Our Adoption Story-Part 2

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I've always known that the Lord has a plan for me and for our family, but I've never seen God's work unfold as clearly and magnificently as it has in the past month or so.  What a blessing and a privilege it is to serve a King who allows us to see glimpses of who He is, and how much He Loves us.  

Let me explain.  As most of you know, we are expecting our third child, by way of adoption.  We could not be more thrilled!  Many of you also know that this has been a long time coming for our family.  If you want to hear more details on that part of our story, you can read about it here.  

Over the course of the past few weeks, Jesus has graced our lives in a real, clear and marvelous way!  We believe that Jesus is always, and has always been, at work in our lives, but we don't always have the opportunity to see the "how's " and "why's" of what He is doing.  This time we do, and it has been one of the most amazing things I've ever had the opportunity to experience!  

I'd like you to see some of what I'm talking about, so here's a little of our story.  What we didn't realize is that God started writing this part of our story SO long ago (If we're really thinking about it, He already knew this story before we were born, and has had the ending all worked out for eternity, but for the sake of this post, I'm talking regular, human timeline here :).

Let's Reminisce:

We moved back to Montana just over three years ago.  Many of you know that we had a really hard time selling our Washington home when we moved.  In fact, we JUST sold our house on August 28, 2014.  During the past 2.5 years, we were praying fervently that the Lord would provide a way for us to get out from under our house, but it just didn't seem like it would ever happen.  About 7 months ago, we had an interested buyer and we were patient.  At the beginning of August, it FINALLY seemed like it was going to sell, but there were still no guarantees.  

During the month of August, we were also feeling "the tug."  Adoption was on our hearts, and it was something we wanted to start actively pursuing.  As you know, we have had China on our hearts for quite some time (Again, you can read here if you'd like more of the back story).  As many of you know, I'm only 29, so we were just waiting for my decade to roll over in order to be eligible to adopt from China.  We found out that you can actually start applying at 29 1/2 (The average Chinese-American adoption of a Child with special needs is 24 months, so I guess they figure you will have the time), so we decided it was time.

We officially applied to our placement agency on August 13, 2014.  We were thinking we would have tons of time to fill out paperwork, and eventually the Lord would lead us to the right "referral" from our agency.  Well, we were WRONG!  On August 29, 2014, we saw our daughter's picture for the first time on our Agency's "Waiting Child" list.   After seeing Elsa's sweet face (it's important to realize that this is only her name for the purposes of the agency website, not her actual name), we IMMEDIATELY felt the need to pray and ask God for wisdom concerning this little girl.  Remember, I said our house closed on the 28th...yep...that's right the DAY BEFORE we first saw Elsa's photo!

Why is This Important to Note? 

Because This Marks:
 Miracle #1 

(Well, actually us staying Montana is miracle #1, but that's another story, for another time).  For over two years, we were praying for our house to sell, God knew it wasn't the right time.  We wanted to sell our house  partly because we wanted to move closer to Clint's work, and partly because we wanted to start saving for our future adoption.  Turns out God had both issues covered (Of course He did! He's GOD!)!  It turns out, if we would have sold our house two years ago, like WE wanted, chances are we probably found a new home, purchased it, and moved closer to Kalispell.  Having that new financial investment would have bumped us out of China's required "financial bracket."  According to their rules and regulations, we would have been considered a "financial risk," and we wouldn't have even be eligible to adopt from China! 

How amazing is God's timing?!  

We sold our house according to HIS timeline which was exactly:

• Two-and-a -half weeks after finding out all of our adoption eligibility requirements.
• The day before we saw out daughters photo for the first time.
• 3 months before I turned 30.

Six days after seeing Elsa's sweet face online, I went to a friend's house to talk about adoption stuff.  Clint and I had been praying, taking to medical professionals and our insurance company all week and were trying to determine if we could move forward with this sweet girl.  As I walked into my friend's house, the first thing I said was,"I've fallen in love with a little girl online."  She responded with,"Is it Elsa?"  My blood stopped cold!  How in the world did she know?  I hadn't said a word about it!  She then mentioned to me that she saw Elsa's picture too, fell in love with her, and felt compelled to pray for her.  How amazing is that?!  The date was September 5, 2014.  I will NEVER forget it, because on this day, I left my friend's house Realizing that we had actually found our daughter!  I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on her sweet face, but on this day God gave me all the confidence I needed to say yes...On September 5, 2014, which just happened to be Sweet Elsa's 3rd birthday.

