My Recent Trip to China

"Times flies"  could not be more true in this house.  There is NEVER enough time in a day, a night, a week, etc.   I don't know where these last couple months since I've posted have gone, but I can tell you that they have been packed full.   I will share more about what's been going on 'here' in another post, but wanted to do a re-cap of a recent trip I took first.

In September, I was asked last minute if I could go to visit orphanages in China in place of someone who had to back out.  The week leading up to the trip (including the morning of) was absolutely chaotic, but it was all worth it. It was a trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget.   I went to four orphanages in Anhui province in 3 days and met a lot of incredible kids.  I was changed before I went, but am even more changed now.  There were kids who I met who just pierced my heart- amazing kids who I feel need ME to tell THEIR story so they can find a family that will look past the fact that they are a boy, that they are incontinent, that they are in a wheelchair, that they are older...the list goes on.  They were beautiful and awesome!  Then there were other kids who just needed out in order to survive.  I had seen malnourished children before in images, but don't believe I had ever really seen one and held one in my arms.   I definitely did that on this trip.  I got to love on babies and big kids, giving some touch that they clearly are aching for.  It was heartbreaking to hold a baby and love on a big kid, both who spent much or all of their days in a crib, and then to have to set them back down in that place that is all too familiar to them.  There were also a handful of older kids who were so special.  There were a couple of times I thought I was going to have to get up and walk out because I felt like I just had to find a family for this child who has such little time left.  I don't think I have slept the same since coming home from this trip. I think about these kids I met every single day.  I will do everything I can to help find families for as many of them as I can, but I am only one person and the days pass all too quickly. Please pray with me for these kids and for the right family to be looking in the right place at the right time.   

Every heart deserves a home and to know the love of a family. These kids deserve to know what life looks like outside an orphanage.  They deserve to know what it means to have their own mom, dad, brother, sister, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and cousins.  They deserve to know what it means to be snuggled up with a good book and someone who loves you or to be tucked in and kissed at bedtime.  They deserve that and so much more.  I will not lie to you- not much about adoption is easy.  But you know what?  Nothing our savior has done for us was easy either, but He didn't give a second thought when it came to paying the price for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him. We are his sons and daughters.  He has chosen each of us.  We have been adopted by our heavenly Father.  Will you rise up for one of these children as He has for YOU?   Pray about it while you take a couple minutes to look at the faces of some of the beautiful kids I met in China just one month ago.  They are waiting for someone to choose them- for someone to say YES!  Lord, I want to be your hands and feet- send me!

 Broc, 5 year old boy

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: BROC IS OFFICIALLY MATCHED!  PRAISE GOD!

Elsa, 2 year old girl 

Elsa has CP (possibly left side hemiplegia) and cannot walk yet, but she can sit and roll.  

Her file should be arriving to Madison Adoption Associate's list in about 3 months or so.

Dean,  Healthy 12 year old boy 

This one pierced my heart- seriously had me smiling and in tears.  He's special.  

His file should be listed with Madison Adoption Associates in about 3 months.

Malachi, 2 year old boy
SO cute!  He has a 'minor need' and will likely be listed as LID, which means that a family will need to have their paperwork logged in with Madison Adoption Associates to be able to move forward for him.  His file should be ready in about a month.

Jedd, 11 year old boy

Jedd is a great kid and he's going to do very well in a family!   He knows his real Chinese name and birthday.  His file will be listed with Madison Adoption Associates in approximately 3 months.

Asher, 9 year old boy

The orphanage told us Asher has a different look and drools a little at times (may need speech), but beyond that- he is a healthy boy.   His file is ready.

This guy was not on our list, but God made sure we saw him and we told them to make him ready for adoption and we're looking to get him help so he doesn't have to spend all day in a crib.  He wanted to be held and loved SO badly!

Robert, 1 year old boy 

I think about this guy every day.  He is SO precious!

His file will be listed with Madison Adoption Associates and should be ready in approximately 3 months.

