We're on our way!

Our meeting with DFCS went well.

Calendars were marked.

Plans made.

Prayers answered.

It was a long ride and a long day,

but we are all excited

about the days ahead.

God blessed us with a beautiful sky on the way home.

I did not get my camera out quick enough to catch it

in it's full glory, but I managed to get this.

 

We will see the children on Tuesday, since they are out of school for Thanksgiving holidays,

and it will be

Hannah and Josiah's first time meeting them.

After that, we will be spending our weekends with them.

Pray for us!

 

 





One Step At A Time

The day of the adoption party was a beautiful day. The air was fresh and clear and the sun was shining. I felt totally at peace and ready to meet these children we had been told about.

 

We arrived before the children, got signed in and tagged, and walked around the quaint farmyard.

 

 

We chatted with some people we had met before, then the supervisor for the children introduced herself and told us that they were on the way. We had been told that only 4 of the 5 children could come, but Theron had prayed that they would all be able to come.
Next thing I knew, Theron said, "They're here!" and there they were . . . all 5 of them. They were all together and just seemed like normal kids. They got signed in and got hot chocolate. I guess it was a bit chilly. Then we eased into talking to them and joining them in games of duck racing, bean bag tossing, and watching the animals. Then we were invited to go on a hay ride.
It was wonderful to see how they interacted with each other and talked freely with us. After the hay ride, they looked for pennies in a hay pile, then we went to launch pumpkins across a field. The boys really enjoyed that. There was talk of going through the corn maze, but then they called us to eat pizza, and then there was face painting and pumpkin painting. So much to do!
Before we knew it, our time was up and we hated to go. I really enjoyed spending time with each of them. I admired how the oldest one helped and held the youngest. I enjoyed some quiet introspective time with the lanky one petting the Great Pyrenees, a gentle giant on the farm. I marveled at the girl who was at the center, but not the center of attention. I was entertained by the one who would be my son's twin (he even talked as much). And lastly, I was charmed by the sweet toddler who put his hand in mine and melted my heart with a hug.
We said goodbye and in our hearts we hope to meet them again. We pray and wait for God to direct our steps.
. . .
We have met with our adoption specialist and gone over the children's family history and initial assessments. We prayed more.
. . .
And now we await a meeting with DFCS to go over the children's updated information and then possible visitation with the children.

Is This It?

After waiting for 2 + years, we have been SELECTED by the case worker for a sibling group. This does not mean it's a match, but at least the case worker thinks there is a good possibility.
We are praying and waiting on God to lead us.
On Saturday, November 3rd, we will get to meet them at an adoption event.
Pray.
1. That God will prepare our hearts for a "yes" or a "no".
2. That we will see the kids' true personalities.
3. That we will hear God's voice on whether to proceed further after this first informal meeting.
4. That if we are not a match for them, that God would have another family for them soon.

Fun and Games

I haven't posted in a while. But we HAVE been doing adoption related things. The past few months have been loaded with what's called Adoption Parties. A funny name, I think, simply because it sounds to me like something that celebrates adoption or the fact that children have found a place to call home. Now that might be something to celebrate.

But sadly, that is not at all what these events are about. In a nutshell, it is an event that takes place at a location where kids in foster care can come and have fun. At the same time, families looking to adopt come to meet them and hopefully help them have fun. If families are interested in certain children in attendance, the case workers will make sure that they get to spend some time together. It's a good way to meet the children and get a feel for their personality. We are given a list of do's and don'ts for communicating with them as well as a list showing names, ages, interests, and their case worker's name.

The kids, at least the ones old enough to know, are checking us out, too. I wonder what's going through their minds. Some are afraid to look at you, afraid to hope, or just afraid. That's the sad part. But we try to draw them out, help them relax and enjoy being a kid, having fun, playing games.

We leave Hannah and Josiah with a sitter. They cannot help with this part of the search. We pray, Lord, may we somehow bless these children who come to the event with some joy. And may You help the case workers to find good homes for them.

Family fliers are passed out to all of the case workers. We meet case workers. We talk to them and they tell us what they know about the children under their supervision. Before we leave, we are asked to fill out a form to let them know if we met any children for whom we are interested in submitting our home study. We have yet to meet our match, even though there have been some that we thought were possibilities. We just have to leave that up to God.

(The pictures, with the exception of the first, are of our flier, which Theron lovingly designed. It's actually a relatively new thing that the case workers like to have. Don't know who came up with the idea, but it helps them to remember us. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.)

Empowered to Connect

I just found out about Karyn Purvis and have added her website to my list on the right. She has some great insights and I am enjoying listening to the audios or watching the videos of her speaking about the topic of adoption. I'm thankful that God has given us more time to learn and grow.
At Hand in Hand (an adoption support group) on Friday, we watched one of her full length videos on KIds from Hard Places. It showed how she works with these kids at a camp especially for them. Wow!

The Journey Continues

. . . and gets more exciting.

We got a call last week about a sibling group. Could this be it?
Besides trusting God, there were alot of things that needed to happen around here if that were a possibility. They were wanting to get them placed within a week.
The trundle beds had to be finished with drawers in place. The garage cleaned up and alot of clutter removed. Messes organized. Whew! We were tired. We had let some of these things slip, because "Hey, it's been almost 2 years." Not that I'm complaining. I am trusting in God's perfect timing.

Hannah and Josiah were very excited about the possiblility of having a little brother and little sister.
We did alot of praying and waiting.
Finally we heard that the state was going to try to place them with the grandmother.
Disappointment mixed with relief.
Okay, now we are at least a bit more prepared than we were before.
Which is a good thing, since we were just notified of another sibling group that just became free for adoption with no legal risk.

Bethany Support Group

Dashing the through the snow in a . . .

well, not really, . . .

we were rolling slowly down the interstate
to a Bethany Christian Services Support Group meeting.
Traffic was crawling, because of all of the people headed to the mall
for "Christmas" shopping.
We arrived just in time, thanks to my husband's wisdom in leaving the house
early.
Pizza and childcare provided and a cookie swap. Since this meeting was open to
families who were still waiting to have children placed in their homes, we thought it
would be good to show our faces and earn an hour of credits to add to our file.
As it turns out, we were not alone. All but one family that came were waiting families,
just like us. We all enjoyed hearing that one family's story of placement and upcoming
adoption, and shared our own stories of disappointment, waiting, frustrations with the
system. For some reason it's encouraging to know that we are not the only ones in this phase,
but still I am inpressed with the importance of trusting God in all things.

Josiah's craft

Two other families also had biological children. They were all so well behaved that it drew
compliments from an older couple who were there. "You parents must be doing something
right." It's good to hear those things. While the adults talked, the kids watched "The Grinch
Who Stole Christmas" and made a craft.

Hannah's craft

We came away full of cookies and encouragement enough to last us awhile.