In the beginning....

Let me go ahead and apologize now: I know NOTHING about doing a blog, so for you expert bloggers, I'm sorry to disappoint you. This blog will be used to chronicle our journey to the latest addition to our already blessed family -- Madison Liu Sha Nixon. We have been blessed with our two boys, Seth and Taylor, and our little girl, Summar, who passed away from a heart defect in September 2002.

After having Taylor, Phil and I had the discussion about another child. We agreed that if we decided to have another child, we would adopt. Since I was adopted as an infant, this may have been part of the draw to adoption for us. One evening, in the spring of 2008, I began to feel that God was calling us to look at adoption. As I went to work the next day, I walked into one of the schools that I work at and in walked a former teacher with her beautiful daughter (who was adopted from China). I immediately began talking to her about the process. She gave me wonderful advice, great sites to look at, etc. After leaving that school, I was going to a nearby high school. As I pulled in the parking lot, the first car tag I saw was a vanity plate with "ADOPT" written on it. God didn't have to give me any more hints. When my husband and I sat down that evening, I began to tell him the events of the day. His response, "I guess we're ready to adopt," with a big grin on his face.

I'm going to go ahead and address the question we've already been asked numerous times, "Why China, why not America, there's plenty of kids here?" I completely agree that there are many beautiful, wonderful children who need a home in this country. However, we felt that God was calling us to China. There are numerous personal reasons for our decision, but we ask that friends and family understand that we know that we have been led to OUR DAUGHTER, who happens to be in China.

I won't go through all the tedious descriptions of our paperwork trail, phone calls, e-mails, etc. Needless to say, I think this "paper pregnancy" was just as tough, if not tougher than my other three pregnancies. Instead, I will focus on the most important info:

Madison Liu Sha Nixon
Born: Feb. 16, 2009 (they have to estimate her birth date since she was found, as are all orphans
in China, as giving your child up for adoption is illegal in China)
Current city/province: Zhengzhou, Henan Province (central part of China)
Some of the issues that were listed: premature (weighed 3.2 lbs @ 2 weeks old - when found) and some hearing concerns- reports have varied regarding the severity of her hearing issues. Developmental issues are to be expected since she has been raised in an orphanage. We already have the appropriate medical personnel ready to work with her and provide whatever service she may need.

We anticipate traveling to China to get her around the end of August or the beginning of September. Seth and Taylor will remain here with my mom and mother-in-law taking care of them (we are so blessed to have family close by to help us). As soon as I know when we will travel, I will post the info.