Faith to Move a Mountain

In November of 2011, I started this blog as a sort of journal to chronicle the events of our son Quinton's adoption. Quinton is a little boy who was born with an extra special something. Quinton has down syndrome and was given up at birth by his parents because he has down syndrome. His birth parents must not have had any idea what a blessing he would be or I am sure they would not have given him up. Unfortunately in Eastern Europe (Quinton is from Ukraine) people with disabilities are not accepted in society and at the age of 4-6, they are sent to adult mental institutions where most of them die :( Although it breaks my heart that his parents have missed out on such a joyful little boy, God has used this unfortunate situation to bless us with a gift greater than I could have ever imagined: the gift of our first child. If you ever considered adoption-do it! Don't let money deter you. God provided over $20,000 for us to adopt Quinton. We were not fully funded until 50 minutes before we boarded our plane to Ukraine. If you have never considered adoption, go back to the beginning of this blog and read. You will see what a blessing adoption really is. Many people tell us that we are angels for rescuing Quinton, but the honest truth is this: Quinton has given me far more that I will ever be able to give him. He is my little miracle, my silly bug, my baby boy, my love. HE IS MY LIFE!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Christmas Tradition Worth Sharing

We have been blessed by our friends and family in so many ways, and tonight was no exception. We met at church to share a Christmas meal and see the Christmas program. Well, this year we decided to veer away from the traditional program and do things a little differently. The program was made up of our fondest Christmas memories and traditions. I was loving hearing them all, but then one in particular touched my heart. Some friends of ours decided to come up with a way to get beyond the commercialization of Christmas and to remember what the it is truly about. Every year they gather all of their receipts from the gifts they have bought and add them up. Then they take a percentage of that and donate to a charitable cause, essentially tithing from the money they have spent. What a wonderful idea! I love it and I love them. They are always looking for ways to reach out and help others. I immediately thought this is something I would love to do in the future and thought that it was definitely worth sharing. I won't mention any names, as I believe this family might wish to remain anonymous, but if any of you know an incredible speech therapist that works at Queen's Grant and her talented and kind husband, you could probably guess who they are :) Anyways, this year they decided to share their Christmas blessing with us and they will be contributing to Quinton's adoption. I am so thankful that God put this couple in my life. They are truly an inspiration. I can't wait until next Christmas when we finally have our baby boy in our arms and we can carry on this family's tradition and pass on the blessing to another family in need. I love you guys (you know who you are).

Saturday, December 4, 2010

We Moved...

pages that is :) Today Quinton moved from the "my family found me" page to the "newly committed" page. Next stop-"homestudy in progress" page. We met with our social worker the Friday after Thanksgiving for about 2 and a half hours to officially begin our homestudy. We were drilled with questions and scenarios we had never even thought about. In the next couple of weeks, we have to make some huge life decisions before our homestudy can be completed. We have to write a will and decide who will take Quinton if something happens to us. I had always assumed that my mom and dad would take Quinton, but it turns out that with international adoption, you cannot name the adoptive grandparents as guardians because we are expected to outlive them (although they would love to have him). So, my brother and his fiance have expressed a sincere interest in being his guardians. We have lots to pray about. Please join us in prayer as we travel this journey to bring our baby boy home. Today we became one step closer :)