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Bringing Home Max 2015

Adoption Registration and Orphanage Visit

February 3, 2015

The morning after we got Max in our arms, we returned back to the Civil Affairs building to complete the adoption. We were given a certificate and shook hands with the man proclaiming in Chinese that Max was officially ours'. Emotional and surreal moment. 

Afterwards we headed towards Max's hometown of Kaifeng to apply for his passport and visit his orphanage. This was a 2 hour drive both ways from Zhengzhou. I was sick to my stomach on the way over. Fearful of how Max would react upon return to his home and his nannies. This day was way more emotional for me than the day before, when we met him for the first time. It was a visit to the only world our son ever knew. A small green room with cribs lined up, connected to a playroom. He lived in room #4 on the second floor since we was 3 days old.
I know one thing for sure, our baby was loved there. I knew immediately that my prayers had been answered. His face lit up when he was reunited with his nannies and little "brothers and sisters." I was scared that he wouldn't want to come back to us when it came time to leave, and that would break my heart. Thankfully, though, he did come running back to me, smiling. And, I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. It was beautiful.
Max instantly became a different child. This return to his orphanage was closure for him, absolutely. I am so glad we were able to go.

Pictures from our day:

 Outside the Kaifeng City Social Welfare Institution (orphanage)

 Looking at Max's crib...

 His Chinese name still on the white label at the head of bed...

 His soon-to-be adopted friend, "Will".

Before we left Kaifeng, we were able to go to Max's finding spot. This is the location where he was found abandoned and taken to the orphanage. We got out of our vehicle and took some pictures and video so that we can share this information with him one day.
We were so glad to get home that evening, it was a LONG hard day. But one we will never forget.

Late Post! We have Max!

So obviously, I have not had a chance to blog about the last few days since we added on a toddler! It has been so busy with him, and any chance I have had to rest, I have taken it. I've never had jet lag this bad. It's taken me almost a week to finally sleep all night.

Monday, Feb 2 was our "gotcha day" when we met Max. I cannot even describe that day. Max was at the Civil Affairs building when we arrived. I spotted him across the room, in his very PINK girl clothes. Took my breath away. The nanny who brought him from the orphanage saw that we recognized him and she picked him up and started over to us. They matched his name to our ID cards. He came straight to me, very much in shock, no tears or crying. I was surprised. He was so limp and had no emotion. It was almost like he had been given sleep medication. He just fell into my arms and hardly moved for the few hours we were there. We watched 17 other babies meet their new families and it was just beautiful. 

It took us another day or two to realize that Max's coping mechanism is to completely shut down. One minute, laughing and playing, the next, blank stares, limp, no emotion. 

He smelled terrible so I had to change him that first afternoon (we were told to go slow with the clothes removal as they are used to being packed into several layers). I didn't want to shock him even more. I took off one layer and later, another. Followed by another. It was like peeling off the layers of his old self. I didn't know what to expect. It honestly scared me when I got down to the last layer. He was so small. Much smaller than I had imagined. He's 17 months now, and has only had formula with one scoop of rice as his primary diet. Occasional cracker, bread, maybe fruit when it was available. I left a 4 month old back at home, who eats more milk and cereal than Max does. And now that I've weighed Max, Drake is 2 pounds bigger!

I know that we have bonded with Max through food. He has LOVED eating. I got to feed him only two bottles before he totally gave those up. He is eating SO much that I worried we would cause his tummy to be sick. No problems so far though. He eats anything we give him. He especially loves fruit, Cheerios, and scrambled eggs. 

Feeding him has been so fulfilling for me. He gets so excited about it. Claps his hands after each bite, says "yaaayyyy"!!! That big grin of his. Melts my heart. 

And he LOVES to take a bath. Splashed the water the entire time. He stands by the tub multiple times a day wanting to get in. So precious. 

I will have to post again about our orphanage visit when we get a chance to load pictures from our big camera. I don't  have any on my phone. And that's a whole other blog entry as well. 

We leave tomorrow for Guangzhou where we will finish up Max's visa paperwork and physical that's required for him to enter the U.S. We are missing our babies and ready to be home! 

Thankful for your prayers. They are much appreciated and we feel them. 

Welcome to Zhengzhou

We have arrived in the capital city of Max's province. We had the exciting adventure of traveling by bullet train this morn. It was SO much better than an airplane. Just look at all the space! The seats reclined, turned towards the windows, had TVs, and snacks. We sat back and enjoyed the view of China and company from a few other families in our group. 

When we got to our room, Max's crib was already set up by our bed. It took my breath away for a moment. I was holding back tears. This is really happening. We meet him in less than 24 hours! 

