We got him!!!

Today we got Anirudha James Brice!

Our little prince was delighted to strut around in his new clothes.  Of course he picked the crocs as his shoes to wear, but we figured it was his day and he can wear whatever he wants to wear.  Normaly everyone at the orphanage does not wear shoes, but to Anirudha shoes means bye bye and he was not being left behind.

We met with orphanage director before our blessing.  She gave us all the paperwork and passport. She had his mother years ago make her handprints and give a lock of her hair. There was also a letter from the orphanage to give to him when he is older.  It is a precious letter of how he came there and his early days, but it also gives details of his mother.  It is one of the most thoughtful things I have ever seen.  I got teary eyed several times today, but I won't go into details because today this blog is all about celebration!  

Celebration happened during his blessing from the orphanage.  Caregivers and other workers said their hopes for Anirudha, they said their goodbyes to him, and they wished him luck and happiness.  This is not a custom we do or had even seen until this week, but we understood the importance it is to the wonderful people who have been taking care of Anirudha for four years.  We also knew our son needed to say his goodbyes too, and this blessing was his opportunity.  It was a joy to see how much the caregivers like him, and we know Anirudha will miss them.

We took lots of pictures to remember this special day.  I would love to write about how the hotel continued to treat our AJ like the little prince he is once we arrived with him, but I will have to save that for another time as I am physically and emotionally exhausted.

AJ at the hotel finally being able to lookout over his city!

Letting Down Guards

Today was a really good day.  AJ seemed more relaxed with us.  We were greeted with great big hugs this morning with the expression of "they came back for me."  Oh his heart is so tender!  We heard lots of laughs today, and he smiled a lot more.  He enjoyed playing ball with his papa.  Poor Ryan, papa is not his choice of names, but I must admit it's too cute hearing AJ call out for his papa.  AJ enjoys playing outside so we spent quite a bit of our time on the playground.  I loved, LOVED holding him while we were on the swings.  Feeling his body relax while I'm holding him is such a joy.  It's a blessing he is letting down his guard!  And while his guard is being let down with us, some of the other children get jealous at times.  He has been hit a few times. It bothers me greatly to see this and we do stop it, but I also understand why they are mad.  They hit because it's the only way some of these children know how to deal with that emotion.  I can just hear Karen Purvis talk about children from the hard places.  Orphanages are hard places.  We are at the best of the best places to be.  These 80 children get amazing care, but there is not the nonstop quality time of a parent. Children crave the unconditional love of parents.  They crawl into your lap practically screaming "love me."  They put your hand on their back or head or arm for you to rub.  The little blind girl who stays in the isolation room with a baby gate at the door did not want to let go of my hand this morning because that's her way of saying "sit by me and love me."  So yes I understand why some are jealous of AJ getting parents and so much attention.  The good news is many will have their special days of meeting their parents soon.  The questioning of "will somebody love me" will be answered, and the anger and sadness will slowly fade away.  But my heart can't forget the ones who will remain and eventually be sent to older children orphanages or be put into institutions. It's crazy how such a good and joyous week is also heartbreaking.  I'm happy, truly I am.  I have waited a long time for this week.  It's just hard seeing real orphan faces. It's even more difficult once I know their names. It changes everything.  Everything!  It breaks the guard I have around my little American Dream.  I don't want a big house or a nice car or dare I even say fancy educations for my children. I just want to be a mother.  A mother who shows and tells my children of the love of God because love changes everything.

Mr. Big Personality

It's been a fun day getting to know AJ.  It's also been long and tiring but a good tired.  We don't just have one child wanting us to pick him up and play, we have about 30 kids always wanting to play. We've lost count how many children we've held, and it is an honor to hold and hug each one.  They all deserve mommies and papas to love on them each day.  They are beautiful and precious and I want to have them all!  Really I do want to be a mother to all of them.  Well maybe not that one child who wiped a booger on me today, but I could teach him to use a tissue.  Seriously, I see all their beautiful faces and personalities and cannot understand why they are still at the orphanage.  They are wonderful, and I silently pray with each hug that someone will see their value.

Our AJ is very wonderful. Oh how we love him greatly!  He makes me smile.  He also makes me sad when I see him struggle emotionally. I would like to say adoption is all rainbows and kittens, but it also has heartache and grief. We've got a long road ahead of us, but we are not afraid of it one bit. It's going to be hard.  There will be many tears shed by all of our family because this is not easy.  But love conquers all!  Love changes everything!

You're probably wondering what AJ's personality is like so I'll tell you what we've learned so far.

- He is a big ball of energy.

- He's everywhere! I'm shocked at how swiftly he smooths.
- He's everywhere!! There is no lock or gate that he cannot open.
- And in case you didn't understand, he's everywhere!!!  I love this kid!
    Example- when asking which bed is AJ's this was the reply, "well....well this is Anirudh's room.  Everyone has a spot, but he sleeps in any bed he likes." Keep in mind there are 30 kids in that one room.

- He loves cars.  He enjoys watching out the window at the cars. AJ is very fascinated by cars, and the poor little guy is going to be disappointed when he gets home because he is banking on seeing my silver SUV that was in the pictures we submitted four years ago. Anyone got a translation for that?
- He likes to spin. He also likes knowing when you are going to move...no surprises.
- He likes sunglasses (thanks Amelia for the little blue pair in the bags of clothes).
    We've played our own version of peek a boo with sunglasses-great for making eye contact.
- He is determined and doesn't change his mind easily. It's kind of like the three year old stage of 'I do it."
- He likes cameras.  Maybe he'll grow up to be like his mama who always has a camera. AJ does not care to stand still to have his picture made.
- He likes letting the other children know "my mommy" and "my papa."
- He shares very well.
- He loves the toy cricket bat.  It's cute watching him lug it everywhere.
- He likes to eat sweet things.
- He is calmer outside.
- He is very curious.  He likes to know what everyone is doing.
- He has a cute little giggle.
- He has a BIG personality. Mr. Helper likes being in charge!  :)

Well, that's all I got today so I'll get to what you're really wanting- pictures!

