Ok....so imagine giving birth to your sweet baby and seeing that face for the first time....you tried and tried to get pregnant and then waited thru the 9 month (if you're lucky) pregnancy and then the day comes.....you have the rush of excitement and see their sweet face for the first time....it is the MOST amazing thing ever....then imagine that the nurse comes in and leaves you a picture, frozen in time, of that sweet face and tells you that in 4-5 months you can come back and pick up that baby. So this is EXACTLY what we are going thru but it is a good idea of what this is like. Jan 16, 2014 we opened an email that would change our lives forever.....in the click of my phone we saw her sweet face.....that face from one day last summer and now that face is frozen in time until we get to go get her and bring her home. Now we were blessed with the update, which is amazing and gives us another day frozen in time....but it's amazing how much she changes every time I see her!!! Well all of that to say that tonight (monday in china) in about 4 hours the lady I met on Facebook will find out if she will get to visit her daughters orphanage as today is GOTCHA day for her...she is picking her daughter up in 4 hours. If you is granted the orphanage visit, Friday she will go to the orphanage where my sweet Mabry is living. She has a care package that Jason and I put together for her to give to mabry which was all stuffed into a gallon ziplock (when there's a will, there's a way) and it included a blankie, an outfit, a hair bow (duh), a flash drive (which I hope to get back on my gotcha day full of pics), a princess Belle plush doll, and a book that I made that has individual pictures of Jason, Me, Connor, Grady, our house, and a family picture along with our titles (dad, mom, brother, family, home) written in English and also in Chinese Characters with the hope that her nannies can read to her and show her our pictures. We know from other people's experiences with Mabry's orphanage that she will no be allowed to keep this stuff but rather they will go thru it with her and then they will pack it up and put it away until we pick her up. They really try to keep it fair for the kids that don't have families waiting for them which I totally get...I wish she could keep the book but I get it. But still how amazing that she might see our faces for the first time THIS FRIDAY!!!!! The other amazing thing about this visit is that that face that is frozen in time will be replaced with a new picture of PICTURES of her sweet face a month older than the last time we saw her....think about that...not seeing your childs face for an entire month...they change so much, trust me!!!!! So please be praying with me for Erin and her family as they are getting their daughter...and also for Wren , her daughter, as gotcha day is an amazing moment in time but the scariest thing these little kiddos have to go thru!!!!! And also pray that she gets to see Mabry, kiss her, hug her, shower her with our gifts, and also take lots of pictures!!!!! This momma really needs to see her face and also to know that she is well and that she is being taken care of. Also just warms my heart to know that at least I know she will have receive one hug/kiss before I get there.....although I believe her orphanage is meeting her needs, I also know the reality of what an orphanage is and what is asked of those nannies!
If we get updates this week via the orphanage visit there will be another blog at the end of the week!!!!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
my dearest Jason
So...I have been obsessing over my email...refreshing it about every 3.376 seconds waiting to get SOMETHING from my social worker....anything would be appreciated at this time. It seems that we have taken the slow route to LOA which isn't an easy place to be......no one can understand why some go quick and some don't but I assume God's timing is perfect so I am sure it's gonna become obvious some day why we waited. With all of this obsession I have been on edge...today I decided to quit obsessing....to just be thankful for what I have and boy should I be thankful!!!!! I want to do this blog about Jason because this adoption process has come with such growth for all of us but I am so thankful that God gave Jason to me!!!
I have written about how Jason wasn't on board with the adoption until we lost Chesney and how in the delivery room he brought adoption up and said that we would talk about it as soon as I was ready. God totally used our experience with the loss of our daughter to change Jason's heart. Well I will tell you that Jason and I had a great marriage before we started this process but I can tell you that I love him even more now then I did then....I love that we are growing together and that I am really seeing him stretch because he loves me. Anyone that knows Jason knows that he HATES to fly. Disney trips have been a huge challenge that he has taken for our kids but he HATES to fly...like scared to death. When we started this process it was just assumed that Jason wouldn't travel. I mean the facts are that when he took 3 days off of work while I delivered Chesney people got mad.....and also how could he make a 14 hour flight when he HATES to fly. So we were very thankful that his mom agreed to go with me so that I wouldn't' have to travel alone.
