I am sitting here holding back many many many tears today. Tears that are of many emotions, but primarily of thankfulness and joy. Having Eli as our son, as our very own is overwhelming in so many ways and hard to put into words; GRATEFUL does not even begin to express how we are feeling about this boy, this experience and our God! There is a Chinese proverb many of you are familiar with and one that we love. We even did a beautiful puzzle fundraiser centered around this proverb. It is a very deep and meaning saying that holds a lot of weight. Of course, we know the Lord is in control and has everything planned out for our life but we love everything about this proverb. Here it is: "An invisible red thread
connects those destined to meet,
regardless of time, place, or
circumstances. The thread may
stretch or tangle, but never
break."
A year ago today, we were waiting tirelessly, anxiously and with decreased patience to lay eyes on our child. We had been through a hard two and half months of waiting. You see right after our dossier was logged in to the system them Chinese government in charge of logging adoption documents decided to overhaul their systems and EVERYTHING crashed (along with me--I was beside myself). Our agency said they could see we were logged in but could not access our log in date and, as a result, could not match us. It really didn't matter anyway because lists of children were not even being sent out to agencies to be matched...everything had come to a screeching halt. We were devastated, but again the Lord was teaching us something very very important-TRUST.
After 2.5 months of waiting we got our actual LID and a mere few days later we received the call of a lifetime. I was treating a little guy (I am a speech language pathologist) and AJ was at work. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and I kept hearing my phone buzz. Now, all the parents of the children on my caseload knew that we were expecting a call any day and knew that if AJ kept calling it was IMPORTANT! My heart skipped a beat when I saw how many times he called! I was shaking, I picked up the phone and heard Amy (our coordinator) and AJ on the phone. I could hear it in his voice "Baby! We've been matched!" Amy went on to tell us that she had a little 15 month old boy with some minor medical needs. That's about all I heard. I felt like I was floating! In actuality, I was shaking uncontrollably! She asked if we would like to procceed and of course we said YES! Amy said she would send the file to AJ (he was the one in charge of pretty much all the paperwork). I told AJ not to look until we were together, but come to find out he looked and was in love immediately. He brought home pics of Eli to show me and he video recorded my reaction! Of course, I was overcome with so many emotions, thoughts and feelings. After 5 years of trying to start a family, the Lord's chosen child for us was finally staring back at me! It was one of the most incredible feelings I had ever had. The gratitude and gratefulness were overflowing from my heart and I was instantly in love!
Since bringing Eli home seven months ago, we have seen a total transformation in the little boy God created to be ours. The Lord has also transformed our hearts and taught us so much in the little time we have had already with our son. The Lord IS faithful and heals the brokenhearted. All three of us were broken and through this experience, through the adoption of our son and through the adoption of Sonship by our Lord and Savior we have been restored, given hope and given a beautiful family!
One year ago, we saw God's promise come to fruition , we saw an explosion of favor and we saw ...our son!
We love you my baby boy...what a true miracle you are....
God is Good and we are blessed!
I'll leave you with Eli's life verse that's hanging in his room:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged. Do not be afraid.
For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Our little Eli is not so little anymore! Not only has he gained about 9 pounds, grew 5 inches, and is using 3+ word phrases, he turned 2 in April! As much as it makes this Mama sad her little baby boy is not so little anymore, my heart REJOICES in the fact he is not a malnourished, sad, scared orphan anymore. We also wanted to celebrate all of who Eli is and has become with our dearest friends and family (WARNING PHOTO OVERLOAD)!!!!
In April, we had a small celebration with grandparents and some aunts and uncles at our home. At that time, Eli was still not ready for a big celebration with a lot of people. So we planned something a couple months after, thus our Puppy Party Bonanza!
The party was held at a beautiful park that I played in when I was little. It brought back so many memories to be there watching my son run in the fields and play on the playground. It was so much fun and everyone enjoyed the day.
Eli was none too happy at first to see a rather large crowd, a bouncy castle, decoration galoure, toys and a sandbox. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with any of it and screamed for the first half of the party. In true Eli form, he observed, watched and contimplated then...he decided a puppy party was a pretty cool deal and had the time of his life. It also helped that all us Hartwick peeps decided to take our turn in the bouncy castle and Eli and his bud Olivia were jumping quite high! He LOVED the day.
It was such a great day filled with sooooo much joy and love. Many of those that came to celebrate were meeting Eli for the first time! What a blessing!
We are so proud of our boy, who he is, his love for Jesus and puppies
and how brave he is...something to truly celebrate puppy style!
God is good and we are blessed!