You will see this tree in other pictures.  It's all one tree.  It's very unique how it grows roots into the ground from the upper limbs.  I will have to research it to find out what kind of tree it is.

Meeting Anirudha

Happy New Year!  Today in this region they are celebrating Gudi Oadwa which is the Marthi New Year.  The tradition I liked best was seeing many women wear new clothing.  Seriously why don't all countries have a holiday that promotes a new outfit.  I admired all the new and beautiful clothing on the way to the orphanage.  It was a ride of mixed emotions.  We were excited, but we were also concerned he would not like us.  Regardless of the possible outcomes, we smiled with our head high ready for anything.

We were walked into his room that he share with about 30 other kids while they were changing and getting ready for the day.  Anirudha was the last to get dressed, and we could see he was a little nervous.  The orphanage workers have been showing him our pictures so he recognized us.

He came over and took my hand.  I bent down to his level, and I was captured by his incredible eyes. His eyes have such depth to them. He then walked over to Ryan and climbed into his arms.  Moved by the awesome moment, I regret to say I missed a photo of that. Anirudha liked Ryan very much from the start. He called him Papa in that first hug.  My heart melted in such sweetness. Anirudha came back to me for a hug. He is so tiny.  I can't get over how light he is.

After introductions, we went to a play area. I brought some cars out to play with (thanks Ms. Tami), and he loved them.  Anirudha is fascinated with cars, and it really helped break the ice with bonding.

I brought a book with pictures of our family, home, and AJ.  He was amused with the pictures.  He knows who Brody is.  The funniest part was when showing him who his grandparents are he saw a picture from Disney World and screamed out "MICKEY MOUSE!"  The kid has great taste in cartoons.  During this time we also learned, AJ knows his colors and he can count to 10 in English.  Our next activity was cricket.  Little man loves hitting the ball and dragging around the bat.  I must find a toy cricket set this week to take home with us.

Today was also a special day at the orphanage in that another family was taking their baby home. There was a ceremony where all the children were dressed up, and they gave a blessing over the family.  We will have a ceremony like that later in the week. A bindi (red dot) was given to everyone as part as a blessing to the adopted family.

We watched Anirudha eat his lunch. I don't believe he has ever used a fork so that will be fun in the future. We are told he likes sweet things the best, and he is a picky eater (just like his mommy).

We left the orphanage while he napped, and we came back to visit at 3:00.  We played more cars, peek a boo with sunglasses, and spin around.  He likes for us to spin him around and around.  Anirudha learned quickly that the words "Again Mommy" are very effective.  He found a pair of my socks in my book bag.  After putting the socks on, he got a caregiver to find him shoes.  Then he went around telling everyone "bye bye."  We thought it was a good sign he was ready to leave with us, but it was also sad leaving him there.  We can't wait to go back to the orphanage tomorrow for more Anirudha James Brice fun!

We made it to Pune!

Before traveling on any trip, I read as much as possible about a city.  I like knowing what to expect.  This trip like most others I'm pleasantly surprised at how different the land is from my imagination. I had imagined Pune to be flat and very crowded.  I got the very crowded part right.  I enjoyed the drive to Pune and seeing the beautiful hills.  India reminds me of a combination of China and Africa.  The shop buildings along the street are very Chinese to me, but the organization and street side is African. The multitude of cars is like China, but the flow of traffic is like Africa. It's very unique and fascinating to watch.  And oh the horns!!!  There's the nonstop sounds of horns letting others know where your car is because how else is one going to let ongoing traffic know we are about to go 9 wide.  It's a lot of fun once you let go and enjoy the wild ride.  Remember those hills/mountains I mentioned earlier, imagine going through them in a tunnel at fast speeds with no headlights on in the dark.  It's an adventure!  

We made the drive to Pune this afternoon.  Everyone at the hotel has been very helpful and kind.  We've meet a few people who speak Engligh that have been so friendly to us. I loved our waiter tonight, and I'm glad we will see him a lot this week. I'm also looking forward to trying out their buffet tomorrow. I was too hungry tonight to wait until 7:00 for the buffet (and we all know that a fed Cristy is a happy Cristy).  

Today is Ryan's birthday and spending it in India is very cool.  It's a little funny how I was in the hospital getting ready to have Brody eight years ago (3 months premature), and today we are once again preparing to bring another Brice child into the family on Ryan's special day.  I'm so excited tomorrow is the big day!  We cannot wait to meet Anirudha!!! I'm down to 10 hours on the AJ countdown.  So when I wake up my US friends from giggles of joy heard around the world just smile and go back to sleep.  Have visions of the Brices happy dancing in your head! 

This the view from our hotel room.

This a pizza from our hotel restaurant. It's called the Indiana with chicken tikka, paneer tikka, bell peppers, onions, mozzarella, and coriander.

One thing my Lousianna husband thinks is really neat is all these restaurants put Tabasco sauce on the table.  

No More Waiting

We're sitting at JFK airport, waiting for our next flight.  Ryan and I keep staring at each other from time to time with the expression of "is this really happening?"  We've been waiting to go get our child for four years now, and it's a surreal moment of there is no more waiting.  It's time!  It's time to go get our son.  It's time to start a new chapter in our family.  It's time to start living the dream that has now become our reality.

Hope you'll follow along on the journey to bring AJ home from India!  I'll be posting every couple of days.