Here We Grow...

I can hardly believe we are just days away from bringing our son home forever. With God's favor, we have been generously given enough award miles to take all four of the kids plus bring Jordan home...all 5 received award tickets! Wow!

My dream was to take everyone, and my hope was for each of the children to know the birthplace of their brother...to see the inner beauty of the Haitian men, women and children amidst the ashes and rubble of its poverty...to see the faces of a beautiful and strong people against the backdrop of Haiti's rolling green hills, misty mountains and clear blue seas...to meet and thank those who have dearly loved and cared for our son...to appreciate in some small way the sacrifices of time and energy and unconditional love that have been made to bring sweet Jordan into our lives and into our family.

In the early stages of our adoption process, our dear friend Christy Nockels put the unfolding of our story into a song. While she wrote the song with us in mind, it was also written for the thousands who share their own unique adoption story. No one has the same experience, but we all share the common bond of bringing a child home. It's an inexplainable journey filled with joy, heartache, waiting, confusion, faith, exasperation, patience, anxiety, lack of patience, testing and more...

If you've heard us use the phrase "we're on our way," it's because of this tender song that tells the story of how God used our youngest daughter to touch the hearts of our whole family and move us toward adoption. Here are some of the lyrics...

Ever wonder what it’s like, 

When God dreams a dream,

And puts that dream into a family?

He might start with the youngest,

And let her lead the oldest,

He loves to trust a child with mystery…

We’re on our way...

To a place we cannot go without our faith

Across the big, blue sky there you await

We’ll never be the same…

So, here we grow…

With a love so big it’s bound to bring you home

Oh we love you more than you could know

Hold on tight…

We’re on our way, baby...

copyright © 2012 Christy Nockels

God uses "the least of these" to accomplish His purposes. I have no doubt. I see it all the time. God has stretched us in ways we could not have anticipated and in ways we could not have endured without faith in Him and His plan. In 2012, When Christy wrote this song, I could hardly imagine the day we would leave for Haiti...now that day is just around the corner. Praise God.

While the journey to go get our son is close at hand, the road to growing our family is only just beginning. Please keep our travel and safety in your prayers. Please pray for Jordan's heart and that God will, in a way only He can, prepare him for his family. Pray for Baker, Brennan, Cara and Eliza as they transition to life with a new sibling. Pray for Don and me as we "start over" in our parenting journey. There are many unknowns and many "not yets".  Our desire is to live and love one day at a time...in His peace...in His presence. Thank you again for indulging us, praying for us, giving to us, cheering us on and for loving us through this time. Our hearts are stretched, and we will never be the same (thank God)...

Here We Grow!

"Hurry is not in My Nature..."

Referral Oct 2012

Learning the "art of patience" is not something that has ever come naturally to me. In fact, it will never be an "art" for me. Instead, patience for me is solely an act of faith and dependent on my trust in Jesus.

"Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1).

Waiting for God's timing throughout our adoption journey has been our greatest challenge; yet, also, our greatest comfort. In the Jesus Calling entry for today, Sarah Young writes the following as though Jesus himself were speaking, "If you want to work with Me, you have to accept my time frame. Hurry is not in my nature." These words ring true, especially in our adoption story.  As much as we may have wanted to hurry things along, our journey has been the opposite of "hurried." Nothing turns over too quickly in the process of an adoption, but we have accepted God's time frame knowing that His plan is perfect...not ours.

While "hurry" may not be in God's nature, it is in His nature to bring glad tidings of great joy... In this wonderful season of rejoicing over the birth of the Christ child, we also rejoice over news that God has given movement to our adoption... there is a light shining and a great hope that we will bring Jordan home in the first months following the new year. We don't have a date, but we hold on to our hope and keep our faith while we wait for the unseen processes to occur and allow our son to come home... it may not be in a hurry but it is sooner now than ever!

     

                             May 2013

June 2013

August 2013

July 2013

We rejoice in the Lord, always. We are humbled and awed and are ever grateful for the love and support of our friends, our family and the strangers who journey with us in this walk of patience and faith.

September 2013

Please continue your prayers as we pray Jordan home... He is coming! Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

October 2013

November 2013