Thursday, February 17, 2011

1 Month

One month ago today on January 17th we walked into the Guangzhou Civil Affairs office and almost immediately caught a glimpse of our sons behind that curtain.

A moment forever etched in my memory.


Just thinking about that moment still and forever will make me smile.





So here we are,
1 month later.
Home.
Settled.
Suitcases still in the hallway.
And spending our days getting to know each other.

If there is any doubt that God in His sovereignty hand picks your children for you, let me tell you.....
He does.
These are our sons.
Through and through.
Some things we have learned in the last month:
  • Despite what they may have thought in China, we actually don't live at the Victory Hotel. 
  • Despite my hopes to the contrary, there is no one waiting for me each morning at home as I descend the stairs at 6:30am with a breakfast buffet.
  • This fact makes me wish we did indeed live at the Victory Hotel. 
  • If you unbuckle your seat belt while we are driving, mom will pull over no less than 100 times on the 5 minute drive to the grocery store to calmly re-buckle you and explain to you that we do not unbuckle while driving.
  • This fact will annoy you. 
  • Eventually you will learn that I do not budge on issues such as this and I am waaayyy more stubborn than you so you may as well give that up. 
  • You acquiesce. 
  • Acquiesce is very hard to spell.
  • We have plenty of food in the pantry, in the refrigerator, in the freezer, on the table, and no one is going to take your food from you so there is no need to have a death grip on your food. 
  • But if that makes you feel better than that is completely fine with us, because we understand, and we love you. 
  • Jet lag will not be present in Heaven. 
  • Jet lag is evil. 
  • Jet lag will mess with every fiber of your being and leave you a sobbing, overtired puddle of goo on the floor. 
  • Jet lag is not our friend.
  • Jet lag is evil. 
  • Jet lag is evil.
  • Jet lag is evil.
  • If you give your children ring pops on Gotcha Day....well, don't. They will look like they have giant pacifiers in their mouths in all of your pictures. 


  • We are champion charade players by this point because it is one of our main tools of communication.
  • Every woman you see is not your momma. -sigh- We will continue to work on this one.
And most importantly,
you are learning that this family thing is pretty darn cool.....



....and that mom should get the camera out more often.
Happy 1 Month Gotcha Anniversary boys! We love you!

14 comments:

  1. Soooooo sweet! LOVE the brothers hugging!! And isn't the hand-picking factor AMAZING! After we brought the boys home, I wanted ALL my friends to adopt! "You just don't understand - it's you, God and these kids a WORLD apart and HE finds a way to BRING YOU TOGETHER!" It's the COOLEST experience ever! Happy Month-a-Versary!

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  2. You never cease to crack me up and at the same time just make my heart smile from you being real about it all. I love how God creates our families. It is amazing!!!

    Miss ya!

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  3. Oh yes. If only charades could be an Olympic sport...

    Looks like all is going well. And for the record, when I saw your boys in the Civil Affairs office with ring pops, my initial thought was Darn! Wish I'd thought of that too! :)

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  4. What an amazing journey and experience! Yay for one month! :)

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  5. It is amazing!!! I am so happy for you all!

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  6. Love this post! Can't wait to be on the other side of our trip, too!!!

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  7. Yay for 1 month together! How are the big boys handling the change? I could tell when the honeymoon was over each time we adopted! When they started fighting I knew they had been accepted as their siblings!

    So funny about the ring pops! My daughter did ask me what was in their mouth!

    I totally agree with you..jet lag is evil!

    Happy Gotcha Day!

    Hugs,
    Robin

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  8. LOVE this!! You constantly crack me up!! Good advice about the ring pops!! :)

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  9. Happy One Month!!! I have been that Mom with the car seat kid! I have actually waited and hoped for a police officer to come along beside me to help tell my child the rules of the road!!! I am with you... Jet lag is evil!! And, I am quite grateful it will not exist in Heaven!!!!

    You are amazing!

    Blessings,
    Diana (Who is waiting for her sweet Emme Jade in Yangzhou!)

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  10. Happy One MOnth anniversary!! Yay!

    Yes jet lag is evil! It's pure torture!

    The boys look happy with their giant pacifiers!!

    Question- are either of them trying to speak a little english? Do they talk to each other in Chinese? Are they acting like brothers or still competing for love?

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  11. LOVE the picture where you all first meet face to face! You all are so blessed to be home together!

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  12. Every update you post has me smiling & crying all at the same time. If we get some sort of a reunion weekend planned this summer for the LongGang kiddos, I so hope you'll be able to come. I can't wait to hug you.

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  13. You are too funny! I can always count on a good laugh when I come over for a visit! I am so glad I was able to meet you in person so I can actually hear you saying all these things. Let's meet for the breakfast buffet tomorrow :)!

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