In the early days of prayerfully discerning our decision to
adopt, we shared and discussed it with J. Henry, who turned 6 last May. As the big brother in our
family he understands that he has certain responsibilities with his 2 year old sister, Amelia, and we wanted him to know that he would now have two younger siblings to look
after. He has always responded enthusiastically in our conversations and even
brings it up on his own from time to time.
On Labor Day weekend, our family of four took an overnight trip
to Huntsville to visit the Space Center and Science Center. On the way home in the
car, we decided to quiz him a little concerning the adoption. Below are his verbatim
answers that Kameron recorded, with no coaching. We were both pleased and
amused by his answers and thought you might enjoy them too.
Kam: J. Henry, where are we adopting from?
Henry: Ethiopia.
Kam: Where is that?
Henry: In Africa.
Kam: How old will our child be?
Henry: I have no idea. It's gonna be under the number 6. But I
don't know, maybe it's 5.
Kam: How long will it be before our child comes to our house?
Henry: Maybe when I'm 7.
Kam: Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?
Henry: I hope it's a boy.
Kam: Why?
Henry: Because I DO NOT LIKE GIRLS.
Kam: What will you teach your new brother/sister how to do?
Henry: How to jump on the trampoline and speak English and
color. I will teach him lots of things. I will teach him how to use things in
America - how to use a fork, sit in a car seat, pause and un-pause a TV, honk a
horn, pack his clothes, give a hug and a kiss, sing, dance, share. I will teach
him how to stay with y'all and how to cooperate.
Kam: What will you share with your new sibling?
Henry: Maybe some of my pencils, or magazines. I'll share Mimi!
Kam: What will you not share?
Henry: I'll share everything with him.
Kam: Do you pray for him/her?
Henry: Oh, I will. And I will teach him how to pray.
Kam: Are you worried about anything with the new child coming?
Henry: Nope.
Kam: What do you think he will be when he grows up?
Henry: Let his imagination flow. He can control his own life.
Kam: Who will he child share a room with?
Henry: Me. If it's a girl, Amelia can have her in her room. But
if it's a boy, I'll do it.
Kam: What color skin will our child have?
Henry: Tannish.
Kam: What will you say if people make comments about our tannish
child looking different than us?
Henry: I will say, a child is a child. And that's nothing.
Kam:
If somebody said, "He's not really your brother because he's adopted,"
what would you say?
Henry:
Well, we adopted him, so now he's in our family.
I
think he is getting it.
We deeply desire to show God’s love
to one of His own by making him or her one of our own. Please pray for all five
us during this journey.
In God’s Grace,
Nathan, Kameron, J. Henry, Amelia
(and Baby #3!)
