Monday, October 11, 2010

A VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE SULLIVANS!!

Christie and I are happy to announce that after a lot of prayer and consideration, we have decided to adopt a 3 year old child with Down’s Syndrome from Hong Kong. We have been in the process for about a month now. We have gone through physicals, psych evals, and reams and reams of paperwork and we’re only just getting started! Most of you are probably still getting your jaw of the floor, so while you try to let this news sink in a bit, I will try to give you some of the answers to the questions that are floating around in your head.


WHY??: For many years, Christie and I have been seriously considering adopting a child with Down’s. We felt and still feel that not many other couples could be better equipped to love a child with this special need more than us. We met while working in a group home for mentally disabled adults, I have two sisters who have Down’s and one of them is adopted. When we initially looked into it we were shocked to find out that there was a waiting list of up to 2 YEARS! So we just continued on with life, with med school, with having more kids, with moving to Nashville and residency.


WHY NOW??? After we settled down in Nashville, the whole adoption thing started popping up in our lives everywhere we turned. Meeting people who were adopting, seeing stuff about it, and more importantly, Christie really felt like it was something we were supposed to do. I wasn’t too sure about the timing. We had a lot on our plate and I didn’t want to overextend ourselves. But then over the last number of months, God really changed my heart. Here we were, two kids, one going to Kindergarten full time, the other in preschool in the morning 3 days a week. Christie’s schedule is starting to become more sane and so things were getting a lot more comfortable, with a whole lot more of that coming as Christie finished her residency. We had signed up to get newsletters from a christian adoption agency and would occasionally look at it. But one day, we opened it up and saw our future son staring back at us. We both were so clearly sure of this. But this was going to mean giving up that new found comfort in a hurry. This would mean that we would probably never have an empty nest as one of our little ones might never fly the coop or not as quickly as the others. This would mean lots of physical therapy appointments and doctor’s visits. This would mean a grueling adoption process and a big financial commitment when we are living on a resident’s salary. But all of this doesn’t matter to us. We truly feel God has given us a gift, a set of skills that would make us perfect for the boy staring back at us from the pages of that newsletter. And why wouldn’t we? Because of comfort? Because of financial security? Because of people thinking we are crazy? All of these things seem insignificant when you think that there is a child on the other side of the world who God has given you a passion for and has given you the experience and skill set to love him the way he needs to be loved. I am so so happy to say that both of us are ready for whatever comes our way. We feel God has placed this on our hearts and everytime we have followed what we feel God has wanted for us, we have NEVER been disappointed. I’m not saying it won’t be tough, but I am saying that when you allow God to lead you, life is never boring and it is when you feel most alive.


WHAT’S THE TIMELINE?- We are in the beginning stages, so it will probably be mid summer to fall of next year when we will bring him home.


DO THE KIDS KNOW? - They do and they are super excited! Cales is excited to have another little brother and to have to be a big helper to mom and dad. Elijah is excited to be a big brother! We have his picture on our fridge and we talk about him and pray for him regularly.


WE WANT TO SEE PICTURES!!- We would love to share them, but there are strict rules on not posting pics of kids until they are fully adopted. So sorry, but no pictures right now. But believe me, as soon as we can, we will!


WHAT CAN WE DO?? - The best thing you can do for us right now is PRAY FOR US!! Pray that the process will go smoothly, that there won’t be too much red tape. Pray for our boy in Hong Kong, that he is happy and well taken care of. Pray for strength for all of us as try to navigate this adoption process in the middle of our regular life. Pray for our kids that they will continue to be excited about meeting their new brother. Just pray for God’s will in our lives and this situation. And now that our little secret is out, keep an eye out for updates through this blog!

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