Family

Sean Thomas O'Connor (Dad)

Shannon Korink O'Connor (Mom)

Eliza Catherine Yu O'Connor (age 4 1/2)

 Egan Patrick Chaka O'Connor  (age 1 1/2)

waiting to bring home Elinor Margaret Mengyi O'Connor from China (almost 4)

Quinn William Samuel O'Connor (in our hearts, 07/10/08 -  10/18/08)

We have been very blessed to be able to build our family through adoption. We began our first adoption in the fall of '04 and 18 months later(April of '06) flew to China to bring home our adorable daughter, Eliza, who was 8 months old at the time.

In January of '07 we started the process again knowing that the wait times for China had increased. We knew we wanted another child and it was our hope that the girls could support each other as they grew and struggled with the details of a common background and culture. Our paperwork was received in China that July and our initial hope was for a 2-3 year wait for a little sister whom we have planned on naming Elinor (Ellie). However, by the end of '07 it was clear that our 2-3 year wait would in all likelihood be closer to 5 years. While we knew our daughter was in China and would be joined with us eventually we were a bit heartbroken that our whole family, especially Lizzie, would be waiting so long. We prayed A LOT, talked a lot, and searched our hearts and souls for the best decision for our family.

In the middle of all of this God unexpectedly brought a little special needs baby to us and opened our hearts to options and possibilities that were only theories before and could now be a reality. We put ourselves into a tailspin, excitedly preparing for a new born, mentally preparing ourselves to understand and be prepared for some of his special challenges, and working over-time to get him out of foster care as soon as possible. The adoption was disrupted two days before we were to bring him home, leaving a hole in our hearts where we now knew a child should be. Many tears, prayers, and conversations later, we started the process of our adoption from Ethiopia. This is often referred to as a concurrent adoption since we are also still waiting on our daughter from China.

So, in May of '08 we sent our finished paperwork off to Ethiopia, again putting our faith in God that He has put us on this path to be matched with the baby that He has planned for us. Ethiopia is a much newer program with a lot more unknowns about time lines.  We were told to anticipate a 12-18 month wait, but to our great surprise we were matched with a 2 month old little boy just 4 months after sending off our paperwork.   To say that we felt blessed and overjoyed by this match would be a total understatement.  But that joy was turned to heartbreak when he suddenly passed away in his transition house just 5 short weeks before we were to bring him home.  We knew that this was a risk, but nothing prepares you for such heartbreak.  But we continued to put our faith in God and knew that He would match us to another baby when the time was right. 

Another two months later we were matched with a chubby little 8 month old boy with the biggest, most expressive eyes you have ever seen.  Any fears of feeling guarded or unsure about being able to open our hearts to another baby melted away when we looked into those eyes.  We made it successfully through court on March 4th, traveled to Ethiopia on April 10th, and had him in our arms on Easter Sunday, April 12th- 11 months after beginning the journey.  Our biggest shock came however, when we found out that his birthday had been improperly recorded and that he was more likely to be closer to 9 months than the almost 12 month old we had expected.

There is no rest for the weary in our house as watching Egan is a full time job for all of us.  We are all brushing up on our sign language, as Egan has some significant verbal delays: but what he lacks in verbal dexterity, he more than make up for with his physial prowess and ability to climb just about anything!  We have yet to find a safety latch that can keep Egan out of whatever he wants- he is absolutely a "mini MacGuyver."  But best off all, he is the funniest little guy we have ever met and he makes us laugh each and every day.  He is a butter-ball of silliness and is the perfect cure for anyone in need of a smile.

In February of 2010, we made the decision to complete the paperwork to switch our adoption in China.  Now, instead of waiting for a "healthy infant" we are waiting for a special needs toddler.  This decison was not made lightly, but we embraced this change with full and happy hearts.  We felt that it was the right decision for our family and again put our faith in God to match us with the right child, a child whose needs we can handle and whose life will be improved by our love.  We got the infamous call on Thursday 3/ 25, for a little deaf girl who will be turning 4 in May.  It feels so good to know that our family is complete and that in a few short months Ellie will be home with us.  Unitl then, the kids are playing musical bedrooms trying to create a special place for her and moving Egan into his new big-boy Ravens room.  We are also emmersing ourselves in learning sign language so that we can teach Ellie sign and communicate with her from the first moments that we meet.  We can't wait!

As always, we thank everyone who has kept us in their prayers through the ups and downs of the adoption process. And we love talking about the huge blessing adoption has been for us (at least Shannon does!), so please ask us questions if adoption is tugging at your heart as well.

Shannon,  Sean, Eliza,  Egan, and now Ellie O'Connor

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