So the decision in and our children will be between 0-6. This was not the age limit we were hoping for, but we know God’s plan is perfect.
Tonight, I’m sad, frustrated & disappointed that someone has the power to decide what is right for our family. And while we did not get what we want, it’s not about us. It is about following in obedience God’s call for us to adopt and it’s about the children he has purposed to be ours. He has set in motion the circumstances, timing and plan to bring us together & I can’t wait!
I can’t wait to hold you and love & tell you of how much God loves you. I can’t wait to dry your tears, answer your questions and comfort your wounded spirits. You are loved!
Wow! God is so amazing! This afternoon I wanted to try and get my mind off “the decision” so sat down to check on one of the adoption blogs I follow. I happened to click on the link to a blog they follow and there staring me in the face was the perfect verse for us at the very moment we needed it. See, part of the disappointment is the potential extended wait time that we are going to face. Once again God used His Word to remind me that He is in control of everything, including the timing. Habakkuk 2:3 - But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
WHAT?!?!
Today we received an email from the social worker doing our home study. It was a form letter to inform us she is resigning and her last day will be February 2nd. “WHAT”?!?! Yes, I immediately emailed her & asked if she is going to finish our home study and if they had yet decided on the age limit. She told me that yes, she was planning on finishing the report, well at least the draft, and no, they had not yet made their decision.
As I was anxious about what this meant for us and the timing of everything and what I needed to do, (well I don’t know what I thought I could do, but of course there was something I was supposed to do, right?) God put this verse before me. James 1:5-7 - 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. Yes Lord, I hear you. I continue to trust that You have this all under control.
As I was anxious about what this meant for us and the timing of everything and what I needed to do, (well I don’t know what I thought I could do, but of course there was something I was supposed to do, right?) God put this verse before me. James 1:5-7 - 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. Yes Lord, I hear you. I continue to trust that You have this all under control.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fingerprints – Round Two
Today Ken & I went and got our fingerprints done for the I600a. This form is required to bring an orphan into the country with immigration services. Thankfully a friend let us borrow their GPS system because we probably would’ve driven by it multiple times. We thought the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) building would’ve been more…well…big. Where we went was not the official office; it was a sub-office in a strip mall. It was kind of funny how our perception was so off. Our appointment went well and really fast. It was so wonderful to spend the 4 ½ hour round trip child free! I enjoyed having that quality time with my dear husband.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
YAY! Last Home Study Visit
It’s all over and now we wait. It was so wonderful to know that God was in control. They asked a ton of question and we gave a ton of answers, lol.
We are now waiting for them to decide on the age limit, which we should know within a week. And then we have to wait for the home study to be submitted & approved. I’m guessing that process will take one to one & a half months. At that point we’ll be referral ready. We’re so close!!
We did get some good news. We learned that our license is ready and the background check results are in. Exciting!!!
We are now waiting for them to decide on the age limit, which we should know within a week. And then we have to wait for the home study to be submitted & approved. I’m guessing that process will take one to one & a half months. At that point we’ll be referral ready. We’re so close!!
We did get some good news. We learned that our license is ready and the background check results are in. Exciting!!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Bit of a Bump & and Back to Basics – the last 2 weeks
So it seems that having children with special needs makes things a little more complicated in our state, or at least for us. 2 weeks ago we were told that the age limit we requested for our required license may not be approved, that it will most likely be lowered.
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do. Is it His desire is for us appeal this decision and fight for it? Or maybe this is His way of directing us to a lower age range. Or maybe…. Or maybe…… This may not seem like a big deal, but for some reason age has been issue for us. Partly because it could deny waiting children one family who is willing to accept them and it may greatly impact our referral wait time.
Since we received this news, we have felt a range of emotions; frustration, anger, sadness, doubt, uncertainty, and then repentance. God had led us this far, how could we think He would leave us now? We are trusting Him to direct our path, how could we now doubt that He was not in control? When things looked like they might be getting a little bumpy, we took it back from God. For that, Lord, we’re sorry.
We have ceased negative thinking, turned to prayer, and have given control back to God where it always belonged. The following verse has been running through my mind the last several days: Proverbs 3:5&6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. We have what we think will be our last home visit tomorrow and it’s wonderful to know that He is in control. Deuteronomy 31:8 - The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do. Is it His desire is for us appeal this decision and fight for it? Or maybe this is His way of directing us to a lower age range. Or maybe…. Or maybe…… This may not seem like a big deal, but for some reason age has been issue for us. Partly because it could deny waiting children one family who is willing to accept them and it may greatly impact our referral wait time.
