National Adoption Day

Because November 17th is National Adoption Day I thought I would share two pretty awesome stories that happened while we were going through the adoption process. I know God had his hand in this and it has been a really cool testimony for us.

 Naming Mayleigh

Each time we were pregnant I always had a girl name picked out just in case. lol Kennedy for Brennan, Marissa for Chase, and Emmie for Kullen. When it came time to name Mayleigh we didn’t want to use any of the previous names we had picked out. Probably for about 3 or 4 months before we received May’s file we had kind of decided on Annakate. I just loved it so much.

Then about a month before we got the file via email, I was reading some adoption blogs and came across a family that had named their daughter Mayleigh. I think they spelled it Meili. In mandarin they spell May..Mei. I fell in love and for those of you that know how indecisive I am…I knew right then that was her name! I emailed Jeff right away hoping he was going to love it because it was a done deal for me. Just 100% certain in my heart that it was the perfect name. I will never forget my girlfriends saying, “but wait, we picture her as Annakate. We have been calling her that for so long??!”

I dont know why I just knew? Maybe it was because mei mei means sister and she would be the only sister. Maybe it was because I wanted to spell it with the spelling of my middle name which is Leigh. Also mei (just one mei) in mandarin means beautiful and even though I hadn’t seen her face, I knew she was going to be beautiful. Whatever the reason… I had never been so certain in my heart.

Then that phone call we had been waiting on for months came. I remember it like it was yesterday. The boys had just gone down for a nap and I was waiting on our new refrigerator to be delivered from Best Buy. When the phone rang, I assumed it was best buy. I was shocked when it was our agency and they said they were emailing over a file of a little girl. I was freaking out of course!! Jeff came right home from work and so we could opened it together. This was the first picture we saw of May. She melted our hearts from the moment we saw her! (Sorry for the poor quality)

 

We literally just couldn’t believe it when we opened the file. It said Dang Mei Wei. Dang is the surname they are all given in the orphanage. But you guys, her name was Mei. How crazy??!! That was why that feeling of peace about her name was there. She is definitely our Mayleigh Wei!!

 

 

Friendship Through Adoption

We fell in love instantly with Mei Wie’s precious face! We knew she was our daughter. But then came some tough news about her medical condition and we weren’t sure we could handle it.

Before I go any farther let me back up to when we were patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for the call with her file. I had been reading lots of adoption blogs. It’s what seemed to get me through the wait. One day I randomly decided to email one of the ladies who’s blog I was reading. She was adopting from the same adoption agency. We went back and forth with a few emails and then she was matched with her daughter early that summer. She never did tell me what her daughters special need was and we didnt chat too much after the first few emails.

So months later we have this information about our daughters special need and I had no idea where to turn. I reached out to our adoption facebook group to see if anyone knew which doctors I should go to to ask questions about Mayleigh’s medical needs. That friend, Carla, the one I exchanged a few emails with, reached out. She said her daughter had the same special need and she gave me the surgeons number who I needed to contact. Not only did she give me those important numbers but we also figured out that her daughter and Mayleigh were living in the same orphanage. I mean, really, what were the chances?? We instantly became friends and we have been there for each other as we both navigated these special needs that neither one of us knew anything about!

We talked on the phone for hours at a time, through the good days and the bad days. She was the one friend that truly “got it”. We were going through some pretty hard stuff with surgeries, enemas, behavior issues, and bonding. Carla was just who I needed. God knew it and she was placed in my life for a reason.

After lots of phone conversations we got a chance to meet in person. At Nationwide Children’s hospital of all places. Both our girls were having procedures done and we somehow managed to get them scheduled at the same time. So we got to hug in person in the waiting room of the hospital. It was pretty special! From there we have seen each other 3 different times on different occasions. Our other kids bonded instantly and I know they will always be special friends!

Yep, we have even been confused a lot by nurses! We have been told many times we look alike! The nurses always got our girls confused too!

These little ones are tough cookies and have been through so much! I hope their friendship continues as they get older! Because no one will get it like they do. Sometimes the best thing is just for someone to just truly understand, right?? Thankful we have our people!