Eight Months Home

The boys have been home now for eight months.  So much have changed in such a short time in their little lives.  Anderson is now 3 years old and is so happy.  He jumps around the house constantly and is learning English very well.  Alec has had a lot of changes.  He now has a cochlear implant and he is learning to listen, speak, and use signed exact English to communicate with others.  He is doing extremely well with that.  For example, he read to the principal the other day at school all by himself.  So impressive for a child who had zero language just eight months ago!!!

The children all love each other very much.  Adelaide and Anderson walk around constantly holding hands.  They sing to with one another and are great play mates.  Ayden and Alec were instant twins.  They do everything together including play soccer together.  They played this last fall on a soccer team together with dad as their coach.  They would pass to each other and worked with one another to lead the team to victory. Alec did extremely well considering this was his first time to play an formal sport. 

Our journey with the boys is not over.  We are in the process now of formally requesting change of birth date for Alec.  China had to make their best guess on his age and he has such a unique story.  I am sure China does a good job determining ages but Alec's situation was just so different.  Our doctors and dentists have evaluated him and determined him to be 6 years old.  We have changed his birth date successfully in Alabama, but now we are waiting to hear back from our federal government.  Please pray for him and that the government does the right thing for him. 

We are so blessed and are surrounded by so much love.  We want to thank everyone for the continued love that is shown to us and support.  It is uplifting to know so many people care for us and pray for our little family. 

Home

We have made it home.  We enjoyed our three weeks in China, but we are all very thankful to be home.  Life in China was different and now we have to adjust the boys to our schedule and life.  They seem to be doing really well. Alec and Adelaide have become friends and AC and Anderson are buddies.  Anderson has quickly attached to me as he wants me to hold him all the time and carry him instead of walking.  On the other hand, Alec is such a big boy and he loves to play with John and Ayden sports outside.  We are all still very tired from the time zone change and I 've been told it will take around 2 weeks for us to get back on track.  I hope that we adjust quickly and that we can get a good nights rest. Anderson was in an orphanage and was given milk in the middle of the night.  This is a very bad habit that we are trying to break as we don't want his teeth to rot out of his mouth.  I have been working on it for a couple of weeks now and it is still a big issue.  He gets up around midnight every night and screams for milk.  Luckily, my children have a great pediatrician who has given me tips for helping him through this.  On the other hand, Alec is a great sleeper and will lay down and not get up until I go in his room in the morning. 

We were told that both boys were deaf.  Now, we have hope as the baby can hear what we say and is repeating words and phrases.  We have a doctors appointment for later this month and hope to find out to what extent he is deaf.  Our older son is deaf and we are teaching him sign language as he did not have any language to communicate before us.  He has caught on to some words and uses them such as "thank you" "sorry" "good" "I like" I don't like". 

Both boys are super cute and sweet.  We just love them so much and enjoy getting to know them.  We feel so blessed to have them as sons.  Also, we are so thankful to all the people who have helped us in this journey.  So many people have helped us in different ways and we are so thankful for the support. We know without you this would not have happened so quickly.  Thank you!

Traveling to China

In five days, our family will travel to China to adopt our boys.  We are picking up the older son first and have a scheduled Gotcha Day for 4/14.  The younger son will be picked up 4/21.  Our family is so excited and feel so blessed by God to be called for this journey.  We believe our God is mighty and is in every detail of this path.  I know He knows my tomorrow and will provide for us.  Personally, there are so many feelings going through me right now such as excitement to get my boys, overwhelmed by packing, anxious for meeting the boys, frustrated for all the people who will have to ride on the airplanes with our family, and love for all my children.  I had no idea that this journey would be so emotional and long.  This past year has felt like a long time.  We knew who our boys were and that we would get them back in July/August of last year.  To most, that is not a long time.   However, with every day that passes, every milestone, every holiday, and every step in the path our hearts have longed for our boys.  We want to meet them and let them know they are loved.  I can only imagine that God feels that way with us as His children.  He wants us to know Him and to seek Him.  So many people turn away from Him and close off their hearts from Him yet He desires us to know Him and love Him.  We do what we do because He first loved us and adopted us into His family. Thank you to those who have been apart of this journey with us and have prayed for us.

