DTC....Dossier To China, September 13, 2013!  A huge step forward in our current adoption.  We are officially a waiting family!  While this is such exciting news, it is also the beginning of the unknown.  The "paperchase" is a busy time in any adoption, a time where you are busying yourself with all of the sometimes overwhelming processing of documents to prepare them for their final submission to your agency.  Once it is all done, the busyness suddenly halts and you are left to a quiet time of questioning when your little one will be revealed.  Let me reminisce....

Our Colin....I took pregnancy test after pregnancy test, all negative, all within days of each other.  We went on our annual beach trip and I specifically remember an afternoon walk with my sister and mother where I told them something was definitely not right and I was going to go to the doctor upon our return home.  Of course, on our drive home, Ryan and I made one last stop at a drugstore to purchase yet another pregnancy test, we even debated on buying one or two and decided two would be best since we just knew it would be negative.  The following morning, I took the test and it was positive.  Finally, the answer we had been anticipating.

Our Pryce....in many ways he was our "surprise."  I just knew that it would take me forever to get pregnant with our second child - no reason for me to suspect this but for whatever reason, it was set in my mind.  However, with cereal cravings galore, I decided early one morning that a pregnancy test was in order.  I didn't even tell Ryan my suspicions.  With Ryan at work, Colin and I set out on an early morning WalMart run, purchased a test, and boom, there was Pryce, our joyful surprise.

Our Mason-Kate....we completed our paperwork for a healthy child under the age of 12 months in October, 2006.  At that time, we were told to expect to wait 14-16 months for a referral.  So we settled into life in the present and prayed for our daughter.  10 months into the wait, we realized our expected wait time would be much, much longer.  In fact, 7 years later, we would STILL be waiting for our Mason-Kate had we not switched to the waiting child program.  We switched in November, 2007, and we were matched with our MK just 5 weeks later.  The call came late one afternoon, a call that I missed.  The message from our agency stated that they had a question about our application and to please call them in the morning.  I honestly thought they had a question and I was anxious to answer it so we could be matched with a child.  With that in mind, I called them first thing the following morning.  No answer.  I was playing tennis and a friend said, "I bet they have a child for you!"  And I shrugged it off thinking there was no way they had a child for us yet, it had only been a few weeks since our change in programs.  The call finally came around lunch and our beautiful MK was referred to us, a day I will never forget.  She was 10 months old and waiting for us in China!

Our Maddox....Maddox's story parallels Pryce's story.  We began the paperwork to adopt and we calculated that the process from start to finish would take 2 years.  We began in May, 2010, sent our dossier to China in September, 2010, and miraculously got a call in the middle of the night in September, 2010, that our daughter was waiting for us in China.  We held her in our arms for the first time on March 13, 2011, just 10 months after we began the entire process.  A sweet surprise!

So I write all of this to say that we are in that phase of the unknown.  We know our paperwork is in China and we know we will likely get a match in the upcoming months.....but when?  We have NO idea.  And I will admit that I am not a fan of the unknown.  Maddox reminded me last night to relish in today and look forward to what is to come.  She shouted, "I am a FAN of God's PLAN!" So we wait and pray for our precious little one in China while we trust in His plan for our sweet Mary-Gentry.  We can't wait to know your face and hear your laughter and wipe your tears.  Our prayer for you today is that you know love and that your heart is being prepared for your place in our family!

Our Adoption Testimony and Matching Grant Information

"It may take place in a foreign land or it may take place in your backyard, but I believe that we were each created to change the world for someone.  To serve someone.  To love someone the way Christ first loved us, to spread His light.  This is the dream, and it is possible."  Katie Davis, Kisses from Katie

Dear Family and Friends,

Our quest to adopt has been a fabulous journey, one that began for me in childhood and sought my heart as an adult.  Our story began after we suffered two miscarriages yet still desired to parent another child in our home.  While I researched agencies and countries, Ryan prayed fervently for peace with adopting a child into our home.  God stood strong and held our hands as we embarked on our first journey down adoption lane right into the arms of our beautiful Mason-Kate.  What began as a non-special needs adoption with the two of us hands-down saying “no” to correctable special needs, ended with us having our eyes wide opened to the orphan crisis that is more real than we had ever dreamed.

Two years later, with a stirring in our hearts, we began the chase to bring home our second daughter, Maddox.  We plugged forward through the paperwork and received her referral late on a Sunday night during the month of September, 2010.  Where Mason-Kate had been born in a very prosperous province in China, Maddox was born in the poorest province.  She was tiny, a mere 5lbs at birth and suffered from the same special need as her big sister, cleft lip and palate.  Our travel confirmed what we had been told, Guizhou was far from a prosperous province.  Our drive to the orphanage is forever in my thoughts.  Mud.  Filth.  Beggars.  And, yet, we learned that our Maddox had been placed into the arms of a Christian foster family and cared for by them from birth.  We were fortunate enough to meet the foster family and the happiness they expressed towards her and our family on Gotcha Day was insurmountable.  

