Seth's Story - Part 2

People that have been around us during this adoption have said many things to us. Good things, mostly. A lot of questions, a few strange comments, and plenty of praise for Hampton and me. Fortunately, this always gives us a chance to give glory where glory belongs - to God. 

One particular comment that many people have said is that they "could never do what we're doing". 

They're wrong. 

YOU'RE wrong, if you're thinking that. Because what we're doing is simply being obedient to the call that God has on our lives - as parents, as husband & wife, as believers, as adopted children of God. You CAN do it, because God works through you.

Only by God working in me and through me and around me was I able to endure the next part of Seth's adoption story.

So there I was in CA alone, visiting Seth as much as I could, learning as much as I could about him, helping as much as I could with his care, asking the questions of the doctors and nurses, telling our story to anyone who would listen. But I wasn't really alone. Not only was my prayer and quiet time ever more "tangible" (more on that in another post), but God was sending real live people to be a blessing. 

First, while Hampton was still in CA with me, God sent an amazing godly couple that we had known in MS to minister to us and encourage us and truly CARE for us while we were there. It was such a blessing to be able to talk to someone face-to-face who knew us personally and who shared in our joy. And they continued to bless me and Seth after Hampton went home. Praise be to God for B & T. (The Navy didn't know they were sending you to CA just so you could be a blessing to us!!)

Then, time after time, God sent strangers to speak truth into my life. Nurses, other families at the Ronald McDonald House, blog posts, even songs on the radio. I love how God can orchestrate people around a situation just so. Amazing.

After a week or so of being in CA, a family came to stay at the Ronald McDonald House who had an accent that I pegged pretty quickly as Southern. They were from New Orleans! We bonded instantly, over discussions of sweet tea, college life in Mobile, and all of the sights to see in the Big Easy. They helped me with several practical things while I was there, but mostly they provided a sense of family in a situation that could have been very lonely. And they did this while still dealing with their own situation, their own reason for being there at the children's hospital, thousands of miles away from home. Amazing. Thanks T family! Love you guys!!

As you can see, Seth's story is made up of so many more people than just Seth and his parents. It's important to me to recognize these people because we don't live life alone. We are not in a bubble. We cannot pretend that what is happening to someone else doesn't affect us. We must SEE people. And that's what these people did. They SAW me. And Seth. And Hampton back in FL (for the love of RBBC, thank you thank you thank you). And Luke staying with grandparents. We were all SEEN and that matters so so much. Thanks to everyone for letting God use you as a blessing in Seth's story.

Some practical matters at this point: the hospital days went by SUUUUPER SLOW. I lost track of time and what day it was, and being in a different time zone did not help. At the hospital, I was in the Seth-zone. Outside of it, I was trying to help Hampton navigate the house-closing business. (We are NOT writing about that mess. We closed. We have a wonderful new house. End of that story.) 

Seth was feeding better and better each day, and we thought he might improve enough to be released without any feeding help. However, as the days turned into weeks and his progress plateaued, the decision was made to give Seth a feeding tube. He had surgery and was eating again the next day by mouth. This step in Seth's care was a pivotal one, because it meant that he would be able to be discharged as soon as I was comfortable caring for and using the g-tube.

After 6 weeks in the NICU, Seth was finally discharged on June 15. I had been there for 3 weeks and 3 days at that point. We received our final paper for the interstate adoption process and we were cleared to fly home! 

Tuesday, June 16 we flew home and began our new life as a family of four. We are all adjusting to this new life, with feeding tubes and bags and pumps and syringes, with stairs in our two-story house, with big brother learning how to be Big, with our new extended family in China, and with new adventures just around the corner. 

Seth is doing well, still struggling to eat by mouth as much as we want him to, but so healthy in every other aspect. We are so blessed and are excited to see how God is going to use Seth for His kingdom and for His glory.

New baby, new house, new family, new normal. Amazing!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Seth's Adoption Story - Part 1

Sometimes I can't believe my life. It's amazing to see God working through our family in such miraculous and distinct ways. Praise the Lord!

