Unfortunately, because the kids remaining in the orphanage are disabled, he asked us to not take any photos or video. We were OK with that, but Love without Boundaries, who donated some of the blankets had asked if we could possibly get any photos of kids with the blankets. Sadly, that was not going to happen.

The video that I wish I had, however, I pray will remain engraved in my mind forever. As we entered one of the rooms with children, a woman shrieked and came running over to us. There was no time to get out the video camera and turn it on as she grabbed Benjamin and kept saying "Li Wa, Li Wa!" She clung to him and had the biggest grin on her face and tears in her eyes. What was... more

Micheline's orphanage in Haiti only had about 35 children who were adoptable, and Ben's had over 500 at the time he was adopted, so visiting the Wuhan SWI was a vastly different experience from what Micheline knew in Haiti.

The director came out and met us in the courtyard and took us to his office. Even though I knew Director Li and Director Zhang had both retired, I was still a bit sad to have to greet a man who never knew our son. He was friendly enough, but as we were walking into the orphanage, a woman came running over who said "Li Wa?"

I immediately recognized her face from our adoption trip before. She had a big grin on her face and tousled Ben's hair repeatedly and... more

One of the serendipitous or Godly-sent parts of Caleb's adoption is that he is from Yichang, which is in the Hubei Province of China. Benjamin is from Wuhan, which is the capitol city of the Hubei Province, and where all Hubei adoptions are processed.

Benjamin has asked repeatedly over the years to return to visit China, and we were concerned about how the costs would play out should we combine a homeland tour with an adoption trip. As an answer to prayer, we didn't have to worry because we were blessed on this adoption trip to... more

He is older than Benjamin, but is a few inches shorter. Unless he has a huge growth spurt, they will be able to wear each other's clothes for quite some time. He is 11, but looks and acts more like a 9 year old which is not uncommon in post-institutionalized children.

When we had guides with us, he of course wanted to be with them since they spoke his language, but we managed on our own tonight to walk down to a restaurant and order from a picture menu. I felt like a fool when I was pointing... more

After a mostly sleepless night, I was up by 6:00 a.m. and headed for the shower. We thankfully had noodles that the kids could eat in the room for breakfast since the buffet in our hotel left a lot to be desired. The butterflies in my stomach took away my desire for food and I couldn’t help but think that this was similar to the active stages of labor where if I had been actually giving birth, the nurses wouldn’t want me eating anyway.

As we arrived with our guides at the Civil Affairs office in Wuhan and climbed the stairs to the next floor, Taylor—our assigned videographer for the adoption-- asked if he should have the camera on and ready. I told him he probably wouldn't need... more

continued from Arrival In Wuhan part 1

Unlike the Victory Hotel in Guangzhou which had beds with luxuriously thick pads on them, we were reintroduced to a standard Chinese bed... let’s just say that I think the floor might be softer. The smell of cigarettes continues to be overpowering even in the room, so tomorrow we will make arrangements to transfer to a different hotel. The White Rose, a 4 star hotel which is just across the city plaza, has beautiful... more

It is 2:30 a.m. and I was jolted awake in our hotel room 30 minutes ago by the harsh and strident ringing of our telephone. When I answered, I was greeted by what seemed to be an angry Chinese man. Not understanding a word he was saying, I loudly stated, “I DON”T SPEAK CHINESE”, and then hung up. For some reason he was not satisfied with my answer, however - perhaps he understood me as much as I understood him? - and has called back twice.

After leaving tropical Guangzhou, we excitedly hopped on a plane yesterday to Wuhan where we will meet our... more

Jeff admitted to falling ill for a short time to the "reluctant husband" syndrome due to his lack of sign language proficiency, but he soon warmed up to the idea, and we brought home Benjamin a year later. Ben was four at adoption, and is now 10 years old.

We always felt that when we adopted a second time, that we would go back to China so Benjamin could have a sibling who shared his history and culture. Every time we tried to apply through different agencies, however, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. China just didn’t “feel right.” Although I was sad and couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong, we continued to pray about the direction our lives needed to go, and... more

Ni hao! My name is Heidi, and I am currently in Guangzhou, China, with my husband and four of our children as we prepare to meet our newest son and sibling in less than two days. I am thrilled to share our latest adoption journey with you, as well as other thoughts and ideas related to adopting a sibling from the parent’s point of view.

Believe it or not, my husband Jeff and I discussed adoption before we ever even married. That might sound like putting the cart before the horse, but I told him that I had always felt that I would adopt some of my children and I needed to know if he was OK with that. Thankfully he was not only “OK” with the idea, but also felt that adoption was a... more