Well after we saw Mabry's face, and the fact that we were REALLY going to travel to get our daughter set in, I started to panic about him not going. It's not that I can't do it without him...but I don't want to. I went to him with my concerns and with how I was feeling. Literally 3 days later the decision was made that he would go for the first week but that he couldn't stay for both weeks because he couldn't possibly take off 2 weeks of work. I mean folks that is GROWTH.....honestly I still am in shock that he has agreed to take that flight and to deal with the jet lag that is so horrible because of his growth...seriously one of just a few great men that have touched my life and I am proud to call him my husband. I am still working on him to stay the entire time because I don't want him to fly back alone. He is considering it but is afraid to take that much time off of work all at once. We are blessed to have Dr Keller to cover the office for us while we are gone....Jason just doesn't like to put anyone out and he truly cares for and worries about his patients. He has agreed to consider going the entire time if we can condense the trip to 10 days and since our trip is only 1 province and not 2 that is a real possibility. I thank God every single night in my prayers for giving me a husband that is willing to stretch himself for me....that is growing with me......and is genuinely the best guy I know!!!
I have written about how Jason wasn't on board with the adoption until we lost Chesney and how in the delivery room he brought adoption up and said that we would talk about it as soon as I was ready. God totally used our experience with the loss of our daughter to change Jason's heart. Well I will tell you that Jason and I had a great marriage before we started this process but I can tell you that I love him even more now then I did then....I love that we are growing together and that I am really seeing him stretch because he loves me. Anyone that knows Jason knows that he HATES to fly. Disney trips have been a huge challenge that he has taken for our kids but he HATES to fly...like scared to death. When we started this process it was just assumed that Jason wouldn't travel. I mean the facts are that when he took 3 days off of work while I delivered Chesney people got mad.....and also how could he make a 14 hour flight when he HATES to fly. So we were very thankful that his mom agreed to go with me so that I wouldn't' have to travel alone.
Well after we saw Mabry's face, and the fact that we were REALLY going to travel to get our daughter set in, I started to panic about him not going. It's not that I can't do it without him...but I don't want to. I went to him with my concerns and with how I was feeling. Literally 3 days later the decision was made that he would go for the first week but that he couldn't stay for both weeks because he couldn't possibly take off 2 weeks of work. I mean folks that is GROWTH.....honestly I still am in shock that he has agreed to take that flight and to deal with the jet lag that is so horrible because of his growth...seriously one of just a few great men that have touched my life and I am proud to call him my husband. I am still working on him to stay the entire time because I don't want him to fly back alone. He is considering it but is afraid to take that much time off of work all at once. We are blessed to have Dr Keller to cover the office for us while we are gone....Jason just doesn't like to put anyone out and he truly cares for and worries about his patients. He has agreed to consider going the entire time if we can condense the trip to 10 days and since our trip is only 1 province and not 2 that is a real possibility. I thank God every single night in my prayers for giving me a husband that is willing to stretch himself for me....that is growing with me......and is genuinely the best guy I know!!!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
FIRED UP...
OK...I will apologize before I get going but I am FIRED up today!!!! I read an article about a baby hut that is being put up in the city that Mabry is from where people can SAFELY leave a baby...there is a buzzer they hit and it is on a delay which gives the moms time to get away before someone hears it to come and get the baby...but the hut is warm and safe!!! I think people read these things and think, that is just terrible that people just leave these babies....let me spin it this way....the babies that are left are LUCKY!!!! The alternative to these desperate situations is abortion and without these brave mommas going thru the pregnancy knowing that they are going to leave these babies and risk getting caught and in trouble makes these women AMAZING!!!! So I love this idea to give these sweet mommas a safe alternative for their sweet babies. I love Mabry's biological mom for making the choice to let her live and have a chance at life!!!
OK, next....I got an email from my agency with some of the things that they are doing with their partnerships. Here is the thing...my agency is SMALL...very small...but that doesn't stop them from being amazing and doing HUGE things in China!!! You see some BIG agencies in the US don't have any partnerships. Now that makes for families waiting MUCH longer for a referral....so yes having the partnerships help the agencies match families quick which is really nice...but the best thing about the partnerships is that you don't just get them because you say you want them...you get the partnership in exchange for financially supporting these specific orphanages all year. Now MAA has 10 partnerships right now and are constantly getting more....they are a small agency and are actually looking for families with Log In Dates because they have so many kiddos coming in. But here is the thing that has me fired up!! MAA is partnered with Mabry's orphanage and in the update today they said that they have hired an english teacher for the 2014 year to teach the kiddos some english and really start telling them about forever families and adoption!!! This means that finally these children will learn of the hope....kind of like when you were told about Salvation!!! These sweet kiddos will be a little less afraid if they are made aware of what is going to happen and who these strange looking people are that are loving on them. Now i don't know if this is going to be in place enough for it to really matter to Mabry...I sure hope so....but either way I LOVE THIS!!! We didn't do any fundraising for the adoption because we have been very blessed.....but I want to do what I can for this orphanage...so this is what I came up with. The orphanage will tell us an amount of cash that we have to bring to give them as a donation....but I want to blow that out of the water...and ANYTHING that we raise above that amount....which will take God's help because it will have to be a lot....will go directly to MAA (my agency) in Mabry's name and I will ask them to use it specifically for things like this at the orphanage that Mabry is from!!!! I want to use this adoption to bless as many other children as I can!!
