A Special Blessing from Special Friends

I have something very special to share with you.  Click HERE to read a very special story with very special photos on Carrie’s blog, our amazing friend and the blessed mom to the awesome Iron Man Rowan.  With Carrie’s permission, I copied and pasted the story and photos she posted on her blog today.  I know this will bless your heart the way it did mine.  Thank you, Carrie, for sharing, and thank you, Rowan, for pushing your IV pole all the way to see Chrissie’s leaf, for praying for us, and for being the Iron Man courageous miracle boy that you are. 

 

For those who aren’t familiar with our special friend, Rowan, he’s truly a miracle, an unexpected blessing God chose to share with us.  God first connected us to Rowan and his mom, Carrie, during Chrissie’s 31-day battle.  Rowan occupied the same PICU room just before Chrissie entered it.  Rowan spent a month fighting for his life at Methodist Children’s in SA, just as Chrissie did.  Rowan has a special connection to Chrissie that cannot be explained any other way than God. 

 

Please pray for Rowan.  He’s back at Methodist Children’s in SA where he’s been fighting, once again, for his life.  He’s doing much better now, but he is always in need of prayer as he has a rare disorder, Shwachmann-Diamond Syndrome.  Here’s the story that Carrie posted today on her blog:

 

Special walk for a special friend...

Today marks an especially sad anniversary for Rowan's "girlfriend in heaven" Chrissie Patterson. Two years ago today she went in for her massive open heart surgery, and it was the last day they saw her precious eyes open and heard her precious laughter.

Chrissie passed away in the PICU here 31 days later. She died from complications from that surgery. If you've followed Rowan's story or read the past blog posts here, you will see what a special connection these two children had, though they never met while she was alive. Amazingly enough, just last night, while he himself is back here in the same hospital where they originally "met", when they stayed for a month straight each, Rowan sat up in bed and asked: "Am I on that floor where Chrissie's leaf is on the memory tree?". When I told him yes he was, he said "Can I go walk there tomorrow?". Rowan couldn't have known the date, or realized that "tomorrow" was "today", the very day she went into that surgery. Not to mention that he has spent the past 12 days here in bed, half of it in PICU again, and hasn't walked or even stood up on the floor for those 12 days. But I knew that wouldn't stop him, and I didn't want it to. Here he is making this special trip for his special friend on a very special day. And I couldn't help but sense that I was witnessing yet another miracle, another special Chrissie/Rowan miracle. Blessed beyond words...hope it blesses you too!

"Good Morning Mom-Can I go to see Chrissie's Leaf now."

"C'mon. Lets Go!"

"This is hard work pushing this pole with all these pumps."

"I remember where her leaf is on the memory tree. There it is!"

"Chrissie Patterson"

"Big Kiss"

"This is the leaf I want to be on someday. Right by Chrissie." (tears)

"Does this remind you of me and Chrissie?"

Special Prayer for Chrissie...

Special Prayer for Lorraine and Matt. (got down on his knees for this one)

"A blue butterfly and a pink flower! She'd LOVE those."

(I don't know what it is, but something so special about this photo, with his name showing on his hospital id bracelet and her name on the tree, yet they are so connected.)

"One more kiss."

Blowing her kisses.

"Bye Chrissie. See you in my dreams and in heaven..."

"Remembering you today and every day Princess Chrissie!"

"I love you-My special Girlfriend in heaven. Love, Rowan"

Remembering Our Princess

April 19, 2010.  One of the hardest days we’ve ever endured, next to May 19, 2010.  On April 18, 2010, we held a family party to celebrate Chrissie’s life on the day before her extensive open-heart surgery.  Little did we know this would be the very last time that Chrissie would ever be present in our home.  I literally get nauseated when I think of this.

We planned the party very last minute.  God gave us the idea after we watched the movie Letters to God the night of April 17, 2010.

Chrissie was SO EXCITED that everyone dressed up.  She LOVED her princess dress, and she LOVED being the center of attention.  Chrissie was our precious princess whom everyone absolutely adored.  She LOVED dancing with her daddy to the Cinderella song by Steven Curtis Chapman.





