It's No Secret

It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of an adoption journey! It’s an exciting journey that I’d never ever want to miss! In fact, we’re thrilled to be just a few months away from holding our new little boy for the first time. I’m no captivating storyteller, but here's our journey to meet Little Brother.

Before the first step
I’ve been curious about adoption for years. Adoption sparked my interest a lot, but I was naive.  I had no idea of the hard decisions to come, rollercoaster of emotions, or great blessing wrapped in this gift called adoption. It’s an honor and an opportunity we’re thankful to be given. While we don’t know that every person is called to care for orphans in the form of adoption, for us this is what living out James 1:27 means to our family. And the decision wasn’t a casual one. It was covered with tears, prayers, and waiting. In fact, I edged (and probably even crossed the line a time or 2) on being that nagging wife. You know? The one mentioned in Proverbs. I imagined Russ on the roof top. He has in fact been up there…although it was to make a repair of some kind. God had to work on my waiting process. He still is through this journey. I remember the day that Russ said he felt like we should move forward in the adoption process. I thought I was hallucinating! Oh happy day!!! And when he said “move forward”, he was apparently sitting on go. I’ve never seen someone tackle paperwork quite like that before. And if you know Russ well, there was no doubt a spreadsheet involved! I’m so thankful that he’s been on top of all the paperwork and trying to keep me calm in the process. He still has a spreadsheet going and updates it frequently. I saw it tonight.

In the very beginning, we began visiting with friends (or really anyone who would talk to us) who had adopted. We talked a lot. In fact, I’m still picking the brains of several friends and have even met new friends to interrogate. It’s been a roller coaster ride, but I can say that God writes each story in His own unique way and time. Only when we took a moment to reflect on the past year did we notice that the very month we lost our baby through miscarriage there was a tiny baby boy being born half way around the world. And he isn’t just any little boy, he’s the little guy Joey lovingly refers to as “Super Brother”! We couldn’t have ever guessed that we would be chosen to love, snuggle with, and teach him. It seems crazy to think that even before we began pursuing adoption, God had been long pursuing our hearts and growing in us a love for adoption that we still struggle to grasp.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
 Lord my God, I will praise you forever.” 

Psalm 30:11-12 

So In Love
We are completely in love with a little guy we didn’t even know existed until the end of July.  It was just days before Russ’ birthday when we first saw his beautiful face. I remember that night well.  I was shocked that someone from our agency was emailing so late in the evening and that he even replied to our request for more information on Little Brother that night. We prayed for Little Brother and God’s wisdom on the next steps ahead. Would we choose to pursue adopting this little guy or was his forever family someone else? Talk about a sleepless night. Russ and I were both glued to the computer screen starring at a beautiful face reading and re-reading the information shared with us all the while smiling some kind of crazy, goofy grin.

Have you ever missed someone you’ve never even met? I hadn’t either…until now.

Getting passport photos was our first active step in the 
process (as we waited to begin our home study process).  
With his Superman shirt and Batman boots, it  seems 
fitting that Joey wants to name his brother "Super Brother".