Ryan and Natalie are a young couple that has been through more in their first couple years of marriage then most families ever experience. They were married in 2011 and they have a son who will turn 1 in April 2013. Ryan works at an engineering firm as a CAD drafter and Natalie will graduate in May 2013 with her degree in Psychology and Christian counseling. They have always know that they would adopt someday, but never would of considered adopting children with special needs.
Their normal newly wed life changed drastically on the day after their first ultra sound when they were told that their son, Landon had a very rare and severe heart defect. After their son’s birth they spent three weeks in the hospital as Landon underwent two open heart surgeries in his first two weeks of life. When the family finally was able to go home and begin their life together, they knew that they were ruined for a normal life. Their eyes had been opened to a world full of pain and suffering and what they found was that in the midst of the heartache there was something more beautiful and meaningful then anything they had ever known. They realized that life is short and the only thing they can take with them into eternity are the lives that they touch. Shortly after they got home, God began speaking to them about the need for every child to have a loving advocate to fight for them. They knew God was calling them to adopt children with special needs and one night Natalie stumbled on Reece’s Rainbow through a blog. When her eyes fell upon a little five year old named Ivan she knew she would never be the same. “It was like his eyes spoke to my heart and asked me if I would love him.” The couple began praying for Ivan and just when they sensed God telling them to adopt him, they found another five year old boy in the same orphange who had faced unspeakable rejection in his short life. “We knew that we couldn’t go to the orphanage to adopt Ivan and not do everything we possibly could to rescue Simeon as well.” That is when they did something that most people would consider a crazy leap of faith and committed to adopting both boys.
Soon after they told God Yes to adopting His children with special needs, God began to perform a miracle on Landon’s heart. They were originally told that Landon would only have one functioning ventricle to sustain him for his lifetime, but in January 2013, Landon had his third and last surgery. He now has a normal functioning, two ventricle heart. The young couple knows that God gave them a child with a broken heart so that He could break their hearts for the things that break His. They know that their journey with their son was meant to open their eyes to the path that God is calling them down as they adopt His precious ones.
The family’s moto is “Every heart deserves a home. Every child deserves a chance.”
Please join this family in praying that God would level the mountains that stand in between them and these two precious ones.
6/6/13—DOSSIER SUBMITTED
Follow the family’s adoption journey on their blog at ourlegacyoflove.blogspot.com
FULLY FUNDED!!!