Fun and glue

Yesterday evening was quite an evening. We've been hanging out and having a lot of fun this week. Yesterday was no different. I've never pegged John McRae as being a nudist... until yesterday. He took all of his clothes off and then his diaper. He despises to have his clothes changed on most days so him taking them off all by himself was a real shocker.  I put them back on him and it wasn't 5 minutes before he had shed it all again.  Now for the John McRae stunt of the day... Picture this:
2.5 year old Asian boy running around the house naked, dancing, finding old snacks in the couch cushions, etc.  He pops a squat. Then, commenses to peeing out the front and pooping out the back. Yes, on the living room carpet. Then, he hollars, "POOP!" and decides that he needs to pick it up. Um, no kid! So after I clean that up, we start on our fun (educational) activity for the evening. Here are a few photos. I spared you readers the one of the #1/#2 accident. You're welcome. =)

I took a picture of the finished product which was super cute, but my phone battery was going dead and it didnt' save. It's at Gramma & PawPaw's house, though, and just missing the cow. After all, I guess an artist is entitled to changing up his finished product if he wants.



Here's a picture of my activity for the evening. I made sugar cookies for JMc to take to his Ninny's today. I hope that he and his friends enjoy them. :)

As of tonight around 10:05, John McRae will have been home an entire year! Where has this year gone?!? I've always heard that time flies when you are having fun, and I believe that is 100% true!

Thank you to our friends and family who have traveled this journey with us!

We love you,

The Benefields

FB Status from Aug. 26

Stacy Benefield

made it to the hotel. We are about to go eat some bbq! God has been so good to my family today! Mom's test show she is still cancer free, and we are guest of the day at the hotel!

August 26, 2010 at 4:55pm ·

Mikki Leigh Medlock Daniel LOVIN' LOVIN' LOVIN' it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! been thinking about yall all day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 26, 2010 at 5:36pm · Sherrie Johnson Got your text so happy! At hospital with mom, keep me posted!

August 26, 2010 at 5:39pm Amy Little Cooley so excited for yall today! Dont forget what I said about texting me tonight.....

August 26, 2010 at 6:39pm .Emily Dilmon Nevarez I am beyond excited and happy for you today :)

August 26, 2010 at 7:03pm · Stacy Benefield Thanks y'all! I'll post a pic tonight for you ladies.:)

August 26, 2010 at 7:13pm · Amy Little Cooley yaya.....cant wait.

August 26, 2010 at 7:14pm ·Amber Holifield How do you get to be the guest of the day? That's pretty high steppin'

August 26, 2010 at 7:52pm · Emma Linn I can't breathe, I am so excited! We are celebrating! I am so proud that you are my sister!

August 26, 2010 at 9:01pm · Ellen Ragsdale Yeah! Wonderful news!!!!

August 26, 2010 at 10:09pm Sharon Carney i am a grandma :)

August 27, 2010 at 12:28am George Johnson IM SOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY

Granny's Birthday

JMc and I went to Mobile last Saturday to see my mom on her birthday.  The three of us an my grandma went to eat at The Original Oyster House and it was AWESOME! We enjoyed the visit very  much, too.  I never remember my camera, so this is the only photo I have.  I really need to get in better habit of documenting such precious memories.



We love you Granny(s) and can't wait to see y'all a week from today when we head to the beach!

Celebrating

John McRae got on a plane with a complete stranger one year ago today heading to the United States. It still hurts my heart to even try to imagine what he felt on that day. Not only was he leaving behind the only family he ever knew, he was on a very long trip to an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person. This morning and all of this past week, I've tried to remember how I felt a year ago.  I do remember on Aug. 25, 2010, I was worried about my baby boy. I was worried about his safety during his 22 hour flight. I was worried about him being sad and being uncomfortable on the long flight. I was worried about his foster family and hurting for them. I was excited that our son was on his way to us. I was excited to finally be able to hold him, smell him, hear his laugh and see his smile that I had only seen in photos. It was a wild wind down from the previous 40 weeks that I'd be so afraid that something would go wrong and our baby would never make it home. At this point, him coming home was VERY real.  We were nervous as first time parents who had never even changed a diaper!