Since we received this news, we have felt a range of emotions; frustration, anger, sadness, doubt, uncertainty, and then repentance. God had led us this far, how could we think He would leave us now? We are trusting Him to direct our path, how could we now doubt that He was not in control? When things looked like they might be getting a little bumpy, we took it back from God. For that, Lord, we’re sorry.
We have ceased negative thinking, turned to prayer, and have given control back to God where it always belonged. The following verse has been running through my mind the last several days: Proverbs 3:5&6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. We have what we think will be our last home visit tomorrow and it’s wonderful to know that He is in control. Deuteronomy 31:8 - The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
From Then Until Almost Now
Things have been flying! Let’s just say, things don’t usually go very smoothly for us. It has been so awesome and amazing to see God work! So here’s what happened.
Once we had a clear direction we jumped in with both feet. On November 25th, 09 we mailed in our application to the adoption agency we had chosen. The information we had said not to expect to hear anything for 2-2 ½ weeks. We figured it might take longer because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Imagine how excited we were to receive a welcome e-mail that following Monday (Nov 30). We then received the welcome packet the following Wednesday (Dec 2), one week from the time we mailed the application. Ken & I were like little kids on Christmas morning.
On Dec 1st we decided on an agency for our home study. Our first visit was Dec. 11th. We mailed the I 600-a in on Dec. 2nd and we were able to get the finger printing, needed for our state’s requirement, done on Dec. 3rd. Whew!
Another scheduling WOW for us was our physicals. I called on Tuesday, Dec 9th and was told we could all get in the next day. We were totally excited that 1) we would be able to get it done at the same time & 2) we were able to get a next day appointment. We thought for sure it would be at least a week to get at least some of us in. Unfortunately, when we woke up Wednesday morning everything, including our Doctor’s office, was closed due to a major snow storm. My excitement the day before was now replaced with disappointment. I called first thing Thursday morning and was told we could all get in that afternoon. Yep, I was excited again!
After we got things going, with agencies and paperwork, we told our families and started telling some of our friends. For the most part everyone has been very supportive, which has meant a lot.
Okay, I think we’re about caught up. Yeah!
Once we had a clear direction we jumped in with both feet. On November 25th, 09 we mailed in our application to the adoption agency we had chosen. The information we had said not to expect to hear anything for 2-2 ½ weeks. We figured it might take longer because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Imagine how excited we were to receive a welcome e-mail that following Monday (Nov 30). We then received the welcome packet the following Wednesday (Dec 2), one week from the time we mailed the application. Ken & I were like little kids on Christmas morning.
On Dec 1st we decided on an agency for our home study. Our first visit was Dec. 11th. We mailed the I 600-a in on Dec. 2nd and we were able to get the finger printing, needed for our state’s requirement, done on Dec. 3rd. Whew!
Another scheduling WOW for us was our physicals. I called on Tuesday, Dec 9th and was told we could all get in the next day. We were totally excited that 1) we would be able to get it done at the same time & 2) we were able to get a next day appointment. We thought for sure it would be at least a week to get at least some of us in. Unfortunately, when we woke up Wednesday morning everything, including our Doctor’s office, was closed due to a major snow storm. My excitement the day before was now replaced with disappointment. I called first thing Thursday morning and was told we could all get in that afternoon. Yep, I was excited again!
After we got things going, with agencies and paperwork, we told our families and started telling some of our friends. For the most part everyone has been very supportive, which has meant a lot.
Okay, I think we’re about caught up. Yeah!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Over the Next Month…..
we continued to pray, research and pray some more. There are 143,000,000 orphans in the world, how do you choose the country they come from? For various reasons we did choose to adopt internationally. My exposure to international adoptions was from either Asian or South American countries, so that is what I was drawn to.
We began researching the various adoption agencies and the countries in which they had programs; Asian, European, African, South American, etc. Many countries were crossed of the list pretty quickly due to some of the following reasons: the time required to stay in country (some 5-8 weeks), wait time for referral, siblings not being available, and some of them being legally closed to adoptions. I will be honest and say choosing a country was stressful for me.
On Nov 22, which happened to be National Adoption Day, God made everything clear. That evening we had friends over for dinner. These are the friends God used to put adoption back on our radar. I will call them C (her) and M (him). We talked about their adoption journey and where we were in the deciding process. We shared thoughts, concerns, hopes, and information. As I sat there I was thinking about the children that are to be ours, and then I started getting REALLY excited. I saw the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I wanted to jump up and down for joy and yell out that I knew where God wanted us to adopt from, but I waited to share it with Ken after our friends left. Although, I will say, I was dying to tell them. See, they too are adopting siblings and in the same age range we are wanting. When I thought about our children and their children I thought how awesome it would be for the children to have someone besides their siblings to look like, sound like, and have the same heritage. I learned, when we were able to talk later, that Ken was thinking the same thing. It was clear to both of us that we were to adopt from Ghana, West Africa.