Seth's adoption story begins with a simple message on our online adoption portal asking if we wanted our profile to be shown to the birthparents of a Chinese newborn baby boy with Down Syndrome born in California. At that point, we knew a few things: (1) we had previously decided to say YES to all showings unless we felt unrest about an adoption inquiry, (2) interstate placement requires at least one parent to stay in state until the paperwork is complete, (3) we felt prepared to parent a baby with special needs. With these in mind, we messaged back and said yes, show our profile. It was scanned and sent to CA. This was a Friday afternoon.

Sunday, I received confirmation from our adoption social worker that our profile was in CA and being reviewed by the birthparents. 

Monday, May 18, I received a phone call from our social worker with the news that we had been chosen by the birthparents. We were matched!! I talked with her for a few minutes, she passed along contact information for the social worker in CA and laid out the logistics for me - we would have to travel across the country later that week. Of course, my brain went into overdrive at that moment...Hampton's schedule, flight prices, someone to watch Luke, closing on our house (oh, did I forget to mention we were buying a new house?), what to pack, what to buy here or there, who to tell first.

I called Hampton and gave him the great news; then we started planning - and packing - and TELLING.

The TELLING is my favorite part. I love sharing the amazing news that God has created a new little human being and has orchestrated HIS plan for our lives in such a way that we get to be parents again!! SO.AMAZING.

We booked a flight for CA and made all the appropriate arrangements for Luke and Hampton's schedule. It all worked out, of course, and we flew to CA on Friday, May 22.

Friday afternoon we met the birthparents at the Bethany office. Those details are so precious and so private that I cannot possibly post them here for the world to see. Just know that these birthparents love their son dearly and wanted the best life for him possible, which meant choosing adoption. Meeting them and sharing our lives with them has already been such a blessing to me. I am forever thankful for their gift of life for their son and there are no words that could adequately express our emotions or theirs. (I'm also very thankful for the translator who did such an amazing job helping us communicate!)

After our meeting, we all signed a bunch of paperwork. There is a very practical side to adoption, amidst the emotions and the feelings and the JOY - there is a ton of paperwork. I'm so very thankful that we have worked with an organization that takes adoption seriously and works with all parties involved to insure the best outcome possible for the child. I would sign a million pages. 

We decided to wait until Saturday to go to the hospital to visit our new baby boy. We navigated the check-in process, security, and finding the right room...and there he was. Our precious little baby boy, wrapped up like a burrito in a hospital blanket, hooked up to several monitors, but doing so well and sleeping so soundly. The nurses welcomed us and let us hold him. The birthparents came later and we awkwardly passed baby boy around. 

We sat down with the doctors and talked about baby's diagnoses and health issues. He had surgery and was recovering well, but not feeding completely on his own. That was our major hurdle to getting him out of the NICU and home with us. 

SO, the days passed. The birthparents flew back to China. Hampton flew back to FL. And I moved into the Ronald McDonald House - settling in for the long haul, not really knowing what I was in for.

MORE TO COME! Stay tuned for the rest of Seth's adoption story. I promise it will only be two parts. :)

No idea...

So, I haven't blogged for 21 months.

Luke turned two today (!!) and I have been very reflective the last couple of weeks of how God works in such mysterious ways. Here are some of my thoughts.

On March 25, 2013, as my precious son was being born to his first mother, I was sleeping. Recovering from a week-long trip to Canada to see our new-missionary friends in their new-mission setting. It was an exciting trip, a great vacation, and some terrific bonding time with my husband. I celebrated my 31st birthday, visited with friends, drove through mountain ranges, rode ferries, hiked on snow for the first time, and zip-lined across amazing vistas. We arrived home from that vacation the day before our son was born.

And I had no idea.

No idea that my little boy had been growing inside his birthmother's womb for the same amount of time as we had been in the adoption process (go ahead and do the math from the time we submitted our preliminary application to his birth date).

