Why Not???

I mentioned earlier this week that we'd be posting some exciting news......and the time has come in which I can FINALLY make it official.....so here it is!!!!!!!!!!

Many of you have been with us from the start of our adoption journey....the journey that actually started when we were first married 8 years ago and were told we would more than likely not have biological children.  The word "adoption" rolled off our tongues shortly before our first wedding anniversary.  But truthfully, we were only speaking that word because we simply wanted children.

Fast forward a few years and THREE biological children later, we felt God asking us to adopt.  That was February of 2011.  It was no longer just a desire to have children....but a passion, a calling, a heart for the fatherless.

We had no question that God was calling us down the path of international adoption, and we quickly decided on Ethiopia and signed through America World Adoption. 

What we did have questions about were the "parameters."  I don't like that word when talking about children...but that's how it felt.  Boy, girl, age range, special needs.  We discussed and debated it all.  Having those conversations and knowing you're saying "no" to thousands of children who are waiting for a family HURTS.

At that time 2 years ago we were expecting to wait 6-12 months for a referral and with the ages of our children at the time, decided to request a girl 0-18 months.  We didn't even consider an older child, and being we had 2 boys and 1 girl, it was a natural desire to have another girl. 

Well, you may know the next chapter of this story...shortly after we signed paperwork with AWAA the wait times increased.  By the time we had collected all our paperwork and got our dossier sent to Ethiopia the wait times changed to 2-3 YEARS for an infant.  We were a little crushed, but willing to wait this out. 

THEN...God once again clearly asked us to pursue a concurrent adoption. 
We were TERRIFIED. 
The cost of one adoption is astronomical....
now we were being asked to adopt ANOTHER child in the midst of this waiting?!?!?!?! 

Within a few weeks we signed paperwork with A Love Beyond Borders to adopt a 0-18 month girl from Congo.......

And now, here we are another year down the road...finally at a place of rest.  Our Addy Rose is home, we're done building our house....life is starting to feel "normal" again....

Or so we thought!!!!!!!

Through these last two years we've grown tremendously and learned A LOT.  Part of our adoption journey led us down the path of starting an orphan ministry at our church.  This led to reading numerous books on adoption and orphan care.  Also, being a part of the Congo AND Ethiopia network we've "met" a ton of people and followed numerous stories.

Through all of this, we've been touched. 

I slowly found myself addicted to our agency's waiting child list and staring at the faces of older children who are waiting for adoption.  I've followed TONS of stories of families who have brought home children out of the most commonly adopted 0-2 year range. 

I started to feel this slight push from God.

I wanted sooooo badly to ignore it, yet I started to think more and more of what it would possibly look like to adopt an older child.

But no...that's not for us.

We have four young children, and Eli's the oldest.  I've heard of agency's with the strict rule of following birth order.  We couldn't do that.  Eli already relates himself as the oldest child in our family.

But...I still found ways to slightly hint at an older child to Bobby.  He never once said no, and we began to discuss it a little more and more--you know, just light bed chatter.

And then, one quiet night in February, Eli and I were chatting in the living room.  Adoption and orphan care is a common topic in our house, so I was not surprised when he started asking questions about children in orphanages and about our friends who had recently adopted domestically.  Eli had NO CLUE we had EVER thought of adopting an older child. 

And then, he looked at me...

"Mom, what if God asked us to adopt a big boy or girl?"

Me (shocked as I had just mentioned this the night before with my close friends, asking them to be praying about it), "Why would you say that??"

"Well, I just think that would be really cool.  I'd love to have a boy my age or a bigger brother or sister."

Excuse #1 (Eli needs to be the oldest) SCRATCHED.

After this night we began to talk more about this possibility with our children, family, close friends.

Every time I thought about it, I'd hear God's voice....."WHY NOT?????"

And that's what pushed us to make ANOTHER leap of faith. 

WHY NOT????

Another thing holding us back was our selfish desire to have more babies in the house.  Both Bobby and I LOVE (and I mean LOVE) babies.  I think I could birth 20 more children and still have a desire to have more!  The thought of knowing Addy is our last toddler to be bouncing around the house is SAD!

But, I've come to the realization that this desire of mine will NEVER go away.  My mom says she still has that "baby fever" feeling...it's who I am (it's who Bobby is).  And we all know I can't just keep mothering babies on end!

Another part of this the OTHER MOMS.  Our agency's wait list for children 0-2 is LOOOONG!  Many of the families on the wait list are families who God has called to adopt because of infertility.  I've been this mom, and I know how hard that road is....our selfish desires for another baby means numerous famlies waiting longer for their FIRST child from God.

Excuse #2 (We need another baby) SCRATCHED.

Quite honestly, those were the only things holding us back. Yes, we have other things we'll have to deal with: language barrier, where they'll sleep (WE HAVE THE ROOM...just need to figure out the logistics), what school will look like, and of course THE MONEY. 

But, we trust in the Lord. 

We have the room, we have the hearts, we have the passion, we've been called down this path....
WHY NOT??????????????

Official request: 0-18 month old girl

0-11 year old child, or 2 siblings ages 0-11.

As we celebrate Easter this week, I can't help but think of what Christ did for us
(Ep 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses).....
and in turn, what can I do for HIM? 

We can ignore the call God places in our lives and simply go on living in what may be comfortable.  Or, we can live a radically, obediently, stepping out in faith even when we don't fully understand or know what may lie ahead!

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

WHY NOT?????????