Magnificat

One week ago at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, I met my new son.

I can't put into words how it felt to 

have my husband and daughter return

and to hold Maxwell for the first time.

My heart was singing.

And now, we're all adjusting and transitioning into our new normal,

and this normal is wonderful!

The first few days were challenging and

Maxwell was slow to attach to me.
But soon a bond began to form,
and it grows stronger every day.

Maxwell took to Logan right away,
and these two little brothers are already incredibly close.

And now, on Christmas Day, my heart is full.
Full of praise for the One who's done great things through this adoption process,
full of hope as Maxwell continues to bond with us,
full of love for my family.

My soul glorifies the Lord this Christmas Day.

We praise God this day for every blessing.

The words of Mary's song, the Magnificat,
is a beautiful way to praise Him for all things...


"My soul will magnify the Lord;
I rejoice in God my Savior,
In the wonder of His favor.
For He has done great things for me;
He was mindful of His servant.
Every age shall call me blessed.
The Hope of Abraham come
In the giving of a Son;
For He who promised is mighty
In remembering His mercy.

My soul will magnify the Lord
For His grace to those who fear Him
Through every generation.
The proud He scatters to the wind
As the ruler's strength is broken,
And the rich are left with nothing.
The humble lifted high,
And the hungry satisfied;
Our Portion and our Treasure,
Our Hope and Help forever." 

Cocooning...again.

Our family of seven has now become a family of eight and life as we know it will once again drastically change (and we are incredibly thankful). 

Tim, Olivia and Maxwell's plane is just about to depart from Hong Kong. As we prepare for our family to be reunited we want to express our gratitude for your love, support and prayers during the last ten months.  We will be forever thankful for the encouragement of family, friends and strangers, 

and for the new friendships

 that emerged along the way.

I am one blessed mama.

Life in our household is about to look completely different.  Maxwell will call us "Mama" and "Baba"....yet, he won’t truly know what these words mean. 
He needs to learn that we will be the ones to fulfill his needs. 
 He needs to know that he can depend on us...and together we will help him learn what it’s like to be a family. 

In order to do that, we have specific things that we will do to help Maxwell adjust and continue with the bonding process.

We will be "cocooning" for a while.  
We'll be lying low...with the eight of us. 
We will be spending our days at home. 
We will try to decrease the amount of stimulation in our life as the seeds of attachment are planted.  
With time we will venture out more and continually assess how our sweet boy is adjusting.

We post the adorable pictures and cute videos,
the best side of adoption; the easy parts.
But there is definitely a side of the process that isn't easy,
that's incredibly challenging,
that's sometimes darker.

But He has called us out upon these waters,
and there will be times when our feet will fail.
But even when the attachment storms are raging,
we know that our Lord will lead us, grow us
and bring us to trust Him without borders...

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

We look forward to you meeting our new son and we want him to meet all of you; once he’s comfortably made this transition.

We are so grateful for each of you.
Thank you for richly blessing our lives and praying us through.

With Love,
Rebecca and Tim

Guangzhou

They've made it safely to Guangzhou!

Tim said Maxwell was a champ on the in-country flight.

One of the first appointments in Guangzhou was

Maxwell's official medical exam.

He's a brave little guy and did a fabulous job!

One of our favorite places to visit in Guangzhou last year

was Shamian Island.

It's a beautiful place to walk around,

shop and enjoy one of the many restaurants.

There are beautiful statues throughout Shamian Island.

Here's Maxwell joining the parade of little children.

 

Our favorite restaurant on the Island last year

was Lucy's.

Tim took Maxwell there for lunch.

 

They'll be back on Friday and we're counting down the days!

I can't even put into words how much I miss Tim and Olivia

and how much I want to hold Maxwell in my arms.

I am so thankful for the technology that enables

Tim to send pictures and video daily.

He's sent so many adorable videos of sweet Maxwell.

I've put together some cute snippets.

