[The following was an oral presentation at our fundraising event on February 28, 2015.]
On January 7, 2013, I posted my first blog about adoption. I shared about how I first heard of the plight of little girls in China during a high school presentation and how at that moment, I felt the calling to adopt a little girl from China someday.
In that first blog, I wrote: “The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ This is my single step – my declaration that 2013 will see us doing mountains of paperwork and making life-changing decisions and trusting God for financial provision to bring our next daughter home. She may already be waiting for us or she may yet to be born, but she will be known even in her birth mother’s womb before I have the privilege of knowing her and holding her close.” Unknown to me at the time, Sibyl’s mother was 8 months pregnant with her, my next daughter.
When Hubby and I started our relationship, I made sure to ask the important question: “Are you willing to adopt from China?” It was something of a deal-breaker for me! While he hadn’t yet felt the tug of adoption, he was open and willing to go where God led us.
Another word for “adopt” is “embrace.” I just love this! Scripture is very clear about our duty to those in need: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” [James 1:27]. I am adamant that we need to deeply consider what this looks like in our lives. For us, it has meant hours of paperwork, financial sacrifice, emotional decisions, and (we hope sooner than later) a two-week trip to China to pick up our 2-year-old! For you all, it means that you are sitting here, helping our dream for our family to come true. And it may possibly mean that one day you too will walk this road! I’ve have lots of tips for you!
After the twins were born and once we were past the haze of two newborns, I knew that the time had come . . . child #4 would come to us in a whole new and exciting way! One reason that this was very clear to me was how I reacted to Facebook posts. Every time I saw a pregnancy announcement, I would think, “Oh, I’m SO glad that’s not me!” However, every time I saw an adoption post, I would tear up instantly, thinking “I want to be doing that!”
We started moving from a dream to reality nine months ago. At times, I’ve been known to say that being pregnant is easier! And less tiring! But it has truly been an amazing process. We learned more about ourselves and trusting God’s path than we had imagined. We had to say good-bye to the hope of the first little girl’s profile that captured our hearts, and we realized that our daughter was going to have hearing loss months before we first saw her picture. And we had to step out in faith that although we needed not one but TWO waivers to be able to adopt from China, that God will lead us where he calls. One waiver simply became a moot point and the second was granted . . . and as of January 1st, we now fully qualify thanks to some restructuring of China’s requirements. So in case adoption is really as addicting as they say . . .
On Thursday, September 18th, 2014, we “met” Sibyl via her adoption file. Four days later, we moved forward with requesting the waiver to adopt her (also know as pre-approval), and on October 24th, we were granted pre-approval to adopt her and begin the process of creating our dossier and completing our home study. Our home study was approved two days ago, so things are really going to get going!
Sibyl just turned 2 this month, and in truth, Sibyl is not her real name but an alias given by China to protect her identity during the early part of this process. Once we receive our official acceptance (also known as LOA), then we can post her picture online and will officially reveal her new “A” name. However, I do have pictures with me that I can show you in person, so please find me and see our sweet girl!
Sibyl does have hearing loss, as she was born with microtia of both ears and atresia of the left ear. Microtia means that the outer ear does not form fully or as it should. Atresia means that something is missing; in this case, she is missing her left ear canal. She also has a small cleft palate, which by all accounts is very minor and does not affect her lip. We will be spending some time in Sacramento with specialists once she is here, determining how to proceed with her hearing. But we are excited to be able to provide her with care that just would not have been available to her in China.
Through reports and a short video, we have seen a sweet, friendly little one who is very attached to her foster mother, which is a good thing for future bonding with us. Her speech seems to be somewhat delayed, as expected with hearing loss, but she is walking and otherwise developing very normally for a child in her situation in China.
I could go on and on, but I will try to wrap this up here. It is a unique experience to have a part of my heart be 16 hours in the “future.” There are days that my arms physically ache to hold her. I cherish the handful of pictures and the information that we have, and I long for that day when we get to walk into a room in China and meet our daughter face-to-face for the first time. Thank you all for being a part of the process to bring us to that moment!
