Join "Operation Giggle"!

I know that many of you are aware of the great work that New Day Foster home does. They have just launched a project called "Operation Giggle". This extra special mission is to provide each of the 64 children living in their foster home a Christms morning to remember. All you have to do is go on to the operation giggle blog, select the child that you would like to sponsor, notify Sherri and purchase a gift. I am taking advantage of this life lesson and involving my kids. I cannot think of a greater opportunity to instill the joy of giving verse receiving.

But be forewarned these kiddos are so cute you might have to sponsor more than one!

Ava and I are sponsoring sweet Elizabeth! And the boys are going to select a child ,probably one of the darlng boys.


www.operationgiggle.blogspot.com
The direct link is on my side bar!

The Fork in the Road

We are fairly well versed in Russian adoption. We learned everything about what to expect and lived and breathed it for well over a year. We began the journey to Ava and assumed our role as the "rookies" . With Russia you have no choice you pick an accredited agency first, submit your dossier and then the MOE in Russia matches a child to you.Special Needs China is a bit different. The CCAA in China has a shared list of children with a wide variety of special needs . There are children added every month. Some agencies receive an individual list specifically for their agency. These are generally children that are a little harder to place due to age or their specific need.You can either select a waiting child first or choose an agency.

So we have assumed our "Rookie" ranking again and face a fork in the road. Should we search through those lists of sweet kiddos or do you choose an agency and let them led the way? Searching through those lists are not for the faint at heart. Face after face of sweet little kids that greatest special need is a family to love and advocate for them. Each and everyone that we have seen I have checked on their status to make sure that they have received the gift of a family. Well after a month of doing this I have come to realize that this is too much like me taking control and leading the way. On our journey to Ava I realized that relying on my faith was a far better plan.Traveling to met Ava with no photo or info before arriving at that hospital in Russia was a true journey of faith. Scary as that sounds, when they handed me that baby I had a sense of peace that is indescribable.We knew that she was our daughter.

We have researched many agencies and met some wonderful people along the way. But one really stood out. We have chosen Xiaoqing with Bay Area Adoption Service to be our guide. She works tirelessly at getting these children families. Her devotion to these kids was a sure sell for us!

So, we now sit back and wait ...patiently! Yes people I said patiently! I will continue to remind myself daily that this is not on my timing but his! I believe with all my heart that this child was in God's plan for us long ago. For me the journey of adoption is a journey of faith like no other.

A New Chapter

Our family is beginning a new chapter in our lives. As parents, so much of our lives evolve around our children as it should be. As each child has entered our lives a new chapter has begun . No matter how they have entered our lives , birth or adoption, each child holds an equal and special place in our hearts. With our first adoption, I looked at it as a blessing to have the opportunity to "rewrite" a little child's life. Little did I know that my little girl was going to be the author and rewrite our lives. Ava was an unlikely teacher camouflaged in the body of a scared one year old Russian orphan. Now at two years of age ,she has evolved out of her cocoon . I am in awe of her determination and how many obstacles she has faced in her short life. Our little "professor" rewrote my life song and our desire to be blessed yet again has grown.
This journey through adoption is one of the most spiritual journey's that I have ever taken. I have learned that God will pave the way and our one simple job is to follow . This one simple job to follow and not lead can be somewhat of a challenge at times! We feel that the road was being paved when we met Ava in Russia. Being the "rookies " in the adoption world we began researching adoption and ended up in the most unlikely place,Russia. When we traveled to met Ava we did not have any info prior to traveling. All our agency knew was that we were open ethnicity and requesting a girl as healthy as possible.We were told that the most healthy children in Russia are not of Russian ethnicity . Most Russian families that adopt seek out Russian children to achieve a "blended" family. So we are expecting a healthy little girl of one of the many beautifully diverse ethnicity's that make up Russia's society. Now this next part is where I know that God has a sense of humor!When we met our daughter she was not at all what we expected but what God had chosen . This tiny, pale,blond/blue eyed babe was one week short of her first birthday and weighted a whooping 12 lbs! When we received the medical info on Ava it was scary. She would have been considered special needs in China. We accepted her referral aware of all the risks and prayed for the best. Now fast forward to today ,we have a beautiful little soul that graces us each day. We believe that God paved this road for us to special needs China via an unlikely source,a sweet little Russian princess. I would never consider Ava to be special needs just a really special gift that we have been given.
If Ava was not enough God presented one more perspective that has reinforced how "special needs" is just a label. Over the course of the past year we have also been impacted by another unlikely source,our sweet nine year old neighbor. He was diagnosed with cancer and has since lost a portion of his leg to this terrible disease. He has been in the fight for his life and has won. When he comes over to play he is still the same little boy that we have always known. The loss of his leg makes him no different. He is the same person just doing things a little different.Just another reminder that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made! His courage and strength is amazing!Please pray for this courageous boy's continued good health!

We have been home with Ava for a little over a year now and are very excited to be on this journey to adopt again. International adoption can be a lengthy process so we are starting the process now and can not wait to see what God has planned for us!