Our First Meeting

After over 13 months of waiting we finally got to meet the latest addition to our family, Trey Teepop Beeson (formerly know as Teepop Buadepresert). We initially found out about him last November of 2008 when we got a call out of the blue from Holt Adoption Agency (the agency that had handled our two previous son's adoptions) saying that they had just found out that RJ's (my eldest son) mother had given birth to another baby and were wondering if we wanted to adopt again. After I got over my initial shock, I started to get excited, as I had felt the Lord was preparing my heart to the possibility of going back for a little girl just before we had gotten the call. At the risk of sounding like a horrible person, you can imagine I was quite dissapointed when I was told it was another little boy. My disappointment quickly faded, and I began to get excited about the possibility of adopting another child into our home. Lance however, did not initially share my same excitement but we decided to have them send us the information about the child for our review. It took us many hours of prayer and discussion with friends and family before we decided how to proceed. In the end, we felt that the miracles that had to occur for this little child to even find us were all just a sign from the Lord that he was meant to be part of our family. I had further reassurance from the social worker today who actually told me that they (meaning the Thai Holt Adoption agency) were not even sure that they should even tell us about Trey since we already had our hands full with two other boys. I mean think about this, Bangkok is a town of over 10 million people and the fact that Trey's mother happened to give birth at the same hospital where RJ had been born, and that someone happened to recognize her and know that she had given up her previous child for adoption, and that that particular person happened to notify Holt (a very samll adoption agency in this huge country and city), and Holt finally decided to notify us, could only have been divine intervention and I tear up everytime I think about how many hurdles this little boy had to overcome just to meet in my arms today! God is so good!

I will post a couple of videos of our first meeting below. As his brothers before him, he was not too excited about the idea of having all of us around him most of the day. He didn't start out crying but just staring at us like, "what in the world is going on and who are all these funny looking people?" He only cried when either Lance or I touched or held him. He was able to get over his shock however, and eat a good lunch with us and his social workers around. He even let me feed him for a while, then he decided that eating his little blanket was much more fun. After lunch we wnet up to our hotel room for an hour, chaperoned by his social worker. He seemed to really enjoy throwing the ball and having RJ go chase it down for him.

We then had the pleasure of going to meet his foster family, who happened to be the same foster family as RJ's, yet another "coincidence", out of hundreds maybe thousands of foster families around the Bangkok area. Once in his home enviroment he became a more happy and playful child and it was nice to see and exchange gifts with RJ and Trey's foster family, who were more than gracious to give us drinks and presents even though I know that just taking care of Trey for the past two years has likely been a financial burden upon them (the foster family system is all voluntary here, they do not get paid like they do in the US). I really felt that no gift I could give them would be adequate and left there feeling almost ashamed and guilty of all that I have at home, as it seems like so much and all so unecessary, as all I really need are my four "boys", Lance, RJ, Jack and now Trey to be truly blessed and happy.

Well, so sorry for all the sappy rhetoric, but it really is humbling being halfway across the world and being witness to the true generosity of the human spirit. I will forever be grateful to the Poontip family for taking such good care of first RJ and now Trey, as well as to their birth mother who made the ultimate scarifice of giving up her children so that they could have a better life, and although she didn't know it at the time, so that I could have the wonderous joy of being their mother! Stay tuned, we have many adventures (although may not be truly exciting adventures) still to come.

Day 3

The last 2 days have been good. Still 85 degrees and 90% humidity but am getting used to it, and since I heard it was snowing in Kennewick, WA I enjoyed laying out by the pool in the sun for 30 minutes today even more! The boys had fun playing in the pool, and although it was a little cold for my taste, they didn't seem to mind at all. I am looking forward to the day when they are all strong enough swimmers that I can just sit by the pool and watch instead of having to get in.

Yesterday we took the boys to the zoo. It was quite an experience getting there with our 2 child stroller in such little cabs with no trunk space. Although I know it isn't as good for the animals, the cages were much smaller than we are used to and the animals were very close so the kids really enjoyed it. I am going to try and put some video of it down below (this is an experiment and hopefully will be successful so that I can post some of our first view of Trey tomorrow).

