Thursday, November 29, 2012

Why International Adoption?

As some of you know we have embarked on a new adventure into the world of international adoption. We are beginning this process in addition to being foster parents and some of you may be wondering why we have decided to add this to our already full (OK, overflowing) plates.

While there were many factors, prayers, and discussions that went into our decision to pursue international adoption (including our foster experience) there were a few specific things that influenced and impacted us in major ways, so I thought I'd share them with you.

THE BOOK
Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis
 

THE SONGS
Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets and Follow You by Leeland (featuring Brandon Heath)





THE FAMILY
The Litzke Family! Read a little about Mandy Litzke and her amazing family here.

THE VIDEO
Our church recently started a new ministry called Hope 4 Every Child and they played this video at the first meeting:



After seeing this we knew we had to do more and so we made the decision to begin another journey. We sent in our application at the end of September and have been plugging away ever since. We are still in the early stages of the process, but hope to finish our home study by the end of the year.

We can't wait to see what God will do with our 'yes,' and we will keep everyone posted as we move into next year!


And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." ~Matthew 25:40

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ~James 1:27

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ~John 14:18

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Pool

This post by Katie Davis spoke straight to my heart!

Kisses From Katie Blog

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Recently Read & Recommend


Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman is the true story of the Chapman family's amazing adoption adventures and journey through the loss of their daughter. I enjoyed the first half of the book a bit more than the later chapters which are made up of reprinted blog posts and journals, but overall it was an inspirational book so grab a copy from the library along with a box of tissues and enjoy!


Our Little Monkey Turns 5 {July}

(I am playing catch-up here)

In July our littlest angel turned 5! I absolutely cannot believe my baby is 5! She is smart, funny, and unique, and we couldn't be more blessed to have her in our family. Here are a few pictures from her big day:



 
 
 
Love her so much!!


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thoughtful Thursday

The Infinite and the Finite
from The Valley of Vision

Thou great I Am,
Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being
with whom one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day,
A mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds,
and the revolutions of empires,
feels no variableness,
but is glorious in immortality.
May I rejoice that, while men die, the Lord lives;
that, while all creatures are broken reeds,
empty cisterns,
fading flowers,
withering grass,
he is the Rock of Ages, the Fountain of living waters.
Turn my heart from vanity,
from dissatisfactions,
from uncertainties of the present state,
to an eternal interest in Christ.
Let me remember that life is short and unforeseen,
and is only an opportunity for usefulness;
Give me a holy avarice to redeem the time,
to awake at every call to charity and piety,
so that I may feed the hungry,
clothe the naked,
instruct the ignorant,
reclaim the vicious,
forgive the offender,
diffuse the gospel,
show neighbourly love to all.
Let me live a life of self-distrust,
dependence on thyself,
mortification,
crucifixion,
prayer.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Letting Go

In my last post in this series I ended with our first foster placement getting ready to go home, and that means that with this post I will be wrapping up this series on our first adventure into the world of foster care.

I found out the definite date of our sweet guy's departure in the middle of the week - it was scheduled for the following Monday, May 21. I'd like to say that I used that time to prepare and that I was all ready when I had to say goodbye, but that wouldn't be the truth. The truth is I dreaded the day and time as it approached and I cried many, many tears leading up to that hour. I loved this little guy with a mother's heart and I just could not fathom the idea of not having him with us day in and day out. I prayed and read scripture, but to be honest, nothing could have fully prepared me for how hard it was going to be. Through tears I gathered and packed his stuff the night before, and thought my heart would break right in two.

The plan was set for me to meet the social worker at his grandparent's house in the morning and drop him off and it was so hard. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I did it. I did it only with God's strength and just kept repeating Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

So on that Monday morning in May I took our kids to a friend's house and then I drove our little guy home to his grandparents. I held it together (barely) while giving his grandma his things and going over his schedule and talking with everyone, but when it was time to say goodbye and walk out the door, the flood gates opened and I could do nothing to stop them. His grandma asked if I wanted to tell him goodbye and as I took him in my arms I cried. I hugged and kissed him and told him I loved him, and then I handed him back to his grandma who I knew loved him as much as I did. And as I handed him back she did something I wasn't expecting: with tears in her eyes she thanked me, hugged me, and promised that we would keep in touch. As I turned to leave I noticed that the social worker was also teary eyed and somehow their tears made it a bit easier because I knew that in some small way they could understand how hard this must be for me.

And the best part of the story is how the Lord took care of me the rest of that day and week. As I was literally driving away from dropping him off my best friend since sixth grade texted me: "Thinking of you today." And when I picked up the kids from my dear friend's house she had made chocolate chip cookies for me (you know I needed some serious chocolate therapy). I took the kids out for lunch and ice cream to cheer us up and the sweet lady from our old church who owns the ice cream shop lent me her ear when I told her why we were out for ice cream to cheer ourselves up. When we stopped at Kroger on the way home I ran into a friend from our homeschool group and when she asked where the little guy was and I teared up she hugged me and said she was so sorry. Another wonderful friend from our homeschool group called me an hour later to find out when we had to take him home, and when I told her I had taken him home that morning she asked if she could stop by our house later that evening and drop something off, and sure enough at about 5:00 that evening she stopped by with two ready to bake pizzas, a watermelon, and cookies. My mom sent us the sweetest card a few days later and all of our friends and family rallied around to support and comfort us.

Before we ever knew the date that we would say goodbye God, through our church, placed an amazing woman named Catie in my life who had gone through the entire process only months earlier, and I was so blessed by her and her friendship because I desperately needed someone who could truly understand what I was going through.

That night was our church's women's Bible study. I had only just started attending the week before so I really debated about going that night, but I knew that the ladies who had walked through the same journey with my friend, Catie, would be there and that they would walk through it with me as well, so I went. And do you know what? God had more special blessings for me that night as well. One of the ladies in attendance was a woman from our church that I knew of, but had never met, and when she heard about my day she took me aside during the break and told me that she had been in foster care as a child and that she was eventually adopted through the system, and she thanked me for being a foster parent and assured me that we had made a difference in our little guy's life. That night during our prayer time a sweet new friend read Psalm 91 and it just blessed me beyond words. (Needless to say I spent a good part of the evening crying.)

We still see our sweet little guy almost every week, and his grandma and I have become good friends. So, although this experience was impossibly hard it was also an impossible blessing that I would not trade, and I can say that even though my heart was broken over the loss of our sweet boy, who I love with every fiber of my being, the joy of knowing and loving him was worth it all. Mind you, I didn't feel this way right away and if you had asked me that day or in the days following I would have said that I would never do this again. A little piece of my heart will always be missing because it belongs forever to him, but I know that he was (and is) a part of our lives for a reason and it is all a part of God's mighty plan - a plan that I cannot even begin to fathom or understand, but one that I look forward to seeing unfold. 

For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.

~Isaiah 46:9-11

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
~Romans 8:28


I wrote the following the week I said goodbye and let go:

I didn't know how fast.
I didn't know how much.
I didn't know how deeply.
I didn't know how completely.

I didn't know the heartache.
I didn't know the joy.
I didn't know the pain.
I didn't know the love.
I didn't know the full heart.
I didn't know the hard goodbye.

But most of all, I didn't know the strength,
or that I'd have to love you enough to let you go.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Jesus, Your Presence is Heaven

Loving this song right now!