Through the pictures and video I've learned:

1. Maxwell doesn't need any words to let Tim know when he's hungry.

2. He may warm up to our lovable dog Judah much quicker than Logan did.

3. He loves to laugh.

4. He knows I'm his Mama.

5. He loves to laugh...

 

It's Official!

On Tuesday, Tim headed back to the Civil Affairs office.

This was the day our adoption would be finalized!

He walked into the office with Maxwell, Olivia

and a document in hand giving him power of attorney 

to act on my behalf.

And

he walked out as Maxwell's official Baba (daddy).

Yes, Maxwell is truly ours and we are truly his!

He is absolutely blossoming with Tim 

and I'm so proud of my husband.

It's very typical for institutionalized children

to be physically, mentally and emotionally younger

than their actual age,

and this is very apparent with Maxwell.

But my husband is definitely up to the task. 

I love Skyping with Tim and seeing how

loving, caring and patient he is with Maxwell.

I always knew he was the ultimate attachment parent

and he's really stepping up to the plate with our sixth child.

The bond he's already forming with Maxwell is incredible.

As for this Mama,

Tim sent me a video that made my heart soar.

Maxwell is calling for his Mama!

Here's your daily dose of cuteness from our newest baby,

as he looks at the photo album we had sent him in the orphanage...

Olivia is doing a wonderful job helping Tim

without taking on the "Mama" role

 And Maxwell is beginning to enjoy his place as baby brother.

The crew at home is staying busy

as we count down the days until our family is reunited.

Here's one last sweet picture of our new son.

As you can see,

 being part of a family can sure wear a guy out.

 

Forever Family Day

At 2:00 pm China time (1:00 am our time),

Tim and Olivia were at the Civil Affairs office

waiting for Maxwell to arrive.

Soon they saw his caregivers walking towards the building

carrying our new son.

A very sad and scared little boy was placed in Tim's waiting arms.

Tim couldn't believe how many layers of clothes they had put on him.:)

 Tim was so excited to finally be holding our new son!

And

the grieving process for Maxwell had begun. 

The grieving process is a very healthy part of 

Maxwell's transition.

It's incredibly important for him to express how he's feeling

and will actually help with the attachment process.

They brought out the album we had sent him

and the sound of Logan's voice made him laugh.

We are confident he was shown the album often.

 Tim said that Maxwell cried silent tears on the bus ride

back to the hotel.

But after dinner and a warm bath,

Maxwell shared more than a few smiles with them.

As I write this post, it's 12:30 am in China

and I pray that everyone is sleeping.

When they awake, they'll travel to the 

Civil Affairs office once again to complete Maxwell's adoption.

Christmas in Nanjing

As we all continue with 

our Christmas prepartations,

I was incredibly excited as well as surprised

when I received my first pictures

from Tim from Nanjing.

 

Christmas in Nanjing!

I did not expect to see any type of Christmas 

celebration taking place in China, 

especially since China is officially an atheist country.

Only 5% of the Chinese population are Christian,

so Christmas for the vast majority of China

is treated much like Valentine's Day is here.

But, we serve a big God!

And our pastor reminded us this morning

that "God is at work in the darkness".

And in China, a glimmer of light is slowly growing...

as China may be on trek to becoming 

the "world's most Christian nation".

I pray for China, 

because this is the birth country 

of two of my sweet babies.

I pray for China, 

because this is the home 

of Logan and Maxwell's birth families.

and 

I pray that this Christmas

more of the beautiful people of China

will come to know Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven...

Nanjing

I received a text today at 5:12 AM  (6:12 PM China time)

and with it came an overwhelming sense of relief.

Tim and Olivia were in Shanghai waiting for their connecting flight.

Their journey began at 8:30 AM on Thursday

as we all made our way to the airport for last goodbyes.

They were thrilled to be starting their adventure.

They both adore adventure.

For the less adventurous type,

the goodbye came with a mix of excitement and sadness.

As well as a few tears.

(Notice the second car seat for Maxwell.)