Then, my parents, myself and my mother-in-law went to an international buffet with a traditional Thai Theater production. I think I had a bite of about every thing they served. I got to try some new exotic foods that I had never heard of, and while I can't say I enjoyed them all, I did enjoy the majority of them, even if I couldn't pronounce them. The show was really neat as well, such beautiful costumes and dancing, although I don't think there was a spoken word, just music and sound effects. It was enjoyable, so much so that my mother-in-law fell asleep! Some of us are still suffering from jet lag, especially after a good meal and then when sitting in comfortable chairs in a nice cool dark room!

Today we got to experience the weekend market. It boasts to be the one of the largest markets in the world with over 15,000 vendors and over 200,000 people every weekend visiting it. It was an interesting mix of old vintage clothing (we even saw an old Baker University T-shirt!) to different animals, homemade crafts and traditional souvenirs as well as plenty of knock-offs. I bought a Gucci watch knock off for 18 American dollars. Doubt it lasts very long but thought it worth the try. I am constantly amazed at how many people there are wherever you go and every time you get on the train no matter what time of day it is always full! I do not know how people can live like this everyday of their lives, it would drive me crazy!!

Thanks again for reading, tomorrow is our big day, we get to meet Trey finally! These first two days are always so hard you wish they would just let you keep him because once they are in your arms it is so hard to give them back even though you know it is for the easiest transition for them.

Day 2

First a correction on yesterday's blog, it took us 30 HOURS not minutes to get here, thanks for pointing that out Diaz! Sleep deprivation does funny things to my poor typing skills.

Well, another day down. We are enjoying the 85-90 degree temps but the 90% humidity is a good reminder to me as to why I do not miss the Midwest, whew! We took the boys to the ancient city here in Bangkok, a neat place where they have a bunch of old relics and houses on a huge area of land. It would have been fun to read about all the temples, ruins and houses but with 2 little boys we were on the go quickly so didn't get to learn much about the history. Thanks Allayne for the nice recommendation, the boys did have a great time.

Still no pictures, like I mentioned earlier forgot my cables to connect my camera to the computer and today I forgot to take the Flip! Am hoping my memory improves as my sleep gets caught up.

Boys are tired and ready for bed so will sign off. Not sure what we will do tomorrow (I can't believe Lance didn't have a day to day, hour by hour itinerary of our whole trip!) but hopefully I remember the camera and have some nice video to post tomorrow. Our first sign of Trey won't be until Sunday but I am sure that will be here before you know it!

Thanks for reading!

We Made it!

Well, it was once again a long trip to get here. It still took us 30 minutes from the gate in Pasco, WA to the gate here at Bangkok so it didn't save us any time leaving closer to the pacific ocean as I thought it would. Oh well, we are thankful to be here, after getting over an hour and a half delay on the FIRST plane, then getting our plane seat reservations "lost" on the San Francisco to Taipei, Taiwan we ended up arriving here in Bangkok right on time. The boys were wonderful and so well behaved, so much better than the nightmare I had expected (they will probably save that all for the plane trip home!). I think taking the red-eye on the longest leg of the trip really helped for them. RJ actually slept almost 7 full hours (although he has always been a great sleeper), Jack also got almost a total of 8 hours together. The little booger outlasted me, I remember really trying to keep my eyes open as he asked me for the 100th time when the oxygen masks were going to come out from the ceiling of the airplane. He was very safety conscious and payed attention to the stewardess's instructions and literally spent hours studying the safety brochure they leave in all the seats. He seemed very preoccupied with crashing (I was kicking myself for letting him watch those Lost episodes with me!)

I have forgotten my cables to connect my camera so that I can upload pictures, but now that I am here I am going to break out my little Flip video camera so stayed tuned there should be at least some video clips to watch (if I can figure out how to do that).

We will keep you updated, stay tuned.......!

FINALLY!!

OK, we are finally leaving today. I know that I sent our a plea for prayers in regards to the paperwork we were needing to get to travel as had been planned on Thanksgiving day, so thank you for all of those who did pray, the paper I needed got done and in time, but they changed our date to travel anyways!! I was so mad I didn't feel up to sending out another mass email so sorry if you hadn't heard.

We are finally leaving today. Not really looking forward to the 19 hour flying time plus another several in airports but will be excited once we get there so I will try to post daily updates and pictures and if you aren't a friend already look me up on face book as I will update that too! Thanks for reading!