"And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  I Corinthians 13:13

Article 5 Drop off

Received a letter Friday that the NVC had our paperwork. So, upon demands from my sweet friend who is also adopting, I went ahead and called the NVC. I requested that they send me the cable letter via email(Monday). The NVC also let me know that they had our paperwork as of Friday. On Tuesday,my sweet friend, urged me to call again to get the information I needed. I do not like to be pushy, but I knew we have to be in China by April 18. So, I reached out to some friends and had their families and my family pray at the same time that whoever answered my call would have empathy and would give us what we needed. After 30 minutes of being on hold, a man answered the phone. He said, how can I help you. I told him what I needed and he said do you have pen and paper? I couldn't believe it! What an awesome God who listens and answers prayers. I stayed up late filling out paperwork. Then, at 4:00 this morning I realized I didn't ask for our PDF. Ugh! So all day I kept starring at the screen and hitting refresh on my email. I asked for more prayers. Around one o'clock I got the email! I immediately sent it to my social worker. By 3:30 she had sent me an email saying our Article 5 was sent to China and will be dropped off tomorrow! Now we are waiting for pick up of article 5. Next will be Travel approval and then Consulate Approval. This will put us in China around April 16th. So exciting!!! Please pray that we get there before April 18th and for the boys. So much to do! And so much to be thankful for!!!!

The Trials of Waiting

We have been waiting since January 10th to receive paperwork from the government.  Unfortunately, we have not received what we need nor have we heard anything.  It is really hard waiting, especially since we submitted our paperwork with someone else who is also adopting two children and she has received her paperwork back.  This is very hard watching others progress in the process and know that our boys will have to wait a little longer than we had expected.  We are still not sure completely about when we will travel but we expect to leave sometime this spring.  Please pray for us during this time.  We are struggling with not being able to go ahead and get the boys. 

Living a God First Life

Today, my family visited a local church.  The title of the sermon was, "I have decided".   As I listened to the pastor, I couldn't help but reflect on my personal journey as it applied to his message.  Throughout this journey, we have encountered people who have questioned my husband and myself about what we do.  Such questions include, how can you possibly parent all your children?  What about your biological children God gave you? How can you afford all those kids?  What about college? Why not wait until your own kids are out of the house? How can you protect your children from being hurt from those kids?....My answer has always been because we have faith.  God has put us on this journey even when we tried not to be.  He continued to speak to our heart, put us in specific places, and led us down this path.  We are not adopting to "impress people"  or because "adopting from China is a new accessory".  We are adopting special needs children-I assure you they are not a new handbag.  I am glad to hear that adopting is spreading but realize that the body of Christ is becoming more obedient and realizing this is a mission field.  Christians are adopting because they want to be "the hands and feet of Christ" not because it is a "fashion trend".  John and I have decided we are not going to let anything keep or distract us from our calling in life and we are going to be faithful to our Lord.  We know what we are supposed to adopt and yes, we are doing this now because it is God's time for us.  We are not waiting, because that is not God's time for my family.  Is every family supposed to adopt and do it today? NO! We all have different callings in life and that is okay, none are more important than others.  It is also okay to wait if that is God's timing for your life.  I do not know what God calls other people to do nor the timing.  I can only speak for me and my family.

 As I end this post, I want to reflect on a passage of the Bible.  Luke 10:38-42  As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!"  "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."  There are a lot of distractions in life.  Too many times I have been like Martha.  Right now we want to be like Mary, we are choosing to live a God first life. 

LOA is on the WAY!

