We have some exciting news, and it’s not a pregnancy announcement. We have decided to adopt a baby! We are so excited about this next step to complete our family. We have always wanted to adopt, even before losing Lucy and losing our chance at a normal pregnancy. It always seemed like some far off dream, though. We have been praying for months about the possibility of adoption and finally feel like it is time to make our dream a reality. Actually, we felt God’s prodding towards adoption several months ago, but have asked Him for confirmation several times because we wanted to make sure this was His will for our lives. We have decided to start the process while staying open to the possibility of another biological child as well.

Since making this decision we have felt a lot of hope, which is a new feeling for us since losing Lucy. It feels so wonderful. We can’t wait to meet our baby and see who God has chosen for our family. We already love this baby and his/her birth family so much. We have decided to do domestic infant adoption through Bethany Christian Services. They seem to fit all of our needs and have been matching babies with their forever families for over 60 years. Our friends, Ashley and Travis, adopted a baby girl (Lucy’s age) last year through Bethany Christian Services and had such a wonderful experience. We’re thankful that we have their advice and suggestions and their little Lottie to give us so much hope. (To see their scrumptious baby girl look here.)

We officially opened a separate bank account just to start saving money for our adoption at the beginning of December and when we sent in our pre-application we did not have much money in the account. Talk about a leap of faith! The total cost will be a little over $21,000 for the whole adoption so we have a long way to go in the financial department. For Christmas we asked our families not to get us presents (we didn’t feel like opening presents this Christmas anyway) and to make a donation to our adoption savings account instead. We were able to use that money to help pay for the first application fee and the domestic infant adoption training classes that we will attend at the end of January. We are trusting that God will provide everything we need to get through this journey, and He has already been faithful in providing (thanks to our families, friends and a little extra work) the first few fees right when we needed them.

We are really going to need your support as we go through this journey. The BEST way you can support us is prayer. Here are the things we would love for you to pray for us right now:

• That God would give us wisdom, peace, and (especially) patience as we work through the adoption process.
• That God would be glorified through our story and through our adoption.
• That He would provide all of the funds that we need to complete the adoption.
• Please pray for our baby’s future birth family, especially the birth mom. They need wisdom, courage and strength to get through the coming months and years.

Thank you all for the encouragement and love that you give us so freely. We feel like we have a huge support system through you all and it means more than you know, especially now that we are starting this new journey. You guys are the blessings that God has given us to hold us up during this hard time. We appreciate you all so much.