living a life of love for others

I had an interesting comment come at me the other day " You would not be so concerned about what is happening with His Hands if you were not adopting with them." 

The words went straight to my heart... and I prayed they were not true. 

Over the last couple of months we have been asking you to support us in our adoption journey, and also to support His Hands Taiwan an organization that is in great need of support as they maneuver through the new laws passed in December.

Our prayer has been that as you follow our adoption process that we would inspire you to think of different ways that you can be apart of the process of taking care of orphans ( James 1:27).  That may mean you get involved in the foster care system , you give to an organization that takes care of orphans ( His Hands, Show Hope etc) or you support an adoptive family ( like us!) 

His Hands is incredibly important to us.  We have seen first hand the amazing work they do, their passion for taking care of young women in crisis pregnancies, the loving care they give to each and everyone of the babies in their care.  We are in awe of the work they do each day, and think their ministry is incredibly important. 

I encourage you to read an incredible blog post from a friend of ours.  ( He is a great writer, and has been a great support throughout our adoption journey).  He is encouraging us to support His Hands Taiwan and has arranged a specific way for everyone to be able to do just that. ( check out the post for specific information)

Please join with us in praying for His Hands Taiwan.  Not because we are adopting through their organization, but because what they do is incredibly important!

Blessings!

Sacrifice

Easter is always a time of reflexion for me.  A time to remember the sacrifice that God made for me, because of his unending love.

This Easter I have been reminded of someone else's sacrifice that has greatly changed my life. There is a young women that over a year ago decided to choose life for her baby, who made one of the most selfless decisions of her life... she chose to give her child up for adoption, to give her a life that for whatever reason she could not give her child.  That decision gave us the opportunity to love a little girl who is so special to us, to be able to provide a home for her, to love her unconditionally, to teach her about Jesus. 

I have been surprised by the negative views many people have about biological parents in an adoption situation.  It breaks my heart that it is so easy for us to sit back and judge a situation that we have no idea about.  

My challenge to you today is to stop and think about how you view parents who choose to put their child up for adoption. Do you look down on them?  Do you automatically think the worst possible things about them?  Do you assume they abandoned their child because they are reckless and heartless?  Do you assume they are a young irresponsible teenage girl who has no idea who got her pregnant? 

 

The women who gave life to my daughter is not the person you imagine her to be.  I have very little information about her, I may never get the chance to meet her, but I have seen a part of her heart.  You see the sacrifice she made for Grace reminds me every day how special this woman is.  

If you think of the moms who have chosen adoption for their children, would you pray for them?   If you know someone who is trying to make a life changing decision like this, please be there to encourage them and to love them.

I will always be grateful to the woman who chose life for my child, I will always remember the sacrifice she made for Grace.

Blessings!

The "I" Word

Infertility

It is one of the most common topics when you announce you are adopting. 

 

  " You're adopting, so does that mean you can not have kids?"

  " did you try to have your own kids?  Did you try everything?"

  " Don't worry lots of people get pregnant after they adopt"

  "Why can't you have your own kids?"

It is my experience that infertility has nothing to do with adoption.  Families adopt children because they LOVE children, NOT because they can not have children.  Yes adoption is one of the many ways to grow your family but people do not decide to adopt solely because they can not biologically have a child.  

When we made the decision to adopt it was not because we thought it would be easy, or because we thought we had no other option.   We made the decision to adopt because for us it was important.  We wanted to expand our family by giving a home to a child who needed one for whatever circumstance.  We knew in our hearts that this was what God was calling us to do.  We knew that it would be a totally different experience than having biological children but we also knew that this was exactly what we wanted. 

the adoption process is not for everyone.  I have some wonderful friends in my life who are huge supporters of our adoption but do not feel called to adopt.  I also know that just because a women has been told she can not have a biological child does not mean adoption is the right option for their family.

So will you do me a favor?  When you talk to someone about adoption instead of asking why they can not have children, ask them why adoption is so important to them.  or when you see an adoptive mom in the grocery store instead of thinking about how her body is broken and labeling her as infertile, smile knowing that she is a mom no matter what brought her to this point.

I must say mothers day is only a month away and I am incredibly excited to celebrate this year with my Mom, Grandma's and Mother in Law.  I am incredibly privileged to be mom to my sweet little girl Grace.  Her smile lights up my day, her giggle makes me laugh out loud, everything about her is incredible.  She may not have been born of my flesh, I may not have held her in my arms yet, but she is my daughter.  She is the child that God gave to me.  

Blessings!

What can we do?

For those of you following our adoption journey closely you will know that we are blessed to be working with an organization called His Hands Taiwan.

His Hands Taiwan is a ministry started by two women who had a vision to counsel, care for and house unwed mothers in crisis pregnancies.  That vision grew to include providing refuge for babies and facilitating adoptions to Christian families domestically and internationally.

In December of 2011 the government in Taiwan passed new laws that have changed the way His Hands operates.  They have some big requirements they need to meet before May.

One of the things they need to do is become incorporated in Taiwan.  They have submitted the application but to qualify they need to have $350 000 in a bank account at all times.  They need this money before May.