Praise God! Praise God!  We found out today that our letter of approval from the Chinese government is on the way.  We are just over joyed with the news and so eager to get to China to get our babies.  We are expecting travel to be around 3 months from now.  However, we are unsure if we will be able to travel at that time because we have some commitments (please pray for us that we figure out when we should go and to have peace with it).  Next week, we will attend a meeting about traveling to China and what all we need to know at that time will be available.  So, for those of you who have asked for a "wish list" from us, I might have something for you next weekend.  In the meantime, our family has been preparing for our boys to come.  We have taken steps to learn a new language which will help the boys, met with specialists, the school, and school board.  Everyone has been super generous to us with their time and resources and we know that God is equipping us with tools and friendships that will assist us in helping our children.  I am so amazed at how wonderful our God is and how he specifically designed us to be these boys parents.  God has led us down specific paths throughout our lives to lead us to where we are.  I am over joyed that I have been blessed to be these boys-and all my children's-mom. 
Along those lines, we heard more good news today.  Months ago, when we were reviewing files of children, John and I had to make hard decisions.  We had to recognize which children were supposed to be ours and which ones were not right for our family.  It was very hard and there were lots of nights where I cried because choosing these boys meant not choosing others and what did that mean for those un-adopted? During that time, there was one boy who stood out and I instantly fell in love with as well as John.  OH! He was precious!  However, I had to recognize that he just wasn't the right fit for us and we weren't the right fit for him.  Today, I received news that a family in another state sent in paperwork for him and the Chinese government has granted them Pre-Approval.  I have been crying tears of joy for this little guy and his family.  I just can't believe how God works.  He knows! He knows! He knows exactly what each one of us is doing and will do! He knows our plans, our dreams, and our journeys.  He placed it on my heart to move on away from this child and onto my boys so that this little boy could go to exactly the right family for him.  Today is a great day. 

I can not say it enough, God is Good! God is Good!

LID

We received LID yesterday.  Now we wait for LOA-letter of approval- from China.  We are still anticipating to travel around February, but are hopeful to travel sooner.  I have to say, that as each step gets completed I get more and more anxious to meet my two boys.  We are so excited and can't wait to put our arms around them.  Our family has been preparing for the adoption and have been finding wonderful resources in Birmingham to help us meet their needs.  We have even been learning another language in order to be prepared.  So excited and blessed to be going through this process.  We serve an amazing God. 

God is Great Every Day

We are currently waiting on our DTC-Dossier to China.  We are so anxious to meet our children and officially make them members of our family.  Currently, God is providing financially for our adoption and allowed us to make the necessary payments(we have received support through LifeSong which makes donations on the website tax deductible).  We are so thankful and blessed to serve the Lord and grateful that God called us to this mission.  As always, I ask for continued prayer for our family as we go through this emotional process.  I also ask you pray for all families going through the adoption process as well as the 147 million orphans in the world.  Furthermore, if you feel called to adoption or foster care, then I strongly encourage you to be faithful and answer your calling.  I was scared to start foster care and understand all the concerns.  But, God has been so good to my family and I believe He has a plan.  Please look into LifeLine for adoptions and foster care or SAFY for therapeutic foster care.  Both organizations are wonderful and I don't know where we would be without their support and knowledge. 

I-800A Approved!

We have jumped through another hoop! After anxiously waiting 56 days, we have been approved by immigration to adopt our children.  That means we are another step closer to getting our boys!  From here, our paperwork is sent for certification to three government agencies.  After that, it is sent to China.  This process altogether is another 3-4 week process.  This time of waiting is very difficult.  I know I have these boys waiting for me and they need me as much as I need them. I am so ready to get them here to be a part of my family and cuddle them! I am also so anxious to get them seen by doctors and helped out physically.  On another note, I am not allowed to post what their disability is or their Chinese name.  So, if you ever wonder about these two things that is why! I can share that God equipped me to take on their disability and I feel confident that I can help them.  Please continue to pray for our boys, family, and finances.  Thank you for following and praying for us. 

