Meet Maxwell

We are absolutely overjoyed to be able to share this 

incredible news with everyone!

We would like you to meet

Maxwell Alan...

 Our new son!

As our adoption journey continues, 

we are amazed at how the Lord continues 

to work in our lives;

on our hearts,

strengthening our faith,

and drawing us ever nearer to Him.

We have learned how sadness and joy can walk hand in hand.

We have experienced the pain of losing a daughter

and once again, 

we share in the happiness of adopting a new son.  

So here's how our journey to Maxwell began.

 Maxwell's story is interwoven with Lia's;

so one can't be told without including the other...

We were matched with our precious girl in December.

So excited about our new daughter,

so happy to share our joy.

Lia's medical condition was the same as Logan's.

We knew the drill.

We had the doctors in place,

and we were ready to bring our sweet daughter home.

 Because we were reusing our dossier,

we anticipated bringing Lia home sometime this summer.

In March, we received a call from our agency;

our daughter was now in the arms of our Loving Father.

She had died from complications of her medical condition.

Devasted.

My heart was completely broken,

but my faith was not.

As my Heavenly Father held my daughter in his loving arms,

He held me too.

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

Blessed be the name of the LORD." 

We never held our child in our arms,

but we continue to hold her in our heart.
 She was and always will be our daughter.

 Throughout this time of sorrow,

 our adoption agency was amazing.

They were a blessing,

and an encouragement.

We agreed to stay on our agency's family list.

But after much prayer, we decided not to request any new files.

We would wait on the Lord.

We didn't wait long before His will for us was made known.

We received a call from our agency.

They had the file of a little boy who was almost two.

Would we be interested in reviewing it.

Yes.

As we opened up the file and looked at the pictures of this little boy with the adorable colic in his hair, how could we say no. 

 How could we deny this beautiful child the gift of a family.

Our family.

We said yes.

He already had our hearts.

There was no other answer we could give.

We could never replace our daughter.

She is in my thoughts, daily.

In our hearts, always.

The calling to adopt is far greater than our desire to have a child.

It's God's desire for each of his children to have a family.

What a privilege to be Maxwell's family.

We invite you to follow us on our newest journey...

our journey to Maxwell.
  

Almost a Year.

Almost a year.

A year ago our family was preparing for the trip of a lifetime.

A journey that would change us in so many ways.  
One that would not only expand our family with the addition of our precious son, but one that would also significantly expand our awareness of the cause of the orphan.

August 12th will be Logan's one year "Gotcha Day" anniversary.

I will never forget the details of that glorious day and how it felt to hold our son for the first time.  It was also a bittersweet moment, as Logan began the transition from the only home he'd ever known to join a family he'd never known.

We walked by faith during those early days with Logan, and the One who set us on the path to adoption still leads us as we continue the journey.

If you haven't seen Logan's adoption video yet, here's a quick look back, including a peek at his Gotcha Day:

It's amazing how much has changed in just one year.
This little boy has accomplished so much in such a short time:

Our child who came to us so thin, so malnourished;
is now round and plump as every toddler should be...

A little boy who could barely walk through the grass,
can now ride a tricycle--fast!

A child who was terrified to have his hair cut,
has now cut his own hair more than once;
always the bangs, always to the scalp...

Our son who was so frightened to go to the doctor,
now knows his way around the Cleveland Clinic and approaches
each appointment, test and therapy like a champ...

A year ago, our little boy couldn't speak a word of English;
now he talks constantly and has still retained quite a bit of his Mandarin.

(Yes, he's wearing pigtails...it was a phase.)



Our family has been blessed by this sweet child.

As we close in on our first year as a family of seven, 
we are filled with gratitude and thankfulness
to the One who brought this family together.