Well, there is so much to share, but I'm not sure if I can put it all into words. So, if this makes no sense, I'll try to post another blog later once my thoughts are clear.
**This is my 4th attempt to finish this blog, in about 4 days!. I shall try again.
I honestly understand now why people disappear when their babies come home!**
As many of you know, we started the journey to our son on November 2, 2010. It has no doubt been a rough paper pregnancy, but I can honestly say now that it was all worth it. We actually should have had John McRae home about 3 or 4 months ago, but our homestudy was delayed due to my fingerprints being ate away by cleaning products, or I could have just been born with unclear prints. (I'm sure some of you just laughed out loud thinking, "there is no way that is the case!) Who knows... Then, it took an additional month judging by others' timelines in addition to our delayed homestudy. I know now better than ever that, it was in His time and it was indeed the righ time. Thing have been perfect and had it happened any other time, we might be missing out on some of the blessing we are witnessing right now!
Mama's 1 year cancer visit was on 8/26, the same day as our Family Day. If she and I had not had John McRae's arrival on our minds, we would have went insane with worry. Others in our family and some of our close friends have also been going through some tough times, and I'd like to think that maybe waiting and being excited along with us has made their days much easier too.
With all of that said, here goes a run-down of our last two (now, four) days...
Yesteday morning D & I left out about 10:30am. We grabbed some lunch at Chik-Fil-A, which was wonderful. Our Chik-Fil-A is rather new and it is always packed. We didn't have to wait. So, that was a plus.
We stopped by a unique shop in Philadelphia, MS in search for some last minute gifts for our greeter and escort. We wanted to get them something that was unique to our state, and something that we were sure they would enjoy. When you are trying to buy for complete strangers that you have so much appreciation and respect for, you just don't know where to start. You have no clue their size, likes, dislikes, age, etc. So, an employee of the shop saw that we were walking around in circles and asked if she might be able to help us. She was so very nice, but we didn't quite know what to tell her we were in search for. Here is our conversation.
Her - "What is the age of the person you are buying for?"
Me - "I don't know."
Her - "What does she like?
Me - "I don't know, she lives in Korea."
Her - "Is she from here?"
Me - "I don't know."
Her - "What is she going to do while she is here, is she staying with family?"
Me - "I don't know."
You get the idea now... I didn't know!
So finally after she is looking at me all crazy wondering why the heck I'm buying for someone I don't know, I tell her, "We are adopting and she is bringing our son to us in Memphis tonight." Well, that changed EVERYTHING! The lady said after becoming teary eyed and very emotional that she, too, was adopted. She told her story, and then another lady in the shop told that her brother was adopted. **In the middle of this very emotional conversation, my mom text me and said that the dr said that she had reviewed her test results and that she was still cancer free!*** With tears in ALL of our eyes, it then went from just a sale, to a mission! We were also able to find something for our greeter, and then a bracelet and plate for me. ;) The scripture on the bracelet was perfect for our day, and I had to get it! The plate said, "For this child we have prayed, and He answered." Below is a picture of the necklace for our escort that was made in MS.
We got back on the road, and finally arrived at our Hotel in Olive Branch about 4:30. (That shows how much time we killed in that shop!) As we were driving into the parking lot of the hotel, I saw a sign that said, "Guest of the Day." I told Daniel and I don't know why I even said it aloud, "You can bet we won't be guest of the day. That's fancy!" We checked in and the lady said, "You just happen to be our guest of the day!" Haha, I teared up because our day had been PERFECT from the time we woke up.
We had a yummy dinner at a BBQ place next door to the hotel, and then we rested a bit befoer heading to Wal-Mart for a few things. We were early getting to the airport, but that gave us plenty of time to call our parents and get a good chat in with Aunt E.
We waited around and then a friend, we'll call her P, from the area that is also awaiting her sweet daughter to come home from Korea arrived. She brought her friend, B, with her, and they are both wonderful people. Dear friend P had offered to come take photos of our family day. She's really a saint, in my opinion. B is equally as special. She multi-tasked and held my camcorder and my and my camera! These two ladies wil neverl know how much their kindness means to us and how much of a blessing they were to us. Our greeter was also there and she is a very special lady. She called to check in today (yesterday) and is so supportive and just an all around great person. I've met so many wonderful friends through this process, and have grown so much as a person. GOD IS GOOD!
