This post won't be long, because Santa called and needs a little bit of help getting things ready. Little buddy woke up at 4:00 am today! Ugh! I told him to go back to bed because it was the middle of the night. He played Legos in his room until 6:45, when I woke up to him in my room saying "mommy, mommy..." again. Getting him adjusted to this sleeping schedule has been so hard! He played all morning and was in a very good mood.
When it was time to get ready for Christmas Eve service, I showed him his new shirt and tie. He loved it! Normally he would wear his coat 24/7, but when we walked into church... he didn't want his coat. I think he wanted to show off his new outfit. He dozed in and out during church, and a few times in the car, but he really never had a full out nap. We went to my parent's house to eat dinner, then came home to make cookies for Santa and put out our reindeer food. We were trying so hard to keep him awake! Once we finished all of our festivities, we told him he had to help the kids clean the basement. Of course he obeyed willingly, and jumped right in to clean. But just like a car running out of gas, we saw him start to fade. I think he fell asleep while he was putting a toy in the bucket. Poor thing! Rick took him up so he could shower and then put him to bed. He was asleep at 7:30. Yikes! Here's hoping we make it through the night!
A quick funny story: Long found a dog hair on one of his socks and wanted to change just that ONE sock. Ha! We have 2 black labs and dog hair is apart of our identity. I'm surprised it took him a week to spot a hair on himself!
He had a big smile on his face all day today. He seemed really happy. I hope he is able to enjoy Christmas day, and not get too overwhelmed.
A few posts back, I wrote about what it means to advocate. I wrote about what would happen to Long if he was not adopted. Well, we have friends in China right now adopting 2 precious boys. They made the hard decision to go back to the orphanage to see what life was like for one of the boys. The orphanage trip is really hard because it is SO heartbreaking. But sometimes it is necessary to understand where these kiddos came from, and to help answer questions they might have about their life as they get older. The dad wrote this on Facebook, and his words went right through me. I cried because I could picture it. I knew exactly what he was describing, and it broke my heart. Here is what he said:
Visiting the orphanage was one of those life changing experiences. My heart is so grieved for how many orphans there are - 800 at the that orphanage alone. By mistake, we exited out where the aged out boys live. These are boys who are over 14 years old and can never be adopted because China won't allow it.
Our Chinese guide hurried through the atrium as the 10-20 boys came swarming to her. They spooked her a bit I think. I lagged behind with Ryle and stood there for 2-3 minutes and told Ryle to take it all in. I told him, "Look around. Look at their faces. Smell. Look at the boys drinking from a pipe outside. This is it for them. Apart from Jesus, they have no hope in the world." That realization hit me very hard - I wept. Right there in the open in that place.
Very sobering day.
How I wish that every child could be adopted before the age of 14. How I wish there were no more orphans. Thankful for the hope that Jesus brought when he was born, and believing that He has a plan for Long's life!
Merry Christmas!
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| He is so handsome, and equally as sweet! |
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| Making cookies for Santa. |
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| Time for reindeer food! It is amazing what he can understand through the google app! |
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| Reindeer food! |
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| Long with my parents. He told us what they are called, but none of us could say it. |
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| At church- I think Long was over the picture taking at this point. I love that all of my family pictures from this season will include Long. God willing, I hope to fill that spot with a different kiddo each year. |
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