We have been wanting to add to our family for over a year now.  We already have two older children (both in their teens) and my wife was missing the sound of "little feet pattering about", so we applied to adopt a child.  When we first saw that little boy's face on the Internet, we knew that he was the one for us.  It was instant love!

Gregory is disabled, but there is nothing that he won't do.  From what I have heard from past reports, Gregory Jans is as active as they come.  He is only five, but there isn't anything the little boy won't try, even with walking with braces on his legs and crutches attached to his forearms! 

Sounds like we are going to have our hands full with Gregory!

Jina and Freddie (our teens; they are 15 and 13) are excited: they are looking forward to having a new brother; they can't wait to take him to games/sporting events, concerts, or show hm the ropes of what it is like to be a part of a loving family.

We are excited as well.  We are looking forward to reading bedtime stories, engaging in imaginative play with a small child, showing him and teaching him the ways of the world and just giving him plenty of love.

The adoption journey has been a long, arduous task, but the rewards will be great once we meet our new child face to face!  Gregory is beautiful: he has longish wheat-blonde hair, intense sea-green/bue eyes that have a tendency to change depending on his mood, and round apple cheeks.  He is absolutely adorable!

We have been learning some basic Dutch so we can communicate with Gregory, but Dr. Huskins (our counselor) has informed us that he speaks English in addition to Dutch.  No worries: as long as we try to ease his feaers, then all should be okay. 

I will tell you this much: Dutch is a lot harder than we realized, and it sounds like someone has a bad case of sinus! LOL

We know how to say hello, how are you, yes, no, good morning/afternoon/evening, and good night.  Not too bad; most people don't even know THAT much.  LOL

We have gotten our house "handicap-ready": ramps for our son so he doesn't have to struggle so much on the stairs, wider entryways, rails on the toilet and bathtub, etc.  We want him to be able to utilize every square inch of our home without too much difficulty.

Jim has always wanted a child with special needs.  His best friend in school had spina bifida (just like Gregory) and it really made quite an impact on him.  He works with children who are disabled and truly loves his job. 

I have come to appreciate and accept these children as well and have learned that even though they might have different needs (be it emotional, physical, mental, etc.), they are more alike than people may even realize.

Well, I hate to run, but Jim and I are going to get ready to go to the store; he is then going to take me out to eat to celebrate our last few days as a "normal" family and before the tide comes in (the arrival of Gregory)!  LOL  I will write in here again in a few weeks, to let you know how Gregory is doing.  Until then, this is Amy Brenner saying so long and God bless!

~Amy, Fostoria, Ohio.