much there. It
was concerning. We did get tears when we attempted to go into his old school
room. So much in fact he wouldn’t enter and I did so on my own while Jay walked
him around the rest of the building. He was scared but didn’t have the words to
tell us why. We made a conscious and deliberate decision to focus on cocooning
our little man for 3 months when we first got home. I stayed home from work and
he never left my side or my sight, not even to sleep (we co-slept). It was
exhausting to say the least and created a lot of sibling rivalry initially. But
I am so thankful for that time. At 6 months home I can say emphatically that
Jude is very well attached to us.
He cries every time I leave him and while
heartbreaking, it is a beautiful sign that he doesn’t want our connection to
end, not even for a few hours. He constantly seeks us out for love and snuggles. Sometimes he will get
up in the middle of dinner just to come over and get a hug and a kiss before
returning to his meal. In strange places, he will hide behind me to avoid
contact or glances from strangers. When he looks at pictures taken any time
before his arrival to our family he gets very upset that he is not there too.
He doesn’t seem to understand that we used to be a little family of three
before his debut. Several times throughout our day I will hear, “I love you Ma”
out of nowhere, just because at that moment he thinks about love and wants to remind me how he feels. Every time
I hear those words, it melts my heart. We have
had two mandatory social worker visits already and she agrees that he knows
where he belongs, right here with us, forever.
I don’t know why God choose for our son to be born half a
world away from us, but I am forever grateful for the call to adoption, for the
journey (as long and as heartbreaking as it was), and the growth that God
provided all of us along the way. I mean
we started out thinking we were going to adopt a healthy Ethiopian infant, and
our hearts were changed and challenged for years, until we finally brought home
this beautiful medically complex Chinese 4-year-old whom I simply can’t imagine
life without. Had Jay and I decided
nearly five years ago, (to the day) to travel, or have biological children
first, or pursue other dreams before starting our family through adoption, we
certainly could have missed all of this, and could have missed him. I am
thankful for the callings in our life. I am thankful for a God that calls and a
God that equips, and a God that provides! I am thankful for a God that sees even little
forgotten people and has a plan and a purpose for their life (I can’t wait to
see what my children’s are!). My hope is that Jude’s story will continue to
inspire others to be open to the cause of orphan care and open to God’s
callings in their own life, whatever they may be. Callings are scary, trust me
I know, but its scarier to think of what life would have been like had we said “no”.
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