Trading Tea for Elephants

I get asked this question on almost a daily basis.  And the shortest, most honest answer is we really have no idea.  International adoption goes through so many ups, downs, stops, starts, and this wierd twirly pattern where you have no idea which way is up.  It is, for sure, anything but boring.  This type of non-plan really annoys most schedule oriented western world people.  We are looking for a date.  I think most people would feel better if i could answer with something like, "Well on August 2nd at 10am we will meet our daugther and I have it scheduled in my day planner and you can now write it on yours as well."  We have a estimate, but it is only that - just an estimate. And this estimate is subject to change at any moment due to things like lost paperwork, holidays, people not showing up for work, laws changing, weather, disease  or any other number of odd things that can happen.   That being said, I thought it might be helpful to explain our next steps to give a gli

I know you see this picture and wonder if I have realized that the holiday season is over.  But this picture represents something more to me than just our Christmas.  I love giving gifts.  I love shopping and hunting for things that I know will make that person smile and in the case of children, scream with delight.  I also love receiving gifts and have also been known to scream myself...especially this past October when my husband came home with a Dyson vacuum cleaner on our anniversary.  Honestly, you would have thought I had won the lottery if you had witnessed the scene.   Stockings are always so fun to stuff with lots of little goodies.   Each one unique to the person whose name is written across the front.  Our kids stockings all have a snowman decoration on the front.  I purchase them during the first Christmas season they are home and each one is a bit different and reflects their personality.  We also have a stocking that my grandmother made.  It is the one hanging in the mi

Did you hear the news yet???  We reached our goal for the matching grant!  $5005.00 raised.  Brittany's Hope will now write a check to our adoption agency for $10,000!!!!  And the blessings keep pouring in.  Last weekend my dear friend, Karen, organized a fundraiser for our adoption.  God provided over $2000 that day and we are still waiting to her from all the vendors for a complete total.  It is incredible to see friends come together for the love of our daughter and to watch God move so quickly.  We are now over halfway to our goal of $25,000.   God is building our family's faith in this journey and we pray that He is calling You to Himself through it also.  Our prayer is for the family who is on the fence about adoption but fearful of committing to the financial cost - we are praying for you, we are praying that God will show you that He can do more than you can imagine, we are praying that you will experience the incredible journey of adoption, and that we can be a part of

There are many people we meet who say they would love to adopt or they would love to adopt some day.  Many times the biggest hurdle in their minds is the financial requirements.  We have a good friend who has worked in the adoption world for over 20 years.  I was surprised to hear her say that she has never met a family who couldn't adopt because of finances, there are other reasons, but finances is never one of them - there is always a way. During those first weeks after we decided to adopt again, Kevin and I talked about the money that would be required for this adoption and the additional sacrifices our family would need to make in order for it to happen.  We also knew that adopting a child with multiple medical needs = lots of medical bills.  It wasn't a deterrent for us to adopt but something we needed to be realistic about.  We knew that God had called us to adopt Elie and He would provide everything needed to get her home and to care for her.  We knew there were many w