Gotcha Day 11-9-2009

Today is the big day! We're about half way through it. Jonathan is napping. Kim and I are tip-toeing around the hotel room and resting up for the remainder of the day. (And who knows what tonight might bring? Better rest up now.)

We went the ShenYang civil affairs office today to receive Jonathan, fill out some paper work, and get our photos taken. There we met Jonathan for the first time. He goes simply by Futing, or sometimes just Ting. So far he seems most responsive to the name Futing, so we're going to roll with that.

Our first moments with Futing passed so quickly. He wasn't sure what to make of us. Kim showered him with smiles and hellos. I tentatively wheeled one toy train car to him, and then another, and then another, until he had four and I realized he would be unable to hold any more. We got some smiles.

When the word "Mama" was used, Futing gestured towards the window. It's clear to us that Mama, his foster mom, was "out there."

We were pretty good until just after the photos. Then Jonathan started to wail. We did our best to console the boy (under the gaze of a room full of Chinese citizens) but it was pretty tough to do. Kim later said that this was probably the hardest thing she has ever done.

Futing settled a bit when we go to out car, and we suspect that he believed we were now going to see his foster mom. Futing has a cold (sniffles and an occasional cough) and he told us so through Meggie our guide. Futing wanted to know where we would go to get medicine? We made a stopped at a pharmacy for some cough syrup. Baba (Dad) would get it. He would stay in the car with Mama. He seemed pleased with this.

Back at the hotel we have played, eaten lunch (he has a good appetite!) and have gotten along pretty well. We know that Jonathan misses his foster mom. He has situated himself near the window and we think he is looking for her return. This is not as discouraging as it sounds. We are now certain that Jonathan was loved and cared for in his foster home, and that is a blessing. We are enjoying getting to know our youngest son, and tinkering with the few Chinese words and phrases we know to communicate with him.

Funny thing. In Chinese, there is a slang word pronounced Or-La (don't ask me how it is spelled!) it means "all right" and is used in place of "O.K." in English. We haven't had Jonathan 24 hours and he says "Okay-La" appropriately. He's a quick learner!

Jonathan is awake now, so I am going to wrap this up. Thank you to all who have been praying. The next 24 hours are going to be interesting!