Suddenly...an only child

Life!
Changes...

One day you wake up and you are 15 years old.

Everything has changed.

Why Are You Still Awake at 4 am?

As the time rapidly approaches that we travel to Crown College to be sure Mary is safe in the arms of her resident assistant, I feel like Hannah may have felt the night before taking Samuel to Eli to serve the Lord at the Temple.

Did Hannah have the same thoughts as I do this early morning hour? Did she go back to the day when Samuel became part of her heart? Did she wonder if the good outweighed the bad in her raising this child? Did she ponder how God had blessed her, if only temporarily, with a child, knowing she would have to give it back one day? And, what about how our Great God must have felt allowing His Only Begotten Son to die on a cruel rugged cross so that we might live with him eternally?

As I hand my daughter back to her Heavenly Father I can't help but cry tears of grief along with tears of joy.

Tears of grief as I think of all the things I should have taken time to do with her. Tears of grief over the things I took way to seriously throughout our years together. Tears of grief over how I will miss her sweet spirit and kindness in our home. Tears of grief over the joy she brought to our lives that will be but a memory.

Tears of joy as I think of the Creator of the universe loving me enough to give me a daughter such as Mary. Tears of joy as I think of Him lovingly looking down upon her and seeing her need. Tears of joy as I think of Him lovingly looking down upon me and seeing my need and putting us together as Mother and Daughter. Tears of joy as I see a church family rally around this child as she prepares for her next step in the journey. Tears of joy as I think of the possiblity of Almighty God using our daughter Mary to draw others unto Him.

He will take care of her as he has been doing all of her life. I know there will be times of sadness as we miss the 'little things' that we took for granted. His Word reminds me that His Grace is all sufficient and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

How did Hannah's younger children handled their older sibling leaving their home? I think of our own Lizzie-Beth and how she must be feeling about her sister leaving. Mary has been here from the beginning... and now it all seems to have happened so fast!

How did Hannah's husband handled his beloved child leaving home? Or, how did Rebecca's father feel as his beloved daughter lited upon a camel in search of her future? Did he greatly miss his daughter, and did he have difficulty dealing with his emotions?


And yet in these early pre-dawn hours He whispers to me "My child, My Grace is sufficient, My Strength is made perfect in your weakness." and it is well with my soul.

10 Days to Completion...

"Ten is the number of completion" I've always heard. It's Bible, I think. Ten commandments.. makes sense. So, we have 10 days left before Mary leaves our home and launches 'out to the deep'... 10 days left experiencing "life as we know it". In ten days, another page turns and another chapter begins. There have been so many 'what if's' that have passed through my mind lately.

First, I realize that I am far from the Mother I should have been. With motherhood comes times of frustration, unsurety, pent up emotions, life pressures, etc. Even though many may judge (and, believe me, they do,) people that have not experienced adoption can not possibly know what one goes through in being a Mother to someone whose biological parents gives them up for adoption.

One may see me as "hard" on my daughters. They do not know. How can they possibly know the things we must go through to allow our Father to knit our hearts together... iron sharpening iron, burning off the dross? How can they possibly know what has taken place in our hearts and lives these past 12 years, since God first "formed" our family and gave us our beautiful daughters?

I ask myself how someone that has only biological children would handle situations common to those that have been adopted. Sure,there are many things that I know I should have handled differently... with a gentler spirit, no doubt.. But nobody... NOBODY loves Mary and Elizabeth Haney as much as I.. their Mother... does.

So, during these final days of "completion" I am praying that God would give us Grace and confidence in knowing we have done His Will and forgiveness for those times that we have failed. Grace to prepare our oldest daughter for further grooming and training in order for her to serve God to her utmost for His Glory, which is the reason for it all..

Our little eaglet is preparing to fly

It is exactly 20 days until our Mary will be taking flight to her new adventure at The Crown Bible College in Tennessee.

My heart is full.

So many things run through my mind as I recall the past 11 years with this beautiful young lady that the LORD has entrusted to us.

As of right now, she is sleeping. It's 10:30 and I have tried for 11 years to get the child to learn to get up on her own. She has to be at work at 12:00. If only I could come up with a magic potion to give her! We have a method of getting her to come up from her room called "stomping" 3 times. (Kinda like Tony Orlando's "Knock three times" on the ceiling if you want me sorta). At first it worked well... and now it goes into rattling the walls and catching the falling pottery. Things that "work" with some do not work with our Mary. Name it.. I've tried it... yelling, (naturally), begging, positive reinforcement, cold water in the face, grandma's rule... nothing worked.

