Jon's adoption will be finalized in 14 1/2 hours... May 21, 2014 @ 2:30pm. It's been a long time coming but praising the Lord that
Jonathan Benjamin Malin
Is going to finally have a forever secure family! Anyone wanting to come, we will be at the Bartow courthouse at 2:15pm, hearing room 5a-1 (5th floor), red elevators!! :-)
Piper Jade Malin
(Dang Zheng Ling)
Piper is quickly approaching her gotcha day! We have been approved by China to adopt her and have applied for her Visa to enter the US. I can not believe it has come so quickly, although I have had the feeling it would. Jon has kept us so busy along with all the paperwork associated with his adoption and Piper's adoption.
We are now awaiting an Article 5 letter which states that we have been found eligible, by the US, to adopt Piper and that China has agreed and. Piper's
paperwork is in order and she is allowed to enter the
US. Once this letter is received we will wait a few weeks and will receive our invitation to come to China to pick up Piper and bring her home. The current timeline looks to be July but will not know for sure for about another 3 weeks. When the letter is
received we will have the consulate appointment date which will decide when we have to be in China. Please be in prayer for us as we seek to raise the monies for our flight tickets ($4000) as well as the
orphanage fee of $5700 , plus in country flights, train tickets, food & lodging that total close to $5000. We
know God will provide..He has been in this from the beginning, so we know that He will be the one to complete this journey.
paperwork is in order and she is allowed to enter the
US. Once this letter is received we will wait a few weeks and will receive our invitation to come to China to pick up Piper and bring her home. The current timeline looks to be July but will not know for sure for about another 3 weeks. When the letter is
received we will have the consulate appointment date which will decide when we have to be in China. Please be in prayer for us as we seek to raise the monies for our flight tickets ($4000) as well as the
orphanage fee of $5700 , plus in country flights, train tickets, food & lodging that total close to $5000. We
know God will provide..He has been in this from the beginning, so we know that He will be the one to complete this journey.
As I have had time to ponder, stress, plan,
panic... Haha. Yes and more importantly, PRAY! I have realized a lot of fear in the journey. Not just in adopting Piper with special needs, from a country around the world, but also raising Jon as well. When you have your biological kids, they love you and
don't seem to question that love. Jon is different. Even though we feel as if he has always been with us, he has had a rough start in life, being rejected by his mother, unknown by his father, sent to babysitters by his grandmother so they wouldn't lose their home, to being left on our doorstep by his grandmother (a good thing). Even though each step was to protect him and find a loving family, in his little brain, he has been abandoned twice and that
alone will create issues for the rest of his life as he processes that information. How will he handle it...how will he react to us as he ages... Are we doing right on a daily basis to create a security & love within him that will bridge the gap as he grows and
accepts the journey that God has placed him on. As I look back, I remember the months of no sleep... I remember the bruises of being pushed away, the eyes of a terrified obstinate little one year old, the screams of terror at bed time, the meltdowns to be
left with anyone else but us.....the list goes on and some of those issues still exist. I am afraid of how Piper will respond and will she attach? Will she like us or will she adapt quickly or are we in for a very
long haul. Little Piper was abandoned on the doorstep of the Nanyang Hospital 6 days after she was born. She has been raised in an orphanage with lots of other little ones who are in need of constant care as well...we know how difficult that is and that
you can't hold every crying baby. On top of the attachment fear, there is the special need of her cleft lip/palate. I have no idea how to care for her... What to feed her... How to console her or know when she's
hungry or tired or hurting and her language is Mandarin and not English. This has been and will continue to be a God journey. With any of our kids it is, but it feel stretched beyond my limits a lot of
days and wonder why God chose us. We were about to be empty nesters soon and had started to think about what that would look like and now feel like I've rewound my life 21 years and started over. We have
4 biological kids who are now 21, 19, 18 & 17. God is good and has always walked right beside us and I know He will continue. I am just starting to have those butterflies and nerves about the what if's and know that I'm making things up in my head that
haven't happened yet and need to rest in The Lord and the children that He has chosen for us to care for as if we had birthed that all along. Funny thought hit me the other day. As a mother, you carry your
babies full term inside of you. You feel their every move, every hiccup, and you get a sense of their temperament or personality even before they are born. Not so with adoption. So I can relate to how a new Dad must feel. They are handed a bundle one
day after this long bonding between mom and baby and told, congrats.. You are a daddy... I'm finding out how to attach to a child without having that inner connection. I am amazed at the love that The Lord
gives you for a person that you have never even met. It's only an act of God...very important on those hard days.
