Hey there readers. We are not your typical family. My husband and I aren't followers, but I wouldn't really call us leaders either. Why? Because we go where most people don't like looking, much less following. We're committed to following God wherever he leads us whenever he speaks. It's not always pretty.
We got married young, gave birth to our first child 10 months later, and followed God half way across the world to India when our little boy was only a year and a half old. Because of the viral infections we got in India, Kai (our son) and I have struggled with food allergies, and other health problems, ever since. Majorly. We can't have gluten, dairy (or lactose), eggs, bananas, pepper.... and the list goes on. When we left for India, Kai weighed 33 lbs and when we returned he was down to 27! Yikes. But if we could go back, would we? Absolutely not. We were following God. There was nothing else to be done. We were refined and learned so much.
Our daughter, Averi, was born in April of 2013 (she's almost a year now!). When she was about 3 months old, we felt God tell us it was time to start the adoption process by going through the foster care system in Arizona. People said we were crazy (most people, actually), but we began the process anyway. We worried that we didn't make enough money. We were worried we couldn't love another child like our biological ones. We worried about so many things.
Finally, we were licensed in August of 2013 after 10 weeks of 3 hour classes through Agape Adoption Agency of Arizona. the waiting game began. Since we had decided that we wouldn't take a child older than Kai, but wouldn't be strict about birth order for Averi since she was still so young, our limits were that the child had to be 3 or under. We were told that it would probably be a year, so we put it on the back burner and lived life. In December 2013, an email came in. "I just received this email. I know this child may be out of your comfort zone as he seems like he has a lot going on."
Boy was that a true statement. This child was WAY out of our comfort zone. So many medical problems. Meth exposure, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, sensory processing disorder... I clicked right past that one, thinking, "that was pretty soon to get an email, maybe we'll have a child soon!," never considering that this would be our child.
A couple hours later, my mind went back to the email. "God," my heart whispered, "give us wisdom." I read through it more slowly. Cognitively, this little boy seemed on track. Could we handle special needs if they weren't mental? Could we entertain the possibility of a child in a wheelchair? I would have to ask Joseph when he got home from work.
By the end of the weekend, I knew we could handle these medical problems. Completely separately, Joseph came to the exact same conclusion. There was no doubt in my mind that this was our son, even though we would still have to be selected as the best candidates for adoptive parents. His parental rights had already been terminated.
Patience has never been my strong suit. It was time to wait for our licensing worker to meet with little man's CPS worker. It. Took. Forever. The CPS worker was having trouble finding other families interested since he had so many medical problems listed. Eventually two other families were chosen, but one dropped out last minute. We were finally chosen!
Once we met him, all of our fears were gone. He was perfect. He could walk and talk. He was smart and sweet. He looked just like Joseph. He even started calling Joseph "daddy" on our very first outing. See, every medical concern ever visited must be listed in the information sent to prospective adoptive parents. Spina bifida turned out to be a small dimple in his back that wasn't anything. Cerebral palsy was just a diagnoses given based on the stiffness from his prenatal exposure to meth. He is "special needs" but he really isn't.
What if we had ignored this email with the little boy out of our comfort zone? This little boy with big brown eyes and a smile that melts my heart? This little boy who has had a rough start but is so ready and willing to love? That is why, no matter when it comes or what it says, I hope we always listen to God's still, small voice. Because even when it means being willing to take in a child with special needs, and having three kids ages four and under, I want to be a part of God's plan. I want to see where He leads me. And when I get there, I want to look back and get chills. Because it was only God who could've brought us that far. His plans are hard, but his plans are good. Always.
We got married young, gave birth to our first child 10 months later, and followed God half way across the world to India when our little boy was only a year and a half old. Because of the viral infections we got in India, Kai (our son) and I have struggled with food allergies, and other health problems, ever since. Majorly. We can't have gluten, dairy (or lactose), eggs, bananas, pepper.... and the list goes on. When we left for India, Kai weighed 33 lbs and when we returned he was down to 27! Yikes. But if we could go back, would we? Absolutely not. We were following God. There was nothing else to be done. We were refined and learned so much.
Our daughter, Averi, was born in April of 2013 (she's almost a year now!). When she was about 3 months old, we felt God tell us it was time to start the adoption process by going through the foster care system in Arizona. People said we were crazy (most people, actually), but we began the process anyway. We worried that we didn't make enough money. We were worried we couldn't love another child like our biological ones. We worried about so many things.
Finally, we were licensed in August of 2013 after 10 weeks of 3 hour classes through Agape Adoption Agency of Arizona. the waiting game began. Since we had decided that we wouldn't take a child older than Kai, but wouldn't be strict about birth order for Averi since she was still so young, our limits were that the child had to be 3 or under. We were told that it would probably be a year, so we put it on the back burner and lived life. In December 2013, an email came in. "I just received this email. I know this child may be out of your comfort zone as he seems like he has a lot going on."
Boy was that a true statement. This child was WAY out of our comfort zone. So many medical problems. Meth exposure, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, sensory processing disorder... I clicked right past that one, thinking, "that was pretty soon to get an email, maybe we'll have a child soon!," never considering that this would be our child.
A couple hours later, my mind went back to the email. "God," my heart whispered, "give us wisdom." I read through it more slowly. Cognitively, this little boy seemed on track. Could we handle special needs if they weren't mental? Could we entertain the possibility of a child in a wheelchair? I would have to ask Joseph when he got home from work.
By the end of the weekend, I knew we could handle these medical problems. Completely separately, Joseph came to the exact same conclusion. There was no doubt in my mind that this was our son, even though we would still have to be selected as the best candidates for adoptive parents. His parental rights had already been terminated.
Patience has never been my strong suit. It was time to wait for our licensing worker to meet with little man's CPS worker. It. Took. Forever. The CPS worker was having trouble finding other families interested since he had so many medical problems listed. Eventually two other families were chosen, but one dropped out last minute. We were finally chosen!
Once we met him, all of our fears were gone. He was perfect. He could walk and talk. He was smart and sweet. He looked just like Joseph. He even started calling Joseph "daddy" on our very first outing. See, every medical concern ever visited must be listed in the information sent to prospective adoptive parents. Spina bifida turned out to be a small dimple in his back that wasn't anything. Cerebral palsy was just a diagnoses given based on the stiffness from his prenatal exposure to meth. He is "special needs" but he really isn't.
What if we had ignored this email with the little boy out of our comfort zone? This little boy with big brown eyes and a smile that melts my heart? This little boy who has had a rough start but is so ready and willing to love? That is why, no matter when it comes or what it says, I hope we always listen to God's still, small voice. Because even when it means being willing to take in a child with special needs, and having three kids ages four and under, I want to be a part of God's plan. I want to see where He leads me. And when I get there, I want to look back and get chills. Because it was only God who could've brought us that far. His plans are hard, but his plans are good. Always.
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