A Wonderful Poem

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other.

One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

Two different lives shaped to make you one.

One became your guiding star; the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.

The first one gave you love. The second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name. 

One gave you a talent. The other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide.

The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me, through your tears, 

the age old question unanswered through years.

Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?

Neither, my darling. Neither.

Just two different kinds of Love.

-Author Unknown

LOA! LOA! LOA! LOA! LOA!

We just spent the past three days camping with my parents.  We had so much fun, and I can't even remember the last time that we spent three whole days with them, in a row.  It took me a full day to learn to relax and enjoy the slower pace, but once I did, I was hooked! With swimming and tennis courts just steps away, and the peace and quiet that comes with camping (and grandparents to watch the kids!) it was really nice.  We spent three whole hours in the pool today.  I thought the girls were going to grow gills and fins.

Here are a few favorite snapshots. Of course I'm not in any, because I'm always behind the lens.  :o)

Matt and I were packing up to leave, and at 5:30 today the call came in... our LOA is here!  Hallelujah!  I did a happy dance right there in the middle of the campground.  We are just three steps away from bringing our son home, and it is looking like it will be mid-September to mid-October when we are actually setting foot in China.  From what I hear from other adoptive parents, these last few paperwork chasing routines are relatively painless and seem to go by quickly.  Now that China has chosen us to be Elliott's parents, I feel like I can post his photo.  Prepare yourself, he's ADORABLE!!!

Here are his referral photographs. This is the little face we first fell in love with.

These are the updated photos we received this spring.

So it is with a happy heart that I go to bed tonight knowing that we are one step closer to bringing our son home and completing our family of five.  Thank you for the prayers, the kind words, and the encouragement.  Please continue to cheer us on as we keep moving forward.

With love,

  the Beresfords (plus one!)

I'm now in the 60 and over crowd....

OKay, what gives?  Still no LOA.  Our little boy is going to bed tonight without a Mommy to tuck him in, without a Daddy to read him books, with no siblings to snuggle with, and without a family to fill up his little love tank.  When I think of my own childhood years, and I think of how much it meant to me to have my Mom and Dad tuck me into bed and the safety and peace that comes with being loved by my family, and then I think of the big open void that Elliott has in his life because not one day in his life has he known that peace, that love, that contentment.  It just breaks my heart.  No child should have to go to bed sad, scared, hungry or unloved.  Not that I have any doubt that the childcare workers in China are doing their best, but there just is NO replacement for having a Mommy and a Daddy.  So it hurts me that we are still waiting for our LOA. My arms ache, I want to hold my little boy, and weave his life story into ours.  The girls pray for Elliott every night when they pray before dinner, with no prompting at all on our part.  They pray for him to be safe and to come to live with us soon.  That warms my heart.  Deciding to adopt Elliott was a family decision, and it took all of one minute for the girls to decide that they would love to have a 2-year old brother join our family.

I had a little chat with our adoption coordinator last night who reassured me that nothing was wrong with our paperwork, and that we shouldn't worry until we hit the 90-day mark, which will be in July.  She seemed quite confident that we will be receiving good news this week or next.  Please continue to pray for us and for Elliott.

Stay tuned.....

Summer is flying by, and still no LOA.

It's hard to believe that July is almost here. We wait and wait and wait for summer to come, with beautiful sunny, warm days and before we know it, its over. I try to cherish and enjoy each day I have.  There is truely no place more beautiful than Michigan in the summer.  Lake Michigan is just down the road, but we could just stay and play all day here on the farm and be content.  Strawberry season is in full swing, with blueberry season soon to follow, and raspberries to look forward to in August.  Our mulberry tree is just heaving with berries this year, and the girls and I stain our hands and our faces with a mid-afternoon snack in the back yard.  It's so fun!

Father's day this year was a fun celebration, too.  My father and my husband are two of the most honorable and loving men that have ever walked this Earth, and they deserve more than just one day!

