Grace is growing!

I apologize for the lack of posts this year!  Has 1/12 of 2013 already disappeared?

it is time for a little update on our girl!

Grace

~is 15 months old

~ walking, running, climbing and dancing ( she takes after her mom and only has one dance move)

~she says mommy, daddy, Yes, owie, all done, hot, poppa, puppy, dance, hi, happy, busy busy, nana and can copy a few other words

~weight: 8kgs ( 17.6 lbs)

~height: 77 cm (30 inches)

~ favorite food: rice 

~favorite snack: whatever the other kid has 

~ favorite song: if you're happy and you know it clap your hands

~loves to be in the water, as long as it is warm

~ loves to watch Rio, I can put it on in any room and she will come as soon as she hears her favorite part

~she will kiss any stuffed animal but refuses kisses from Mom and Dad

~ she wakes up no later than 15 minutes before our alarm goes off in the morning

~ the only nap she has all week is 1/2 hour before we need to leave for church on Sunday morning

blessings!

taking over the blog

ah Ha! I have finally done it!  I worked hard all week to keep Mom up all hours of the day and night so that she would finally zonk out and I could sneak onto the computer and take over the blog... who knew I would get to write the last blog post for 2012!

2012 has been a big year for me!  I started the year off being entertained by my Aunties in Taiwan.  They are some of the most special ladies.  They snuggled me, and tickled me, and took soooo many pictures.  They also insisted that they dress me up in all of these cute outfits and put my hair ( which was barely there) in pretty bows.  I was joined in the nursery by some new friends at the beginning of the year, all of us kids kept the nannies on their toes.  We chatted, cried, wrestled, ate, and made the nursery smelly!

Yes I would love to take another picture with you Mom!

We hosted a couple of bon voyage parties for my friends who joined their forever families. They all had really nice Mommies and Daddies who took them to their new home.  I miss seeing them everyday but I know they are having the best time with their families.  Auntie Holly and Auntie Trena kept telling me that my forever family was coming soon, but until they came to get me, I enjoyed the special attention I got from everyone in Taiwan.

I met Mommy and Daddy in the train station in July.  Auntie Holly and Auntie Trena got me all dolled up before we went, and even put on my special shirt that said my name on it, just incase they didn't recognize me. They had lots of smiles and hugs and kisses for me, but most importantly they brought me a toy that I can squeak all day and chew on, her name is Sophie!

last picture of 2012

I spent a wonderful month with Mom and Dad is Taiwan.  But as hard it was, at the end of the month Dad, Mom and I said goodbye and started off on a new adventure.

Since then, I have travelled the world, met many wonderful people, and settled in to my new home.  I have learned to eat new food, walk, run, climb and run away from Daddy's kisses.  Most nights I give mom a break and sleep pretty good, but some nights I just love to party.  I love to dance and sing, and play the piano.  I love bath time and swimming when Mom gets around to taking me.  The weather at home is not the greatest, it is cold and there is snow everywhere, but Papa got a new dog sled that he is going to take me on someday soon.

2012 was an unforgettable year for Me, but I know this upcoming year is going to be another great adventure.  I cant wait to make new friends, learn new things, and keep my mommy on her toes.

Happy New Year!

Mom and I Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!!

5 years ago we stood before our family and friends and promised to love, honour and respect each other.  It was a day filled with love, joy and all the possibilities of tomorrow.

December 24, 2007
Photo courtesy Brian Heska

The last 5 years has been filled with many unexpected turns.  Our journey has included many hurdles to jump, a lot of learning and compromise,  joy and if you know us even a little tons of laughter.  In our 5 years of marriage we have both been through major health issues and spent more time pacing hospital hallways then we ever wanted to, we have enjoyed settling into a new church, we have learned new skills (kayaking, cross country skiing, gardening, and rock picking ), we enjoyed the years we had in our little skid shack aka the love shack, and after 2 years of hard work and a lot of help from our family we moved in to our beautiful new home.  

But the most amazing journey we have gone through is adopting our little girl!  I will always be reminded how challenging the adoption process was on us as a couple and how much we grew together as husband and wife.  Today I am celebrating my anniversary with my best friend, a man who challenges me and loves me, who makes me laugh, and sometimes cry, who is a wonderful dad, and provider for our family.  This morning we woke up much too early and brought our little girl in between us in bed and turned on her favourite movie so we could enjoy some snuggles.   What a blessing it is, to be a family of three.  What a blessing we have been given in our little girl who loves to sing and dance, who is a climber, and the messiest eater I have ever seen.  She is full of laughter and giggles and of course some very firm opinions on how we should do things and when. 

eating popcorn twists! Yum!
Photo courtesy Crystal Kowal

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you!  Praying that your hearts are full of love and joy and your home filled with laughter.  Wishing you all the best for the coming new year!

family night

Last Friday we had a little family night.  We ordered in Chinese Food, opened up the box of milk tea we brought from Taiwan, shared laughs and made new memories.

