Gotcha

True to my summer form, I'm a bit behind.

We celebrated Quinn's second *Gotcha Day* on Tuesday, July 26. If you are unfamiliar with the adoption world, Gotcha Day is traditionally celebrated on the day that you met your child. Since so many Internationally adopted children have an unknown birthday, Gotcha Day is their special day that can be accompanied with their own story.

And boy do we have a story. Two years ago, Steve and I travelled to Xi'an, China to meet our son. My best friend, Lisa, and her husband, Gary, were living in China at the time and were able to take the train to be with us for a few days when we met Quinn. That was a total gift in and of itself. Not to mention, Quinn's Gotcha Day is also Lisa's birthday. In China, that's called double happiness.

Honestly, the few hours leading up to meeting Quinn were some of the most nerve wracking of my life (well, up until cancer.)

We were taken to a government building where we waited for his orphanage to bring him on a van. Thanks to the bird flu foreigners were unable to go orphanages. We waited outside of an elevator on the 6th floor for about a half hour (glamorous, right?) Every time the elevator door opened, I nearly had a heart attack.

They finally opened with Quinn in his care taker's arms. A butter ball of a boy wearing a Green Bay Packers corduroy jump suit (in the middle of July). You know I could hardly WAIT to get that kid back to the hotel and put some Gymboree on him.

The initial meeting didn't go so great. Quinn cried and carried on (as expected) for about a half hour. That is, until we gave him a sucker. And to this day, the kid loves him some sugar. Snap, he IS my kid. Initially, he took to Steve more than me. Soon he preferred me. Then, both of us. He protested by not drinking anything for 24 hours, which sent me into a panic. He hoarded food in his cheeks for a few days. But eventually, he decided he liked us.

Since then, he's never looked back. And neither have we.

I can't imagine life without Quinn. He is smart. A clown. An extrovert. A talker. Cautious. A lover. Stubborn. Clever. Generous. Relentless.

Each year we go out to eat for some Chinese food. The waitresses love him. We look at his baby book (can you believe his orphanage made him one?) and watch his Gotcha Day video.

It is hard to imagine what life for Quinn would have been like in China.

It is hard to imagine what our lives would be like without him.

I'm sad for the family and friends that have missed out on his presence back there. But I am thankful that their loss is our gain. Thank you, Jesus, for blessing us with Quinn Jian Koproski!