The Roller Coaster Has Started

If you would have asked me how I felt about all of this adoption stuff on Friday, it wouldn't have been good. I was feeling really overwhelmed by the process, scared about the attachment/bonding issues, and just really nervous about the whole thing. (Yes, I am human!) I had a mound of paperwork that we still hadn't been able to start yet, and lots of guilt that we hadn't gotten to it yet.

Not fun.

But thankfully God provided a beautiful afternoon and we were able to get outside and play for the first time in months. The moment I put Megan in the swing and pushed her she just started cracking up. Between hearing her laugh, watching my big kids run around with all their friends in the neighborhood, and getting some good old fashioned sunshine and fresh air, I began to feel much better.

I talked through my fears and concerns with one of my dearest friends who has been through this home study process, and she was so supportive and encouraging. She understood my feelings and fears, but encouraged me to take them to the Lord and just to continue to trust Him through this process. We do completely believe He's led us thus far, and so now it's only a matter of continuing onto the next step. One step at a time...

I just think it's kind of a strange feeling that with an adoption you continually have lists of things to do, and it almost feels like with every step of the process you're choosing over and over that this is what you want. When you are pregnant biologically, there's no turning back! I don't really think it's a bad thing that you follow all these steps and have all these opportunities for examination, it's just different from what I've previously experienced.

Well, we finally had some chunks of time to sit down and start our paperwork this weekend. It really isn't as daunting as it seems, it's just time consuming. I believe I can honestly say I've never answered so many questions about myself in my whole life. In the last two days, we've completed extensive autobiographies about ourselves, a five page paper filled with questions titled "Me as a Person", and a whole page of questions about how we feel about transracial/transcultural adoption. We've also made a big dent in our criminal background releases and financial backgrounds. I chatted with our doctor's office on Friday figuring out all we need to do for our medical checks. I also chatted today with our lawyer with OFA going over requirements for this step and the upcoming one. She was very encouraging as well.

Whew.

While I may have started the weekend nervous and overwhelmed, I'm feeling much better about it all. It actually is starting to fall into place and it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Now that is a bright spot!

2 Minute Glance

Here is a really short (2 minute) video put together to show some of the need that exists in Congo. These next nine months can't go fast enough!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgViwIbVHZw&feature=player_embedded#

(Sorry...I don't know how to get the cute little Youtube video screen to show in my blog. I realize this is so old school...you'll actually have to click the link above!)

Bunnies for Congo

Josh has been doing this really amazing art class the past three days. I will say that it was really intense, but so, so great. The man who teaches it is wonderful at what he does. He raises the bar very high and expects great effort, but is so encouraging at the same time. He just kept stressing that art is a learned skill and just takes a lot of practice.

I would say that historically art has not been Josh's strong suit (although he is only 6 1/2, so I don't want to write anything off at this point!) : ) He typically just doesn't want to spend the time doing it. But...he did so well over the past three days and really enjoyed it. The class ended today and he came home and just wanted to draw all afternoon. I love it!

Yesterday's homework was to draw a bunny and name it. There would be three prizes given for the best bunny with the most original name. Top prize was $50, which of course had all the kids excited. Now keep in mind that there were over 100 kids there, so odds of winning were slim, but they were still all abuzz about what they'd do with $50.

It was so precious to hear Josh's plan. He came home and said, "Mom, I've gotta win that prize. I need to send that money to Congo. *pause* Well, actually, I'll probably share it."

So I said, "Oh, you're going to keep half and send half to Congo?"

And he responded, "No. I'm going to send half to Congo, and half to Haiti."

Oh melt my dear mommy heart. Love that kid!

He had a purpose and got right to work. However, within 24.6 seconds, he was done. He had drawn a bunny that he decided to name Cow. I loved the irony for the name, but the picture? Well, here...you see...

I'll just say I tried to be as encouraging as I could. Bless his heart.

We were gone in the afternoon for the home study meeting and then ended up having dinner over at our neighbors' house, so it was almost bedtime when we got home. Uh oh. We had forgotten to finish Cow. He still needed to be colored. Josh decided, though, that he wasn't crazy about Cow the Bunny after all and wanted to try again.

He worked for awhile and tried a couple of different times, and here's what he came up with instead. Meet Jumping Jack the Bunny...(Just FYI, the writing above is the bunny's name, and his name and age. It's just hard to read.)

