Gotcha Day a Only Three Weeks Away

Just under a year ago Christine and I were looking at a couple like they were crazy. They were preparing for their second gotcha day 52 weeks removed from their previous adoption. Well we are not quite as crazy. For us it will be 53 weeks!  

In the past year we have had our house re-sided due to wind, roof patched due to wind, lost Christins's step dad in a grain bin accident, lost her dad suddenly, had her mom in ICU, unsure when or if she would ever come out of an induced coma due to severe pneumonia (luckily she has improved greatly), gotten new hearing aids for Gabi, gotten Gabi's tonsils and adenoids removed, surgery to replace one hearing aid with a cochlear implant, and are waiting to turn it on in the next week or two. Through all of these trials we have filled the gaps of extreme boredom with soccer, football, basketball (and that us just Aiden), swimming, dance, and countless other activities. 

In the midst of this, we have a daughter that has bonded great. So well that she refuses to leave our side at night. Her crib is parked next to our bed. This has helped everyone's sleeping, but obviously is not ideal. She can be the sweetest, most loving thing this Earth has ever seen. However, (this is a big however) she has made us appreciate how easy we had it with our first three kids. Who knew someone would kick, yell, and scream for TWO HOURS since we did not let her eat m&m's until she was sick?  Followed by three hours of it the next dag for some unknown reason. 

Gabi grew 6" in the first 6 months and sits above the 50th percentile for weight. She is far from the petite girl we were expecting.  She easily out eats Lyndsey and there are days she out eats the rest of us too.  Hopefully once the cochlear implant is activated, we will see these same leaps and bounds of growth in her communication.

In three weeks, I will have just arrived in China. One night in Beijing before a three hour bullet train ride to Tiayuan. I have no idea what the next year will bring, my hope there are more highs and less low's!  More of Aiden and his friends raining money to support our adoption and less of people backing into Christine's car. More of Colton becoming closer to the youth group and less of him losing his backpack contsining his wallet. 

We would like to thank all of those who have helped support us through this nearly 2 year process. I look forward to sharing my two weeks in China with everyone.  We could not have done this without the help of our friends and family. 

If anyone is still interested in financially supporting us, we still do have puzzle pieces available. We have not done a good job of keeping everyone up to date with the progress.  We will do our best to update everyone before I leave. It would be great to have the puzzle framed before Elijah comes home with a name on every piece. 

Fundraising has been difficult for us this time around.  Plus the drop in mining caused a very small bonus this year. Luckily i was able to borrow from my 401(k) to fill the gap. Five years and i will have this paid off!  I look forward to being done asking people to donate to us. However, that does not mean I will be done asking. This time I will be supporting those in and out of our church that have felt the call to adopt. 

Love from the Law Clan

http://youtu.be/b_RjndG0IX8

A Very Happy January

January 1^st was the last birthday that Elijah has to spend alone without a family. Now on January 1^st we will not just be a celebrating the New Year, but also our son’s birthday.  Our family is so honored that so many of you chose to help us celebrate our son’s birthday this year.  I know I have said it before, but we honestly could not bring Elijah home without your help.  Adoption is expensive and we used our savings and borrowed from our 401K to bring Gabi home.  Her life cannot have a price put on it.  She has a family, she is loved, she is learning to communicate, she is learning to pray, and she has a future.  These pictures are from Gabi in January 2013 and from today January 2014.  Amazing!!

 Our hearts were broken for orphans when we were China.  The need is so great; so many children need and deserve families.  When I saw Elijah I KNEW he was my son.  Andy, trying to think with his head and not his heart, said we CAN’T start another adoption right now.  We still have debt from Gabi’s adoption, we are emotionally spent, and we are adjusting to a two year old.  Through many tears and prayers the heart won, love won.  The truth is Elijah has spent 10 years in an orphanage and in that time not one family has said yes to him.  At the age of 14 children are deemed unadoptable in China.  Can you image a scared child wondering why no one wants him, why no one is coming for him?  Yes our hearts won, because we know we serve a great God and He will provide.  We could not leave this young boy to simple exist in an orphanage and to be put out on the street with no one to care for him.  Do we have the money?  Not even close.  Are we scared? Absolutely.  But what we know is that he is worth it, and he deserves a much better life than where he is at!  Our adoption is moving quickly and we don’t have the funds for the orphanage donation.  We can’t do this alone, and so many of you have shown us that we are not alone.

As of today our dossier is translated!  Next we will be waiting to hear that we are reviewed and then match reviewed.  We are hoping and praying that Andy can travel to bring Elijah home in April.  We will continue our puzzle fundraiser until we go to China or all 750 pieces are spoken for.  I am still selling Origami Owl if you would like to order for yourself or someone special (guys I can help you put together a locket for your wife for Valentine’s Day).  We are also looking for a few more fundraiser opportunities so stay tuned.  We thank you, we love you, and we are excited for this path God has set us on.

