I was born in November, 1999, in Tucson, Arizona.  As I recall, a Monday.
It was chilly, cloudy and I had very little to say.
My world looked so big at only 4 pounds, as I was early to arrive.
Sixteen inches from head to toe, the doctor said, “He should survive!”

On day two, little was known what my future would be.
Pokes, needles, tests, doctors, nurses, and yes, even an IV.
The nurse told me, “Chin up, there’s some folks here for you to see,
The man’s name is Bill and his wife, Cindi.”

Everyday these people came to hold and comfort me.
And finally after a while they let me out of ICU and UMC.
I’d lost even more weight but yet on this day the world appeared very bright…
My cradle seemed cozy and warm; “Ah yes, this home might work out all right.”

I grew steadily but slowly and spent most of my time crying.
Sleeping some, eating some; all the time their nerves I was trying.
One awful day I heard them mutter and proclaim, “let’s try soy.”
“Help me, help me, I screamed, that’s no food for a growing boy!”

Finally we all settled in and things progressed just fine,
I wiggled my way in their hearts and their touch become familiar to mine.
The days in their home turned into months and I wondered when would I be leaving.
People came and went but this couple still prayed and kept singing; always believing.

At 6 months they thought I was sleeping but I heard these people praying night after night
“Dear Lord, we love him so much but we need Your wisdom, mind, strength and insight,
Show us the family that would be best; we sincerely desire to do what’s right....”
And now it’s become official, in a few short months my name will be James William Wright!!!!
We’re making this announcement to family and friends, hoping they will say,
We’re with you in the days ahead and promise to pray.

“Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible, my Daddy and Mommy tell me so.”

Well, it’s now almost 6 years after the announcement went out that we would be adopting precious James. None of us had a clue to what was ahead, for good and for bad. We have had many, many children in our home as foster children and there was just something about James that we couldn’t resist.

As we near retirement age, people think we are crazy to have adopted a special needs child. Yes, the cruises, shuffleboard, and bingo will not be in our future. We will be in and out of the classroom, visiting the psychiatrist, neurologist and endocrinologist. Each day is a new and exciting adventure. We didn’t realize just how much we had to learn about FAS and the emotional ups and downs that would consume us.

During her pregnancy, James’ biological mother admitted to drinking heavily (up to 24 beers a day) and using cocaine. At birth, the placenta smelled like alcohol. We are fairly confident that she left the hospital thinking James would not survive.

James is the joy of our lives. There is never a dull moment and we are often weary of chasing, challenging, teaching, scolding, listening and giving 100% attention to him but we wouldn’t change our lives for one second. James still doesn’t sleep all night and prefers to play alone or with his brother (yes, we adopted another boy as they both needed each other!). James successfully completed a special education preschool program and we are all anticipating his first day of Kindergarten with mixed emotions. We struggle with over-protecting and over-indulging James but can never “over-love and over-nurture” him.

We are not looking forward to the years of fighting the school system to help meet James’ needs but we are committed to using every resource available to give him the best possible life and future. We cannot imagine a life without James.

James has a very large extended family that includes 6 adult brothers and sisters and 14 (and still counting) nieces and nephews under the age of 10! We are grateful for their support and the support of the FAS Resource Center.