So, everyone kept texting, FBing, calling asking how nervous I was and how I was even managing to stay sane without a tablet. Honestly, for the FIRST time in my life, I had a peace about me and was not anxious and was worry free. I've never experienced that type feeling. So, I know it was an answered prayer.FYI - I've never had a prescription for nerve pills, but during this process, I believe I could have used them as meal replacements.
When the moment arrived for John McRae's flight to come in, (I was afraid I'd miss it going to pee!) it was the best feeling in D and my enitre life. When we saw that sweet boy coming our way, our hearts melted. It was by far the happiest day of each of our lives, and we feel so blessed. This little guy is amazing and has the sweetest smile that can light up the entire world. He definitely shines a bright light in our lives, and we love him so very much. It is just amazing! He was grinning ear to ear. Much different that the terror we feared we'd see on his face. John McRae went straight to me and latched on like he knew when he left Korea that I was his mommy. Then attached right to Daniel the same way. A tear was not shed by him, and he played and played and played...and waved at himself in the mirror and at everyone passing by. It was so unreal to all of us that he was in such a good, happy mood after being taken away from the only family he's ever know, placed in the arms of a stranger, and traveling 22 hours! My prayer this entire time was for a happy Family Day with lots of smiles. When everyone responds to the pictures taken Thursday night as, his smile is breath-taking, he is so happy, he looks so happy to be with his mommy and daddy, etc. It makes me so proud and so emotional because I know this is not common and I know this was my EXACT prayer! Also, the flight that he came in on is usually at least an hour late, his was scheduled for 10:54, and I believe he was in my arms by 11:10pm! We hung around the airport a while, because he was entertaining everyone so! Thank you again to P and B, and our greeter for everything!
We all hung around the airport for a while to let JMc run off a little steam. He was so happy, and so energetic! He ran around like it was his job and waved and greeted folks like the greeter at Wal-Mart. Did I mention that he is the sweetest little thing?!? We were a bit afraid of his reaction once we started toward the car. I'm not going to say that the car seat was his best present yet, but he actually helped me find the buckles to buckle him in! He wanted to get a little fussy on the 13 mile drive to the hotel, but we were able to get him back happy pretty quickly. I don't even think he shed a tear. I think we got back to the hotel room about midnight, and by 2:30am, Daniel was headed to Wal-Mart to get some toys that made *more* noise. He was bouncing off of the walls and we were not equiped to entertain him because we had been told to expect an unhappy toddler who would easily be over-stimulated, and would be confused because he had only been around the Korean language and the fact that he was with complete strangers didn't seem to be on our side either. Daniel scored some really fun toys, JMc's favorite being a toy flip cell phone. I think I finally got the babe to sleep around 4am, and we slept about an hour and a half! The only times JMc has grieved is in his sleep. It is so sad to watch those big tears stream down his face while he sleeps. I've read other mothers write that the silent tears are the worst and I have to agree 100%. He had a brief grieving moment during that first sleep with us, and then he had a couple on our 4.5 drive home. He slept the entire way home. Last night and today, he has slept better and I have not noticed the grieving. I told Daniel during his first night's grieving that I was so relieved that he was showing some sadness. This meant that he wasn't just being happy as a front, he really was happy, and he needs to let that sadness out some time. It is only natural that he'd be upset at some point after all he's been through in the past 48 hours. I'm not going to go into all of that. I'll save that for another blog, another day. Closer to the 3:00am mark on Family Night, we gave him his first bath on US soil. He enjoys a bath so much!. ;) Of course, he peed in the floor fight and thought it was the funniest thing ever! Here are a few pictures from the first night in the hotel.
Before leaving the hotel...
On the way home...
Sunday Evening Nap...
This was taken Friday when we got home.
This brings you up to Saturday. Lots of playing with no sleep besides during the day!, and lots of smiles. I'm going to post all of the pictures on http://www.jmbenefield.com/. If you don't have the password, you can request it from the site. I have so many pictures I want to share!
Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, calls, texts, emails, etc. I'm sorry that I have not been able to respond to many of them. That does not mean that they haven't been read by both Daniel and I and we appreciate it very much!
Lots of love :),
Stacy, Daniel, and John Mcrae
