Life at the Lindsey's

August 28, 2007

This is the story of how a little (and I mean little) girl from China made her way into our hearts.

Many months ago I had a dream. In this dream, there was a little girl following me around and people would say, " Your little girl is so pretty. What is her name?" I would answer them, "I can't remember her first name but her middle name is Abigail."

A few days later, my husband call me out to his home office and said, "Tonya, I just looked out toward the back yard and had a vision of a little dark haired girl running to me. I said, come to Daddy, Laura........" I just looked at him and said, "Her middle name is Abigail."

And thus, we were convinced that our little dark haired girl would come to us from China. So, we began looking at the Children's House International Waiting Children's list and there she was!! Little Fu Juan from Dingxi SWI in Gansu Province. And when I say little I mean little. She weighed 9 pounds at 4 months old. She has cleft lip and cleft palate. She celebrated her first birthday July 1, 2007.

We knew in our hearts that she would be the little girl that would complete our family. CHI agreed and we sent our Letter of Intent to China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on April 14, 2007. We anxiously awaited CCAA's answer. On May 23, 2007 we got our Preliminary Approval from CCAA saying that we could proceed with the adoption process.

We worked diligently to get our paperwork in order and I would have been lost had it not been for my dear friend Kim Rutherford. She has been through the dossier process 4 times now and she held my hand through the entire process. We successfully completed our dossier and it was received at CCAA August 9, 2007. We are now awaiting our Letter of Acceptance for Laura Abigail Fu Juan Lindsey. Patience is a virtue I might add!!!

God has shown himself BIG throughout this entire process. So far, we have spent over $10,000. Believe me, it wasn't in our savings account because we don't have a savings account. But, we have had every penny we needed to fund Laura's adoption. God is faithful and wonderful and he will see this adoption to it's completion!!!!

1 comment:

Sharon said...: Tonya,
This is the first time I read the story of your precious little Laura. How awesome that God named your child. As my 4 year old would say, "That's waaaaay cool!".

Laura is absolutely adorable!
Can't wait to see more photos and hear more about her.

Sharon; February 18, 2008 at 6:53 PM

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Why adopt?

I would gather children...

Some would gather money
Along the path of life,
Some would gather roses,
And rest from worldly strife.
But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin,
I would seek a golden curl,
And a freckled, toothless grin.
For money cannot enter
In that land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way.
But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me!

Author Unknown

I borrowed this poem from my friend Ellie's blog. It reveals my heart!

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 gave you a need for 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 made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, are you the product of?

Both, my darling, both
Just two different types of love.

Unknown Author

LAURA'S REFERRAL POEM

Every child that is placed with a family through Children's House International gets their own special poem written for them and the members of the group try to guess from the clues in the poem where the child will live and who will be their forever family. Laura's referral name was Betsy, thus the title of the poem:

Tiny Baby Betsy

Tiny baby Betsy
With the precious tiny ear,
Listen very closely
What is it that you hear?

Way off in the distance
A place where oil overflows!
Your family is excited!
As YOU they get to know!

To wish upon a LONE STAR, Betsy,
That you know they are coming soon
To welcome you to their Fair Field
Where newly twinned penquins croon.

You'll have older brothers,
And a sister to love on you.
With Mom and Dad to adore you more
Than we can have a clue!

Your family loves you, Betsy,
And will provide for your every need.
Plenty of food and medical care
Await you, yes, indeed!

So, dream your baby dreams right now
And grow from day-to-day.
Your family is getting closer!
They'll come for you when they get TA!!!!

Another Child Waits

I've watched my friends go home from here, to their families, one by one,
Yet here I stay thru all these years, Waiting for you to come.

I know that I'm not perfect, Yet they tell me that I'm bright,
I just wish that you could only look, past what is wrong, to what is right.

I've watched my friends go home from here, I dream of how that'd feel,
A pair of loving arms to hold me, Will this dream ever become real?

I know that I would be home by now, If not for fears of the unknown,
Yet I have many of my own you see, In that you're not alone.

I've watched my friends go home from here, It's happening to Meili today,
But wait! Her Mama has something for me, I take it and don't know what to say.

With trembling hands, I open the book, And peek at what's inside,
A picture of a family, "Can this be true?" I cried!

I've watched my friends go home from here, It's my turn now, it's true,
I linger at the gate for one last time, Then bravely walk on out with you.

A poem by Bev Schwab (an adoptive mother through Children's House International)