Our Adoption Story: Part 4

If you're just tuning in now to how God began to unfold our adoption story, you HAVE to check out Parts one, two and three (three being the BEST part). It has been so good for me to reflect back on how GOD started all of this. Beau often reminds me when my heart is anxious or fears creep in that, "Kendra, we didn't start this. God did." It's almost comical to me to look back on the YEARS I have prayed asking God for clarity of when to start the process: researching agencies, and countries, carefully monitoring our adoption account, etc. That was my prayer for so long, show us WHEN, show us WHERE (agency and country), provide financially for us Lord (to have the funds for the process), HOW MANY children do you want us to bring home, BOYS/GIRLS, ages, etc?

Part 3 of our story took care of that. God, took care of that.

Anyway, the night I shared with Beau about what God was pressing on my heart through "L's" message and the "fleeting thought" I had of Little D, and when he started to look into all of the information "L" gave us, he simply said, "Well, good night!".

Ummmmm? Are you kidding me? Don't you SEE all of what GOD JUST DID RIGHT HERE, and here he wanted to SLEEP? (It was around midnight...my nocturnalness isn't always a shared life style with Beau and we both had to work the next day, Friday).

I laid there and laid there and laid there....unable to go to sleep. Tossing and turning, mind racing. I was SO UNSETTLED. Eventually I did what I knew I should have done right away, and prayed. (another specific I remember) "God, why can't I go to sleep? I've gotta work tomorrow! Help me sleep, calm my heart, ease my mind."
The minutes continued to tick by and then I asked the Lord, "I feel like there's a reason you don't want me to sleep." Here, I just remember my heart racing, and I felt like God wanted me to wake Beau up (impossible, by the way, he talks in his sleep, and I've woken him up in the middle of his sleep before and he NEVER remembers talking with me....so it was weird to me that I felt led to wake him up and have a (forgettable) conversation with him). I remember laying there on my belly, up on my elbows, almost arguing with the Lord....."What do you want me to say to him? He won't remember anyway? He's dead ASLEEP! God. No. Tomorrow. Ya, how bout tomorrow? I don't even know what you want me to SAYYYYYYYY!"....well. It didn't work. I couldn't get peace or fall back asleep, so with what can only be the Holy Spirit's prompting, I sat up, and woke Beau out of his stupor.

He woke up, and I remember thinking, "Here goes nothing, God this better be good, and please help me know what you want me to say! I don't know what to say!" as I said, "Beau, I need to talk to you." He actually sat up, and was awake- this was different- ahahaha! From there on out, for the next HOUR, I, mostly doing the talking rambled and rambled what I truly feel like the Holy Spirit wanted me to communicate to Beau, and myself. (This wasn't a "convince Beau" conversation. This was a total God thing of HIM convincing us BOTH to say YES.)  From scripture, to evidence of God's faithfulness in our lives, evidence of God's faithfulness to those in scripture, and God's faithfulness to friends we have known who have walked through adoption. What I really think God was showing both of us that night was, I'm asking you to trust me, I'm asking you to allow me to show you my strength and faithfulness, if only you would step out and obey, trust, and have faith in ME. (we'd be here for the next week if I tried to put to words what all God was doing in that hour, and to be quite honest, I haven't been able to effectively communicate what exactly went on in that conversation. God truly came through.) I can't tell you the feelings, and peace, and excitement, and anxiousness that was swirling around in that room - as if God was absolutely changing our hearts right then and there, and us surrendering to what He was asking us to do. We then prayed, and Beau went back to bed. HA! That boy. I on the other hand, was elated at what God was so CLEARLY doing in us, and got up, took my computer, and wrote a journal entry. (possibly share that at a different time. I haven't read it since that night. Might be kinda cool to go back and see!)

At 2:30 that morning, I finally went to bed.  My alarm went off at 6:15 for work, and off I went. Beau actually missed his alarm that morning (whoops!), so we didn't get to talk about the early morning miracle in our hearts we had experienced.

Here's a timeline of the weekend, seeing MORE of GOD'S GOODNESS AND CLARITY:
(WE knew what GOD was doing in US, but what would our friends and family think?)

