I recently looked at our blog and realized it’s been over 4 months since our last update. In all honesty I have not felt like writing much in regards to updates because there really are not any. Borders are still closed to families in the adoption process. No one is traveling and many have now been waiting for almost 2 years. To say this is hard on so many is an understatement, the fatigue and weariness are real and the place between faith and helplessness is abundant. I pray daily for the families who have gone before us, who unlike us, were ready to get on a plane and go when the world shut down and so they continue to wait, as the years pass and time seems to stand still, they wait. I can tell you how I oscillate between faith and fear just being in the place we are in but I cannot begin to imagine the emotional turmoil, questions and decisions these families face. It is heartbreaking.
I will try to outline the few things that have occurred since the last blog in regards to our adoption. We did submit our letter of intent to adopt “Adley,” her file name, not the name we intend to give her. This was submitted in May. However, we found out several weeks later that China had stopped giving Pre Approvals for these, so although we are “matched” with her on the United States side of things, China is not granting these matches on their end at this time. We pray that one of two things occur, that they either begin giving Pre Approvals again or they provide a Pre Approval once they receive and log our Dossier. Which brings me to our next update, we spent our summer collecting all sorts of necessary documents to submit our Dossier. The Dossier is a giant packet of information about our family (literally every detail about everything!) that will eventually make it’s way to China for review and approval. This is a tedious process, with lots of waiting and lots of checking and double checking so documents do not get rejected and need to be re-done. Most of these documents must be notarized, but lucky for us we happen to know a notary who has graciously offered her services as we need them! These are the small things that we are so grateful for in the midst of everything else. We have submitted the documents we have obtained to our adoption placement agency, Agape, and have been notified that two already need to be re-done. Did I mention how tedious this process is?? So, we now continue to wait for some to be completed and submitted and also begin to repeat the process for others so they can be approved. But, we carry on because this inconvienence does not compare to a child potentially never having their forever family. We have been here before and we made it through, we can do it again. Ellie is evidence of that and each time I look at her I am reminded of our why and this keeps me (and all of us really) going.
Brian, Ellie and I will be traveling to Kansas City Missouri and Des Moines Iowa the weekend of October 15 so Brian can run two more marathons with Ellie and bring awareness to Down syndrome adoption. This will be marathon number 4 and 5 for the dynamic duo! We have connected with an organization called RODS https://rods.org/ as Brian attempts to run a marathon in every state with Ellie. Through this connection we hope to bring awareness to these adoptions all over the country. We have started an instagram account called “downforrunning” to document these marathons, so go check it out and follow us for information. For the runs this month Brian will be running in his RODS apparel and have a picture of “Adley” pinned to his shirt. We hope this will spark conversations and questions about our why and bring more attention to adoption in general. In the waiting this has been a positive way for us to stay engaged in the process and keep our why at the forefront of our minds. Advocating for others to adopt alongside us is our desire. We pray that God can use our story and these things as a way to possibly tug at the hearts of others. And as always, we are available should anyone have questions or be interested in hearing more about adoption;) Also, if you ever have questions about our process or “Adley” just ask, we want to share. But I will warn you, some tears may be shed. I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to process all of this and some days are harder than others. However, please do not mistake my tears for not wanting to talk about it (I will let you know if I’m having one of “those days”!), it’s just plain and simply hard.
Out side of that there isn’t much to report. We have not been doing very much fundraising as our fees are paid up to date. When our Dossier does go to China, which should be in the next 2-3 months there will be more fees. We are looking at re-engaging our sock fundraiser before the holidays and I hear they have added some more fun patterns so stayed tuned for that!
We thank those of you that continue to pray for not just us but all the families waiting and of course all the waiting children. Continue to pray for all those engaged in adoption, whether it’s directly or indirectly, it’s a journey for all invovled. We know God has, can and will move mountains. We also know that God leads this path and has gone before us. He knows the outcome and it may be one we may never truly understand on this side of heaven, but I do know his plan is good so we continue to remain faithful in that. Everything else is in his hands.
Gard Family Adoption Adventure 