And she LOVED opening her gifts.  Chrissie was a true princess, through and through.  She LOVED jewelry and all things sparkly.  She thought her name was Christyn Joy Jewelry Patterson.  No joke.  She really did, and she would tell people with pride that her full name was Christyn JEWELRY Patterson!



Everyone treasured Chrissie.  Deeply treasured.

Chrissie asked us to sing her Happy Birthday, even though her birthday wasn’t until October 8.  Of course we sang to her, and she beamed with pride.  No doubt Princess Chrissie knew, felt, and believed the depth of our love for her.

We prayed over Chrissie as a family the night of April 18, 2010, then we all went to bed.  We left our house (Mom, Dad, Chrissie) at 4AM Monday morning, April 19, 2010, and arrived at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio at 5:30AM.  Chrissie was so excited to get her heart fixed.

After prayer with Mom, Dad, and Chrissie’s beloved cardiologist, Dr. Porisch, the staff wheeled her away to the operating room.  Here’s the last photo we have of Chrissie smiling and not intubated:

Our lives would never be the same from that moment on. 

Even through our pain and grief, we are still so very grateful God chose us to be Chrissie’s forever family.  Her life was worth it, no matter how short.  The contagious joy Chrissie brought our family for seven short months will live in our hearts forever.  I highly encourage you to consider adopting a special needs child, even if that puts your heart at risk of being broken.  I guarantee you a broken heart that has loved well is far superior to one that has never experienced true, vulnerable love.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable." 
~CS Lewis, The Four Loves

In memory of Chrissie’s courageous 31-day battle for life, we are offering the Boss Your Heart eBook and print book at a deep discount (my price as the author).  I will not make a profit on these books because I prefer to have Chrissie’s legacy and God’s glory be the focus of this offer.   Your heart will never be the same after witnessing all God did during Chrissie’s battle, as recorded “live”, journal/blog style, in the story of Boss Your Heart.  Please see below for purchasing information, and thank you for your support and prayers for our family during this time.

To purchase the Boss Your Heart eBook for $1.00, click the button below (please note the eBook is a .pdf file that will safely download to your computer):



To purchase the Boss Your Heart print book for $18.00, click the button below (please note the print book is very large, 8.5x11"):

Neigh!

Selah LOVES horses. 

She says, “Horsie!”  (Followed by the word, “Puppy”, because every animal is classified first as a puppy. :-)

Selah also “neighs” like the horses do.

Selah recently discovered our barn.

And quickly realized a way to get even closer to the horsies.

Fences are for climbing!

Even ESPECIALLY for 18-month-olds!

Selah is so proud of herself for not only discovering where these fabulous horsies hang out, but also discovering a fabulous way to get up close and personal without the horsies trotting away!  Yeehaw!

More on Nursing Home Adoptions

Wow, the response I got to yesterday’s post regarding the adoption of children from US nursing homes was completely overwhelming.  Most likely, I will never be given the gift of enough time to reply personally to everyone who expressed interest in adopting, advocating, learning more, spreading the word, etc., so I pray those who are willing to help and be a voice will stay tuned in here on the blog.  I am so sorry that I am not able to reply to each of you.  I promise to publicly share (here on this blog) as much info as I can possibly gather on this topic.  I do not have all the answers, at all, but I am willing to pray, research, share, and try to help however God allows.

 

I was made aware of nursing home adoptions by a woman who personally adopted a girl who was living in a wretched nursing home, committed to a life full of abuse and neglect.  I cannot share the full details yet, but it is absolutely a miracle from God that this family was able to adopt their precious daughter; completely by the mighty hand of God, without a doubt.  I am forever grateful that this woman contacted me to make me aware of the need for advocacy in this area, and I pray she will share her story right here with you one day soon.  For now, this woman is trying to help me to help you to help them, the helpless, voiceless ones left in US nursing homes to die without a forever family.  We must be educated in order to be the voice for these precious ones, so please pray that if there’s someone out there who has knowledge in how we can be a voice for these children, how to best go about identifying these children, how to best advocate for these children, how to help get these children adopted, that God will bring everything together for His glory and the best interest of the children.

