mattmehaffey

Chase & Mickey

A couple weeks ago, Janie and I, decided to buy a few things for Chase and send them over to our little guy at The Home of God's Love in Taiwan.  This week we got a picture of him, sleeping with the Mickey Mouse we sent him.
 
When I first saw this picture, I remember thinking, "Whoa, this just got a lot more real."  That toy was in my hands just a couple weeks ago and now it's with him.

It's hard to explain how much we love someone we've never even met.

New Pics of Chase

Our Home Study is Over

A huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders now that Saturday has come and gone.  Our adoptive home study went off without any problems whatsoever.  Janie and I (and Chase) want to thank everyone for their continued prayers and encouraging notes we have been bombarded with over the over the past week.  They mean more than you know. 

Our home study was done by an agent from American Adoptions (and an agent in-training), and lasted for about 3 hours.  We were thrilled that both of them had an affinity for large dogs and even more thrilled that Jeter was on his best behavior. 

So far, we are very glad we have gone with American Adoptions to help us through the process but it's not over yet and we won't fully give them our stamp of approval until then.  It sounds like we will receive our completed home study report in about a month (which is typical).  There is not much we can do until we get the report so we will spend most of this time getting our home ready for Chase's arrival!  

Skype Shower

Janie is in Chicago on a Fishhook business trip this week and is crashing at the home of our dear friends, Sam and Renee.  Last night they Skyped me and threw us a mini-baby shower.  Janie opened up a huge bag full of books, clothes and toys for Chase.  Thanks for your friendship and generosity, you guys!

New Picture of Chase

Janie and I are hard at work getting everything ready for our upcoming home study on January 31.  Early this morning we got our blood tests and then went to the police station to get fingerprinted for our criminal background checks.  (I had to get one for the state of Kansas because I lived there between the years of 0-4.  I hope the time I stole that kid's bottle doesn't come up.) 

In the midst of our tasks this morning, we got a little reminder of what we are doing all this for.  Thanks to our friends at The Home of God's Love for the new photo of our little guy. 

By the way, apparently Chase is on Twitter.  He is already showing aspirations for greatness.  Looking forward to your updates young man!

Chase's Fan Club

Yesterday, I had the privilege of connecting with some new friends on Facebook.  Both families recently returned from Taiwan after picking up their children from The Home of God's Love.   They also have spent time with Chase and even sent us a couple new pictures!  Janie and I are extremely jealous that they have had the opportunity to hold our baby boy but we are so grateful to them for sharing their experiences with us.

"Hi there,  you don't know me but my husband and I have adopted 2 precious children from the Home of God's Love in Taiwan. We just got back with our second, a son. He is 7 months. Anyhow, I helped take care of Chase when we were there in early December.  He is such a doll and very sweet tempered.  You guys are very blessed to have him and vice versa.  I can't wait for you to get him.  If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to ask us."

"In the beginning of November, we went to Taiwan to pick up our son. When we went to his AIT appointment in Taipei, the lady from the Ray of Hope brought Chase to us to take back to the Home. He was soo tiny and absolutely adorable!! Ted (the founder of the orphanage) had to meet someone halfway back to the Home to get some additional paperwork for another adoption case, so we took Chase with us when we went shopping at the big Market in Taipei. My husband held Chase most of the time while us girls shopped for souvenirs! He is such a content baby! Sooo sweet! Later, when Ted came back, we went downtown and had the famous potstickers for lunch. Chase was so good during our lunch. I think he slept mostly, but also had a bottle while we were there. On our way back down to the Home, we all took turns holding Chase (yes, they don't use many car seats there!), and we even made a bottle for him while driving :) We would love to stay in touch with you as you are going through the adoption process. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask. We've gone through this twice now, and would love to help others."

Our Son, Chase

Janie and I have some big news we are excited to share with you today. 

On Christmas morning, we received a phone called from The Home of God's Love (a Christ-centered orphanage in Taiwan) and they told us that they had a baby boy who wants to come to Miami to live with us.  His name is Chase and he will be three months old on January 6.

We have been keeping our adoption process pretty quiet, with our families and our family at The Pursuit going through this with us.  Now we are ready to let everyone know! 

We sent in our application to begin the adoption process in September.  Little did we know Chase would be born the very next month! 

By the first week of December, we hadn't heard anything from the orphanage.  We weren't sure what to think.  Did they even receive our application? 

While at the Newthing gathering on December 8, we met Mark Weigt, Lead Pastor at The Ridge Community Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin.  He and his wife, have adopted twin boys from The Home of God's Love and are waiting to go pick up their daughter!  I believe our meeting with Mark was completely God-ordained.  He gave us some very helpful advice and encouraged us to pick up the phone and call the orphanage.  So we did.

The next week our references were contacted and I guess they said good stuff because we received the call on December 25.  What a remarkable Christmas gift! 

Now we are busy getting our home study done and getting our house ready to welcome Chase to his new home.  We will be traveling to Taiwan to get him.  Please remember the three us in your prayers as we continue to go through the process.  Thanks!