The beginning!

This is it...the beginning!

OUR HEARTS:

When we met, Cary understood my desire for adoption in the future. I don’t think Cary had seriously considered adoption before and I am so thankful that he took this request of mine seriously as he allowed his heart and mind to process it over the past couple of years. I knew he would be a great Dad to any children that we would have in the future but I also knew that this was a decision we needed to desire together. So, I actually hadn’t brought it up with him again. As I was sitting on the couch a couple of weeks ago crying from a little blurb on ESPN about Mark Richt's adoption journey, Cary came over to let me know that it was his heart's desire to adopt, too! I am so grateful that God has brought us both to this point!I have always had a strong desire to have my home and family be a safe place for kids to come to...neighbor kids, church kids, friend's kids...coming and going...growing up...I want my home to be full of life! I want to have a big joyful family like the one I was raised in. I just think of how well my parents raised us bunch of kids and how much we do our best to show love to the world. I would love to have the same kind of family... Cary and little Kate have exceeded any expectation I had in having my heart’s desire filled by having a family and my heart could just burst with thankfulness when I am around them. I think Cary, Kate, and I have more that we could give to another child or two or three and I am excited at the thought of growing our family.

Having Katie has certainly shown me what innocence is and how I don’t want that tainted...I run to cover her eyes to block her from some commercials; I'm careful about my tone of voice when I am around her; I'm sure to stop and give her that 100th hug for the day; I'm up to check on her in the night even though she is sleeping soundly; I read Bible stories to her hoping to plant seeds in her heart even though she doesn't understand yet; I read up to date info on what foods she should be eating and how to care for her health....Then, I look around the world at kids who see things they should never have to see, hear things they shouldn't hear, lack the love and the touch from a parent, have to look out after themselves, and need someone to love them wholeheartedly... Becoming a mother coupled with God opening my eyes to all that is going on in the world from the perspective of a child, has really created this urgency inside of me to do what I can. My family has so much more to give and we want to bring home children who need us to love them….who need us to fight for them.So, we're starting down this road...Yea!

REALITY CHECK:

It may be a long process for us as there are several things we need to take care of before we can even start the official adoption process...

- BABY #2: Because of certain adoption laws in the countries we are considering, I can not be pregnant or have a child under 6 months old. We are planning to have one more child before we start this process...

- ERASING OUR MISTAKES: As many of you know, Cary and I have been paying off stupid debts that we acquired before we got married...Ug! We have paid off so much, but need to get significantly more paid off so that our budget can allow us to save for the adoption and adding children to our family. I know money isn't everything, but it a stressful area in our lives and we don't want that weight on our family.

- ADOPTION $: While there are many groups that may help with the adoption and great fundraising ideas we will probably use, international adoption does take money...We are not going to let it stop us, but we do need to be realistic about costs here, in the other country, being out of work for a time, medical expenses, etc....

- HOME: We would really love to have a home for all of our children to thrive in and we would prefer not to move our family around too much. We are hoping to find a home in Williamson County or land in Williamson County where we can build a modest home to suit our needs.


YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

We are looking to adopt from Eastern Europe... We are looking to adopt a sibling group...2 or 3 children.

From what I understand, we won't know which children we will be adopting until we get to that country. Then, we will visit with several children and adopt in the same trip.

The earliest we would start the “official” process will be late 2010…

WHAT WE ARE ASKING:

We want this process covered in prayer…Please pray with us!

- That God will be glorified in this decision.
- That our family will continue to grow and strengthen.
- Wisdom in the decisions we will make.
- That doors will be opened and obstacles overcome…quickly!
- The health and safety of our adopted children and those that care for them.


We will keep you updated when we begin the "official" adoption process...