Three.

The story of three.

Adoption has always been and will always be on our hearts.  We are surrounded by it, our own family, our close friends, our friends' friends, our bloggy friends....surrounded.  We LOVE sharing our story with others.  Selfishly, we love sharing our story in hopes that it will, in turn, lead a family to their own adoption story and, most importantly, one less orphan.
Several months after we came home with Maddox, I remember looking at a list of available children when one sweet little sad-faced girl caught my eye.  She was beautiful and, as Ryan walked by, I said, "Oh, Ryan, she just needs a bow!  Look at her!"  And his response was, "B, if we only had the money." I knew at this moment that we may be looking at a bigger plan, one that was not necessarily our own, but His.
Over the past year-ish, we have periodically discussed adopting again and what that would look like in our family.  Many of those conversations have ended in us agreeing that our lives were full.  With four children, there is never a dull moment.  And yet, there was an underlying question of "what if?"  What if we were to adopt again?
There came a point when we realized that every.single.reason we had for not adopting was superficial.    Five college tuitions, weddings, medical care, extra-curricular care, oh my.  All very worthy of worry.  Yet, isn't it worrisome that there are children all over the world who do not have a family to call their own?  These children are not worried about anything more than where their next meal is coming from.  Their biggest concern is survival.  They aren't concerned about how large their house is - they just want to be warm.  They aren't concerned about clothing - they are just happy to be warm.  They aren't worried about a bed - they just want to sleep and often do so on a board or bare floor.
And love?  These children have no idea what love is.  God's love, a parent's love, a grandparent's love, friend's love....they do not know love.  Are their needs met by caregivers?  Sometimes.  But caregivers come and go. Unconditional love does not exist in their world.
So with all of this on our hearts, our prayers became more specific with time as we pondered our next adoption.  We gave it all to Him and asked Him to open doors or slam them shut.  With doors wide open and hearts ready to love, we are excited to announce that we will be pursuing a third adoption from China's special needs program.
Questions that have been asked:
How can you help?
We are currently doing an Ipad Mini raffle.  Tickets can be purchased by clicking on our Donate button (located on the right).  Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $25.  Please list the amount you would like to purchase in the comments section and we will fill out your tickets for you and put them in the hat!  A public drawing will be held on Saturday, April 27.  The winner does not need to be present to win.
Do we have a child identified?
No, at this time we are strictly fundraising.  However, we do plan to adopt a little girl, under the age of three, with a special need.
Do we have to do EVERYTHING all over again?
Yes.  We have to begin from the beginning as if we have never adopted before.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to email me or leave a comment!  Thank you so much for following our family as we move forward in bringing home our little girl!


 

Our Trip To Narnia 2013

The Roar of Love 2013

 Our beautiful little Cherub lit up the stage in her ballet debut - to say her sweetness radiated throughout the auditorium is an understatement! 

 And have I ever mentioned just how special our daddy is?  Somehow, someway, cough, he was asked to share the stage with his two little girls in the role of Father Christmas.  He was a natural;)

 Miss Maddox brought tears to my eyes.  My little one who prefers to be on my hip at all hours of the day, bravely took her steps and twirls and smiled the entire time.

 So sweet.  

 And Mason-Kate....leader of the pack, star of the show, carrier of the ginormous shield, oh how she sparkled.

 MK's friends were all so pleased to have a familiar face with them onstage.  Word has it that several of the daughters are now nominating their fathers for the future role of Father Christmas.  So cute.

 It seems I snapped this photo at just the right moment to catch a glimpse of MK "leading" others by telling them where to stand!  She is precious.

 MK, how you lit up the stage tonight....you were so excited and confident in your role onstage!  

 Prior to the performance, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for a great day!

And a trip to Narnia would not have been complete without a very special audience.  Three cousins, three grandparents, one teacher and her friend....fabulous!  

Family Week

We began our "family week" celebrating Maddox with the coolest cookies ever - in the shape of China no less! 

 We devoured some Chinese grub and reminisced about the early days with Maddox.

 For Christmas, the boys were given a trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  We waited to take advantage of this gift for our family week.....this pick was taken 2 seconds after our arrival - bathing suits on and ready to tackle the slides!

Everyone was all smiles....water obstacles, wave pool, Tornado slide, lots of slides....

 new friends, time just hanging out with Daddy....

 a little one who was "cold, cold, cold".....

 a ginormous bucket of water that dumped out every so often.....the kids LOVED this!

 After our jaunt to GWL, we dashed home in time for the girls to attend a gymnastics birthday party, boys hung out with dad doing dad things, a little baseball hitting, a lazy night at home....

and on Sunday we celebrated MK!  Her day included church, Putt-Putt, Dairy Queen, a hot dog dinner (her choice!) and decorating our friends' home for their arrival home from China...I honestly cannot believe it has been 5 years!  What made me smile big was listening to her say, "Well, it is my Gotcha Day."....she was milking it bigtime.  And on Monday at dinner we were playing a game and she said, "Well, I think I should go first because yesterday was my Gotcha Day."....hmmm, all girl:)

Five Years of Forever

Five years ago we met you yet you had been living in our hearts for quite sometime.

 Mason-Kate,

 you are beautiful - your spirit is pure and your love is deep...  

 to call you daughter is a blessing!

Happy Gotcha Day sweet girl!

We love you forever, like you for always, as long as you're living, our baby you'll be.

Gotcha!

"And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me"

Matthew 18:5

 Maddox Ren, you are joy in our hearts and warmth to our souls

 Two years ago, on this day, you were placed in our arms forever.  You were so very scared....and so sad....your world forevermore changed.

And today, you are full of spunk, laughter, and innocent mischief.  You are loved beyond measure.  Your sweet smile lights up any room.  And your playful spirit brings joy to anyone within reach.  You are all about your mommy, and your mommy is smitten.  Just the other night you reached up, placed your sweet hands on my cheeks and said, "Mommy, when I was a baby in China, I missed you."  Melt.my.heart.  

Happy two years of forever, sweet girl. 

More 13 year pictures....

 His request for breakfast - Lucky Charms

 And the opening of the gift....

 Meanwhile, the girls participated in a fashion show benefit to raise funds for a friend with cancer

 MK was all smiles and giggles as she and her friend donned the stage in all of their six year old beauty!  Maddox was precious too....she had her sweet, innocent little smile and bravely walked the stage alone!

Favorite quotes of the week:
Maddox announced that she did not like "grass" in her food.  Grass = lettuce.

MK shouted, "MomOmom!  Maddox just kicked me in my sternum!"
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My favorite moment was watching C open his birthday gift, the one we have all been anticipating yet he had no idea we had actually purchased it.  He was so surprised!
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My lowest moment was during P's final basketball game on Thursday.  His team was one of two teams who made it all the way to the championship tournament in his division, a first time opportunity for him.  And they were playing a team that had beat them once before, the only team who has beat them all season.  And, as luck would have it, the other team happens to be the team he was on last year so playing against his former coach made P super nervous.  We looked good the first half especially when P went up to score the first points for his team!  And then second half came and the downhill slide began.  And then P got hurt.  His knee took a nasty hit to the floor during a battle for the rebound - P has a gift of acquiring rebounds.  It was at this point, though, that P's pride was hurt and I wanted to just cuddle him up and take him home!  The little beast (and I say that in the kindest tone!) he was battling with spoke some nasty language towards P and it damaged his feelings.  P is my gentle spirit and I hate to see his heart hurt.

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And my thought for the week.....I am wondering if people would believe that our fifth child was an "oops!"  I mean, women get pregnant all the time by "surprise" so can't we adopt and say it was a surprise?!