So along with the tshirts...which by the way are still for sale!!! we are going to do two more HUGE fundraisers. We are going to have a garage sale in March or april where all the money made will go to the orphanage....so start that spring cleaning early and any donations are welcome!! Anything not sold at the sale will be donated to Lighthouses Hands of Mercy.....another great cause. But today I am announcing our final garage sale and this is for every single person reading this blog.....you don't have to live close to me to participate and you can tell all of your friends!!! I am asking for you to pick a number 1-100.....pick quick because there is only 1 of each of these numbers available....and whatever number you pick I want you to donate that amount of money to the cause...so if you pick $1 then you will take an envelope and send it to me with a huge 1 on the back and $1 inside....I challenge you to get your kiddos involved!!!! Kids are not too young to know about less fortunate kids then them around the world.....My goal is to get rid of every number 1-100......now you can Facebook me and see what numbers are available...you can text me 6183140499....whatever you need to do....Please don't just assume someone else will do it...this is a small way that everyone can help!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!
Please pray about whether God is calling your to help in this way.....everyone is called in scripture to help orphans......I know I say it all the time but not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called to help....let me know how you can help and which number works best for you...and if you want more than 1 number I am good with that too......
Thanks for reading this rant today!!!!!! Let's go and make a difference!!!!
OK, next....I got an email from my agency with some of the things that they are doing with their partnerships. Here is the thing...my agency is SMALL...very small...but that doesn't stop them from being amazing and doing HUGE things in China!!! You see some BIG agencies in the US don't have any partnerships. Now that makes for families waiting MUCH longer for a referral....so yes having the partnerships help the agencies match families quick which is really nice...but the best thing about the partnerships is that you don't just get them because you say you want them...you get the partnership in exchange for financially supporting these specific orphanages all year. Now MAA has 10 partnerships right now and are constantly getting more....they are a small agency and are actually looking for families with Log In Dates because they have so many kiddos coming in. But here is the thing that has me fired up!! MAA is partnered with Mabry's orphanage and in the update today they said that they have hired an english teacher for the 2014 year to teach the kiddos some english and really start telling them about forever families and adoption!!! This means that finally these children will learn of the hope....kind of like when you were told about Salvation!!! These sweet kiddos will be a little less afraid if they are made aware of what is going to happen and who these strange looking people are that are loving on them. Now i don't know if this is going to be in place enough for it to really matter to Mabry...I sure hope so....but either way I LOVE THIS!!! We didn't do any fundraising for the adoption because we have been very blessed.....but I want to do what I can for this orphanage...so this is what I came up with. The orphanage will tell us an amount of cash that we have to bring to give them as a donation....but I want to blow that out of the water...and ANYTHING that we raise above that amount....which will take God's help because it will have to be a lot....will go directly to MAA (my agency) in Mabry's name and I will ask them to use it specifically for things like this at the orphanage that Mabry is from!!!! I want to use this adoption to bless as many other children as I can!!
So along with the tshirts...which by the way are still for sale!!! we are going to do two more HUGE fundraisers. We are going to have a garage sale in March or april where all the money made will go to the orphanage....so start that spring cleaning early and any donations are welcome!! Anything not sold at the sale will be donated to Lighthouses Hands of Mercy.....another great cause. But today I am announcing our final garage sale and this is for every single person reading this blog.....you don't have to live close to me to participate and you can tell all of your friends!!! I am asking for you to pick a number 1-100.....pick quick because there is only 1 of each of these numbers available....and whatever number you pick I want you to donate that amount of money to the cause...so if you pick $1 then you will take an envelope and send it to me with a huge 1 on the back and $1 inside....I challenge you to get your kiddos involved!!!! Kids are not too young to know about less fortunate kids then them around the world.....My goal is to get rid of every number 1-100......now you can Facebook me and see what numbers are available...you can text me 6183140499....whatever you need to do....Please don't just assume someone else will do it...this is a small way that everyone can help!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!
