Amazing Grace

I start to walk out of the darkened room and he quietly says, “One more kiss, Mommy.” I've already showered him with kisses all over his face and sang him a song while wrapping my arms around his skinny body. I step back to his bedside and lean over and give him a kiss and stroke his cheek, “Goodnight Andrew, see you in the morning. Love you.” “Love you, Mommy.” And as I walk down the stairs, “Goodnight, Mommy, love you, see you in the morning.” And that's what it's like tucking in an 11 year old boy who's never had anyone tuck him in before... and I get to do it every night.

I've been meaning to write a blog post for about 3 months now. And the reason I haven't isn't because I didn't have anything good to say or because this older child adoption has thrown me for a loop and I didn't want to share. Nope, it's just laziness... or perhaps a better way of putting it: I haven't taken the time to sit down and do it. I knew it would be hard to express everything that's happened and how our family has changed, how we have grown to know and love our new son and brother. And, really, I wanted to do him justice. I didn't want to gloss over the beautiful experiences that are difficult to put into words.

Andrew has been home just over 4 months now. His English is coming along very well and we rarely have to use the translate app anymore. He is in 4^th grade at the public school and is getting a lot of support to help him reach his full potential. He has learned to read simple site word books and is making gains in math, although he is still grade levels behind his peers. Unfortunately, in China he just wasn't taught all the skills he could have learned because he wasn't allowed to go to public school. School can be exhausting for him, and this whole “academically challenging” thing is new to him, but he will keep trying and we will keep encouraging.

He has gone from having intense fear of our loveable labrador, Chloe, to being the child most attentive to her needs. He likes going to church because it involves singing and dancing, which are his favorites. He doesn't like to watch TV or movies and enjoys taking naps in the reclining seats at the nice movie theater he's been to twice. (Sidenote: the 3^rd time we went to the movies, it was at the “regular” movie theater without reclining seats and he sat down and gave me a confused and disappointed look, “What's this?” This no good.” lol... although he DID find a way to fall asleep for a good chunk of the movie.) He loves American food and actually chose pizza for his birthday dinner over Chinese food. He loves spaghetti noodles with sauce, pizza, french fries and he gets SUPER excited when we say we're going to Chick-Fil-A. 

First movie: Moana

For fun he likes to play outside on his “bike” (low-riding big wheel drifter), throw the football around, or kick a soccer ball... mostly anything that's active and sporty (which I think is because he was never allowed to do that stuff in China, plus that's his personality.) He's not my Lego builder, that's for sure, lol. He will play on the iPad and likes to play a racing game on our Xbox with his siblings for his “nonactive play.” He's a very social boy and doesn't like to be alone. He's already made friends in school and gets along with nearly everyone. Even he and Sam have become close and just like typical brothers. When Andrew first came home, Sam was quite jealous of the attention he received and wanted from me and of how much Joshua loved to play with him. It's taken a few months, but Sam has started to settle and feel secure in knowing that Mommy can love on Andrew and him at the same time... literally, there are times these two boys are hanging on my like monkeys wanting kisses and hugs and vying for my attention. They are my extroverts for sure, which is really draining to this introverted momma. But I gotta laugh, God has a good sense of humor:) Andrew is a sweet older brother to Sam as long as Sam doesn't annoy him past his breaking point.... but even then he's not mean to Sam, he just puts him in his place. The boy doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's got a heart of gold.

Andrew often acts immature and younger than an 11 year old, which is to be expected. Sometimes this gets to me as I lose patience when he acts like a 4 year old, but I dig deep and find as much grace as I can muster during those times. We've navigated through some tricky situations and emotions during these past 4-5 months. Not gonna sugarcoat it... there have been HARD times. I quickly picked up on the fact that he had very little ability to regulate his emotions, especially when it comes to sadness, anger, and frustration. He would start the downward spiral of negative thoughts and it was all downhill from that point. In the beginning his tantrums/ meltdowns lasted anywhere from 30 mins to an hour and he would have an “episode” daily or every other day, then gradually they started becoming more sporadic and now we are at the point that the meltdowns are much less intense and not nearly as frequent. He has developed some ability to stop the downward spiral before it spins out of control.

