Happy 7th "Forever Day" Aiden!

Sept 8th, 2008.  A date that will stand in my mind forever. Chongqing, China.  A place that will forever be etched in my memory.  It was hot and humid with no air conditioning in the Adoption Center.  There we were. Waiting, wondering, and anxiously pacing back and forth.  Waiting for a 20 month old little boy who had never known the love of a Daddy, Mommy or big Sister, but was about to get all three.  Would he cry? Would he grieve for the only life he knew?  Would he eat? Would he sleep? How severe were his special needs?  The questions I had were endless.  How did we get here anyway?  That was the big question.  We had no intentions of adopting again and had set our eyes on moving from our starter home and investing in a bigger, nicer, house.  Through a series of events, God spoke to Rob and I separately with the same message..."If you're going to invest in something....let it be ETERNAL".  A soul is the only thing eternal so we both knew what that meant.  We were being called to invest in a little soul in China. So together, we bowed before the challenge set before us knowing in our hearts that this baby boy was exactly the path God had chosen for us.  Yang FuSheng finally came into the adoption center escorted by a caregiver from the orphanage.  He was wearing the clothes we had sent to him in a care package a few weeks earlier. We were expecting a flow of tears and cries of grief but we saw neither.  It was as though he knew who we were and that our love for him was immense.  He never looked back!  Aiden has been one of life's greatest gifts to our family! Oh how thankful we are that we accepted the call God placed on our hearts!  7 years have passed since that Sept day, and Aiden has faced many challenges since then.  Through all the medical procedures, and daily sticks and pokes, he has never once complained.  Happy "Forever" Day to our wonderful, stubborn, happy-go-lucky little guy - Aiden Chase FuSheng.  He came into the adoption center as an orphan but left as our Son!  A loved, cherished, treasure!!   God's ways are not always easy but they by far are the best!!

God's Plan = My Reward

Happy Mothers Day!  Those words reeked havoc in my heart for many years but for the past 16 years have put a smile on my face.  Why?....because God's plan was far better than my own!

In 1998, after trying several rounds of fertility drugs, 2 surgeries, numerous tests, months and months of temperature charts and endless sticks and pokes, the Doctor finally handed me an adoption packet on the way out of his office.  I was devastated!  At that moment,  I felt like my life was over, my dreams were shattered and I certainly didn't want to think about adoption.   What was seemingly so easy for everyone else was impossible for me.  Little did I know at the time, that God already had my Motherhood planned and in motion.  Not the way I planned, but a far better plan.  A plan that I now feel completely humbled and honored to be chosen for. 

Two trips half-way around the world, thousands of miles traveled, countless hours on stuffy airplanes, mountains of paperwork, language barriers, unidentifiable food, squat potties, etc. etc. -  all of this a far cry from the pregnancy, labor and delivery I envisioned.  My journey to Motherhood may not have taken the traditional route but make no mistake,  it was a journey not for the faint of heart.  But as all mothers say...."I would do it again in a heartbeat to have my child".

Shaelyn came to me as a tiny package of healing for a soul that had been ravished by the pain and grief of  9 yrs of infertility.   Aiden came to me to fill a void I didn't even know I had.  Both were treasures, handpicked by God to be mine.  Not biologically mine, but MINE!  The fierceness of  my love for these two kids is hard to explain with words.

 From the adoption of my two children, I have experienced a deeper understanding of God's love for us.  What a blessing, what a gift, what a treasure!!  Thank you God for such a wonderful plan. My reward for following Your plan has been beyond beautiful! 

                                 Waiting at the US Consulate Appt. in China holding Baby Shay!

 

Aiden and I -  just a couple days home from China.