Full of Surprises

After nearly seven months with Gabi and over 6 months being home, I know two things for certain:
-Adopted kids are just like every other kid
-Adopted kids are nothing like other kids

Confused, that goes for me too.  Had you asked me to generalize what an adopted kids acted like, felt, etc, I would have described the exact opposite of Gabi.  This little girl has more energy than anyone in the house, controls situations, and always makes her presence felt.  While it is wonderful to have all of this rolled into the beautiful package that is Gabi, it also makes for our most challenging child.  We had some of this with our other three, but now we get it all at once.  Did I forget to mention that we get the best traits of a newborn, one year old, and two year old all at once?!  Verbal skills of an 8-12 month old, gross motor skills of a two years old, fine motor skills of someone older than three, and a confidence and attitude of a teenage girl.  It is this range of emotion, varying traits that make adopted kids so unique and special.

She has also shown me how one moment, one trip to a foreign land, can have such a profound affect on a life.  Seeing her thrive under our room has been amazing.  To see pictures of this girl from February 2013 and compare that to the girl that breaks into our bedroom every night, you would never believe they were the same girl.  How could she grow 6" in 6 months?  How could the girl that struggled to not fall down when walking in the Chinese hotels be like the energizer bunny now?  How could the girl who ate some rice and formula each day argue for hours on end for a second (or third) smoothie.

2.5 years without her family was too long!  I just think about our boy that has gone nearly 10 years without that love.  I can't wait to hold him ion my arms.  I can't wait to give him all of the opportunities that every child should have.

It is easier to ignore these children without knowing their names and faces.  They are all kings and queens in God's eyes.  I pray that everyone reading this blog can find a way to help this holiday season.  Whether it is buying a puzzle piece from us, sponsoring a child through Compassion International, or donating until it hurts to the Salvation Army, you CAN make a difference in a child's life.

Please take a moment to get to know our son.  Below are links to video's that we have been lucky enough to have while we wait.  I guarantee that his smile will melt your heart.

What Is Adoption?- Elijah is the child in the middle in scenes with three boys!

Defend Andy- This is the video that sealed the deal for us.  There was no waiting!  We were going to become one of those (enter adjective of choice) families that were going through this journey not only for a second time, but with travel dates likely less than 2 months apart.

I pray that everyone is blessed this Christmas season.

Love Andy

For those interested in helping us bring Elijah home, please see the fundraising tab at the top of the page and/or contact Christine or I directly through Facebook, email, etc.

You can also catch up on pictures of Gabi and eventually Elijah on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/GabisJourneyHome

Giving Tuesday

When God was asked what the most important commandments were he said love your God with all your heart AND love your neighbor as yourself. Tyrus Morgan (Christian musician) asked us Sunday night who is your neighbor? Is it the person sitting next to you? Is it the people that live next door to you? Is it the people in your community? Your church? Is it a child half way around the world?? The answer is YES!! They are all your neighbor.

 

We need our neighbors to stand with us to save this little boy from the life of an orphan. Your $10 can help change a life. What would you do to help your neighbor? Would you drive them to the grocery store? Would you buy them a cup of coffee? Would you give them a cup of sugar?  Would you give them $10 if they needed it? If we were pregnant would you buy us a gift?  Elijah does not need a physical gift, he needs you to help pay his ransom so he can know unconditional love, so he can have a family, and so he can have a relationship with our almighty God. We need you to help change Elijah's life. We cannot do this without you.

 

We currently have a Puzzle Fundraiser with a twist going one.  For a $10 donation we will write your name on the back of a puzzle piece (you can buy as many pieces as you would like.  This puzzle will be displayed in Elijah's room and he will have a visual of everyone who prayed for him, loved him, and helped bring him home.  In addition to your donation changing a life for every puzzle piece donated (there is no limit) your name will be placed in a drawing for Kindle Fire HD.

 

 

Ways to donate:

Paypal: aclaw99@comcast.net

Adopt Together (tax deductible donations): www.adopttogether.com/thelaws

Mail: please email for our address

 

We have sold about 60 pieces to date.  Can you help us get to 100 pieces this week?

