Friday, June 29, 2012

Forget being Stalled

Good afternoon!  On my last entry, I mentioned that Zane and I have been discovering that if we get pregnant during the adoption process, our application is put on hold, or in some cases, completely stalled and we would have to start all over again once our new child is 6 months old.  Talk about agony!  


Well, I am happy that we have found several agencies and countries that do NOT have that policy.  In fact, it can even help the bonding of the children the closer they are in age, right?  So, we have a lot of prayer that needs to happen, for God to give us wisdom as we pursue adoption.  We are narrowing down our agency choices, I think....and we are both feeling a heart towards Asia and Africa.  This comes as a shock to me because of my love for Romania.  I thought for sure I would feel pulled towards Eastern Europe, but God is working in my heart a different way than expected.  God does that, though!  And His ways are best.  I look so forward to what He has in store.


Have a wonderful Friday!  Stay cool.  It is so hot outside!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Holding for Pregnancy

According to one of the adoption agencies we have been in contact with, most countries will put your application on hold should you become pregnant during the process.  This gives me pause.  Zane and I want to start the adoption process, and knowing that it will be a several year journey, we would like to get pregnant and have another child while we wait to bring our children home from overseas.  But, if that would put our application on hold, then Zane and I have some considering to do.  Get pregnant sooner than we wanted?  Have a baby after we bring our children from overseas home?  So many things to consider!

Here I was, back in my naive days, thinking I knew just about all there was to know regarding adoption, just longing for the time that God will put this calling into motion.  Haha!  But now, actually researching agencies and countries with my husband, going to meetings, talking with  people who have made this journey...well, let's just say I didn't know all I thought I did.  Don't you just love wake-up calls!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

A Longing Worth Waiting On

The idea of adopting is even more beautiful now than it was 8 years ago when God first put the PASSION in my heart.  It is all I can do to contain this joy in eager anticipation of God's timing.  You might notice, over to the right, we have a 'donate' button now to our adoption fund.  We might only get pennies donated at the moment.  Who knows?!  As Zane puts it, "I wouldn't donate to someone if they hadn't started the process yet, at least chosen an agency and a country."

However, I'm of the mind that people who know me know that this isn't a whim.  They know we will be adopting, as soon as God says 'now.'  I have zero doubt in my mind that God will provide for us financially to bring our children home.  And, if this is going to be a 3 year + journey, why not start raising money now?  The more money we raise before we start, the easier (hopefully!) it will be to complete our dossier (fancy word for a ton of paperwork) and have it sent to our country that we will be adopting from.

Friends, I look so forward to our precious little ones.  Baby Seals #2 and #3 (or #3 and #4, should we become pregnant before bringing our adopted ones home) are already greatly loved, prayed for, and LONGED for.

I hope you are having a beautiful day, filled with God's love and warmth shining down!

Friday, June 22, 2012

An Informing Meeting

Zane and I went to our first Informational Meeting regarding adoption this past Tuesday.  I have not been able to get it out of my head.  I'm so excited to be on this path, though I've seen it coming for 8 years!  The meeting was...enlightening.  There are so many more countries that we are eligible for than I thought.  Terminology does not always mean what you think it does.  We have a list of countries, 5 actually, that we are interested in.  One country that I thought was a 'no' is actually a 'yes' I found out, and I cannot get two little faces out of my head!  No, I haven't seen our future children...I know I haven't...but I still see these two little faces every time I think about adoption.  My heart is being tugged towards a particular country.  I'm not quite sure how God gets a husband and wife to both desire a child from the same country, but I'm waiting to see if Zane starts bringing up this particular country before I let him know how I'm feeling.

While we are not starting the process at this time...hopefully in 2013 or the end of 2012...I am doing my research on creative fundraising methods.  I cannot wait to start this process and welcome others to help us bring Baby Seals #2 and #3 home!  (Unless I get pregnant..then #3 and #4.)  Did you catch that?  Yep, we want to bring home a sibling group.  Originally I thought God would allow us to go through this process multiple times, but both Zane and I are desiring 2 at once.  Praise the Lord for working in our hearts regarding that and bringing us to the same conclusion!  I. Cannot. Wait.  My heart is bursting at the seams thinking of my precious little ones.  Roman will make a great big brother.  Zane makes an excellent father and will love these precious ones as his own, just like he does Roman.  And me...I've been desiring this for so long I don't quite grasp the reality in it all.  Oh joy!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Stalled for the Moment

Well, it turns out that the Condo we had a contract on just wasn't meant to be.  Praise the Lord He had already been working in my heart!