So, today, we use the 'stomping' method and remarkably she came up on the first round. I greeted her and asked her (for the millionth time it seemed) what happened to the alarm clock... and "don't you have to work at noon?" and "I'm disappointed in you" and " you have 20 days left to learn to get up.. then, it's up to Crown College to instill this into your life." I did remind her that I love her (also for the millionth time) and that we didn't have long to get this "getting up on time" thing down.

Mary is so bright! She can fix almost anything that's "fixable". She does very well at academics, when she puts her mind to it.
There are so many wonderful qualities about Mary!! She really should be in the medical field.. she has a natural "way" about her. She has compassion and a gentleness about her. On the other hand, I have often compared her to a wild untameable mustang... She definitely has a STRONG will. I just pray she uses it for the LORD!

I remember seeing her at the DFACS office with "Bouncy Baby".. (she still has her tucked away in her hope chest with her Mickey Mouse etch a sketch). Much has changed since that day... some has not..but we are all still a work in progress, are we not?

Mary and I have a bond that most biological mothers and daughters will never have. It is a bond that seems even closer somehow...When God knit our hearts together I do believe he cast in a few extra "pearls". We have had some seriously challenging times...but, in Character with the Faithful Father that He is, He has delivered us out of them all.



Today I can say honestly, and I think she would agree, (I hope so anyway), that we have no animosity or strife between us. We have both grown so much in so many areas that we would not have done without each other in our lives. God has used her to refine me in so many ways. She has "grown" me in ways that nobody else could have ever done.




Mary has grown to be what most mothers only hope for in a daughter. She is making tough choices while the "world at large" pulls her in so many directions. I am so very proud of her. I hope she knows just how much she means to me... her mother.

Tougher than you think

When I started this adventure in "blog world" I was so excited to be able to share our story with the world! It was easy at first. As I retell the story, much of the pain resurfaces when I speak of my girls and the seperation from their family. Christmas can be a difficult time of year for everyone, particularly those that have been adopted.

Christmas is truly the time of giving, but over the years, I have often asked why it is so concentrated on one time of the year!? I remember our first Christmas with the girls and their brother. We put up our tree in our living room and every inch was literally covered with gifts.. Mostly from the DFACS warehouse.

As we are approaching our 11th anniversary of the finalization of our adoption, I am amazed at the changes that have taken place in all of our lives.

I look forward to continuing our journey... little by little...

COLLEGE?

Aside from the running story line... I have to post that we just sent Mary on a journey to check out a college in another state. When she left, reality set in that my little girl with the bouncing baby doll on her knee could very well be leaving us in the not to distant future.

Seems like a dresam..

Just yesterday she was trying out for Volleyball in high school... today...she begins her journey on trying out for college life!

A LITTLE INPUT FROM DAD

"Oh I remember that day", my husband said thoughtfully as I explained the part in my story about the day I brought Elizabeth home from the hospital. "You went into the house and Lizzie was in her car seat. I just sat and talked to her for awhile and said 'so, how are you doing?' and she answered, matter-of-factly "ok", just like she does today." There was a moment of bliss between my husband and I as we reflected on that day 12 years ago. How quickly time has gone by. How incredibly blessed we have been! I am hoping Dad will try his hand at a little blogging about our story. He has much to tell from a Daddy's perspective and I know it will be a blessing to others as they read.

THE "VISIT"

One of the main requirements of the "PLAN" at DFACS is reuinifiation. This is all well and good unless...

Our caseworker called to tell us that we needed to come to the office for a 'visit'.
We walked into the room where Mom, boyfriend, grandparents, siblings, and others were waiting. It all seemed fine... at first. We left Elizabeth in the room with her family. After about 45 minutes, we were summond. I walked into the room and couldn't help but see Mary bouncing a doll baby on her lap, crying very hard. That image will be forever engraved in my heart. "Mom" handed Liz to me and she lunged towards me.."Momma Ginger!! Momma Ginger !!"...

We said good bye to Shane, who seemed, quite possibly under some type of disillusion thinking maybe there was hope for reunification. Mary was still bouncing her baby, crying uncontrollably. When "Mom" handed Elizabeth to me she said "Now you have two mommies", and that was the last I saw of her, except at the table when she signed the release forms.