We were so proud of him! He spent a little more time on it, and this version was much better! We don't know yet who won the contest as we had to turn the bunnies in today, but I'm just proud that he wanted to do a good job. And I may be partial, but I think Jumping Jack the Bunny is kinda cute...um, especially when compared to Cow the Bunny. And if he somehow is lucky enough to win the $50, I know there will be people around the world who are blessed. All because of a little bunny in the grass.

Here's a few other pics of him in the class. Enjoy!

Diving In

Whew. Well, we're on our way!

We had our first appointment with our home study provider this afternoon. With the word out that we're adopting and the paperwork in full swing, I'd say it's all definitely feeling more real now. A few days ago a friend asked me, "Do you feel pregnant? Because you are!" That was a sweet thing to say! : ) I really didn't at the time, but I'm starting to have moments where it feels that way!

We now have a whole list of forms to fill out, background checks to apply for, and TONS of information about ourselves to divulge. Honestly, there doesn't seem to be quite as much to fill out as we were afraid there could be, but it's still A LOT. Some of it seems silly, but some of it seems like it could be helpful. The lady we met with today talked a lot about preparing for an interracial adoption, and there's an entire form with questions preparing us for issues that could arise because of that. She also gave us TONS of material with books, websites, magazines, and classes for preparing for an adoption. I'll eat that stuff up. I can't wait to learn more!

But there's also parts I wish we could just skip over. I guess our state requires that every member of our family have a TB test. Yuck-o. Have they met my son? He will scream like a baby. Seriously. I'm really dreading that. And evidently we have to apply for new birth certificates and a new marriage license. You know, in case somehow the details of our births changed from the last time we ordered birth certificates.

The paperwork doesn't bother me. I just keep telling myself it's just like the grant applications I used to have to put together for work. I think the only thing I'm having a hard time with is not having a nice, neat, completely spelled out step-by-step process. We still have some questions about the timing of things, and the order that we should do things. If you know me, you know that I am a spreadsheet and list-maker, not to mention a rule follower. I just want to make sure we're doing the right things at the right times. I know we've got a great team of people who can help us through it all, but it's just not all spelled out the clearest.

Hubby was right...we're just going to have to dive on in. If we just start doing things, all the details will get worked out.

And I firmly believe that in the end, all of this paperwork will be worth it!!!

From Three to Five - Their Thoughts

So I thought I'd finally check in with my three cuties and see what they're thinking about all of this excitement. While I felt like I could pretty accurately share their thoughts, I figured I better just check with them to make sure. Plus, it was a teaching moment. We learned what a journalist is and how they interview people to find out what's going on in the world. I put on my imaginary journalist hat and went to work. So you can follow along, each one of us is represented in a different color: Mommy, Josh (6), Sarah (4), and Megan (23 1/2 months).

So , I hear something big’s going on in your life. What is it?
Yep…it’s an adoption.

Can you tell me about it?
Well, I’m really excited because I have wanted a brother for a long time.
I’m so excited that we might get a girl.

But what if we get two brothers?

Then, Josh would have more brothers.

Well, you would too, silly. What do you think about that?

That’d be good. Then I can be happy with two good brothers. They’re going to be very good and have one toy at a time. (Can you tell we’ve been struggling with a messy house!?! They hear “one toy at a time” like a hundred times a day!) : )

Megan, what do you think about adopting two more kids?

Um, I want um um doptions. (Translation: I want adoptions. I kept asking her why, but all she’d say was because. Sorry, she’s still not two. That’s all you’ll get from her. She was more interested in playing babies.) : )

So what do you think about it, guys?
I’m excited to have a brother because I’ve really wanted a brother for a long time. I’m excited to share my toys and have another kid in our family, because I’ve always wanted to adopt a brother and sister and I just love having brothers and sisters. I’m used to a sister. I’d also like to take care of baby brothers because I like to play with boys. And I like to play with my sisters, too.
I think I’m happy. I want them here now.

Are you nervous about having new brothers or sisters?
NO! I’m happy.
No, I don’t feel nervous, because we’re going to have some new kids and I’m going to be happy. I’m so happy because I can see my brothers and if we’re going to get a sister, we can have another sister.
I’ll give lots of hugs and kisses, and I’ll ask to hold the baby.

And that's it, folks. Out of the mouths of babes. They're really excited about it all. When we first sat them down to tell them we were even considering this, Josh's comment was, "Well if there's babies who are hungry and who need mommies and daddies, why don't we go get one today?" Pretty cute. Wish it were that simple, buddy.