 

If you are interested in adopting a child who is in a nursing home, I am told that the first step is to get a domestic home study completed that approves you to care for medically fragile children.  Then you can start inquiring HERE.  This is the Adopt US Kids site that advocates for children currently in foster care and/or in the care of the state.  There are LOTS of children listed on this site who currently live in nursing homes, BUT, from what I understand, the children’s bios do not specifically state that the children are living in a nursing home/care facility.  This makes a little tricky to determine which children are actually in care facilities.

 

For example, the following two bios are taken directly from the Adopt US Kids website (except I excluded the children’s names).  We know FOR A FACT that both of these girls are living in a nursing home, yet their bios do not mention this at all:

“X” is an adorable girl with a sweet personality, who is eagerly waiting for a perfect family. She would love a family who can commit to a life time full of care. She enjoys listening to music through headphones and being wrapped tightly in a blanket to stay toasty warm. Once you meet her, you will understand why she is loved by everyone around her.

 

And, the second bio of an unrelated child, who is confirmed to be living in a nursing home:

 

“Y’s” smile will captivate you. This little girl needs a special home that is willing and able to work with a child with medical needs. She will need a strong advocate to make sure she gets her needs met. “Y” is currently wheelchair bound but no doubt this does not dampen her spirits. She is a bright eyed child who will require life long care. “Y” is fed via g-tube, on numerous medications, and receives occupational, speech and physical therapies.

 

It is also my understanding that if you read a bio on the Adopt US Kids site that mentions high medical needs, there’s a good chance that child is living in a nursing home or care facility.  There simply are not enough medical foster homes available to keep these kiddos from being committed to nursing homes. 

 

If you are willing to become a medical foster home, to help keep children from being committed to nursing homes, visit with a foster care agency in your state/area.  Licensing and eligibility varies from state to state, but the need is national.  ALL states need more medical foster homes and ALL states need more families who are willing to adopt medically fragile children in order to keep them out of nursing homes.

 

I know that there are many good care facilities and nursing homes out there, but a facility can NEVER replace a family.  Never.  God’s perfect design is for every child to have a loving forever family, not a facility, no matter how good the facility is, no matter how caring the caregivers are.  I highly respect and commend those loving caregivers who dedicate their lives to caring for others, whether it be in a nursing home, a facility, a hospital, etc., but, no matter how awesome that person is, a facility of any kind just cannot compare to having a loving forever family.

 

Many states provide 100% of the associated expenses of taking a medically fragile child into your family by offering Medicaid, medical waivers (allowing families of any income to use Medicaid for their medically fragile child), in-home health caregivers, personal care assistants, and much more in order to keep children from having to live their lives in facilities.  Even children requiring 24-hour care are able to successfully live in families instead nursing homes when a family is willing to be trained to care for the child and/or the state is willing to provide in-home health care, care assistants, etc.  It is possible, but we have to have home-study ready families who are approved and willing to step in and help.

 

I am also told that many of the children who have been committed to a nursing home/care facility are misdiagnosed, and often times do not have as severe of medical needs that are stated in the bios.  (Our Selah would have been one of those misdiagnosed children because God has miraculously healed her, but her bio would have stated all of the sad diagnoses and prognoses if she had been admitted to a nursing home and made available for adoption via the state.)  Also, many times these medically fragile children will soar simply from being in a loving forever family, much more so than being in a facility where one-on-one love and attention is so much harder to come by.  Plus, medically fragile children DESERVE a forever family.  ALL are precious in His sight.  ALL.

