Our Adoption Story
We
are Glenn and Martha Covington, from Hendersonville, NC. We have two biological
sons, Jason, who was 23 at the time of our adoption, and Philip, age 20. So you
can guess that we are older parents! As we approached the half-century mark, I
(Martha) was not happy about our empty nest. I envisioned my remaining years stretching
before me in an endless pattern of work, work, and more work. Raising our two
boys had been a challenge, but very rewarding and satisfying. There was nothing
in life I loved more than being a mom.
I began praying
about what God would want for me to do with my remaining years. There were many
"small" things that were prodding me in the direction of adoption --
driving past an adoption agency in our town every day after work; watching a news
show on TV about the plight of orphan children in third world countries; seeing
the empty room in our home. I didn't think my husband would be too positive about
adoption, so I thought I'd get some information first, and then pray about it.
I stopped at the agency in our town, Christian World Adoption (CWA), and was cheerfully
greeted by their receptionist. I thought that perhaps we were too old to adopt,
but was informed that we weren't. I took home information about adopting from
China, and prayed some more!
When the time seemed
right I brought up the possibility of adoption to Glenn. Miraculously, he was
quite positive about the idea and looked over the information. We decided to pursue
it further, and attended an adoption workshop at CWA that answered a lot of our
questions. When we decided to go ahead with it, we got our physicals first to
make sure we were both healthy. From there we started on the paper chase that
was so complicated I can't recall all that it entailed, but we were able to get
through it, step by step. I have since realized that it is much easier to be pregnant
and give birth than to adopt!
Our documents were sent to China in May, 2002. At that time there was about a 13 month wait until referral. In October our agency came out with a large list of special needs children that were available. It didn't take us long to decide that we would really like Ning Mei Qiong, almost 2 years old, for our daughter. She had a cleft lip that was already repaired, and needed surgery to correct her cleft palate. We didn't know much about this condition, but it seemed like it would be a simple enough thing to correct. We called the agency and told them we would like to adopt her.
The referral photo - the face that stole our hearts!
Everything
went so quickly after that. In January we were able to travel to China. The trip
was wonderful, an incredible experience that we will have memories of forever.
We flew into Beijing and stayed there for 2 days to see the sights, before flying
on to Guangzhou. The next day we were taken to the consulate where our daughter,
whom we named Melia Grace, was brought to us. She was so tiny and so beautiful!
The director of the orphanage and a caretaker were there to answer any questions
we had. We had our own personal guide, who was an excellent translator and took
care of bringing us to all our appointments, as well as taking us shopping, sightseeing,
and to the best restaurants and all over the city. We bought a baby carrier, so
Melia rode on her daddy's back everywhere we went. The first three days Melia
cried off and on, but after that she knew we were her mom and dad and became very
attached to us. She was quite fearful of anything new to her, and very reserved...
but she loved to eat, and still does! Melia was quite healthy when we got her.
We did not need to use any of the medicines that we had brought with us.
Adoption Day January 14, 2003
Life has been so wonderful with Melia.
I feel like I am living life all over again! She was developmentally delayed when
we got her, but has made tremendous progress in the year that we have had her.
She is a very happy little girl, friendly, and affectionate. We found out that
our insurance would not pay for her surgery, but thankfully Shriner's Hospital
repaired her palate at absolutely no cost to us. Shriner's has told us they will
also take care of any future surgery she needs. Melia is presently receiving speech
therapy, and attending our county's preschool program where her developmental
needs are being taken care of.
At Surfside Beach, SC, Thanksgiving 2003
Melia
has fit right into our family without any problems of any kind. She is a Daddy's
girl, but loves her mom too. Our oldest son is now married, so Melia has a big
sister now as well. People in our family, church and community have all responded
very positively to Melia.
At Jason and Heathers wedding 6/16/03
Our adoption experience has been more than we ever imagined. We are now in the process of adopting another little girl, who also has special needs. We feel very blessed and privileged to be able to raise these precious children. Thank you A Child Waits Foundation for your help.
May 2003 - 4 months after the adoption.