"Gotcha" Day!

There have been seven times in my life that I have fallen instantly in love with someone, the kind of love that changes your life and you realize that the relationship is eternal and that you would do anything in the world for this person. The first time was when I met my James and knew that we would be together forever, four times were when each of my birth children were placed in my arms as they came straight from Heaven, once in an orphanage in Kazakhstan when I looked over the side of a crib to see our beautiful Lauren and her huge brown eyes, and once on the floor of a Chinese Civil Affairs building where I was finally able to hold the little boy who’s photo on the Internet had stolen our hearts a year earlier. Today was the eighth time.

When we arrived at the Civil Affairs building, the orphanage staff had already arrived with Michael. We weren’t prepared for that! I couldn’t run fast enough down the hall to the room where I knew he was. We opened the door and there he was sitting in a chair eating a snack that the orphanage had put into his backpack. I didn’t want to frighten him so I just kneeled down in front of him and started to quietly talk to him. I was trying so hard not to cry! I didn’t want to scare him by crying, but I just couldn’t believe that we were together! After talking to him for just a minute or two, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a photo album that we had sent him along with a family photo that the orphanage had labeled for him. Michael pointed to the photo of me and said, “Mama”, then he pointed at me and said, “Mama.” Then he pointed at the photo of James and said, “Papa” and then pointed at James and said, “Papa.” My heart completely felt like it was going to explode! He then pointed at the photos of each of his new brothers and sisters and called them the Chinese names for big brother and big sister. He even pointed at Jacob and said, “Yi Chen” (Jacob’s Chinese name). And just like that, we were a family.

I can’t believe how natural this transition has been for Michael. He spent the rest of the day calling us “Mama” and “Papa,” reaching for our hands, and snuggling with us. He is also so smart! I was not prepared for that either! He speaks Chinese fluently and has all sorts of little songs and dances that he likes to perform throughout the day. By the end of the day, he had learned several English words and uses them appropriately. He can even repeat his siblings’ names! His fine motor skills are incredible and he draws Chinese characters. He is such a happy little boy! The highlight for me was that at the end of our first day together, Michael kissed me and said, “wo ai ni, Mama” (“I love you, Mama”). He did the same for James. We are so in love with this perfect little boy! He is such a gift! He is incredible in every way and we will be forever grateful that we have been given the honor of being his parents.