So, this week we are celebrating our first family day.  Tomorrow is the big day, but a day this special deserves at least a week of celebrating.  We've been eating a lot of ice cream, riding many miles on the golf cart, reading lots of books, etc.

Here are a few photos of our week so far. :)

Reflecting on "The Call"

A year ago today, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Some fellow adoptive parents and I joked that we were all in the same club. We were all trying to keep the other from going completely insane!  (Tracy, Beth, Emily and the others---I love you girls!) From November 2, 2009 to August 13, 2010 was the most challenging time of my life thus far. Sure, we'd faced some serious family sickness and other hard times but this was different for me.  My child was on the other side of the world and I had little or NO control of the situation.  I had to rely on a middle man for all of the foot work and had to wait days for answers..some that never came.  It's a lot of hurry up and wait.  It's so emotional and at times, flat out draining. There was always a little piece of doubt lingering that our son may never make it home.  I always had a fear that something would happen to end it all.  In the contract you sign with Holt, you have to agree to many things.  They aren't anything to fear, but life is uncontrolable at times.  Sometimes, it just happens.  Sometimes people get sick with Cancer. Sometimes people are blessed with a pregnancy that they weren't planning.  So there are several things that COULD have happened, but didn't.  It's not easy for me to not worry about the unknown and the what-ifs.  I'm a worrier by nature.  All of that said, I'd do it again in a minute!  Our 40 week paper pregnancy was SO worth every minute of it.  The moment I got word that my boy was ready to come home, the worry went away. The moment I saw his face in person and held him, the anxieties of being a first time parent to a 17 month old baby boy who would be confused and know nothing but Korea vanished.   The agencies we worked with are wonderful. Catholic Charities and Holt are awesome.  They work so hard to bring our children home to their forever families.  When you are so many miles away from Oregon and South Korea, sometimes it is hard to remember that there are some many people working very hard with one goal...to unite children with their families.  That is because you have so many days that you don't know what is going on behind the scenes and all that you can think about is holding your child in your arms.

If you are interested, here is a link to my blog post from the day of our travel call on Friday, August 13, 2010. http://whatsnewwiththebenefields.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-love-friday-13th.html

It starts off like this:

When I woke this morning, I never thought that Friday the 13th would be such a wondeful day! It hasn't been spooky or scary at all, just filled with lots of kind words, great news, and smiles.

Daniel and I (along with family and friends) have been anxiously awaiting "The Call"

that finally came today.

Thank you again to all of our family and friends who kept me going!  The love and support is something I will never forget.  The best part is, you all are still here rooting us along and sharing with us these special memories that we will treasure forever.

Daniel and I are the luckiest parents in the world.

God has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined.

 

XOXO,

Stacy

Nothing is more fun

than a visit from our NC family!
Weekend before last, we welcomed our Linn family to dinner.

We'd not seen them since before Christmas and a visit was well over due!

We sure do love these folks and can't wait to see them again.

As usual, we were lazy and didn't break out the camera for any group shots, but I'm thankful that Uncle J snapped a few with his phone!  I just love seeing these boys in the same room doing what they (And I) love  best...eating ice cream. :) These pictures were taken the day after JMc's surgery. Maybe these cute faces will take away from how dirty my house was and how tired I look!

Thank you again for driving so far to come see us!
We love love love love you all and can't wait to see you again.

XOXO,

The Benefields :)

A quick visit

My Mama and Grandma came for a quick visit last week.  Mom brought her new car to show off and we went to lunch.  It was a nice visit, even if it was too short!

