A family to care for him...

When people look at Jacob I hope they see him for who he is - a handsome, adorable, brilliant little boy.  Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, including China, people find it hard to look past a person's disability.  Surely, it was because of Jacob's special needs that he was orphaned to begin with.

Jacob has arthrogyposis.  Because of this he has limited use of his arms and legs.  We know he was loved by his caretakers in China, but his future there would be very limited.

Here in the United States, with a loving family to care for him, Jacob will have access to the very best medical treatment.  We will travel all the way across the country if necessary to get him the care he needs.

See Jacob's legs.  I know his caretakers loved him, but it's the Chinese government and not his caretakers that has the authority over orphans and what medical care they do or don't receive.  We have no idea what surgeries were done on Jacob, when they were done, who did them, etc.  We do know he was sent last summer from his home near Beijing to his original province of Henan for surgery.  It breaks our heart that he had to endure that surgery, leave a home where he was loved, and travel to a much poorer province for surgery.  Even the guides in Henan thought it odd he had to come there for surgery.  It's not a place one would purposefully choose to go for medical care!  An American physician that was traveling with the adoption group was shocked over his scars.

We don't know much about the medical care Jacob received in China.  We know he was loved by his caretakers, but caretakers don't get to choose medical care for ophans.  Orphans need parents who can choose their medical care.  Thankfully, now Jacob has parents who will do whatever necessary to get him excellent medical care.

Everything we've read and heard makes it sound like Shriner's Hospitals are the very best for kids with arthrogryposis.  We have an appointment set up for Jacob at the Shriner's in South Carolina just a few days after he gets home.

We've heard good things about that Shriner's but we've also heard the very best doctors for arthrogryposis are at the Shriner's in Philidelphia.  The good thing is the doctor from Philidelphia who works on upper limbs goes to the Shriner's in South Carolina every 3 months, so when we are there next week we will get Jacob set up to see that doctor the next time he goes to South Carolina.

Unfortunately, the doctor at the Philidelphia Shriner's who works on lower limbs has a waiting list that is now approaching 2 years.  We're not willing to wait that long to get medical treatment for Jacob.  He's already waited 5 years, and those 5 years he's waited have likely already limited his treatment options.

So we're looking into the Shriner's all the way across the country (and other hospitals also, but it seems like Shriner's really does provide the best treatment options).  Once we see the doctors at Shriner's in South Carolina they can consult with the doctors at other Shriner's facilities (including the reknowned one in Philidelphia) and help us figure out our next steps.

Though we don't know exactly what the future holds regarding medical care for Jacob, we know he now has parents to ensure he gets the very best care possible.  No longer an orphan, now our beloved son!

Click here to help get Jacob home!

ONE LESS ORPHAN!!!

On Mother's Day of 2016 one little boy walked into the arms of his daddy and became one less orphan, one more beloved son.  Our son.  Our precious little Jacob.

Pondering this new daddy...

The hat says it all!  We know we was well loved by his caregivers.  They put this hat on him to meet daddy.  It says "LUCK."  Luck is an important concept in Chinese culture.  To be orphaned means you are unlucky.  To be disabled means you are unlucky.  Jacob was both.  Now he has a family, and that family will do everything possible to help him overcome his disablity.  Now Jacob is lucky!

Saying goodbye is never easy.  Jacob was well prepared for his new family.  He remembers his sister Hannah and keeps asking for her.  He wants to see his Mommy and the rest of his family.  He was happy to see his Daddy and his Grandpa.  Nonetheless, it's a huge and traumatic change when your world completely turns upside down.  When the reality (and finality) of what was happening hit him he fought and grieved with everything he had in him.  

Time to head back to the hotel.  So sad...

Safe in Daddy's arms.

Watching cartoons has been the great time occupier for him.

He's addicted to cartoons.  I guess it's to be expected for a little boy with limited use of his arms and legs.  I can't wait to open his world up to lots of new experiences beyond a tv screen (especially since we don't even have a tv!).

Okay, I'm ready to start my new life!  Are we going home now???  Caleb loved that he was wearing a Captain America shirt upon arrival to his Daddy.  Captain America and Superman are Caleb's favorite superheros.

You mean it's going to be almost TWO WEEKS before I get to go home???

This is the spot where Jacob was abandoned.  Right in front of the orphanage.  It truly breaks my heart to think of him laying there as a baby alone, cold, hungry, and wet.  Disabled.  Unwanted.  Abandoned. An orphan.  Now he is our beloved son.  He will be loved and cared for to the greatest of our ability.  We will travel all the way across the country if necessary to get him whatever medical care he needs.  He will be surrounded by love.  Adopting Jacob didn't change the world, but it sure did change HIS world for the better!

It's always a moving experience to visit an orphanage, to see so many babies and children with no family, many needing medical care.  The little boy in Grandpa's lap literally climbed out of the crib and into his lap to be held.  Children don't just need Mommies and Daddies.  They also need the love of grandparents, of extended family, of a church family, of friends, etc.  No matter how you help an orphan to have a family, whether it be adopting yourself or helping another family to adopt, you really are making a difference in the world.

While playing around in the hotel Jacob fell and got hurt a little.  He climbed up into Grandpa's arms for some comfort.  Is there any better way to show how adoption changes lives?  

There's still time to help get Jacob home.  You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help with the remaining travel expenses, all the more important with all the difficulty they are having getting home!  Please pray for flights to open up and for them to not cost a fortune!  

