The story of three.
Adoption has always been and will always be on our hearts. We are surrounded by it, our own family, our close friends, our friends' friends, our bloggy friends....surrounded. We LOVE sharing our story with others. Selfishly, we love sharing our story in hopes that it will, in turn, lead a family to their own adoption story and, most importantly, one less orphan.
Several months after we came home with Maddox, I remember looking at a list of available children when one sweet little sad-faced girl caught my eye. She was beautiful and, as Ryan walked by, I said, "Oh, Ryan, she just needs a bow! Look at her!" And his response was, "B, if we only had the money." I knew at this moment that we may be looking at a bigger plan, one that was not necessarily our own, but His.
Over the past year-ish, we have periodically discussed adopting again and what that would look like in our family. Many of those conversations have ended in us agreeing that our lives were full. With four children, there is never a dull moment. And yet, there was an underlying question of "what if?" What if we were to adopt again?
There came a point when we realized that every.single.reason we had for not adopting was superficial. Five college tuitions, weddings, medical care, extra-curricular care, oh my. All very worthy of worry. Yet, isn't it worrisome that there are children all over the world who do not have a family to call their own? These children are not worried about anything more than where their next meal is coming from. Their biggest concern is survival. They aren't concerned about how large their house is - they just want to be warm. They aren't concerned about clothing - they are just happy to be warm. They aren't worried about a bed - they just want to sleep and often do so on a board or bare floor.
And love? These children have no idea what love is. God's love, a parent's love, a grandparent's love, friend's love....they do not know love. Are their needs met by caregivers? Sometimes. But caregivers come and go. Unconditional love does not exist in their world.
So with all of this on our hearts, our prayers became more specific with time as we pondered our next adoption. We gave it all to Him and asked Him to open doors or slam them shut. With doors wide open and hearts ready to love, we are excited to announce that we will be pursuing a third adoption from China's special needs program.
Questions that have been asked:
How can you help?
We are currently doing an Ipad Mini raffle. Tickets can be purchased by clicking on our Donate button (located on the right). Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $25. Please list the amount you would like to purchase in the comments section and we will fill out your tickets for you and put them in the hat! A public drawing will be held on Saturday, April 27. The winner does not need to be present to win.
Do we have a child identified?
No, at this time we are strictly fundraising. However, we do plan to adopt a little girl, under the age of three, with a special need.
Do we have to do EVERYTHING all over again?
Yes. We have to begin from the beginning as if we have never adopted before.
If you would like to know more, please feel free to email me or leave a comment! Thank you so much for following our family as we move forward in bringing home our little girl!