 

I guess I need to clarify, too, that there are children in nursing homes who still have their biological families and are not available for adoption.  I am also told that there are many children whose families have deserted and abandoned them, but they are not available for adoption, as the parental rights have not been relinquished.  And then there are the children who are available for adoption, but they are committed to a nursing home, usually by the state, because the state either didn’t have a family for the child or the child’s social worker and conservator felt the child would do best in a nursing home.

 

I also had several people contact me who are now adults who grew up in nursing homes, without a family.  Either their family members never came to visit them, or they were available for adoption, but no one came for them.  I’m not clear yet on how these individuals were able to leave the nursing homes.  Perhaps once they were 18, they could check themselves out and begin to live life outside of those four walls.  These people shared what a horrible life they had growing up alone in a nursing home, how they wished someone had come for them, yet they are still alive and seem to be doing well in society today.  One person spoke of how Jesus held her and comforted her as a child living in a nursing home without a family.  Praise Him!!!

 

If nothing else, we could ALL VISIT children in nursing homes.  We can ALL PRAY for them.  We can work to educate ourselves, research, and advocate.  We can inquire at our local nursing homes to see if they have any residents who are children so that we can bring our children to visit them, play games with them, sing with them, and let them know they are precious in His sight.  We can get certified as medical foster homes.  We can get domestic home study approval to adopt medically fragile children.  We can contact our local foster agencies to let them know we’re interested in adopting medically fragile children.  We can inquire about medically fragile children on the Adopt US Kids website.  We can pray God will open our eyes, lead us to those who are in need, allow us to advocate, educate us on how to best help, and raise up an army of warriors to be the voice for those cannot speak for themselves. 

 

Yes, we can all do something to help this situation, and if I find out any more helpful information, I will most definitely share it here.  Thank you for your support.  I pray many of you will come back soon to let me know what you’re doing to help.  So grateful for all of you who have such big hearts and willing hands.  Thank you!

Nursing Home Adoptions?

I was recently made aware of a type of adoption I had absolutely NO CLUE about.  Have you ever heard of adopting children from nursing homes in the USA?  I had never heard of this, as I had no idea there were orphaned children living in nursing homes in the USA.  Oh my. 

 

It’s when I hear about things like this that I am reminded of just how little I know about the conditions of orphaned children around the world.  If you’ve ever watched any of the 20/20 or Prime Time nursing home investigations in the past, or if you’ve kept up with nursing home care in general, you are probably aware that there are good nursing homes and not-so-good nursing homes.

 

Well, what I’ve just become aware of, is that there are CHILDREN living in nursing homes in the United States who are available for adoption.  I truly cannot believe I was completely clueless about this.  It makes sense now that I’m aware of the situation, but I never thought about it before.

 

I always assumed that if a child was born in the US with medical conditions that caused the birth family to be unwilling and/or unable to care for the baby, that the birth family would create an adoptive plan for the baby or CPS would place the baby in a medical foster home.  After all, our baby Selah was in a similar condition…a very medically fragile baby whose birth mother was unable/unwilling to care for her, so the birth mom sought an adoptive plan for the baby.  Makes sense.  The adoptive situation with baby Selah and her bio half-sister, Ella, was not a typical situation AT ALL, so this was/is not a situation I would apply across the board as what to expect with a medically fragile newborn.  I just have not ever analyzed cases of medically fragile babies where the birth families are unable/unwilling to care for the babies.

 

Until now.

 

Oh.My.Word.  How can this possibly be?  How could I not even have a clue of what is happening right here in the United States, a first-world country who claims to be the best of the best? 

 

Why has no one advocated for these babies to find forever families?

 

Why are these babies living and dying, alone, without a family, in a nursing home in the United States?

 

Why are some of these nursing homes allowed to continue in operation when there is horrible abuse, neglect, and medical malpractice?

 

We have to be educated in this.  We have to be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.  We cannot sit back and keep these hidden treasures locked in nursing home rooms across America.  We have to defend the weak, seek justice for the oppressed, provide and plead for the needy, visit the sick, and CARE FOR THE ORPHAN.

 

If you have ever adopted a child from a nursing home in the USA, would you PLEASE contact me?  

