Humbled

I know I have posted before about a few of the AMAZING people that I have met along this journey, and I want to let you know that God has continued to introduce me to more and more incredible people who also have adoption stories. In just the past week I met two ladies at local parks (at separate times) who have each adopted and their stories have been such a blessing and encouragement to my heart.

I don't know where God is leading us. I have no idea where we will be in a year, or what our family might look like. But I do know that it is not about me and what I want. That makes my heart smile! It is freeing to know that I don't have to try to figure out what is best for our family; all I have to do is simply follow God's will and see where it leads us.

This week has been a week of emotional ups and downs for me. Maybe it's the weather or maybe it's simply recognizing that we live in such a broken and depraved world, but either way I am happy to live each day knowing that whatever happens in this life it's all about Him.

Love you, friends!
B, E & H

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,

because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

James 1:2-8

Overwhelming Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Oh, friends! I have missed you all. What a wonderful and much needed rest we had while visiting family. It was amazing to spend time with our extended families and have some quality time with just the three of us as well. God always knows just what we need!

I am sure you are wondering about our meeting on the 15th. There is so much that I would love to tell you all, but until we know for sure what is going to happen I have to keep quiet. Believe me, it's so difficult! However, I will say that overall the meeting went surprisingly well. I had no idea what to expect as we began, and quite frankly, I'm sure that no one else in the room did either! The hand of God was so amazingly clear that day though. As we began to talk to the parents of this sweet child it was clear that one was not fully on board with the idea of us adopting their child. However, as we gave honest answers to some really tough questions it was so incredible to watch as God worked to change the heart and mind of one of the parents. Despite my own misgivings I found myself genuinely connecting with this birth parent. What an amazing relationship that may potentially grow there! That, dear friends, is the kind of thing that only God can do!

Strangely, one of the parents decided to take a nap during most of our meeting, but even that seemed to be orchestrated divinely. The two birth parents have a hard time communicating with one another (which is why they are no longer together) so it was actually a blessing to get to speak with the parent that we hadn't yet had the opportunity to talk with. Plus, the parent who left the room was already on board with the idea of adoption.

After about 6 hours (most of which were spent talking with the birth parent about the adoption, etc) we were ready to leave in high spirits since it appeared that we could call a lawyer and start the process! You can imagine our shock when the napping parent emerged and stated that there had been a misunderstanding and if we were going to keep the child (instead of "fixing" the child and allowing the birth parents to re-adopt their own child) then we needed to rethink the situation. Oh how our hearts sank in that moment. So now we are back to the beginning, but we are not without hope.

You would think that at this point we might be discouraged, but honestly Ben and I both have such a peace about the situation. Anyone who knows me well knows that I can tend to be a little uptight and easily stressed about things. And I would normally feel justified being stressed about this situation. However, it is so apparent that we have wonderful people who are praying for us because we are overwhelmed with peace and not anxiety. For this I can't thank you all enough. The verse that I posted above is the perfect description of how I feel right now; overwhelmed with a peace from God that I can't even begin to understand.

So please, keep the prayers coming! Pray for this child, for both of the parents, for the guardian that the child is currently living with, for Hunter and Ben and I as we wait and see what God has in store for our family...

Thank you for the prayers, and please know that they are working!!!

Love,

B, E & H

p.s. While I ask for prayer for Hunter as well, please know that he is unaware of this situation. He was with us as we met with the child and birth parents, but he had no idea why we were there. One positive note is that he had a blast playing with this child who could be joining our family - what a blessing! Hunter is well aware that we are adopting, but we don't want to get his hopes up about a particular sibling until we are certain that things will work out :)

He is RISEN!!!

To celebrate Easter I thought I would share with all of you the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. These words are so powerful and really help convey the love of our Savior! I feel like the line that says "Jesus commands my destiny" is so incredibly applicable right now. I hope you enjoy reading this. Happy Easter! HE IS RISEN!!!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Just a little update...

Not much news here, we are just hanging in and seeing what happens! Our license is sitting here on my desk still, which is sort of ironic since just a month or so ago we were so anxious for it to be here. Now we are waiting to see how things play out. It's funny how life is like that sometimes. The things that we are most anxious about end up not being all that important. I guess we will see!

We are still waiting to see how this situation with family plays out. My heart breaks for this sweet child who has known so much turmoil in life so far. I already feel like a protective parent in a way, but I know that there really isn't much that we can do unless the birth parents agree to let us help. Please continue to pray about that situation. Especially about the meeting that will take place between us, the child and the birth parents. It's a complicated situation since Child Protective Services is not yet involved and so in a way we have to play the role of adoptive parent and social worker. I have to keep reminding myself that God has this child's best interests in mind, and He has control of the situation. That helps, but I'm still pretty anxious about having to sit down and talk with birth parents who may or may not be willing to give up their child!

Depending how things go during that meeting, we received an invitation to a "kids fest" in Seattle. According to the invitation, "Kids’ Fest is a great opportunity for waiting families to have a chance to meet local children who are waiting to be adopted in a fun, festive atmosphere. As families, you will be able to meet waiting children, connect with state social workers, and enjoy a party filled with prizes, games, and arts and crafts." It is for children who are in need of permanent, adoptive families can meet with parents looking to adopt. How awesome is that?!? I had no idea such things existed. So, if we are continuing to pursue adopting from foster care we will probably be attending this event next month. Wouldn't it be amazing if we met our future son or daughter there?

Well, I guess that's about all the news here for now. We are trying to have a nice, relaxing Easter weekend and then getting ready to travel to see both our families! It has been far too long since Ben has visited family, he will meet his niece for the first time and we will both get to meet one of our new nephews as well! We are thrilled to get to see everyone in OH and IL.

Love to you all, and thanks for all the prayers!

B, E & H