Even in the beginning, when he would have horrible tantrums and meltdowns and yelling at us, I knew he wasn't really mad at us...even if he said he didn't love us or whatever, I knew his anger was rooted in the situation that was out his control or in the physical pain his was feeling (that he had learned to cover up) or in the emotional pain that he didn't even understand. I tried my best not to take it personally but it was still hard to get him through those moments or to know what we should or should not do or say. Parenting is no joke, ya know? But no matter how upset he got or what he said to us, he would always apologize to us after he calmed down... he would come and wrap his arms around me and lean in and say “sorry, Mommy.” And I would hug him back and tell him I loved him and I love him ALL OF THE TIME, even when he's yelling at me or not listening to me, or acting out, or driving me crazy... I ALWAYS love him.... I might not love his actions, but I love him, and THAT was my saving grace... the deep and real love I feel for him made the hard times a little easier to swim through. I was able to come up for air and breathe. I knew he was never taught how to regulate his emotions and he had no sense of security, no sense of true self or who he was in the world. All his life he knew he was an orphan; he had no one that was HIS. And so it takes time to heal wounds like that. His life hasn't been fair. Before his first birthday he lost his first family and he grew up in an institution that, although they did their best to care for him, was insufficient and inadequate and not how any child should have to grow up. He's so much stronger than I am. He has endured physical pain and emotional pain that I will never truly understand. He needed to know that he is loved here and so we made sure he knew.. And slowly that reality, that feeling of unconditional love, entered into his heart and I can see him begin relax and start to understand what love and family means.

The youngest picture we have of him. Probably around a year old.

It's not hard to love this boy. That's for sure. He just emits joy and love and kindness out of his soul. He's pure, he's naïve, he's generous, he's thoughtful, he's understanding... but besides all that, he's just easy to love. I don't know how to explain it other than he opens his heart to you and in his sincerity, you are hooked. I felt it the first time I met him. The first time we brought Andrew over to my parents house after coming home my mom was telling me how before we left and even when we were on the trip, she hadn't emotionally grasped the fact that we were adopting a 10 year old boy and he was about to enter into our family. But when she met him, that all changed. He flashed that smile, gave her a big hug and she's a goner... we all felt connected and attached to him and him to us and that really wasn't about US... it was all Andrew.

He so physically affectionate and that surprises me. The Chinese are not, how do I say, super “huggy” people. Even Sam, who was in a great group foster home, didn't really know who to give hugs when he first came home. It took a while and some coaching until he gave us good, real hugs and Joshua still doesn't do it to this day (it's not his love language.) Andrew is definitely “a hugger”, as I told his hematologist during our first visit when Andrew gave him a big bear hug as he was saying goodbye. And just like that the serious, scientific side of the doctor melted away and he got a glimpse of his newest patient's sweet soul.

One time, months ago, as he was giving me a big ol' hug (he has to have them throughout the day), I asked him, “Who did you give hugs to in China? Who gave you hugs?” “Nobody” he said. “No lots of hugs in China.” He smiled at me when I made a sad face and gave me another big hug. I don't know how the kid survived, he LIVES off hugs. It's so his love language. It's like he's been craving this affection for so long and he's eating it up.

He told us little bits of pieces of his life in China. One strange memory he shared was when he was little, not sure what age, some “big brothers” from the local city (maybe college students? I don't know?) took him outside the orphanage for the day, sounded like a “big brother” program or something. He said he remembers holding their hands and him being in the middle of them. Then he said they took him on a public bus and then they weren't there (like they got off and left him? Or they put him on the bus to go back to the orphanage by himself?) He said he remembers he started to cry and then people on the bus noticed him and the police took him back to the orphanage. I don't know how much of the whole story was lost in translation, but goodness, I don't think he was making it up. Who knows what other stories he has?

