I can't believe it, but in 2 days I have caught up on 2 months worth of posts!!

Granted, they were brief and skipped around a little, but the task is complete, and I feel that I can move forward with a clean slate. There is one bit of news that I left out because I wanted it to be the first thing I post as I move forward after having caught up.........

I am going to need to change the name of this "blog" to: Mom2Five

Yes, you read that correctly. On September 14th, our adoption agency called and asked us to consider a waiting child - a Special Needs boy with a cleft lip and palate. Our first response was that we were happy and content and were moving foward with our life with 4 children........God had other plans for us, and we are so thankful He was patient and persistent. The easiest way to share our story is for me to copy the post we sent to our faithful friends - the February Lovebugs, who were with us every step of the way as we adopted Emma:
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We have accepted a referral for a little boy in China on our agency's Waiting Child List! We are over the moon with excitement! This is a surprise blessing for us. Our agency called to ask us to consider this little boy, Dang Fuchen. When they called, it was weird, but I had this feeling there was a little boy in China waiting for us. I can't explain it, but I just knew. I had no idea that they were going to call, but when they did, I was like - okay, now I understand why I have been feeling this way. For Russ, it was like a hit to the head from out of nowhere. We took the weekend to think about it and Russ called our agency and said that we would NOT take the referral. We then had a heavy heart and felt like we had only answered based on our initial response to the thought of 5 kids. We decided that we owed it to Emma, her culture and Fuchen's parents to really give it some more thought. So Wednesday Russ called back and asked if they still had his file and could we have a few more days to talk about it. They said yes but they needed to know by the beginning of the week. We knew that in order to do this we would have to agree. Russ called the agency and said that we would (again) NOT take the referral. I kept praying that God would not let us miss this blessing if it was meant to be ours and if Fuchen belonged to another family, that I would be at peace with that. I really was in turmoil and spent the better part of the week in tears - sobs more like it. I couldn't explain it but I knew he was my son. I promised myself that I would always pray for him and hoped that he would find a family. Two nights later Russ came up from the basement with an "It's A Boy" button pinned to his shirt and said let's go to China and get our son. I was speechless and I kept saying " I don't understand.. .." He said that he just got off the phone with our agency and that Fuchen was ours - all of the angst and turmoil had left his eyes and the sparkle was back. He said that he had been fighting against what he knew was right and had been thinking selfishly and God just pierced his heart and all of a sudden he knew. This unfamiliar picture of a boy in China had become a familiar photo of his son. It was an amazing moment. Russ and I may disagree on the little details at times, but generally we agree on the big stuff and so it was very odd that we had different opinions on something so huge. Oh, and Fuchen (Sam) is only 4 months younger than Emma so it will be like having twins. Emma is so motherly that she will love having a brother to look after. So here we are, racing to be DTC by December and trying to catch up with the other families in our group that did not take so long to make their decision! We know that we are on the right path and are planning to go to China in March or April. Now I am left wondering how can I get another carseat in my Suburban so that the rest of my children don't have to do an acrobatic act to get out of the car each morning at carpool? How will I get the "twins" down for a nap at the same time so that we can get back to school for carpool? The big stuff (money, college, braces,..... ), I really don't worry about - it will take care of itself (when God calls you, He also equips you) - it is my little routine I am concerned about! My day works like a well-oiled machine and I have worked hard to get it that way..... But, in all seriousness, I know that this will also take care of itself. We will find a new normal and be happy as can be while we do!!
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So, I guess you can now understand why I haven't been posting - there really has been a lot going on around here. Please keep us in your prayers as we take this journey. We have heard that Sam's orphanage does not have heat so we are so sad to be without him this winter. Thankfully this will be his last winter without heat (or his family). His orphanage is part of an American program called Half the Sky which trains the nannies to stimulate and better care for the children and is also sponsored by Love Without Boundaries which has provided many of the cleft surgeries there. We are so thankful! Sam's orphanage is the Luoyang CWI in the Henan province.

We will be traveling back to China with our dear friends the Duryeas who were part of the Wuhan Super Group, our travel group when we adopted Emma. It is so amazing to see God in the details - it is no coincidence that He reunited us with this precious family. Thank you for sharing in our pure joy!!



Samuel Ray FuChen Hedden