We started this blog in order to share with our friends, family, and anyone else who may come across it what has been going on in our lives the past few years and the exciting turn of events that have come about in recent months. I am not sure what direction this blog will take over time but it is exciting to us nonetheless.
In 2008, about four years ago, we started trying to get pregnant. At first, when we were not pregnant right away, it was disappointing but we did not give up. After about a year and a half, it became very frustrating for my wife, and then it began to consume her life. Tam was noticeably upset each month and struggled with why God was allowing family members and friends to get pregnant and not us.
In 2010, after hearing our frustration one night at small
group, a friend of ours emailed Tam and began a discussion with her about how
God may have a plan for why we had not become pregnant yet, even though at that
point we could not see it. This friend
also warned us about marital stresses she had seen in other couples she knew
who had let not getting pregnant consume their lives. As we did not want this
to happen to us, we began to pray about our desires for a child and that God
would help us to trust Him in whatever he had planned for us. At times we would
briefly talk about adoption but always ended up dismissing the idea thinking
that next month would be different.
As time went on, even though we were still disappointed that we were not pregnant, we did notice that this was no longer a focus and a source of frustration as it had been.
Around the beginning of 2012, Tam and I began to talk about the possibilities of moving forward with adoption. A few months after that, we received an invitation from a friend to attend a local adoption conference called "Together for Them" as she knew we had been praying and talking about adoption. As soon as the conference began, we knew that we were where we needed to be. We felt like God was saying, "Finally you are where I want you to be, and you are doing what I have called you to do."
In the following months we began to research about adoption and began to feel that we were being called to adopt internationally. After comparing agencies and the adoption restrictions of each country, we decided to commit to All God's Children with the intent to adopt from Ethiopia. On 6/13/12, we signed the contract with All God's Children and made our first substantial payment for the adoption process. The fact that we were moving forward with what we knew God had put on our hearts in recent months was VERY exciting for us.
And on July 8th, in God's perfect timing (because it always is), we found out that we were pregnant. WOW! We can't describe the rush of emotions at this news! Not only were we going to have a biological child, but what a confirmation and a peace in our hearts about our choice to follow what God had put on our hearts and adopt internationally. It is as if God was saying "Yes, I certainly could have blessed you with a biological child in the past 4 years, but I have had a beautiful baby from another country in mind for you that will need a loving family. And since you have trusted me in this, I also want to bless you with what you originally came to Me about".
It is amazing to us the path that God has started us down. Although there are certainly some unknowns ahead of us, we can tell you without a doubt that the road we have taken, trusting God's lead, has made all the difference in the world.