They had a six hour layover in Shanghai

before their connecting flight brought them to Nanjing.

They met their driver at the airport,

and after a forty minute drive to the hotel,

they checked in,

unpacked only the essentials

and were able to get some much needed sleep at about 1:00 AM China time.

Now, at 7:00 AM China time,

they're up and ready to conquer the day,

albeit through very tired eyes.

And on Monday,

they'll be meeting this precious child.

 And the transition to his forever family will begin.

Plan B.

This is it.

Tim and Olivia are packed and ready to go.

The time has finally come to bring our son home.

Will you please join us as we prayer for:

*Maxwell and his tender heart. May God ease his heartache as he transitions away from the only home he’s ever known. May he come to understand our love and commitment to him. 

* For health, energy and endurance as Tim and Olivia travel 23 hours to Maxwell's province. May the Lord place his protective hand upon them.

* For the rest of the children as they wait patiently at home for their new little brother.

And 

 

As I look at the sweet little baby pictures of Maxwell

that were included in his child material...

 

 ...I am deeply humbled,

because I truly know that Tim and I are plan B.

Maxwell has a birth mother.

A woman who loved him so much

that she gave him up so that he could have 

the medical care he so desperately needed.

And in a perfect world,

he would still be with her.

But this is a fallen world.

And Maxwell needs and deserves to be part of a family,

and we are incredibly privileged to be plan B.

So,

will you please join us as we pray

for Maxwell's birth mother.

*That she is well and the circumstances that caused her to give up her child have improved.

*That she will find comfort from the ache that comes with giving up a child.

*That she will somehow know that her child is safe and will be loved by a family.

*That one day she will be adopted...through Jesus Christ...into the family of God.

 

 

Eucharisteo

Eucharisteo

 A Greek word meaning to be grateful, feel thankful,

to give thanks.

For this little one...today.

  

 It's been a year of doctor visits and tests

and pokes and pricks

and tears and unknowns.

But today, eucharisteo.

Today we finally have answers.

And the puzzle with the missing piece,

that had even left his endocrinologist baffled,

is now complete.

We are so thankful to all of you who have lifted Logan up in prayer

this past year. 

You have been a blessing as we've waited for answers 

to all the unknowns regarding our son's medical condition.

Today it was confirmed that Logan has 

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH).

CAH is a coverall name for a variety of adrenal disorders.

It's a genetic condition where the adrenal glands, located above his kidneys, 

aren't producing the much needed cortisol hormone.

His doctor was absolutely stumped,

because Logan wasn't showing any of the typical symptoms of CAH.

The answer finally came with the most recent lab tests.

Logan's form of CAH is incredibly rare.

His adrenal gland compensated for the cortisol deficiency by robbing

another part of his body for the needed hormone.

(He's quite resourceful, this little one of ours.)

If his body continues to do this, it will lead to hypertension,

and eventually health problems, such as heart disease.

Logan's treatment will include cortisol replacement medication 

three times a day for life.

And we are incredibly thankful for this medication.

He will require stress dosing of his medication when he is sick, has a fever and during surgery.

We will also need to carry an emergency injectable stress dose with us at all times. This would only be needed if he has an adrenal crisis.

Logan will also need to wear a Medic-Alert bracelet.

Our brave, little guy will also need to undergo a series of surgeries,

beginning in January.

We are grateful, we are thankful.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4

We are rejoicing!

We rejoice because of the medical care that is so freely available 

here in our country. 

We give thanks because our sweet boy will live a full life

with the help of this medication.

We are grateful for the wisdom of his doctor

because

we know the complications of this medical condition.

 

 Lia had CAH.

Our precious girl was sick and didn't receive a stress dose.

We know what can happen if CAH is not properly treated.

So today we are so very thankful to finally have a diagnosis.

We are thankful for the wisdom and direction

given to Logan's doctor by our Heavenly Father.

And we are thankful for the treatment plan

that is now in place.

Eucharisteo.