Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body."

This describes how I am feeling...My heart to too big for my body.  My heart is so full of love for our precious gift from God that I feel like it might explode. I am filled with so much emotion and love for him that it overwhelms me.

The Lord planted in Paul and I the desire to adopt from China early in our marriage, and it grew stronger over the years. We didn't know when, but we knew God would reveal to us his plan in His perfect timing.

We were logged in to China on June 6, 2006. That's when the official wait began. When we started our adoption process we knew we were in God's will and we felt so blessed that He chose us. Our plans were for China to give us a healthy, perfect, beautiful, baby girl, but God knows exactly what we need to fulfill His plan.  Shortly after we were logged in to China, our agency gave us our travel group. A group of seven families that we would travel with to get our babies. We visit almost daily, and I felt close to them instantly. One of the families accepted a referral of a special needs child.  This is something I had never considered and Paul and I had not discussed.  During their wait to travel to get their precious daughter, God began to open our hearts to the idea of a child with special needs.  We knew there were some special needs that would be too much for us, but many of the needs we knew we could handle. More and more we felt that a special needs child is what God had planned for us all along.

We contacted our agency and shared with them our desire. Our agency recently ask China for a new group of special needs children. Now we just had to wait.

Paul and I were traveling to Oklahoma for my nephew's graduation in Edmond. We decided to make a little detour to Tulsa to stop by and visit Dillon International, our adoption agency. We met with Denise who is over the China program.  She said that when they get the next group of special needs children they would remember us. She told us that they only had two boys remaining on the special needs list, and that they should be getting the new list any day. The Lord used that brief conversation to spark something in me. Paul and I had seen the two boys on the list many times but we had never thought boy. We were not against adopting a boy at all, but when Paul and I thought China, we automatically thought of adopting a girl, since orphanages in China are flooded with girls. I could not get the two boys of my mind or my heart. On the way to Edmond I ask Paul what he thought about adopting a boy instead of adopting a girl, he said that he thought a boy would be GREAT!!  We began praying about it to see if that was the direction God was leading us. After several days of prayer, Paul and I both felt a peace and were both drawn to one little boy in particular. We decided to move forward in faith that this was God’s plan.

God is so awesome!!  We found out after we applied to adopt Max that there was a lady in Oklahoma that diligently prayed for months that our little guy would find his forever family. I deeply thank her for loving him so much.  Denise shared with me later that Max's file should have been sent back to China.  An agency usually keeps a child's file for about 3 months and if he/she is not adopted then the file goes back.  Dillon had requested that his file continue to stay with them for a little bit longer.  I told Denise that his file wasn't going anywhere because God's plan was for Paul and I to be his mama and daddy, and He was going to make sure that we got together.  An answered prayer!! Thank you Debbie. 

Praise God!! God has given us a HEALTHY, PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL baby boy that has a special need. Max is missing three fingers on his right hand, and has a hernia on his left side.  The hernia can be easily corrected with a minor surgery, and his reports tell us that he uses his right hand and can pick up objects with it and uses it a lot to assist his left hand.  We will make sure he receives the best physical and occupational therapy. And about his special need...his special need is US, and our special need is HIM!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 

Psalm 139:13-16