Being Real....in the Pink...

Ever been called someplace you weren't sure you wanted to go?  David and I were presented with the opportunity to adopt a sweet little girl "T" over 6 months ago.  I was led to her from a post on no other than Facebook, where we found our sweet Eli.  I started speaking with her foster mom and very quickly fell in love with this sweet girl.  The questions swirled, are we crazy? Three special needs kiddos under 3 years of age.  As I got to "know T" better we saw even more evidence that DS has so many levels of ability.  She can walk, talk, feed herself.  All things our boys don't do.  Bringing her into our family can be so beneficial for our boys as an example.  Among the questions, the what ifs I have spoken with and prayed with first and foremost my husband, but women of God that I admire and respect that have reminded me that we do this for God, when we feel called, we GO.  But what will others think?  Will they think we want her because we are a house filled with testosterone?  Will they think we are crazy?  So many more questions of what will people think.  Well, so many have said..Kristen "What does God think"?

We have said, yes, we have said no, we have said maybe.  We have said maybe we will foster her first, help her find her forever family here.  We have thrown out every scenario  you can think of.  In fact, David knew before I that this is where we would be today....knowing she is to come home and be a part of our family.  Just yesterday in Bible Study a sweet friend prayed for wisdom and discernment. God spoke very clearly last night during prayer time with my sweet husband.

So....this is where we are at.  We need to move.  Being a child almost three and a different gender (have i mentioned tights and bows and PINK??) she has to have her own room.  There is also the possibility that we will adopt "T" biological sister that is six years old and "typically developing".  More on that later.  Right now we need to raise approx $1500 by Sunday to secure new housing.  That is a lot of money friends, but not to God.

We truly believe that we are not all called to adopt but we are all called to to help orphans and widows. Just because "t" doesn't live in another country makes her no less of an orphan (Thought let me tell you, we are beyond blessed with the house she has been raised in up to the point she comes home)  Will you help?  Our donate button is at the top left.  I know this is our third adoption that we have asked for help with.  The reality is that we can afford to have her in our house, we can't afford the upfront costs to get her here.

We love each of you and ask that you pray for our family as we make this transition.  Thank you for walking this journey with us!!

Finalization...

To update all of you....wow, what a journey!!  We continue to be amazed by our boys and the fact that God loved us enough to choose us to be their mommy and daddy!!  They are army crawling now and sitting up for the most part :)

Eli says mama and dada ..okay, okay...mostly dada but every once in a while that mmmm slips out :)  He is still working hard at learning to eat and is trying new things all the time.

Gabe says mama and dada and babbles a lot!!  He is such a happy baby and has the most contagious laugh!!!  He brings us so much joy....even at 3 am!!

We were able to finish paying for Elijahs adoption in November which allowed us to finalize him December 10.  He is "officially" a Coffee...though he always has been to us.

We are working hard at getting Gabe finalized  :)  We have said we were going to keep fundraising for the last few months but put it off knowing we were supposed to get a subsidy from California that the payment would allow us to pay the adoption agency and attorney.  This has dragged on when the money from that is coming so we are going to fundraise again :)  I know so many question helping others fund an adoption so I am going to add this hear...it was posted by a friend of a friend and is so well said....

Well said!! Helping to fund an adoption..

FAR to often I hear from clueless and pitifully ignorant people (Christian people, I might add)...." If people can't afford what it costs to adopt, they shouldn't adopt." We were crushed one time by a person that was very close to us..."How come when YOU hear from God it costs ME money?" Usually I am too upset to respond with adequate words..... I
When a family seeks help in raising funds for an adoption, it's not like asking people to pitch in toward a new boat, or help pay for a vacation. What they are doing is committing to heal, with God's help, a child who has suffered the profound damage of being unwanted and unloved. They are obediently living out the command given in James 1:27 to care for the orphan, clothing the gospel of Christ's redemption in flesh and blood and now. When they ask for the body of Christ to come alongside them financially and prayerfully, they are giving us the opportunity to be a part of the miracles God works through obedience.

We need to raise a little over $6000.00 by the mid to end of Feb at the latest to keep from having to start our homestudy process over.  That would be a whole another expense.  We know God called us to adopt these precious boys and we know that He too will provide the needed funds to complete what He started.  We have a donate button at the top of our page where you can donate to help us finalize our precious Gabe.  Every little bit helps, even if you just give up a coffee for a day!!!

Last, we were asked to do a story with our local news...HOW FUN!!!  Here is the link for you to see our interview :)

http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=2009270173001

Thank you all and God Bless....we will update this every few days so people know where were are with our fundraising :)

David, Kristen, Caleb, Elijah and Gabriel :)