Unknown baby girl- she was not on our list, but we made sure to give her some love.  I don't think she spends much time out of her crib. :(

Darren, 6 year old boy   This guy is so happy, but was like a baby in a walker.  

He needs a walker his size, therapy, and love.

His file is ready and he can be adopted now and with any agency!

Jeremy, 1 year old boy

Jeremy has a lot of needs (CP?  and epilepsy), but is beyond adorable. He smiled and made good eye contact.  He can't stay where he is at though with his needs.  His file will be ready in about 3 months and he will be listed with Madison Adoption Associates. 

Auden, 8 month old baby boy    This is the guy who I wasn't sure if he'd make it another day.  I am happy to report that he is now out of his orphanage and receiving care via a healing home run by Love Without Boundaries.  Pray they are able to get him in better shape soon!

Gabriel, 13 year old boy  -He is healthy, but didn't have an adoption file and he will age out/no longer be able to be adopted in February, 2016.  Pray for him..he needs a miracle!

 Cody, 9 year old boy
Cody can hear and understand everything, but he does not speak. He can make noises.  He is very happy, but can get very frustrated/upset if he doesn't get what he wants.  He will need a family that is experienced with adoption and older children.
His file is ready and he is on the shared list- a family could use any agency to adopt him.

Whitney, 10 year old girl

Beautiful and sweet.  Very small for her age. She needs a family to help her gain some weight and strength. DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Lena, 9 year old girl

Beautiful!  She will be a blessing to some very lucky family!  She is very organized and neat. Lena has epilepsy, but is is controlled with medicine and she has not had a seizure in 2-3 years.

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

 Victoria, 12 year old girl - This is another one who pierced my heart. God made sure I saw her that day!  She is beautiful on the inside and outside.  She truly needs someone to see past all of her needs and see her for HER...she's a gem.  Her file should be coming to Madison Adoption Associate's list any time now.
DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Lena (9) in the background and Aspen, 8 year old girl

-Aspen was scared and cried at first, but really opened up while we were there and was full of smiles.

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HER FILE IS NOW LISTED WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

 Pierce (he's also gone by the names Shaun and Luke), 7 year old boy.  -He is so sweet, mild, easy-going, and quiet. DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HIS FILE IS NOW LISTED WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES!  THERE IS A $5,000 AGENCY GRANT FOR HIS ADOPTION AND HE HAS $5,0000 IN HIS REECE'S RAINBOW ACCOUNT TOO!                                                                        

Reagan, 5 year old girl

-She is SO happy and SO loving!

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $3,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Jackson, 13 year old boy  -He was another one who pierced my heart. He will age out/no longer be able to be adopted in May of 2016. Please pray for him! He would make a great son and I just have to find a family for him.  DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HIS FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND HE HAS A $5,000 AGENCY GRANT!  

Calvin, beautiful 4 year old boy

He is blind, but doing very well!

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HIS FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND HE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Truman, 9 year boy -He is an awesome kid and he's going to do very well in a family that can provide him the therapy he needs.   DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HIS FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND HE HAS A $5,000 AGENCY GRANT!  

Taylor, 5 year old girl

-Taylor did not talk, but she could hear and she could follow directions.

McKinley, 11 year old girl

-She's seen many friends leave and she is a sweetie. Praying one day soon it will be her turn!

DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Andrea, 9 year old girl

Sweet girl!
DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

 Lincoln, 7 year old boy

-Personality PLUS!  He was SO funny and SO talkative!
DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HIS FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND HE HAS A $5,000 AGENCY GRANT!

 Kennedy, 13 year old girl -She needs a family soon or she will age out/lose her chance of every being adopted in April 2016.  She is scared to be adopted, but there is a fantastic guide in this province who can help a family out and I'd recommend a family Skype ahead of time with her to get to know each other.  This orphanage had the capabilities for that.  Kennedy has spastic CP, but can walk independently.
DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE: HER FILE IS NOW WITH MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES AND SHE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Tyler, 7 year old boy 

 He is wonderful and his file is currently listed with Madison Adoption Associates.
TYLER HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT!