Friday morning:
*  I called my friend Nicole (who this whole time since November was praying fervently for what God was doing in my heart about "motherhood" with the whole baby thing). I told her every detail, and man was she excited. I told her I was nervous about talking to Beau, maybe he'd think it was a dream, or wasn't thinking clearly because of the time of night, etc. Nicole knew this was from the Lord as well. (phew! I'm NOT totally crazy)

* I caught my friend at work Erin up as well. She was confident of what the Lord was also doing, excited along with me!!! (I remember doing devotions with my classroom that morning, and crying through it--- another message straight to my heart from the Lord, over and over. I know my kids thought I was a nut that morning.)

Friday night: 

The day goes by, and Beau and I come home from work and greet each other. A while passes, and we started talking about it- He DIDN'T THINK I WAS CRAZY- he was still on board, he remembered the convo! Thanks Lord! ;) He too, was still blown away by the last few day's events. Around that time we get a text from a couple asking if we wanted to come over and play a game that night and watch our fave show Shark Tank. ;) We thought, sure!!
(I remember asking Beau, do we tell them? Do we bring it up and see what they think? We decided not to.)

 After Shark Tank, we head up to play a game around the kitchen table, and out of no where mid Settlers of Catan, one of them asks about how we're doing with the whole "kids" thing....knowing we had been struggling to be on the same page and unified about it. Beau and I looked across the table from each other like, "Uhhhh THIS is WEIRD. and UHHHH do we tell them?" HA!
At that moment the lady friend said, "Well now you HAVE TO TELL US!", obviously reading our stunned faces. HAHAHA! So, we spilt the beans about everything that I've documented in my last three posts. Eventually, we said, "Are we crazy? Are we reading too much into this? Is this nuts? Is this God?". There was a resounding NO you're not crazy, and YES this is God. The man friend said to Beau something like, "Dude. God cannot make this anymore clear. What's holding you back? What're your fears?"

We laid out our fears, and everything came back to the money. We had wanted to save more before starting. This wasn't in the "plan". Beau We were waiting until the end of the year. It costs a lot. Like a lot a lot. We talked through what we had in our savings, we talked about the cost, etc. Then- our man friend (like that little cover name?- LOL) pushed back from the table, mid-convo, walked over to the kitchen drawers, pulled something out, came back to the table, and asked, "Your last name, is it -sen or -san?" He was writing a check. Writing a check to us. Writing a check for our adoption.

I started sweating.

Beau got red in the face, refusing to take it from him (yep. God's still breaking us of this pride-fulness). Is this really happening? WHY are they doing this?

They explained that God put on (his) heart at that moment to GIVE, that God wanted Beau and I to step out in obedience so He CAN provide....and our friend didn't want money to be the reason why we didn't say YES, and step out in faith right then and there.
"We will walk through this with you. We want to be a part of what God's clearly doing here!"

Amazing. Humbling. Praise God.

Can you see here, a reoccuring pattern? Our "little faith", our doubts, our fears, STILL taking over us, after God has been showing us TIME AFTER TIME, AFTER TIME in just a few days, "I'VE GOT THIS, FOLLOW ME!".

We left that night, and we walked into the kitchen, Beau stood there- turned around with the check in his hand and said, "I think this is exactly what I needed, and what God knew I would need as the flashing red arrow saying this is what He wants us to do. That money and funding this- was my biggest fear to get over." Thank you Lord, for providing not only a monetary change in our process, but a heart change in my husband- by using others to magnify Your glorious name! 

Saturday:

I called a few more friends, adoptive mommas this time, and told them everything. It was no doubt God was moving, and they also gave me wonderful advice to consider as we moved forward too. We knew we needed to speak to someone from our family, so we called my dad and asked if we could come over that night to get their wisdom on some things. We set a time, and headed over.

Again, we word-vomited everything that was going down. Again, a resounding "YES, can it get any more clear guys?". They were obviously thrilled too! At this point, we were both feeling more and more comfortable and more and more peace....and mostly- sheer excitement!! We had literally no "red flags" or roadblocks while we sought wisdom and prayed about it. WOO! Okay!

We left my dads (who lives about two miles/few minutes away) and headed home. In the car, I could tell Beau's excitement was getting the best of him (finally!), and he said, "OK, we need to call "L" LIKE RIGHT NOW! We need to tell her we say "YES!" and we want those children!!!!!". I giggled and said, "Beau- I emailed her earlier today, and I gave her my number. If she wants to call us, she can. We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves!"

We pulled in the garage, walked up to our bedroom, and my phone started buzzing- it was from Minnesota. Where I knew "L" lived. No. Way.

