One year ago today

We were spending our very first hours together as a family of 8. We were excited, nervous, and not at all sure what the future would hold.

Kai was such a surprise to me. When I met him at Jonah House he was shy, quiet, and reserved. I got a couple of true smiles from him, and he was excited to look at family photos with me, but overall, the impression he left me with was one of a quiet, polite, and sweet kid. Looking back, I realize he was scared that day. Scared maybe of what sort of impression he would make, scared of what his new sister would be like, scared that maybe we would change our minds after all, scared at how much his life would change. I’m not really sure, but I do know, that timid child was nowhere to be seen from the moment he walked in our door.

Kai Wei walked through our doors and became a part of our family. He came in, singing in Chinese, squealing in excitement, and shooting nerf guns at everyone (with a bit of prompting from his siblings). It was easy to love him. To my surprise, it even felt natural to say he was my brother. Despite that, there was still a sense that we weren’t quite family. After all, families have a history together. They tell stories that start with, “remember when?” I longed for that cohesive bond that families have, the way we can be comfortable being ourselves together because we know each other better than anyone else ever could.


Well, after a whole year, we have built a history together. We have so many stories beginning, “remember when?” Remember when the electricity went out and we cooked dumplings on the floor? Remember when we went backpacking together and ate the crayfish? Remember the time we went to the drive-in with Abby and Matt? Remember when, remember when, remember when. . .

This whole first year we went through a lot of “firsts” together. Those firsts were hard for Kai. He could sense our excitement, but since he hadn’t been part of it before and wasn’t really sure what to expect, he was always rather “prickly” about traditions. I’m looking forward to this coming year. We have a solid sense now of being a family. After a whole year together, there will be very few firsts that aren’t also firsts for the whole family.

It’s been such a joy to spend this year with Kai. His sense of security in his place in the family has grown. He loves his Mom, his Dad, his brothers and his sisters. He makes us all laugh and loves to talk when he’s in the mood (not necessarily when we ask questions). He has learned a LOT of English, and still works hard at communicating things when he doesn’t know the words. He still loves noodles for breakfast, but we’ve managed to convince him that chocolate cake is a good thing. Medieval capes, legos, and bionicles are all things he and Daniel have learned to enjoy together, most of the time. Kai has amazed us with his resilience and adaptability. We love him and are so happy that we've been on this adventure of being a family together for a year now.