Millie, 11 year old girl

Her file is listed with Madison Adoption Associates at this time.  She has had interest and is currently on hold for a family. Please pray for her!  She will make a wonderful daughter.

MILLIE HAS A $4,000 AGENCY GRANT FOR HER ADOPTION WITH MAA!

William, 5 year old boy

-He too has a need that sounds scarier than it looks. He is doing fantastic, is beyond adorable, and will do very well in a family.   DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE:  MADISON ADOPTION ASSOCIATES TRANSFERRED HIS FILE TO ANOTHER AGENCY FOR A WONDERFUL FAMILY!  PRAISE GOD!!!

Please ask me about any of these kids by email: el_lauren@yahoo.com or on Facebook.  I pray they will all find families.  Please pray with me.   These are just some of the kids we met.  We met many more.  

Happy 3rd Birthday, Macie!

By far one of the hardest things during the adoption wait is when you miss out on your child's birthday.  It happens and there is not much adoptive parents can do about it, but it is a bittersweet day celebrating your child's birthday WITHOUT them.   What makes it a bit tougher is that we really thought we would have had her home for her birthday or at the very least been in China celebrating her birthday with her.  With our 2nd file delays, that just could not happen.

Yesterday (Aug. 22nd), we had smiley cookies and ice cream.  We are really looking forward to a special celebration next year WITH our daughter, Macie, HOME with us!   I tried to send a cake to her, but was told that the orphanage already sends a cake to the kids in foster care and that they had already arranged that.  I hope her foster family celebrated her and made her day a special one since we couldn't.

HAPPY 3rd Birthday, Macie!  

We will be coming for you soon- hopefully November.

This picture is from April. It's the most recent we have.

An Update, the Waiting, and an Introduction

A lot has happened since our last post!  That might even be an understatement.  After we received our I-800 Approval for Macie on June 4th, our agency dropped off our Article 5 in China and then two weeks later it was picked up.  At that point, you are officially waiting for Travel Approval.  Most people are SO excited to finally reach that last step. Excited we were, but we were also extremely nervous.  You see, if you get your travel approval, it is officially too late to add on a second child. Your option at that point is to re-use your paperwork and go back to China many months later.  That really couldn't work for us for many reasons.  So, we chose to do the only thing we could do at that point.  We had our agency hold the Article 5 so we wouldn't get Travel Approval too soon and lose out on the chance to bring this second child home at the same time as Macie or at all.  Definitely less than ideal, but our only option.  That meant we would continue to wait.  So we waited and waited some more.  We are getting pretty good at this waiting thing and it seems to be the theme of this adoption.  To say God is teaching us more about patience, trust, and faith than He ever has before would be another understatement. We have been waiting for this file since December 2014!  We kept crazy busy in June with the end of the school year, Rick's work adventures, summer school classes, birthday parties, going to parks, baseball, t-ball, and swimming.

 Saying goodbye to some teachers who have grown near and dear to our hearts...

these two for the last TWO years (well even more for the special lady above since she had both of these boys for two years each).

 Parks!

Birthdays!

 With that came July!   More birthdays, baseball games, celebrations, and time outside.  

 July 1st we celebrated Reid's 8th birthday and his 2 year gotcha day with our family! 

3 of our kiddos got to be on the same t-ball team and they had a terrific coach who is hard of hearing and knew sign language.  Three of the other kids on their team were adopted by a family in town who sign.  Their dad is deaf and works at Lena's school and their mom used to be a teacher at the Texas School for the Deaf.  God had an amazing plan with the formation of this team!

 The rec dept lost our registration and so could not keep our four big boys together on one team.  We struggled watching two practices and two games on two different fields most weeks, but really enjoyed the games when they got to play each other.  Reid and Jonah had the same coach as our t-ball kids so that was special and Evan and Elijah were on a different team and even made a new friend.

 4th of July Fun!

 Parades

 Adoption Picnic- Reid got to see some of his buddies again!

