Gotcha Day

It was one year ago today that we got to meet, hold, hug and kiss our son for the first time. In some ways it seems like Zachary has been with us for years. In other ways it seems like this past year has flown by. So much has happened over the last 365 days. It's amazing to sit back and think about all we have done and experienced. Here are just a few things:

• we finalized Zachary's adoption in China
  
• we flew home from China with our baby boy--no complications with the flights despite the H1N1 going around
• Zachary adjusted to his new family, food, home, toys, etc without any difficulties
• Zachary was able to stop sucking his thumb so he could undergo his cleft lip surgery
• one of the best surgeons in the country repaired Zachary's cleft lip in November; it looks amazing
• as a family, we have made so many memories of "firsts"--playing in the snow & sledding; swimming; walking in grass; eating ice cream; riding a horsey; swinging at playgrounds; enjoying underdogs; hiking in the woods on Daddy's back; fingerpainting; smashing bugs; throwing rocks in the water
• Zachary's cleft palate was repaired 6 weeks ago; it continues to heal & Zachary was able to start eating with a spoon today!!!

We could go on and on with this list. The most amazing thing to see as we look back over this past year is how God has had his hand on us long before we were a family. He hand picked our son for us, watched over him in China, and has continued to watch over us, guide us and protect us over the past year.

Thought we'd show you what we've been up to the last several weeks.....

We re-finalized Zachary's adoption. This is something our agency recommends, although the adoption was final in China. This way we have a local paper trail if ever needed.

Zachary got cousin Collin's old swing set. Uncle Tim and Daddy put it together last weekend. Zachary loves it! He especially likes the glider and asks for "more" and "higher" every time!
Cousin Collin will have to come and play on the swing set when he's in town. I think he had fun playing on it with Zachary--he may miss it!

Daddy and Zachary had fun while Momma was at work. He's had this pirate costume for 6 months and was always scared to wear it. Not any more!
Doesn't he look like he's 5 yrs old here?????!!!!!
Zachary's first pony ride at the circus a few weeks ago. He's still talkin about it.
We've been to the zoo a lot lately. This day we went with our good friends Brahm and Heather. Zach is always looking for the elephants; this is the only one we could find at our zoo!

Goodbye Magic Bullet

Zachary had his 5 week follow up appt with Dr Canady yesterday. We got great news. The hole in Zachary's palate is healing; it's smaller than it was 2 weeks ago. The dr progressed Zachary's diet from cup diet to a soft diet which he can eat with his fingers. Because his stitches have not dissolved completely yet, he needs to wait one more week before he has hard, chewy food. So in one week he will get to eat pizza and crackers. For now he is enjoying lunch meat, canned fruit, pancakes, and more antibiotic!
The dr said that Zach may or may not need another surgery in the next year. He doubts that the hole will heal completely on its own. However if it is not impacting his speech, he may not need it repaired. We plan to have him checked out with the AEA for a speech evaluation to see if he would qualify for some speech therapy. Momma can do some therapy at home, but it may work out best for everyone if someone else provides the majority of his therapy. He has some things going on with his speech that have nothing to do with his palate....just developmental delays and delays from learning English later in life.
Thank you for all of your prayers. We know that God heard your prayers. We thank him for having his hand on Zachary at all times. We look to him and his plan for Zachary; he has all the details figured out!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. This was my first Mother's Day with Zachary. Last year we were packing for China, but had not yet met our son. What a blessing God had given us with Zachary. As I sit and think about how blessed I have been by having Zachary in my life, my heart can't help but be a bit sad for Zachary's biological mother. There is a woman across the world who has an empty place in her heart .......she does not know what a great smile Zachary has; she doesn't know what his voice sounds like when he sings; she does not know that he loves Curious George. But one thing I do know is that almost two years ago she made the hardest decision in her life. She choose to place Zachary for adoption, in order to give him the surgeries he needed; surgeries she probably could not afford. She made this decision out of love. And for that I am so grateful. I often look at Zachary and wonder what his biological mother looks like. She must have a beautiful smile and a soft heart; she passed those onto Zachary.

So today and all other Mother's Days in the future, I will always think of her and say a prayer of thanksgiving for the great love for her biological son. Because of her, I got to be Zachary's momma.