Callahan Journeys: We Are Officially a Family of Five

As our guide exited the van to get our adoption paperwork notarized, she commented, "I have never seen an adoption go so quickly. He is yours today! ONE DAY! The system worked fast for him."

We believe God worked miracles and moved paperwork mountains to bring William WuXiaoYang into our family!

Yesterday morning we went to meet our son for the first time at the office where adoptions are completed. We saw his head from the rear as he sat on a couch and tears came to my eyes. This was really happening! I went and sat beside him. Jonathan gave him a Snoopy he had brought for him. And We all took turns giving him hugs. He knew what was happening, but I can only imagine how hard it was for him. Our guide, obviously not trained about trauma, began asking the worker from the orphanage the questions I had prepared so we could get some information about his past. She did this right in front of him and I was mortified. Despite trying to guide her away from William, she proceeded to ask very private and heartbreaking questions about his abandonment, temperament and time at the orphanage in his presence. I wanted to crawl in a hole or put earplugs in his ears to block him from the pain. We have 14 years represented in him and I got 10 questions answered. Not a lot of history there.

The woman in charge of adoptions came out and began an announcement to the two families there for adoptions. In the last 10 years, domestic adoption has skyrocketed. Kimmer and I were thrilled to see a Chinese couple adopting at the same time as us. We snapped a photo of them. After our guide had finished translating, the Chinese dad came over to us and in perfect English said, "I'm so glad your guide translated that!" WHAT? "We thought you were Chinese!" He commented, "We are Canadian Chinese and only speak a few words in Cantonese." Laughter ensued! We exchanged email addresses and had a lovely chat with them. I guess national adoptions are done on a different floor! But on Monday in Wuhan, Hubei two orphans were orphans NO MORE! They are FAMILY!!!

In a separate children's playroom, were photos of many adoptees with their families and one large photo labeled, "Love Without Boundaries," an organization helping orphaned children throughout China. While waiting, our kids just hung out with their big brother on the couch playing with bubbles and games and their iPads. A rather stoic place to celebrate family.

After we dropped our guide at the notary, the driver dropped us at a French-brand Walmart (France has a strong presence here in Wuhan...getting my beret on!). Ironically, our son does not like going into large, loud buildings. So, the kids and Kimmer waited near the checkout with William while I bought snacks, water and some clothes for William. When you adopt a child, they come to you with nothing. When you adopt an older child, you don't go up to him measuring his backside to see what will fit him. So trying to find clothes for him WITHOUT him there was a bit of a challenge. On our way out we convinced him to stop and order dinner for take out. We ordered the most delicious dumplings!!! SO GOOD! Pointing at what other people have ordered has worked out quite well so far!

A Sad Reality for Many Waiting Children

While in the restaurant awaiting our food, William grabbed the electronic translator and typed,