Exciting Times

Since no one is aware of this blog, I feel relatively free to post that we will be heading to Georgia on Tuesday, January 14 (our 14th wedding anniversary by the way!) to meet a 3 1/2 week old baby boy in the hope of adopting him!!!!!!!!!  We hope to meet the little guy on Wednesday, January 15 (Arielle's 13th birthday).  We are soooooo excited!  It is a legal risk placement because the birth father has not yet signed over his parental rights.  So our enthusiasm is tempered ever so slightly, but we are trusting in the Lord to prepare our hearts for whatever the outcome may be.

After losing four babies to miscarriage (three of them consecutive), I know what it's like to get your and everyone else's hopes up only to have them dashed with grief.  I loathed the repeated explanations I had to give and the often hurtful, albeit well-intended, comments from those closest to me.  Likewise, throughout our adoption journey, we've had some extremely disappointing "false starts" for lack of a better term.  We've been chosen by birthparents three times, even to the point of meeting the child and scheduling visitation and placement date, but for varied reasons a child was not placed with us.

This situation finds us very hopeful... somewhat guarded, but very hopeful.  I've packed everything for the baby.  We kept everything from Josiah, so clothes, linen, car seat, stroller, swing, tub and many other items are taken care of.  The girls are starting to pack their things.  We had the joy of sharing the news with our church family today.  The outpouring of love and generosity was amazing.  We've only been at our church for a year, but honestly, everyone's reaction is not surprising -- they have always shown such love from our first Sunday there.  We so covet their prayers and were happy to share this journey with them.

Some points for specific prayer are as follows:

~ safe travel to Georgia
~ peace & salvation for birthparents
~ our hearts would be prepared for whatever outcome we face
~ our patience, wisdom & strength as we care for a newborn in a hotel room :-)
~ baby's health
~ Quick ICPC (Interstate Compact for Placement of Children) approval -- necessary to take the baby back home
~ that our other children will remain at peace and constructively engaged while spending lots of time in hotel room

To God be the glory in all things!  In Christ, Talya