I’ve wanted to write this post for a couple months now, but the time just didn’t seem right. And I could think of a hundred different titles to name it… but no matter. I think now’s the time to post it.
Baby #2 is on the way!
Well.
Sort of.
I’m not pregnant.
But within the next few months, hopefully our second child will be conceived. I’m really praying for the next month or so (so the arrival is around September/October of next year)
Stop cringing. ☺
I’m not giving you details of our love-life.
We’re hoping to adopt when we get back to the states!
That’s right.
ADOPT!
We are so excited. I already feel preggers…’cept without the nausea, the frequent urination, blotchy skin, and weight gain. This time though its knowing I’ll be a part of a hurting woman’s life and experiencing the emotions of watching a mother give me her baby. Wow. Sometimes I think I’d just take the nausea…but all that will be discussed later. Right now let’s be happy… Our hearts already feel pregnant.,,we’re so ready to meet the next member of the Rivers family!
I was hesitant to post this because even by November of next year we still might not have him/her in our home. Who knows how long it will actually take and all the Lord is planning to teach us through this. But I’ll give you the basics of what we know as of right now…
We, unfortunately, can’t officially start the paperwork until next March/April. So much of the paperwork has an expiration date on it…meaning it’s only good for a year or so after completion. We’re not planning on being back in the US until June, so if we start it too early, well, we just can’t because of things like the homestudy and what not.
We (hope) we will be adopting a newborn infant from the United States. The thought of international adoption sounds nice in theory, but now that we’ve lived in foreign country…well, lets just say I’d like all our paperwork to be in English! (not knocking international adoptions…domestic is for us at this point)
We don’t care about race or gender. To have a sweet little girl- and finally go to the pink side of the baby clothes section!- would be great. But also a little brother for Isaac would be awesome too. I’ll be writing more about the race thing in later posts.
We are planning to use Bethany Christian Services as our agency. They’re a national agency with a long history of successful adoptions. There’s a branch in Florida.
Wow. I think one of the reasons I held off writing this is because there is SO MUCH to tell. My mind is spinning with all the things I want to write right now.
How did we even arrive at this decision?
What are the things the Lord is doing in our hearts because of this? (there’s a good 10 posts to try an answer that question!)
Before I end this and let you comment;)
I want to leave you with a challenge.
November is Adoption Awareness Month.
I didn’t know that until a couple days ago.
But I want to challenge all my friends out there to do one thing…especially if you are a married couple and especially if you are believers.
Pray. Until the end of November…just a few days… pray.
Look your spouse in the eye and say, “Honey, we should pray about adoption.”
Do it.
I have SOOOO many friends who say, “I’ve always thought about it…” and then they leave it at that.
To all those folks I ask and challenge, “Have you ever prayed about it?” I mean, REALLY prayed about it? REALLY asked God what HE thinks about it?
I don’t want to get into some of my future blogposts now, but I do want to let you know that the Lord desires our obedience in this area because he wants to BLESS us!
What could it hurt?
Seriously.
What are you afraid of?
Pray.
We will be praying too. For you, for us, for those babies out there, for those birthparents out there…for it all.
At the very least the Lord could lead you to GIVE so that others can adopt.
At the very most… well… he may want to add a new member to your family!
And what’s best about God is HE will give you JOY and EXCITEMENT to obey and follow him in whatever he’s calling you to do!
Don’t miss out!
One teaser story to whet your appetite for future adoption posts…
In our coming to this decision I called my sister to talk to her about it. Long story (coming later) short, my sister Heather and her husband Zach are adopting too! They’re way ahead in the process, and are about to have their homestudy done (like before Thanksgiving!) and turn in their profile for birthmothers to read. It’s incredible. I can’t wait to meet my new nephew (or niece)!
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