6 months together as a family

William's adoption announcement.

6 months ago, we met William for the first time in a conference room in the Lakeside Hotel in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China. I've thought for a while about what I wanted to say about William's first 6 mos. with us. I guess I could sum it up as...he's come a looong way. Those challenging times have passed for the most part. 'Challenging' is one of those words that you use when you're trying to be nice and really mean it was horrible and chaotic and Will was terribly, terribly sad, angry and grieving. Adopting a toddler is very different than an infant. Somethings are harder but many things are easier. It's not better or worse, just different. I find it ironic in a way that we originally requested a NSN girl, as young as possible. I was afraid of adopting a SN child. With my nursing background I'd seen so much. Through some dear friends from Grace's travel group who adopted their second daughter from China who had the SN of a cleft lip and palate, we saw the miracle of this little girl. So a year ago exactly (Jan. 2008) we changed our request with CCAA to a SN boy OR girl with a cleft. 3 months later William Michael appeared on our agency's list. I fell in love with his picture and his story. We asked to adopt him and were approved. Will's repaired cleft lip and palate is not an issue, the bigger issue was a 2 and 1/2 year old going from a foster home who gave him outstanding care and endless love to our home. He has learned to love us. Those first few challenging months are what they are and you can't wish them away. They are part of the process. After the initial grief, a little boy who is charming, funny, bright, kind and very loving has emerged. And it has been worth every single second with him...getting through the hard stuff to see the real child that he is. A joy.