On September 8th, that we informed our agency that we wanted to be Elsa's forever family, only to be crushed when they told us that they were waiting on other families who had also inquired about her.  They informed us that if anyone else came forward, they would probably go with another family, because they were  further along in their paperwork process.  They "didn't want us to get our hopes up...and please be open to other waiting children."  At 8 months of age, Elsa was diagnosed with Thalassemia and Siderosis  (I'll talk more about this in another post).  Neither of her severe medical conditions have been properly treated for the past 2.5 years.  Meaning, she needs to get home immediately for survival.  We knew this, and our minds wanted to be joyful that she was no longer going to be an orphan, but our hearts were grieving at the thought that just when we knew we could be the ones to love her forever, someone else might take the opportunity from us.  We know that there are TONS of kids who need homes out there, but in our hearts we already felt like Elsa was our daughter, and we were her parents.  To some people it may be hard to understand, but it felt like I was 4 weeks pregnant, and someone just told me that I wouldn't be able to keep my child. 

It was a LONG week.  Two other families ended up stepping forward, also wanting to be Elsa's parents.  We were praying, along with, many of our friends and family members.  We were given the opportunity to write a letter, and fill out a very long questionnaire about why we think we would be the best choice to be Elsa's forever family.  Our agency would then look it over, have a meeting, and determine where Elsa should be placed.  We labored and prayed over our answers, begging God to let us have her, but also pleading that we would be strong enough to graciously accept His will...even if His will meant she was to go to another family.  

The day before the decision was made our pastor preached a message on serving the Lord with your family.  I was a complete mess!  Although we are using a Christian adoption agency, that doesn't mean that the adoptive families are all followers of Jesus.  I was having a hard time thinking that Elsa might not go to a family who would tell her how much God loves her, and that He has always had a purpose for her life.  I couldn't sleep that night.  I looked at the clock and it was 3 a.m.  I just kept praying for peace and that God would handle the situation.  It was at that time I  had thoughts of:

Wow, I can say something about sweet, Elsa that I cannot say about my other two children.  There are two other mommies out there that love Elsa just as much as I do.  I know that no other mom could possibly love Liam and Ruby the way that I love them, but there are moms our there who love Elsa just the way that I do...right now.  Like me, they'd fallen in complete love with a little girl they'd also never had the opportunity to love close up...to snuggle or to kiss.  

It was in that moment, that I could release Elsa to Jesus, knowing that He would take care of her, even if Clint and I weren't the vessels He chose to use.  I now believe God had us go through this period of uncertainty to help us realize that our children are His children first, and that we need to trust Him to take care of them.

Miracle #2

On Monday, September 15, 2014, I was standing outside our veterinarians office with Liam, Ruby, and our two cats (we were getting our animals  "home study approved"),  when my phone rang.  It was our social worker and she had news..."Alissa...the agency asked me if I wanted to tell you, or if they should contact you.  I told them I'd contact you if it was good news...They chose you...They said yes."  Of course, I immediately burst into tears!  People were passing us by...some pretending not to see a crazy woman bawling over her cats.  Some asking if I needed help.  Some gawking and the awkward scene, but I didn't care.  THEY SAID YES, the actually said yes!  A high-pitched, mostly-sobbed, "thank you," was all I could muster.  They chose us when the odds were against us.  After all, we had just begun our paper work, and technically we weren't even eligible...as I'm still awaiting my birthday.

There are so many more things that have happened between then and now.  All things I really want to tell you about!  God is at work, and he is choosing to bless our family though this amazing process.  However, the process is not over.  In fact, there is still SO MUCH that has to be done, but if you ask me today how many children I have, I will say 3.  When the Agency contacted us, and we heard things like, "It was a unanimous decision...after reading your file, we knew you were Elsa's family...we've been looking for you for over two years, and I'm so glad we finally found you."  God has graciously been preparing us for this moment, and we are running toward it.  Miracle #2 was "They said Yes."

I'd like to keep rambling on about how blessed we are, and tell you about some more really cool things the Lord has orchestrated, but for now I need to go.  I hear squeals from the crib, and that means nap time is over.  

Keep us in you prayers, will you?  We cherish them.  Oh, and Elsa has a name now...she's no longer just a profile online.  She's always been the daughter of a King, and she has a family just waiting to bring her home... IT'S US.  We call her Lily.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jesus has a plan for us.  

It's filled with hope, and we can clearly see it.  

We'll keep you updated.