handsful

Our Story

Randy and I met in 1985, when we were both rising sophomores in different colleges.  After dating for 7 years, we were married in August of 1992.  We always knew we wanted children and began this quest in February of 1994.  Things” didn’t go so smoothly, and we ended up in fertility treatment.  We were blessed with our first child, Abigail (Abbey) on February 9, 1996.  We knew we wanted more than 1 child, so we jumped back on the fertility ferris wheel!  After 8 months, we were pregnant again.  But, things were a little different this time.  At 8 weeks, we found out that there were 3 little ones on the way!  After a very “interesting” pregnancy, the triplets were born at 32 weeks gestation on July 7, 1998.  Marley, Payton, and Ethan (girl, boy, boy) had a few preemie issues, but they were home with us in 3 weeks.

During our struggles to have children, we always kept the thought of adoption in the backs of our minds. After the kids were born and through the years, we would often say “we still might adopt someday.”  I would have to say that Randy was always more vocal about adoption.  I just couldn’t see myself with another child.

Fast forward to December 2005, when a friend of Randy’s sent him the link to their website.  They had recently adopted a little girl from China.  Randy sent the site to me and I spent the next hour or so totally engrossed in their story.  The more I read, the more I cried…the story was literally jumping into my heart. This was beginning to seem so possible, like something I needed to do.  After a few months of thinking and praying (and thinking and praying), we made the decision that we would add a child to our family through China adoption.

The paperchase and fertility treatment were very similar to me.  Lots of ups and downs, days when things seemed to be going great, days when nothing happened at all!  We knew we were in for quite a wait before being matched with a baby.  But, we knew that God’s hand was in this, because He planned this for us all along.

The paperchasing took us from March 06 to August 06.  The wait had begun!  But, in October 06, we decided that we would open up our hearts to a potential child with special needs.  On November 16, 2008, we received the call about our sweet Lainey.  We flew to China on Valentine’s day 08, and were home with her on February 29th.  She’s a perfect fit for our family, full of spirit and goofiness.  She is a joy!

Toward the end of 2009 / early 2010, both Randy and I were feeling like God was still drawing us towards the possibility of adopting another child, and through some research and God’s direction, we were led to an adorable little boy in Luoyang, China. His name is Dang Yu Hai, which we decided to change to Dylan YuHai Clark. We began a new paper chase for Dylan in February 2010, and traveled to China that same November.

The Kids

Abbey –

She is our first-born and looks just like her daddy.  She enjoys basketball, hanging out with her friends at church, and playing with her baby sister.  Abbey loves being in charge.  Her siblings don’t always appreciate that part of her personality!  Abbey has always loved China, ever since she was little.  Maybe she knew something before we did?

Marley –

She was the first triplet born.  She enjoys horseriding and gymnastics.  Animals are her real thing, she has a true love for all of them.  Marley is most like her mama and loves having special time together.

Payton –

Payton is our artist – creative and unique.  He loves Archie comics and has quite a talent for drawing comics, too.  He’s the 2nd triplet, loves basketball and doesn’t care if he wins or loses, he just enjoys playing.  He’s a very laid-back kid, loves being goofy, and always thinks of other’s feelings.

Ethan –

Basically Randy in a small package! He was the last triplet born.  Just like his daddy, he’s very competitive and loves playing baseball and basketball.  He’s a perfectionist, which sometimes makes school time especially interesting!  He’s also our musician, playing the acoustic and electric guitar.

Lainey-

She’s the “excitement” of the house…always getting into something!  She loves books, carrying her babies (or animals) around in her baby sling, and doing everything with mama.  She’s had 3 surgeries so far in her young life…one in China and two with us.  There will be more, but she always bounces back like a trooper.

Dylan –

Our newest little one arrived home in December 2010.  He had surgery to amputate his malformed lower left leg in February 2011 and should begin his fitting for a prosthesis this summer!

The Parents

Hi, Donna here :)  I’m the mom of this crew!  I spend my days at home with the kids, homeschooling them.  We’ve always homeschooled, beginning in 2001.   Also, I enjoy walking on the treadmill, reading, crochet, blogging, and organizing.  I also do a fair amount of carting kids to and from their activities.  My life can get hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Randy is an awesome dad, very involved with his kids and super affectionate with them.  He works from home, so he’s here with us quite a bit, which is wonderful.  In his spare time, he loves boating on his Ski Nautique, playing basketball, and watching ultimate fighting (blech).