He was definitely closest to his teacher in the orphanage. She is in her early 20s and was his teacher for the past several years, after he got too old to be in the preschool program. He was very close to her and she seems like a big sister to him. He also has a nanny (Ayi) that took care of him for a long time, along with many other boys. He still keeps in touch with them via live video chat when he can. I know they both cared for him a lot but it's not the same as family. He has truly thrived in our family and he has brought out the best in us.

 

Trying to teach Sam Chinese checkers

I remember a couple of months ago, it was late in the day, and Andrew got upset about something (seemingly small... I think it had to do with a video game). He went to his room and began one of his meltdowns. We learned that often times it didn't help for us to try to talk to him, so if he wasn't going to try to talk to us, we just let him work through it for a while until he calmed down. This day I remember the other kids wanted to help him, usually it was Ella or Daniel who would try to help, sometimes it would work, other times it wouldn't. But this day one of them got the idea for all 5 to go together into Andrew's room and try to cheer him up and get him out of his funk. I kinda shook my head, thinking, “good luck” “you can try, but don't expect anything.” (We had been down this road before.) Before long I heard laughter coming out of his room and soon all six of them rumbled down the stairs together back to the basement to play. He let them break down his wall a little... and that brought them all closer together. Barriers crumbling, hearts opening.

They are a tight sibling group, no doubt. They aren't “the first three and the adopted boys”. No. They are all one big mess together who get along, who fight, who laugh, who yell, and who love each other. The girls are such awesome big sisters. They are patient and kind with their brothers and have learned that adopting a 10 year old is quite different from adopting a toddler or younger child, but that it can be just as sweet. I've seen them come to understand that even when someone pushes you away or doesn't return your affection, that doesn't mean you give up on that person, that just means the person isn't ready or able to return the affection... but one day they will, and they'll remember that you never gave up on them... and that you always believed in them.

And while the idea of adopting a 10 year old boy (soon to be 11) when you have 11 and 13 year girls at home may not sound like a good idea on paper, it may not be something a social worker would recommend, and people may think you are crazy.... while that may all be true, it doesn't really matter to God. God doesn't play by our rules. Sometimes the stories and plans you have thought out in your head are not the same ones God has in mind for you. And I've found that if I ask him what HE wants for me, not what I want from Him, the story turns out way better than I could have ever dreamed, trust me.

Someone said to Fred that adopting these boys is “our mission”... I have a hard time with that term. These boys are not charity cases, we don't feel like we are fulfilling a duty here. We aren't trying to “save all the orphans.” We aren't their parents because we have to be, we are their parents because we want to be. God moved our hearts towards adoption and the blessings that have poured out upon us have been too many to count or keep up with. Are we busy? Yes. Are our kids perfect? No. Are we perfect parents? No. Do we doubt if we are doing everything right? Yes. Would I want to be doing something different with my life? NO WAY. I feel that we are all right where we should be.

Sam the Bold

Joshua the Brave

Andrew the Courageous

I'm in Andrew's room one afternoon putting something away. Andrew is dancing as he listens to the radio and Sam is also in the room playing with a toy. The song “Amazing Grace” comes on the Christian music station the radio was tuned to (he likes to get his praise on, even though he has no idea what they are saying half the time.) Andrew slows his dancing and I start slowly dancing with him, swaying back and forth... Sam comes over and wraps his arms around me and Andrew puts his arm around Sam. And the three of us are listening to this old hymn and swaying to the music, hugging each other. It was a spontaneous and beautifully real moment yet I felt almost as if I was dreaming. How was it that these two boys in my arms who were born 6 years apart in the same province in China, one who came close to death as an infant and one who lived with a life-threatening bleeding disorder that was not treated properly, were now brothers forever and my sons for the rest of their lives? How is that? I certainly didn't do anything to deserve these boys, but God's Amazing Grace has no boundaries. I've learned that it's easy to be blinded by society's expectations and social norms. It's our nature to compare ourselves to others, to want all we can get out of life, to worry that we won't have enough money or enough time to do all we want to do. We get caught up with the little details and don't trust God with the big picture. I've found the best way for me to avoid that is to ask for God's will to be done. Ask Him what his is purpose for me. We all have purpose; God will let you SEE it, if you ask. Five years ago I would have NEVER guessed that'd I'd be slow-dancing to Amazing Grace with my 5 and 11 year old sons from China, have 6 kids and drive a 12 passenger van (oh yes, we did), but years ago I asked God to show me His will for my life.... and here we are... and I get to be part of this story with these amazing kids and husband. 

