"Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Psalm 127:3-5

Friday, May 25, 2018

Rose's Story

We would like to share a little bit about Rose's story.  Our sweet girl turned two in February of this year, and has spent the majority of those two years in her orphanage.  It is very difficult for birth families to raise children with special needs in China, due to the lack of resources, and societal pressures.  Sadly, it is very common for birth families to abandon their babies born with disabilities, in hopes that they will somehow have a better life in an orphanage, or even possibly be adopted.  Because of the increasing number of babies being abandoned, China began instituting a system of "Baby Hatches".  These are small buildings, sometimes attached to orphanages or hospitals, that contain baby beds or incubators for birth parents to place their baby in.  The parents then ring a bell to alert the staff that there is a baby waiting, and then they are able to leave--anonymously, without fear of prosecution.  Before baby hatches developed, and even still, many babies are abandoned on streets, sidewalks, and far worse.  We believe our Rose was very much loved by her birth family, because she was placed safely in a baby hatch, and was immediately tended to by medical staff.  Additionally, she was about 1 month old when she was abandoned--which means her birth family struggled for an entire month with the decision of what to do with their little girl.  Our hearts ache for them, and what they must have endured when deciding to relinquish her.  A piece of them will forever be missing.  But because they chose to relinquish her, Rose has been given another family to love and protect her; and she will have the opportunity to receive therapies and services that would have been otherwise inaccessible to her.  She will be given every support available to help her reach her fullest potential...whatever that might be.  Their selfless act has given her a chance to have a full and happy life, where she will be loved and treasured for exactly who God crafted her to be. 

While they might not know it, they also gave her a far greater gift.  They gave her the chance to come to know her Heavenly Father, and to receive salvation through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  Christians are persecuted throughout China, our faith being all but snuffed out.  Whether Rose's birth family know the Lord or not, whether they long for her to have the freedom to follow after Christ, they gave her that chance the moment they placed her in that baby bed and walked away.  She will be loved by her adoptive family, and she will know the immeasurable love of God.  They gave the most important gift any parent could ever give their child.  We will forever be grateful to Rose's birth family, and they will forever hold a very special place in our hearts.

We know very little about Rose herself.  We have been told that she is developmentally behind other children her age with Down Syndrome, that she is quiet and introverted, but loves being cuddled by her nanny.  How we long to give her all the cuddles in the world!!!  Her medical records do not indicate any other health problems, such as heart conditions common among babies with Down Syndrome.  We will have her thoroughly checked out once she is home, but we are hopeful that she is healthy and strong.  She recently learned to roll over from her back to her stomach, can grasp toys in her hands, and babble various sounds.  That is about all we know, for now.  The picture in the upper right corner of the blog is the most recent photo we have of her, taken a couple of weeks ago, in May of 2018.   

Below are some of the pictures we have of her from the time she was an infant:








 Isn't she PRECIOUS?!?!



 

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Our Adoption Story...Let The Journey Begin

"Faith
Sees the Invisible
Believes the Unbelievable
Receives the Impossible."
~Corrie Ten Boom

While our journey of adopting Rose appears to be just beginning, its roots go back many years, and the above words are the banner over our story.  Adoption has been on our hearts since childhood, and we always knew that God would grow our family through adoption (though we never could have predicted just how He would do it!)  In 2006 and 2007 we welcomed our fist two biological children.  Then, in 2010, we came across Reece's Rainbow--an organization that advocates for, and raises awareness about children with Down Syndrome, and other special needs, around the world.  They also serve as a non-profit adoption grant foundation, which helps families raise the necessary funds to adopt internationally.  During the past eight years, our hearts have been drawn to so many of the sweet faces on the Reece's Rainbow website.  Each child has taught us something new, and brought us to new levels of trust and relationship with our Father in Heaven.  But we never got the green light to move forward with the adoption of any of those children.  We began the process in earnest, but each time the Lord brought us to the place of having to let go of our little ones, and wait for His perfect timing.

In 2012, we adopted our third child, an 8 year old little boy with cerebral palsy, from a disrupted adoption.  He came to us in the most unexpected way, and at the most unexpected time in our lives.  (That story will have to be it's own post, but the short version is that we received a phone call about him one day, and picked him up the very next day.  We didn't even have a home study yet!) In 2013 and 2014, we were then blessed by two more biological sons.  Our hands and hearts have been so very full with these precious five children that the Lord has entrusted to us.  But we knew in the back of our minds that God had one more little one for our family.  A very special little one, who just so happens to rock that extra chromosome!