Fall Update

Well, for those of you still checking this blog, here is our update.

We are still awaiting news on when we get to travel to Thailand to get Trey (that is the name that has stuck and seems somewhat fitting for our third little boy). I am hoping it is anytime now and definitely before his 2nd birthday in December.

Above is a picture of RJ and myself on his first day of 1st grade. So hard to believe he is already 1 month into his 1st grade year! He was a little nervous as this was his first foray into public school and the school bus, but now he is an old pro and I think (although he won't admit it) likes it. His Kindergarten teacher definitely did an excellent job of getting him ready and he seems to be way ahead of his class when it comes to reading and math, thank you Mrs. Foss and Kingspoint Christian! Although we do miss having the Christian influence on his life daily, it is so much cheaper and more convenient to have him at public school near our home. We must be saving hundreds on gas alone!


We got to celebrate G.G.'s (that is great grandma, Lance's grandmother) 90th birthday this summer. She looks so good and seems to get around so well for someone of her age. If it weren't for her bad knees I think she would still be out chasing around after the great grand kids. We love her so much and pray for her health and comfort daily.

We took a trip up to the Cascade mountains with my folks this summer. Although it was brief, we had a lot of fun and am hoping to return next year for a longer trip. This was the boys' first experience in fishing and thanks to Grandpa they all caught a fish! We stayed at the cabin in comfort but am hoping next year we will "rough it" for at least one night in a tent away from it all. It should be interesting to say the least with 3 little boys but I am looking forward to the chance.

We also had a couple of the cousins to our house this summer. RJ and Jack sure had fun playing with Parker and Avery and we are hoping they, and all their other cousins can find time for a visit next summer now that we have the back yard finished off and a nice place to play and visit. Maybe next year I will have money for some patio furniture so we can enjoy it even more!

Well, I hope all of you stay tuned as I am anticipating a trip to Thailand to pick up our new little guy soon and will definitely do daily updates while overseas for anyone interested in our adoption travels! Hope you all take care and email me dlbeeson@charter.net. I so love hearing from all of my friends and family. You can also look Lance and I up on facebook now!

Happy Fourth of July

HAPPY FOURTH EVERYONE!!

I wish I could post a cute little picture of the boys in their red, white and blue clothes with nice cute little sparklers, but I had to work today, never got around to buying any cute matching little clothes, and am so exhausted after a really tough week at work that I put the kids to bed and am planning on heading there myself! Lance did take the boys to the parade in Pasco, if you could call a few cars, a couple of bad marching bands and of course, the Shriner's driving around in little cars a parade. It is a poor excuse for a parade, but I think the kids have fun which is really the point anyways.

The past couple of months have been pretty busy. RJ finished up school so Lance is keeping both the kids home for the summer. RJ is taking golf, which he really enjoys, and that makes Lance happy since he loves it too! They are now going to the driving range together too which is a great thing for the both of them to get to do. Jack is at home too, so Lance is keeping extra busy. I feel guilty that he has to do so much as I have been working a lot to try and save money for our upcoming trip to Thailand, as well as pay for some unexpected medical bills.

Jack had to have some very expensive dental work, which I hated to do, I did not want to put him under general anesthesia, but to pay so much for teeth that are going to fall out! But, it had to be done, his teeth were literally starting to rot, the product of no prenatal care. He does seem to be eating better and he no longer complains of his food being too hot, so I guess if he is more comfortable and it will prevent permanent teeth damage then it is worth it.

We got another update on Trey (that is the official name we have come up with and it has seemed to stick for the past several months). He had to be hospitalized for a stomach virus and dehydration for 3 days but seems to be doing well now from what we have heard. Above is the latest picture we have of him. He looks a lot like RJ did at that age I think. His eyes are slightly more almond shaped than RJ's but they seem to have a lot of other similarities.

Well, hope you all (those 3 of you who are still checking in!!) are doing well. I just want you all to know I count myself lucky to have friends and family like you, and I count my blessings every night before I go to sleep. I feel so privileged to have been given such wonderful friends, family, husband and 2, soon to be 3, beautiful children that I sometimes wonder why God is so good to such an undeserving sinner like me. Praise Him! Take care and love you all!