"I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."

Something Beautiful

I need to get this blog post out before I forget all the feelings and emotions of this China trip. As I type this, we are in Guangzhou and it's Sunday night. We've had Andrew for almost a week. 5 more days and we'll be home.

It is honest to say we were more nervous about this adoption, really simply because of his age... Much different, even from Joshua's adoption when he was 5. When you start throwing out questions about older child adoption to the adoption boards, you get a plethora of responses and advice and stories. Some are wonderful, others are not. Of course toddler adoption can easily have it's own challenges and difficulties, it's just more likely you will be able to work threw them and the child will, in most cases, be able to bond well with your family. In reality, a lot of it depends on the child and their God-given personality traits and how they are able to internally cope and process the many transitions and experiences of his/her life. This is true for both toddler adoptions and older child adoptions. But with older child adoptions, there has been more life-experience and character development. They are they're own person and have already been shaped and influenced, for better or for worse, by their life up to the point of adoption day. You really have to go into it being prepared for the worst-case scenario but also holding out hope for something really awesome.

In our case, we were able to video chat with Andrew several times before we met. That was immensely helpful not only for us, but for him. I couldn't imagine being 10 years old and leaving all I've ever known and being placed with strangers I've never interacted with. But it happens often in adoptions. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to chat even though we never talked too much because of the language barrier, we learned little things about him and he was able to get a glimpse into our family as well.

After months of paperwork and bugging government officials for approvals and emails, I find myself waiting until the night before to pack for a 2 week trip across the world to bring home a child into my already existing and bonded family. It is surreal. And then I have plenty of time to think on the 15 hour plane ride and things start seeming more real... we are REALLY doing this, this boy is coming home with US... and we even don't know him, not really. The "what ifs" often come at the beginning of the adoption process when you are trying to decide if you will take the leap and then they come back towards the time of travel when the bags are packed and you're leaving for a land far, far away. 

I found myself getting little butterflies in my stomach each time I thought about "forever-family day" or gotcha day. Even as we toured Beijing, I would constantly have Monday morning in the back of my mind. This moment in time I knew was coming, surrounding me like an impatient child with nervous anticipation and anxious excitement. 

What would it be like? 

How would I feel about him when I saw him? 

How would he react to us? 

Would the feelings be there or would it take a little longer to get those feelings for him? 

Would he be comfortable with us?

 Would we feel comfortable with him?

So what was that day like?... It was beautiful. It was a beautiful day. I woke up early and caught the sunrise. And since the G20 Summit was in China that week, they shut down some factories so there was actually blue sky in Zhengzhou, which is amazing in itself and then this sunrise...

Our group met and took a bus to the government building, but a different one than where we got Sam.

There were two other families with our group. One family's little guy (almost 2 years old) was already there when we arrived. It was surprising and his mommy had a beautiful and emotion-filled reaction to seeing him in person for the first time. I even teared up and it wasn't even my son!

Then a short time later, the second little girl (2 yrs old) arrived and she was not too thrilled to be there and be given to strangers. There were some tears and screams for a while until she decided she was a daddy's girl and calmed down some.  

Still we waited for Andrew. There was a small playground in the room for the kids and a lot of running around and playing with the siblings who came along. Daniel anxiously waited near the door where he could see down the hall for Andrew to come. We waited and waited... over an hour from when we first arrived. His city is the most southern in the province and is about an hour and a half by bullet train. 

