Recent Thoughts

So, I knew when I started this blog that I would not be the best blogger in the world. I have a friend who posts daily and all posts are entertaining and informative. I, however, am not that creative, and honestly, at the end of the day, the computer is the last thing at which I want to look.

But I digress...

2011 has started off as a very exciting year at work and among my friends. Many people I know - clients and/or friends - are expecting to travel in the next few weeks to meet and receive their children. China, Korea, and Ukraine will be the first three countries to welcome these families. One of my clients visited me late last week to have a final document notarized, and seeing her reminded me of how the adoption journey is so God-led, yet does not always turn out the way we first envisioned. It was this way for her - starting her journey with the hopes to adopt a 6 year old girl, yet traveling next week to adopt her baby boy.

That's how it was for Brian and me when we began our journey to Noah. After we adopted Sophia, we felt our family was complete. We had always discussed having one child, and when she came home, we felt in over our heads as parents. (Yeah, we were wimps) When she was 3 1/2 we both felt the call to adopt again - I sooner than Brian. I never thought he would change his mind about having one child. But, one night, while eating at a Chinese restaurant, a little Chinese girl Sophia's age came over to our table and sat down. She and Sophia began chit chatting and something clicked in Brian's heart. I will never forget that little girl, whose name was Zoe. Brian could see that Sophia was lacking so much by being an only child, as well as a recognition in another Asian child that she did not currently have in our family. His first thought was another girl Sophia's age from China, but because of increasing timelines, we quickly shifted our focus to Vietnam. When we began the homestudy process on September 9, 2007, Vietnam was a quick program, and we could request a girl, which is what Brian thought he really wanted - a sister for Sophia. We finished the homestudy in lightning speed, and I worked on the dossier tirelessly until was logged in in Vietnam the first week of January 2008. Throughout the process, I was open to a boy, and when Sophia first was told that we were going to adopt a sibling for her, she told me she wanted a brother. Brian would not be moved. He wanted a girl.

In March 2008, there were some red flags in the Vietnamese adoption process, and I began looking at children's profiles on Rainbowkids.com and found a little boy that touched my heart.

But another family was reviewing his file. This seemed to be the typical response when requesting information on children listed on Rainbowkids.com, but thankfully, he was listed with an agency that partners with Heaven Sent Children and I knew the caseworker. Two weeks later, she called and asked me if I wanted to review his file. "He is yours, if you want him," she said. I was done at that point. Of course I wanted him. I printed out his file and brought it home. Brian's response? "He's really cute! But he's a boy." hummmm You may be asking why Brian was so opposed to a boy at the time. First, I think he knew what being a daddy to a little girl was like, and he was in love with his daughter from the moment we met her. His whole world shifted to revolve around her when she was placed in our arms. Second, Brian is not a sports enthusiast, and was very concerned that he would not be a good father to a boy. Yeah, I know, that's crazy - he's a karate student and an avid hunter, nothing boyish there. But mostly, I think, he had it in his mind that our next child would be a girl, and he had a very difficult time wrapping his mind around a boy. It took him about a week, but one night at church, he wrote a note to me that said, "Let's say yes to Il Woo (Noah's name at the time)." Elated, I did not sleep that night, and driving to work the next morning, it is amazing that I did not run anyone over - I wanted to get there as soon as I could to call our partnering agency to say, "We want him. He's OURS." I got the words out, and walked on air the rest of that day. I had a SON! The next morning, I showed his picture to Sophia and told her that he would be her brother, and we would travel to Korea for him. She said, "I knew I would have a brother. God told me in my heart that I would have a brother." Why didn't we just listen to her to begin with? Coincidentally, my son was available for international adoption on September 9, 2007, the same day we began our homestudy.

It is my belief now that Noah was God's plan for our family from the beginning. He was born April 29, 2007 and that is around the time I felt the call to adopt again. I began praying that if it was God's will, He would touch Brian's heart. It was the end of July when Brian's heart started changing - which is also when Noah was moved out of the baby hospital and moved to a foster family. It was the end of August when we applied to start the homestudy and September 9 our homestudy began. We decided to move in December 2007, and sold our house - in a declining market - in three weeks. Around the time we completed painting and settling into our new house, we found Noah. But most importantly, I know he was planned for us because of the way he completed my heart.

And Brian? How is he with a boy?

It's a God thing!