The other really telling thing to me is one of their new favorite things to play is adoption. I'll hear them in the other room saying that they're filling out paperwork to go get "their orphan."

We have to keep reminding them that once our children are ours, they're no longer orphans! (I can see it now...the five kids and me in Walmart a year from now. Josh and Sarah can respond to the curious public with, "they're our orphans.")

I can't wait for the amazing day when they go from being an orphan to being our son or daughter! And I'm glad my children are excited for that day, too!

Sidetracked

So I know I still need to share the kids' response to all of this. I've told you I'd share and I will. They really are cute kids with awesome hearts.

But each time I sit down to write that post, another post just tugs at my heart. Only it's not mine. It's one that a new friend of mine whom I've not even met wrote.

The adoption community is a really awesome group of people with amazing hearts. I've added some links over on the right side of my page if you'd like to look around some of these great adoption blogs. Megan's blog is the one that I found that very first night we even learned about Congo and I was hooked. She's a great writer and I've loved following her journey to get their son. She just returned home one week ago from Congo and posted yesterday about what it was like to visit the orphanage in Kinshasa. It's that post that has me sidetracked. It's been on my heart for the last 24 hours.

I will warn you...it's not an easy post to read. But I hope you will anyways. It will trouble you. But, it's so easy when you know that there are 5 million children just like these who so desperately need help and hope to just dismiss them all, figuring there's no possible way to help the situation. But when I read it, my heart wonders if any of those faces I see are my children's. These could be OUR children's stories. These literally could be pictures of them.

Here is the post.

And after you read it, will you DO something to help? I don't have the answers about how to fix the problems in Congo, but I know of at least a few things we can each do to help:

1. Pray. Seriously, the problems in Congo are so severe that it seems that only God Almighty could fix them. We can't underestimate the power of prayer.

2. Support any families you may know who are adopting one of these children. Adoption is not an easy journey and much encouragement is needed throughout the application process, the wait, and certainly once the kiddos come home. We feel so blessed to have such a great network of support. Please know it's appreciated and needed! Some families are not so fortunate.

3. If you feel led to help financially, the not-for-profit that is helping us with our adoption not only helps kids find forever families, but also provides ongoing assistance to the children remaining in Congo. There's a link right on their homepage if you'd like to make a donation. Or, if the online giving thing isn't your thing, their contact information is right there, too.

I have to believe that together, and with God's help, we CAN make a difference.

So Really...Are We Crazy? Why 2!?!?

Two? Really? So you'll have FIVE kids then? Are you crazy?

Whew. Breathe. Yes...really 2. And crazy? Maybe. : )

So here's the story at how we arrived at 2...

Anytime we ever talked about an interracial adoption, I would tell Hubby that I thought it would be cool if we adopted 2 so they wouldn't feel as singled out. And he would say to me, "Are you nuts? That's five kids!"

So these last few weeks as we've been feeling God leading us very specifically to Congo, he's the one who has been saying to me that he felt like God was leading him to two children instead of just one. And now that it was becoming a reality and not just something to dream about for the future, I was the one who wasn't so sure.

Five kids - three of whom would be 2 and under? How would I do my grocery shopping? Travel? Eat out? Watch all of their soccer games? Give my best to our homeschool? Will people still want to get together with us to hang out? I mean, there will be seven of us. That's a lot of people and a lot of mouths to feed. Will we ever have a moment of quiet again? Ever? Will we have enough money left over after we pay for this adoption and feed and clothe seven people for fun things? What will we drive? (We can't fit five car seats in our minivan.) And the questions and worries go on and on...

But here's the thing...All the reasons I had for not adopting two were purely selfish. I want to be comfortable. My flesh cries out that it should be about me. But it's so not. And in my heart, I don't want it to be.

God just slowly and graciously showed me that being a Christian isn't about being comfortable. It's about taking up my cross and following Him. And that's not something that is easy to do.

First, He showed me through scripture. Colossians 3:1-2 totally grabbed my attention one day while I was busy planning our vacations for the year. It says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." It just dawned on me that while I'm worried about all of the things of the world, there are babies dying because there's no one to help.