I was feeling good and so excited that Andrew Day had arrived but as time dragged on the nerves were raging. We had already given our cameras to the other parents in the group who weren't currently holding a small child and we were ready. 

And then Daniel's voice piped up with joyful excitement, "There he is! I see Andrew! Andrew's here!"

 We saw him from a distance down the hall as he was walking with two ladies from his orphanage. He saw us and a smile came across his face. And as I looked at him and we walked towards each other down that hall and met with a hug, I had my questions answered. 

He was my son. 

I felt a connection to him that was deep... deeper than I thought it would be. This boy... this joyful, open boy, brave boy is my son. And now we are together forever... it was something beautiful.

Things I've noticed about Andrew:

He has an awesome smile that is truly full of joy and lights up a room. He can throw this smile at you in a heartbeat. It is not fake. It is totally sincere.

He sometimes quietly sings a song to himself:)

He lives on fried rice and fried Chinese noodles. There are his staples, lol. But he was also eat fruits and veggies and chicken legs and sausage on a stick. Definitely need to get some protein in this boy's diet!

He's not really into watching TV but likes Mr. Bean and the Chinese version of Power Rangers, which he calls armored warriors but translates as "giant savers" (??) And it's all in Chinese (often with Chinese subtitles (go figure) and he knows we can't understand it but he loves for us to watch it with him so he tries to explain it to us using thumbs up or down or he'll get the translator app and keep us up to speed on the plot line and characters. It's so sweet and I'm glad we found something he likes to share with us.

He LOVES remote control cars and other vehicles and he's really good at driving them.

He loves playing games... UNO and foosball have been what we've tried so far and he gets into the games but is also okay if he loses. He smiles A LOT and jokes around.

He is very smart and speaks fluent Chinese and can read Chinese characters. He can also mimic us in English if he wants to.

He has not gotten upset much, but when he does, he gets angry and stubborn and uses a harsh tone. He may also throw a little tantrum of stomping his foot and flaying his shoulders about. It's not bad but somewhat immature for his age (which is to be expected.) I know he's got to be exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. 
These little outbursts have come at times when he was tired of walking or tired of waiting or didn't get a certain app put on my phone (that's whole 'nuther can of worms, lol.)

He is outgoing and social, an extrovert I believe. Which makes it even more difficult for him not to be able to easily communicate with us. He has chit-chatted with the waitresses at the lounge and a taxi driver as well as asking the gate attendant in Zhengzhou if the flight was going to Guangzhou, even though I had communicated that to him several times already that day as well as our guided telling him, lol...guess he just wanted to be sure. 

He's affectionate and will playfully and lovingly lean his head towards Fred or I when we hug him or put our arm around him. 

He sweetly smiles at me when I sing him "You Are My Sunshine" as I tuck him in. He seems to truly enjoy it <3 

He feels like our son through and through.

So tomorrow morning is his medical exam. The only thing that makes me nervous is the blood draw for the TB test. All kids over 2 have to get this done. With his hemophilia, this could be a little tricky, but my plan is to bring  Coban wrap and gauze and apply pressure for 10-15 minutes without stopping. And I'll think we'll be fine.

Wednesday is the big day: US Consulate appointment so he can get his visa to go to America and become a citizen as soon as we touch down on US soil.  We leave Friday morning for HOME!

His Last Night

To my much neglected blog:

Here we are in China… 3.0  As I type, we are sitting on the bullet train from Beijing to Zhengzhou…. And we’re leaving a minute ahead of schedule.  

Outside Beijing West Train Station on way to Zhengzhou 

On the bullet train 

Walmart in Zhengzhou 

We had a smooth and non-eventful trip from Atlanta to Seoul to Beijing. Daniel did great on the plane, slept a little, and enjoyed every minute of the trip.

