Last Feb. we attended an Adoption for Life Conference. This is where we first sensed God calling us to adopt from Africa. We came home from the conference excited to start the adoption process. First, we had to choose an adoption agency. We were able to meet Amber and Troy, friends of Jon ad Kelsey's. They have an adorable son who was adopted from Ethiopia and are in the process of adopting a daughter. They used All God's Children International and highly recommended the agency. We decided that we wanted to adopt from Rwanda and wanted AGCI to be our agency.
AGCI is located in Oregon, so we had to find a local agency to complete our home study. We knew from the start that we wanted to use the Louisiana Baptist Children's home. At first it didn't look like this would be a possibility, but thankfully the agencies were able to work together to make it happen. This was a huge answer to prayer!
We found out yesterday that our application was received and that we have been accepted into the Rwanda adoption program at AGCI. We are so excited to finally get started! We should receive our orientation packet the first of next week. Once we sign all of the necessary paperwork, we will officially begin on our adoption journey.
We are thankful for the prayers God has already answered and look forward to what else He has in store for us.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Five Years Ago
In June of 2005 Justin and I became the foster parents of two of the sweetest children ever. Sebastian was four and a half and Lilith was 7 weeks old. I will never forget how overwhelmed I felt when the social worker handed me Lilith who was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was not a happy baby that day. I will never forget watching Justin and Sebastian instantly bond and thinking that Justin was going to be a wonderful father. (I was right by the way.) We knew we were doing what God had called us to do by opening our home to these two children, but we had absolutely no idea what He had in store for us. We didn't know how long the kids would live with us. We didn't know what would happen to the parents and if they would ever get their sweet babies back. We didn't know if I would ever be able to become pregnant. We didn't know, but God knew.
He knew that we would not only fall in love with the kids, but also with their mother. I will never forget the first time I met her. It was probably one of the hardest moments in my life. We had taken the kids to the CPS office to visit their parents. The social worker told us that their mom wanted to meet us. I was so nervous as we walked back to the room where she was playing with the kids. Sebastian started screaming when he saw us, because he knew that he was going to have to leave his mom and go home with us. His mom, Chelsea looked so sad and so helpless. I don't know how I looked, but I know I felt sad and helpless. At the time, I had no idea how important Chelsea would be in my life.
When I got home I noticed that she had written me a letter. She expressed her thanks to us and her desire to clean up her life, so that she could get her babies back. We continued to send each other letters each week. Justin and I prayed with Sebastian every night before bed and never once went a night without praying for his mother. Every night I would listen to that sweet child pray to God for "mommy to get better, so we can be together again." I am ashamed to admit that there were times when I was unsure that would happen. I knew about her history and how hard it is to beat a drug addiction. Sebastian, however never doubted that his prayers were being heard. The Bible tells us to have faith like a child and this was a perfect picture of just that.
Chelsea did everything she needed to do to get her life clean and the kids returned to her home about a year later. Five years later I am amazed at how the Lord has transformed her life. She is a now a child of the King and serves Him with her whole life. She married a man who loves the Lord and their children with all of his heart. They also have a third child now. She wrote these words 2 days ago on facebook, "AHH! So, today was my 5 years clean!!!!!! AMAZING!!! 5 years ago today I NEVER EVER EVER in my short legged life, thought I would be exactly where I am today! 5 years ago, I had my children taken from me, a metal baseball bat being swung at me, cops escorting me, and my life becoming more and more empty. Because I let all my past go, I was able to open my hands up for my future! THANK YOU JESUS!!!"
I can't tell you how happy it made me to read those words.
Last December we all met at Chic-fil-a, so we could vistit. We watched our 5 children play as we visited and shared how God was working in our lives. Five years ago when we started the journey I would have never imagined doing that. First, of all I didn't know that we would be able to have two precious children of our own. Secondly, I didn't know that Chelsea would not only beat her drug addiction, but would be involved in church and serving God whole heartedly. I didn't know, but He knew. We give God all the glory!
We now find ourselves in uncertain times again as we begin the adoption process. We don't really know what to expect of this entire process. We don't know exactly how we will pay for the adoption. We don't know when we will get our child. We don't know, but God knows. The Lord reminded me recently to pray with childlike faith, "Sebastian like faith" when I come to Him with my concerns and requests. I am certain that five years from now I will be able to look back and see How great God's plan was.
Jeremiah 29 (The Message)
11 I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.
He knew that we would not only fall in love with the kids, but also with their mother. I will never forget the first time I met her. It was probably one of the hardest moments in my life. We had taken the kids to the CPS office to visit their parents. The social worker told us that their mom wanted to meet us. I was so nervous as we walked back to the room where she was playing with the kids. Sebastian started screaming when he saw us, because he knew that he was going to have to leave his mom and go home with us. His mom, Chelsea looked so sad and so helpless. I don't know how I looked, but I know I felt sad and helpless. At the time, I had no idea how important Chelsea would be in my life.
When I got home I noticed that she had written me a letter. She expressed her thanks to us and her desire to clean up her life, so that she could get her babies back. We continued to send each other letters each week. Justin and I prayed with Sebastian every night before bed and never once went a night without praying for his mother. Every night I would listen to that sweet child pray to God for "mommy to get better, so we can be together again." I am ashamed to admit that there were times when I was unsure that would happen. I knew about her history and how hard it is to beat a drug addiction. Sebastian, however never doubted that his prayers were being heard. The Bible tells us to have faith like a child and this was a perfect picture of just that.
