Joseph

The slow posting lately is a result of the little free time we have had. We have decided to move forward with the process of adopting a little boy, Hui Cheng. This has meant we have been consumed with gathering documents and jumping through hoops. Even though we just adopted Juliana, none of her paperwork can be used. We are essentially starting from the beginning.

Hui Cheng, we named him Joseph, is a little boy from the Henan province of China. He is a little over a year old (a month and a half younger than Juliana), and is currently in a foster facility in Beijing. He has a cleft lip and palate and may or may not have some of that repaired before he comes home. Although he is a little younger than Juliana, he seems to be about the same size and is a healthy child. My favorite description in his paperwork is that he can be impatient when a toy he wants is out of his reach.

This adoption process is quite different from Juliana's. We waited years for her referral, we waited only a day for Joseph's referral. We are able to travel as soon as the paperwork is completed and processed by both the US and Chinese governments. The goal is to travel late this year or early next year. When we were making the decision to adopt a special needs child we had said it would be very hard to see the child and be waiting on paperwork. Here we are, a few weeks later, pictures in hand just beginning the arduous paper chase.

I'm sorry but our agency asks us not to post his picture yet. He has bright eyes, crazy hair like Juliana's, and a beautiful smile. He is also sporting a scarlet and gray shirt! Already a Buckeye!

Keep him in your prayers.