handsful

taken around age 1

Dang Yu Hai…our son!  Yes, we’re headed back to China for just one more.  One more child to love, one more sibling for the “crew”.

Ever since adopting Lainey, we’ve kept our minds and hearts open to going back.  Sometimes we felt a clear sense of going back, and other times we felt the opposite.  Most of the time, Randy’s and my feelings didn’t match.  I think maybe God was working on us separately :)

We were like minded about several things, however.  If we did go back, it would be for a son.  And, we were both feeling very comfortable with the special need of limb difference – this can mean additional digits, missing limbs, etc.  We also wanted him only slightly younger than Lainey (Randy was fine with slightly older).

taken at age 21 months

On December 23rd, I was “browsing” the files on the CCAI Waiting Child website.  When our agency receives files from China, they then match the children’s files with waiting parents who have indicated on their medical checklist that they’d like  a child of this gender/age/special need.  The files that do not match anyone’s checklist are posted on CCAI’s website.

A photo caught my eye, so I clicked on the link to read more.  I noticed it was a boy (the photo had him in a pink shirt, so I wasn’t sure at first!), noticed he was born in 2007, and saw that  he had a limb difference.  I started an email to send to the waiting child department, asking if we could be put on the list to see his file (there are usually others in front of you).  While I was reading the email, I looked at his actual birthdate.  July 4, 2007.  One year to the DAY younger than Lainey.  Wow.

The next few days were filled with lots of prayer, thought, and discussion with our kids.  The kids were totally on board right away, rolling their eyes at us as we continued to ponder and pray.  Eventually, we knew.  He was ours, we had to go get him.

So, the major details are:

Dang (surname) Yu (“of” or “for”)  Hai (“sea”) – birthdate 7/4/07 – residing in the Luoyang Children’s Welfare Institute in Luoyang, Henan province.  It’s interesting that this province is directly beside Anui, where Lainey was born.  He is missing the lower 2 bones (fibula and tibia) in his left leg and he left foot is malformed.

We’ve consulted with a national adoption doctor, our pediatrician, and local pediatric orthopedist.  All tell us he’ll need an amputation of that leg – either above or below knee (which, we have no idea at this point if he HAS a knee) – and then will be fitted with a prosthetic leg.  Other than periodic adjustments and regular replacements of the leg as he grows, he’ll be “good to go”.

We’re busy working on our dossier now, and “should” travel within a year – maybe more, hopefully less.  We’re still working on what his new name will be. :)  Lainey already knows him as Yu Hai, she talks about him all the time.  This year of waiting will be hard on all of us.  But, for now, we’re celebrating and looking forward to that next trip to China.