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AJ, it was really nice seeing the pictures of your two new little nephews on Twitter when you were in Indiana. What are their names? Apollo and…

Apollo and Maddox.

Maddox.

Mm-hm.

Yeah, they’re…they’re really cute.

Yeah, super cute. We got to get to know them actually fairly well. We were there at my sister’s place for almost six weeks so when we first arrived, y’know, they had just been adopted. They were adopted, as you know. They’d just been brought back from China, I don’t know, when we started visiting they had just arrived so they had not really adjusted. They…they weren’t, especially Apollo, one of them, was not really integrated into the family. He was having a lot of problems. I think it was a big shock for him… Kristin: Mm-hm.

going from his life in China, because they were adopted from China, and then brought to America into this completely new family.

Well, you, I think you had told me one of them came from a small family and the other one was in a foster family that had a lot more kids, is that right?

No, the opposite, one…Apollo, the one that had the problems, he was with the foster family. So he was with some foster family in China. They were taking care of him. So he got, I’m sure, in his mind as a little baby he thought these are my…this is my family.

Yeah.

And then suddenly he got taken away from them…

Oh.

and given to my sister…

Right.

and her husband, so I’m sure it was a big shock for him. The other one, Maddox, he was living in more of an orphanage.

Oh.

So he adjusted immediately. He seemed super happy immediately…

Oh.

to be with my sister’s family.

Yeah. And they have some health conditions?

Both of them have health problems.

But they…they actually got them taken care of in China, right? Before they came back here?

Not completely. The one baby, Maddox, he has a very strange condition, some kind of syndrome or condition where he can’t eat…he basically can’t eat protein. He can’t eat meat, even certain vegetable proteins, he has to be careful because he can’t digest a certain amino acid. They have to give him a very special diet. They have to give him these special shakes, protein shakes that have only certain amino acids and not the one that will, that can hurt him.

Wow.

And they’re expensive. I’m sure that’s why his, y’know, birth mom or birth parents couldn’t take care of him because… Kristin: Right.

just too expensive to take care of his health problems.

Right.

And then the other one, Apollo, had very serious problems with his intestines, digestive system, needed multiple surgeries.

So he…is he pretty normal now?

He should be. He’s getting there.

Yeah.

He’s still having some issues, some difficulties with his digestion.

Yeah.

But he’s getting better.

Well, I’m just glad your sister and her husband were finally able to adopt because I know it was a long arduous process for them.

Yeah, a long arduous process of tons of red tape, bureaucracy. They actually were going to originally adopt from some country in South America but then there were all these problems and changes in the laws and regulations. Then they changed and to get babies from China. Again, there’s so much paperwork. There’s tons of things they had to do. But they’re quite happy now.

So how long was the process? They spent a lot of money, too, didn’t they?

It was expensive and it took a total of three years.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

Wow, good for them for not giving up.

Mm-hm.

Yeah, y’know, I have a cousin who lives in Indiana as well, interestingly enough. Her and her husband, I believe they couldn’t conceive so they have no children and they tried, I believe, longer than three years, longer than Tiffany and Andrew.

Wow.

And spent a lot of money and I know they were…I believe they were first trying abroad. I think Russia was one of the countries and I think China was another one.

Uh-huh.

Both of them are overweight though, and so that was an issue…

Uh-huh.

as to why they, they couldn’t, y’know, I think there’s weight restrictions for the parents in certain countries. I think China was one.

Weight and age, and yeah, they have a lot of little rules.

Right. And age, they’re up there in age.

Mm, yeah.

But anyway, y’know, they would go through these agencies and spend all this energy, time and money. They spent so much money.

Mm-hm.

And they would just be so disappointed constantly because it would, y’know, it might look like they were going to get a baby and then the deal would fall through.

Yeah.

And finally, it looked like they were…they started actually trying here in America.

Mm-hm.

And they thought they were going to get one. They went down to Mississippi, somewhere in the south.

Mm-hm.

And even got to meet the baby and the mother and they went back up to Indiana, thought it was a sure deal and then the mother turned around and changed her mind. So again, they were just disappointed and I think they were about to give up and another child came through.

Ah, so they finally did it. It’s a…yeah, it’s a long, long process, I think, for adoption. It’s not an easy thing.

Yeah.

And I know, y’know, too, for my sister and her husband, y’know, Andrew…

Yeah.

they, they felt quite bad for, especially Apollo, the one that was having a hard time. Because they felt like oh, it must be so hard for him. He feels like he got taken from his family.

Yeah.

But on the other hand, they knew that the foster family, they were not going to keep him. They were not going to keep him permanently, so… Kristin: Yeah. It was a temporary situation.

Temporary, he would have just gone back and lived in some institution his whole life in an orphanage so it’s long-term much better for him. But the good thing is we got to see him change. So when we first got there he cried all the time. I would just walk up to him and just touch him with my hand and he would start crying.

Yeah.

Oh my god, this poor baby. But by the end he was walking. Before we got there at first he was just crawling. And suddenly he just started walking. And then he started running around the house. His whole attitude changed. And he started letting me pick him up all the time and play with him and he seemed very happy. By the time we left, about six weeks later, he was adjusting and enjoying. They have three other kids so he was enjoying the other children and having more fun and… Kristin: Oh, that’s good.

Yeah.

Finally starting to adapt.

Yeah, that’s right, yeah, I think he…he, I think physically he started doing better, too, because he was having some stomach problems and I think they…digestive problems… Kristin: Yeah.

and they got those fixed.

Y’know, it’s really interesting that we were talking about this the other day that I think there are an ample amount of people who want to adopt, here in America, anyway.

yeah.

And whether they’re trying to adopt here in the U.S. or abroad, it just seems like they…y’know, they have to go through such a long process, spend a lot of money, and a lot of times it doesn’t even happen. Y’know, they choose different parents or they’re rejected for whatever reason.

It is tragic because there are so many kids who need homes and a lot of them end up growing up, I can’t remember.my wife Tomoe found some statistic about, y’know, that a large percentage of kids without parents grow up their whole life in an orphanage or something.

Yeah, it’s sad.

And then there are all these people who want to adopt but the governments and the regulations and the bureaucracy make it so difficult for them. It’s quite sad.

Yeah. Y’know, it’ll be interesting to see how Maddox and Phoenix grow up in a small town in Indiana as well as my, my cousin’s son. Y’know, here again, small town Indiana, because they’re…her son is, I believe maybe half black, half white.

Hm.

And then, y’know, Phoenix and Maddox are Chinese.

Yep.

So, Indiana’s pretty white.

Hm.

It’ll be interesting to see with them growing up in these families, y’know, where their parents are white, if they’ll have…how that will be for them in school… AJ: Mm-hm.

with their peers. Y’know, I know my friend who’s a drum teacher, sorry…she’s my friend but she…yeah, well, she’s my drum teacher as well. She’s Korean. She was born in Korea, was adopted and lived in a small town in Illinois and had a lot of problems.

I think its attitude. Y’know, my sister talked about this, how the stupid social workers at the agency try to tell her that, y’know, to talk about Chinese culture to the babies and all this stuff which I think is exactly the wrong thing and luckily my sister does, too. Because it just makes them feel different.

yeah.

Instead, my sister’s just going to treat those two kids like the same way she treats her other three.

Mm.

They’re her children, they’re part of the family, that’s it.

Mm-hm.

And I think that will…I think they’ll be fine actually.

Yeah.