panic... Haha. Yes and more importantly, PRAY! I have realized a lot of fear in the journey. Not just in adopting Piper with special needs, from a country around the world, but also raising Jon as well. When you have your biological kids, they love you and
don't seem to question that love. Jon is different. Even though we feel as if he has always been with us, he has had a rough start in life, being rejected by his mother, unknown by his father, sent to babysitters by his grandmother so they wouldn't lose their home, to being left on our doorstep by his grandmother (a good thing). Even though each step was to protect him and find a loving family, in his little brain, he has been abandoned twice and that
alone will create issues for the rest of his life as he processes that information. How will he handle it...how will he react to us as he ages... Are we doing right on a daily basis to create a security & love within him that will bridge the gap as he grows and
accepts the journey that God has placed him on. As I look back, I remember the months of no sleep... I remember the bruises of being pushed away, the eyes of a terrified obstinate little one year old, the screams of terror at bed time, the meltdowns to be
left with anyone else but us.....the list goes on and some of those issues still exist. I am afraid of how Piper will respond and will she attach? Will she like us or will she adapt quickly or are we in for a very
long haul. Little Piper was abandoned on the doorstep of the Nanyang Hospital 6 days after she was born. She has been raised in an orphanage with lots of other little ones who are in need of constant care as well...we know how difficult that is and that
you can't hold every crying baby. On top of the attachment fear, there is the special need of her cleft lip/palate. I have no idea how to care for her... What to feed her... How to console her or know when she's
hungry or tired or hurting and her language is Mandarin and not English. This has been and will continue to be a God journey. With any of our kids it is, but it feel stretched beyond my limits a lot of
days and wonder why God chose us. We were about to be empty nesters soon and had started to think about what that would look like and now feel like I've rewound my life 21 years and started over. We have
4 biological kids who are now 21, 19, 18 & 17. God is good and has always walked right beside us and I know He will continue. I am just starting to have those butterflies and nerves about the what if's and know that I'm making things up in my head that
haven't happened yet and need to rest in The Lord and the children that He has chosen for us to care for as if we had birthed that all along. Funny thought hit me the other day. As a mother, you carry your
babies full term inside of you. You feel their every move, every hiccup, and you get a sense of their temperament or personality even before they are born. Not so with adoption. So I can relate to how a new Dad must feel. They are handed a bundle one
day after this long bonding between mom and baby and told, congrats.. You are a daddy... I'm finding out how to attach to a child without having that inner connection. I am amazed at the love that The Lord
gives you for a person that you have never even met. It's only an act of God...very important on those hard days.
Please pray for us as we walk this path. Many think we are nuts and I have to say that many a day, I agree with them. But God.... he has called us to love these little ones...to raise them to know Him and to be known by Him... To teach them about His love and sacrifice that led to our adoption into God's family as well. We already have something in common through adoption. The days ahead may be very hard...tiring...emotional.... And good. We know
that His grace will sustain us...will teach us how to minister to their needs and how to love them as He loves them. May God grant us strength, good health, and arms full of love to meet them in their grief over lost loved ones and what could been without hurt
feelings and bitterness. During these days after bringing Piper home, please don't be offended if she's not passed around. We have been told that we must keep her with us and teach her about family and what that means. She is used to being taken care of by the multitudes and must learn what a Mommy and Daddy are to secure attachment and bonding. Be
patient with us and please pray. We love you all for your support, financial partnership, listening ears, hugs, faith in the journey God has put us on... We are overwhelmed and amazed as we watch God
work!!! Stay tuned and we will be introducing you to child #6 VERY SOON!!!!! Please help us by buying our adoption t-shirt "Love knows no boundaries". $20 donation and this is the site you can order from.. http://www.ten30seven.com/fundraisers/bring-piper-home-3/
All monies will go towards bringing Piper home!
that His grace will sustain us...will teach us how to minister to their needs and how to love them as He loves them. May God grant us strength, good health, and arms full of love to meet them in their grief over lost loved ones and what could been without hurt
feelings and bitterness. During these days after bringing Piper home, please don't be offended if she's not passed around. We have been told that we must keep her with us and teach her about family and what that means. She is used to being taken care of by the multitudes and must learn what a Mommy and Daddy are to secure attachment and bonding. Be
patient with us and please pray. We love you all for your support, financial partnership, listening ears, hugs, faith in the journey God has put us on... We are overwhelmed and amazed as we watch God
work!!! Stay tuned and we will be introducing you to child #6 VERY SOON!!!!! Please help us by buying our adoption t-shirt "Love knows no boundaries". $20 donation and this is the site you can order from.. http://www.ten30seven.com/fundraisers/bring-piper-home-3/
All monies will go towards bringing Piper home!