Please pray about whether God is calling your to help in this way.....everyone is called in scripture to help orphans......I know I say it all the time but not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called to help....let me know how you can help and which number works best for you...and if you want more than 1 number I am good with that too......
Thanks for reading this rant today!!!!!! Let's go and make a difference!!!!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Small glimpse of our sweet Mabry
Here is a small glimpse of Mabry...she is in the blue....she must have been told to hold on to the little girls shirt and boy does she follow directions.
prayer request
OK....so we are currently 11 days into our LOA (letter of approval) wait and I am getting really excited. I am excited because once we get LOA we will be able to guess when we will be traveling. LOA waits are anywhere from 50-100+ days....so there is no way to guess how long you will wait until you have LOA...once you have that the rest is pretty structured. I am praying so hard that God gives us a quick LOA because I did the math and with 100 day LOA we will miss Mabry's birthday by a coupe weeks.....if we happen to be blessed with a quick LOA we could potentially be in China with her for her birthday or possibly even have her home...either of those are perfect for me!!!! Since I believe in the power of prayer I am asking/begging that you all join with me to pray for a FAST LOA....so fast that people will not be able to deny that God was there!!!! Also we requested an update on Mabry...we were told that we could request 2 and our case worker suggested we request one when we submitted our LOI (letter of Intent to adopt Mabry) and then the other at LOA.....and then we will be so close to travel that we won't need another one......so I am waiting for that update and praying that it includes new pictures and new measurements so that I can begin buying...who am I kidding, I am already buying....but I can be sure I am buying the right sizes.....
Also with this update we were allowed to ask several questions, so I am hoping that we get answers to some of those too....like how they soothe her when she is upset, how she soothes herself, how she plays with other kids, does she use a bottle or sippy cup, is she potty training, does she sleep in a crib or toddler bed style bed, just things like that......then I can also better prepare for her to come home!!!!!! Alright really this update was just about the specific prayer request!!!!!! Love you all and am very thankful that you are all along on this journey!!! Once Mabry is home for a bit we will have an open house so that you can all come by and meet her......Thanks for your continued prayer....God has been here every step and it is so wonderful how much His presence is felt daily!!!!
Also with this update we were allowed to ask several questions, so I am hoping that we get answers to some of those too....like how they soothe her when she is upset, how she soothes herself, how she plays with other kids, does she use a bottle or sippy cup, is she potty training, does she sleep in a crib or toddler bed style bed, just things like that......then I can also better prepare for her to come home!!!!!! Alright really this update was just about the specific prayer request!!!!!! Love you all and am very thankful that you are all along on this journey!!! Once Mabry is home for a bit we will have an open house so that you can all come by and meet her......Thanks for your continued prayer....God has been here every step and it is so wonderful how much His presence is felt daily!!!!
Monday, January 20, 2014
BIGGEST NEWS YET
Ok so we got logged in date (LID) on 1/2 and were so excited when our caseworker informed us that they were expecting partnership files soon. Now there are 2 ways to get referrals Partnership or shared list. Shared list comes out 1 time a month and every agency is on it so it is very competitive and quickly moving!!! Partnerships are where our agency supports that orphanage financially and therefore gets ALL of their referrals. Now the agency we started with didn't have partnerships but this new agency has 10!!!! So...the other benefit to partnerships is that usually someone at your agency has met those children in person and therefore have a better picture of their development and health.
Well we waited and waited and on 1/16 at 3:30 I received an email from my caseworker with the subject "Hattie". I immediately opened the email and there was a little note from my caseworker saying that they had just received this little girls file that day and they thought she was a great match for our family!!! She went on to say that she was 2.5 and listed as a mild congenital Heart defect. The email went on to have videos from when the lady from our agency was there and then her medical records. SO of course we were freaking out!!!! We scanned over the medical and it honestly looked good.....we googled the defect and honestly weren't too worried about it. I have a friend that I have met thru the adoption stuff who is also adopting and I immediately texted to tell her. Then God showed up....she said that her brother in law was a cardiologist and she could email him the file and he would look at it. So of course we did....and that same day we got an email back saying that the file looks good. We also sent the file to our pediatrician and he was going to get back to us the next day.
