Papercuts

We have officially been thrown into the whirlwind of adoption paperwork! We had been warned this was coming but now we are living it. We know that in the end it will all be worth it, but it's definitely taking its toll for now! This not only includes actually filling out tedious papers, but also collecting many documents (doctor's notes, birth certificates and financial statements (just to name a small few). We are starting our homestudy which is responsible for much of this paperwork, and will also include several meetings with our social worker. Soon we will begin our dossier. This is just a large compilation of papers that clarifies our ability to adopt an international child. They want to thoroughly and completely make sure you are qualified to handle this big responsibility. While I completely understand all that is required in order to adopt, I can't help but wonder how I was able to have 3 children already without a single question being asked of me! :)

There are many people who have asked us about the time-line of our adoption process. While there's no way to know exactly how long it will be until we are able to travel to China and bring our daughter home, we do know that the process can take a while. Our totally random and un-official guess is somewhere between 2 and 3 years. We started this process when we did because we knew it would take AT LEAST this amount of time and we wanted Micah to be older and a little more independent by the time our little girl comes home. Micah is still very much a baby (and quite needy) and we are not ready for the responsibility of another child just yet. But, by starting this journey when we did, our hope is that it will still allow all our children to be fairly close in age as we would like all FOUR of them to grow up together and be great (if not BEST) friends!!

New Year, New Journey

About 3 years ago, Aaron and I sat together at a church listening to a sermon. I honestly don't remember exactly what was preached. But based on what Aaron and I brought away from that day it was probably on one or more of the following verses:

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

 

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Psalm 82:3

 

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5 

 

What I DO remember very well is that this particular sermon sparked a burden in both mine and Aaron's heart. We didn't realize until we later discussed it that we were both feeling the same way...and that was that God may very well have a place for adoption in our future family. At the time, Reid was very young and we weren't quite certain if we were done having children. But now, a few years and 3 kids later, we feel quite certain that our time of bearing biological children has come to an end and it has become clear that it's time for us to persue this calling God placed on our hearts years ago.

 

We have started the process of adopting a little girl from China! Why China? Well, honestly, it all started with the knowledge of how girls are treated there. They are not as favored because they can not carry on the family name. And in some areas of China, there is a "one-child only" policy so if couples have a girl first they often will give her up in hopes of having a boy next time. Also, many children born with medical problems and/or birth defects are given up due to the parents inability to care for them. After this initial interest in China was sparked, we began to do more reading/research about the orphanages there. One book that was recommended to us was Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage. I highly recommend this book! It's raw, gut-wrenching and very eye-opening!

 

I have been blessed beyond measure with my 3 boys. I know we have been given all boys for a reason and I LOVE the make-up of my current family. But the thought of my boys having a little sister to love on absolutely melts my heart. And the idea of my boys loving on a little girl who might never have known the love of big brothers (or a family) melts my heart even more!

 

We are excited and scared. This is a huge leap of faith for us and something that would not typically work well with my personality. I like control and have a hard time putting my faith in others...even God. But we feel so right about this decision that God would have to seriously slam some doors for us to not persue it. We invite you to pray with us, for our newest, future family member (as well as her caretakers) as we begin, what could possibly be, one of the hardest and most rewarding journeys we've ever been on!

Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Those blessings come from the heavenly world. They belong to us because we belong to Christ.  God chose us to belong to Christ before the world was created. He chose us to be holy and without blame in his eyes. He loved us. So he decided long ago to adopt us as his children. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it. All those things bring praise to his glorious grace. God freely gave us his grace because of the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:3-6