For the next hour and thirty minutes, she explained and told us her life story, how God led her to "Africa", how He led her to starting a baby home in "Africa", and the life stories of "Little D" (who we've since renamed) and Little N (who we've since renamed), the process, an agency she recommended (who we've since changed from!) and it was SO CLEAR and SO PRESENT that Yes, this is what God was calling us to do. It was incredible. May I also mention, that sweet "L", never once, ever, "ASKED" us what we thought, asked us when we were planning on starting/thinking about adopting, ASKED how many children we'd like to adopt....ha! God never even really gave us the option to say no in terms of her "asking" us anyyyything. LOL

_____________________________________________________________

We are so very aware that our situation is so very different from most, we know the blessing it is to know so many details of our children's pasts, we know it's rare to know and have a close relationship with the owner of an orphanage (she lives in MN but travels often to "Africa" and has other in-country staff that are the administrators), to receive so many updates and pictures of the kids, to video chat with them, etc.

To be honest, amidst the JOY we were feeling, and the CONFIDENCE we had in the Lord in the process coming to be the way it had...and knowing that all involved were Christ-followers, we were very hesitant in telling others. Whether people were or were not aware of how the adoption process works, we were very nervous about sharing our news and our process.
We thought people would think we were:
 1.) Nuts   2.) oblivious and naive    3.) getting ahead of ourselves 
4.) being taken advantage of, etc.  5.) give a false interpretation of how the process is typically started

We were very aware that this was so new to us, and for this accredited and licensed orphanage that was ready to partner with agencies. Since then, the orphanage has contracted with two Hague-accredited agencies in two different states (that "just so happened" to be looking to expand their "Africa program" (our children's birth-country) That's another God story in and of itself.) and both of which were ready and willing to do the work to start with our family for the program. YAY! Not to mention, the partnership with the orphanage means MORE CHILDREN can be matched with their forever families, and make more orphans, ORPHANS NO MORE!
(If you are interested in adopting and would like that information of the agencies we would recommend, please let me know!)

God has been SO FAITHFUL since. We've had our hiccups like most adoption processes, but it's been so neat to see God's hand in those, and that those hiccups have been for the greater good and we've been fortunate enough to see almost immediately, His purpose in those! These last six months, I've never felt more close to my Lord and Savior, where I feel as if I'm truly walking next to Him, like He's my very best friend, and mostly- that my need for control, fears, anxieties, etc "fall away" much more quickly because I'm learning to have pure trust and pure faith in the One true sovereign God....who loves these children MORE, SO MUCH MORE than I do.

I have peace in that.

For now, as we wait, I work every day to battle my mind and my thoughts with the truth of God's word and know that He has my best interest, and our children's best interests at heart. He holds ME. He holds THEM. He is the God of he universe. Here in Iowa, and over "there" in Africa.

My "anthem" verse through this process has been:

Psalm 27:13-14

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Our Adoption Story: Part 3 (The BEST part!)

I promise I'm not dragging this story out for the dramatic effects. HA! It truly is that long, with many details depicting how God made it very clear the time was NOW, THIS was the country, and THESE were the children we would pursue. 

So if you need caught up on part 1 and part 2 of our story to make this all flow, click here and here. 

We left off with Beau encouraging me to get ahold of "L". I was still being a hard-hearted snot and kindly told him off, because what was the point, when I knew his plan was to not start the adoption process until the end of 2014. Can't mess with a woman's heart when it comes to one of her biggest heart's desires! 

Well, I couldn't sleep laying there in bed that night after his prompting. (Or was it His prompting?) I did what I do best, stated up till 2:00 in the morning researching the site for the orphanage and this lady's Facebook page. I wanted to know every little detail I could before contacting anyone about anything. Honest to goodness, I used to want to be a detective- LOL, so I investigated the you know what out of those sites. All the while thinking, "Lord, WHAAAAT AM I DOING!?!?"

Eventually I came to the site that showed a few of the pictures of some of the kids staying at the orphanage or that were there during the day for the daycare they also offer. I clicked through picture after picture looking into the faces of adorable little African babes. Then I came to this picture of a couple of two year olds- a little boy and a little girl. The caption read "2 year old Little D (name changed for privacy) is the sweetest thing to walk this earth and his smile can bring only joy to your family. (His friend Asha is not for adoption) says hi also!" 