If you are interested in adopting a medically fragile child from a nursing home in the US, would you PLEASE contact me?

 

You may leave a comment or email me at BossYourHeart [at] gmail [dot] com. 

 

I’m just beginning to have my eyes opened.  Please help educate me.  Please spread the word.  Please help me get into contact with as many families as possible who have adopted a child from a US nursing home.  I want to help however God will allow.  I need your help.  Together we can be a voice for those who have been abandoned in the US to live and die, alone, in a nursing home, and, God forbid, that a precious child be stuck in one of the not-so-good nursing homes. 

 

“Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”  Proverbs 31:8-9

It’s a Boy!

Those were the words I woke up to this morning when my phone text alert awakened me. 

 

“It’s a Boy!” 

 

Our first calf was born early this morning!  The guys in our family are team-ropers, so we have roping cattle on our ranch for the guys to practice their favorite sport in our arena.  My husband purchased a bull last year, with hopes that we could start breeding and raising roping cattle.  What a fun surprise we woke up to this morning!  Now we’re trying to decide upon a name for the new little guy!  Suggestions?

Two Teenagers’ View of Adoption and Our Big Ole Family

A blog reader by the name of Susan left a comment the other day:

Susan wrote:  I think it would be a really interesting post to have some of your older children write a blog that shares about their thoughts and feelings about adoption and that of special needs and how it has affected them.  I would love to hear what Mattie has to say since I feel like she is such a mature big sister!

Mattie (age 14) read the comment and here is her response:

Adoption has affected me and changed me in every area of my life.  As I was driving Selah around on the 4-wheeler today, I was reflecting on how much my heart has been changed by God through adoption in the past 3 years.  Each child has taught me something different and grown my faith.  I love adoption in every sense of the word! 

Since adopting Conner and Cooper, God has placed a strong burden on my heart for special needs adoptions in countries like Ukraine.  John 14:18 gives me chills.  When I look into my brothers’ faces, I see Jesus.  When I ask God to show me His heart, He reveals it through my siblings and their redemption.  When I am up in the night with Selah, or changing a dirty diaper, I am tempted to think, "Why can't I just be a normal teenager!" but then the Holy Spirit nudges me and reminds me that I'm not alive to be living a "normal life" .  I'm alive to bring honor and glory to Christ in my every breath.  Then I smile ear to ear with that reminder and knowing that truth, and continue wiping that oh-so-adorable booty:-). 

You see, that may sound all "holy", but I fall short of the mark so often, and God is constantly reminding me of things like that to get me back on track, and a lot of times He'll do that through a sibling.  We have been teaching Selah simple sign language signs for a long time, and now they're all starting to click.  As I watch her sign and see the sparkle in her eyes that she can finally communicate the way I've been trying to teach her, it reminds me of God and me.  He will be trying to teach me a concept for so long, and then one day it will just click!  The joy is awesome as He says, "Yes!  That's it, now let's practice some more." 

Some days I'm just plain tired, and really don't feel like feeding Conner and Cooper their nutrition drinks, but the joy of the Lord strengthens me, and it's SO worth it to see them come to life.  Conner, Cooper, and I communicate through laughter and smiles, and so nothing warms my heart more than when I kiss Conner's nose and he lets out the sweetest little laugh.  Or when I play, "I'm gonna getcha!" with Cooper and he cracks up laughing.

I thank my Abba Daddy for every blessing, trial, and laugh as I am learning to trust in Him to guide me every step towards the hope of glory because of Jesus Christ.  There you have it!  I'm the most blessed teenager ever, and I'm so thankful for each and every one of my siblings, special needs or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our son Parker wrote about adoption in April 2010, back when he was 13-years-old, back when we only had six kiddos.  Parker’s essay addressed the viewpoint that perhaps our older children (or bio kids) are being deprived by having so many adopted siblings.  Here’s what he had to say: 

A lot of people like to be critics and say that our parents are just forcing us to adopt all these kids. Those people are way off track; adoption is not just a good thing to do and everybody shouldn’t do it. God has to call you to it and the people who say it’s not fair to us kids or that it is a burden are completely wrong. I think it is a huge privilege and a great joy!

