Saturday, February 24, 2007

Oops, We did it again!

So, you’re wondering what the oops is? Umm, well, we decided that 3 kids weren’t nearly enough chaos and we are headed back to China for a son. Yep, you read that right. We started paperwork on February 14th (my Valentine’s Day present!) to pursue adopting a little boy. Don’t look so surprised! All it takes is a few drinks and a little unprotected paperwork. Here’s a little poem that I like:

An Accidental Adoption

Have you ever noticed that you hear all the time about "accidental" pregnancies,
but never about couples who experience "accidental" adoptions?

Can you imagine:
Honey, sit down. I have some news for you.
What is it?
Well, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come out with it.
I went out to the mailbox today and ... well, we got an I-171H.
A what?!?
An I171H? As in, we're going to have another baby?!?
It looks that way.
But how? We've been so careful! I put away all the blank I600A forms.
Didn't you hide our home study update?
Of course I did. But don't forget, there was that one night...
What night?
(pauses)
Ohhh, that night. But it was only once. We were just messing around.
I didn't print clearly. I didn't even use ink!
(pauses again)
But it was kind of fun.
(giggles)
It was, wasn't it? I'll never forget how cute you looked
getting your fingerprints.
So now we've got our I-171H, eh?
But that doesn't always mean you'll adopt, does it?
I mean, shouldn't you see the agency or something, make sure everything's okay?
I already did.
And?
I'm five documents along.
Five documents! And they're all notarized, certified and authenticated… okay?
There was one small scare when the agency couldn't see the notary's middle initial,
but it showed up just fine under the magnifying glass.
Thank God.
And you honey? Are you feeling okay?
I'm feeling fine. As long as I know you're happy about this.
Happy?
I'm thrilled! It's always a shock at first when something
like this happens, but of course I'm happy!

Ok, so our story is a little different that than, but, you get the picture. We’ve been talking about it since we got home with Julia. Cameron’s desire to have a brother is so strong and Wayne’s experience of growing up in a large family with 8 boys just really seems to help us decide; that and our faith. For those that believe, you know what I mean. I have so many friends in my late August adoption group that know the feeling. God plays such big part in adding children to our families. He knew what he was doing back in 2000 by giving us Anna and her hearing loss. At the time I didn’t understand why we had been chosen to parent a child with special needs and now I can’t imagine my life any other way. God planted Anna in our lives to give us direction to Julia and to our son waiting in China.

Well, to wrap up this long post, I’m going to give you the link to our new blog. It’s called Chopsticks for 6. (http://www.chopsticksfor6.blogspot.com) I wanted to start a new blog for the journey to our son. Who shall remain nameless for now! We are are still debating names. If anyone has any suggestions, send on over our way!

Sit back and get ready for another roller coaster ride of paperwork, paperchasing, dossiers, visas and finally a life changing trip to the most beautiful country, China.

Melissa & Wayne
Big Brother Cameron (Ge Ge), Big Sister Anna (Jie Jie) and Little Sister Julia (Mei Mei)
and our soon to be Middle Brother (Di Di)