We're officially new parents....

Wow...where to start. It's almost 8 pm here and Jay-R is still wired! Here's our journey today...

Our social worker met us here at 12:15. We rode the 20-30 minute ride in crazy Manila traffic to the orphanage. When we arrived, Jay-R was still sleeping, so we had time to talk to his social worker from the orphanage about his routine, likes, etc. Another couple from the Netherlands arrived to meet their son as well. Jay-R appeared about 20 minutes after our arrival. He came right to me. He was quiet but not hestitant at all. His photo album we had made for him was clutched in his hand. He soon went to Kory and then Ashleigh as well. We took time walking around the grounds with him, playing cars, and meeting his friends. We received a tour of the orphanage, too. He hung tight to me and loved being carried. He is just so absolutely sweet. They said he loves to be cuddled and hugged and it is apparent. We had a Mass and Turnover ceremony. Ashleigh taped it for us. Jay-R's close friend served as the altar boy. The orphanage treated us and the other family to spaghetti (his favorite food), sweet bread, and mini hotdogs. The spaghetti is sweeter than ours but very good. They had given us a lifebook at the ceremony and before leaving, we received a SpiderMan backpack filled with clothing and other small items. They also gave him a Sponge Bob gift bag with goodies in it for him. We hugged the social workers and told everyone bye before leaving. The ride back was during rush hour traffic-people were everywhere-at the market, leaving school, crazy! He was very excited to get to the hotel. We told our social worker bye and went upstairs. Kory showed him the view from the window and he saw the swimming pool. We had to go swimming. Although it is warm here, the breeze had picked up so we swam only briefly, until he was shivering. We came upstairs and had snacks. He has said some cute things:
"I know English." "Tom and Jerry" (the cartoon is on) "I love Mommy" "I love Daddy" "I love Ate" (ate is the filipino word for big sister)
He called the Manila Bay a swimming pool which cracked us up. His English is here and there. He speaks primarily in tagalog but seems to understand English.
We have noticed food hoarding. He stores things under the pillow. Under Kory's pillow, he stashed 3 packs of cookies, 2 apples, and an orange. The orphanage staff told us he often put things under his pillow. Kory was just hoping his soggy mango didn't end up under the pillow! He is a fruit boy! The hotel provides fresh fruit daily in our room. So far, Jay-R has eaten 2 bananas, 1 mango, and 1 apple since we've been back!
Well, we need to work on getting him to bed. Tomorrow is a free day to bond and have fun with our little man! God is good!

Day 1 Continued...

Hey...We woke up early (4:30 am) since we went to bed at 7 pm. This time change is hard to adjust to. We ventured out a little last night. We wandered to a park and were approached by three little boys...it broke our hearts to see children on the street. We know that very well could have been Jay-R's life. We said a prayer for all the children when we returned to our room. We decided to do room service for dinner. The three of us ate room service for around $20 and it was good food. We are posting a few pictures of the view from our hotel window and some of you have asked what a jeepney is so we are posting a picture of that as well. We will meet Jay-R this afternoon (or while most of you are sleeping!). I feel nervous, excited butterflies in my stomach...this is the moment we have been waiting for!

