Introducing...Feng Lin

As we wait for the ever-anticipated LOA (China's seal of approval to adopt), it is about time I introduce our newest addition.  We were first introduced to her as Lindsey, then learned her real name, Feng Lin.  She was born October 6, 2010 in Beijing. She has been in orphanage care in Beijing's Fengtai District since she was two months old.  She has a condition called congenital scoliosis, meaning some of her vertebrae did not form correctly in utero.  She had surgery to place stabilizing rods in her spine at age 2 and 1/2.  She will face numerous surgeries to lengthen the rods as she grows. 
It is a blessing to live in the US where we can have multiple children, where medical care is within reach for even the most complex conditions, where relinquishing a child for adoption is not only legal, but supported in some circumstances.  Feng Lin's birth mother did not have any of these luxuries.  She knew at age two months that something was wrong with her daughter's back and made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her daughter in the hospital where I can only assume she had gone for a diagnosis.  I will think about her and her sacrifice my entire life and I hope that she can sense that her child is being loved and cared for.
When we were first introduced to Lindsey, I searched for information about her orphanage.  There was no glorious website like Quinn's orphanage had set up so I turned to social media.  On a Facebook site for China adoptive families, I asked if anyone had heard of Fengtai SWI.  To my shock, I received a private message from a mother in Sweden who had adopted her daughter from there and had a picture and video of Feng Lin to share!  Not only that, she linked me with a preschool teacher at the orphanage who was Feng Lin's teacher!  Since March, we have had the blessing of receiving multiple photos of Feng Lin as well as in depth information about her personality.  Here are a few recent photos...

The fantastic, amazing, selfless, beautiful woman holding Feng Lin in the last photo is our guardian angel and Feng Lin's teacher, Jennifer.  Waiting, with so many unknowns about your child's care and development is utterly terrifiying!  We received only two updates about Quinn during our 11 month wait to bring her home.  This time around, we have been able to see how our daughter is growing and learning!  We have been told that she is "quite bright," outgoing, talkative, curious, and brave.  Sounds just like her sister!

We also know that she is a girly-girl.  She loves princesses, dress-up, and jewelry.  Don't quite know how she will handle the endless games of mass destruction that the boys and Quinn like to play, but I do know that she and Quinn (my tomboy) will never fight over toys or clothes:)

We debated giving Feng Lin and American name because, at age 4, she certainly knows her name and it is her identity.  However, after hearing from adult adoptees who were grateful for American names so they would "fit in", we decided to give Feng Lin the name Marin. 

 It means "wished-for child."

We hope her name helps her remember all of the people in her life who have wished for her.

 

On the journey...AGAIN!

I cannot believe I am sitting here writing about adopting again.  If you had asked me two years ago if we would have a fourth child, I would have said "no way!"  But, here we are, on our way to being a family of six!
I've said before that I don't like to write and I was honestly tempted not to blog this time around.  However, a few weeks ago, the kids and I sat down and took a stroll down memory lane via the blog and I though "How can I NOT write!"  In fact, I wish that I had written more about Colin and Owen's first days as well.  They grow so fast and parenting perspectives change daily.  It is fun to see how we are all learning and growing together. 
So when did "No Way" become "Absolutely?"  I am not sure exactly and I don't think Chris is either.  It was certainly me who initially brought up the idea.  I think when you talk to adoptive parents it typically is the mom who has the urge first.  That urge first hit me after we moved and began attending a new church. Some things in me that had been stagnant began to awaken.  The sense of peace and overwhelming love from our Father started to soften me.  I started to feel a new passion for God's word and his commands-one of the most direct being to care for orphans.  The initial "crazy" idea in me grew and grew until I could no longer ignore it.  I didn't want any more children, but there were children who certianly needed parents.  I wanted to renovate our new home, not spend every dime we had (and some dimes we DIDN'T have) on bringing another child into our home.  Despite all of my logical and selfish reasons why it was a bad idea, I couldn't shake the urge that had been placed in me.  I finally brought up the idea to Chris.  With all the love he could muster up, he laughed and said "You have got to be kidding me!"  However, being the wonderful man he is, Chris agreed to pray about it to see if God would warm his heart to the idea.  After months of prayer, Chris came to me and said "While my heart hasn't warmed, I know that when we married, we became one flesh.  So if you are called to adopt, then so am I."  Does he rock or what?!
Once we decided we would consider this journey again, we began looking at websites for adoption agencies that our adoptive friends' had used in the past.  Some of the faces of waiting children were listed on the sites.  Looking at so many faces of children waiting for forever families is one of the most heart-wrenching things we have ever done.  We wanted to give every single one of them a family!  We had to pray for guidance so that God's heart, not ours, would lead us to our child.
That same evening, Chris saw a face that melted his heart.  He said "Let's get some more information about her."  One phone call led to another.  We met a specialist about her medical condition.  We prayed, we talked, we hoped.  After a few weeks, we submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) to adopt this little girl.  On February 1, 2014 we received our Provisional Approval (PA.)  We were on the road to being this little angel's forever family!