Sweet Baby - Happily Ever After

[Guest guest]

Awhile ago there was a post that went around that had a baby boy with DS who was in China who needed to be adopted. Here's an update on him:

(I don't know if the pictures will come through, but they can be seen at this link http://www.mommylife.net/archives/2008/01/sweet_baby_jame_3.html)

Sweet Baby - Happily Ever After

Last November, a reader alerted me to the wonderful news that - christened by readers here as Sweet Baby after I posted Urgent adoption need - Chinese baby with Down syndrome on June 24, 2006 - had been adopted.

When I posted Sweet Baby finds a home - lo and behold, one of the comments was from the mom who adopted , who is now named Simon. I asked her to share the story - and here it is.

Won't you join with me in congratulating and Danile and thanking God that Sweet Simon has found his way home?

The Story of /Simon...(also called Howie in the New Hope Home)In 2002 God led me () to China for 3 months as a short term medical missionary. I am a Physical Therapist. I lived in Xi'an and worked with the special needs orphans in that area. I then returned to the US physically, but my heart and soul stayed with the orphaned children.In 2003 I became engaged to ...a man who happened to have a biological brother with Down Syndrome. His parents had also adopted 3 other children with Down Syndrome. I said yes to his proposal with one condition...."We will adopt from China right??" -he said of course! We casually joked that maybe we could somehow adopt a child with Down Syndrome....After we were married for 6 months I returned to China for another 3 months in 2004....I knew adoption would happen....but I would not turn 30 yrs old ( a main China regulation) until March of 07 and that was a long way off! In our first years of marriage we had discussed trying to have a biological child first....but my heart was given to adoption....so we waited, and waited and waited.Overtime we became involved in international adoption advocacy. In the late Spring of 2006 I was at the hospital working and Dan called me....he never interrupts me at work, so I knew something must be going on. He said he couldn't wait until I got home. He had seen a boy called in a Shaohannah's Hope Newsletter, and this little boy had Downs. I laughed....but said "why don't you call so we will know how to pray for him" Dan called, and we were relieved when A Helping Hand adoption agency told us they had had 100's of hits and much interest and they were sure he would be placed. So....we continued to count the days until we could start our own adoption process, and every now and then we thought about "" and were happy to think he would surely have a family....Exactly 6 months before my 30th birthday...to the day we were allowed to start our paper chase with AWAA adoption agency. We started our application process and we pursued the special needs program, but we were thinking along the lines of a cleft lip, or an orthopedic deformity....something "simple". We were after all new at this parenting stuff! Then in October AHH called us...they said they still had no family found for . People who were interested did not meet the qualifications, and people who qualified had backed out when faced with his additional medical conditions of club foot, imperforate anus, etc etc. We were stunned. AHH asked us if we would still consider him!? Our heads were spinning....it took us a week to decide. We sadly left AWAA and the process we had started with them,and began our wonderful adventure in pursuing . In November we found out that AHH had matched us with and the paper chase continued....By January my paper chase was completed...BUT I was still not yet 30 yrs old....so we waited 2 more months until we could send our dossier to China. The rest of the process took longer than we had been told by China and our agency....for a whole year I held onto pictures of my little boy, but was not allowed to go and get him...it was one of the hardest times of my life. In May we were beside ourselves when we were told that our son had been ordered out of the wonderful foster home he was in, and sent back to the Chinese run orphanage. We also sweat bullets through all the changes in China's regulations...if we had been 4 wks later in applying we would have not been allowed to adopt, and could have lost ....but our log in date happened in time. Wonderful people like the C Chapman family sent us occasional photos and updates when they were on mission trips. We applied for grants and received substantial support which helped us through this costly process. God always provided.Finally!!! On November 17th we met our son!!! He is now named Simon. (after a little boy who I had worked with and loved in Xian....he is now in heaven.)This boy...our son....our "firstborn" is the love of my life....I can't imagine life without him. He is a miracle. I know God hand picked this child for us.... I waited 5 years to be eligible for China adoption, then one month after God allowed us to be logged in China changed many regulations - 3 of which now make us ineligible to adopt from China again. God opened us up during this specific time to be matched with our Simon, then closed the doors to China on us.... He is home with us...he is wonderful...we are blessed by him beyond comprehension....and Now the real adventure begins!

-The Kulps

First time mom also sent pictures to share with you:

doesn't have a blog - I have a feeling she's going to be pretty busy for a while! - so please leave your prayers and thoughts for the Kulp family here so she can see how much they mean to us.

And just as the original announcement went far and wide over the blogosphere - let's pass on this Happily Ever After -