Such a peace and joy came over us. It was days before I could stop smiling. Also, it was so fun to tell our friends that we were going to be adopting from the same country. They have been such a support and encouragement to us. We are excited to be on this journey together. Thanks guys!
We began researching the various adoption agencies and the countries in which they had programs; Asian, European, African, South American, etc. Many countries were crossed of the list pretty quickly due to some of the following reasons: the time required to stay in country (some 5-8 weeks), wait time for referral, siblings not being available, and some of them being legally closed to adoptions. I will be honest and say choosing a country was stressful for me.
On Nov 22, which happened to be National Adoption Day, God made everything clear. That evening we had friends over for dinner. These are the friends God used to put adoption back on our radar. I will call them C (her) and M (him). We talked about their adoption journey and where we were in the deciding process. We shared thoughts, concerns, hopes, and information. As I sat there I was thinking about the children that are to be ours, and then I started getting REALLY excited. I saw the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I wanted to jump up and down for joy and yell out that I knew where God wanted us to adopt from, but I waited to share it with Ken after our friends left. Although, I will say, I was dying to tell them. See, they too are adopting siblings and in the same age range we are wanting. When I thought about our children and their children I thought how awesome it would be for the children to have someone besides their siblings to look like, sound like, and have the same heritage. I learned, when we were able to talk later, that Ken was thinking the same thing. It was clear to both of us that we were to adopt from Ghana, West Africa.
Such a peace and joy came over us. It was days before I could stop smiling. Also, it was so fun to tell our friends that we were going to be adopting from the same country. They have been such a support and encouragement to us. We are excited to be on this journey together. Thanks guys!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Verses Related to Orphans
James 1:27 - 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.
Psalms 68:5-6 - Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.
Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Proverbs 31:8-9 - Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice
.
Matthew 18:5 - And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Matthew 25:40 - I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!
Psalms 10:14,17-18 - You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
Galatians 4:4-6 - But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Psalms 68:5-6 - Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.
Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Proverbs 31:8-9 - Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice
.
Matthew 18:5 - And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Matthew 25:40 - I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!
Psalms 10:14,17-18 - You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
Galatians 4:4-6 - But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
How It All Started
“Are you Crazy??!!!! Do you live in this house? Do you live this life? No! No! No!” That is (sadly) how I responded to my husband when he asked what I thought about us adopting.
Wait! I should explain myself. In 16 years of marriage we have experienced infertility and we’ve had 2 children which opened the door to dr. appointments, therapies, developmental delay and autism. But that is a story for another day. It’s not like we hadn’t talked about adoption before, but that was years ago. We had also, in more recent years, even talked about fostering.
Okay, so that little conversation happened early spring of this year (2009). And why it happened was because some friends of our officially announced they were adopting. I was not at church that day due to a sick child.
Over the remainder of spring and into the summer I remained closed, but tried to be open. I thought about it, prayed about, but was still resisting. We even went to an international adoption informational meeting…out of town…telling no one.
Then it happened. It was about the 3rd week in October when Ken came across information on the internet sharing about Orphans Sunday (Nov 8th). We sat together (on our couch) watched videos, read scripture, listened to testimonials, and I cried…a lot. God totally softened my heart and clearly told me we were to adopt.
Wait! I should explain myself. In 16 years of marriage we have experienced infertility and we’ve had 2 children which opened the door to dr. appointments, therapies, developmental delay and autism. But that is a story for another day. It’s not like we hadn’t talked about adoption before, but that was years ago. We had also, in more recent years, even talked about fostering.
Okay, so that little conversation happened early spring of this year (2009). And why it happened was because some friends of our officially announced they were adopting. I was not at church that day due to a sick child.
Over the remainder of spring and into the summer I remained closed, but tried to be open. I thought about it, prayed about, but was still resisting. We even went to an international adoption informational meeting…out of town…telling no one.
Then it happened. It was about the 3rd week in October when Ken came across information on the internet sharing about Orphans Sunday (Nov 8th). We sat together (on our couch) watched videos, read scripture, listened to testimonials, and I cried…a lot. God totally softened my heart and clearly told me we were to adopt.
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