We were given information about Max's daily schedule, including what and how much he is eating, likes and dislikes. We exchanged money at the bank and went to the Walmart down the street. There we bought formula and snacks for him. Everything looks so different from home so it took forever to find what we needed. 

Please keep us in your prayers! We are still tired from jet lag. We want to have lots of energy for our new little guy. 

We will be leaving to meet him, YOUR time, around halftime of the SuperBowl, 9:30 in the morning for us. So if you happen to be watching it, shoot up a small prayer for us if you think about it. We will post pictures as soon as we can!

Thank you and love to all. 

Saturday January 31

Today we visited the Great Wall! It was amazing and so much steeper than I thought. Jason climbed up very far and had to leave his out-of-shape wife behind with some other lady friends. He got some beautiful pictures on our good camera. 

Tomorrow morning we head to Max's province, Henan, via bullet train. We will be staying in the capital city of Zhengzhou, where we will meet him on Monday morning. 

I am feeling homesick for my babies back home. I miss them terribly. It feels like we've been gone for a long time, and we still have 2 weeks to go! 

Friday January 30

A very quick summary of our day. We are so exhausted. Jet lag has hit. 

Tianamen Square, Forbidden City

 Hutong Tour via "rickshaws" 

Lunch with a local family. Delicious!

Snack street... I loved this one! Take a look at this food!

Hello China!

We made it! Our flights were not bad at all. We had plenty of space to stretch out on our 13 hr leg. We took a bus with several other families to our hotel and grabbed a bite to eat at a local noodle shop next door. Thankfully they had menu with pictures so that we could choose our food. It was very interesting. I almost ordered pork intestines and donkey on accident. 

It is early morning hours here and I am wide awake. We have a full day of sightseeing to look forward to as several more families from our agency are making their journeys here to meet us. 

Will try to post again soon. 

About Max: I just got an email update about him. It says he is walking now. That makes me so happy! 

Here's a picture. 

I can't believe we get to meet him Monday morn!

We have travel dates!

This has been a CRAZY week! We got word of our travel approval last Friday and had our Consulate appt confirmed on Tuesday. Shortly after, we received our travel dates! We leave in a WEEK! We had to quickly get our flights and train tickets booked! That was a stressful day!! 

We are leaving next Wednesday morning and will return on Valentine's day night. 2 1/2 weeks away from these two babies :(

Please continue to pray for us and Max as we prepare to meet next week and begin this new chapter in our lives. Yes it will be hard, yes it will be crazy, and yes God will continue to cover us with his love and grace. 

Thank you to those who have donated more money to our adoption fund and have encouraged us in the last few days. God is using you and we are thankful. 

In all likelihood, I will not get another chance to blog again until we leave or are in China. We have a lot to do! Love and thanks to you all. 

Finding Ad

Since we have very little information about the beginning of Max's life, little bits of info that we are given are such treasures. Today was one of those days... and as we are preparing to get on a plane to go to China, this week has been emotional... well this just topped it off for me today!
A few weeks ago, we found a man who will search through old Chinese newspapers for the "finding ad" of your adopted child. I submitted all the info I was given from his orphanage (name, birthdate, finding date, where he was found abandoned, etc.) and this man responded that he did indeed find Max's finding ad.

(A finding ad, for those who don't know, is a requirement in China that an orphanage must submit a newspaper ad for any child they wish to begin an adoption file on. It is a picture in the local newspaper, with any information about that child, in hopes that the parents will see it and come claim their baby. The orphanage cannot begin an adoption file until 6 months after the child has been in the paper. )

We received a packet in the mail today with pictures of Max's finding ad and a translation of the Chinese writing. His finding ad was published February 11, 2014 in the "Henan Farmer's Daily" and is the 26th ad of that edition. 
This will likely be the youngest picture of Max that we will ever have. He is probably around 4-5 months old here...

This is the full page in the paper where he is listed on the right... (10th baby down)

In the translation of the ad, we are told that he had 200 yuan (approx 32 US dollars) cash with him when he was found at 3 days old. We were not given this information from the orphanage, so that is just another piece of the puzzle that is very much treasured.

Power of Prayer

Gosh. Where do I start when making a list of prayer requests? There are so many we would like to ask of you.

