Our Family's Story (well part of it)

Kevin and I have been married for 17 years. When we were married, my son Grant was 2 years old. Kevin adopted Grant in 1992. Then came Garrett in March 1993. Gavin followed in April 1996. I had my tubes tied when I had Gavin. He was a c-section, and I had problems with fibroid tumors. We had decided that if we had any more children, we would be adopted. Adoption from China was just starting to be in the news. So many baby girls that needed a mommy and daddy. We would just have to wait on the right timing. I ended up having a hysterectomy when Gavin was 18 months old. On with life we went, busy with three wonderful boys!

Adoption has always been in my heart, for I am adopted. My parents adopted me when I was 9 days old...a looong time ago! I grew up always knowing about adoption. My brother is also adopted. It was what seemed "normal" to me. I was finally able to convince Kevin that going to China was a good idea. We sent our dossier to China (DTC) in February 2005. We decided to go the non-special needs (NSN) route. The wait back then was only 6 months from log in date (LID) to referral. We squeezed through with a wait of only 7 months. Our month was the first month in the now infamous "SLOW DOWN" of NSN referrals. We traveled to Lanzhou, Gansu province in December 2005 to adopt our daughter Graycen. We had a wonderful experience, and I knew while we were there that I had another daughter somewhere in China.


In China, Graycen was a happy, loving child. She was also very delayed in her physical development. We were a little concerned, but figured she would catch up quickly once we arrived home. It didn't really make sense, because the other babies adopted from her orphanage were not very delayed. Graycen was socially not delayed, but we never even considered she had anything "wrong". After we were home about 4 mos., our pediatrician said the words, "spasticity" and "cerebral palsy". We were very uneducated about those words, but have since learned so much! We were given an official diagnosis of spastic diplegia cerebral palsy when she was 18 mos. Old from our neurologist at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Her CP is moderate, not mild. She is not yet walking independently at 3 years old. For our family, we have discovered this is a manageable SN. Not really by choice, but by no other choice. We love our daughter, and have fought and worked hard to get the best care for her. It was not easy--it is not always easy now, but totally worth it. It was devastating at first-just as finding out any special need of any child that you are not prepared for. We adjusted our plans and dreams for her, and are equipping her to achieve anything she chooses to go after. She is the happy, funny light of our lives!

We feel that God chose us to be her family for many reasons. The most recent reason we have discovered is that it has equipped us with the knowledge we need to parent another child with CP. We are adopting again from China, this time choosing a child with CP.

We fully expect Graycen to walk independently some day. I used to hope that was when she was around 2, but now I am praying for her to be able to use canes by the time she is 6, eventually not using any assistive device.

So, this is a little background on us, and what is leading us back to China--this time to choose a child with CP, an older child that needs a forever family. So many times it is difficult to see the bigger plan when you are in the midst of a trial. We feel blessed to be able to see a little of the plan now as we forge ahead through all the paperwork.