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!