To say we were wrecked by seeing the suffering in Guizhou would be an understatement.  We came home with an even larger passion to help find homes for children left behind.  We have made it our goal to guide others through the process of adoption, be it a domestic adoption or an international adoption.  We see the look in a person’s eyes when we mention those two daunting words, “special needs,” and then we invite them to our home for one of our adoption gatherings.  These “gatherings” take place in our home every six weeks.  One stands in the presence of God when he looks on at the children from China in our group - the children with clefts, the child with bilateral microtia, the child literally left to die yet saved by a missionary who was not scared of his intestinal deformities, the children with a heart defect, the child born prematurely, the children born with meningocele, and the children who are still waiting to come home to their families (and our group!) forever.  Twelve families, twenty one children, a true testament of faith.  

Our adoption road has led us down many avenues. First and foremost, our growth in faith with our Lord Jesus Christ. He was dealing with two parents who clearly had their own plan for their family yet He stood stronger and meticulously shared His plan and, oh, how much greater His plan always is! Second, our girls and their lives.  We look at them daily - they are both amazing! They would have been shunned had God’s plan not been revealed in their lives.  Lastly, the many friends and acquaintances we have been allowed to share our story and personal testimonies with.  Adoption is our calling, His calling for us, and we are humbled by his gracious blessings as we continue along the path.

Today we find ourselves answering God’s call for our family once again as we dutifully pursue to adopt a waiting child in China.  She is known to us as Mary-Gentry.  With the help of our friends, we were able to raise $8000+ in our initial fundraising efforts.  This amount was used to prepare our dossier.  I am happy to report that as of Saturday, August 31, our dossier is en route to CHINA!  We have concluded the first “trimester” of our third adoption!

As most of you know, the adoption process is costly.  We estimate that our current adoption costs will total $32,000.  With this in mind, we are thankful to announce that our church family at Warren Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia, has partnered with Lifesong for Orphans and committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $5,000 to help pay our adoption expenses!  Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us meet this matching grant and cover the remaining adoption expenses to bring our baby girl home?  Our goal date is October 30, 2013! 

IF you feel led to give, checks can be made payable to “Lifesong for Orphans.”  In the memo, please note our “family account number - 3885” as well as our “family name - Drafts” to assure it goes to the correct account.  No amount is too small. Please mail your donation to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, Illinois, 61744.  Lifesong has been blessed with a partner that underwrites all U.S. administrative and fund-raising costs (TMG Foundation and other partners).  100% of your donation will go directly to our adoption AND will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000!  

Another option is to give online.  Please visit www.lifesongfororphans.org/give/donate.  Select “Give to an Adoptive Family.”  Complete the online form and fill in “Family Account Number-#3885” and “Family Name - Drafts” fields.   

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank each of you for your continued prayers and support!  Please continue to pray as we proceed.  We will likely get a referral (a child match) in the next six months.  We pray daily that her heart already knows our love for her!  

In Christ, 

Ryan, Beth, Colin, Pryce, Mason-Kate, and Maddox

Labor Day Celebrating Jay

Pre-parade activities....balancing acts and the writing of short stories while the boys were busy tossing the football and snacking on a few morning treats!

 These are always my favorite pictures, the anticipation can be read on their expressions....the parade is coming and the candy, oh the yummy sweet candy, is about to be thrown....Jay developed a fine art this year by catching the candy with his bag.

 Dear Maddox Ren, so glad to look back and see this smile on her face.  It wasn't too long after this that I began to notice a warmth about her face and a tired look in her eye, thus the beginning of our week of illness:/  Thankfully, the boys and Ryan were spared, but as for me and the girls, there were a few rough patches.

 Emma and Jay, 8 1/2 and 6 years old.  Time is flying but we sure are having fun watching these two grow.

 Jay is a baseball fanatic and the mention of the Braves swings him into a complete rundown of players, skills, records, etc....and he is playing Fall baseball so we felt a necessity in his lineup would be batting gloves.  I am pretty sure he slept with them on his hands that night!

 And while we are on a note of celebration, Colin celebrated his "half" birthday.  13 1/2.  Each day with him leads me to a new level of disbelief that he is growing up right before our eyes.  

What a true blessing it is to parent this young man!

A Much Needed Day

Sometimes we just need to sit back and take in a day just being us, our little own family.  And today was one of those days.  

