SAM'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

So excited! Today we received 10 pictures from Sam's first birthday party! He is cuter every time I see him! Don't know exactly when they had his party- His birthday was October 17. It looks like a fun time was had, though! They had a little cake for him with some fruit on top- maybe even a tomato??!! And, lots of MUFFINS! Every good party has a big bag of muffins, right?? It is tradition in China to smear icing on the birthday kid's head, so our Sambo got some icing along with that big old tomato- or whatever it is! Enjoy the pics!

Blessings-

Meredith

Sam's First Birthday

Happy First Birthday to our Sweet Sam!! We love you so much already- you are a blessing to so many and you are already such a sweet part of our family! God is so amazing in the way that he has already imprinted you on our hearts! We are sad not to be with you today, but we are thankful that you are loved and cared for and that you are getting to spend your first birthday with those who have loved you and whom you love!! We pray that you somehow know you are special and loved and that God has a plan just for your life! A plan that nobody else could live out. A plan that is just for you! We love you, baby Sam!!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Blessings-

Meredith

Sam's Orphanage

Wanted to share a few pictures of Sam's orphanage...We did find out that he is on the side that is completely run by the government. That is both good and bad. The good part is that the sickest babies are typically moved over to the ICC (International China Concern) side, so it means he is likely not considered one of the sickest babies, and never has been! The negative is that the government-run side is not funded as well, so he does not have access to many of the things that are available on the ICC side. BUT, we know God has him right where he is supposed to be, and we know he will be taken care of because our God is a mighty one who doesn't make mistakes!!

Sam's orphanage appears to be much smaller than Lily's was. It is definitely not as updated, but the "up" side is that it appears to be clean and safe, and they have bouncy seats and a bathtub!! We love squeaky-clean babies!

Blessings-

Meredith

Finally.....He has a name!!

Introducing.......

SAMUEL TODD TUCHAO CURTIS

We plan to call him Sam. We wanted him to have a Biblical name as well as a family name. Todd is my maiden name, and we also wanted to keep his Chinese given name as we did for Lily.

We recently sent this care package to Sam that we hope will arrive in time for his first birthday on October 17. Riley chose the super-soft blue blanket, and Jackson chose the stuffed monkey to send. We also included a photo album with our pictures, a couple of small toys, some cookies for the kids to share, 2 disposable cameras that we hope they will use, and some candy for the nannies. We included 3 outfits as well- size 9 months, and we are interested to see how big they are on him! We think he is somewhere between 6-9 months in size, but hopefully they will dress him in one and send us a picture so we can know for sure! Can't wait for an update on our sweet Sam!

Blessings-

Meredith

Bryce

My heart is breaking for this precious little boy who still waits for his family to find him.


He is with our agency and is available to a family who is logged in. He is a little over 18 months old, and is listed as having a very minor special need. He is in a wonderful orphanage! If you even think you might be interested in him, or know someone who might be, please message me! I would love to share more information with you- this is a precious little boy, and if we could bring two home, I would grab him up in a minute. He is just waiting for God to show him to his family!

Blessings-

Meredith

UPDATE!

When you have a child who lives halfway around the world, whom you have never met, what you most wish for on a daily basis are pictures- living proof that sweet child is doing well.......and today we received some! Seven to be exact, along with a video that we can't open, and an update! We are so excited to share them with you! We think he is even more beautiful in these pics than before!

Look at that sweet baby checking himself out in the mirror!!

MY FAVORITE ONE!!!

Below is translation of the update:

What is Tu Chao's personality like?
He is quiet.

Is he healthy usually?
He’s low resistance. He is easy to get a cold. But he’s been doing well recently.

Is he crawling or walking, and if so, when did he start?
He can crawl forward a short distance.

What is his favorite thing to do or play with?
Look into the mirror. (Well, of course it is! If I was that precious, that's what I would do too!)

Does he have a cribmate or best friend he plays with?
Yang Fu Lu who is in the same class with him. Also get therapy with him.

Does he have a favorite nanny- and if so what is her name?
His rehabilitation Wang Chun Mei.

How does he like to go to sleep? Do you pat him, lay him down, etc?
He likes to suck his finger before goes to sleep. (Awww...)

His updated measurements:
Height: 67cm; Weight: 7kg; Head: 44cm; Chest: 43cm; Foot: 11cm; Teeth: upper 2, lower 3.


Awww.....Put me on that plane today!

PRE- APPROVAL!

And here he is!!!

Today we got our Preapproval (PA) to adopt our kiddo! Now that we have pre-approval, we can show you his pictures! His name is Tu Chao Yang, and he is living in Hengyang City Social Welfare Institute in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China. I have no idea when these pictures were taken, or how old he was when they were taken. I do know that he wears a bow and headband well!! Tu Chao will turn 1 on October 17, and we are working on sending a care package over that hopefully he will receive by his first birthday. We are also working on an English name that will be easier to remember than TuChao! It is interesting that TuChao means "He is super, He is Ultraman" in Chinese.....especially funny when you check out the headband picture!

I know that he is very small- as of a month or so ago (10 months old), he weighed only 14 pounds- more like a 6 month old size. My understanding is that he likely has bottles only with little or no cereal added. I have been emailing with a couple of moms who have recently adopted from this same orphanage, and have been able to get a little bit of information with their help. It appears this orphanage is quite a bit smaller than Lily's in Shantou. Also, this orphanage is divided into two parts. One is government run and the other is run by an international group called ICC. I haven't yet been able to decipher which side he is on, or exactly what difference it makes, but it appears that they are different.

The next step in the process is to wait the typical 2-3 months for the official Letter of Acceptance(LOA) from the Chinese government. In the meantime, we will be filling out lots of paperwork so that when we receive LOA we can immediately sign it and overnight it right back to China, and send a copy to the US side with all that paperwork attached.

Please pray with us that Tu Chao will be safe and that God might heal his heart while he waits to come home. We know that he likely has an 8mm Atrial Septal Defect, and that is considered mild to moderate. We know he is a bit delayed, but likely this is typical orphanage delay. I have read that for every 3 months a child spends institutionalized, they will be behind approximately one month....For instance, you would expect "typical orphange delay" for a 12 month old to be that of a 9 month old. So, this is where we expect Tu Chao would be right about now. Hoping for an update and maybe some more pictures in the next several weeks.

Blessings!

Meredith