Ummm. Because we are crazy...

...about these kids!

We just love our three boys (and our nephew Thomas too!)

We will be doing a FAQ post in the next couple of days 

because now that we are going full steam ahead 

with our plans to grow our family through adoption 

we are getting a lot of questions,

 tons of questions 

and our answers are starting to sound well rehearsed!

;)

We are noticing a trend though!

There is a pattern to your responses.

1. Look of shock
2. Half smile (you guys are kidding, right?)
3. Really???

WAIT FOR IT:

4. WHY???

Yep. The first question.

99% of the time.

A few people actually said:

"You guys are in the homestretch, why start over?"

<sigh>

 Here it goes.

First and foremost, we both had this adoption in our hearts before we even met. 

We inexplicably discovered this the first week of dating!

This has always been a dream for us, even before we met.

Call it fate, call it destiny better yet call it Gods plan for us.

In addition, we do not like "the homestretch" line...

We don't want to be in the homestretch 

and we also really believe that our grown children need their parents too 

and will continue to need (and receive) our love and support for quite some time.

We just love our kids. We are actually head over heels in love with parenting these kids. 

We really and truly like the young people that they are. 

They are good human beings.

 We are thoroughly enjoying our boys at this stage in their lives 

but we are also truly heartbroken that they are so darned big! 

We are not done yet! 

We want to do all of the fun stuff again.

This time knowing what we know now.

We still have the love, the time, the energy

 and probably more patience and understanding than we did when we were younger. 

There are too many orphaned children in this world that need the love of a family.

In fact there are an estimated 153,000,000 orphans worldwide.

We can decrease that number by at least one.  

One child that needs a family. 

One family that cannot wait to bring their child home.

Not If. WHEN.

My husband called me in the middle of the work day, oh, about a month ago. He calls me in the middle of the day all of the time but this day was different. 

This was a turning point day. This was a day to remember. 

He said: " I am following Little Flower Project." 

(Check them out here: http://www.chunmiaolittleflower.org/)

"Oh?"

He wanted to tell me that he was captivated by the beautiful photographs and how happy and beautiful all of the children were. He noted that many of them were obviously ill with blue lips and tubes taped to their baby faces. However, what he found really compelling was the prevailing feeling in each of the pictures that allowed the child to be seen before the illness. The children were opening packages, playing with toys and laughing together. He first took notice of the beauty and joy of childhood; he saw right past the obvious signs of illness. 

Pete didn't get much work done that day. He sent tons of pictures and text messages to me throughout the day. Lots of questions: 

"what is Tetrology of Fallot" 

"what is the tube in the nose for" 

"do they all need surgery" 

"how long does this take" 

"when  can we start" 

This adoption has always been a concrete plan for me. I am the one who hangs out on the blogs and message boards. I am the one that does all of the research and gathers the information. I am prepared for this adoption for real, for real. For Pete, on the other hand, this has always been a "someday" conversation that we started in October 2005. We knew we had to get married first. Then we had to be married the allotted amount of time...and of course the money! We can't forget the fundraising. He talked about adopting but it wasn't tangible yet. Something changed for him on this November day and we are now full steam ahead. 

According to our agency we cannot officially apply until February so we have more time to fund raise, research special needs and get paperwork in order. Perfect. 

This is a very exciting time for us. 

As my dear husband said to me: 

We are no longer talking about if we can adopt we are talking about when we will adopt. 

Tears. Of. Joy. 

Waiting Game

On my knees praying for guidance...I am so very impatient. I know in my head that we are not ready to begin the adoption process. We do not even meet the minimum length of marriage requirement yet!

However, my heart and soul so desperately long for the day we bring our little girl home.

I have read, researched, prayed, planned and prayed some more.

I am not a patient person by nature. I am, in fact, annoyingly impatient. I want everything...oh, yesterday.

So tonight I pray for patience and peace, I pray for guidance, I pray for wisdom and I pray for a little girl that may already be born and living on the other side of the world, I pray for her birthmom and I pray for her caregivers.

If anyone out there has any good ideas for passing the time while still feeling connected to the process, I would love to hear them. I would love to advocate for waiting children. Do you need special permission to do so? Are there any rules or restrictions associated with advocating? Can you post pictures from waiting child websites and link to the websites? I plan to start sharing links to other adoptive parents fundraisers. I would love to help waiting families raise the money to bring their precious children home.

Intro

Before I dig deep into an introduction of who we are and why we are blogging...

I have a confession to make.

I am a lurker. I have lurked on your blogs for a few years now.

At times, obsessively.

I have prayed with you, laughed with you and shared many a tear with you.

It has taken me a very long time to take this step and I can't lie...I am more than a little nervous.

I feel like I am waiting for one of you to pick me for your kickball team.

Oh, how I want to be on your team!

You see, my husband Pete and I are beginning to raise funds for adoption. This is a big step for us.

HUGE

What we are doing is thrilling and terrifying at once.

I have witnessed the sheer power of this internet community.

The shared faith, the knowledge, the love and the support is breathtaking.

Did I mention that I REALLY want to be on this team???