For a little over a week, prior to finding out our contract was falling through, I began having doubts about the Condo.  Were we making the right choice?  We offered a little more than we were originally comfortable with.  We weren't going to have a yard for Roman, and future children, to play in.  Something just wasn't sitting right.  I was becoming less excited about becoming a home-owner of this Condo, and more worried that there was something else out there for us.  Maybe a house.  Maybe we just need to renew our lease.  I don't know...something.

I received a call from our lender Friday evening.  Now, I had been praying all last week that if we weren't supposed to have the house, God would make it clear to us by Friday.  Sure enough, Friday at 5 p.m., our lender called to let us know two problems going on with the FHA insurability of the Condo.  Basically, it wasn't going to happen, and there wasn't anything Zane or I could do.  It required the owners of other condos, and the HOA, to follow the guidelines laid out by FHA, but they were both far behind.  I'd say God answered my prayer loud and clear!  Praise Him for that!  Even if we were to follow through on our Condo, and somehow HOA and other owners did what they were supposed to do, the liklihood of us falling into this same predicament when we try to sell is very high.  
Now, what this means:  We are giving ourselves until Friday.  If God wants us to have a house, we will see it between now and then.  If He doesn't, we will renew our lease until December.  Which would mean: A) I'm most certainly not getting another dog right now (please imagine me moping...I just love dogs!) and B) we are MOST DEFINITELY not starting the adoption process at this moment.  We need to have a home to grow in before we can add on another child...or two...or three.

Life is a roller coaster.  I'm so thankful God is planning every day and holding the Seals' family each step of the way!

Monday, June 4, 2012

It Begins...

And the road to adoption begins....

Well, let's be honest.  For me, it began when God was knitting me together in my Mother's womb and planning my days.  I realized it was beginning while on a mission trip in March of 2004 to Romania when I was holding a severely malnourished 4 year old who looked to be the age of my now 8 month old son.  Since that trip, I have not been able to look back.  That longing to adopt has grown, and grown, and grown, and I just don't know how much more it can grow without bursting my heart wide open.  I have such joy when I think about seeing my child for the first time.  I have such pain when I think of all the 'what ifs' that can take place during the process.  A long, tedious process that I don't think ever goes smoothly.  Sure, it is worth it in the end!  Of course it is!  May the Lord be gracious to my family, and my little heart, during the years ahead!

So, you might be thinking that Zane and I have started paperwork.  You would be wrong.  Several weeks ago we decided to start researching agencies and 'gathering the information,' if you will, so that when we are in a position to be ready to add a second child to our home, we will know the agency and country we wish to adopt from.  Part of this push to start gathering the information was because some friends of ours who have been on the adoption road for a year now found out just a few months ago that the country they were working towards would no longer allow them to adopt.  That struck pain into my heart for them.  And pain/fear into my heart for what is up ahead.  God has called me not to live a life of fear!  He is sovereign and our journey, their journey, is in His hands...but the human in me cries out so loudly when I become abundantly more aware of the lack of control I have.

During our research of agencies, we found that Bethany Christian Services offers meetings, monthly, for prospective parents of International Adoption.  While we have not decided on an agency, it is a GREAT idea, I'd say, to go ahead and go to a meeting to get ourselves informed.  I've also contacted an agency from Georgia, An Open Door, to ask a few questions and discuss concerns.  Zane and I will be visiting with a couple from our church in the next week or two to learn about their journey through adoption twice: once domestic and once international.  And my hands have busily been creating beanies for football season.  Every thing I crochet from here on out is to raise money for adoption.  (So if you see something you like on my Etsy shop, Moments Sealed, feel free to purchase it knowing what it is going towards.  You can always let me know what you want and I will do my best to make it for you.)

Feel free to pray without ceasing for us.  For me as I get way ahead of myself and hate the whole waiting thing.  For Zane since he has to deal with me hating the whole waiting thing.  For God to be at work in us and through us during this time.  To draw us closer together.  To cause us to focus on Him more.  For Roman to see a glimpse in this of what God has done for us, adopting us as His children.  For our future adoptive child/children and the emotions/insecurities they might go through.  For the birth parents, for them to come to know Jesus as their Savior; for them to be at peace with their decision; for God to be their comfort throughout their lives when they think about their child, where he/she is, what he/she looks like, etc. and praise Him on their behalf that they gave him/her life rather than aborting.

We invite you to go through this journey with us, praying alongside us.  Thank you for reading, and I will keep you posted!