Request for Evidence

Our Dossier has been in Colombia since December. It got there just before all of the Holidays began so we've been patiently waiting to hear any news about it. Well this week we got some news. We got a "request for evidence". This is a fancy way of saying they had some more questions. From what we have been told by our agency and others this is slowly becoming the "norm" now and almost every family is getting asked further questions.

This is good. We want them to ask questions. I mean come on, even we think it sounds weird that a couple with no infertility issues, as young as we are, would want to adopt, adopt internationally, and on top of that adopt more than one child! Nick and I thought we would loose some hope in their system if they were to NOT ask us more questions. Our home study and dossier have everything in it except for hair samples (which are probably somehow in there too) but we knew they still want to know more. The questions they asked were reasonable. We will now have to answer them and return our answers, translated and sealed, to Colombia as quickly as possible so they can continue to review our family.

We just wanted to update you and let you know we'd appreciate your prayers while we hurry all over town to see Dr.s and Psychologists to write letters and "evidence" to support our family in our attempt to adopt. We are praying the people that accept the answers will indeed accept them and approve us and we can move forward. The scary thing is there are no "for sure" situations in adoption, and this, unfortunately, is one of those not for sure times. We could submit these answers and they could move us along, or they could say no. We aren't really thinking about what would happen if they said no. Only that God is in control of every detail (see last post) and we are confident in that. That being said our "details" that we give to the Colombian government need to be quick, accurate, and honest.

Thank you for praying along with us.

Back in School

So last weekend we left Empowered to Connect conference in Birmingham. We got to meet some new friends and got to see our favorite social worker from Lifeline. Our brains are on total over load right now. We loved every minute of it! I'm finding myself just loving to learn lately. It seems like just about everyday I'm reading an article, practicing Spanish, searching blogs, and now after this weekend we will be doing more research into nutrition and sensory issues that our kids will be dealing with. In the midst of all of our learning I'm feeling a little stuck. I'm stuck thinking when are we actually going to get to use this stuff. How much longer!?

 Nick and I are both not emotional about many things, I am the more emotional one of the two, but friends even comment to us, do y'all not ever get mad or upset or sad. I think I only cried at two points of our wedding day.Ok... maybe three but compared to most I'm a little dry. It's not that the emotions are not there. It's not that I hold them in and then explode either. I'm not sure why God has made us this way.I'm not sure and that's ok. 

While we were in Birmingham we were at church on Sunday with one of our most admired pastors and speakers. We missed our home church family but were happy to be at church with our Lifeline family. He reminded us that as they have been reading though Genesis just as our church has, at all the details and what some call "coincidences" but what he referred to as an "orchestra of God's moves". This picture of God orchestrating all the little details has just been so prevalent on my heart lately. He made mention of his family's adoption journey and how in their failed attempts at pregnancy and adoption that God was using that to culminate to him leaving to go to Nepal (where they had to stop their adoption). He said never would he have made up or even dreamed up that years ago after their struggles and often asking "God why"" that he would be going on this trip. 

So to be honest with you, the sibling group we are currently reviewing has a little girl in it. She is the younger of the two girls and her birthday was during the conference. We both made it though the day, we prayed for her and thought of her often. Because we don't know if officially she is ours I wasn't as heartbroken as I thought I might be that we'd missed her birthday. God once again why did you make me this way? I want to be emotional about it,I want to be overwhelmed with love for this little girl who is now another year older and without a mom and dad. The second little girl in this sibling group has a birthday coming up in only a matter of days. Please pray for her as she too, only days after her sister, will be missing a mom and dad on her birthday. 

The fact that God is orchestrating our details, rather they lead to her and her siblings or to different kids, or whatever,

the thing I keep getting overwhelmed and "emotional" about is the fact that we serve a God who is always planning, always doing, always figuring, always loving, always disciplining, always true, always real, and always faithful. 

I try to be so many things and it's ok if emotional wreck is not one of them right now, I'm sure that will come with time and then I'll wish I was back the way I am now. But I just love that even though I'm on information overload God had reminded me that He has called us to Live Recklessly for Him and he is using each feature of who he is to bring us closer to our kids and to make us into every detail he has designed us to be as believers, as parents, as husband and wife, and most importantly as children of His.

Thank you God for allowing us to learn so much it hurts. Thank you that in your prefect timing we'll get to unleash it all on our kids with love and that until then we can laugh about all the "use your words" and things we say to each other anticipating having to say them to the kids one day. God keep us sustained though this journey. Please let little M & B feel a special kind of love on their birthdays. Let them know they are fiercely being pursued and that we are able to do so because you so lovingly pursued us and have taught us what it looks like to love like crazy and trust in your details.

In the next day or two I will try to post an update on our actual "process" after talking with our Social Worker.

I am going to also be posting more information for you as our family and friends so that you can Learn along with us, so stay tuned! Here is the one for Empowered to Connect.
http://empoweredtoconnect.org/