A little about adoption

Disclaimer: This post might get a little long; this is something I'm very passionate about!

So why are we adopting?

Well, a couple of years ago God really began speaking to our hearts about adoption. As we prayed about it, we knew God was leading us to adopt from Ethiopia. As we we learned more about Ethiopia, a lot of things really confirmed it in our hearts.

First of all, did you know that in Ethiopia one in ten children die before their first birthday? One in six children die before their fifth birthday. 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition. 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (the 6th highest in the world). There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia! That number alone is staggering!

All these statistics are just overwhelming and when you think about it, you start saying, “Okay, God, what can I really do, I'm just one person? How can I make a difference?” But if we let ourselves think like this, sometimes it prevents us from doing anything. A lot of the time God is calling us to do something completely crazy and totally our of our comfort zone and it involves a huge risk! But that’s the exciting part, risking it all for God and watching him do something incredible in and through us!

Starting this adoption process is big and scary and totally out of our comfort zone. But for us, it's just a matter of being obedient to what God has told us to do. Some might think it's brave, some might think it's foolish, but we call it faith. We can't see the path up ahead, but we're stepping out in faith anyway, knowing that God has called us on this incredible journey of adoption and He will be with us every step of the way.

And really, what it comes down to is that there are lots of kids in the world who need a loving, forever family and we want to be that family for a child. Simple as that.

I feel like I have to give this big, long explanation for why we have decided to adopt, and it's hard because people don't always react like you expect them to when you tell them you're adopting. Sometimes I feel like we have to defend our decision to adopt, when really we just want people to be excited just like they would be if we told them we were pregnant. Because really, adopting is much like being pregnant. God is blessing us with another little one through the miracle of adoption. A child being brought into a family, no matter how it occurs, is a miracle!

It doesn't matter if a child was born into our family or adopted into our family, they will be OUR child and we will love them just the same.

I can't begin to describe how excited I am! I am already dreaming about holding my little baby from Ethiopia. God will definitely be growing my patience through this whole process. Adoption is a long and sometimes difficult process and we are only at the very beginning of this journey. So come along and join us as we dive in!

I will write more about the adoption process later. A lot of people don't understand why it takes so long and what all goes into the process. Oh, and don't be afraid to ask any questions, I love talking about adoption!

Thanks for reading, now it's time for some pictures :)

Last weekend we went on a picnic in the woods. It's so nice to get out of the city and just enjoy God's beautiful creation. Joel captured some great pictures, so enjoy . . .


Colson having fun talking to his pine cone




Oh I love him!




A face we see a lot more often now that he's a two year old ;)




Does he not have the cutest little feet?





Colson loves playing in the dirt, what little boy doesn't?





Joel's photography skills
















Mommy's girl




So precious!




Now that we have two kids, we rarely take pictures of ourselves.