We successfully smuggled 50+ lbs of vitamins into China and got some CNY from the cash machine at the airport.  After waiting in the taxi line, we wound up in a taxi, but I think the driver was “off duty” making a little extra cash because after we got in, he showed us a price chart that was a little above normal rates but at that point, we just wanted to get to the hotel.  I believe he must have wanted to be a racecar driver when he was little and was living out that dream. Fun for him, but Fred firmly let him know we weren’t in THAT much of a rush.

On Friday, we visited Dew Drops home and our friend Lily. She was appreciative of the vitamin delivery and said she would make good use of them. This place is making a life-changing and life-saving difference every day… and they are doing it all from an unassuming building in the outskirts of Beijing that was originally built to be a kind of bed-and-breakfast hotel so there are several rooms on the second floor for nannies and children to stay in. Their model is to create a loving, secure environment where the children feel attached to their nanny while receiving life-saving care.

One of the rooms for a nanny and child. 

Unpacking the vitamins 

We chatted with Lily about Sam and she teared-up watching a video I made of him talking to her and showing her the M&Ms we brought to her and the nannies. I learned a little more of his story from her and the fact that his orphanage didn’t even know he had a heart condition and according to them the reason he was so skinny at 4 months old was because he just “wasn’t a good eater.”  Our gratefulness to Lily and Little Flower will always be deeper than words can express.

We enjoyed our time in Beijing visiting The Forbidden City and The Great Wall. Daniel really seemed to appreciate the historical significance of what we saw (those library books and documentary videos payed off!)

We were able to get a recent picture of Andrew and his friend who’s family is coming for him soon. I’m blown away at how happy Andrew looks in many of his pictures. I hope this means he feels happy often, that he feels secure and loved. I’m still pretty sure he doesn’t have much of a clue what he’s getting into… but at least he’s excited to be getting into it!

Andrew and his friend who's family is coming form him soon. Also with his nanny and an orphanage official

Even being in Beijing, it felt a bit like a vacation and that we are tourists seeing the sights of China. Yet Andrew is a constant on my mind and I get that butterfly-feeling in my stomach when I think of Monday and what we are all about to embark on. This boy who has spent his life in the orphanage is about to spend his last night there and go with funny-looking people who don’t understand what he is saying and cannot be understood. 

Many people, those in and out of the adoption community, assume we are adopting a younger child. "When are you getting your new baby?" "Boy or girl? Oh, a little boy."  Sometimes I let them in on the scoop, other times, I just go with it to shorten the conversation (remember, I'm an introvert.)  But one woman, and I can't for the life of me remember where it was, reminded me of something very important... when she assumed he was a young child or baby and I informed her that he is actually ten, she said, "Well, he's YOUR baby."   And she's right. He's MY baby. He needs to be someone's baby, not in the sense that he wants to be "babied" or pitied because he has not grown up with a family, but in the sense that he deserves to feel like part of a family who is going to lift him up, cheer him on, fight for him and love him. All children deserve that. It's not related to biology, it's a God-given gift. It's what love does.

Some photos of Andrew when he was young. We are getting a scrapbook  made by The Half The Sky program he was in when he was younger. 

I’m trying hard not to have any expectations and just take him with whatever he comes with and try our best to let him feel love, even though he might not know exactly what that is. I can guarantee he doesn’t know what “family” feels like but that also means he doesn’t know what he’s been missing. We cannot know how he will transition into family life and our culture. All we can do is be there for him and help him feel that our love is unconditional… it comes with NO conditions… we will love him all of our lives… no matter what.  Love does not make things easier, but often it’s the only thing we have to cling to during times of struggle.

It’s hard to put myself in his shoes. Even though we have video chatted several times, I know we will seem like strangers to him and he will seem unfamiliar to us.  We will be in the same civil affairs building where we got Sam nearly three years ago. There are fewer families this trip so it may be less chaotic… or maybe not, lol. What I remember about Sam’s family day was how from the initial meeting, he felt like ours and we felt like his. It was so natural. Joshua’s was a very easy, but he was definitely more unsure at first, but did warm up to us very quickly. Yet, the bond was different, maybe because of his age. I expect the bond with Andrew to take longer to form. And that’s okay.

