Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Adoption Process Update

Well, it has been awhile since I have updated you on the adoption process. There is not a lot to report except that we are now using an agency to help us in the process. The private agent that initially helped us with our home study was wonderful and did an awesome job. In fact, she came highly recommended by some friends of ours who are also pursuing adoption. However, because our friends were pursuing an international adoption, the process proved to be a little different from a domestic adoption.

For the past several months, Neil and I have been browsing online looking at various adoption agencies throughout the United States. We have made several inquiries and have either received no response at all or a very late response telling us the child we inquired about has already been placed. So, after much prayer and conversation, Neil and I decided to utilize the assistance offered through a local agency. This means we need to start the home study process over again. So, at this point, we have paid for the home study again, and we have most of our paper work filled out and ready to be sent.

What I have learned through this last nine months is this: God has called Neil and me to be obedient through giving us the desire to adopt and then to follow through with that desire no matter how difficult the process proves to be. When Neil and I were struggling to pay for the home study the first time around, God sent some dear friends (out of the blue, I might add) to help pay for the study. My friend just walked up behind me one day and handed me a check and said "keep and open mind and don't say 'no' ". In the envelope was a check to cover the whole home study process. It was through their obedience and generosity that God provided the opportunity for further obedience on our part. If we go as far as we can go in an area where God has called us, He will provide for all our needs to take us the distance. Upon realizing that we were not getting very far with finding our third son, and that we would need to pay for another home study, we prayed about how to pursue God's will in this area of our lives. God has provided, in perfect timing, the ability to be able to invest our finances and ourselves into a second home study. Although I am a little nervous, I am so excited to see how God will bless and continue to lead our family.

Those are my thoughts. :-)

The Best Valentine's Gift

The best valentine I've received was yesterday. My seven-year-old, Noah, who is not feeling well, came downstairs and sat on the loveseat adjacent from me. He looked at me and said these words, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love you soooooo much." The best....EVER!!!