In that moment, I had the FLEETING thought (I kid you not), "God, is this our son?"

Then immediately freeeeeeeaked out on myself for thinking that. Why would I think that? Oh my word, Beau would freak out if he knew I just thought that. But again, why would I think that!? Then I remembered a time I heard, "You know when people POP into your mind at completely random times and you think what in the world!? Well, instead, just drop what you're doing and PRAY for them!!

I did just that. I just stopped and prayed for little D. I prayed for his day, knowing it was morning across the ocean, I prayed for his heart and to know Jesus, and I prayed for a forever family for him, his parents wherever they would be. 

Ok. Well after that crazy moment I decided that this site and lady seemed "legit". Haha!!! I also asked God to not let my heart get too invested with anything but to just follow through with what Beau  wanted me to do. 

So sitting there in the middle of the night, I emailed "L" through the site. I basically first apologized for the randomness of my message, and told her a little about myself and Beau and that her friend C told me to get ahold of her. I didn't tell her how many children we were interested in adopting some day, our timeline of starting the process, boys or girls or both, I didn't tell her the ages we would be interested in adopting- just that the country her orphanage was in, was one of two we had extensively researched in looking into when the time came. It was short and sweet and I pushed send while thinking I was a complete nut job, and hoping she didn't agree with me. ;) 

Side note: if we had started the process through an agency (like you're supposed to) we would have filled out the application blanks asking about our preferences like this:

* open to sibling groups? - yes! 

* Agess: any age up to 5 (because God was working on my heart for a baby, when we previously wanted 2+, also secretly wanting an older brother for a little sister) 

* Gender: any gender (preferably a boy and girl) 

(Also: * that they would know each other/be around one another) 

I woke up the next morning (Thursday) with a reply from "L".  Here's what she said copy/pasted, with a few details omitted for privacy: (my thoughts as I was reading this are in red & L in black)

"Not a completely random message, but a God inspired message.  Kendra we have some beautiful children for adoption.  The first course of action is to find an adoption agency there in Iowa that will work with us in "Africa".   My advice is to adopt 2 or 3 children at one time as the cost of traveling and your stay there all adds up (among other reasons) She didn't know we were absolutely wanting to adopt 2 children, for most- that would be a shock to adopt more than 1 at time. But two, was our desire.  
The children are all living together as a family, so for them, staying together would be a comfort although none of them are blood related. Prayer request of them "knowing each other"- answered.  
Next week I will be posting a few of the kids for adoption on this site.  Two kids we wanted to adopt two! that come to mind are "N", our Christmas newborn (born 11-22-13) YOU GUYS THAT WAS THE DAY we went to the hospital to visit our very good friends and their new daughter. REMEMBER? (click here in case you don't ;) ha!) The day GOD STARTED TRANSFORMING MY HEART walking out of that hospital after holding Kallie, and God stirring in me to consider wanting a baby- in whatever form that was....our sweet baby girl was born in Africa. The. Same. Day. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?,  she is just a doll and "Little D" who is 2 1/2, also a very sweet little guy.  
THIS IS THE LITTLE BOY THAT GOD GAVE ME THAT FLEETING THOUGHT the night before!!! Little D! In the picture!! The one I STOPPED AND PRAYED FOR, for his heart for Jesus, for his forever family, for him to be adopted. Housing while in country would be right next door at a nice inn.  I am going to Africa Feb 9th and will return with current pics and lots of new information.  So start now and find an agency there in Iowa. God Bless and keep me updated." 

- "L"

(Beau later mentioned, "Man, she just assumed the sale right there, didnt' she?" HAHA! The thoughts of a business major/man! ;) 

Ummmmm can you believe that!? My heart stopped. And I immediately knew and doubted at the same time, that this could be God being VERY intentional about telling us NOW. Not to mention, our very hearts desires if an agency had been reading our preferences. 

I DIDNT TELL BEAU. I was terrified. Because:

 1.) the night before I was stubborn and told him I wasn't going to get ahold if "L". (Bah. Foot in mouth.)  

2) I was nervous about telling him what I thought God was impressing on my heart and afraid he wouldn't agree or say, "Okay, sure. We can pursue that at the end of the year." 

3.) I was still blown away. In shock. Ya know. 

So I did what many a-woman might do. I blabbed to my friend Erin at lunch in the teachers lounge. The same time at lunch, Beau texted me and asked if I had indeed got ahold of "L"? 