It is his last night in his orphanage, his last night without his very own family here with him, tomorrow our story and his story will intersect in a government building in Zhengzhou, China. And the Bible verse I chose for Sam's adoption blog and movie: " For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11... that verse wasn't just about Sam... it is about US. God writes THE BEST stories. We just have to open our hearts and minds to wherever love leads us.... even if it's a page we never thought we'd be on. Tomorrow is the day. What a blessing to be this boy's family. How "lucky" are we?

"Hey, where did you get that shirt?"

I am excited to share with you our shirts we designed to help bring Andrew home!  We hope you like them and want to wear them! All the proceeds from the sales will go directly towards our adoption fees and expenses. 
Here is the link to purchase the shirts:  http://www.bringhomeandrew.bigcartel.com/

In addition to raising funds for Andrew's adoption, our hope is that these shirts spark conversations about adoption that will lead to helping find families for the millions of waiting children around the world.

A little bit of the story behind the shirts...

We are the Dri Family and we live north of Atlanta, GA. We have 5 kiddos home with us and 1 who is waiting on us in China (Andrew Jun.)  We have been beyond blessed by adoption and are filled with joy to be on this journey again. I learned about Andrew through adoption advocacy sites and my agency's waiting child page. He was born in December 2005 in Xinyang China, and has hemophilia, a genetic bleeding disorder. His birth family could not provide him with the care he needed. He entered the orphanage when he was almost one year old. He has lived in the orphanage ever since. 

Andrew's blood does not contain an adequate amount of clotting factor. Therefore, he has spontaneous bleeds inside his body, mainly in the joints. His knees are especially affected. Once he is home, he will be put on prophylaxis treatment where he will receive injections of clotting factor intravenously about 3 times a week. He also needs a factor infusion when he feels a possible bleed in a joint or when he suffers an injury that could result in internal bleeding. He is not the only one with a blood disorder in the family as our son, Joshua, has thalassemia and Fred has hemochromatosis. (Had to have a red shirt for my blood/ bleeding disorder gang!)

Andrew is a brave boy. Even though I haven't met him, I know he is brave because he is "open." That is how he has been described several times. He loves life. And while I know he cannot fathom how drastically his life is about to change and his "openness" may not come as easily, I have hope that he will be brave and he will have courage even when he is afraid. And I pray that we can help him to feel secure as best we can as strangers, who are his parents. 

I have this hope because I've seen two little Chinese boys who have displayed bravery and openness in the midst of their worlds turning upside down. And the more time that passes, the more I'm in awe of the whole process of adoption. I have hope that Andrew will allow us into his heart, and slowly, over time, by the grace of God, he will feel "family." 

Being brave and having courage doesn't mean we don't feel fear. It's feeling the fear, recognizing it, and saying "yes" anyway.

I know 5 brave kids that are sleeping under our roof right now. They are excited to meet their new brother. 

Over the past 3 years in this adoption community,  I've met and read about many courageous families and children. People that endure hardships they never dreamed of yet they have hope; people who have experience a peace and joy so unexplainable and they want to share it with others; families and kids who have stepped so far out of their realm of comfort and stability into an unknown world and have found that the journey only made their faith stronger and their hearts deeper in love.

There are many unknowns in our world, but God want us to be brave anyway; to have courage anyway. We are to be bold in standing up for what we believe, in taking a step of faith for what is right, in saying "yes" when it may be easier to say "no", in choosing the path less traveled... that's where the flowers grow. Not to say that you won't have to climb through a mess of thorns to see those flowers, but they'll be so much more beautiful because of it.

So, I hope you like the shirts and feel free to share with others!  We are so grateful for all of the support and encouragement and love. 
Thank you, sincerely.


To order your shirts please visit: http://www.bringhomeandrew.bigcartel.com/

If you have any questions, please contact me at alisondri@hotmail.com