GABRIEL for the Kladder family — MI

Ben and Holly are not new to the adoption world, nor to special needs adoption, having adopted all four of their children (now ages 15, 11, 7, and 6), three of whom were once waiting children with special medical needs. Ellie came home from S. Korea in 2006 and Bereket came home from Ethiopia in 2008. Ezra was adopted as an infant domestically in 2011, and XuBin came home from China in 2014. When they arrived home from China in 2014, they both assumed that their family was complete. Holly had been the “pusher” when it came to adding children to the family and she made a vow to God and to Ben that she wasn’t going to push anymore. It wasn’t fair to Ben for Holly to always be leading the charge toward another child and it wasn’t fair to Holly either, as she wasn’t allowing herself to trust God to lead Ben through His spirit, to trust Him with His timing, and ultimately to trust in His plans for their family. She kept her promise.

Holly began advocating for Gabriel, a little boy who had captured her heart back in 2013. She advocated through social media and in person whenever she conversed with someone who she thought might be interested. She told God that she didn’t need to be Gabriel’s mother, she just needed someone to be. Someone needed to love this little boy that she loved. She prayed that his family would find him. She began donating a small monthly amount to his Reeces Rainbow account so that when his adoptive family found him, they would have a grant to use toward their adoption.

Life went on. They were happily raising 4 kids and working full time. Their hearts and hands were full.

Imagine Holly’s shock when Ben told her one day in November that he was 100% positive that they were supposed to adopt Gabriel! The message was clear: they were his family and this little love was waiting for them this whole time. Ben and Holly look forward to welcoming Gabriel into their family in August or September 2018.

5/4/2018 — DOSSIER SUBMITTED 4/17