This song came on the radio this morning and I've been a mess ever since.
We are in such a good place as a family. Ivan is a completely different child than the terrified, traumatized little boy we brought into our home last year. This Christmas his eyes sparkle with the joy and wonder that every child should have this time of year.
The ability to rest in the love and security of a family is the greatest gift we can give a child.
Ivan is one life that has been changed forever, but there are so many more... and we feel it this year. In every precious moment we share as a family, Ryan and I can sense it, that all to familiar feeling that something... someone is missing.
It's the feeling that keeps me awake at night, praying for the little ones who will one day make our home and heart even fuller.
Adoption is hard...
I hear it all the time,
"We would love to adopt, but it's just so expensive."
Yes, yes it is expensive.
The financial cost is great, but the financial cost is nothing comapared to what adoption cost you.
Adoption will change you.
It will wreak havoc on your heart like nothing you ever imagined.
You will be an emotional basket case during the entire adoption process and it will only get worse once you finally get your child home and you have to battle your selfish desires everyday and even fight off the nagging feeling that you've made a terrible mistake.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm glad it is so expensive to adopt.
Adoption is something that has to cost us absolutely "everything".
If we are not willing to spend greatly for the sake of a child, there is no way we will make it when the dream becomes a reality and our lives and hearts are left in shambles.
I will be honest with you, I hate fundraising.
I hate admitting that we don't have the money we NEED to be able to ransom these children on our own.
But you see, this is just another lesson we need to learn before we bring these precious ones home.
Just as we cannot ransom our babies on our own, we cannot be what they will need us to be by ourselves.
We will need your prayers, your encouragement, your support on the hard days when we wont want to get out of bed.
I am reminded of all of the people that came alongside us to help us bring Ivan home.
I hope that as you read each of his monthly updates you realized that the reviving of his life couldn't have been possible without your support.
And now we're asking again....
Not because we want to mooch off of your generosity, but because we know it takes more than a village to raise a prior orphan.
We want you to experience the joy that comes with investing into the redemption of these precious ones who are extra dear to the Fathers heart.
We want you to play a role in making a little boy and a baby girl's unspoken wish for a family come true.
Please, help us make this, the last Christmas that these precious children spend alone.
I'm working on making some wreaths to sell and should have pictures up in the next couple days, but we still have our t-shirt fundraiser!!
We only have a week left and we need at least 10 shirts sold for them to print!
I realize that there's so many great organizations and causes to support this time of year, but please know that anything you can do to help us bring our precious little lovies home is so appreciated and makes such an eternal difference.
The proof is in the pictures!!
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| Thanksgiving Day last year. He was shell shocked by his first holiday. Snuggled with his daddy, but stiff as a board, not able to relax. |
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| So much sadness and fear in those eyes. It breaks my heart to remember. |
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| This Thanksgiving there was no trace of fear in his big brown eyes! Only the joy and wonder of a child who is loved beyond measure!! |
Can you imagine his face a year after knowing that kind of love??
And I know it's hard to imagine this face any cuter, but just wait till she is HOME!!
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