 We began with worship at church.....and then we did something we truly have not done in quite a while - TARGET after church;  and Target after church means only one thing - a pizza/breadsticks combo divided amongst our four, it is the "must have Sunday snack."  

 And once our outing to Target was completed, it was home to just veg....we pulled out the inflatable pool, drug out the good ole slip-N-slide, threw in a few toys and sidewalk chalk coupled with a bit of football....and there you have it, a FABULOUS day!

 Our sweet Maddox Ren.  She simply cannot wait to get her little hands on her baby sister, Mary-Gentry.  She asks daily if she can hold her when she comes home and she does not want any help what.so.ever, she has told us this fact more times than we can count.  Her heart is golden though - today she was seen praying and I asked her what she was praying for.  She said, "I pray dat I get to see Mary-Gentry real soon, you know dat, right?"  

 Day turned to night and there was a celebration to be had!  Being that is is September 1, that could only mean one thing - we can have dessert again!  All is well in our home now!

 Oh, dessert, how we have missed thee!

Next up?  A month without going out to dinner!  

A lengthy catch-up post....

To describe the past few weeks in a few words or less....busy, busy, extremely busy.  However, I am feeling blessed, blessed and extremely blessed by the busy.  School started.  Not a shock to most who read this as I know most are mothers too and most can relate to the overwhelming feeling that accompanies each new school year.  With the beginning of school comes the beginning of piano, ballet, football, soccer and Wednesday nights at church.  And co-op.  Throw in an orthodontist appointment for the removal of braces, annual well visit to the dr. for Maddox (she made the charts!!!  woo-hoo, we are now in the 5th percentile for height AND weight),.....and did I mention we are babysitting our neighbor's child this year?  Yes, Ava has come on board and we all get a few laughs each day from her very animated stories she shares with us.  AND, we are adopting!  Our adoption is nothing new but I will say that we have been super engaged in raising the necessary funds to get her home.  We had our first ever boutique consignment show in our home and I am happy to report that it was a success - we will be continuing to do this sale each season in hopes of assisting other families financially in the adoption process or funding surgeries for orphans with our proceeds.  Very exciting indeed.  An enormous THANK YOU to all who consigned, donated hanging racks, shopped and supported our family.  AND I ginormous thank you to Katie and Jesse for keeping it all together - they were the core who handled check-out and sorted tags and even highlighted each sale price for easier viewing.  AND, to my dear friend, Amy Rankin.  Amy is an exceptionally talented artist and she generously donated a piece of artwork for our family to use as a raffle during the sale.  The bonus for us is that we were able to share Amy's story with friends - her family is adopting again too!  Check out her art at 2540designs.com, you will be amazed!  

The end of the sale came and I felt an urgent need to contact the USCIS to see if our final approval had been issued in order for us to proceed with getting our paperwork to China, thus ending the first "trimester" of this adoption journey.  

I sent an email inquiry.

Minutes later I got a response that made me SHOUT for joy - we had been approved on August 21, 2013, and we should be expecting our approval any day in the mail - WOO-HOO!!!

My excitement quickly turned into a dismal worry when I checked our mailbox that day and the approval notice was not in our mail.  It had been five business days so theoretically we should have received our approval.

And I will admit that this entire process, I have not worried one.little.bit. nor have I been anxious - my prayers have been for peace in this journey.  But on this day, I worried big and felt anxious.  After all, it is the end of this part of the journey and we are SO close to being paper ready.  Our next step will be a referral and, admittedly so, we all want to know her face.  

I soon relaxed and went about my day knowing that it would come the following day.

But, it didn't. And I was super sad.  And just as I was about to go eat three entire scoops of ice cream from Brusters to wallow in my sorrow, I received an email from our agency stating that they had received their approval copy and we could make a copy of theirs and use it for our dossier!!! JOY!  Thus began two hours of notarizing, copying, banking, county certifying, and FedExing....oh, and did I mention that during all of this, we had to pick up children from co-op, Ryan graciously took on the task of dressing three little girls in their ballet gear and getting them all to ballet, football practice, soccer practice, and a meeting.....bless Ryan and all that he does with a smile on his face.  He said all was well until a little lady smiled and said, "You might want to turn her tutu around.  It's backwards." Love him!

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, our dossier/paperwork will be going to China this Friday!

And our approval notice?  Well, it STILL has not come in the mail!  So thankful our agency came to the rescue!

And, now, pictures from our last few weeks.....Colin's new smile and his photobombing brother.  I simply love these two and their wittiness. 

