Our adoption story...

It all started on a warm evening last summer when Adam made a campfire in the backyard.  After roasting marshmallows with our boys, we tucked them in bed and stayed up late talking beside the fire's glow.  This night is permanently etched into my memory because it was the night Adam and I talked about adoption for the first time.

If I'm being honest, I was a little heartbroken over the fact that Adam had recently gotten a vasectomy.   I just felt this inescapable feeling that our family wasn't complete yet.  As I was sharing these innermost thoughts with Adam, he told me that he felt complete with our three biological children... but would definitely be open to adopt.  Adopt?  This option had truly NEVER crossed my mind before.   Somehow, in this moment though, it made sense.  Adam had adoption on his heart already... maybe this "feeling" I had was God putting adoption on my heart as well.  All of a sudden, memories flooded back to the night before Casey was born.  Adam and I were kneeling in prayer together and we were asking God for a little girl.  Of course, we knew we would absolutely cherish a third little boy... but that night, we prayed for a girl.  Now at the campfire, that night really had me thinking.  What if God fully intended to answer our prayer that night?  What if it just wasn't in OUR plans or timing?  What if God hand-picked a little girl half-way around the world for us?

I felt God stirring my heart about adoption and I prayed. Like crazy.  One night, I spent hours praying specifically for God to show me if it was His will for Adam and I to adopt.  The next morning before church, I prayed again.  I remember thinking God, if you could just show me something at church that will make it obvious that you want us to adopt.  Maybe if the pastor just said the word "adoption" or something.  Meanwhile, I was thinking to myself, that is never going to happen.  He is going to give a normal, Sunday morning sermon and you are just going to leave confused. 

God did answer my prayer that morning though...in a way that was beyond my wildest expectation.  (I honestly would have been shocked if our pastor had just said the word adoption!)   Upon walking into service, I was handed a pamphlet.  On the front of the pamphlet was a picture of a little girl and two words.  Orphan Sunday.  My heart skipped a beat.  I didn't even know this day existed.  I immediately sat down and started fumbling through the pages.  Our church was uniting together to pray for orphans for 40 days.  Each day, there was a specific thing to pray for, along with several verses about taking care of orphans and God's love for them.  Then our pastor spoke... not just the word adoption... but the entire service was centered around adoption!  A family who had adopted came up front to speak about their journey.  Everyone who had adopted a child was asked to stand and we prayed for their families.  My heart was pounding, I had a million goosebumps, and I left the service three times to call Adam (who had to work that day).  My hand was shaking so hard I could barely hold my cell phone.  When he finally answered, my eyes filled with tears as I described what had happened that morning.

As if that wasn't enough, adoption quickly became the theme of the entire week.  Songs about adoption were playing on the radio, there was a mentor mom at MOPS who spoke of her adoption journey, when I was volunteering at church, three out of the ten kids in my class had been adopted.   But I about fainted one morning when Jacob woke up and told me that he dreamed about having a little sister.  Even crazier, he said... "Mommy, I think God wanted me to have that dream.  I think He gave it to me." 

So after all of THAT, we filled out our application to adopt a little girl from Russia.  (More on Russia in another post ;)  Did I mention that when we went to fax in the application at the post office... our pastor's wife was there, a girl we had financially supported on a mission trip was there, and the girl faxing the application said that her cousin was adopted from Russia?  Whoa.  I don't think there is anyone in the world who can convince me that all of the things in this post are pure coincidence.  So we are taking this huge, gigantic, completely out of our comfort zone, LEAP of faith... and we will give all of the glory to God.  :)