Shortly after the 4th of July, Rick's grandma took a turn for the worse. She had been doing awesome this last year or so in the nursing home she was in up until this point.   On July 14th, she went to be with Jesus.  It was certainly a bittersweet week for us.   

On July 15th, we celebrated Elijah and Jonah's 7th birthday and Lena's 3 year gotcha day.  That same day we got the call from our agency that the file we had been waiting on FINALLY came!  It wasn't translated though.  Our agency quickly sent it out to be translated and we had the translated version the next day. Our letter of intent to adopt this child had been ready for some time so we submitted it that same day.  Later that week we celebrated GG's life with her visitation and funeral.  We know she in a better place and with those who had gone before her who she has missed for so many years.  There is an empty place in our hearts and many who are missing spending time and making memories with her.  We are treasuring the memories we do have with her though and are thankful that our children were able to know her and that most of them will be old enough to remember her.  

 Celebrating a 7th Birthday and a 3 Year Gotcha Day! 

July went on and we kept busy as ever, but the waiting continued.  This time we were waiting on China to give us Pre-Approval to adopt this child whose file we had waited on for so very long.  Our agency eventually had their China rep check-in on the situation because it was taking so long.  Almost 3 weeks after we submitted our letter of intent, we got Pre-Approval to adopt this sweet girl!!  August 4th was the day.  Now we are waiting for a log-in date for her adoption case, which should be any time and then for our Letter of Approval from China for her.  We sure hope that will come quickly and not hold us up for 2-3 more months.   At this point, it looks like we will be traveling in November. October is starting to look less and less likely every day. We never would have guessed it would be this long, but it is what it is and as Rick reminds me on a weekly basis, we don't have a whole lot of control over most of these things.  

Now before I introduce you to our newest daughter, I need to go back a bit and share some special details of our story to her.  In November I had asked our agency's in-China facilitator to keep us in mind if he knew of any waiting kids from our daughter's province or another province we'd be traveling to who might be a good fit for our family.  He was quick to tell me about a little girl who was from the very same orphanage as our Macie, but living in a different foster family. He said that the orphanage had prepared her file almost a year ago but that they didn't believe she had a family.  As the advocate for our agency, I knew I had not advocated for her.  Oddly enough, I did feel like I had seen her before. I don't know if it's possible to dream about a child you've never seen or met, but I do believe that may have happened.   I contacted our agency's assistant director and China program director to ask about her and she had never seen her before either.  We know she would have been listed with our agency because they have a partnership with this particular orphanage.   This person warned me more than once over the months to not get my hopes up.  There were so many things not in our favor.  I am not going to lie- my hopes were up. I just felt like she was our daughter. It was an instant feeling too- I didn't have to think anything over. I didn't even know what her special needs were. I had an idea of what they may be, but knew no particulars. I did know her birthday, March 17th, and thought that was cool because we enjoy St. Patrick's Day in this house with me being part Irish thanks to my Grandma Linse whose maiden name was King.  The next cool detail was her name.  Her Chinese name is He Lin or HeLin.  I noticed immediately that her Chinese name was made up of part of our last name: HEnningfeld and my maiden name: LINse.   Let's just call these things God winks.  

Fast forward to July- the file FINALLY comes.  But it doesn't just come on any day in July. It comes on Elijah and Jonah's 7th birthday and on Lena's 3 year gotcha day, a very special day in our home.  It also comes right between Rick's grandma passing and her visitation and funeral, helping to make our bittersweet week a bit sweeter.  July 16th- we get the translated file.  Two things stood out to me. HeLin was found on June 20th, 2012. June 20th was Rick's grandma's birthday.   Another God wink.  I had never looked up the meaning of her Chinese name.  The file said He meant peace and Lin meant beautiful Jade.  Another God wink.  We had chosen a name for her awhile back.  We just weren't sure how we planned to spell the first name.  The middle name was 100% set...Jade.

So without further ado, we'd like to introduce you to our newest meant to be daughter:

Maeleigh Jade HeLin Henningfeld, age 3.

 Looks like she has a bit of silly in her- she'll fit in perfectly!

