A family opens their hearts and home to five children, two from China, one from Korea, one from Iran, and one from Africa.
Talk about a family! We are definitely IT!
From having no children, we now have 5 beautiful miracles who came to us from Korea, China (twin girls), Iran, and Africa! We had tried to have children of our own, but we were unsuccessful; so we decided to try adoption. After talking to a co-worker of mine (he works at Wal*Mart, too, excepting he works up front while I work in shipping and receiving, in the back end of the store), I decided to talk to my wife, Kay, about the possibility of adopting, so we persued it. My co-worker knew a lot about adoption because he and his wife, as a matter of fact, adopted a bunch of kids; and so they answered any questions we may have had at that time. They proved to be an invaluable help to us.
That was about two years ago, not long after Bill started working at Wal*Mart, and ever since, they had been our advocates, and our greatest supporters, when we first started filling out the tons of paperwork necessary to start the adoption process.
About a year ago, we got the first of our five kids, Rahid, who came to us from Iran. He was 8 years old (he's now fixing to turn nine in a few weeks), and he was a shy, scared little boy who had been abused by his parents back in his native Iran; and he suffered emotional trauma as a result. After Rahid came Hala, who came to us from Egypt, in Africa. She was then 7, and she had been born with her legs paralyzed; and she had gotten around by dragging herself across the ground. Now, nearly a year later, she is walking on braces and crutches; and she is extremely fast on her crutches; one can hardly keep up with her!
Thirdly came Kyung Mee from Korea. She was healthy, but had some learning difficulties. She was then six, but functioned at the level of a three-year-old. Now she is catching up to her peers in school, and she has made amazing progress in her learning.
The newest ones to join our family joined us only five months ago, two one-year-old twin boys from China. Both had heart problems and had already survived one round of heart surgery. Their names are Yung Chao and Yang Xin, and they are slowly gaining both height and weight; but they are still smaller than normal. Still, they are both happy boys who have adjusted well to their new life in America, and they have been healthy since they had their last heart surgery two months ago. They are still recovering, but all seems to be going extremely well; and their heart surgeon is extremely pleased at how things are going for both Yang and Yung. (We are thinking of calling the boys Shawn and Shane; their present Chinese names are a bit confusing!)
My name is Freddie Riechard, and my wife's name is Kay. We live in Nashville, Tennessee, with our family; and life couldn't be better! I have a job I enjoy, we have 5 beautiful kids; and we have each other! From not having kids, God has blessed us abundantly by giving us five little Miracles from different lands; and life for us suddenly is full of meaning and joy!
It's gotten to the point to where we can't imagine our lives without Rahid, Hala, Kyung Mee, or Yang and Yung; all have made an indelible mark on our hearts; and we have fallen head over heels in love with each and every one of them! They are truly "Miracles" in the true st sense!
beautiful! i love your writings about these families, families opening their hearts and homes to kids that wouldn't have a chance, otherwise. great job! (((HUGS))) and love, karla. :)
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