It's a boy!!

It's a boy and it's finally official! Today in Zhengzhou, China, Zhao TongXin officially became Joseph TongXin Thielman...and we are over the top happy! It has always been so clear that God has his hand upon our little guy's life and we are humbled and honored to be his Baba, Mama, and JieJie's (older sisters).

Andy, Joseph and I travelled to Zhengzhou (the provincial capital for Henan province where Joseph's orphanage is located) on Sunday. Memories of our first two adoption trips came flooding back first thing Monday morning as we saw many other families with their adopted kids at the breakfast buffet! It was so sweet to talk with them and hear their stories...we just LOVE adoption stories as they are all so unique and special! After breakfast (and a quick walk to the park where lots of people were playing badminton or doing tai chi) we headed to the government building. What a different feeling walking in with our child and already knowing him so well since he has been with us for the past 14 months! It allowed us to really see all the other families (because we weren't so focused on meeting our child for the first time!)....the joy in the parents voices, the uncertainty on how to comfort the child who was crying inconsolably, the look of complete bewilderment on an older child as to what was going on, ayi's trying to convince the kids that everything was going to be okay...so many emotions and so overwhelming. The process itself was a bit chaotic and seemingly unofficial...lots of signing our names on documents we could not read, never actually talking to any of the government officials, giving our 'donation' to the government, taking a picture and we were done.

We quickly learned that despite a 'small' city of 8 million people, there wasn't a lot to do in Zhengzhou. We had our celebration lunch at Pizza Hut, treated Joseph to some new Hot Wheels Cars and a ball to play with at the hotel, took a nap (that would be Andy & Joseph) and then celebrated again with a Sichuan dinner! We also hung out some in the lobby and talked with several other families there (also trying to occupy themselves at the hotel on a rainy afternoon!)

Today we returned to the government offices and this time we were the only ones there. The government head came out to officially give us the adoption certificate and thank us immensely for giving Joseph a home, a family and a future. She kept saying thank you and we kept saying that we were the ones who were blessed by this gift and thanking her. After that exchange and talking more with our guide, it seems that even for those who work in the adoption process they have a hard time understanding bringing another child into your family, especially one that is not yours and even more so one that has special needs. So when we are asked why we have adopted, how we manage more than one child, we answer truthfully...it's all God - He planted the seeds for adoption, He used our wonderful friends in Arkansas to help the seeds grow, He matched us with Zoe & Abigail and He brought Joseph to us through a 'chance' meeting and question from a friend in the grocery store that asked "Would you mind watching a little boy for a week while his foster family is out of town for Chinese New Year?".

A week, 14 months, a lifetime...absolutely!