Anderson's "gotcha" day, new middle name, and some funny stories

It is 3 a.m. here, and I cannot sleep. I am very grateful that Jeff, Alex, and Aerin are asleep, because they are all still struggling with jet lag and exhaustion. I am tired, but I can naturally function on less sleep.  In about 7 hours, Anderson will be placed in our arms "for keeps". We still have to go through the formality of the hearing in Bangkok on August 25th, but I will always consider August 20th his "gotcha day", as many adoptive families refer to it.

I have a ton of things to share, but I have to pick and choose so I don't spend hours typing details that many of you don't have time to read! So, I will tell you a few things and share some pictures to give you an idea of what we are experiencing here.

* Everyone in Thailand has a nickname that is used to call them by their family in friends (not just children). Anderson's name is "Garfield", named from the cartoon. Alex and Aerin think it is hilarious when all of the social workers and foster family call him Garfield. They never call him by Pattanapong, which is his given name.  They named him that when he was very sick and in and out of the hospital over the last couple of years, because the social workers, foster mom, and volunteers would chant the name and it would calm him or make him smile.

*We are so excited that we have learned how to pronounce and part of the meaning of Anderson's last name "Kaewmui."  Because of what we have learned, we have decided to change his middle name to Kaew. It is so special that Kaew is the foster father's name, and that it means "glass" in Thai.  Anderson's first name is one we chose from my family.  It was my great-grandmother's maiden name.  Glass is Jeff's mom's maiden name. So Anderson Kaew Tatum encompasses the names of our family tree and the name of Anderson's foster family. It is amazing how God has worked in every detail of this adoption, even in Anderson's name.

*Anderson thinks Alex is hilarious and has really enjoyed playing with both of the kids. But it is Alex who can make him laugh and who plays cars with him. During the meeting with the doctor yesterday, he enjoyed throwing  his play cars at Alex while they both laughed uncontrollably.

*Aerin has had some adventures while we have been here. The highlight of them was when we were visiting the foster family's home (I will post pics to give you an idea of their daily lives) and she fell in the canal of water beside the house. It was only waist deep for her, so there was no danger of drowning. But she got soaked and her hands and legs were covered in slimy mud.  The foster father's niece cleaned her up, gave her a shirt to put on, and put her wet clothes in a bag. They are kind and gracious people, and did not even ask about returning the shirt. (You can see in the picture what she looked like post-fall in the water).

Foster family with us-mom, grandmom, aunt, niece

Garfield with Lin (his foster mom)

*We laugh about how the Thai people respond to us and the kids. They will often pat Aerin on the shoulder and smile and the men sometimes "tweak" Alex's ear. At home, especially when Alex and Aerin were younger, Alex's hair would always get people's attention and he is often "noticed" in public. Here, Aerin is constantly getting attention because of her blue eyes and light hair. When we went to see Anderson's doctor yesterday, the nurses wanted to hold Aerin's hand and walk with her as we went through the hospital.  Thais are such friendly people, and always smiling for the most part. We love interacting with them, even with the communication barrier. We have tried to learn some Thai words of greeting and thanks, but we still know very little. I am sure it is quite humorous to them when we try to speak their language.

*I can say wholeheartedly that Anderson has been loved deeply and cared for with great compassion by the entire extended foster family, and that they are going to be grieving him for a long time. He has many people who we have met who have been involved in his care, including doctors, nurses, volunteers, social workers, family members, and neighbors of the family. They have all invested in his life, and we have quite a story to tell him as he grows about how loved he was and how God protected him and placed him in a community of people who gave him so much early in his life.  Please pray for them, especially this morning (tonight around 8 p.m. for all of you)as they must say goodbye to him. I cannot imagine how difficult it is going to be. As we rejoice, they grieve. As we have counted the days to meeting him and bringing him home, they will count the days that he is gone from their lives. It is our prayer that they know that we love him and will do everything in our power to care for him and help him--that they will have a peace in their sadness that he is in a family who will go to any lengths to help him and care for his medical needs, and who will love him through everything he experiences.

Anderson with his foster mom and grandmom - the things in front of them are different kinds of Thai fruits. They are really delicious.  The foster family gaves us the entire platter of fruit when we left, and we are still eating it.

**PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for Anderson as he deals with so much sudden change at once, for all of us as we adjust to our new schedules, for Alex and Aerin's health during the trip, for safety as we travel back to Bangkok tomorrow, and for Anderson's foster family as they grieve.

Pray for all of the Holt staff and social workers, as they are doing an amazing work here in Southern Thailand. 

Pray for the other two families who are adopting children who live in Bangkok and have the same hearing date as we do. They will meet their children for the first time on Sunday.

Pray for our families at home and for Alex and Aerin when they deal with bouts of homesickness. We are having a wonderful trip and they are learning things that they could never learn at home, but they have times when they miss their home, extended family, and friends.

We love you all. IF you have gotten this far, thanks for taking the time to read and thanks for your prayers.

Grace, Peace, and Love from the Land of Smiles!