May 15… the day Jackson was an orphan no more! After 1874 days, Jackson was an orphan no more and officially forever a James. We left early Tuesday morning and went back to the civil affairs office to officially adopt Jackson. There was a more paper signing, more pictures, and the administrators from his orphanage were there to be the legal representative from the orphanage. A notary completed papers and the adoption was finalized.
We quickly went to the airport and flew to Jackson’s town to apply for his passport and visit the orphanage. Jackson did so well on the flight and later told the guide he was a little scared, but we would have never known. We made it to the police station where our guide and the orphanage adminisrators applied for Jackson’s Chinese passport. It was an interesting experience, especially since his small town has only completed two passports for adopted children so far! Jackson was the third, and two more will follow behind us during the year.
Once we applied for his passport, we went to the orphanage to visit and see Jackson’s home for the past five years. It was a humbling experience, and LJ and I both fought back tears most of the day. We were so grateful for the way they cared for our son. It was obvious he was so loved and he felt at home there. He grabbed Sam’s hand and lead him into the orphanage and showed us around the facility. He was so proud to show us around and show us his friends. We were there for over four hours and Sam and Jackson spent a lot of time playing together on the playground. We finished the afternoon with a fantastic meal that the orphanage cooked for us and we had some time with the director and the administrators to give our thanks for the way they have cared for Jackson.
Jackson said goodbye to his friends and we headed back to the airport to return to Kunming. There were no tears from Jackson as we left the orphanage. We’re so grateful that Sam is with us, because there’s always a playmate close and a new friend always helps with transition. We’ve been so proud of Samuel as he’s fully embraced his big brother role and is such a great help . We finally arrived back in our hotel close to 11pm and everyone was exhausted, but so thankful for the day.
The james family tree 