Chelsea did everything she needed to do to get her life clean and the kids returned to her home about a year later. Five years later I am amazed at how the Lord has transformed her life. She is a now a child of the King and serves Him with her whole life. She married a man who loves the Lord and their children with all of his heart. They also have a third child now. She wrote these words 2 days ago on facebook, "AHH! So, today was my 5 years clean!!!!!! AMAZING!!! 5 years ago today I NEVER EVER EVER in my short legged life, thought I would be exactly where I am today! 5 years ago, I had my children taken from me, a metal baseball bat being swung at me, cops escorting me, and my life becoming more and more empty. Because I let all my past go, I was able to open my hands up for my future! THANK YOU JESUS!!!"
I can't tell you how happy it made me to read those words.
Last December we all met at Chic-fil-a, so we could vistit. We watched our 5 children play as we visited and shared how God was working in our lives. Five years ago when we started the journey I would have never imagined doing that. First, of all I didn't know that we would be able to have two precious children of our own. Secondly, I didn't know that Chelsea would not only beat her drug addiction, but would be involved in church and serving God whole heartedly. I didn't know, but He knew. We give God all the glory!
We now find ourselves in uncertain times again as we begin the adoption process. We don't really know what to expect of this entire process. We don't know exactly how we will pay for the adoption. We don't know when we will get our child. We don't know, but God knows. The Lord reminded me recently to pray with childlike faith, "Sebastian like faith" when I come to Him with my concerns and requests. I am certain that five years from now I will be able to look back and see How great God's plan was.
Jeremiah 29 (The Message)
11 I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Our Boys
I realized today that there are no pictures of us on this blog. I just went through our iphoto and can not find one picture of the 4 of us. I will work on that! I did find these sweet pics of the boys that Justin took recently.
Sawyer is four years old and Jax is two and a half. They are full of energy and keep me on my toes. They have both been asking for a baby sister a lot lately. We have decided, at least for now, that we are not going to choose the sex of our adopted child. We would love a daughter, but would also be happy with another little boy. Sometimes I think I wouldn't even know what to do with a girl, because I am so used to boys. Well, I have explained to the boys that we are going to let God decide if we will have a sister or a brother. Sawyer told me with a sweet smile on his face, "I think God wants us to have a girl."
Sawyer is my thinker, rule follower and enforcer, curious, cautious, and caring first born son. Around Christmas time his aunt asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He didn't reply at first and we started giving him suggestions. "Do you want to be a fireman? a doctor? a teacher?" He stated very matter of factly, "No. When I grow up I want to take care of kids who don't have mommies and daddies." It was so sweet. We really had not talked to him much about adoption at this point, but it really made me think. We don't want to just teach our children about the needs around them, we want them to learn to serve others and to show them the love of Christ. Sawyer now knows that we are planning to adopt a child from Africa one day and he is very excited. A few weeks ago we were going to Texas and he asked if we could go to Africa, Texas to get our baby. I guess we need to work on geography a little.
Jax is my energetic, friendly, cuddly, rule-breaking, strong-willed, but adorable second son. This child LOVES babies. He is the one who is constantly asking for a baby sister. Since, we don't have one yet our miniature schnauzer, Jasmine will have to do. He loves that dog and pets her all the time. I guess I should add that he loves babies as long as I am not holding one. He doesn't like to share his mommy too much. A couple of months ago we got our adoption application in the mail along with a video from our agency. The boys must have watched it 10 times one morning. I watched it once, because it was a bit of a tear jerker, but they loved it. I told the boys that the children in the film didn't have mommies and daddies. Later, when Justin came home they wanted to watch it again. A picture of a little baby girl from Africa appeared on the screen, and Jaxon said, "Oh, I want to hug my baby sister." It was so precious! At that point we had not even told them that we were planning to adopt. It is awesome to see that God is preparing all of us for this next step in our lives.
Sawyer is four years old and Jax is two and a half. They are full of energy and keep me on my toes. They have both been asking for a baby sister a lot lately. We have decided, at least for now, that we are not going to choose the sex of our adopted child. We would love a daughter, but would also be happy with another little boy. Sometimes I think I wouldn't even know what to do with a girl, because I am so used to boys. Well, I have explained to the boys that we are going to let God decide if we will have a sister or a brother. Sawyer told me with a sweet smile on his face, "I think God wants us to have a girl."
Sawyer is my thinker, rule follower and enforcer, curious, cautious, and caring first born son. Around Christmas time his aunt asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He didn't reply at first and we started giving him suggestions. "Do you want to be a fireman? a doctor? a teacher?" He stated very matter of factly, "No. When I grow up I want to take care of kids who don't have mommies and daddies." It was so sweet. We really had not talked to him much about adoption at this point, but it really made me think. We don't want to just teach our children about the needs around them, we want them to learn to serve others and to show them the love of Christ. Sawyer now knows that we are planning to adopt a child from Africa one day and he is very excited. A few weeks ago we were going to Texas and he asked if we could go to Africa, Texas to get our baby. I guess we need to work on geography a little.
Jax is my energetic, friendly, cuddly, rule-breaking, strong-willed, but adorable second son. This child LOVES babies. He is the one who is constantly asking for a baby sister. Since, we don't have one yet our miniature schnauzer, Jasmine will have to do. He loves that dog and pets her all the time. I guess I should add that he loves babies as long as I am not holding one. He doesn't like to share his mommy too much. A couple of months ago we got our adoption application in the mail along with a video from our agency. The boys must have watched it 10 times one morning. I watched it once, because it was a bit of a tear jerker, but they loved it. I told the boys that the children in the film didn't have mommies and daddies. Later, when Justin came home they wanted to watch it again. A picture of a little baby girl from Africa appeared on the screen, and Jaxon said, "Oh, I want to hug my baby sister." It was so precious! At that point we had not even told them that we were planning to adopt. It is awesome to see that God is preparing all of us for this next step in our lives.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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