The Beginning: Part 1

I've always wanted to adopt a child (or children). I distinctly remember telling my parents that I did not want to have biological children, so I hoped they would love the rainbow of children I would add to our family. (For the record, I was probably less than 15 years old when I declared that.) Hubby says he always kinda figured we would adopt in the future, but that always seemed like a ways away.

                                                                              

At the beginning of 2011, the serious talk about adoption began. Doodlebug was here, and he was/is our last (planned) biological baby, so adoption naturally surfaced in conversation. Was this really something we wanted to do? More importantly, was this really something God was calling our family to do? 

There are plenty of things to think and pray through before one makes any kind of serious decision... and the thinking and praying had started for us.

• Though we believe all Christians are called to care for the widow and the orphan, is God calling our family to adopt right now? (There are many facets here: is He calling us to adopt as a way to care for? is He calling us to adopt right now?)
• Lady, Stink and Doodle are pretty close in age, so we knew if we were going to adopt a little girl to complete our family, we didn't want a huge age gap between her and our other children. 
• The adoption process for some places around the world can take 2-5 years! (And man, I thought 40 weeks was a long time to wait for a new member of the family!)
• This is a permanent decision. If we pursue adoption and bring a baby/child home, it's the same as getting pregnant and bringing a baby home- it's forever. 
• Are we spiritually/emotionally/physically ready to enter into a possibly emotional/tumultuous/uncertain/ever-changing adoption process?
• What are the implications for adopting internationally while living abroad? How do we find an agency to work with?

So, Hubby and I spent time talking, thinking, praying, searching, wondering, dreaming, explaining, praying again... and on February 4, 2011, he told me he felt like God was indeed calling our family to adopt a little girl. Our Lovebug.

To be continued...