Anyone who has ever adopted, been in the adoption process, or known someone in the adoption process would say that adoption is definitely a roller coaster ride. We can attest that is true and we're still in the very beginning stages, but for us, it seems that we take a couple of steps forward and then take more steps backward. At times, we have wondered if maybe all the tears, frustration, difficulties and hardships are worth it, but then when we look at the photo of a little 2 year oldHaitian boy and see those big dimples, we know that one day it will all be worth it. All the frustrations and expense and forms and time. It's MORE than worth it.
The last time I wrote was in August and we had been told that adopting a special needs child would mean leaving Canada and the position that we had at the mission board. After a month or so of praying about that decision, I just couldn't find peace. And so the stubborn and persistent person that I am decided to appeal that decision. Without going into the long version, our missions leadership advised us to first of all decide what God is leading us to do and then they will work with us to do what's best for the child once he is adopted. They couldn't give us a definite answer that we would be able to return to Canada, but they were positive about adopting special needs children and were truly concerned for the child. For that, we felt as if God was saying to continue again with special needs adoption. That was our 1 Step Forward.
We were excited and ready to move on finally. We called our adoption agency to find out what the dates for our home study would be and they politely(well, not really politely) informed us that we were taking too long in moving forward and they were dropping us and would no longer work with us. So $250 lost and back to square 1, we began looking for another adoption agency that worked with Haiti. As we began contacting other agencies, they informed us that Haiti is now unofficially on hold and are no longer accepting applications for adoptions. That was our 2 steps Back. ARGHHHHH!!!
As you've probably heard before, God's ways are not our ways. That statement definitely applies to this situation because this is not at all the way I would have chosen to do this. But we believe that there is a reason for everything and we choose to have faith that God is working even though it seems that we are moving backward. So.........where are we now?
A new agency has been hired for our home study. More money paid to this agency. More paperwork to be done. FBI checks and background checks from 2 states and 3 different countries, 16 different documents to be filled out and some notarized, references to be filled out, 10 hours of online adoption classes to take, 4 day weekend with a social worker, medical exams and lots of blood tests to be done, etc....... Then when all that is completed, we'll pray that Haiti is open again for adoptions. And will it be worth it? I believe with ALL my heart that it will be.
Thank you for staying with us on this journey/process/marathon of an adoption story. I will try to keep the updates coming more often. :)
Friday, 7 December 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
Moving Forward
I apologize for the long delay without an update. I have to admit, it's taken me a bit of time to feel excited about writing again. At times, it's been hard to keep a good attitude about the decision we made. I have to continue to tell myself daily that there is a reason we couldn't go down the path of special needs adoption and that God still has a plan for the little guy we loved so much.
So, all we can do now is move on from here. We still feel that God is leading us to adopt 2 children, most likely from Haiti. So here's what's next in making that happen:
We are now at the point of having a Home Study done. This involves interviews with Robert and I, interviews with each of the children living in the home at this time, police checks, physicals, bios written, checking our living conditions, looking into our finances, etc. Normally this is done over a 3-4 month period of time. Because we have to have an American social worker fly here from our adoption agency in Colorado, ours will be done in an intense 4 day period. At this time, we are negotiating dates with our adoption agency. Once the dates are confirmed, we will post them here so that we can ask you to pray for us.
Thank-you for walking along with us thru this process and your interest in how it's going. Many of you have been a great encouragement in the last few months. What a blessing it's been knowing we have friends and family that support us and are praying for us.
Please check out a very special website that advocates for Down Syndrome and Special Needs children. These are the special ones that are so difficult to find a family for. Share this website with everyone you know, especially those considering adoption. These kids deserve a loving family and the sooner they find their home, the better chance at a good quality of life they can enjoy.
www.reecesrainbow.org
So, all we can do now is move on from here. We still feel that God is leading us to adopt 2 children, most likely from Haiti. So here's what's next in making that happen:
We are now at the point of having a Home Study done. This involves interviews with Robert and I, interviews with each of the children living in the home at this time, police checks, physicals, bios written, checking our living conditions, looking into our finances, etc. Normally this is done over a 3-4 month period of time. Because we have to have an American social worker fly here from our adoption agency in Colorado, ours will be done in an intense 4 day period. At this time, we are negotiating dates with our adoption agency. Once the dates are confirmed, we will post them here so that we can ask you to pray for us.