The Chinese food was supposed to be a treat, no cooking for Momma, yummy chow mien for Daddy, and rice for Grace.  However we quickly realized that Grace is very aware that our canadian chinese food is nothing like the amazing food in Taiwan and this video is proof that she will eat it, but she doesn't have to enjoy it!

Yummy Milk Tea!  If only we could find a tea stand somewhere around here!

What a fun Friday night at home as a family of 3!

Adoption is not for the weak..

This is a wonderful time of year!  The Christmas tree is up, the christmas CD's are ready to go, the candles are lit, and I have a strange craving for hot chocolate.  I am one blessed momma who is busy keeping her curious little girl from eating the wrapping paper off of the gifts, and keeping the ornaments on the christmas tree.

Photo courtesy Crystal Kowal

However, I cant stop thinking of a friend of mine, who is still waiting to hear news that she will be united with her child before Christmas.  My heart breaks for her,  I do not know the pain she is experiencing right now, but I know that adoption is not for the weak.  I pray that their christmas wish comes true and early, and they are united with their precious daughter soon!

I look back at our adoption journey and smile thinking of how each struggle made us stronger, how wonderful the end result is, how thankful I am for the journey and for the testimony we have of God's faithfulness.  I also remember the tears, the struggle, the weariness.  Adoption is not for everyone.  Adoption is not easy.

I have heard many times from different people that our adoption journey was very easy, that everything went by very quickly.   I usually smile and make up a polite response, but those words often flood my memory with the sleepless nights, the lonely first mothers day, the empty Christmas, it reminds me of the inner struggle that each day brought.  Everyday was too long to be away from our daughter. 

I remember the decision to adopt being easy, but as easy as the decision was, as excited as I was, it took us a long time to deal with and mourn the idea that we would never have a biological child.   It was one of the hardest things I have had to go through physically or emotionally.  

The home study brought incredible vulnerability, having to be so completely honest with someone who would help decide the fate of our family.  Talking about the past in very specific detail, and planning for the future in ways I couldn't imagine. 

the waiting was so hard, sleepless nights, fighting the feeling of hopelessness, waiting for news.  We had zero control over anything.

It seemed like each day brought a new struggle, but it only made us stronger. 

And then we were united with Grace!  The struggles ended! Our life was complete!

Ok... so that isn't true... our struggles have taken on a new form.  No more paperwork, no more phone calls with social services, no more running to the bank to send a cheque with another set of documents, no more sleepless nights longing to hold my daughter. Now I spend sleepless nights holding my sweet daughter, and coaxing her to sleep for even a few minutes.  ( our sleepless nights are getting so much better, but up until a month ago midnight to 4 am was party time in the Wock house).

 We are now dealing with the very real issue of bonding and attachment.  We did our best to prepare ourselves for what bonding would be like and educating our families and friends, but this is not easy.  It is hard to explain why people can not hold Grace, even if she would be willing to go to a stranger, why we can not go out and leave Grace with a babysitter, it is hard to explain the concern we have if she cares if we leave the room.  Bonding is not an overnight thing, and we will experience the struggle in many different stages for a very long time.  

Adoption is not for the weak... 

I am not sharing this post with you because I want you to think of us as heroes.  We are nothing of the sort,  but it hurts me to think that people believe that adoption is easy.  I have had the privilege of getting to know a few adoptive families in the last few years, and they have been through more than you can imagine.  Each story is unique, each story contains incredible struggle, and heartache, and every family would tell you that their child is a blessing, that adopting them was worth everything.  

As I celebrate Christmas this year with my little angel, I remember the families still waiting to be united with their child, I remember the orphan that doesn't have a family to celebrate with.  I am thankful for my blessings.  

Photo Courtesy Don Wayne

playing with her cheerios 

Photo courtesy of Crystal Kowal

our adoption story

November is wrapping up with the Christmas season upon us.  The snow has fallen a few times in Saskatchewan, and the christmas trees lights are popping up!  But before we say goodbye to November and adoption awareness month, I thought I should get one more blog post in.

This year we had the opportunity to share our adoption story with our church family on Orphan Sunday.   So here is what we shared that morning.

As many of you know my husband Ryan and I adopted our little girl through His Hands in Taiwan.   Grace is 1 year old and the light of our life!

Our adoption journey started long before we ever filled out an application form or met with a social worker.  God had a plan for us long before we ever knew.

When I was a young girl God planted a seed in my heart of love for orphans and kids around the world in need.  Fast forward a few years and God brought into my life my best friend and life partner.  When Ryan and I started talking about marriage and the future we discussed adoption and the importance of doing whatever we could to help orphan children.

