Gladney Blog

MATCHED!!

On our last trip to Taiwan we met a darling little girl who had us all smiling and giggling with her the whole time she was in the room. We named her Annabelle and we asked Michelle, one of our long-standing Superkids volunteers (and a Gladney mom) to write a little about her experience meeting Annabelle.

Toliver is only 1, still a baby, and could be home soon after his second birthday! How amazing is that!?

We are thrilled to announce two matches this week! One from China and one from Taiwan!

See our new look? We are pretty excited about it! But don't worry, we are still Gladney's Superkids and that part won't change. What will change is that we will be reaching more people and a broader audience. Which means the sweet children we advocate for will have even more people seeing them, sharing their posts, and becoming advocates for them. We call that winning!

Kasper is an 8 year old little boy with one request: He wants a family. What do you say to an 8 year old boy when he asks you to find him a family? You can't say that you will. You stand there, your mind spinning, knowing full well the challenges of finding him one. And you can only promise one thing: you will try. 

This year, my thoughts of fatherhood are intertwined with the concept of sonship. What does it mean to be a son (or daughter)? Being a father is about the relationship. The same is true for being a son. Just as my father’s relationship with me defines him as a father, my relationship with him is what makes me his son.

We are starting a new blog series featuring questions that we are asking families in our Gladney China families Facebook group. (Hang on Taiwan families! We have something fun planned for your kiddos this summer too!)

The crew on my birthday

As I was putting my son to bed one night recently he asked me something to the effect, “Daddy why did you adopt me?”  If you have an adoption story you have likely heard or will hear this question many times.  I have answered this question before but this time I gave it a different thought.  See we had also just come off our third adoption and I kind of sensed the question is really more about why did you do this or need to do this?  

So I told my son as honestly as I could that we did not need to adopt him or his sisters to his surprise. As I explained, because when you need something it is more of an act of instinct, or survival so the satisfaction in the act is limited. No, when I thought about his question, I smiled and told him, “Buddy, I wanted you!” I chased after you with all the love of my heart for you and your sisters. All the long nights of paperwork, and worry.  All the driving around and chasing the next authentication or deadline, was not something I needed to do but I wanted to do. 

I wanted and chased after all my children as one who loves with reckless abandonment until that day when I had my children in my arms and peace settled into the deepest part of my soul.   That moment happened a year ago last Father’s day, after a long trip to bring home my precious daughter, we just happened to have Father’s day weekend as our first weekend home. As we sat around the table having lunch, an overwhelming feeling hit me and turned to my wife and said, “This is right, this is what we were meant to be as a family”.   

My little ones, my loves, you completed me that Father’s Day and every Father’s Day for all time.

- Written by a 3x Gladney dad, Dwight Richmond

Are you ready for some baby boy cuteness in your day. Prepare to lose your heart!