How you can help!

Hello friends and family!

Tomorrow is the big day...we leave for China at 4 a.m.! Flight leaves Austin, connects through Chicago, and then on to Beijing. We go to Guangzhou Sunday and pick up our sweet boy on Monday at 2:30 local time, which is 1:30 a.m. CDT. Watch your email and Facebook and we'll post photos as soon as we can.

Annie is very excited to be a big sister. Grammy is here now, and Mimi is taking weekend duties. Annie is nervous about us being gone so long, so please give her a little extra love when you see her.

A lot of people have asked how they can help, and we have two areas that would be huge. First, pray! Please pray for a healthy transition for Michael, no common orphanage cooties like lice, scabies, and giardia, on time and easy travel, and a fun trip.

Second, we need your understanding during the first weeks home with Michael. The bonding process for Michael to his Forever Family (that's us!) could be difficult. Some kids are really easy, some have a very difficult time, and most fall somewhere between the two in the spectrum. We are going to be very conservative and "cocoon" for a while until he starts showing positive signs of bonding.

Michael's life has been fairly consistent in regards to his caregivers and orphanage (we hope), but he has never had two parents as his sole care providers. He is used to being handed over between nannies for shifts and staff turnover. Plus, he will have a very traumatic handover from his nannies to us, then leave China to come to a strange home and people he doesn't know or understand. It's very important to view his life and homecoming from his perspective.

It is likely that he will not understand the American culture of "pass the baby;" to him it could mean that all of our wonderful friends and family are his caretakers, which could harm his bonding process with his parents. I am sad to say this process can take up to a year or longer.

Michael will hold his arms out to you to be picked up. What we perceive as a sign of a happy, secure and friendly child is actually a child that has been institutionalized since his first week of life and is not yet bonded to his parents. I'm sure he will like everybody, but the reaching out is a learned behavior from his orphanage days. The first signs of bonding will be constant checking in with us and anxiety about going to someone else.

We know it is exciting to hold him and give him the love and attention he desperately needs, but he needs to be held by his parents, sister and grandparents until he has made progress bonding. It is going to be hard to tell our friends and family no, so please be understanding! This child will be glued to us for several months, including at church, community group and social events. We feel that leaving him for even a short time will be detrimental. We don't know how long this period will last and will take it day by day.

We know there are several schools of thought and what we're doing may seem extreme. Other parents have not had a problem leaving their children with sitters, but every child is different and we feel this is the right plan for us at this time. We'll adjust as needed when we have a better grip on the situation. We hope you can respect if not support our method. It may not be the best plan for every family, but we believe this is best for Michael for the time being.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support. Please keep Michael's nanny in your prayers, that she has peace in her heart that he has a big group of family and friends that already love him. Also, please keep Michael's birth mother in your hearts. She made an unimaginable decision that day she left him in a train station so he could have a better life with us.

Keep an eye on this blog and Facebook for Gotcha Day and trip news. We'll post whenever we are able. Our boy will be home September 21!!!