Well as you can imagine we were so excited that we were almost certain we were going to accept so we went and told our parents...they were very surprised and excited!!! Well the next day we got the call from our pediatrician who wasn't worried at all by the file and so we submitted out LOI ( letter of intent) to adopt our sweet Mabry. And usually your PA takes a week or 2...(PA is pre approval) well we received PA that same day!!!! So once you have PA you are safe to share the pictures and the news....so here it is....we have our sweet Mabry's information!!!
She is a tiny little peanut!!! She is only in 18 month clothing. She will be 3 June 1. Specific prayer request is that I am praying that we will be with her for her 3rd bday. It doesn't seem all that likely but I believe God can totally work that out if it's his will!!!!
Prepare to be blown a way with cuteness.....
Well we waited and waited and on 1/16 at 3:30 I received an email from my caseworker with the subject "Hattie". I immediately opened the email and there was a little note from my caseworker saying that they had just received this little girls file that day and they thought she was a great match for our family!!! She went on to say that she was 2.5 and listed as a mild congenital Heart defect. The email went on to have videos from when the lady from our agency was there and then her medical records. SO of course we were freaking out!!!! We scanned over the medical and it honestly looked good.....we googled the defect and honestly weren't too worried about it. I have a friend that I have met thru the adoption stuff who is also adopting and I immediately texted to tell her. Then God showed up....she said that her brother in law was a cardiologist and she could email him the file and he would look at it. So of course we did....and that same day we got an email back saying that the file looks good. We also sent the file to our pediatrician and he was going to get back to us the next day.
Well as you can imagine we were so excited that we were almost certain we were going to accept so we went and told our parents...they were very surprised and excited!!! Well the next day we got the call from our pediatrician who wasn't worried at all by the file and so we submitted out LOI ( letter of intent) to adopt our sweet Mabry. And usually your PA takes a week or 2...(PA is pre approval) well we received PA that same day!!!! So once you have PA you are safe to share the pictures and the news....so here it is....we have our sweet Mabry's information!!!
She is a tiny little peanut!!! She is only in 18 month clothing. She will be 3 June 1. Specific prayer request is that I am praying that we will be with her for her 3rd bday. It doesn't seem all that likely but I believe God can totally work that out if it's his will!!!!
Prepare to be blown a way with cuteness.....
Thursday, January 2, 2014
LID 1/2/14
OK....I have literally been stalking my email for the past 10 days!!! Today I got the email that I have been waiting for...LID today!!!!! Literally I got the email like 4.23 minutes ago, ran upstairs and showed Jason, posted in my adoption fb groups and then started this blog!!!!!! I know that for those that aren't in the adoption world this really doesn't seem like a big deal...but here is why it is a BIG deal!!!! We are officially now a WAITING FAMILY!!! This means that any file that our agency gets we will be thought of as a potential family for that sweet baby girl!!! So all this means is that China has received our dossier and have officially logged us into their system. I suppose this means that we have a number or some identifying power because when the shared list comes out once a month, the agency grabs the file of the child that they think is a match for you and then puts your name on it for the 72 hour hold...this gives you 72 hours to decide if you want to move forward or not!!! So we are now eligible for the once a month list that comes out and is shared with ALL OTHER AGENCIES...very competitive. However, we are also eligible for the orphanage partnerships that our agency gets sole files from....and from what I hear there are some of those coming.....and this is huge because I am with a small agency and they have several partnerships...this is NOT NEAR as competitive because only LID families with my agency are allowed to receive those files.....so here is the new year and waiting to see our daughters face in 2014!!!! This is a big day at the Gladson's house today!!! Lots of dancing going on!!!! The next step is just waiting for her file to be given to us by God....and as of now that could be ANY DAY!!!!!
So excited that we are now labelled "a waiting family!!!!!!! No more paper chase!! Well no more paper chase until we are preparing to bring Mabry home....but right now we just sit back and let God do the work!!! All we can do now is wait and lots of praying!!! Please join us in praying for patience and discernment as we continue to seek where God is leading!!!
So excited that we are now labelled "a waiting family!!!!!!! No more paper chase!! Well no more paper chase until we are preparing to bring Mabry home....but right now we just sit back and let God do the work!!! All we can do now is wait and lots of praying!!! Please join us in praying for patience and discernment as we continue to seek where God is leading!!!
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