Walk of Faith

Mike and I have been so blessed to have three beautiful children, all adopted from China. We will be celebrating our 25th wedding aniversary Dec. 21st. Wow, where does the time go? I remember thinking years ago about our 25th anniversary. What would be my dream getaway to celebrate such a milestone, Hawaii? When Mike and I married we openly talked about adoption. I'm adopted, my dad wasn't actually officialy adopted but found a family (I'll tell the story a little later) and so adoption just seemed right. We began the adoption process in 1998 and in 2000 I traveled with my mom to bring our first daughter home, Emmi. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago we were waiting on our TA. Emmi was 1 year old. As I was an only child, I knew she had to have a sister. So in 2002, our agency, Childrens House International, introduced the first waiting child list. There she was, our Maggie. I never in the world thought that I could possibly adopt a sn child. But I knew in my heart that she was ours. God had a special plan for our family and Maggie was part of that plan. I did all my research on cleft lip/palate. You know crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's. This need is so manageable. We traveled in Feb., 2003 to bring her home. She was 20 months old. In 2004, I thought maybe we could adopt another little girl. However, God had another plan. You see, there was a little boy, 3 years old, who's file was going to be returned soon. I started advocating for this little boy and never thought about adopting him. I just knew he needed a family. His special need was club radial hand. As I advocated for him, I started feeling a pull. Why couldn't we be his parents? So I started praying about this cute little man becoming our son. Was he our son? I felt that tug and at church on my Birthday, it all came together. We traveled in Feb. 2006 to bring him home and he was 3 3/4. Another manageable need, club radial hand, Jacob had surgery to straighten and lengthen his arm. We plan on another surgery next year. He can throw a football better than most boys in his class and loves to play basketball.
As we sit down for dinner, there's always that empty chair. In the van, there's empty seats. And for some reason, 4 has been on my mind now for the past few years.
Back in February, I decided to visit the rainbowkids website. Having a routine of work, school for the kids, homework, dinner, etc. I really didn't take the time to check my favorite blogs and groups or even post on my own blog. As I visited rainbowkids, I knew I could open my heart to an older child. There were two girls whose needs seemed so manageable (although I knew nothing about either one). I remember thinking, "I could adopt either of these girls and be their mom". How in the world would I decide. Now these were just thoughts, nothing serious. As I thought about both girls days later, I went back to rainbowkids. One of the girls was no longer listed. The other child, that I was drawn to the most, was still there. Her need was listed as CP so I e-mailed the agency regarding more information. Financialy, we just weren't ready to start another adoption, maybe next year. However, my heart just kept being tugged. I joined the agency's yahoo group. I found more pictures and even video of her as well as researched her need. Over the past 7 months I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this child. I've thought about her day and night, night and day. I know it's God's plan that she too be a part of our family.
We submitted our paperwork and received PA today. So now the paperchase begins. Her name is Tammy on the agency list, however, we're thinking about the name, Faith. This is a walk of faith. So I hope you follow along to see God's work. I have several fundraisers planned with the first one on Oct. 21st, more to come.
MY DAD - as I wrote above, my dad was never officially adopted. As an orphan, he rode one of the last orphan trains. I can just imagine it traveling through Kentucky and stopping in every little town. As the trained stop in one of the last towns, my dad with all the other kids walked to the courthouse steps (not far from the train tracks). There was a man there that saw my dad and took him home. Unfortuately, this man's wife didn't want a son, so this man called a friend of his. As this man too took my dad home, again he was rejected by the wife. Another call was made, and the last family accepted my dad. The first two men were pretty influential in the town. The family that finally found him, wasn't, but they had the biggest heart. I'm so grateful that that train stopped in my home town that day. And I'm so grateful that when my mom and dad asked for a boy to adopt and received an extra picture (of me, hee hee) my dad had a change of heart. Yep, I was a daddy's girl!! I love and miss my dad. The gift of family, what a treasure!
So for this 25th anniversary I can honestly say that I'm not dissapointed that we're not going to Hawaii, or probably anywhere else. But I'm so grateful that I have a husband that has a love for the orphans as I do. Afterall, I was one.