This is the 11th installment in a series of columns I am devoting to the adoption journey my wife, Claudette, and I started in 2005. Hank Bond, publisher and editor of the Greenup Beacon, asked that we share our story with you. Maybe you have an interest in adoption or know someone who does. If so, I hope this information is helpful.

On Jan. 29, 2007, an entry in “Our Journey to Josie” website read:

“Josie and I have been passing, rolling, and kicking a ‘beach ball’ that has Minnie Mouse in it!  She has enjoyed doing that, and likes to throw and kick the ball.

Josie's singing again.  She truly loves her toys we brought her and the ones we bought her yesterday here in Nanjing.  She has no idea that she has a beautiful bedroom Mommy and Daddy decorated for her, and nearly every doll under the sun waiting on her in Ironton!  She even has presents to unwrap that Santa left for her at Christmas.”

“We decided not to go back to sleep, and instead get ready for our day.  I think we're too excited to sleep.  Words cannot express how precious Josie is to us.  I know her brothers cannot wait until we bring her home.  They've looked so forward to having a sister.  I can already ‘see’ that Josie's big brothers will add to her already ‘spunky,’ and ‘spoiled’ nature!  I remember Brock saying he'd really miss us while we were away from he and Blake for two weeks, but that it was worth it so we could bring his sister Josie home.  We miss and love Brock and Blake so much, and look forward to the following days flying by (so all five of us can be home together) as Josie keeps us busy.”

On Jan. 30, 2007, an entry from “Our Journey to Josie” website read:

“It was another eventful day as 3/5 of the Hapney household made their way throughout Nanjing today.  We started the day with a web cam chat session with many people from both sides of our family.  It was great to be able to show them Josie in live time, and the technology worked great once we finally got things moving.”

“Claudette, Josie, and I ate breakfast here at the hotel, and then made our way to lunch at the Naval Academy Chinese restaurant we ate at the other evening.  Josie chowed down on some great authentic Chinese food.  We can already tell she's going to be a major egg eater in our home, as she enjoyed egg I fed her for breakfast, in addition to a custard dish at lunchtime.”

“After lunch, we went back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize our adoption.  Josie is now officially our daughter!”

“After our appointment at the Civil Affairs office, we went to a silk factory that's the only one of its kind in the entire world.  We bought Josie a woven silk picture to hang in her room.  I also bought a silk tie.”

“Next we went to the Yangzi River Bridge, a very impressive span completed in 1968.  It is considered one of the great achievements of the Chinese Communists, who took over the project after the Russians marched out in 1960.”

“After that we went to the Fuzi Miao (Temple of Confucius).  Its origins date back to AD 1034.  The temple was the seat of Confucian study for more than 1,500 years.  It is now a commercial area full of shops and restaurants.”

“Josie Claire Siyan Hapney had, overall, a great day today.  She's thrown two tantrums--one when Mommy left her with me and went to the restroom without her, and a second one when I took a mini candy bar away from her to open the wrapper so she could eat it.  Like Claudette said, she probably felt intimidated by the older kids at the orphanage and feels like once she gets her hands on something she has to keep it in tight grip for fear of losing it.” 

“Our guide, John, asked for and received a copy of the announcement that was published in the newspaper when Josie was found, trying to find her birth mother (which is required by law).  Her photo was with the announcement.”

“Everywhere we went today Chinese women--both young and old--stated, in Chinese, how beautiful Josie is.  John let us know when they would say that.  One younger woman was commenting on what a great job the surgeons did repairing Josie's cleft lip.”

“I hate to cut today's journal entry short, but I'm battling a severe sore throat.  I took some medicine and am going to bed soon in preparation for tomorrow's journey to Josie's orphanage.”



Terry L. Hapney, Jr., Ph.D., is a professor in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University, and an eastern Greenup County native. He may be reached at hapney@marshall.edu.