Thank-you for walking along with us thru this process and your interest in how it's going. Many of you have been a great encouragement in the last few months. What a blessing it's been knowing we have friends and family that support us and are praying for us.
Please check out a very special website that advocates for Down Syndrome and Special Needs children. These are the special ones that are so difficult to find a family for. Share this website with everyone you know, especially those considering adoption. These kids deserve a loving family and the sooner they find their home, the better chance at a good quality of life they can enjoy.
www.reecesrainbow.org
Monday, 16 July 2012
A Hard Decision
This is the blog post that I didn't want to have to write. My heart is breaking as I write, but because of reasons that are beyond my control, we are not proceeding with adopting the child with Cerebral Palsy. I don't understand why doors are closing and I definitely don't agree, but we've fought all we can. We can't adopt a child that needs medical care if we lose our job and insurance in the process. We will continue with the adoption process, but will seek 2 children that are healthy.
Thank-you for your prayers in this. Please pray that as this child goes back in the system, he will find another family as quickly as possible.
Thank-you for your prayers in this. Please pray that as this child goes back in the system, he will find another family as quickly as possible.
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
UPDATE......but please continue to pray
As I sit here for the last 2 hours in the waiting room of my doctors office, I realize this is a good time to write an update. Many of you have written and asked if we've received an answer by our missions doctors.
We have received word that our doctors are considering our case. That's good news in that they didn't immediately dismiss our request upon receiving the medical reports. But they are now checking with a contact in Canada to see if Canada would grant him a medical card upon coming to Quebec. This will be a small miracle considering the fact that we are Visitors in Canada adopting a Haitian child with severe Cerebral Palsy. :) But we know that anything is possible with God if it is His will to work in this way. So we ask you to keep praying.
Good News: In the last month, Robert, Haley, Maleah and I have had the opportunity to raise money for the adoption on 3 different occasions. From these 3 fundraisers, we have almost enough raised to pay for the homestudy, which will hopefully take place sometime this summer. Because we are Americans in Quebec, we have to fly a social worker from our agency in Colorado to Quebec to handle the homestudy. The cost of flights, hotel and food expense, of course, makes the process even more expensive than we thought at first. But God is faithful and is providing the finances thru many peoples generosity. Thank-you for praying for this aspect of the adoption also.
We have received word that our doctors are considering our case. That's good news in that they didn't immediately dismiss our request upon receiving the medical reports. But they are now checking with a contact in Canada to see if Canada would grant him a medical card upon coming to Quebec. This will be a small miracle considering the fact that we are Visitors in Canada adopting a Haitian child with severe Cerebral Palsy. :) But we know that anything is possible with God if it is His will to work in this way. So we ask you to keep praying.
Good News: In the last month, Robert, Haley, Maleah and I have had the opportunity to raise money for the adoption on 3 different occasions. From these 3 fundraisers, we have almost enough raised to pay for the homestudy, which will hopefully take place sometime this summer. Because we are Americans in Quebec, we have to fly a social worker from our agency in Colorado to Quebec to handle the homestudy. The cost of flights, hotel and food expense, of course, makes the process even more expensive than we thought at first. But God is faithful and is providing the finances thru many peoples generosity. Thank-you for praying for this aspect of the adoption also.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
A PLEA FOR HELP!!!!
That title sounds pretty desperate, eh? Well, I guess it is. I'm desperate for each of you to lift up a request for us. It's not a life or death matter, but it is a matter of whether we will be able to adopt the little boy with cerebral palsy in Haiti that God has led us to. Let me explain.......