Give 10 Save 2

We are starting a fundraising effort in order to help with the costs of adoption of our boys Alec and Anderson.  Our estimated costs for adoption are around $42,000.  We are believers in the power of God and know He will provide.  All money donated will go towards our adoption costs and will ultimately save 2 boys from a being institutionalized.  We know money is tight for so many in today's society.  Please, consider a small donation in the amount of $10 to help. If there is no way you can give $10, please be in prayer for our family, our boys, and the financial responsibilities of adoption.  We setting a goal of $7,000 by October 20 which is our youngest son's birthday (Anderson). I know this is ambitious for our first fundraising project, but we are on a tight schedule and the money is needed by the different governments and agencies.  Give 10 Save 2

PA

We received PA- Pre Approval- from China yesterday! The boys are ours!  They are precious little boys and our family is so excited to hear the news from China.  We still are unclear on travel dates as we are anxiously and patiently waiting for many different people to look over our information.  However, we do know that Alec and Anderson are ours!!!!!!  Please continue to pray for our family.  We always can use support through these months of waiting to get our children.

How to Be A Part of our Ministry

There are many ways we are asking for support in this process.  They are:
1)  Pray for our family and the 147 million orphans in the world.
2) Buy necklaces and bracelets from John or Maryann for $24.  They make excellent gifts and support our ministry and ministries around the world.
3)  Buy coffee at www.justlovecoffee.com/pledger
4)  Donate to our ministry by clicking on the link on the right.  The link will connect you to Paypal and Lifesong.  This is a nonprofit organization that supports families like ours.

Thank you so much!  We are thankful for how God is using everyone for this calling in our life.

With Love,
Maryann and John

Lifesong and China

A little over three weeks ago, John and I wrote two letters to China.  We wrote these "care plan" letters on two specific boys.  We have been patiently waiting and praying that China sends us a PA-Pre Approval- which will put these boys on hold until we get formally approved with all our paperwork. As we round the corner on three weeks, please include us in your prayers as we are eager to hear from China.  We know we have to rely on the Lord and His beautiful timing.

In the meantime, we have been speaking to specialists and the local school to discuss plans for our boys once we get home.  We want to get the information now rather than spend our time on the phone when we get home. We are feeling very confident in the resources available to us in our city and with the community that is wrapping their arms around our family.  We have so many people showing grace to us and being supportive of our family. 

On another note, our family adoption ministry has received the status of a nonprofit through Lifesong.  What this means is that if you donate to our ministry you will get a letter to include in your taxes so it can be a "write off".  God calls some people to give and others to do.  We are doers at this point in our journey.  I ask you to pray and seek God's plan for your life.

Our Calling From God

“Train a Child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not part from it.” Proverbs 22:6.  We are school teachers by profession.  John is a teacher at MBJH and coaches the 9^th grade football team.  I am an adjunct professor at Samford where I teach English to the International students.  We both felt called to be teachers/coaches, but had not realized that God had a bigger plan for the two of us and our family. 

My first year of teaching I taught and coached at Chelsea Middle school and it was at Chelsea that God began revealing His plan for us.  There are many group homes for children in Chelsea and therefore, I taught many of these children.  At this time John and I were engaged and we began inviting one of my students to spend holidays with our families and soon became a visiting resource to him.  Eventually, DHR sought us out to become foster parents and the young man came to live with us.  He was the beginning of our journey.

During that time, we married and had two beautiful healthy children who are now 5 and 3.  John changed schools many times in order to pursue his coaching career.  He was DC at Oak Mtn., Foley High, and Homewood High for the Varsity teams.  Into his second year at Homewood, the Head coach resigned and John was faced with finding another job.  We had just moved to Mountain brook from Chelsea at this time so he could be closer to his job.  And of all places, he was hired at Chelsea as the DC for the Varsity team.  We could not understand how this could happen and at this point we had just had our third child.  However, once again God had a greater plan.

