Thursday, February 7, 2013

our adoption journey...

we don't really use this blog anymore but thought it would be the best way to share our story! enjoy:)

For those of you who may not know and are interested in our adoption journey, here is a quick summary on how it all began.... 
For as far back as I can remember, I knew that adopting would be part of my story. I have always been fascinated by orphanages and hearing adoption stories.  Chris has always had a heart for adoption because both of his siblings were adopted domestically. 

Our first year of marriage we were able to spend part of our Christmas break at an orphanage in Haiti.  If you have ever been to another country or exposed to children in those environments, you know you come back and are never the same. You can't be. Their dusty little joyful faces and the way they clung to us and reached up to us will forever be etched in our minds and hearts. Needless to say, we fell in love with the people of Haiti and desperately wanted to bring a baby home from there! Unfortunately, because Of our age and how long we have been married, we did not meet the Haitian governments requirements. So, we waited because we were sure this was where the Lord was leading. Insert 2 biological kids, 21 months apart here! After catching our breaths a little we started the process for Haiti. But, after over a year of waiting for them to change their policy we started feeling led to move forward with something. We said we would pray for a month and start researching other countries. It's a pretty overwhelming task because the numbers are astounding. Our eyes fell upon the number 4.6 MILLION ORPHANS in Ethiopia. We knew we could no longer have an empty bed in our home and see that number without moving forward. We started the paper chase in July and are now officially waiting! We will probably be waiting for a year or longer.

We have requested an infant girl (0-2) and we pray every day for "baby sister." please join us in praying for protection for her whether she is in the womb still or already in an orphanage....we are praying for extra arms to hold her close and rock her....for her birth mom to be protected and brave and whatever her story is that she would come to know how loving and gracious our God is! Thank you for caring enough to read this! More to come....

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." psalm 82:3-4