He spoke to me through prayer, and as I slowly gave Him my fears and my worries, I felt Him telling me to just trust Him. "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

He even used some blogs to speak to me. Go figure! : ) I think the most powerful one and the one that resonated most to me was this one here. There's another amazing blog called the Journey which chronicles the life of a 21 year-old could be college co-ed who instead has devoted her life to following God, wherever He may lead. He happened to take her to Uganda. She has adopted 14 beautiful girls. Yes, 14. By herself. And did you catch that she's 21? Reading her blog definitely challenged me to look at my life and wonder if I'm living it for myself or for Him.

Now please don't read me wrong. I'm not saying that we all have to move overseas like this girl did. And I'm not saying that everyone should adopt two kids from Congo. These kind of decisions are responses to God's specific leading and take some serious prayer and consideration. I'm simply saying that God has really been teaching me a lot about what it means to really follow Christ. If we want to follow Him with all that we are and we're truly seeking His will, He's going to call us to things that are beyond ourselves. I mean, if we're only living life doing things we can accomplish on our own then we don't really need Him, do we?

We're feeling stretched here. If I told you otherwise, I'd be lying. But it's a good stretch. It's a stretch to get us beyond ourselves. Beyond focusing on the things of this world, and instead seeing things and people the way God sees them.

Is there something God is calling you to and you're scared because it will stretch you unlike anything else? Don't just say no. Seek Him. Cry out to Him. Trust Him.

You see, it will be a little crazy around here. This adoption will cost a lot of money. We will need a new vehicle. It will be harder to go on vacations and out to dinner. My days will be more hectic. And loud. But those are all earthly concerns. When we choose not to focus on those and instead focus on heavenly concerns, all we see are children who are hungry, and sick, and lonely. Children who need a forever family. Children who need to know there is a God who made them, knows them, loves them, and sent His son to die for them to save them.

And how can we put our own comfort above that? We can't. We choose not to.

So are we crazy? Maybe a little. : ) Crazy for God. Crazy about following Him.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wow...we are floored by the support we're receiving! We have the best friends and family members in the world! Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and genuine interest. It all means so much to us!

Since there has been so much interest, I thought I'd go ahead and address some of the most commonly asked questions...

What is the time frame?
The process is estimated to be about nine months. Hmm...know any other kids that take nine months to get home? We think it's pretty cool that it's about the same time God gives you to prepare for a biological child! While it could be as little as six months and as much as one year, we've been told that nine months is a safe bet.

Are we getting girls or boys or one of each?
We don't know for sure yet. We've asked for at least one boy.

How old will they be?
We don't know this for sure yet, either. We asked for at least one baby, which is really any child under 12 months. We are okay with the other one being up to age 2. We just want to make sure that we keep our birth order, so we don't want one to be older than Megan.

Will they be siblings?
Not necessarily. If there are siblings or even twins available, great, but they don't have to be.

Where are we at in the process?
Our initial application to Our Family Adoptions (OFA) was accepted last week. We submitted our initial application for our home study earlier this week. The home study process is estimated to take about 4-6 weeks and after that is complete, we will submit our i600A form to the US Government. That is our request that the government allow us to adopt a foreign-born child. It can take 3-4 months or more for an approval from them. They will send our approval to the national visa center and they will then send it on to the US Embassy in Kinshasa (the capital city in Congo). Meanwhile, we also submit our dossier (fancy name for documents required to process an adoption) to Congo and a lawyer over there represents us in their court system. After that, we wait for an interview date with the Embassy and then Hubby will travel to Congo to pick up our kiddos. Which leads me to...

Will you travel to Congo to get them?
Yes. But only Hubby. Because of the potential dangers of traveling to Congo, we feel like it's wisest for only one of us to travel there. He will be escorted by someone from OFA from the get go, and additional escorts will meet them on the ground in Kinshasa and be with them at all times. They will stay in a Methodist/Presbyterian hostel. And just for the record? It is killing me that I won't go. Even though I know it's best that I don't.

When will we get our referral? (Find out who our kids are?)
We don't know for sure. The amazing lady who runs OFA, has told us that she won't start looking for matches for us until after our home study is complete. Theoretically, at any point after that's done, we could find out who our kiddos are!

Any more questions? Keep 'em coming. We really don't mind! I know I still have other things to address, too, like what the kids think about all this, and why in the world we're adopting 2! And obviously, if you've read this far in our journey, you know I've no shortage for things to talk about. : )

Stay tuned!

Where From? Why There?

I'm gonna be really ambitious and address both these questions in one post. : )

First question...where from?