No idea that as we were completing paperwork and interviews and fingerprints, our little baby boy was seeing light and hearing sounds for the first time, kicking his birthmother, hiccupping, and growing and growing in that precious womb.

No idea that we were already Luke's parents in God's eyes.

Long before we knew, He knew.

And He KNOWS. He knows exactly who our 4th child will be (read about our girls here). He knows exactly how long we will wait to receive this incredible blessing. He knows all about the waiting and the heartache and the pressure and the stress and the longing and the hoping and the disappointment and the bitterness and the joy and the peace and the comfort and the faith.

God knows.

And what a comfort that is! Many people in our world, in our society, cringe at the thought of a Sovereign God. I relish it! I cherish it! To God be the glory for His Sovereignty!! I'm so thankful that He is in control and that HE KNOWS.

So, we are waiting. Adoption #2 is in progress. And once again, we don't know what will happen or when it will happen or how it will happen. But God does.

God knows. And that's all I need to know.

"But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." 

~Psalm 115:3 

 "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 

according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church 

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, amen."

 ~Ephesians 3:20-21

 "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to His purpose." 

~Romans 8:28

Luke is 3 months old!

So, I know I promised an "All About Luke" post right after we brought him home, and I totally dropped that ball, sorry! But I am making up for it by posting this update. :)

Here's Luke at about two months old. He was just holding his head up well for a minute then.

Luke is now three months old, as of June 25. He has quite a personality already and LOVES to smile. He is just beginning to laugh - a little cackle that blesses my heart so much. Luke rolls over accidentally sometimes from his stomach to his back.

He was smiling big at his Mimi!

 Everyone always asks how he is sleeping . . . Luke prefers to sleep on his stomach and is sleeping about 5 or 6 hours in a row at night. This is great, considering when we first brought him home, he was only sleeping 2 hours at a time!

Sleeping in the carseat, which is the only time he'll sleep on his back! :)

Luke likes to sit in his bouncy reclining seat and he loves to watch me do whatever I'm doing. If I'm not talking directly to him, he usually makes sounds to get my attention. He loves to "talk", ranging from the traditional goos and gahs to more eccentric squealing and interesting gurgling sounds.

Luke eats formula. Hampton keeps threatening to give him a "taste of sweet tea" or a "little bit of this french fry" - but I'm making him wait to taste real food until he's 4 months old. We'll see how he does with some healthy mashed carrots or oatmeal or cereal in a few weeks!

One major event that many of you saw on facebook was Luke's first time in the swimming pool. He was really apathetic about the whole thing - didn't smile even once, just let me hold him in the water. Hampton even swam around with him some and he didn't bat an eye. I think he was kind of sleepy, so we'll have to try again when he's more alert. Good to know that he didn't hate it though!

Just barely a twitch of a smile here. I think he liked it.

Hope you have enjoyed this update! I will try to keep these going and blog about some other stuff again too! :)

God's Timing

Right after getting in the pool for the first time!!

As I was pondering my precious boy being 3 months old yesterday (wow!), I started thinking about God's timing of our adoption. 

We have been so blessed to only have waited 5 months for a placement, while many families wait years for a child. And we were blessed to be matched and placed with Luke before our move to FL, which turns out to be a big relief - saving us a bunch of additional paperwork and a good amount of money. But another timing thing occurred to me last night that had me praising my great God for His higher ways.

Check it out . . .

Luke was born on March 25, at 38 weeks into the pregnancy. 

Somebody go ahead and do the math. You know you want to. 

The first week of July 2012, God was knitting our little Luke together in his birthmother's womb. 

So, why is that significant? 

July 3, 2012 - we submitted our preliminary application to the adoption agency.

That's right. Let it sink in . . .

GOD WAS FORMING LUKE'S BODY AS WE WERE APPLYING TO BE HIS PARENTS!

Mind. Blown.

As my husband would say: You're welcome.