Well...its official (again)

After nearly 17 months, we are "officially" a family. Today, we met before a judge in our county's superior court, and he declared that D' is now officially ours. Hmmm, I think we already knew that, but it's nice to hear it again, I suppose. The only purpose of doing it was to get a state issued birth certificate, as far as I know. Now, whenever we are asked to provide it, I don't have to go into a long dissertation with the requester about his life history and dig up every piece of adoption related paperwork that I have. It will also list J' and I as his parents which is going to be great for him when he gets older. I wish that I would have snapped a few pictures of him today, but instead I will post a few "gotcha" photos of him on the day that we were forever united. Enjoy.... D' on the way back to the hotel after we were united with him.
D' playing with his Daddy for the first time.
D' and Daddy back at the hotel after "gotcha."

The first time I held my sweet baby boy.

The first time I saw our little Darling D'. He is with his nanny in this picture.

Mourning the loss of a dear man....

Just a brief post today....

Last night, Mr. J., Sr.'s G'pa T. passed away after an extended illness. Please pray for Great-G'ma T. as she mourns the loss of her husband of over 60 years. Please be with G'ma O. as she mourns the loss of her dear father, and pray for the rest of the family, too. G'pa T. left quite an impression on those who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be dearly missed. May he rest in eternal peace....

Yay...another update!

This morning, we woke up to another update on sweet Miss A. What a great way to start the day! There wasn't a lot of specific, detailed info, but the wonderful missionary reported that she had a chance to give Miss A. a kiss for us this past week. I am SO jealous! She said that Miss A. is confined to a walker, or crib most of the time, and she hasn't been able to get a lot of practice walking on her own, etc. She didn't seem to be too concerned about it, though. She indicated that whenever Miss A. does get some stimulation, she responds well, so YAY!

Next week, a group of volunteers (in addition to her normal once a week therapist) will be allowed to spend more time in the orphanage. They are hoping to be able to interact with all of the babies and toddlers, and offer hugs and attention to them. She said she would make sure that Miss A' isn't passed over while they are inside, and would hopefully be able to send us more information about her soon. Of course, I can't wait!

A few tidbits that are on my mind today....

There are days when I think way to much about silly things, and today seems to be one of them. While I was out running errands this morning, I caught a man staring at D' and I. Normally, when someone is "caught staring" they will turn away, but it was obvious he was not. I wondered what was so stinkin' interesting to him.

When I got in my car, I thought about it the entire way home. Over the past 1 1/2, I have caught people staring, or some feel that it is their duty to inform me that I have an Asian child. Well....duh! Please don't take this post personally if I say something offensive to you, but I thought I'd point out some down right amazing things that people have said to me. As a proud momma to a darling Asian boy, please think twice about saying the following:)....

1. Questioner: Where'd you get him? My response: Excuse me? What do you mean where did I get him? I didn't just pick him up somewhere! He is a gift from God! - that usually shuts them up quickly:).

2. Questioner: Is your husband Asian? My response: Again...Excuse me? Why do you feel like it is your business to ask? But if you really need to know, no he is not. He is Dutch, and I am Norwegian. The doctors are baffled....heehee!

3. Questioner: It's so nice that you were able to have your own first (referring to Miss M. and Mr. J.) My response: He is my own, too! He is no less my child than they are. I love them all the same!

4. Questioner: Do you have fertility problems? My response: Are you kidding me? Do YOU have common sense problems? Who asks someone that?

5. Questioner: How much did that cost you? My response: He's priceless!

6. Questioner: Why don't you just adopt a child from our own country? We have a lot of kids that need homes here, too. My response: Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of orphans in the United States. It is my prayer that they will be united with families, too. Regarding our specific situation, well that is a personal decision.

7. Questioner: He is so lucky! My response: Ahem....I think we are the lucky ones:).

Now.....for my all time most irritating question....
8. Questioner (this one makes my blood boil a bit): He's a boy from China. I thought you could only get girls. What is wrong with him? My response: What is WRONG with you? At what point did you think it was your mission in life to know every detail of my life! He is an amazing child and we are incredibly blessed to have him!

Seriously...I have been asked all of these questions over the past year and a half, and I'm sure many others that are equally as offensive, but I can't think of them right now. I choose to believe that the stares are because my kids are so darling:).

Again, please don't take offense if you have ever asked me one of these questions, because I often have to consider the source. If it is a complete stranger, then I am usually highly offended and will let them know (in a nice way, of course.) If it is a close friend, or if someone is genuinely interested in adopting, I am happy to answer basic questions about ADOPTION. I try to be as protective as I can about my family. I know there is a natural curiosity when people see our family, but it is important to remember most, if not all adoptees do not want to be singled out. They want to fit in with their family, and not have people point out their differences.

Just my opinion.....from a very protective mommy!

A big day for the McJason's

Today was a huge day for our family...so many exciting events today. First, Miss M. represented her class in their annual geography bee, and she did great! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her! She was answering questions that I didn't even know the answers to (ok...so I'm a little embarrassed about it. I am not smarter than a 4th grader:).

Then, we took Darling D. to the courthouse to re finalize his adoption in the US courts. It's really a stupid step b/c he is already our child, but in order to get a state issued birth certificate (for school purposes, applications for passports, etc) it needs to be done. We decided to try it ourselves instead of going thru an attorney and so far, so good. It is pretty time consuming to do it on your own, but it saves a lot of $$$. We have one more step with the re adoption...appear before the judge, and then D' should be good to go with the state courts..yippee!

When we got home from all of the previously listed activities I checked my email and found out that we have an official log in date from China for Miss A. today, too. The date is when China officially logs us in to their system after receiving our completed dossier, and our date was Dec. 26, 2008. The only two major things that we are waiting for with Miss A. are our LOA (which should come in the next few months) and our TA-travel approval (follows a few weeks after LOA). Then we are off to China to get our baby!

I think I need to go sit down now....way to excited about life today:).

D'...mommy's little coffee drinkin' buddy....

I am a huge fan of a great cup of coffee, as is my husband (even though he likes his a little "fluffier" than mine). I am almost embarrassed to admit that we're willing to spend what some would spend on a fast food meal in order to satisfy our cravings. Our kids will delightfully yell, "look mom, it's a St@rbucks" whenever we drive by one. "Oh help...what have I started," is often my response:). The two oldest kids are not huge fans of my favorite beverage, but I have discovered that D' shares the same excitement as mommy and daddy to see a St@rbucks. He can often be found slurping mommy's coffee when I'm not looking and then remarks to me, "dwishous!" Funny!! His favorite drink is a mocha with whip cream (actually, just chocolate milk, but he's two and insists on doing everything himself...even ordering).

A few years ago, in order to save time and money, we purchased a lovely espresso machine that is probably our single most used appliance. D' often watches mommy make drinks and knows the "ins and outs" of what I need to do in order to perk the perfect cup. So, a funny thing happened today while I was making my drink. He was sitting next to me munching on the cookies that he and daddy made last night. He looked up at me while still chewing and said, "these great with coffee, mom. D' needs some coffee, too." Yes, D'-they are great with coffee:).