The Democratic Republic of Congo (also known as Congo or DRC). It's right in the heart of Africa.

See why I didn't just have a post for only that question? It would have been like the shortest post in the history of short posts. So on to the bigger question....why Congo?

My previous post explained how we found out about it, but I really want to share with you some of the things I've learned about this very beautiful, but war-torn land and its resilient and courageous people.

Congo has the ability to become one of the wealthiest nations on the planet. There is an abundance of precious resources there - gold, diamonds, and coltan (a mineral used in cell phones). But militia groups kill, rape, and torture to have control of them. Over 5 MILLION people have died there since 1998. It's the worst war since World War 2, yet it has been largely ignored by the media and the western world.

And while it has the potential to be one of the richest nations on the planet, the people there live in deplorable conditions. Hundreds of thousands of them are living in refugee camps, because their villages are no longer even safe to inhabit.

The sexual violence against women is horrifying. Congo is one the worst places in the world for women. And kids? There are 5 MILLION orphans in Congo. Children only have a 4 in 10 chance to live to the age of 5. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of innocent, precious little ones die each day to completely preventable diseases and malnutrition. There is no excuse for this.

Our desire for an adoption has always been to provide a home and forever family for a child who was in great need and didn't have another option. Our hearts are so burdened for the people of Congo. We feel like we have to do something. And while we can't fix the problem, we can do our part. We can provide a safe, loving, healthy forever family for two of them.

5,000,000 orphans...minus 2.

It's at least a start.

One thing we really love about the organization helping us with our adoption, Our Family Adoptions, is that they are absolutely committed to not only finding families for children in need, but also for caring for those who remain in Congo and for raising awareness about their situation.
Because the 4,999,998 remaining children are precious in God's eyes and deserve hope, too.

Why now?

Well, like I mentioned previously, we've talked about adoption for several years now. Honestly, there was a time in my life when I wasn't interested in adoption for our family, but through the years God has really opened my eyes to the beauty of it.

All of our conversations about it, though, left us feeling completely overwhelmed. With so much need, how in the world do you know where to start? Domestic or international? If international, what country? How do you find an agency? How do you pay for it? We would usually come to the conclusion that if God wanted us to adopt, He could just place a child on our doorstep or have us cross paths with a woman considering an abortion or needing a family to adopt her baby. And He could do that. In fact, you never know if someday He doesn't do just that for us or for someone else!

A few weeks ago, some girlfriends and I went to see a movie and grab some yummy Starbucks for a Girls Night Out. I sat there explaining this very thing to them..."we feel led to it, but just don't know where or when or how...He'll just have to make it happen!" When I got home that night, Hubby was sound asleep and I couldn't sleep at all. (Thank you, decaf coffee!) So I went downstairs and got on Facebook (aka the biggest time eater of all time!) Well, this was also just after the Haiti earthquake. A friend of mine on Facebook had a status update that said something along the lines of "50 Haitian orphans will be in a city about an hour away by the end of the week and they need temporary and/or permanent homes. If you're able to help, contact me." Ohmygoodness, I couldn't sleep. Was this God placing an orphan on our doorstep???

I talked with Hubby early that next morning and we both agreed that we at least needed to look into it. So I made a few phone calls and essentially found that it was a dead end. There weren't going to be orphans coming after all.

Within a few days, though, we realized how disappointed we were. We really got ourselves excited thinking that an adoption really might happen! So at that point, we began investigating adoption more seriously. We sent off for and read cover to cover some information packets from adoption agencies. We sat through a webinar. We read ministry pamphlets about adoption. We talked with other adoptive families. Adoption was still very much on our hearts, yet we still did not feel called anywhere. We were back at the beginning and were quite discouraged.

Shortly thereafter, though, my church was having a girls get together. I wasn't sure I wanted to go because it had been one of those weeks where it seemed like we were hardly home. Hubby really encouraged me to go, though, and boy am I glad I did! While I was there I heard a friend talking about an adoption seminar at an agency I'd never heard of. She and her husband were going to go that very next night! She encouraged us to come along!

Well, that particular session was booked so we couldn't go, but I talked to her that night after she returned home. She told me about a particular country's adoption program - one that all the agencies I had looked at never mentioned. She shared some pictues of orphans and talked about the extreme need in that country.