God is leading Robert and I to adopt possibly 2 little boys from Haiti: one that is healthy and that we don't have any specifics on and the other has cerebral palsy and we know him personally. For a few years, God has been leading and working in my heart in regards to special needs children. I have developed a passion, love and strong desire to adopt a special needs child. Is it because I have experience with special needs? NO. Is it because it's something that I've always wanted? NO. Is it because I have lots of patience and feel confident in my ability to deal with problems? DEFINITELY NOT. But I have a desire and passion that I can only say comes from a God who says that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" and that "when I am weak, He is strong". That, honestly, is the only way I can explain this crazy love and passion for a child who will be dependent on us for the rest of our lives.
So what's the problem, you ask? Glad you asked! :) As representatives of a mission board, we have been given permission to adopt and are even encouraged to do so. But, we've been told concerning the adoption of a special needs child, when returning to the states in a few years for our stateside assignment, we may not be given medical clearance to return to Canada with a special needs child. Would that mean a reassignment for us or termination? We've been told that either could be a possibility.
Fortunately, we're not in this position yet, but we feel that God has spoken to us about adopting a special needs child. So what do we do? That is where each of you come in.
Our mission board/employer requested further exams on our special needs child in Haiti so that they would know what they would be dealing with if we adopted him. A Haitian doctor did a thorough exam with blood tests to check for all the major illnesses. Thankfully, he tested negative on everything but he does have Spastic Quadraplegic Cerebral Palsy. I received this official written report from Haiti on Friday evening.
On Monday, I will send the report to our mission doctors and they will make a decision based on his condition right now on whether they would allow us to return to Canada after our stateside assignment.
I'm pleading with each of you, my friends and family, to pray that God leads the doctors to make the right decision based on God's will for this little boy. Please pray that the doctors truly seek God for this decision. Please pray also that when Robert and I hear the decision, we will know where to go from there.
********After reading this post, I may have given the impression that I am angry or frustrated with our employer/mission board. That is not the case! I have respect and deeply appreciate the mission board we work for and with. They have prayerfully made decisions about guidelines and policies. I just want God's will to be done in this situation because I know that we serve a God who is big enough to work through limitations, weaknesses and even little boys with cerebral palsy.
Thank you so much for your help and I will keep you posted!!!
God is leading Robert and I to adopt possibly 2 little boys from Haiti: one that is healthy and that we don't have any specifics on and the other has cerebral palsy and we know him personally. For a few years, God has been leading and working in my heart in regards to special needs children. I have developed a passion, love and strong desire to adopt a special needs child. Is it because I have experience with special needs? NO. Is it because it's something that I've always wanted? NO. Is it because I have lots of patience and feel confident in my ability to deal with problems? DEFINITELY NOT. But I have a desire and passion that I can only say comes from a God who says that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" and that "when I am weak, He is strong". That, honestly, is the only way I can explain this crazy love and passion for a child who will be dependent on us for the rest of our lives.
So what's the problem, you ask? Glad you asked! :) As representatives of a mission board, we have been given permission to adopt and are even encouraged to do so. But, we've been told concerning the adoption of a special needs child, when returning to the states in a few years for our stateside assignment, we may not be given medical clearance to return to Canada with a special needs child. Would that mean a reassignment for us or termination? We've been told that either could be a possibility.
Fortunately, we're not in this position yet, but we feel that God has spoken to us about adopting a special needs child. So what do we do? That is where each of you come in.
Our mission board/employer requested further exams on our special needs child in Haiti so that they would know what they would be dealing with if we adopted him. A Haitian doctor did a thorough exam with blood tests to check for all the major illnesses. Thankfully, he tested negative on everything but he does have Spastic Quadraplegic Cerebral Palsy. I received this official written report from Haiti on Friday evening.
On Monday, I will send the report to our mission doctors and they will make a decision based on his condition right now on whether they would allow us to return to Canada after our stateside assignment.
I'm pleading with each of you, my friends and family, to pray that God leads the doctors to make the right decision based on God's will for this little boy. Please pray that the doctors truly seek God for this decision. Please pray also that when Robert and I hear the decision, we will know where to go from there.
********After reading this post, I may have given the impression that I am angry or frustrated with our employer/mission board. That is not the case! I have respect and deeply appreciate the mission board we work for and with. They have prayerfully made decisions about guidelines and policies. I just want God's will to be done in this situation because I know that we serve a God who is big enough to work through limitations, weaknesses and even little boys with cerebral palsy.