In 2013, God spoke to us of a daughter named Rose.  During the pregnancies of our last two children, we waited anxiously to see if perhaps the little baby growing inside could be our little Rose.  When they turned out to be our precious little boys, we were left wondering if or when we would ever meet our Rose.  Fast forward about five years, to the early morning hours of February 15, 2018--Ashley's birthday--when the Lord prompted a visit to the Reece's Rainbow website once more.  Over the years, it had become extremely difficult to look at all the little faces pictured on their website,  and not be able to bring one of those children out of orphanhood, and into our family to be loved and nurtured.  So it had been quite a long time since we had seen the children that were listed on their website.  While scrolling through the pictures on February 15, up comes a precious little girl named Rose!  Could this be our Rose?!?  Over the next days and weeks, we prayed, we talked, we wrestled with the questions, and we talked to our other children.  When we first approached our three oldest children, we were unsure what their reactions would be.  We were blown away, and so incredibly humbled by their responses.  They all recognized that this would not be an easy undertaking, but that if God is asking us to do it, there is no question as to what we should do.  They were excited about the prospect of having a little sister, and were in total agreement that we should move forward.  Within two weeks, we received the green light we had been waiting for all these years.  God flung the doors wide open, paved a way to get to our Rose, cleared every hurdle, and granted us the most inexplicable peace as we committed to adopting her.  We have been so amazed at how such beautiful peace has rested upon this adoption journey.  At one point we were told that Rose was most likely on the lower end of functioning, delayed beyond other children with Down Syndrome.  But even in the face of that possibility, we knew that God was asking us to say Yes to even "the least of these."  Our children have rallied around us, and we are all working as team to bring Rose home.

It is by faith that we see the invisible blessings and joys of raising a child with Down Syndrome.  It is by faith that we believe the unbelievable, that somehow God will make a way for us to complete this adoption, as a family.  It is by faith that we will receive the impossible, a love that many will never know, second only to the love of our heavenly Father.  God has given us the eyes to see the beauty of Down Syndrome, not just the hardships.  While we know this will not be an easy journey, it is so often the case that the hardest things in life are the most beautiful when following in the Lord's footsteps.  We know beyond any shadow of doubt, that we are walking in the middle of God's will for our family.  We will keep our eyes upon Him, stay in His peace that surpasses all understanding, not only during this adoption journey itself, but far beyond that as we raise this precious girl in the years to come.

With much Love,
The Hadsell Family 

Saturday, May 5, 2018

The Rose


Some say love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need.

I say Love, it is a flower, and You, its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking, that in You, learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking, that in You, takes the chance.
It's the One who won't be taking, who only seems to give.
And the soul afraid of dying, that in You, learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long.
And you think that Love is only for the lucky and the strong.
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the Son's Love, in the spring becomes the Rose.

-Modified from the original lyrics to Bette Midler's "The Rose"


“Mié (Rose) Jia Ning”

We are so very happy to introduce the newest member of our family, Rose Jia Ning Hadsell.  We are in the process of adopting Rose from China, and hope to have her home in August or September of this year!  Rose has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, which simply means that God crafted her with one extra chromosome.  That extra chromosome carries with it various challenges, but it also carries an extra measure of truth, love, honesty, trust, and JOY!  We are so thankful that God chose us to be her family.
Her Chinese name carries profound truth about our little girl.  Méi translates into Rose, the flower most often associated with great beauty; Jia translates into Family; and Ning translates into Peace.  Ever since with first laid eyes on our little Rose, and began praying about whether or not it was God’s will for us to pursue her adoption, our family has been graced with the most inexplicable, beautiful, peace.  International adoption is not for the faint of heart, but through all the trials and hurdles to cross, this peace has not left our family.  It is with great honor, and humble hearts, that we hope to bring the same beautiful peace to Rose, as we pour out God’s love—that He first poured out for each of us—onto our newest little blessing.  Our prayer is that in Him, she will learn to dance, take chances, and truly learn to live; that after all her lonely nights, after the long road to her forever family; after being passed by for the more "lucky and strong"; that far beneath the bitter cold of institutionalization, lies the seed of God's Love that will become our Rose.  
We would love for you all to follow our adoption journey as we complete the final steps of this process.  Rose also has a sponsorship page on the Reece’s Rainbow International Down Syndrome Adoption Grant and Advocacy website—https://reecesrainbow.org/125177/sponsorhadsell.  (You can also reach her sponsorship page by clicking on the picture of her on the top right-hand side of this blog.)
In lieu of the customary baby shower gift registry, we are prayerfully fundraising through her Reece’s Rainbow sponsorship page to cover the final “ransom” fees for her adoption.  Please consider donating to her grant fund, and/or passing along this information to anyone you feel might like to come along side us on this journey.  Most of all, we humbly ask for your prayers as we fight to bring Rose home!
                                                                   
                                  With much love and gratitude,
                                        The Hadsell Family
(David, Ashley, Jadon, Addison, Alex, Noah, Luke, and Rose)