The A-word

First of all, a little catch-up. Lincoln's birthday was over a month ago, but because I forgot my camera during the trip over to Grandma & Grandpa's, I used their camera, and it's been a while since I got the photos transfered back to my computer. So here are some photos from a month ago.
What I'm about to share may come as a surprise to some of you. We've spoken with our parents about this and with some of our friends in the area, but we haven't yet gone public here on the blog about our intentions of adopting.

You read that correctly. After the long and very difficult delivery process with Lincoln, Jenn and I started talking about adoption. I recall our walks around downtown Hudson when we spoke about wanting more children but not being real excited about more pregnancies. But because adoption is such a big thing, we let it pass for some time. Besides, adoption is for other people, right?

Then came Lydia's delivery. The delivery process went well, but things have been pretty rough for Jenn in the months since the delivery. We haven't had much to say about it here, and I'm not going to say any more than I have so far. After the two experiences, while we're not completely ruling out having more biological children, we've arrived at the point of wanting to adopt.

Jenn reached this conclusion first, and then I was right behind her. Perhaps she will tell her story here sometime, but until then, I can tell you that the LORD has clearly placed adoption on her heart. The hard part initially was knowing if it was, in fact, the LORD speaking or was it just a temporary desire or quest? Followers of Christ know of what I'm speaking. Sometimes it can be hard to determine. So we prayed. And we prayed. And adopting a special needs child from China kept rising to the top of Jenn's mind. As she shared her thoughts with me, it became clear that we are in the right position. We've come to the conclusion that (a) we want more children, (b) we don't want more pregnancies, (c) we have a home (both our house and our "home") that can accomodate more children, & (d) we don't want to take a healthy infant from a family that truly wants a baby but cannot have one themselves. That led us to settling on searching for a special needs baby, and China has a great program in which the kids actually do get very good medical care, their kids come with reliable medical histories (as reliable as can be with adoption), and the waiting period and requirements to bring the child home are not terribly onerous. The waiting period is usually between 12 & 18 months. Because we want to preserve our birth order, we will likely be toward the shorter end of that scale, but nothing is for certain at this point.

What is so interesting to consider is that our child is probably already born, and is in an orphanage somewhere in China. Please join us in prayer for this little one, that the LORD will provide the best protection and care, and that all of the preparation that comes with adoption will proceed with ease.

One of the big things about adoption is considering the financial aspect of it. Jenn called our accountant, Dave Kearns, to ask a number of questions, and he wanted to put us in touch with a couple from his Bible study group, Joe and Diane, that is very similar to us in many ways that had adopted not that long ago from China. Jenn called Diane and she told Jenn that she and her husband would like to take us out to dinner and talk with us about their story. Further, she wanted to invite their friends who have adopted seven children, four from China. Jenn was thrilled, and we went out to dinner last evening. There are many more details than I can even begin to share here, but it was an evening that can only be explained by saying that it was directed by the hand of God. The friends that Diane invited, John and MC, were the very couple that Jenn had seen in passing at HCC and wanted to get to know! Be sure to ask Jenn about it the next time you see her.

It's been very encouraging to talk with friends like Joe and Diane, John & MC, and read blogs like what my college buddy, JT, and his wife have put together. Jenn has talked with other moms from church and friends of those friends about their experiences, and they all seem to confirm that we are following the path that the LORD has laid out for us. The need is great, and we believe we can be a part of meeting the need.

Back to Lincoln and Lydia:
On a separate note, Lincoln and Lydia have made many trips with Grandma Paulette over to CVCA to watch the diggers and dump trucks work. Lincoln loves it and Lydia enjoys being outside.
Lincoln "read" his first word yesterday. We were reading a Curious George story together and he identified the letters "u" and "p," sounded them out, then pronounced, "UP!" It was pretty neat!

Ledges on a Wednesday

This weekend is the annual Canada fishing trip, so I'm covering Saturday at the clinic. This allowed us all to go on a hike this morning! Lincoln's getting better about going at a good pace so we can all get good exercise. The dogs are wiped out, we had a fun morning outside, Lydia was a trooper, and we even saw something new on the trail: little frogs!When we got to the Ledges, I let Gretel off her leash and we told Lincoln that she needed to "get the wiggles out." Then Jenn said, "I know a boy who needs to get the wiggles out!" Lincoln knew exactly who she was talking about, so he started running around in the field. After a while, when we were back on the trail in the woods, he said, "I got the wiggles out. They're in the forest now."

Container Gardening & Car Wash

It was a beautiful weekend, and after Jenn and I caught up on our rest, we enjoyed the outdoors and got some planting done. I haven't done much planting, and absolutely no gardening, since we moved from Hudson. The Norton Road house had a great spot for a garden, and I miss that aspect of the place. So Jenn and I decided to dress up the front of the house with some planters (full scale landscaping is coming soon!) and we also planted some herbs, peppers and tomotoes in containers on the deck. I'm not optimistic we'll get a big crop, but we'll keep you posted.Lincoln wanted to help with the planting, so I gave him a shot at getting dirty. He wasn't short-changed. He was also a crack-up with the hose, even getting a bit curious to see where the water came from. Yes, he shot himself in the face once.He's becoming obsessive about playing with the hose. Today I gave him an outlet by getting in our swim trunks and washing Jenn's car. It needed done: both water play time for Lincoln and Jenn's car wash.It's been a warm day outside, but it's been breezy inside, and the dogs have enjoyed a lazy day.We'll close off this post with some more photos of the kids.

Edge Small Group Sleepover II

For our out-of-town family, this portion of posting will be less interesting to you. For the first time, a portion of this blog will be directed toward the families of my Edge Small Group. I've refered in the past to the Edge Games and to the sleepover I hosted last year, but this will be even more Edge-specific.This past Friday was the second sleepover, and we had a blast.Tyler (left), a senior at Stow high school, has been my student helper this past school year and he's been an awesome addition to the group. The guys really, really like him, and he's a solid role model fo them. He and I drove 5 guys down to Akron for the game. The guys in our group aren't necessarily real big baseball fans, but with minor league baseball, there's always extra stuff going on around the game that's entertaining. We had a great view!At Aeros' games, the food is entertainment.There's something called the Three Dog Night.And another something called the Nice 2 Meat You Burger.They're big, and tasty!

Early in the game, the right fielder for the Mets tossed a foul ball into the bleachers where we were sitting and Nick got it. Toward the end of the game, he found a pen from a nice lady sitting near us, dropped the ball and the pen into the Aeros' bullpen and picked up four autographs!Zach and Eviyon took a swing with the big hammer.We were all over the stadium during the evening. We spent some time in left field...We spent some time in right field...When we finally made it back to the bleachers, the guy who told us in the beginning not to stand right next to the edge of the fence didn't seem to care any more. That's Micah, Tyler and Nick right above the Puppie in Slush Puppie.After the autographs were signed, the guys still chatted with the relief pitchers.The game concluded with fireworks!After we got back home, we had a good time of Bible Study and discussion about the time Jacob wrestled with God. It was one of the better discussion times of the year. Afterward, the guys talked about wanting to get up early in the morning while it was still dark so they could play Ghosts In The Graveyard. I think Brandon even set his alarm for 5:30. But this was the scene at 8:30.We finished with a big breakfast and some time playing Rapala Pro Bass Fishing. A fun end to year #2!