Our kiddos!

Our kiddos!

Monday, December 5, 2011

He's Ours!!

What an fantastically exhausting day. We have Jesiah and he is a dream. I'm not gonna lie.. when we met him he cried and looked at me with such sad eyes that it absolutely broke my heart. I was ready for a tough go and we will, I'm sure, have our struggles and adjustments ahead, however for tonight my heart is joyful and we have so much to be thankful for. So many prayers have been offered up for him and I know God honored those prayers and blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. He is a beautiful and very charming boy with such a contagious smile and hilarious laugh. He is so ticklish and so energetic. His eyes are vibrant and so full of excitement towards to simplest things. We are absolutely in love. He went from being afraid when we first met him (pulling away and crying.. not wanting ANYTHING to do with me. That made me cry, however much I'd prepared for that reaction). Cheerios.. make that honey nut Cheerios came to our rescue. If anyone is reading this and adopting, that's some of the best advice I can give you. Giving those to him has been the way straight to his heart and he has smiled ever since. He ate almost entire sandwich bag full of them and I'm okay with that. :)

We would love continued prayers. He has a pretty persistent cough and runny nose. Not a huge deal but he seems to be feeling a little under par. After getting paperwork squared away, we headed back to the hotel to just spend some good quality time. We have played football, read books, watched tv (he loves tv- that's #3 Sherer kiddo that loves tv so he will fit in quite nicely!) He is a trooper and again, I can't imagine how overwhelmed he must feel. My prayer earlier was that he would be able to understand that we love him and are here to be his forever family and I know we are on the right path to that. He may still grieve some in his own ways and we would appreciate continued prayers for all of our transitions- especially when we get home and transition into a family of five.

We will sign off for now and leave you with several pictures of our "Gotcha Day". Thank you to all who gave of their precious time, amazing love and prayers, and selflessly sacrificed to make this happen. We can never thank you enough. God is good and he has blessed us more than we can even imagine. Jesiah, welcome to our family :)!

 Our first glance. He was obviously not hurrying to get to us. The room was full of over 30 families so, as you can imagine, it was pretty chaotic. 

His tears made my heart break. They were definitely understandable. 
 He loves his "baba". At first, he wouldn't even look at me and only wanted Nathan. 

 Here he was still avoiding any type of eye contact with me. 
 Bribery is my middle name. YAY for Cheerios!!! 

 When we got back to the hotel, he started to warm up to me. I wasn't complaining! :) 
 So snuggly. 

Lovin' his USA bear from Aunt Dy!!! :) 


This is the smile he is capable of and it completely has us wrapped around his finger already!

 He had a wardrobe change after deciding to give himself a bath with his cup of water (and our bed...). 
 Of course he LOVES balls and wanted his "ball" pjs. He is Eli's big brother! :) 

His first bit of a granola bar. He liked it but I think his belly was too full from Cheerios. 


More pictures to follow tomorrow!! Love you all, goodnight! 

20 comments:

  1. We are so happy for you! I'm glad Cheerios broke the ice for you. Eli has a snacking buddy now :-) We will continue to pray for you and that your bonding time will continue to go smoothly. If you have any special requests for things you need when you get home, let us know and we will be glad to pick them up for you. Congrats!

    Paul Sinclair

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  2. Yay!! So excited for you guys! Definitely praying for you today and in the days to come. Can't wait to meet my new little friend! :)

    Love,
    Cara (and Mo)

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  3. These pictures are so sweet! I am really happy for you guys. What a journey! Congratulations on finally having your new little one. Enjoy!

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  4. Nathan and Michelle,

    Great post and good memories. Thanks for sharing with all of us. Hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly. Kathy said you were still working on the mission, I appreciate it.

