Purple For Zachary

Today we are wearing purple for Zachary, because it is National Epilepsy Awareness Day.  Yesterday was Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day.  I haven't spoken on the blog about Zachary's special needs before, but I wanted to recognize this day as I know that epilepsy is going to change our family.

Zachary has epilepsy.

He also has cerebral palsy.  And a few other more minor special needs.

I don't want Zachary to be defined by his medical diagnoses, but I wanted to shed some light on the magnitude of his situation.

Epilepsy often does not have a cause, but we are fairly sure that Zachary's is related to his cerebral palsy.  Cerebral palsy is a condition that is caused by brain damage, usually due to lack of oxygen at birth, prematurity or some other kind of birth trauma.  As we do not know the circumstances of his birth, we just have to assume that he had some kind of trauma that resulted in brain damage.  He was immediately treated for seizures and diagnosed with epilepsy.  The cerebral palsy diagnoses came much later, even after we had already started praying about adopting him.

There are medications and therapies for both of his diagnoses. But each seizure has the potential to cause further brain damage.  In rare instances they can be fatal.   His orphanage has a doctor on staff that has provided medications that are controlling his seizures fairly well, which is very encouraging.  Unforunately, these same medications are also contributing to his developmental delays.  There are other meds and treatments that doctors in the US have access to that might help Zachary.  In the orphanage he also does not have access to the therapies that may one day promote walking, talking, and developing to his full potential.

But he is sunshine, that is what everyone says.  He doesn't walk or talk well, due to side effects from meds, orphanage delays, CP and epilepsy.  But we do know that he has a smile for everyone.  That his laugh is infectious.  That the doctors and therapists we have talked to who have personally visited him remember him immediately, because of his sweet personality.

So today we wear purple for our little boy in China who through no fault of his own has been forced to walk the road of this terrible condition.  But there is hope for him to live as normal a life as possible, and we are thankful to God for the opportunity to provide that to him.  To get him the best medical care he deserves, and to love him, encourage him and never, ever give up on him.  He can do all things through Christ who gives him strength...even carry the burden of epilepsy and cerebral palsy for the rest of his life.

If Zachary never walks, then we will be his feet and carry him wherever Jesus asks us to go.

If Zachary never talks, then we will be his words and share his story with everyone we know.

If Zachary never mentally matures to adulthood, then we will pray that his heart will be tender like a child to the Word of God.

And if for some reason Zachary defies all expectations and limits place on him, then we will give God all the glory.  Because we know that God is going to use Zachary and his story for His glory, He has a special plan and purpose for our little boy.

It's all for Jesus

You revive me, You revive me Lord.

And all my deserts are rivers of joy.

You are the treasure, I could not afford.

So I'll spend myself till I'm empty and poor,

all for You, You revive me Lord.

Update

Thanks so much for the gifts already given, we are so humbled and thankful for your support and prayers!

• On another note, I sent out our final grant applications this week in addition to the online components we did last week, so whew!  All free time has been spent on writing essays, collecting necessary documents, filling out applications and answering tons of questions.  I hope that we find favor with one of these wonderful organizations, but it is our privilege to fill out all these forms with the hope that it will bring us closer to Zachary.  Each envelope was sealed with great love and is an offering of sacrifice and praise.  Thank you God for this opportunity!

• We are enjoying this beautiful weather.  Just checked and it is 70 degrees where Zachary lives in China.  Perhaps he is enjoying the spring weather too!

Puzzle Fundraiser

We are working hard to get Zachary home, and that includes being creative in finding ways to save/raise this final $18,000 needed to fund our adoption.   So, in addition to the many grants we have applied for (which is quite the process), we wanted to invite you to help us put together an "adoption puzzle" for Zachary.  Here's how it works...

We have a 200 piece puzzle that Asher helped pick out for Zachary.  It is an "animals of the world" puzzle and fits into the global/travel theme of their room, which Asher is excited to share with his brother (mainly because he'll be getting bunk beds!)

Each puzzle piece is $10, or whatever you feel led to give ($5, $1). When an amount is donated we will write your name, or your family's name, on the back of a puzzle piece.  Once all the pieces are funded we will put the puzzle together, seal it, and frame it in a doubled sided frame.  All the names of our friends/family will be seen on the back like this:

Zachary will then have something of his very own to hang above his bed that represents all the hands and hearts that came together to help bring him home.  I get emotional just thinking about it...

Asher and Laurel love puzzles, so they are going to help assemble it as a gift to their brother, and Asher is very excited about getting all the pieces together :)

If we can get all the pieces funded we will be a minimum of $2,000 closer to our much needed total.  If you would like to sponsor a puzzle piece please click the following link below or the link on the side of our blog, and you can put your information in securely.  Our fundraising is through GoFundMe.  All donations will go directly to our adoption fund.  You can use credit/debit cards.  You are also welcome to mail a check if that is easier.  Also, please let us know in the comments section (on the GoFundMe site or here) what name you'd like put on the puzzle: your name, your family's name, in honor or memory of a loved one, or if you'd like to remain anonymous, etc.