It is a privilege because it is rare for God to call a family to adoption like He has with ours. A good analogy would be diamonds. Diamonds are rare and special; if everyone had diamonds, they wouldn’t be all that special and it wouldn’t be a privilege to own one.


Adoption has also been a very big factor in developing my character. It has taught me so much about myself. I think adoption has been almost as good for me as it has been in the lives of the kids we have adopted. It would be so selfish to say ‘well, I know the kids in Haiti are starving, but I want more Christmas presents, so too bad for them.’ That would be so wrong!


In my opinion, the people who say we are being deprived are looking at it from a worldly point of view. I would much rather have more siblings and less presents. If these people are so narrow minded that all they can think about is how much worldly stuff we can accumulate, they must have never met our family! It seems to me that they need a change of heart. How about thinking about the starving, dying, orphans that actually are deprived. They have nothing, not even love from parents! The least we can do is give them that. Worldly things are temporary, short-lived, fading and not all that great.


Joy, true joy, is lasting, satisfying and fulfilling. For me, that comes from two things: God, and knowing that we are saving kids’ lives.


Before God even called us to adoption, I had started to notice that even all the cool stuff we used to get at Christmas didn’t ever bring me joy. And it’s the same with most worldly things, they just don’t last. But joy is way different. It is deeper and more lasting. I think hope and joy go hand in hand, kind of like a cycle. You get joy from the hope we have in Jesus. And you also get joy from doing God’s will. But without hope, there is no joy.


I guess what I’m trying to say is it is much more rewarding to help orphans than get worldly things. I think 2 great verses that our family definitely lives by are Matthew 6:20 and 19:21. Both kind of say that you should store up your treasures in heaven where they will last and that will bring true joy.

I’d like to add that I don’t think Parker’s viewpoint has changed.  He still considers the life we’re living to be a huge privilege, and Parker is an integral part of making our family work.  Because God has equipped our family (and continues to do so), and because each of our children are committed to large family life and serving God, things run miraculously smooth around here most of the time.  Visitors will often comment on how calm and happy our family seems to be.  We often have people tell us that their family life, with just two or three kids, is so much more hectic, crazy, and chaotic than our family life with eleven kids living in our home, many with special  needs.  Many times strangers will comment on how well-behaved our children are, how helpful they are, how respectful they are, how everyone just pitches in without being told, how everyone seems to really like each other, etc.  This is all God.  It’s His way of bringing more glory to His character, demonstrating what He is capable of, shining His light, sharing His love of large families, His love of children, His love for the orphan.  I can guarantee that without God, NONE of this would be possible.  We do not force our children to act as slaves, we all pitch in and serve because of Him!!!   God has knit our family together in a way that only He could do.  Matt and I are not responsible, it truly is ALL God.  I believe I can safely say that we, as a family, feel blessed to be living this life God has blessed us with.  We love God, we love serving Him right here in our very own home/family, and we, as a family, believe wholeheartedly that ALL are precious in His sight.

I’d also like to share that before we ever move into another adoption, we always have a family meeting to discuss the realities, pray about God’s will, and decide as a family what we feel God is asking us to do in a given situation.  When God was calling us to adopt Conner and Cooper, the situation was a little different because Matt and Mattie were in Ukraine actively searching for who God wanted us to adopt (after we found out that the two host boys we *thought* God wanted us to adopt were put into their bio aunt’s custody just a week prior to our appointment to officially accept their referral for adoption).  Our family was separated by a huge ocean when it came time to get together to discuss and pray about the situation, but God bridged that gap through His Spirit, which connected us spiritually, even though we were physically separated, halfway across the world.