Thank you so much for your help and I will keep you posted!!!
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
A breaking heart......
It's been 2 weeks and 3 days since we left Cap Haitian and arrived back home. It's hard to explain and write about how special the time there was with the children at COTP. It's even harder to explain the feeling of leaving them behind knowing that at least one of them will eventually be your own child.
During the time there, Maleah and I spent our time with all the children there. Our day began around 7:30 each morning(earlier for Maleah because she would go to the baby house as soon as she heard them crying). And pretty much all day we just hung out with the kids, doing everything that they did in their day. With 60 kids, although it is very laid back, it can get to be quite tiring. Especially because there is never a time that you aren't holding at least one child or baby in your arms. They never get enough attention, so when you put one child down, anothers arms go up for you to pick them up. It's tiring, but at the same time, for me, energizing. I absolutely love it.
But my favorite time of all was spent with the special needs children. I don't know why, but God has given me a very special love for these kids. There are 6 children at the orphanage that are severe special needs. Two of them have hydrocephalus and 4 of them have cerebral palsy. None of these children are able to walk or sit up on their own, so they lay on a mat on the floor all day long. My mission was to get them out at least once a day, either in the stroller for a walk or just to hold them and talk to them. Most volunteers that come to the orphanage are a little nervous and don't know what to do with the special needs, so they don't always receive a lot of attention from volunteers. I don't have that much experience with special needs either, but as I spent more time with them this week, I realized how special they were. How they love to be held, even if we don't know exactly what to do. How they love to be talked and sung to, even if they can't understand our language. How they love to be tickled and played with, just like any child or baby. They feel, they smile, they laugh, they cry and they know when they're loved, even when their mental development is behind.
My heart breaks for all of the special needs boy(they all happen to be boys). But their is one little boy in particular that really touched my heart and Roberts and our family. I'm unable to share anything specific at this point until he is officially matched to us, but I can tell you that he is beautiful. He has severe cerebral palsy and will probably never walk. He can't hold his head up, sit up or control his muscles in any way. He can't say words or even many sounds at this point. But.............he has the most beautiful smile with 2 big dimples, his face lights up when you talk to him, he listens as you're singing and even seemed to try to sing too with oooohs, he made the funniest faces when I fed him food he didn't like, he laughed at Maleah when she slid down the slide, he would get excited and his body would stiffen when he knew you were taking him outside, he loved watching the children blow bubbles and smiled when they came toward him, and he cried when I laid him in bed that last night and told him goodbye. My heart breaks for him as it does for all the special needs boys. They all need to find homes where they can reach their full potential in life. God has a purpose for each of these little guys and I look forward to the day when they are all matched with a family.
My prayer is that the process for the adoption would go faster than normal in Haiti and our little guy or guys would be home as quickly as possible. Each day spent in an orphanage/institutional setting makes an impact on all the children, even when the orphanage is excellent as is the case of Children of the Promise in Cap Haitian. Thank you for praying with us and following us in this process.
During the time there, Maleah and I spent our time with all the children there. Our day began around 7:30 each morning(earlier for Maleah because she would go to the baby house as soon as she heard them crying). And pretty much all day we just hung out with the kids, doing everything that they did in their day. With 60 kids, although it is very laid back, it can get to be quite tiring. Especially because there is never a time that you aren't holding at least one child or baby in your arms. They never get enough attention, so when you put one child down, anothers arms go up for you to pick them up. It's tiring, but at the same time, for me, energizing. I absolutely love it.
But my favorite time of all was spent with the special needs children. I don't know why, but God has given me a very special love for these kids. There are 6 children at the orphanage that are severe special needs. Two of them have hydrocephalus and 4 of them have cerebral palsy. None of these children are able to walk or sit up on their own, so they lay on a mat on the floor all day long. My mission was to get them out at least once a day, either in the stroller for a walk or just to hold them and talk to them. Most volunteers that come to the orphanage are a little nervous and don't know what to do with the special needs, so they don't always receive a lot of attention from volunteers. I don't have that much experience with special needs either, but as I spent more time with them this week, I realized how special they were. How they love to be held, even if we don't know exactly what to do. How they love to be talked and sung to, even if they can't understand our language. How they love to be tickled and played with, just like any child or baby. They feel, they smile, they laugh, they cry and they know when they're loved, even when their mental development is behind.