Oh crap. Oh man. What do I do!? This could be the ultimate let down of my liiiiiiiife. 

I told him yes! Only to be so stubborn, I didn't even call and tell him, I just told him to sign into my account and read what "L" had replied with. I didn't tell him about my "fleeting thought" before emailing her about Little D. Ha! 

He read it and didn't say much. Shocker. 

Well I went through the rest of the school day, and late that night crawling into bed, Beau asked if he could have my laptop (laying on my side of the bed). I said "I don't know here it is." (Fully knowing he was going to do his own investigating and my heart just couldn't take it. I couldn't take him looking it all up: the countries stipulations for adoptive parents, the agency she recommended us looking into, and mostly- the picture of Little D). Well, my husband is a brilliant man and said, "I saw your laptop on the side of your bed. Hand it to me." (You guys, I'm a sinner. I've since asked for forgiveness for my stinky attitude.) I handed it over. 

Sure enough, he did exactly what I thought he was going to do. I literally, grabbed my Bible, turned away from him in bed and read Ester (just what I happened to be going through) and prayed and prayed and prayed. "Move in His heart if it's YOUR will Lord". 

He all of a sudden says, "HEY! This little boy has my eye lashes!" I finally turned over, peered over his shoulder and saw exactly who it was. A different (non labeled) picture of Little D. My heart lept. I said, "Beau, that's him. That's little D, who she was talking about in the email. That's the little boy who..." And I told him about my "fleeting thought" the night before with Little D. 

End of part 3. 

(Part 4 will be chalk full of the ways God moved in Beau's heart and how we became unified in the decision to move forward amongst our biggest fears) 

Our Adoption Story: Part 2

Part 2:

I left off last post with my mom approaching Beau and I on a random Saturday evening about an acquaintance of hers, seeking her out at a high school wrestling meet, to tell her that Beau and I should get a hold of her about an adoption opportunity.

If you remember, God has been working on my heart to release my "idea" of what our family would look like. Beau and I were confident adoption would be the way we started our family. We were also confident we wanted two children 2+ in ages. However, God was working on my heart to not "stiff-arm" the idea of biological children...and a baby....Beau too. He started that on November 22nd when we visited our friends in the hospital after their sweet baby K was born.
(catch up here, for Part 1) 

Okay, here we go!
-------------------------------------
Saturday night my mom told me about this "adoption opportunity".

Monday night:  Beau said, "Kendra, why don't you email "C" and see what that adoption opportunity is all about?" I begrudingly said, "Okay". I contacted her and this was my message:

Hi C
So maybe this is super random, but maybe not since my mom relayed some info to get a hold of you to ask about some adoption organization. That's about all I know.
But here I am to ask!!
Have a wonderful day!!

Fast forward to Tuesday night. We had connection group that evening, and we went around the group and shared about our weeks. I may, or may not have blurted, "I think my heart is changing about a baby!"
Enter: Beau's dumbfounded, jaw-dropped, shocked, red face. (She's bringing up this baby thing again?)

Oops.

We talked through it as a group. Then the men and women split into our groups for prayer time and to chat about what was on our hearts. When it got to me, I was so FULL of emotion, yet completely unable to SPEAK. I just started crying. Actually, sobbing. All I could mutter was, "Please just pray for me how you feel led."
Of course, in a room full of women, they all collectively say, "It's okay, you can tell us!"

"No, but I truly can't! I really can't!", is all I remember saying. I just remember feeling like my heart was going to burst...I explained it as feeling like I had a heart/feeling of EXPECTANCY and I just didn't know what was going on, and I was nervous and anxious, but just felt like something was COMING. (serious- ask them!) They so graciously prayed for me that night.

Beau and I left connection group that night, drove home in almost silence, and crawled into bed.

When we were all settled, lights off, ready to hit the sack, Beau reminds me about emailing the lady. I told him that I did last night, but hadn't heard from her.

Wednesday:at some point I hear back from "C"...

Hi! Long story, short: I have a good friend from Minnesota who's just opened an orphanage in ______, Africa...... I think I remembered visiting at a wrestling meet with you and it sounded like you had it in your heart to adopt a child from Africa. I thought of you as I was learning about this opportunity. Feel free to contact L through the site to learn more. You can sure tell her that I gave you that contact info. If you struggle to contact her through the site, you can contact her on fb. 