On January 7, 2013, I posted my first blog about adoption. I shared about how I first heard of the plight of little girls in China during a high school presentation and how at that moment, I felt the calling to adopt a little girl from China someday.
In that first blog, I wrote: “The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ This is my single step – my declaration that 2013 will see us doing mountains of paperwork and making life-changing decisions and trusting God for financial provision to bring our next daughter home. She may already be waiting for us or she may yet to be born, but she will be known even in her birth mother’s womb before I have the privilege of knowing her and holding her close.” Unknown to me at the time, Sibyl’s mother was 8 months pregnant with her, my next daughter.
When Hubby and I started our relationship, I made sure to ask the important question: “Are you willing to adopt from China?” It was something of a deal-breaker for me! While he hadn’t yet felt the tug of adoption, he was open and willing to go where God led us.
Another word for “adopt” is “embrace.” I just love this! Scripture is very clear about our duty to those in need: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” [James 1:27]. I am adamant that we need to deeply consider what this looks like in our lives. For us, it has meant hours of paperwork, financial sacrifice, emotional decisions, and (we hope sooner than later) a two-week trip to China to pick up our 2-year-old! For you all, it means that you are sitting here, helping our dream for our family to come true. And it may possibly mean that one day you too will walk this road! I’ve have lots of tips for you!
After the twins were born and once we were past the haze of two newborns, I knew that the time had come . . . child #4 would come to us in a whole new and exciting way! One reason that this was very clear to me was how I reacted to Facebook posts. Every time I saw a pregnancy announcement, I would think, “Oh, I’m SO glad that’s not me!” However, every time I saw an adoption post, I would tear up instantly, thinking “I want to be doing that!”
We started moving from a dream to reality nine months ago. At times, I’ve been known to say that being pregnant is easier! And less tiring! But it has truly been an amazing process. We learned more about ourselves and trusting God’s path than we had imagined. We had to say good-bye to the hope of the first little girl’s profile that captured our hearts, and we realized that our daughter was going to have hearing loss months before we first saw her picture. And we had to step out in faith that although we needed not one but TWO waivers to be able to adopt from China, that God will lead us where he calls. One waiver simply became a moot point and the second was granted . . . and as of January 1st, we now fully qualify thanks to some restructuring of China’s requirements. So in case adoption is really as addicting as they say . . .
On Thursday, September 18th, 2014, we “met” Sibyl via her adoption file. Four days later, we moved forward with requesting the waiver to adopt her (also know as pre-approval), and on October 24th, we were granted pre-approval to adopt her and begin the process of creating our dossier and completing our home study. Our home study was approved two days ago, so things are really going to get going!
Sibyl just turned 2 this month, and in truth, Sibyl is not her real name but an alias given by China to protect her identity during the early part of this process. Once we receive our official acceptance (also known as LOA), then we can post her picture online and will officially reveal her new “A” name. However, I do have pictures with me that I can show you in person, so please find me and see our sweet girl!
Sibyl does have hearing loss, as she was born with microtia of both ears and atresia of the left ear. Microtia means that the outer ear does not form fully or as it should. Atresia means that something is missing; in this case, she is missing her left ear canal. She also has a small cleft palate, which by all accounts is very minor and does not affect her lip. We will be spending some time in Sacramento with specialists once she is here, determining how to proceed with her hearing. But we are excited to be able to provide her with care that just would not have been available to her in China.
Through reports and a short video, we have seen a sweet, friendly little one who is very attached to her foster mother, which is a good thing for future bonding with us. Her speech seems to be somewhat delayed, as expected with hearing loss, but she is walking and otherwise developing very normally for a child in her situation in China.
I could go on and on, but I will try to wrap this up here. It is a unique experience to have a part of my heart be 16 hours in the “future.” There are days that my arms physically ache to hold her. I cherish the handful of pictures and the information that we have, and I long for that day when we get to walk into a room in China and meet our daughter face-to-face for the first time. Thank you all for being a part of the process to bring us to that moment!
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