The Truth

So in response to the call about Our Truth, I thought I would put my story out there.  It is very sad what happened in Tennessee with the little boy that was shunned by his mother and sent back to Russia.  I cannot fathom what happened to make her feel like that was the thing to do.  Mostly, my heart aches for the little boy who already had so much distrust because of the unfortunate beginnings to his life and now has a new hurdle that he must face.  International adoption is not something to enter into lightly.  You certaintly need to know up front, it is a hard process that is worth every penny, every moment you spend sharing details of your life, every letter you write, every dr. appointment you must make and every piece of paper you copy and chase.  Now please, don't make us into somekind of "save the world" kind of people.  Many people say to us...you are such a good person to adopt your son from Vietnam, he is so lucky.  Well, folks you couldn't be more wrong.  We are the lucky ones! 

Adoption was not always something I thought about growing up.  I didn't dream of adopting children, but I did dream of being a mother.  God has plans for us, I really feel like he knows obstacles we will come across and opens doors for us that we can either enter through or close.  It is ultimately up to us what happens, but he makes a way for us.  God made a way for us when there seemed to be no way.  He worked in ways we could not see, he made a way for me....do you know the song?

Mark and I tried for several years to have a child through natural means, it just did not happen.  I was beside myself with grief, reading 1 Samuel over and over, feeling Hannah's pain and wondering....why Lord have you not brought me a child.  After all the infertility treatments and 2 lost babies, God shined a light for us.  Adoption was the option.  I almost hit me like a ton of bricks.  I remember when we made the decision to adopt, I felt so much peace!  I knew this was the right thing to do.  We found a wonderful agency that guided us along they way. They try to prepare you for all possible scenarios, but mostly prepare you to be ready for anything.  These children have already experienced a loss at their young age, something many of us do not know anything about.  We were ready.  God led us to Vietnam and I know it was God because of the wonderful people he put into our lives.  We met some life long friends that live close to us and we experienced this magnificant journey together.  We were all waiting for a child and the day came and we were all getting boys from the same orphanage.  It was miraculous. 

I remember "the call" just like it was yesterday.  I was in a meeting and my sweet friend took the call and knew instantly that I needed to come back to my office and return the call at once.  She made my other friend who is the Superintendent's assistant come pull me out of a meeting with the Superintendent.  Now if you at all know anything about education, that is a pretty big deal to meet with the sup.  I excused myself and went back to the office.  I was so nervous.  Mark was out of town.  I returned the call and they told us there was a little boy in Vietnam who was 5 mos old.  Told me a little bit of information and asked if I would like to see him.  I was so nervous.  They sent me an email with his picture.  I think my palms were sweating! I called Mark and I opened the picture.  I loved him.  He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.  I cried openly. (I may cry now thinking about it.)  I knew right away, this was my baby.  He had been growing in my heart!

We have had our challenges, but I would do it over and over again a million times.  He is my son!  I still remember the exit Visa interview we had in Vietnam with a man representing the US.  He noticed that Dylan was malnourished to the 3rd degree (that is what the paperwork said).  He looked at us kind of skeptical and said, he is malnourished, he is likely to have problems.  He could be slow in school, or there could be unforeseen issues, are you sure you are willing to take this child.  I remember the outrage I felt at that moment.  I wanted to fly through that window, grab him by the neck and shake him silly.  The only thing that kept me from doing that is he was deciding if we were going to get a visa for Dylan.  Of course I am sure....you are talking about my son!  How dare you.  Well you know what Mr. Visa man....take a look at this face.  He is beautiful, he is happy, and he is very much loved!! 

We are a family, international adoption made this happen. Adoption is a wonderful option that I pray is not taken away for these children and families that are waiting and dreaming of each other! I dreamed of my baby before I even knew what his face looked like.  I love my baby and cannot imagine my life without him.