The Cost of Adoption

Okay friends, its time to get honest.  Adoption is expensive.  We do not like asking for donations, its hard, and not natural for either of us.  It's harder to imagine Elijah spending the next 5 years of his life in an orphanage and then to be turned out on the street to try to survive alone and without a family.  The truth is we need your help and Elijah needs your help, we can't do this alone.  The truth is Elijah will probably wait longer than necessary because we need time to save and earn extra money.  So far we have paid our home study update $250, WACAP application fee $500, and USCIS Visa fee $890.  Before our dossier can be resent to China we need to pay over $5000 for our agency and country fees, and then additional agency, country, travel, and orphanage fees.  Elijah is worth it and we know we need to trust the God has this.  So we are asking; will you help give a child a home, a family, and a chance to know the One true King?  We have many ways you can be a part of living out the words of God and caring for orphans.

Look at these two pictures the first is Gabi on Gotcha Day on May 13th the second is four short months later.  Can you believe the difference the love a family and a church can do for a child.

How you can help:

• T-Shirt Fundraiser: We will be submitting the order at the end of this week.  We still need to sale 25 more t-shirts.  They are $20 shipped to you or $15 if you are local.
• Origami Owl: I am selling these beautiful living lockets.  Every dime made is put towards bringing Elijah home.  You can buy jewelry directly from my website or host a party and share this jewelry with your friends: www.oneless.origamiowl.com.
• Puzzle Fundraiser:
• Are you the missing puzzle piece???
  We are starting our Puzzle Piece fundraiser with a twist.
  We are asking every person we are friends with on social media, who followed our journey to bring Gabi, our family, and everyone else who wants to support us to donate $10 to our puzzle piece fundraiser.  We will then write your name on the back of a puzzle piece.  The completed puzzle will be placed between glass and hung in Elijah’s room so he can see everyone who prayed from him, loved him and supported him even before he came home.
  We have a large goal: 750 puzzle pieces, so we are offering an incentive.  For every 100 puzzles pieces we receive donations for we will have a drawing.  The first will be a Kindle HD.  So not only are you supporting orphans, but you have a chance to win a new Kindle.
  Please considering donating $10 (or more if you feel led) to help bring Elijah home.
  Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17
  Ways to donate:
  Email: aclaw99@comcast.net and we will send you our address
  Paypal – click the paypal tab on the right side
• Please pray for our family, for Elijah, and for all orphans.

Elijah!

We have finally received preapproval to adopt Elijah (aka Jeremiah, Andy & Francesco)!!! Elijah is nine years old and has been waiting a long time for a family of his own.  We are so excited as it becomes more real.  Our I800A was also sent off today.  We decided the best route for us was to start over with I800A because it will keep us from having to do background checks later.  We have a few fundraisers to help us raise money to bring him home as quickly as possible.  The first is t-shirts.  We have designed a Hope for Orphans t-shirt and it is available in blue or pink.  Sizes start at youth M.

 

I love these shirts and hope you will considering ordering.  The back of the shirt has Jeremiah 29:11 on it.  They are $20 shipped, and you can pay through Paypal or mail us a check!

 

Second will be doing a puzzle fundraiser, watch for more information to come.

 

Third, I have started selling Origami Owl.  This is a fairly new jewelry line of living lockets.  You can order online through my website or host a party.  Visit www.oneless.origamiowl.com!

 

 

Thanks for following us on this journey!

 

Three Months with Gabi!

Today it really hit me how far Gabi has come in three months.  Really how far we have all come in three months.  When we were in China it really was one of the hardest times I (Christine) have gone through.  I knew it was a possibility that she would not bond with me and that she would reject me, but knowing and actually experiencing it are completely different.  I was so thankful that she attached to Andy quickly, but it hurt that I couldn’t hold her or comfort her when she was crying.  I also knew what I feeling could not compare to what she must be feeling.  She was taken from her nanny’s arm and given to complete strangers.  She was taken to a place that looked nothing like what she was used to, offered food she had never seen before, and whisked all over China in taxi’s, trains, and planes.  When I was carrying her through the hotel in Beijing she literally reached for complete strangers (men) to get away from me.  Our girl is so strong and resilient and all of that is just a distant memory.  She loves her mom and dad now (though often still prefers dad, but we are working that) and her brothers and sister.  She gives kisses and great big bear hugs.  If she wakes up crying I can comfort her now.  She is running, jumping and climbing stairs (no small feat if you observed her gross motor skills in May).

 

She laughs and cries when she doesn’t get her way.  In so many ways she is a normal two year, but I can’t help to think how extraordinary she is.  I know God has great things in store for her and I am so privileged to be a part of her story.  Adoption is hard, but oh so amazing and completely worth it.  We are called to care for the orphans, to be a father to fatherless.  There are so many children out there just like Gabi and they need a family.  We would love to talk to you about adoption. We would love for you to partner with us as we begin our next adoption.  Yes, we (I really mean Andy) will be traveling back to China to bring our new son home sometime in the next year.  Stay tuned to hear more about him as soon as we can share.