a finding ad

my sweet little man...

This is the ad that appeared in the "Guangxi Legal System Daily" in the first row, 10th ad of that edition. It was published on August 14, 2008, when Grady was nearly 7 months old.

this is a photo of the newspaper page the ad was featured on.


A finding ad is China's way of searching for an abandoned or lost child's parents---just in case the child was lost and not left to be found, just in case the child was stolen or kidnapped. I can tell you that few parents come forward to claim the children listed in these ads...because they are rarely lost or stolen or kidnapped.

A finding ad is a valuable piece of information to have. It gives all of the details that are known about a child's abandonement. As you can see---not much is trully known but it is at least one more piece of the puzzle we'll be able to give Grady when he is older. Usually, the ad's picture is the earliest one parents will get of their child...(We are extremely fortunate that whoever was caring for Grady at the time he was in custody at the local hospital--they took a photo of him...he is just a few days old in the picture. ) Sometimes the ad gives small tidbits of information like what the child was wearing or who found him... Grady's does not.

This is what the ad states:
"On January 26, 2008 a baby was found at the gate of the Social Welfare Institute on Fumin 3rd Rd. #12 Wuzhou City. She was born on January 21, 2008 (estimated) We don't know what her name was when she arrived at the institute, nut her Welfare institute given name is Wu Zhen Ao."

If you noticed that the ad refers to Grady as a "she"--DO NOT PANIC!! The Mandarin language (and many Asian languages) do not have masculine and feminine pronouns so the translation reflects this. Many babies are referred to as girls in these ads because historically- the children being abandoned were almost always girls with the rare exception of a special needs male child---like Grady.

Grady's name...is a point of contention for me. I want our children to have names that reflect deep caring and meaning. The name "Grady" was the name of my great grandfather...he was married to Ruby. "Fletcher" is his 2nd name--it is the name of Will's grandfather who died far too young...he was married to Francis (our daughter Ruby's 2nd name is Francis). These names are deeply seated in the fabric of my family...as are all the names of my children- William, Adams, Reames, Holland, Margaret, Ruth, Woodville, Ruby, Francis, Grady, Fletcher. Our last two children also have names that reflect the culture they were born into--these names were chosen for them by the people who cared for them when they were tiny and helpless and waiting for their mother to come whisk them away to their forever families. I did not choose these names...but I would not take away the ONLY thing they have left of China and the very first gifts they were given. BUT I am not thrilled with the pronunciation of one or the meaning of the other. My first inclination was to change their names to something I chose---still Chinese---but more pleasing to the ear or mind. So I prayed and asked for discernment about what to do. If I DID change their names- I think I would constantly be reminding them that their 1st names were this or that...or they would ask me what name their nannies in the orphanage called them. You know how children love to hear stories about when they were babies. So- I stuck with the names they came to me with--for middle names--- One day, I hope to be blessed to know the names their birth mother's gave them...


There is no other identifying information--no clues to help us search out Grady's birth parents should the political climate in China change to allow for this. NOTHING. All I know is that Grady's parents knew enough to leave him where he would be found quickly and that they probably left him to be found BECAUSE of his clubbed feet....maybe they didn't have the money to have him treated, maybe they were superstitious about having a child with this special need, maybe they were pressured by family to try again to have a "perfect baby" and therefore give this one up.

I DON"T KNOW...but I'll tell you that God knew this would happen...and He knew that Grady needed to be born in China with his birth parent's set of genes...and that he needed to be raised by Will and I here in America....in our family.

There is a plan!!! and even though I don't know what it is...I trust my God to take care of me. With all the unanswered questions--this gives me infinite hope and really takes a load off...I don't have to figure it all out.

(BIG sigh!!)