A Match Made in Heaven: May 2011

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!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Updates-We Should Be Traveling Soon!

So, a lot has happened since my last entry. Unfortunately between what feels like a million IEP meetings, lesson plans and life in general, there has not been enough time in the day to write. All excuses aside though, here's where we are: After the UPS man delivered our rejected papers, Brian's sergeant graciously allowed him the day off and we got in the car and took a road trip to Raleigh to get the papers corrected. We were in and out of the office in about an hour and on our way to FedEx to send our dossier off. We did mail a few papers for another family, but altogether it weighed almost 2 pounds! Anybody want to know how much it costs to priority mail some papers across the world? $167! So, we mailed our papers and they arrived safely 5 days later (thanks to a lovely 2 day delay for a holiday). We were submitted on May 12th and are now waiting on an appointment with the SDA in Quinton's country. Just yesterday, 2 families who submitted the same day as us received their appointment date, so we should not be far behind. Their appointments are on June 9th. Even if we do not receive a date until next week, we should be there by mid-June. I sat and watched another family's homecoming video today and just balled. I am still in awe that God has called us across the world to rescue one of His orphans. I feel so incredibly honored to be able to be His hands and feet. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of the love and support from our church, friends, and family. We have been incredibly blessed. There is an amazing story about how we came about adopting Quinton. It is too long for today, but I hope to share it soon. All I can say is that God had His hand in it all. We are lacking somewhere around $6500 give or take a bit, but we will get there. God has provided every bit we have needed thus far and He will see us through. Thanks again (and a huge shout out to Leah Hardwick, Hope Church of Charlotte, our family, and the Jarvis'-we love you guys!). Hopefully next time I blog, it will be to share our travel date :)