A Thanksgiving Blessing!

Introducing...Peter!

I am thrilled to announce that we have been matched with our child! This happened months before expected, further evidence that God is driving this adoption. A few weeks ago, we received a referral for a precious two-year-old boy. We knew that he was our son and, after reviewing his file with several medical professionals, we wrote a Letter of Intent formally expressing our intention to adopt him. We are so elated to know who our son is and are filled with so much love for him! Thank you to everyone who has helped us and prayed for us along the way.

We are pleased to be naming our son Peter, after Matt's beloved maternal grandfather - Grandpa Pete - who passed away in July.

We told Noah that God has found us his little brother and I showed him photos of his adorable little brother. When I asked Noah what he thought of him, he said, "I like him!" in a bright and matter-of-fact voice. When I asked him what he liked best about his brother, he thought about it and then replied, "If he has to go potty, I'll take him to the toilet." That's my funny boy! And I'm so glad that he's already thinking about how to be a helpful older brother.

It will still be at least eight months before we can travel to China to get Peter. So, we'd appreciate your continued prayers for this process to continue to move smoothly and swiftly; for God to watch over Peter and bless his health and development; for Peter to feel loved by his caretakers, by us from afar, and by the Lord; for Peter's caretakers to nurture him; and for God to order our steps each step of the way.

A friend from church, who has adopted one child and is in the process of adopting a second, refers to this time period between knowing who your child is on paper and actually meeting him as being "paper pregnant." That is such a perfect way to describe it that I had to share it here!

We are not yet permitted to post any photos or personal information about Peter. But we look forward to sharing pictures of him when we can.

It is with great joy that I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Abiding in Him

If there is one thing that has been proven to me time and time again throughout this adoption process, it is that God is in control. He is in control of the timing. He is in control of all the details. He is in control of my communications with agency personnel and with doctors. He is in control of the admin. He is in control of bringing us the child that He has planned for our family. He has hand picked that child, is caring for him, and will deliver him into our arms. On so many occasions during this time sensitive process, on too many occasions really, I have stressed over the details, about whether certain meetings would take place on time, about whether I'd be able to communicate with certain people, about whether I'd be able to find out critical information. What God has shown me over and over again is that He is with me, this adoption is in His hands, and that He always comes through. He always meets my needs and takes care of me. It gives me great relief to know that I abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in me, as stated in John 15. 

The Paper Elephant

The most overwhelming part so far about international adoption is the amount of paperwork and the exacting detail involved in the administrative process. I totally understand the reason for all the paperwork and I'm glad that the screening of couples wanting to adopt internationally is so thorough, but that does not make the huge amount of paperwork any less cumbersome. The fact that it takes someone working diligently six months to complete the majority of the paperwork speaks for itself. Whenever I feel like the paperwork is staggering, I remember two things.

First, a former coworker of mine had a saying she would repeat whenever a project seemed colossal: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." She would repeat this to herself and to anyone else as often as she or the other person needed to hear it. My husband now reminds me of that saying whenever the adoption paperwork seems mountainous.

Second, and more importantly, I remember that this adoption is God's will and God is in control of it every step of the way. As we follow His will and allow Him to order our steps, He is in control of the entire process, from the very beginning administrative portion to matching us with the child He has chosen to be part our family and beyond that to when we are a family of four walking in His way.

So, I remind myself, "Allie, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Can we go NOW?

This morning I had my first conversation with our two-year-old son about adoption. He had come with me to the post office to mail a packet and he saw me looking at paperwork, so he was asking questions.
Me: Do you know that some people have little brothers or sisters?
Noah: Yes.
Me: Do you want a little brother or sister?
Noah: Yes!
Me: Well, there are two ways to have a little brother or sister. God can grow a baby in Mommy's belly. Or we can adopt a child who doesn't have a mommy or daddy. God told us to go to a country called China and adopt a child.
Noah: Can we go NOW?
Me: Oh, Buddy, there's a lot more paperwork to do for the adoption, so it's going to be a long time until we can go. Do you understand?
Noah: Uh-huh

Order Our Steps

God, I pray that You protect our future child. That You bless his or her health and development, even though he or she may have special needs. That You help us find him and guide us directly to him. That You put him in excellent care - in an orphanage or with care givers who nurture, nourish and help him in every way. That he feels loved - by Jesus, by his caregivers, and by us. God, please give us wisdom throughout this process and order our steps according to Your will. Holy Spirit, please intercede for us in prayer.

Here are just some of the many Bible verses that have been helpful to me so far during the initial decisions involved in our adoption process:

"Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."
-Isaiah 1:17

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
-James 1:27

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayers and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God."
-Philippians 4:6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."
-Proverbs 3:5

"Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established."
-Proverbs 16:3

"The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
-Proverbs 16:9

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you."
-John 15:16

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."
-Isaiah 40:31

"'For I know the plans that I have for you' declares the Lord 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.'"
-Jeremiah 29:11-13

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
-Hebrews 11:6

"Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do no anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
-Isaiah 41:10

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
-Romans 8:26-27