 We sent a care package for her and were blessed with many pictures. I believe we officially have many more pictures of her than of Macie, which seems crazy.  We even got a 12 second video clip of her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi_VYo-BZvs

 These two are the most recent we received, taken in July when our in China rep visited her orphanage. Unfortunately he was unable to visit with Macie on that trip but we were told she is doing well.  I am pretty sure Macie's foster parents must think we are never coming for her.

I've also been asked this already, so I figure I should share this here.  Maeleigh is hearing and not deaf, like Macie and Lena.

Our TWO girls: Macie Brynn on the left (she'll be turning 3 in less than 2 weeks) and Maeleigh Jade on the right (those were the first two pictures of her we had ever seen- the ones I felt like I had seen in a dream).

We thank you as always for your support and prayers.  We'd sure appreciate prayers for the rest of our journey- for things to go smoothly and approvals to come quickly, for a grant we're waiting to hear back about that we really need, for safe travels to and from China when the time finally comes to bring our two treasures home, and for our girl's hearts as they will have to say goodbye to their foster families who clearly adore them and to everything they know.

 Some things we know without a doubt about our God:  His timing is always perfect, He is in the details, and His plans for us are amazing!  Many prayers have been answered.  

All glory to you, O Lord!

One Step Closer to Macie and a Fundraiser Update!

Yesterday we received our I-800 Approval notice in the mail!  

We were officially approved on June 4th.  

That has now been forwarded on to the NVC and we're waiting for something called a GUZ # which gets forwarded to our agency and allows us to fill out the paperwork for our daughter's visa.  After that we hit the Article 5 step- it gets dropped off and then picked up two weeks/10 business days later.  Once it is picked up, you are officially waiting on travel approval from China!   That means in about 3 weeks, we will be waiting on our travel approval...wow!   If you've been following our posts, we recently asked for prayers for a file of another little girl from our daughter's orphanage to arrive to our agency. It is time to rev those prayers up because it has not yet arrived and we learned a couple weeks or so ago that when it was being translated, it was missing a stamp from the civil affairs office....insert BIG sigh.  The system is definitely broken and far from perfect.  This little girl has been waiting for over 18 months for her file to finally get to the agency that partners with her orphanage.  And the Lord is certainly testing our patience and seeing if we trust in Him.  Thankfully we've been waiting since just December...that seems plenty long enough. ;)   At some point here though the file has to arrive or it will be time to decide if we choose a different child or just go for Macie.  God knows what is going to happen. Us not knowing is the hard part.  A second child cannot be added once you have your travel approval from China.  So please pray with us for the sake of this child that her the officials will grant her favor and get that file done ASAP and to our agency so we can move forward.  We know it will delay us in getting Macie at this point, but we also know this other little girl has waited long enough and we have felt like she was our daughter since the moment we saw her picture and read her Chinese name.  Thank you for your prayers- we covet them!

FUNDRAISER UPDATES:   On Saturday, June 13th at 8 a.m. CST our 2nd adoption auction on Facebook will commence.  It is not as large as the last one, but there are some great items there...something for everyone!    There are some great Father's Day gifts for those of you who are local too. ;)  More items will be added throughout the week and quite possibly during the auction as well.  The auction will end at 8 p.m. CST on Wednesday, June 17th.  The person who has the highest bid at that time wins!    If you'd like to join our auction group, go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1393662450936371/
Here is a direct link to the photo album where all of the auction items are located: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1444439572525325&type=1

Our second fundraiser we have going on right now is a Wildtree online party.  A good friend of ours is a consultant and has offered her 20% commission on this party to go towards our adoption!  We currently have $1,500 to raise for a matching grant so everything that is made for the auction and the Wildtree party will go towards that matching grant and will be DOUBLED!   We have a July 1st deadline to meet that goal.   My favorite thing about the Wildtree party is that you will not have to wait for the party to close on June 24th for your order to go through.  It will be submitted immediately once you enter it.   If you would like to see what Wildtree has to offer or put in an order, please go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1422899868033803/

As always, thank you for your continued prayers and support!