The Phrase..

"God works in mysterious ways" is so true. As you know, we've talked and prayed about adopting. Once Court graduated and Natalie moved out, we were going to clean out a bedroom and make it ready for a new baby. Sounds like a good plan, right? Gotta make sure we don't have too many kids at home as I know the maximum is 6 in a home at one time. Now, however, it seems like God has different plans for us.

For starters, Natalie is not just moving out, she's moving to Nicaragua. That's pretty far from Texas. BUT, we know God is leading her and will strengthen her through this. How amazing to be as close to God as she's going to be. Having to rely on Him for protection and knowing you can't do it on your own is something we honestly rarely do. But, this post isn't about that so I'll stop chasing rabbits with my story. :)

Around the first of August we had a young lady need a place to stay. She works with one of my daughters so we know a little of her personality and trust our daughter's judgment concerning her. Anyway, for many reasons, Calli came to stay with us. This young eighteen year old girl is such a delight. Having raised and graduated 3 daughters, working on 2 sons and 2 younger daughters, I know when the teen years strike that you can have conflict. Not always, but it can happen. Things aren't always "rosy". So far, we've not had any problems with her. As a matter of fact, I know we're all blessed to have her with us. So much so that the topic of adoption has come up. At first I didn't think you could adopt an adult, but you can. I googled it. :)

So, whether or not we adopt Calli is yet to be seen. We are all praying about this and seeing where God is leading. At the minimum, we are treating her as our own and she has blended in well with our family. Everyone loves her. She will be a part of our lives forever regardless of a paper and a name change.

What have I learned from this? Be open to God's leading. We're getting to adopt a whole orphanage by helping send our daughter Natalie to Nicaragua to serve in one there. We have adopted Calli in our hearts. Who knew we'd be in this position a year ago? Actually, to be more precise, who knew we'd be in this position early July? We sure didn't. But we are so blessed. It's an amazing thing. I'm so thankful that I took part in a Bible Study in Judges. When God says do something, you do it. Ahhh. Love. :)

God is so awesome!

I continue to be amazed at God and what all He does in the lives of my loved ones. :) Tom and I have been discussing the possibility of adopting a baby. I had the opportunity to talk to all of my kids (who are still at home) at the same time the other day so I had them sit in the living room and told them what Dad and I were thinking of doing and waited for their responses. All but one were gung-ho and ready to go forward. Some even specified their preferences followed by a general "doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl if we can help him/her." The one hold out caused me concern. I need everyone on board if we're going to go forward. So, I asked this one person if he/she would do me a favor and just pray about it. They responded that they would. A few days later, I asked this person if he/she had been praying and the response was yes. I then asked if they had an answer and the response was "It's ok, mom." Brings tears to my eyes just thinking of those small words that carry so much weight. I think we're all afraid of getting attached and our hearts getting ripped out of our chest if we don't get to keep the child, but if we can touch one person for Christ, won't it be worth it?

Well, I also have talked to my oldest daughter and she just doesn't want to see us hurt, but understands our want to help. She even mentioned maybe we can get a child that is around her child's age and they can grow up together. Crying again. :) I adore my grandson and would love to give him an aunt or uncle to play with. He's got 6 already so a few more would be icing on the cake. :)

The icing on my cake came today. I had an opportunity to call my mom and talk to her about our thoughts. She was aware of none of it. I was prepared for her to say I was crazy, nuts, or psycho, but you know what she said? She said she understood and supported our decision and not only that, but that if she were a little younger, SHE would want to adopt a young child as well. Tears, tears, tears. We serve an amazing God and we are so blessed. I'm excited about our future and wait for God to push us forward.