Travel Problems

My husband was supposed to arrive home today, but due to flight problems is still stuck in China.  He's had a hard time accessing internet, but he did manage to post an update on Facebook a few hours ago:

We tried to see about getting another flight tomorrow morning but they were all booked. We leave for Beijing at 9 PM. We have been in the airport since 9 AM. Fei Fei also had his first big poop so I was doing a mr. Mom right in front of everyone. The Chinese were giggling. All is well and we are hanging in there. For my dad and I it just reminds us of our days in the Air Force : "hurry up and wait".

This picture was taken when I dropped them off at the airport early on the morning of their departure to China.  They are ready to get back home!

The past couple of adoption trips Ernie traveled by himself to save money.  This time his dad went along.  I am so glad his dad was willing to take the time and money (he paid his own expenses) necessary to go along on this trip.  I think it was a great bonding experience for them, and what a great experience for Grandpa to be a part of Jacob's special journey home!  I know with the difficulty they are having getting home Ernie is sure glad to have his dad with him!

There have already been additional costs due to the travel changes, and they have yet to get new flights out of China (they have been trapped at the Guangzhou airport, have to first get to Beijing then try to get new flights out of China).  If you want to help get them home please click here.

Immeasurably more...

Over the last couple of weeks we were asked quite a few times what our “fully funded” amount would be.  Each time I estimated it to be around $12,000.  The lowest number I gave was $10,500 while admitting "it might be a bit higher.”  (The actual overall cost of the adoption is over $30,000 - our FSP represents the donations given by others to help cover the enormous overall cost and does NOT represent the actual cost of the adoption.)

Just a couple of days ago, when it looked like our FSP on Reece’s Rainbow would never see any movement, I revised our “fully funded” amount to just $7,000.  Honestly, I knew we needed more than that, but I couldn’t bear to watch us struggle for help from others any more than that.  It was bad enough to ask for help at all!  While we have never been against fundraising for adoption and have always enjoyed helping others, we completed most of our 8 adoptions on our own without help.

The unfortunate part about funding so many adoptions on our own without help is that we still carry A LOT of debt from those adoptions.  Getting another adoption loan just wouldn’t be an option this time.  The only way we could bring Jacob home to be our son, to reunite him with Hannah to be siblings forever, would be to ask others for help.  We prayed people would see Hannah and Jacob’s story and want to be a part of it.

We were so thankful to those that helped us, but as of a few days ago we were pretty sure those who wanted to help had already done so.  While I knew this put us in a more difficult position financially than we had hoped for with this adoption, this biggest disappointment was not financial but rather emotional.

We have been an active part of the adoption community for over a decade.  We have rallied around others needing help with their adoptions, even while we struggled to pay for our own.  We have donated, we have advocated, and we have prayed for other adopting families and orphans.  In fact, in January when we got our tax statement for our donations to Reece’s Rainbow last year it was a bit surprising to see just how much we donated in a year in which we were adopting ourselves.  We have also been very strong advocates for the Reece’s Rainbow 5/5/5 program, literally begging people every month to sign up for this great program, and I know we have helped that program grow substantially, a program that helps 60 families each year.

We have helped a lot of people in a lot of ways, and while doing so we have seen the adoption community come together countless times to help people get their children home.  While we found it hard to humble ourselves enough to ask for help, at the same time we knew we would need it to get Jacob home.  We knew we could give Jacob the love and care he needed if we could get him home, but with his adoption being our 8th special needs adoption it would take a village not to raise him but just to get him home!

Almost 2 weeks ago the “Anonymous Angels” group blessed us with a $300 matching grant.  If we could get others to donate $300, they would then match it with another $300.  We struggled for nearly 2 weeks to finally get just $300 in our account.  I felt like giving up, which is why I revised our “fully funded” amount to $7,000.  I was depressed.  I didn’t understand why the community we had long supported didn’t want to be a part of Jacob and Hannah’s story.  I also struggled with the idea of pulling away from the community for awhile after our adoption.  We’d still donate to others, but I wasn’t sure I could be as heavily involved as before.  My spirit was broken.

Then yesterday.

Yesterday our internet was out.  

I didn’t have high hopes for our FSP.  I had given up.

Then late in the evening a text from a friend came through on my phone that barely works, sometimes, only barely.  The community had finally come together to support us!  

I. Could. Not. Believe. It.

I had given up, but it was not over yet.  I was in shock once I finally got to look at our FSP account today.  We reached that $7,000 and kept going!!!  

God knew our need was over $7,000.  I gave up, but He didn’t!  And neither did the adoption community.  And neither have our friends and family.  

If you are one of those who have helped to get Jacob home, whether it be donating to our FSP, supporting one of our fundraisers, sharing our fundraising links, and/or praying for us THANK YOU!!!!!

My spirit has been revived.  I am no longer depressed - I am in awe!!!!

My desire to help others has only grown greater as the help we have been given has grown greater than I dared to hope.

I am determined to see the 5/5/5 program grow to over $10,000 a month, and my ultimate goal for it is $50,000 a month!  That probably sounds crazy and seems impossible, but friends, NOTHING is impossible with God!!!

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  -Philippians 4:19

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throuhgout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.  -Ephesians 3:20-21

For some reason, I can't get the blog to upload any pictures.  All my computer problems would happen while my husband is out of the country!  If I can ever get it to work I will revise this post with pictures.  Jacob is now in his Daddy's arms, and we can't wait for them to arrive home! Click here to see our FSP.