Still, the memory of Mary remained... I could not erase it from my mind. ("2 daughers"... "Ron.. we have to see about Mary..") We contacted DFACS the very next day.

(to be continued....)

Momma Ginger

We would not have our own children. It was a decision that was made for us many years ago, years before we met. The thing is, we were locked in..in love...ONE...so, naturally we wanted to raise a family. We began to pray about adoption. I think it is pretty amazing how the LORD seems to just drop specific things into our spirits that we should pray for.

Doors began to open and we began walking through. We signed up for adoption classes with Gwinnett County DFACS. The paperwork red tape itself was a huge challenge, as is just about anything and everything involving our fair government. Gwinnett County DFACS is no different.

Of course we dreamed of an infant, wrapped in "swaddling clothes", the smell of anything Johnson's put out for Baby's, but God had other plans for us...

More praying..

I was beginning to seriously feel impressed to pray for a girl. So, I started down that road. Over the course of fulfilling the 12 week adoption class requirements, we learned that we must accomplish many things, that, to us, had absolutely nothing to do with adopting children. (bureaucracy at its finest). We had to have a certain size septic tank, psychological exams, physicals, more i's to dot and t's to cross than anyone could imagine. It's a wonder anyone withstands the process. It compares to labor pains....but on an emotional level.. yes, emotional labor pains...

More prayer...

God seemed to be speaking to our heart about our prayers. I was deep in prayer one evening and it was as though he said "Pray for two"... Pray for two daughters...?? ok.. so, the vigil began... 2 daughters...

We finished our classes... got the certificate and was told... "Don't expect anything right away. Some people wait years... and, by the way, whatever you do "DON'T GET ATTACHED TO THE CHILDREN". RIIIIIIGHT!

The call came that weekend.

"Mrs. Haney?"
"yes"
"There is a little girl at Gwinnett Medical needing placement".

At that point my heart flew out of my chest to heaven and back... (I felt as close as I ever had relating to how the Lord Jesus may have felt leading captivity captive.)

"I have to call my husband... I'll call you right back".

"Hi Ron"
"Hey"
"DFACS is calling and they said they have a little girl, what should we do?".
"Well, go get her!"

Two daughters? Must have been my wires getting crossed...

I arrived at the hospital where Elizabeth, Mary and Shane were in an examination room. Liz was sitting on the exam table and Mary and Shane were busy playing with toys...

Mary Anne (the case worker) introduced me to Liz and to Mary and Shane. Shane was very wary of me. I took him to the side and looked him in the eyes and promised I would take very good care of his sister. He seemed skeptical, but I think he believed my sincerity. Mary was so busy playing she seemed oblivious... I remember thinking... Mary sure seems like a happy little girl.

I carried Elizabeth to the car. She held on tight. She was quiet but cooperative. She was two years old. They told me to save her clothes, but they were so old and I just had to throw them away. I wish now I would have kept them. It was the only link she had to her past, besides her brother and sister.

We had fixed up her room with bunkbeds and a dresser. She wasn't very receptive the first few days. As a matter of fact she stood in her room crying much of the time the first day. Ron, right away began to console and comfort. God was beginning to knit our hearts together.

From the very first day she called me "Momma Ginger"...

(to be continued...)

Cyber-reaction

Sometimes we put things out into cyber world without a clue as to what type of fruit, if any, it will yield. We have had alot of positive responses to this blog. Some have encouraged us beyond measure, some have thrilled us with their visions for the future of helping others understand the true meaning of adoption, and others have pointed out areas that need addressing. We are so grateful for honest hearts and passion for the cause.

One thing that was brought to our attention is the fact that, while encouraging adoptive families and those touched by adoption to post, we failed to recognize those that have been adopted. By my friend bringing this to my attention, it helped me to realize how, often times, we get so focused on our own involvement in situations,(or our "take" on matters), that we forget about those very ones that we are advocating for! I had to ask myself how often do I get on my soap box and preach about issues that seem to consume my very existence, and not see things through the eyes of those that are directly affected?

I have so much to share from the "adoptive Mom's" point of view, but, other than gleaning from my own daughters' experiences, I could never begin to truly share exactly the things that someone who has been adopted experiences. I hope that, over time, we will hear from others about the many different facets of adoption... particularly from the adopted.

In the coming weeks, I hope to share my own perspective as birth mother. I look forward to hearing from you!

In His Hands~
Momma Ginger