Day 1 of our Philippines adventure

Hello friends and family! We made it safely to the Philippines. It was a long flight. It felt like we were never going to get off and at one point it felt like I had always been on the plane-weird feeling because you are literally trapped in that little seat and beyond a trek down the aisle or the bathroom, you are stuck. But, we made it. I met a very nice Filipino woman on the flight and enjoyed chatting with her. We had a short layover in Nagoya, Japan-long enough to get off the plane, go through security, use the bathroom, and board the plane again. We arrived in Manila at 11:00 pm which is 12 hours ahead of our Ohio friends and family. It was fairly easy navigating through the security checkpoint, luggage claim, and customs. Even finding our way to the hotel transportation was easy. We arrived to our hotel-it is nice. We crashed into bed after finding out we couldn't use our calling cards from our room and int'l calling would cost us a small fortune. Oh, yeah, and Kory reminded me it took a good 5 minutes to figure out how to turn on the lights in the room. It required a hotel key inserted by the door to activate the switch. Who knew? We made ourselves sleep which wasn't too hard due to 18 hours of being on a plane. It was about 1 am their time. I woke up around 6 am. The traffic here is like nothing you've ever seen unless of course, you've been here! The streets were packed at midnight and I have decided this is a city that never sleeps. Even at 6 am, the streets were bustling with walkers, joggers, and others. We enjoyed a good breakfast and were elated to discover we can access internet in our room via internet cable. And the laptop adapter to charge it can be charged up to 240 V...yeah! We have one 110V outlet in the bathroom which is handy to use my straightener. Now, we are vegging in the room. Honestly, we don't feel too tired just stiff. We need to sort through what we want to take to the orphanage tomorrow and figure out our week. We have some contacts here in the city who are going to take us sightseeing one day. We plan to go swimming today-its in the high 80s. I want to venture and walk some but Kory is a bit more reluctant. Kory and Ash are on their way to the lounge-a nice feature of our room is we get free drinks-pop, juice, etc. This experience is going to be a week to remember. We never in our lives have been in the minority. We're from smalltown America and we're now in a huge city which in and of itself is unnerving. And although all the staff speak English, they don't always necessarily understand what you mean. We look different, we talk different and people around us are speaking a different language. One look outside of our window shows the vast differences of the city-tall buildings and then shack like structures. I am determined to make the most of this trip and absorb as much as I can of my son's culture. I will try to blog daily since we have the convenience and privacy of in room internet use. Well, I am going to drink my Coca Cola light in my 330ml can and enjoy the sights out the window. We are overlooking Manila Bay, 8 lanes of traffic, a pretty green park. Well, this is long but I want to journal our experiences for everyone so you feel like you are along with us for the ride because I know in thoughts and spirit...you are all! We love you all and will see you soon.

We're registered!

I just finished registering on the US Embassy website. One more thing to check off the list. Today was my last day of work until June 1st. My co-workers gave me a wonderful send-off with a potluck of all my favorite foods...yum! It was hard to tell everyone good-bye but I promised to visit and I will as soon as he has adjusted some. I appreciate the time I will have off work to spend with Jay-R. My social worker told us that bonding is hard work and I am prepared to pour my whole heart and soul into this. I'm not really sure what to expect but I know God will be with us through this all. I can already feel the strength of prayers!

I have tomorrow to finish last minute things and then Friday we'll be leaving on a jet plane!

Flying High...

not in the sky yet...but emotionally and with sugar! I have the best bunch of co-workers ever...they treated me to pizza today and Scotcheroos...my absolute favorite. (I know, Linda, you told me not to eat too many, but I'm feeling lightheaded from a tad bit too much sugar!). Everyone is so excited for us. To have so many people praying for us and sharing in our joy and excitement is a tremendous comfort. I'm not feeling very nervous at all (for the moment)!!

I checked my email after work. Our social worker had emailed us our itineray for our trip. We will arrive late Saturday and meet him on Monday. Sunday is a free day for us to rest up. We will attend a Mass and Turnover Ceremony at the orphanage Monday. We have a few other things planned for us and a couple of free days to spend. I've made some connections in the Philippines through people I know here in town that have family/friends in Manila so that is a comfort as well. We are soo exicted, this week can not go by fast enough!

For now, I'm going to drink some peppermint tea to calm a stomach filled with too much Italian and Scotcheroos!

A Surreal Moment

Well, the flights are booked. We are leaving Friday the 13th...good thing we're not superstitious! I have so many things to do at work and home. I'm an Activity Director in a long term care facility so I'm used to planning for things months in advance but I don't know if it's March, June, April...my head is spinning with the many things that need done. Our daughter is traveling with us so we've been in contact with the schools so she can take her homework. We have felt that keeping Ashleigh involved is very important to helping her adjust as well. I have crying moments, overwhelmed moments, exhausted moments, excited moments...this is worse than being pregnant! There are so many emotions that exist...it's hard to put in words. We've been working, praying, dreaming for this day for 2 years. We've been praying for this little boy for 6 months. Everything is falling into place. God is so faithful and it amazes me every day He is blessing us with another child. Adoption has always been close to my heart. I believe God planted those seeds a long time ago. Lots of people make the statement about how blessed Jay-R will be to have a family. I think we are the ones who are being blessed with the gift of a precious child to love. We'll keep you all updated...

Philippines here we come!

The visa is ready...need I say more! I have flight reservations to make, bags to pack, so much to do but Jay-R we're finally coming!!!!! I can't believe this day is coming. We'll be in the Philippines soon!!!