It was practically immediate. Hubby and I both were in love. We just felt a calling to a certain place like we'd never felt before. Not that there's not need in other places; there certainly is! We just had never felt a pull in a specific direction before.

We couldn't sleep. Well, okay...I couldn't sleep. Hubby can fall asleep standing up. (Maybe not really, but close!) I stayed up for hours that first night researching online and reading blogs of other families who were adopting from this same place.

I found this picture and just couldn't get it out of my mind. It haunted me.

For days on end, we couldn't focus on our normal daily tasks. We were consumed and we felt giddy. It really felt like we were falling in love! That's the only thing I have to compare it to!

Because feelings can be misleading and because we wanted to be certain that this was God's idea and not ours, we've spent lots of time in prayer and discussion about whether or not this is right for our family. Without a doubt, we feel like this is where God is leading us. We are simply choosing to follow Him.

So that answers the why now question. Next up....where!?!? (Do I have you curious???)

Why Adoption?

First, I'm sure we'll get this question, so I'll just go there...Is it because we can't have more biological children? No. We have no reason to suspect that we couldn't have more biological children.

So why adoption?

Why not?

Sorry, just had to say it. : )

I think the more we fall in love with God and the more we learn about His heart, the more we fall in love with the idea of adoption. The Bible is pretty clear how God feels about orphans:

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." - Deut. 10:18

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." - Psalm 68:5

"Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matt. 25:34-40

(And that doesn't even cover the fact that as Christians WE'VE been adopted by HIM and are now heirs to His kingdom! That's HUGE!!!)

Okay, maybe I started off a little smart with my response "why not," but really...why not? We have a home with room for more. We have hearts with room for more. And there are something like 140 MILLION orphans around the world just longing for forever families. I really can't even wrap my mind around that number. It's just too big and it makes me feel way too helpless.

But it gets a whole lot more personal when I stop to consider that there's one little child somewhere out there who is hungry and no one comes to feed him. He's scared and no one comforts him. He crawls into bed at night and no one snuggles him, prays with him, asks about his favorite part of his day, and tucks him in. He wakes up wondering if today is the day that he'll find a forever family, but no one comes.

Makes me want to cry just thinking about it.

Yes, I know that there are many great, great folks out there who give everything they have to make orphanages better and safer places, and they work their tails off trying to respond to the kids' needs. (And I already feel grateful for the beautiful souls working in our children's orphanage. They are true heroes to us!) But even the best orphanages in the world pale in comparison to the love that a child would feel in a family.

Kids belong in families. It's really that simple. And that is why we're adopting.

Stay tuned for the next post...Why now?

Some Excitement Around Here

OK, I realize that my readership has dwindled to a handful of people. (Love you, Hubby, Mom, and whoever else stops in from time to time.) I also realize this is totally my fault. Who wants to check a blog day in and day out when I only update it every 3 to 6 months!?! Not me! (On a side note, that’s why I recommend subscribing to blogs you like, or using a service like bloglines.com.)

Well, I actually have news to report. After years of praying about something and wondering if it would be in God’s plan for us, we finally feel Him leading in very specific ways. So without further ado (drum roll, please….)

We are adopting!!!

And here's an even bigger surprise...not just one child, but two!!!

We are so. very. excited!!! We can’t wait to expand our family and will be using this blog more frequently to keep everyone updated through the process.

We already are blessed by so many who are so excited for us and want to hear every detail. We are so grateful for you and your support – and please know that we’re going to need it!! We hear we’re about to hop on a roller-coaster of highs and lows!

But we’re also sure that right away there are many questions…Why adoption? Why now? Where from? Why there? What’s the time frame? What do the kids think about this? Have you heard about the adopted kid who wouldn’t make eye contact with his parents (and other adoption nightmares)? Two more kids? Are you crazy?

And you know what? We are more than happy to share!

I’ll be spending the next few days (or sooner if I have enough free time) working through some of these questions. If you have any others, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to get to those, too.

But first, we’re just so excited. Yes, we are a little scared, too, but our overwhelming feeling is just sheer bliss. It already feels like two members of our family are missing in our home. We can’t wait to see who they are!!! : )

We have been so encouraged to read through other adoption blogs and hope to use this little spot on the web to not only share information about our journey, but to also encourage other families considering adoption and raise awareness about our new little ones' place of birth.

I hope you’ll start checking in again more frequently and celebrate with us during this amazing journey!!!

Whoo hooo!!!! It’s gonna be an awesome ride!!!