Today I hid behind a rack of ugly drapes in the thrift store and wept. Not because I found a brand new Gap rain coat in L’s size for only $5.99. Well, not only that.
Today I saw a picture of my son for the first time.
It was a beautiful sight!
Obviously, this is not one of the actual pictures of S.
We are adopting through foster care
and are unable to post any pictures online.
My Little Possibility is coming home next month! He is 1 1/2 years old. And he is the one we’ve been waiting for.
Clearly, he will fit right in. Just like all my other children, he is insanely adorable! It is clear to me why they would NOT let us see a picture until we had finalized our decision. His huge smile and bright eyes are irresistible!
We were open to children of any race and prepared to throw ourselves into the fray of inter-racial politics and soothe the heartache of a child who “looks” adopted. But he looks just like us. He has the same colour hair as his sisters. The same colour eyes as his Dad – his new Dad, that is.
I can’t help but feel relieved that the only time it will be obvious to others that he is adopted will be the innate talents and personality traits that we clearly can’t take credit for (for example, great mechanical skill or a love of rap music). It’s just so much easier this way. Another part of me wants to declare to the world that we are part of this confusing, bittersweet, but miraculous world of adoption.
We took the family out for dinner. With plates and real silverware… super fancy for our crowd. They were so excited to see him for the first time, immediately asking to text the picture to friends and get copies to put up in their room. The people in the table behind us were not-so-subtly eavesdropping on our excited discussion, so I made sure to hold the picture up high enough for them to take a peek. It’s pretty exciting – of course the public is interested.
Then, over nachos and hamburgers, we discussed the name issue.
Long ago we decided to leave our adopted child’s name as it was. I totally understand why some people do not, but we felt that it is just one more change for a toddler who has established their identity. Also, it is one of the only things birth parents can give to their child and we want to respect that. I was bracing myself for something wretched or bizarre. What if it was “Albert”, like that kid in grade 1 who used to chew erasers and then stick them in people’s ears? Or poorly thought out like “Debree”, which sounds pretty until you realize it is also the word for garbage?
Fortunately, his first name is perfect for our family and we love it!
But we will add to it; so tonight we picked out a middle name. Still honouring his roots with the first name his birth Mom gave him, but claiming him as our own by adding a special family name. His middle name will be the same as Glen’s and his Dad’s; the first name of both my Dad and Glen’s grandfather. There will be no escape – he will be part of us, too. “S. William”
I immediately put his picture in the place of highest honour – the home screen of my iPhone. And I have spent the better part of the day staring at it. And showing everyone I meet.
This is my son.
So here’s me… Happy Mother’s Day to me!
So Here's Us... 
May 10th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Congrats Christie! I know this has been a long journey for you and your family. I am so happy for you that “finalized” has been stamped. I will continue to pray for you all. Thak you so much for your blog, I truely apprecaite reading it…well, maybe not the moments when your stories make me cry, but I’ve learned to read your blog in the comfort of my home, not out and about on my phone;) Many blessings.
May 10th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Thanks Kristin! We appreciate your prayers so much! It does seem like a long journey, but I’m sure he’s the one we’ve been waiting for.
May 10th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Hi Christie, Tiffany has been raving about your blogs, so here I am. I have to tell you that when I read your opening lines this morning, I wept right with you. I cannot imagine the emotion-the joy- you all must be feeling. I’m absolutely thrilled for you all. As I leave for Oklahoma this morning to spend mother’s day with my mom, my thoughts and prayers will be with you as you celebrate this very special mother’s day! Love to you all, Aunt Judy
May 10th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Thank you Aunt Judy – can’t wait to introduce you to him! Have fun with your Mom, what a great idea!
Love
C and the gang
May 10th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Oh my friend I am crying tears of joy for you. He is soooo cute! And he does look like you all. And before I even read your blog Brent had called me and told me and I said that his name was perfect and exactly what would fit in your family and then I read your blog!!! LOL It really is perfect. God is so good. Congratulations!
May 10th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
I’m sure I’ll cry all over you when I see you. Thanks for being there along the way. Both you and Brent have been very encouraging, even when it seemed like this crazy plan that was never actually going to happen. Love C
May 10th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Great news Christie!!! Email a picture when you can. We’d love to see him! Thanks for sharing some of your adoption journey. It is also on our hearts – just need to get a handle on having twins first before we jump in feet first. For now we are content to support and pray for many friends who are adopting. I know this has been a long journey for your family – hope you are able to look back and see now why the Lord chose to wait this long to give you your desire. His timing is perfect (perfectly hard to understand as well, but stil perfect!)
May 10th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
It really is. We feel like he is the one we’ve been waiting for. I say it so often and it never stops ringing true. Maybe someday you’ll be picking our brains as you jump into the adoption game. It is a messy, exciting, tedious and everything in between kind of ride.
May 10th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
I am thrilled for you! Can’t wait until you can tell us stories about him as part of your family!
May 11th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Thanks Rachel! I can’t wait either!
May 10th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Oh The LORD is so good, Christie I praise God for the blessing of Sebastian to your family. I will continue to life you guys up in prayer as your family awaits the arrival of him and through your days with him. I can’t wait to read about and see pictures of your new precious child.
Hugs, to you all.
May 11th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Thank you so much Tammy. I’m sure I’ll be bugging you all with endless stories in no time!
May 11th, 2012 at 11:31 am
[…] Day is a big deal for us right now. We made our upcoming adoption official and public just yesterday. And now we have 4 adorable photos of our new son to moon over. JUST in time for the big day! […]