It's About Time

This is going to be LONG. I'm sorry it has been so long in coming, but let's just say when I am tired my morning sickness gets really bad. It's been a tough couple of days. I have so much to tell now.



Wednesday we had our medicals. They started at 12 and ended at 4. We did have an hour and a half break for lunch and most of the remaining time was waiting. Each doctor would ask a few questions and check a couple of things then stamp the book and off we would go to the next doctor. It wasn't painful at all.

After the medicals, we were off to the airport to meet Kim Decker, her daughter, and GABE! Their journey is almost over. They were completely exhausted, especially poor Gabe. I hope he got some sleep that night. Kim's plane came in at 5 and ours didn't leave until 11, so we had a lot of time to kill. And there are so many people at the airport ALL the time that we couldn't find a place to sit. We did manage to get a seat at a cafe for a little while, but they were uncomfortable and Mike needed to get up so more standing. As soon as we boarded our plane, I took some medicine and went to sleep. I slept most of the 4.5 hour flight.

Marina met us at the airport and transferred us to our apartment. It is very nice! Our landlady is out of the country on vacation, but she had everything set up for us. Snacks on the table, waters in the fridge, pack-n-play set up for Zeb, and even pull-ups and a toy in the closet for Gotcha Day. So thoughtful!

We skyped with my mom and dad then napped for a couple of hours before we left to see Zeb.

Oh my goodness how my heart melted when they brought him in the room. He still isn't walking but we've decided it has a LOT to do with how thin he is and the fact that he must not have much muscle tone in his legs. He looks even more thin now than he did in April. The director said he has grown 3 cm, but not gained any weight. Later, we got a list of his daily schedule including meal descriptions and it explained much. He just doesn't get enough food. He eats 5 times a day, but the meals are not very healthy or filling.

Anyway, Zeb was tired. He had just waked from his nap so he laid on me for a good 10 minutes. Mike tried to hold him, but he cried and came right back to me. He did warm up after a while. I showed him a toy phone that plays music and he was intrigued, but when I played some music on the ipad, he was in love. We played a couple of games on the ipad, then snuggled some more. Later, he was looking in the backpack again and I said, "you want musica?" and he smiled really big and got very excited! So we pulled out the ipad again and listened to some more music. He figured out how to scroll the album titles and he changed the song a few times. Then we cuddled some more until it was time to go. He did warm up to Mike some. They tickled and giggled and played ball together, but the whole time Zeb would just lean on me and not let Mike try to hold him. But we both got lots of kisses. The boy is a snuggle bug and very affectionate!

The director told us that after our last visit in April, the DOE contacted Zeb's birth mother and grandmother and told them he is being adopted. They assumed that meant that the diagnosis was wrong and came to visit him. When they were told his diagnosis again, they said they have no "use for him". And they left. That broke my heart for him. How could anyone look at our precious boy and think he was useless? But that means we will not have any problem during the 10 day wait.

One last thing, we are being prepared for a difficult court hearing. And everyone including the orphanage director wants to keep our secret a secret during court. They say the judge wouldn't know what to do with that information since this is a very unusual case to begin with. So, please continue to be in prayer that we will have a favorable decision and all will go well in court. We truly feel that the Lord has walked ahead of us in this entire process and he is in the court now preparing hearts and minds. Thank you for your support and prayers. They mean so much!



Now, our journey in pictures.