Shortly after we were married we entered an unexpected season of our lives.  We were crying out to God for direction for the future when He made it very clear that we were called to grow our family through adoption.

I was ready right away to fill out the forms and commit to a country and get the adoption process started.  However, even though we knew this was God’s plan, He was asking us to wait for His perfect timing.  I remember being frustrated and saying to God “ You have showed us this is your plan for our family, it says in the bible that we are supposed to take care of the orphan and the widow, giving a child a home is a good thing…. Why do I have to wait?”  I look back now and see how God used that time in my life to teach me and mould me, to deepen my relationship with Him, to knit our relationship closer together as Husband and Wife.  At the time I had no idea how vital this would be as we entered the adoption process.

A while later Ryan and I felt like it was time to start filling out applications forms and figuring out where to adopt.  We looked into many different programs and countries and were praying for direction.  One Sunday morning I was feeling discouraged as I grabbed a seat near the back of the church.  I said a quick prayer for peace as the service started.  That morning there was a special skype call with Holly and Regan Muir discussing an organization called His Hands.  We had heard of His Hands in passing through the church but this was the 1^st time we had an opportunity to hear more in depth about the ministry.  After the skype call I said a quick prayer for His Hands and then God rocked my world.

I felt it in the core of my soul that God was promising that someday we would adopt a little girl from Taiwan.

We were so excited about working with His Hands and immediately felt a peace about this direction.  However when we discussed with people why we chose His Hands I usually left out the little part about God promising us a girl.  Ryan and I would have been over the moon if our baby had been either a boy or a girl, and I often reasoned that a baby either way was good enough, that was a pretty specific promise, and I pushed the little girl part to the back of my mind.  When I opened the email for Grace almost 2 years later God strongly reminded me in that moment that He is faithful to do what He says He will do, even in the  little details.

I would love to say that it was smooth sailing from that Sunday morning on, but there were so many bumps in the road, you would have thought we were on a Saskatchewan Highway.

But God was FAITHFUL!

We emailed His Hands to start the application process but they were not taking applications at that time.  We continued to pray and believe that this was God’s plan and when it was His Time we received an application in our email inbox… Totally 100% all God’s doing!

We hit brick wall after brick wall with social services but God used that to build character in our lives and to remind us every day that He is in control.

He faithfully provided a Christian woman to do our home study and education process.  We had called 8 social workers she was the only one to return our call, that was 100% God’s doing!

He provided all of the finances for the adoption expenses even when unexpected bills popped up.

He provided workplaces for both Ryan and I that were incredibly understanding and generous with the time off we needed to complete the adoption process.

He provided me with a prayer warrior that checked in often and who would email me to encourage me

He provided a wonderful woman of God who mentored me and loved me, who prayed with me each week, who encouraged me beyond words

He provided the wonderful team at His Hands who loved Grace, lavished her with Hugs and Kisses, who prayed for her, and took care of every one of her needs until we could be there.

He provided us friends and family who encouraged us, celebrated with us, and gave us a hug when all we could do was weep. 

And when our hearts were breaking and we were so tired from the struggle and waiting for things to move along in the process, He provided us a church family to pray for us and encourage us.  Your prayers blessed us. 

God was faithful to provide for every single one of our needs through our adoption process.  On July 10, 2012 we held our beautiful baby girl for the 1^st time in a train station in Kaohsiung Taiwan.

I was reminded of these words that day

“ I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5 Hebrews 13:5)

“ For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, “ Jeremiah 29:11

Blessings!

Orphan Sunday

4 years ago my cousin called me to ask if I was watching the telecast online for Orphan Sunday.  I had no idea that there was such a thing, so I quickly got on the computer to watch.  

That was my first Orphan Sunday. Every year since I look forward to the first Sunday in November where people around the world take time to remember the plight of the Orphans, to get people talking about Orphans and orphan care and to commit to making a change. 

For more information about Orphan Sunday check out the Christian Alliance for Orphans website at:

http://orphansunday.org/

My 1st orphan sunday was sitting on the couch with the computer on my lap, texting my cousin and discussing our dreams of adoption. After reading and finding out all this information about Orphan Sunday I dreamed about someday being able to be at a live Orphan Sunday event.  4 years later and I had the privilege and honor of being part of the 1st Orphan Sunday at our church.  All the plans that I had dreamed of for the last few years didn't even come close to how special the celebration was today. 

I have enjoyed reading friends adoption stories and sharing in the excitement that Orphan Sunday has brought to those who care about Orphans.  

Please stop and pray for a child waiting for a forever family or an organization that is doing their best to take care of orphan child, or an adoptive family waiting for the paperwork to go through.

Blessings,