My heart breaks for all of the special needs boy(they all happen to be boys). But their is one little boy in particular that really touched my heart and Roberts and our family. I'm unable to share anything specific at this point until he is officially matched to us, but I can tell you that he is beautiful. He has severe cerebral palsy and will probably never walk. He can't hold his head up, sit up or control his muscles in any way. He can't say words or even many sounds at this point. But.............he has the most beautiful smile with 2 big dimples, his face lights up when you talk to him, he listens as you're singing and even seemed to try to sing too with oooohs, he made the funniest faces when I fed him food he didn't like, he laughed at Maleah when she slid down the slide, he would get excited and his body would stiffen when he knew you were taking him outside, he loved watching the children blow bubbles and smiled when they came toward him, and he cried when I laid him in bed that last night and told him goodbye. My heart breaks for him as it does for all the special needs boys. They all need to find homes where they can reach their full potential in life. God has a purpose for each of these little guys and I look forward to the day when they are all matched with a family.
My prayer is that the process for the adoption would go faster than normal in Haiti and our little guy or guys would be home as quickly as possible. Each day spent in an orphanage/institutional setting makes an impact on all the children, even when the orphanage is excellent as is the case of Children of the Promise in Cap Haitian. Thank you for praying with us and following us in this process.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Surprise, Surprise!!!! We`re adding to our tribe.
Yes, you read the title right. We are planning on having more children, but not the way you think. We have just begun the process of International Adoption from Haiti. Robert and I have been praying and considering this for some time now, but are feeling that now is the right time. We are excited, scared, anxious, but know that God is leading this and that if it is His will, everything will come together in His timing.
As you know, adoption, especially international adoption is a very long process and expensive. Thus we started this blog to keep everyone informed of where we are in the process. At this point in time, we are just now sending in the applications for the orphanage in Haiti and the adoption agency in the states. Once they are in, then we have to do our Homestudy. In normal situations, that wouldn`t be such a problem, but because we are living in Quebec as temporary residents on a Visitors Visa, it becomes a little more complicated. Without going into great detail, please pray that the details of where, how and how to pay for a home study will work out in the next few months.
Exciting news, Robert, Haley, Maleah and myself will be travelling back to Haiti on March 2-10. Robert and Haley will be working in Port au prince for 5 days helping Samaritans Purse with an orphanage they have there. Maleah and I will travel straight to Cap Haitian where we will be helping at the orphanage that we want to adopt from. The last 2 days that we are there, Robert and Haley will join us there. Unfortunately, Zach and Lindsey are not able to join us for this trip because of school. Please pray for us as we spend time with the children there and that God would give us a sense of what child/children we are to adopt.
As you know, adoption, especially international adoption is a very long process and expensive. Thus we started this blog to keep everyone informed of where we are in the process. At this point in time, we are just now sending in the applications for the orphanage in Haiti and the adoption agency in the states. Once they are in, then we have to do our Homestudy. In normal situations, that wouldn`t be such a problem, but because we are living in Quebec as temporary residents on a Visitors Visa, it becomes a little more complicated. Without going into great detail, please pray that the details of where, how and how to pay for a home study will work out in the next few months.
Exciting news, Robert, Haley, Maleah and myself will be travelling back to Haiti on March 2-10. Robert and Haley will be working in Port au prince for 5 days helping Samaritans Purse with an orphanage they have there. Maleah and I will travel straight to Cap Haitian where we will be helping at the orphanage that we want to adopt from. The last 2 days that we are there, Robert and Haley will join us there. Unfortunately, Zach and Lindsey are not able to join us for this trip because of school. Please pray for us as we spend time with the children there and that God would give us a sense of what child/children we are to adopt.
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