Click below:


It's hard to ask for money, but we know that it takes a village to raise a child- and in this case it takes a village to bring a child home- so thank you!  We do not expect anyone to help us financially, but people have asked.  So if you feel prayerfully led to give, this is a special way to do it.  We can't wait to see how God continues to provide for Zachary through His people.

**Our financial goals are listed on the tab at the top of our blog**

Wooooo hooo!!!!!

We are officially on to the next step!  Today our finalized and notarized home study arrived and was mailed out with our i800a form to immigration.  I am so excited to be on to the next step...which is wait 2-3 months to get our US approval to bring an orphan into the country.

Ha!  Hurry up and wait...the adoption process is a test in patience.

Please pray that our immigration process goes smoothly, that we are assigned an efficient and kind officer, and that our wait is short.  Two-three months is the norm, but who knows!

After we get approval we will be able to send our dossier to China- and that is the big milestone.  Once our dossier is in China, everything goes into motion that will allow us to get on a plane and bring Zachary home.

So yay!  On to the next step.

There might have been ridiculous amounts of jumping and dancing in our house once that form went in the mail :)  It's a great way to start the weekend and another reminder that yes, we are moving forward, and we are coming to get our little boy.

Things are Good

We've been busy, busy, busy!  Busy is good. We've got something going on every night this week.  I've been running all over town getting things notarized, express mailed, avoiding ice storms, getting duplicate copies of important documents, trying to keep sticky baby hands off of important documents, drafting various checks and money orders...whew.  I love it!  This part of the process is wild (let's be honest, the whole thing is wild), but it's the part of the process that I have my hands on.  The hard part is taking all of those documents, papers, checks, and signatures that we've painstaking collected and putting them in a envelope to someone else across the country.  At that point I have no control over what happens to them and I can't help but wonder if they'll get eaten by a rabid raccoon or pummeled by a rain storm before they make it to their destination.

Those papers are super important and it kind of feels like I'm mailing my life away in a flimsy paper envelope.  Surreal!

We are also starting the process of applying for adoption grants to help fund our adoption.  The chance of being awarded any of these is small, but we want to explore every avenue available.  God has called amazing people to create these grants and it is a blessing that they are able to help people with their adoption expenses.  So we are prayerfully applying to some of these organizations in case God wants to help fund our adoption in this way.  It is weird to talk about money sometimes, but the reality of the situation is that adoption is expensive and we don't have an extra $32,000 laying around to cover it.  God has already provided in amazing ways, and we have been scrimping and saving all the excess we have and are being very frugal.  When we decided to move forward with adopting Zachary, God made it abundantly clear that he would provide a way, so we are trusting him with that.  We're already almost halfway there!  We are also hoping to have a yard sale in the spring, so if you have any tips on how to make that a success let me know, as we've never done one before.

I'm attempting to be transparent, because I want our story to give all the glory to God, and also help encourage others who might be thinking about adoption but aren't sure how they could ever actually make it happen.  I'm constantly learning that I can't make it happen, but God can, and he shows up in unbelievable ways.  When you get to the place where there is no way you can do anything to fix a situation, when there is nothing left to do in your own power, that is where God meets you.  He has already meet us there, providing for us in ways I never even hoped or imagined to be possible.  God's people are incredibly generous.  And God is just so so good.

Today at prayer time before bed Asher told God that he was thankful he had a mommy and daddy who take care of him, unlike Zachary.  Then he paused for a second and said, "but soon, when You tell us it's time, we'll go get Zachary and then he WILL have a Mommy and Daddy and Asher and Laurel.  That'll be good."

I needed to hear that.  Things are busy and crazy, and there is a lot still up in there air. Zachary needs food, love and medical care now and we aren't even close to coming to get him.  But we are inching forward.  And God is providing.  And He is preparing us by filling our hearts with love for a child we've never met.

Yes indeed, things are very, very good.

In Your Hands

"But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.  My times are in your hands." - Psalm 34:14

My times are in His hands.

Zachary's times are in His hands.

I needed this reminder today as I was getting impatient with the waiting.  Sometimes it feels like every extra day it takes to get paperwork done, to wait on a form, to send something in the mail...well it just feels like an extra day that Zachary has to spend in an orphanage. And sometimes that thought gets the best of me.

But all of our times are in God's hands.  All of my micro-managing, super organizational skills will not get us to Zachary one day before God has ordained it to happen.  I needed to read that scripture today, and to be reminded that peace comes in trusting God's timing.