During his year at Chelsea, we both felt a calling from God to adopt.  We were hesitant to adopt because of the expense and at the time I was a stay at home mom.  Therefore, we thought we would silence the calling by doing foster care again.  We then began the long journey of working to become licensed to foster care and more importantly we are licensed for therapeutic foster care.   At Chelsea, John taught Driver’s education and he soon realized he had many students who were living in group homes as well.  One of the teachers asked John if we would consider fostering one of the girls.  We discussed it and decided we would do it.  Today, I am proud to say that that young lady is our daughter and has recently graduated from Mountain brook high school.  John’s time at Chelsea was short-only one year-but we know God used John so that Lauren could experience the love of a family- specifically a mom and a dad, a brother, and sisters but more importantly learn about God’s love for her.  After a year at Chelsea, John got a job at MBJS.

Three months after Lauren moved in with us, the Director of the English Language program at Samford contacted me on facebook and asked if I was interested in teaching.  I had not turned in a resume or applied for any jobs.  Within a week, I was back at work part time working with the Chinese students.  I thought I would be teaching speaking and listening in the English language but soon realized my job entailed so much more.  My Chinese students are interested in knowing about God and they will use class time to ask me questions-this job has been very different than working in public schools.  One question I get asked frequently is “How do I know God exists?” The only answer I know to give to prove His existence is my family.  I tell students about what God is doing in our family and how he has guided us through our lives so that we would be equipped with the right tools to parent these children and then it is only through God giving me strength each day that I can keep up with my kiddos.  My students spend a lot of time with our family.  They come over on holidays, and eat dinner with us, and enjoy seeing the different attractions in Birmingham.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that we could not keep ignoring God’s purpose and calling in our lives.  We both knew we were supposed to adopt.  We knew we had to be faithful.  We just still needed a little more push because we were afraid of the expense.  One Sunday, Dr.Barnette was preaching about some people being called to give and other’s to do.  He said, if you are a doer then God will provide.  John and I looked at each other and we knew that message was for us. 

We knew for many years we were teachers, parents, and coaches.  However, we had no idea that God would call us to this ministry.  Ephesians 3:20 tells us, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” We never imagined we would have so many children.  We never imagined the length we would travel to obtain our children.  But we are so glad that God planned this for our lives and prepared us as well as our children for this work.  Our children have been called to this ministry without a question in our mind.  Specifically, our son, Ayden.  Ayden shows God’s love to every child who enters our home.  He is a great example of love. 

Over the course of our six year marriage, we have had three biological children, fostered three children, took in at least three others for short periods of time, and now plan to adopt TWO boys from China.  We are excited to be called to this mission to share what a Christian family looks like and teach children from different socioeconomic and cultural environments who God is.  We are more than humanitarians because we share the gospel with these children during their time with us, and to other families through our work whether on Facebook, in the grocery store, or at work. We share God’s work in our lives and give hope to others.  We are committed and hope to build a Christian foundation in these children’s lives so that when they are older they will not part from it. 

Matching

We are at a point in the process where we can ask for "referrals" for boys.  The referral will tell us any history that the orphanage knows and any medical information they have.  We are adopting special needs children and are connected to the International Adoption Clinic at UAB which will help us in understanding the needs of the children, what surgeries they will need, and treatment plans.  Most Americans adopt little girls from China.  Therefore, there are many boys on the waiting list.  John and I are having a hard time looking at the videos and knowing what which ones are a part of God's plan for our family.  Also, it is hard looking at all the videos and knowing we CAN'T save all of them! We ask that you all please pray for us at this time so that God gives us direction, peace, and patience.  Thank you all for embarking on this journey with us.  May God Bless you!

One Step Completed

We have finished our renewal paperwork for our license for foster care!  Also, we completed the paperwork for our adoption Home Study!  It feels so good to have these things completed and taken care of.  Last Sunday, John and I were fortunate to be able to get up in front of our church to tell our Grace Along the Journey story.  It was nice to be able to make people aware of what we are doing and why.  I love how I was able to work Ephesians 3:20 into our story, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us."  John and I knew we were suppose to be teachers, parents, and coaches.  We never imagined that God would give us this ministry of giving children a home, sharing God's word to them, and teaching them what a family look likes.  We are so blessed!!

