I cannot believe that it has been four years since our Sam David was placed in our arms.
What a crazy time it was four years ago.
Maylee was fighting a terrible bone infection and had spent the entire summer in the hospital.
In fact, when Mike and I left for China, Maylee was still in the hospital. Talk about stressful!
But, with Maylee in the care of grandparents, her doting siblings and a wonderful nursing staff at UMC, we boarded a plane to travel to China for our precious boy.
As with any adoption, there were a lot of unknowns.
Like Maylee, Sam David has spina bifida. But, unlike Maylee, he had never received any surgery for his spina bifida and he also had uncorrected bilateral clubfoot.
But, we were prepared. Expect the worst, but hope for the best. That was our motto!
We finally arrived to our hotel and walked in to see a crib!
Things were getting real!
Needless to say, we did not sleep much the first night we were there.
But, nonetheless, the next day finally arrived and we loaded up with the rest of our travel group to meet our new children face to face.
We anxiously waited in the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou with a room full of anxious parents.
Finally, our time had arrived.
In comes our precious, tiny Sam David carried in the arms of a Chinese lady.
He was wearing a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt and a diaper.
That was it.
He was handed over to me...
No, actually, I had to pry him out of the lady's arms.
I won't lie.
It was not pretty.
He screamed!
He cried!
We tried everything... juice..nope....snacks...nope....cuddles...nope
Time...he just needed time. Time for everything to sink in.
By the end of the day, he was starting to realize that we might be okay.
But, still, there was a sense of loss in his eyes.
His lip....he sucked on his bottom lip for comfort.
But, after a few days Sam David started to not only accept our love and affection, but also share some with us in return.
We had the incredible opportunity to visit the foster home where Sam David had lived most of the first two and a half years of his life.
We will forever be grateful for the House of Grace and the love that Ms. Sandra and the precious nannies had for our boy!
It was such a blessing to spend time there with the precious kids in their care.
God planted a seed there in our hearts.
God has been watering, weeding and cultivating that seed over the past several years and we cannot wait to see what fruit will produce from that visit four years ago.
So, so much has happened over the last four years.
Sam David had a major spinal surgery to detether his spinal cord and then we started the process of serial castings to repair his bilateral clubfoot.
Our brave boy has come so far and we are so very proud of him!
It didn't take long for our sweet boy to start showing his incredible personality!
Sam David continues to amaze us!
Sam David LOVES...
playing Wheelchair Basketball for the MS Wheelcats
playing Challenger League baseball
participating in 5K races with his friends, Mrs. Kim and Ms. Terry
playing outside with his siblings and neighborhood friends
building with legos
his "squishy" pillow
singing
ice cream
his mommy! :)
We could not be any more proud of our super special boy!
And, now I will leave with some recent pics of our precious boy!
Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Sam David!
We love you!
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