XOXO,

Stacy

Poor Baby

A week before his surgery, JMc ran fever for several days. Everyone at his daycare seemed to be running fever for one reason or another, but the doctor told us Jmc's was caused by a mean molar!  Whatever it was, our boy was pitiful.  It's so sad to see him feel so bad. I'm so proud he is feeling better now..but as of yesterday, I think we have ANOTHER molar coming in.

XOXO,

Stacy

I never truly knew worrry...

until I became a Mother.

July 29th was a scary day for Daniel and I.  We knew our boy was going to be ok, but we sure couldn't stand even the thought of our sweet baby being in pain.  We couldn't stand the thought of him being taken away from us scared before being prepped for surgery.  We couldn't stand the thought of him being put to sleep.  We couldn't stand the thought of any of it.  There were a few times while we were waiting for JMc to be called back that Daniel just wanted to make a run for it and forget the entire thing.

Sure, a circumcision isn't a big deal.  They are done every day. That said, this was our first time since being parents to have our child put to sleep. He had tests done in Korea and we worried about him, but we weren't physcially there to hand him over to the nurse.  There is a difference in the worry now that he is home with us.  Even in simple day to day situations, we worry.  Daniel and I have always been worriers.  Me more than him. I'm known to borrow trouble.  I try to have faith in every situation, but my brain starts working over-time and I can get myself pretty worked up.  I certainly thank my friends who know this about me, yet love me anyway.  I'm so very thankful for those of you that talked me through this little procedure.  You know who you are, and I love you!

We started out by going to see our urologist, Dr. Phillips.  He and his staff were so good to us.  We could not have asked for a better doctor or medical staff.  John McRae can really get freaked out by going to the doctor, but he was really at ease with everyone there.  The wait each time wasn't long, either.  At the pre-surgery consult, Dr. Phillips requested that we have an ultrasound done to recheck John McRae's mild renal pelvic dilatation that was diagnosed in Korea.  We thought we were just going in to get a surgery date, and of course this is when I started borrowing trouble again.  When we got to the hospital, we got checked in and didn't have to wait long at all for the ultrasound tech to call us back.  The tech was very nice and seemed to be very far along in her pregnancy.  I wanted to ask her about her baby and say congrats, but as I've learned through experiences of my own and of those that I love, just because there is a baby bump, doesn't mean there is a happy story to go along with it.  I am very sad that I can't congratulate folks as I used to, but I guess I'm a bit gun shy these days and sensitive to the feelings of others. The tech went on to tell us that she was in fact due in a few weeks, but this was after she asked about our adoption.  She and her husband had seriously considered adoption and were planning on going forward with the process, but then she finally became pregant.  Can you imagine the years she worked there doing ultrasounds for happy parents when she was struggling with infertility? Sure she was happy for them, but I'm sure that she wanted to be in their shoes so badly. See why I am so cautious of those congrats? We never know what someone is feeling on the inside.  Now, that I've went around the world with this story..I'll continue to JMc's test findings. Our special needs boy is 100% completely healthy and we do not have to have another kidney ultrasound! God is good and He is an almighty healer!

Here is a photo of our boy the night before surgery.

TURN YOUR HEAD SIDEWAYS :)

Then, there was the day of surgery.  We got to the hospital about 5:45am and JMc was called back at 7:00.  The first few minutes there were traumatic because he DID NOT want to change into that gown. He knew something was up!

After surgery, waiting on him to wake up.

After we got home, we laid down for a nap. He was sore all day and was in a great deal of pain when we got home.

When JMc woke up the next morning, he was roaring to to go!

Yesterday, we went back for our check-up and the doctor said JMc is doing great. The stitches will worth themselves out on their own and we do not have to go back.  The visit was quick and easy.  We even got to stop by and see Aunt Ally on our way out of town.  Too bad we didn't get a picture of that! We did snap a quick picture before leaving home yesterday morning. Pictures just don't do this little cutie justice!

Our boy is doing great and ready for a fun football season!

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers! We are glad to have this behind us!
XOXO,

Stacy