A Week of Completion

What a week! On Sunday, Lauren and Anna Claire danced in their recital.  The theme was Once Upon a Time.  It was a first for both girls and they both thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was extremely impressed with Steeple Arts for having all the children dance and done within an hour! Yes, an hour! It was very entertaining and enjoyable.  On Tuesday, Ayden and Anna Claire had their Preschool Program.  They sang songs and said good bye to another.  Ayden graduated from preschool and is ready to start Kindergarten!  On Thursday, Lauren graduated from High School.  We were so proud of her and excited that she was able to pass her classes especially since this school was academically challenging and she had to work harder than ever before.  On Friday, John and I complete our Home Study!!!! We are ready to adopt our two boys from China!!!  What does this mean for us?  Well, Lifeline is waiting on all our references to complete their letters of recommendation for us.  Then, they will write a report on us which they will send to us for our approval.  We will have to sign it and return it along with a check.  Next, they will send it to immigration and from there it goes back to Lifeline where they collect more paperwork and then send everything to China.  That part of the process should be completed in four months.  From that point, more documents and paperwork is filed.  We can match anytime now with our boys. However, they are estimating that we would be traveling to China around January.  In the meantime, John and I will be selling coffee(justlovecoffee.com/pledger), jewelry(necklaces and bracelets $24 each), and candles(partylite.com, hostess Maryann Pledger).  Please consider being a part of this journey and ministry with us.  If you would like to buy something for our adoption check out the websites I stated or if you simply want to donate there is an option on the right of this website that would allow you to.  We are so excited about what God is doing in our lives!!  We are so blessed!

Five and Counting!

Wow! I have not posted on here in almost two years.  In that little amount of time, so much has changed. God has been so good to my family and shown John and I so much.  We know that we were created to be parents and adopt and foster children.  We have two from our hearts who live with us now and soon we will be traveling to China to adopt siblings or twins! I am so excited for what God has in store for my family and can't wait to share our journey with our friends and family.   

Some people have asked that we start a blog to discuss our journey but I want to just pick up with where I stopped since this blog is about my children.  Right now, we are in the beginning stages of adopting.  We have started the home study and completed all our training except for one thing and completed all discussion questions.  Now, we have to gather documents and make copies of everything!

In case you are wondering what the count is...we have two 18 year olds, a five year old, a three year old, and a two year old.  We would like to adopt younger children but are open to whatever God has planned.  Thank you all for embarking on this journey with us and please keep us in your prayers as we complete paperwork for both the foster agency(done yearly) and the adoption agency.

Life with Three

So far, this year has been full of changes. With the birth of Adelaide, Addie, everyday life has been turned upside down. Addie has been such a great baby. She sleeps through the night most every night now. However, when there are three kids, mommy and daddy do not have much "down time". We have been incorporating the Baby Wise plan with her and will say that it has worked!!! I will be recommending that to all my new mommy friends!

Ayden is playing soccer this year. I will say, he is pretty good! At his first game of the season, he got the first "break away" moment with the ball. But, when he ran down the field with the ball and got to the goal, instead of kicking it in, he kicked it past the goal and kept on going!!! Anna Claire gets out there with them at practice and kicks the ball some and might prove to be the best athlete of my three. John has been loving watching Ayden play soccer. He is right there on the sidelines encouraging Ayden and supporting him. I go to the games and practices as well, but I am usually tending to the girls or taking pictures!

John has had some changes at work this year. We are hopeful that God will continue to bless us with John's job. He really loves doing what he does. I am still loving being at home and am extremely busy with the new baby and moving!

We have had a lot of changes. We were lucky to sell our house and will be moving soon. If all goes according to planned, we will be in our dream house in our dream location soon!!!! The house is so big and allows us to have room to grow. I plan on volunteering at my church some with the ESL program and will continue serving on Sunday mornings in Ayden's class once we move. I can't wait to be closer to church so that we can be more involved.

God has been good to us and I can't wait to see what He continues to do in our lives.