Reed's Story

I've noticed a common trend among adoption bloggers - they all seem to fall out of blogging land once returning home with their children.  We are definitely following the trend.  ;-)  

We are actually doing pretty well and I plan to post on things soon.  The kids are doing beautifully - it's the mommy who is slightly overwhelmed.  ;-)  In the meantime I wanted to post something I wrote for Show Hope about Reed.  It's a bit of a summary of other blog posts I've written, but they are going to publish his story in their next edition of their magazine publication.  Now we just need to get some family pictures with everyone looking and hopefully smiling!

Reed' Story

As I sit to write, I’m choked just thinking about all Show Hope has done for our family, as well as our precious little boy.  Early on in our adoption journey we were blessed to be chosen for a Show Hope grant.  At the time, we had absolutely no idea that we would receive an even greater blessing - an incredibly special little boy from Maria’s Big House of Hope!

At just 3 weeks of age, our sick little Reed arrived  at MBHOH.  There he was loved, nurtured, and nursed to health for the first year of his life. While there, he had a loving nanny assigned to him, he received meticulous care, a much needed surgery, and weighed a whooping 18 pounds!  He was a chubby, happy, little guy, and thanks to Show Hope, we will soon have the pictures to prove it!

Sadly, at that point, his orphanage called for him to be returned.  Eleven months later, we had the joy and privilege of being able to adopt him.  He still weighed what he did when he left Show Hope’s care almost a year prior - 18 pounds.  He was developmentally about the size of a one year old, and he didn’t smile or make any sounds.  The day we received him, my husband described him as “listless”.

We were blessed to visit both Maria’s Big House of Hope and Show Hope’s special care center in the Zhengzhou Orphanage while we were in China.  What a gift it was to piece together our little boy’s life, and meet the people who had so lovingly and sacrificially cared for him!  

We had the joy of meeting the doctor who initially assessed our son, and helped with his surgery.  He lives with his family on site, working seven days a week, around the clock, to serve and care for the children.  We were thrilled to meet his nanny, and be able to thank her for lovingly pouring out her life for our child.

We also learned that a nurse had sat with our precious boy after surgery, and through his time in recovery, never leaving his side.  We were able to witness the amazing details given to keeping the children healthy and faithfully attended to - their photos posted next to their personal medicine bin and cubby, diaper changing stations in separate rooms from their living areas, towels marked with each child’s name.

We’ve now had Reed for exactly a month and he’s transforming before our eyes!  He smiles, laughs, and has 4 words.  He’s engaged with others and adores his siblings.

He’s gained three pounds and his night terrors have become almost nonexistent.  

We are tremendously grateful for the loving care Reed received during his first part of life at Maria’s Big House of Hope.  We are quite certain that without such wonderfully attentive care, that tragically, it’s very likely he would not have made it.  

We choose the name Reed for it’s meaning - “blessed”.  Our prayer has been that God would bless his little life, and now we can confidently SEE that God used Show Hope to answer our prayer in more ways than one.  He has indeed been so blessed, and our family has too.  Reed received the gift of life, and the gift of the grant helped make it possible for us to bring him home.  Thank you for making the sacrifice to invest in our precious child - he truly is a miracle!