Our newest blessing

When we include our new son in our family our children are as follows:

2 little girls (both 3 years old)

2 little boys (both 4 years old)

1 big girl (8 years old)

2 big boys (9 and 10 years old)

1 grown boy (18 years old)

1 grown girl (21 years old)

The 2 grown kids are busy with their own lives now and rarely interact with the younger ones.  That leaves 2 little girls the same age, 2 little boys the same age, 2 big boys just one year apart in age, and 1 big girl.  

The 2 little girls, Elianna and Hannah, are like twins, not just in age but also in their bonding.  The 2 little boys, Jonah and Jacob, are the same age also (since Jacob is still in China they haven't yet gotten to bond).  All 4 of them together are within 1 year of age from oldest to youngest (and though Jonah is the oldest he is the youngest developmentally).  Elianna, Hannah, and Jonah are already best friends who love playing together, and since Jacob and Hannah already share an attachment from China Jacob will surely fit right in with them once we get him home.  

That leaves Caleb, Malachi, and Micaelyn.  Caleb and Malachi are both boys just 1 year apart in age. They enjoy spending time together.  They are always wanting to hang out with each other.  Then there is Micaelyn, the only one who doesn't have a same gender sibling close in age.  She really wants a sister her own age.  We all agree we have room in our hearts and in our home for another girl.  

We started another adoption because we couldn't leave Hannah's foster brother behind any longer.  Since we had already made the commitment to start the whole adoption process over again it seemed now was the time to bring home a new daughter also, a sister for our children.  

There are so many children waiting for a family.  How do you choose just one?  It took only one look at "Yvonne's" profile on Reece's Rainbow for us to feel she was the one.  The children all readily agreed and began praying for us to bring her home.  Then just last week, on the day we went to see my granddad one last time before he died, we received our PA from China for our new daughter.

Introducing the newest member of our family, "Yvonne."  (We haven't yet decided on a new name so we are using the name that was used to advocate for her during the years she spent waiting for a family.)

Yvonne waited literally years for a family.  She is 9 years old (will be 10 this summer) and has Down syndrome.  We are all so excited and can't wait to meet her!

We are currently running a t-shirt fundraiser to help get our 2 newest children home.  The shirts are beautiful and a wonderful way to not only help us but also to spread a great message.
Here is the link to our fundraiser: https://www.bonfirefunds.com/ohana-means-family