First of all, I have to admit, my heart is heavy tonight. The closer we get to meeting Max, the heavier it is becoming. Don't get me wrong, there is so much excitement and happiness. SO very much!
But, there is a little boy (just now waking up for breakfast) in Kaifeng, China, who has no idea who the Bush Family is. He has no idea that in just a few short weeks, his WHOLE life is about to be completely wrecked. Everything he knows, sees, smells, feels, will no longer be. Two strange-looking people, speaking in a foreign language, are going to take him away from all things familiar. We will put him in a car, for probably the SECOND time in his whole life, and take him to a hotel. He will have a new and temporary crib. We won't know how to comfort him best. It is heartbreaking that, as his mother, I won't know much about him. I don't know how he likes to be held. I don't know how to put him to sleep. What are his fears? What makes him happy? Does he feel safe with us?
I put Anne Riley and Drake in his shoes, and I cannot imagine them having to go through something like that.
Adoption is not all sunshine and roses. There is plenty of darkness there too. You have to think of where Max's life began. I don't think God makes mistakes when he creates a life. I don't believe He intended on us being Max's parents. But through unfortunate reasons, ones we will never know, Max's birthmother could not care for him. She loved him THAT much. I can't even fathom it. I think of her often. The other mother. I pray for her. I pray she can somehow feel my admiration of her, and know that Jason and I will love her son so very much. That we will do our very very best to care for him and raise him to love Jesus. I believe she thinks of her son everyday. She probably lies in bed at night and wonders where he is and if he's okay. I would give anything to let her know. She is an amazing woman.

"To all who mourn, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for His Own glory." Isaiah 61:3

God turns ashes into beauty. This is where we are.
Yes, adoption is a beautiful thing. We know this is true, because God has adopted us as His children. He is our Father, and all of us who believe and follow Him, we are His adopted children, longing to go home one day.


So I need to move on to some prayer requests. I will try to keep this short.
1. Max: need I say more? Our sweet Max. PLEASE pray for him. Pray that he will feel safe with us. Pray that he will easily adjust to the new. That God would bring peace and calm to the storm (new everything, car rides, plane rides, a toothbrush, a bathtub, etc). Pray for his health, as we don't know what his condition will be when we get him. Pray that God would protect his body from sickness. That he will quickly learn who a Mommy and Daddy are.

2. Jason and Haley (the parents): Oh dear, so much. Pray that God gives us wisdom, peace, perspective, strength, energy, SLEEP, health. These next few months are going to be so very hard. We have a lot of little people to keep happy and alive. Each one will need their share of attention, and of course Max, he needs a LOT of love and time to adjust. Pray that we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, that we will feel his presence every moment, and that we remember where our help comes from.

3. Anne Riley and Drake: Please pray for our babies that we have to leave behind for 2 1/2 weeks. Oh my heart, this is going to be SO hard for me. Drake hasn't been away from me yet, only for a few hours. Pray that these weeks will fly by for them. That the days and routines go smoothly for my parents, who are keeping them for us. That God would protect them from sickness.

4. Grandparents: Pray that God would give them the energy and strength to care for Anne Riley and Drake. Pray that God protect them from sickness. That God would give them plenty of rest.

5. Travel: Pray that God keeps us safe and that our travel itinerary runs smoothly.

6. Provision: Pray that God will provide for us financially. Travel to China and in-country adoption fees are a huge amount of money. Basically, half of the total adoption expense that we have yet to pay for. 
Since Jason is now self-employed, there is no paid "vacation leave". We will have no income for nearly 3 weeks. Pray that God would continue to provide good work for him before and after we return, and that it will cover us while we are gone.
And let me quickly insert here another HUGE thank you to those special people who have donated financially/donated items for our yardsale/bought an adoption tshirt....y'all... This part is so emotional for me... every single dollar, we are so very very thankful and it means so much to us. We cannot describe it in words. From $10 to $1000, we are SO grateful. God bless you all.

We know that this is God's story, His plan, His call on our lives. Most importantly, we again pray that His will be done, His kingdom come. We pray that He uses our adoption journey to bring glory to His name. We cannot do this alone, absolutely not. God is not shaken. He goes before us. He is already there.

We truly appreciate your support through prayer. It is the most important and we feel it already. We are so thankful for our family and friends helping us along this uncertain path. We cannot thank you all enough.
Much love to you all...
Haley

Max, your Mommy longs to hold you in her arms. 

 

Getting ready for Max

Max's crib is filling up! I am slowly packing for China. I keep thinking of things I need to get for him! 

Anne Riley and Drake helped me make a rubberband clothesline. Someone from our agency recommended this and I think it will be so helpful in China. We will have to do some laundry in our bathroom while we are there. This should help it dry quicker. We followed directions from a google search and voila! Easy peasy. 

Forgot Max will need some socks, so I had to make another trip to the store. I have a feeling I will be making several more trips before we leave. 

My laundry helper. He stole brother's sock!

We washed bottles, snack cups and pacis. Big sister and I are gonna run to the store AGAIN tonight and pick up Cheerios and Puffs for Max. 

I sure hope we can get all this stuff to fit in our luggage!