When our boys were 5 and 7 , we both began to feel that we were being called to adopt. God opened our hearts to special needs adoption, and we welcomed home Leah, a four-year-old girl with cleft lip and palate from Luoyang, China. After a few years, the kids started mentioning adopting again, pointing out the fact that there were six chairs at our table, and there were only five of us. In February 2014, a little girl with a severe congenital heart defect popped up in our inbox. A heart issue was something way beyond what we ever thought we could take on, but something drew us to her and we asked for her file. After an agonizing week of research and prayer, we knew that God was calling us to bring her home. Lybbi was very sick, and we and our agency did everything we could to complete the paperwork as fast as possible, and we traveled to China four months later. The next months were a whirlwind of medical appointments and procedures, but Lybbi is now stable and attending preschool. While she is behind developmentally, she is making great progress. She will have a major open heart surgery at some point, and she will never be "cured," but we enjoy every day with her. She is happy and constantly keeps us laughing. Last spring, Molly had the opportunity to travel with a team to Lybbi&'s orphanage to do some painting. During one of the times the team got to play with the children, her eyes were drawn to a four-year-old boy who stood out in a sea of cribs. He remained on her mind in the following months, and, although our agency had been advocating for him, he still didn&'t have a family. While we hadn&'t been pursuing another adoption, it became increasingly clear that the reason he didn&'t have a family was because WE were his family, and we said yes. He had suffered seizures and was in poor condition when he was brought to the orphanage at age two. Since then, his seizures have been controlled with medication. He is developmentally delayed and may have some other issues, and we won&'t know exactly what his diagnosis is until he gets home. We have been so grateful for so many people who have helped bring our two girls home, and we are confident that God will provide for our son as well. We can&'t wait to bring him home.
