Welcome, friends and family!

 

Welcome, friends and family!

If you're here, you likely got a letter in the mail from us this week and have some questions or curiosities about our news. Yep, you read correctly; we're adopting again!

First off, you may have noticed that we said "Africa," but we didn't mention what country. Well, that's because things have gotten a little fuzzy. We had settled on a program through South Africa, but a few things have come up and it's now less clear. We may still proceed with South Africa, but there are a couple of influencing factors that we hoped to be more clear on before mailing the letter (which is why it was out so late), but that unfortunately didn't happen. Stay tuned - we're hoping to have some concrete info in the next week or two.

Secondly, I'm guessing more than a few of you are wondering why we're fundraising, and that's a very valid, albeit somewhat sticky, question. There are a few factors to why we decided to fundraise this time: Max's adoption was just 18 months ago, my spinal fusion was last December, and last but not least was a cross-country move from Myrtle Beach to Omaha over the summer, all adding up to a costly year.

We made the decision to move to Omaha partly based on the fact that there are a couple of adoption agencies here that do no-cost adoptions (hooray!). One thing we didn't consider was whether those agencies were accepting new families into their programs. Turns out, they're not. After exploring several options, we felt like God was closing doors and pointing us to Africa.

I am guessing you know that adoption is expensive. Scary expensive. I can hardly think about our number without starting to hyperventilate a little bit. So, what is our number? Our agency estimates around $42,000 to $45,000. Woah, buddy.

Thirdly, I can see the wheels turning in your head- "Why now? Why not wait until you have $42,000?" Friends, again, a very valid question and, frankly, something I've struggled with a bit personally. The short of it is this, though - we believe God's called us to step out in faith, to trust that he will provide for our needs and for the needs of our child who is waiting for us.

It's a humbling experience to put these needs out there for the world to see, let me tell you, and I am having a constant battle with my prideful self who wants to do this on my own, but God keeps asking me to trust Him, so here we are.

I am sure there are more questions you have and I hope we can have an ongoing conversation about adoption. I'm more than willing to answer respectful questions; just ask.

Thank you, friends and family, for your support as we start out on this journey. I'm thankful to have you along for moral support.

Love always,