 Blessings - C

• 
  

Wow! Well....okay! (I omitted the contact information for privacy reasons...but it was all THERE. What was I to do with THAT?!)

I share this all with Beau. He tells me to email "L" and see what it's all about.

Are you kidding me? Beau. Just stop! You said you don't want to start the process until the end of 2014....give it up. Most of all, don't get MY hopes UP! (that's what I was thinking) and I also may, or may not have communicated that to him either. (see- I was not pleasant in this season)

We both went to bed. And I thought, "Okay, I'll just message this lady and see what this is all about. God what is GOING ON? Should I contact "L", or shouldn't I?" 

End of Part 2!

FAQ: Our Adoption

FAQ: Our Adoption Story

Adoption is a very intriguing and interesting topic. I've always been fascinated by other family's stories. I loved to hear tidbits from their stories, experiences, advice, trials and triumphs, and how God worked in their lives. I'm still just as interested now that we're in our own adoption story. I thought I would compile a list of questions that we get asked the most. 

(I'll try to update it as much as I can, as we go) 

What adoption agency are you using?
An agency from West Des Moines, Iowa (you can contact me personally if you'd like more information)

Where are you adopting from?
a lovely little country in Africa (you can contact me personally if you'd like more information)

Why this specific country?
You'll have to read our story (whenever I get that written down, I'll provide a link here eventually) to understand that. :)

How many children are you adopting? 
Two.
Our son will be three years old in August 2014.
Our daughter will be a year in November 2014.

Are they biological siblings? 
No. But they will be siblings. :)

Why two children? 
We have plenty of room in our home and our hearts to unconditionally love two children.

How much does it cost to adopt them? 
Well, every agency, country, situation is different. Our cost for two children from start to when they walk in the door will be about $42,000-$44,000. (this is 'high' compared to some countries, and 'low' compared to others. They're all different.)

When are they coming home?
It's May 2014 as I type this, we've been told that it's likely by the end of this year (2014). We believe in the power of the Almighty God, and this could be different. Longer or shorter. :) We're obviously praying for it to be shorter. I'm specifically praying that we get to celebrate her first birthday WITH them!

Do you have to travel? 
Yes, we will have to be in country for approximately 2-3 weeks. (of course, it could be shorter or longer) We have to appear before the court, and also pick up their passports during this trip.

Are you having biological kids? 
That's not really up to us. :) Adoption, was our 'Option A'.

What do your family and friends think about your adoption?
We have THE MOST supportive family, friends, church, connection group, and work places as we go through this process. We are immensely blessed!

What happened to them? (I think this question refers to how they came to live in an orphanage)
We haven't discussed how or if we're telling their stories. On one hand, I think it's 'their' story to tell, but on the other hand, I am in awe of God's sovereignty and His hand in their stories. We'll see. (We have shared with our close family and friends.)

How can we help? What can we do?
Pray with us!!
Pray that God continues to protect our marriage, the children's health and safety (they are in WONDERFUL care currently)
Pray that God provides for our exact financial need for the adoption process!
Pray for our case worker within the USCIS who will be handling our files- promptly, efficiently, honestly, and however else you feel led.
Pray for FAVOR on our case for these two children. We don't deserve it, but we do ask of Him.
Pray that God will bless our family with bonding and attachment when they come home, even now while we're away from one another. 

Do you have a way to donate? 
Yes! Just not electronically. HA!

- Donate a financial gift
(Lots of options: you can contact me for an address to send it to, or if you'd like the name of the benefit fund we have set up, you can deposit a donation at your local Wells Fargo bank as well. Yes, even if you don't bank there. We can also fundraise through our local church.)

- Donate cans/bottles.
Every nickle and dime help! We will pick them up if you're in the surrounding area!

- Donate frequent flier miles to help in our trips to Africa and back!
Our flights will cost between $1,300-$1,500 for us round trip each. Little girl should be free, being she's under two years old. Little man will also have a one way ticket- HOME. :) 


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There it is- a start to some of the questions we're most frequently asked. If you have other questions, we're pretty much an open book! Feel free to ask! Even if we don't end up putting the Q&A on our blog...we can certainly chat privately as well! Certain things we will keep private for now. (pictures, names, name of country, name of agency, etc.)

We get it- adoption is 'foreign' to so many---and we want to help spread the word about how incredible it is, the challenges, joys, why we started this process, and share how God's hand is all over it!