Haiti

Haiti?! People ask "How did you decide on Haiti?" Actually I really think that God had it decided for us from the beginning...

I remember bringing Tenleigh home from the hospital after she was born. She was the most perfect, beautiful, healthy baby! I was over-the-moon proud and happy! My pregnancy had been easy, labor and delivery was awesome (I LOVED labor and delivery with both of my babies)and I was in heaven being home for about 5 months with my newborn and 18 month old Johnathan. So, some may find it strange then, that shortly after bringing Tenleigh home from the hospital I started researching adoption. I remember finally mentioning it to Ryan when T was about 4 months old. And surprisingly, he wasn't freaked out! ;) (SO thankful for a husband that just "gets" me!) Adoption felt as natural to me as conceiving my own children. I just knew that my third child would not be born of my body.

And so... A three year journey of prayer, research, tears, prayer, webinars, prayer, tears, and prayer began. (yep, there was a whole lot of crying' and prayin'!) Amidst my craziness, Ryan was always very supportive, and did his best to understand what this "calling" felt like for me. He always thought adoption was a beautiful way to grow a family, but he certainly had reservations about how our family could financially afford adoption. No doubt I have always been so thankful for the way that Ryan takes care of our family and provides for us.

In September of 2011 we agreed that we would apply to an adoption facilitator in California. Big decision for us, as we talked for several months about how to go about this, and if we should adopt internationally or domestically. Baby steps. Upon completing the paperwork, for some reason one night I just didn't feel right about it. So... Here we go again. Back to the computer. More google searches.

God is so good! Three years of searching, and never once had I come across a small, family-run adoption agency right up the interstate from us in Fergus Falls! God's Children Adoption Agency jumped out at me. Their beliefs and mission matched perfectly with our hearts... Find a family for every child, rather than a child for every family. We loved their Christian values and everything about them. It was as if God was saying to us, "Now let me show you MY plans." We arranged to meet with one of their social workers and our meeting was great! Big surprise to me though, was that Ryan was very interested in knowing more about their Haiti adoption program. And so... Thus began a sort of love affair with Haiti, reading about the country, the children, the culture.

We are upon completion of the first of our paperwork: application to the adoption agency, application to the orphanage in Haiti, and homestudy stuff. Will go in the mail tomorrow... With prayers and hope! A little one awaits, and 4 Vicks await too!