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it
Ok, I know I am writing a post about Father's day about 3 weeks too late, but there has been a lot going on and well I was tired! Eli has had some bumps in the road and in his mouth (two year molars) which have caused a bit of a slow down here in the Pilato household. We are moving forward, trusting the Lord to do a mighty work (which he always does) and enjoying what the summer has to offer.
AJ is an amazing man! Enough said! He has been a rock, a support, and an unfailing love throughout our marriage and now parenthood. I LOVE watching him as a father and how he loves, loves, LOVES our son! He makes us laugh, calms our fears and provides for us so well! He works so hard to ensure we are loved and taken care of each and everyday! I thank the Lord everyday for the man he made for me and the family he created for us. I never never never dreamed life would be so beautiful, but it is. Hard work, but awesome in every way!
For Father's Day, I wanted to do things I know AJ loves. So we set out in the morning for our favorite beach with our little man. I thought it would be so neat to have Father's Day be the first time Eli saw the ocean and the beach! Eli was hesistant at first, needed to observe for a while with a very serious face and then eventually (in true Eli fashion) popped right in the water and plopped in the sand! It made this beach loving Daddy and Mama very happy!
We then had lunch at a favorite place that AJ never ever gets to eat at Bobby's Burger Palace, where we enjoyed yummy burgers and had a wonderful lunch together. Eli did great. We drove home, hung out for a while, had a small dinner and then took AJ to get ice cream! All his favs with his favs!!!
We love you Daddy, thank you for the Godly, strong, and funny man you are! God has surely blessed us!
God is good and we are blessed!
Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Two weeks ago, we said so long to a dear, sweet fighter....Kya. It has been an extremely emotional couple of weeks and difficult to get through. Eli's Baoji Buddy Kya went to be with Lord after fighting such a strong fight for several months in the hospital. She was such a fighter in spirit, in emotions and in her physical body. That girl had spunk!
Her story is amazing one filled with the healing love of Jesus Christ, the determination of her strong, amazing parents and the transformation of a frightened orphan into a smiley, dancing, happy child in the arms of Jesus. Through all the pain of losing Kya, her parents' hope is to simply and powerfully have the truth of the Gospel shine and for Kya's short, little life to impact others for Christ....that it did and that it does and that it will. We first met sweet Kya in Xi'An at the civil affairs office where we united with Eli. It was Eli, Kya and Elyana waiting for their families..they were all in the same classroom in their orphanage and slept cribs away from each other. In essence, they each were the first semblance of family they had, they had each other. God knew when placing these sweet lives together that they would eventually bring together three other beautiful families that have been loving, Godly support for one another in the last 6 months.
Playdate in Xi'an
Hangin at the zoo
The three Baoji Buddies having a playdate in Xi'An
Kya's Mama and I enjoying the elephant show in Guangzhou
She held onto a cracker or sausage all day long while in China
Over the past six months, we watch Kya go from a tiny, hurting little girl to a child who understood what love is and how to be part of a family. When Tracy, her mom was caring for her in China, Kya would not even look at her...this girl had been through so much and had no idea how to trust. Once we returned home, we began receiving updates on Kya's condition (which was extremely complicated and tough to treat). We were in awe of the Lord's work in her as we began to see this child smile, laugh, roll, dance, and play. The Lord was working through her and in her and it was a sight to see. Her parents worked tirelessly to give her the love and nurturing she needed to be all she could be and to realize the Love of Christ.
Kya blossoming
Kya underwent several surgeries while home and the last one proved to be just too hard on her little heart and lungs. We rallied around her family, praying, believing and trusting the Lord. Kya received her healing when, as her mom said "Kya stormed the gates of heaven" on June 2nd at 1:00 pm. We were/are all crushed and just thinking about what her family has endured to bring her home, what they sacrificed to help her and having broken hearts in the end is so difficult to comprehend . But Kya's heart is no longer broken and that is what we prayed for her. Although she is no longer with us here on earth and her family cannot snuggle with her, they know and we know she is with Jesus healed, whole and complete. It's hard, it's devastating and will be a difficult road to navigate for her family, but they and we trust the Lord for healing, hope and grace.
Will you please keep Kya and her family in prayer...the months ahead will tough ones. They will need much love and God's peace to surround them. We love them so much and we love "KyKy" as Eli so lovingly call her. So, so long sweet girl. We will see you in Heaven.......
Kya Marilyn
Born October 22, 2011
Adopted and loved forever
With Jesus June 2, 1:00 pm
You will be glad to know God heard our pleas.
Kya was in our arms when
the machines were turned off
and she stormed the gates of heaven...
And just so you know, we'd do it all over again if we had to.
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