Updates!

This adoption has been a harder wait than Audrey and Sam's adoptions, because Jay is real to me. I see his face and am impatient to get to China! But an amazing gift that helps during this wait, is Hope Station. Hope Station is an agency that serves the orphans in China and works closely with the orphanage in Chengdu where Jay lives. I know that they love Jay and are interacting with him and helping his emotional and developmental growth. They worked hard to find his forever family:  Meet Our Kids: Josiah (soon to be Jay)

They post pictures and videos frequently. It's amazing to get a glimpse into Jay's life before coming home. I cherish every picture and will use them to make sure Jay remembers his early days. They've posted tons videos of Jay:
Making funny faces! (earliest glimpses of Jay... from a year ago!!)
Charging!
Reading books!
Being a goofball!
Sword fighting!

And as I watch each video, I analyze every little detail. In this video, most people might see a toddler having fun: Josiah blowing bubbles  I see that he's standing on his own, he has fine motor skills that allow him to put the wand into and out of the bubble bottle, I see him smiling, I see he interacts with other people when he's giving bubbles "cheers" to others, and the most important thing I see in this video is when his good friend gets a bubble in her eye, he walks over to make sure she's alright - he shows EMPATHY!

The latest video I've seen is Jay saying Goodbye to a friend who is being adopted... Goodbye Video.  Little does he know, his forever family is working hard to bring him home!!

Here's Jay with Hope Station's founder Rebekah! Not only has Hope Station provided love and support for Jay, but they provide interaction, love, and developmental activities to tons of orphans. I've been amazed and humbled following their website and facebook posts. These are people who have dedicated their lives to orphans (check out their website: Hope Station). As we get closer to travel, I will work with Hope Station to set up a way that friends and family could donate to them and I can bring supplies to China to help with all the friends who Jay will leave behind. More to come on that...