During my husband’s physical absence in our home in December 2011 (because he was in Ukraine), I was “in charge” of our family meeting in our home, while my husband and Mattie met together in Ukraine, to discuss and pray about the possibility of adopting Conner and Cooper.  In the meeting in our home, Parker (now age 15), was very level-headed and matter-of-fact about the reality of possibly adopting Conner and Cooper.  Because both boys have Down syndrome, that would require a completely different level of commitment in raising these boys, especially when compared to what we *thought* we were agreeing to when we “signed up” to adopt our two host boys, Vlad and Dima.  The complexities and level of both short and long-term commitment were incomparable.  Parker was not sure he wanted to commit to what he knew would require a lot more work and sacrifice of each member of our family in order to adopt and raise Conner and Cooper, so we left our family meeting without any final decisions being made, other than the commitment to continue praying about this.

Later that night, after our family meeting, Parker came out of his bedroom with his Bible in his hand.  He had spent several hours praying and reading God’s Word, and Parker had a message for me that he delivered with a smile from ear to ear.  He said, “Mom, we’re supposed to adopt these boys (Conner and Cooper).  I KNOW we are.” 

I responded, “Well, how do you know this now…what changed your mind so quickly?  I thought we were going to continue praying!” 

Parker shared many verses with me regarding justice.  God had specifically drawn Parker to His messages and truths regarding situations like the one we suddenly found ourselves in, the situation Conner and Cooper were in, and what God had to say about all of it.  As Parker shared with me what God had shared with him, he was so excited to reveal that he felt we were FOR SURE supposed to adopt Conner and Cooper, no matter how hard it would be, no matter what changes our lives would take, no matter what sacrifices we would make…no matter what.  There are no words to adequately describe the peace and joy that radiated from Parker during that moment.

Parker also said these words to me, “Mom, I started thinking about the real reason why I was hesitant to make this commitment.  Diapers.   I didn’t really want to change more diapers, especially the diapers of 6-year-old boys.  But God asked me to think about this, and then I started thinking that I really don’t want to stand before God later and have Him ask me why I didn’t want our family to adopt these boys.  I didn’t want to answer to God that it’ s because I didn’t want to change their diapers.  How selfish would that be?  So, YES, Mom, I KNOW God wants us to adopt these boys, AND I’m volunteering to help change diapers.  We need to go get them NOW!”

God used Parker’s response to challenge me to become more like him, to unashamedly and wholeheartedly give sacrificially, but to do it with pure joy.  Yes, adopting Conner and Cooper would require sacrifice and hard work from every member of our family, but God would supply our every need.  Our sacrifice and hard work wouldn’t even begin to compare to what Conner and Cooper were experiencing on the other side of the ocean.  Conner and Cooper had spent six, almost seven years,  alone in an orphanage, abandoned and neglected, without hope.  Both boys were going to be transferred to an adult mental institution at the age of six.  And, at the time of making the decision and commitment to adopt both boys, we had NO IDEA what their lives were really like in that orphanage in Eastern Europe.  SO.MUCH.WORSE than we ever imagined.  Worse than we could fathom, actually.  And to think we could have missed the blessing of these boys simply because we weren’t willing to sacrifice a little more, work a little harder, and love a little deeper.  Yes, ALL things are possible through Christ who gives us strength.

Praise God for opening our eyes, opening our hearts, and opening our home, and praise Him for enabling, equipping, and providing for our family at all times.  In this adoption, God has shown Himself BIG TIME, in ways we’ve never experienced before.  God has supplied our every need, equipped us in areas we didn’t even realize we’d need to be equipped in, and enabled us to bring Conner and Cooper into our family with miraculous ease simply because this is what brings Him the most glory.  It is obviously NOT us who are able to do any of this, it is truly ALL God.  He is the One who enables all things, for truly nothing is impossible with Christ.

And before I close, I must say a huge THANK YOU to anyone who donated to my sweet friend Adeye’s adoption fund.  Click HERE to read about the miracle that unfolded yesterday.  In about 24 hours, God raised over $26,000 to rescue Faith, a 14-year-old lovie who weighs only 14 pounds.  God’s glory is exceedingly RADIANT through this story.