Sweet Chloe - I was asked how it feels to actually see "my little girl" home forever.  We all know she is not mine but she will always hold a special place in my heart and it truly is surreal to see her walking around in my home, playing with play doh, interacting with my girls, eating at our table....surreal.  Her family adores her and the feeling is mutual.  They relish in her daily achievements - she is doing something new everyday!  She sorts colors, she dances, she says words, she ate an entire piece of pizza, she climbed a rock wall, she was brave enough to ride in the jeep with Maddox driving, etc., etc., etc.  She is beyond precious!  I think the best news I heard this week was when a fellow adoptive mom called to say she could assist in getting Chloe the extensive speech and occupational therapies she needs!  This child is a symbol of hope for others who wait entirely too long to be loved!  

A birthday party by the lake, what more could one ask for?  My mother celebrated her 69th year of life on earth surrounded by her closest friends and family.  Even the rainy weather did not drive them away!  My brother and his wife deserve a pat on the back for a job well-done in preparing this gathering to honor my mom!  Thank you Chris and Amanda!  

The grandchildren and Gran/Grandma.  Again, getting a picture of more than one child is quite a task.  Throw in the fact that it was the end of the night, all children had either had entirely too much Coke to drink or were totally exhausted from all of their game playing.....thus, the animated photo with the grands minus the one who was off to the side melting on the floor.

And with all of that said, here's to another fabulous week!  

A quick synopsis of our week....

• Maddox started preschool on Monday.  When asked if she was excited to go, her response made me a bit nervous.  She said, "Nope.  I am not going to school today.  I am staying with my mommy."  And she said it so matter-of-fact.  So we went about our morning and when it was time to go to school, she climbed in the car, buckled up, sang on the way, we arrived, I took a picture, she walked in and never looked back.  When I picked her up she said, "Mommy, I had a great day at school.  I am going to go everyday!"  And she has been super excited to go each morning!  
• And the rest of our week has been consumed by our second fundraiser to bring Mary-Gentry home - Boutique Consignment/Consigning to Adopt.  I did the rack sweep by dashing from one friend's house to the next to collect hanging racks that everyone graciously donated; I tagged clothing; I moved the majority of our furniture from our piano room and living room into our bedroom; welcomed almost 40 consignors into our home; organized clothing; sent out reminders for the sale; blew up FaceBook with status updates on the sale; and, finally, it was sale time!  A steady flow of shoppers came in and out of our home Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!  Some were familiar faces, some were total strangers, all were showing their love for a little girl, our little girl. She is already loved by so many!  
• One perk in doing this sale is that we get to promote adoption.  Our hope is to use the proceeds each season from this sale to assist in bringing other waiting children home in the future!
• And in the midst of it all, my children were a bit neglected - they were fed, schooled, driven to practices, read to, etc., but not in our "normal" way of operation.  MK asked, "Mom, when are things going to get back to normal?"  I was feeling a bit guilty, knowing that I have not given them 100%, and I responded, "Soon baby, real soon.  I promise on Monday we will get back to our routine."  She looked at me with a bit of a grin and said, "Really?  You mean we can go back to having ice cream and dessert this Monday?  Awesome, I thought we had to wait until September!" And with that she skipped off!  Did I mention that our family gave up sweets for the month of August???? 

Photo Pile

She is home forever!  Miss Chloe Hope Taylor, a child close to my heart, a child that I prayed and prayed for, a child who needed her forever family!  For the longest time, I emailed and asked everyone I could think of to please go adopt this little cutie!  Lo and behold, her family was waiting HERE, in our very own town and it only took one by-chance meeting in Target and one time for me to share her photo to a friend, and bam, she was coming home!  Look at that adorable face!  

 My Nannie.  92 years old.  We went to visit her recently and she insisted on baking biscuits for us!  Her biscuits are to die for and we all had our share:)

 On Saturday, MK, Pryce and I took on the theatre to see The Lion King.  Fabulous show.

 What thirteen year old doesn't like to do laundry????

 Maddox and Ava on their first day of ballet!

 And from ballet, we went to football!  I simply LOVE that I have the privilege to parent both boys and girls - a sweet taste of both worlds!

 The majority in our house seem to prefer the silly-face look, especially when the camera comes into play:)  MK is all about Legos.  She will build and create and then build some more!  

 Photo op with Nannie.  We visited, we played the piano, we ate biscuits, we visited some more....I do cherish the moments that we have with her!

 Backing up a bit....our dear friends came home from Ethiopia with their three new little ones!  Lots of hugs and happy tears.

 Our two families, the fun they will have through the years to come!

 A beautiful photo of adoption....Samuel is hugging his big sister for the very first time.  LOVE.

 Miss Maddox.  Got yogurt?

 My littlest learner.  Maddox is all about school time when we are buckled down to learn.