From Ricky:
In adoption circles the day the child officially enters his/her forever family is known as "Gotcha Day". Today, February 17, 2014 at approximately 9:45 am we celebrated Josiah Ricky Yanghe Simpson's "Gotcha Day". We have our son, and he's beautiful. We arrived at the Civil Affairs Office at about 9:40 and were not expecting him to arrive until around 10 am, but all of a sudden a couple ladies came walking down the hallway with a precious little boy, and our guide said, "Here's your son". I can't even begin to express the flood of emotions I experienced in that moment, but we are so thankful to our heavenly Father for giving us this amazing blessing. Minutes after receiving him he fell asleep on my shoulder, probably exhausted from his long trip and how amazing it was to let him rest in the arms of his father. We then got to introduce him to his brother and sister and grandmother and have him in our hotel room adjusting to now being a family of five. He has a beautiful smile, loves to eat, and has been playing with his brother and sister. I know I'm rambling, but wow, it's just amazing. Thank you so much for your prayers and support and encouragement on this journey. It has been long, but wow, has it been worth it! We've taken a thousand pictures, but we'll attach just a few for now. Let us introduce you to our son!
Ricky
From Michelle:
Yesterday I was reading a book called 'The Story About Ping' to Isaac and Emma. In the story, a duck named Ping gets separated from his family and watches them float away in a boat far, far away. Emma started weeping and saying 'He's not with his mommy and daddy.' She was so upset Ping was separated from his mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Today, we brought our own duckling into the Simpson family boat and he no longer has to be separated from his family and our tears are tears of joy. (Ping also eventually reunites with his family:).
It was truly an amazing moment to be handed our son. He instantly wanted Ricky and soon sweetly fell asleep on his daddy's chest.
Since we arrived back at our hotel, he has been walking around drinking his bottle and playing with his big brother and big sister. He is beautiful, with a sweet smile and laugh. He has been saying 'mama, mama, mama', which is beyond beautiful. Emma entered her role as a big sister by instantly 'mothering' her new little brother. Isaac took a couple of hours to warm up, but he broke the ice with Josiah by bringing Josiah a toy Pluto that my mom had bought for Josiah and also brought him his new caterpillar. I'm really proud of them because I know this is a lot for them, but how wonderful it is to have our family together!
Tomorrow, Ricky, Josiah, and I will be heading 3 hours away to the city where Josiah has spent most of his first 20 months in order to obtain his passport. We will also be visiting his orphanage while we are there to gain more understanding of this time in his life that has helped shape him thus far.
Your prayers and support are a precious gift to us!
In His grace,
Michelle:)
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