I've been getting to ride my horses more this summer than last, because there are no HUGE rennovations going on, like residing the house last year.  Just a few small summer projects, like getting closets rennovated building furniture, fixing drywall, and painting walls.  We are in full swing of the "making room for Elliott" projects.  But I love my 'barn time' like no other.  It's where I go to de-stress.  I'm so lucky that it's right outisde my back door.  My commute time is less than thirty seconds.  :o)

I love to also ride the Harley, but this has been increasingly difficult to fit into my schedule.  Matt and I are trying to sell it to finance this adoption, but it's hard to give up toys.  Especially knowing that it'll be at least a decade before I get it back.  So I'm enjoying the time I have.

So life is really good,  I can't complain, but I can whine.  I inherited that right with my two X chromosomes.  I'm tired of waiting to go get Elliott.  I'm ready for the next phase of our family life to begin.  I've had so much time to wonder what he's like, what home life will be like when he's with us, and I'm ready to just begin it.  We've waited well over 60 days from the time our LOA was hand-delivered to the CCAA in China.  From what I've read, the average wait is like 52 to 56 days.  In a way, it's kind of fitting because I waited past my due dates to meet M & C, so it's pretty fitting that I should get tormented in the same manner for child #3.  But it's hard.  It has been a relief to have met some really fantastic families, both in Michigan and abroad, who are in the paperwork process alongside us and are feeling the same frustration.  Those who have already adopted from China have been so helpful and encouraging, and it gives me hope that the path that lies ahead is a very very GOOD one.  I just can't wait to walk on it!

I read on http://www.chinaadopttalk.com/ that lots of LOA's and TA's come out on Mondays.  Here's hoping I have big news to post on Monday.  :o)

Has it been ten years already?!?!

Ten years ago, today, I married my best friend.  It's hard to believe that it's been that long.  I look back and remember our first years together, and it seems so far away, but I have an even harder time remembering the years before we met.  I feel so fortunate to say that I am still madly in love with my husband, and happy as ever.  What wonderful things have come from this marriage, with a third child coming in just a couple more months!  Happy Anniversary, my dearest Matthew!  Many more to come!  XOXOXO!

Waiting is SO hard to do!

Today is day #45 since our dossier paperwork was hand-delivered in Beijing.  Any day now we will receive our LOA.  Waiting is so hard to do!  I'm getting so restless. 

I came home from work yesterday evening to find the upstairs bedroom/closet rennovations had begun.  Matt is all done with his teaching job for the school year, and he's pumped to dive into his (our) next rennovation on our 111-year old farm house.  We are building bunk beds for the girls and redesigning the walk-in closet so both of them have room for their belongings upstairs.  So I came home to find Madeline's clothes sprawled everywhere in the upstairs hallway.  In one day, he drew up blueprints for the new closet, cleaned it out, measured it and made a shopping list for Lowe's today.  He's not only an amazing husband and father, he's a very good handyman and can build or fix just about anything.  Once the girls are happily moved to their new (larger) room, we can start on preparing Elliott's new room. 

What do 65, 72, 96, 98, and 62 all have in common?  They are the 'high' temps this week.  It has been an absolute rollercoster of weather this week.  My flowers have no idea what is going on.  Some flowers, like my irises, seem to have extended bloom times.  Two of my peonies bloomed and faded away within just a couple of days, and the 'wild' peony field across the street had about half of it's blooms this year. I love flowers and I cherish my gardening time. 

Any Day Now....

It has been 41 days since our dossier was hand-delivered to the Chinese government's database, and it is any day now that we expect to hear that we have been approved to adopt Elliott.  In the weeks between then and now, there has been a certain peace and calm because everything that could be done has been done, and there was no expectation of getting to that next step in that time frame.  Now that we are in the window where we are expecting to recieve our LOA (letter of approval) I am getting a bit restless.  We have been so busy this past week: Charlotte 'graduating' from 3-year old preschool and going on a fun weekend trip to Chicago with me to visit a good friend, Matthew wrapping up his school year at the public school and preparing for his summer off, and Madeline getting into her last two days of kindergarten and all of the pomp and circumstance that comes along with that...  I don't have time to dwell on that arrival of our LOA too much.  That has been a very good thing, but it still comes to my mind several times a day.  What is Elliott doing today?  Does he know that there is a family coming to get him?  Is he happy?  Is he healthy?  I would go this afternoon if I could!  Oh, my sweet little son - we are coming to get you as soon as we can!