I am not asking you for money ( some have you may have bailed on this blog post already)  instead I am sharing my heart ( maybe that is what I should have called the blog).  I would love to dig $350 000 dollars out of my back pocket and send it to His Hands for this need.  I would love to snap my fingers and all of the paperwork would be taken care of, the applications approved.  I would love to wipe away all the uncertainty that they are experiencing at the moment, but that is not within my power to do so.  

This post however is not about my shortcomings.  In the last few months I have been learning a very important lesson.  To make a difference you have to start somewhere.  I can not solve all of the problems in the world, but I can do something. 

 I can pray... I can take all of the burdens and lay them at Jesus feet and believe in His ultimate power to calm the storms in life.  

I can give up a new shirt, or pair of shoes, eating out or something else to give to an organization that could really use the money to change someone's life.

I can volunteer my time

I can educate myself on important issues and become an advocate for different organizations and causes.

I can do something everyday.  I can make a choice to do something that may seem insignificant at the moment but for someone it may be life changing.

If you want more information on what is going on with His Hands send me an email or check out their website at: http://www.hishandstaiwan.org and if you feel like you can give to His Hands Taiwan in their time of need there is a pay pal option on the website, or if you are in Estevan, you can contact Estevan Alliance Church office for information on how to give. 

My challenge to you... what can you do to change the world today?

Blessings!

on to the next step!!

We are excited to update you with some good news.  Our paperwork was approved and returned from TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver)  This is a major step!  That very afternoon Social Services was able to send everything to Taiwan.  Once the paperwork is received there it will be presented to the courts in Taiwan.
  We have an idea of what the court process will entail, but we are also very aware that it is different for every family.  Pray for favor with the judge, that the changing laws will not require anything extra from us (or any other families) patience to wait for God's perfect timing and peace that ultimately He is in control!

Grace in the dress we sent for her (February 2012)

Thank you for your love and support.  We appreciate your prayers, emails, messages, and hugs!

Blessings!

 

Music from the heart

I have a friend who has a song of the day... it always makes me smile to see what she comes up with and gives me an idea of what she is feeling that day.

Two songs are regularly played on the radio station I listen to everyday.  The words in both songs reflect what my heart feels.  No matter how many tears we shed, no matter how many nights we spend without Grace in our arms... we are thankful for this opportunity to be Grace's parents, we are thankful for the lessons we are learning while we are waiting to meet our beautiful little girl.  Our life is so incredible because of the opportunity to adopt.

Thank you for all of your love and support.  We are still waiting to hear good news about our paperwork.  We appreciate your emails and words of support and your prayers!

Blessings!

Many different emotions

    Have you ever seen a picture with the hundred different smily faces that each showed a different emotion?


Through our adoption process we have felt many different emotions:

• Determination when we committed to stepping out in faith and beginning the adoption process.
• Fear that we may never be accepted by an agency or that we would be rejected by the government. 
• Excitement when we got the email from His Hands Taiwan saying our application to work with their organization had been accepted.  
• Worry that my home would not be clean enough or that the Social Worker would think I would not be a good mother.  
• Peace knowing that God is in control and that His plan for our lives was perfect. 
• thankfulness for all of the help we received 
• Unimaginable  joy the moment I found out about Grace, the tears  that streamed down my face uncontrollably and the laughter that rang out.  
• Love that poured out of my heart the moment I laid eyes on Grace, the amount of love I feel each moment of each day for her. 
• Feeling apart of a family with the people at His Hands in Taiwan.  My family not only grew with one itty bitty girl, but with all the people who love her in person for me each day, who love these amazing women who make one of the hardest decisions of their life.   
• drive and determination to be an advocate for adoption and orphans, to teach people about the process, to get them thinking.  

only to name a few...

Recently I have been struggling with a different set of emotions, emotions that I felt ashamed to share.  You see I felt weak admitting that life was not all rainbows and lollipops, or that waiting is not always easy. I felt like I would reflect badly on the adoption process if I admitted when I was having a hard time.  I did not want people to think I am doubting God's plan for our life.   I realized though that if I didn't share all of my emotions- the good and the bad- that I was not being completely honest.   Sometimes I get caught in the trap of feeling like people want to see perfection in me.  That all of you reading our blog and finding out about our process only want to hear the good news, the positive aspects. I should be shielding you from the reality of missing a little girl I have yet to meet.  You see it is not easy getting up each morning knowing the little girl you love is on the other side of the world.  It isn't easy to see a picture of her and see her grow and think that I missed all of those moments.   It is heartbreaking to know that when she cries I am not there to hold her, to whisper in her ear.  I don't know what her hair smells like, I don't know what it is like to have no sleep because she was up all night screaming,  I have never seen her smile at me, or hold her Daddy's finger in her little hands.  I have no idea when she will be coming home.  I can not read to her or watch her explore the world.
  I trust that if you read this you will not see my weakness, but instead you will see my heart.  Adoption is not easy but it is worth it.  It isn't something you do alone, it is something you do with the support of your family and friends.   Every hug, every note, every prayer... means the world to us.  Your love and support is so encouraging.
   If you think of us please pray for a peace as we walk through this season of our adoption.  We are waiting for news on some issues with our paperwork and we are trusting God to see us through this process.  It is through my weakness that God's power is made perfect. (2 Corinthians 12:9  "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness".)

Blessings