    David and Kathy

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  5. Congratulations! My parents had me, my brother and then adopted my youngest brother when I was four. It was a local adoption, so we got him from the day he was born. He sensed he wasn't wanted and would not eat a bottle for anyone. When my mom sat down with him for the first time she rocked and sang to him as she did with her own babies and he started to drink the bottle. She ran down the hall and told the nurses she needed another bottle, and they all cried and said he was meant to be hers. I can't imagine my life without my little brother. Adoption is definitely an amazing thing to do. So happy for you all! I'll keep you in my prayers!
    ~Rachel Gard

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  6. Our family is def. rejoicing with yours! Juliese and Joelle both had coughs. Before going to see the doctors (the approval to leave the country) I would ask to take him to see the Western doctor; we did this for both. You do not want his cough or if there is anything in his lungs prevent you from leaving China. I sure you've already been told this. Joelle had a sinus infection and because she was on an antibiotic this prevented her from getting a severe sinus or ear infection like the rest of us after we flew home--air pressure from all of the plane rides. The Western doctor that Holt uses is very kind and does a wonderful job. I am sure there will be others in your group who need to go; you can split the taxi fare. Catherine will fix you up! Tell her hi for us--if you mention Juliese and visiting her foster family in May--she'll know. Praying for you all! His simply wonderful--both the Lord and your new son!

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  7. Oh my goodness!!! He's in your arms forever!!! How incredibly exciting and what an adventure for you all to get to this point. ;o) THANK YOU so much for the pictures. I have been anxious to hear. Keep the posts (and your e-mails to me) coming and can't wait to meet him. Love you all!!! - Deborah and fam

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  8. So happy for you both! Can't wait to meet Jesiah! I know Eli and Kaylee will be so happy to see you again and meet their new brother.

    It's amazing what a difference Cheerios make! Glad he was able to warm up to both of you and snuggle. We'll keep praying for you all and the transition. - Glenda

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  9. Oh Michelle & Nathan,
    He is so precious. What great pictures. Shedding tears of joy for your family. We love him so much and can't wait to meet him. Sounds like God really knew what He was doing when he chose Jesiah to be your son forever. Much love to all of you!
    ~Chris

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  10. Finally! You have completed the longest pregnacy that you will ever have! He is wonderfully handsome and is blessed beyond what he can understand now, to have you and Nathan as parents. Let us know if we can help with the language transition when you return. Ask if they spoke Mandarin or Cantonese at the orphanage. The plane ride back may be rough if he is sick, Chinese medicine is the best for him right now. We use it now above western medicine. Will send prayers on the wings of the plane for you. Can't wait to meet him! Renee

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  11. He is soooo beautiful! We are rejoicing with you! What size clothes did he end up being in & is that a size you have plenty of or do you need more?

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  12. I'm tearing up. How fantastic for your family. Your hearts are huge. Ours thoughts are with you guys and a safe journey home. Congrats and happy babymoon! ;D

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  13. This is sooo wonderful! Cant wait to meet him! Thanking God Jesiah has been blessed with such a wonderful family! Praying you guys home safely!

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  14. He is adorable!!!! We can't wait to meet him. We are so glad he has joined the family!!! Be safe, we love you, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nana and Baby Maddie

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  15. This is such a wonderful blessing to so many people. We "opened" your box of angels last night to kick off the Christmas season and had everyone put their angel on the tree. You have touched so many lives with Jesiah and your journey. We will continue to pray for your safety and health as you bond and transition back to the US. Love you all! Jani,Greg, Ammon, Aaron, AnaMaria and Abram Thomas

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  16. Congrats! Praying for your safe return home.

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  17. So excited for you guys and can't wait to meet our newest little cousin!!! Love you all so much!!! Derek, Megan, Haley, Connor, Alec

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  18. Thrilled to hear how well your first day went! May God continue to bless your bonding!

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  19. congrads on your new son from your iowa family.

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  20. Hope everything is going well Shell! I keep checking, hoping there will be new pictures and posts and haven't seen any. I know it's probably hard when you're focusing on Jesiah right now, which is understandable. Just anxious to see new info. Love you tons and praying like crazy!!! - Deb

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