Is 8 enough?

Is Eight Enough?   Interesting question.   Well for us we know that 7 is not enough so 8 it shall be.   This weekend we were at at the beach and every time it was table for 6 with us and the 4 little ones.  Well it will now be a table of 7.   Yes there will be another stocking on the mantle, another plate at the table during big family dinners, another car seat in the car.  8 children total but 3 are grown and on their own (for the most part) but yes 5 little ones at home.

A beautiful sunset at the beach.

  Another smiling face to join this crew!

"What!!! you ask?   Are you crazy?  Do I need to have you committed?  Are you opening an orphanage in your home?  Don't you know when to stop?"   "How many do you plan to adopt?"  "Are you rich?"  These are just a few of the responses we have received as we have shared this news over the past few weeks.

First of all the main reason for the delay in the announcement was respect for Aaron and Karen's wedding.  We promised them that we would not announce the latest adoption until after they had their time.   Well that time is passed so now we are talking about this news.

Now some background:   This all started back in March, our friend Carrie sent us a photo of a little girl that could have passed for Maria's twin.  We both said that if she was adoptable we would go for it.  Well as it turned out she was already locked by someone else.   So at that we thought it was a closed book.   Then in late June, Robin saw a picture of a little boy that looked a lot like Shaun.   So we started praying about adopting again.   At first I thought "No Way" I really was not wild about starting the process again.  But over the following weeks we talked about it a lot, we both prayed about it.  We prayed that if we were not on the right track that God would close the door.   However doors kept opening.   We both clearly felt God leading us to do this again.   It is hard to explain how you know when God is speaking to you.   For us it was in many ways, through bible study, prayer, conversations with people, sermons at church etc.  Back during the time we were praying about the little girl, we met a child with the same condition that our new little guy has and were able to see how wonderfully she was doing.

We reached out to some friends that had adopted a child with this condition to learn about their experience.   Before we could even talk to them they sent us a picture and asked us to pray for this child to find a family, it was the little boy we were already praying about.  We met people that had been down this road and learned so much about a medical condition that we had not worked with before.   People came into our path that were unexpected  We connected with a wonderful doctor that helped educate us.

So in July we started the process again.  This time with a new agency since they had his file and would not release it.  So far they have been fine to work with.  We are expecting our home study this week and will get into the immigration process.  If all goes according to plan then hopefully we can travel next May or June.

I guess by now if you have been following along you are just ready for a picture!  First some facts.  He is 19 months old, he has a hearing condition.  His name will be Joshua. 

So now finally introducing Joshua Collier the latest addition to our family.

Isn't he cute?

He looks a lot like Shaun.

You may think we are crazy but for us we know we are right where we are supposed to be and that this little boy needed a family and that we have room for one more.  Please pray for the process to go smoothly and quickly.  Pray for him to have good care while he waits for us.  Pray that he adjust to us quickly.  Pray for the other kids as this will mean change for them too.  Pray that all the finances required for an adoption come together so we can get him home quickly.  Pray for us to seek God's will in our lives and in this process.

So there you have it after weeks of talk about being "All In" and going where "faith is without borders"  this is our All In for this season.   Trust me we have been taken to places where it has required a lot of faith to step out on this path.