Happy National Adoption Month

  November is National Adoption Month!!
I love to share our journey in 

 ADOPTION!!!

Some things I would say about adoption, as we are 8 years into this journey; is that my heart and mind have changed a ton, and grown a million miles thru this journey.

 I still believe in adoption 100% but not 100% of the time. 

 I am thankful for adoption.  I'm most thankful for my adoption into God's family.

  I'm thankful that God saw His people; some kids, and some adults, with broken places in our lives and brought us together, to do some healing thru

the story of adoption, on earth as it is in heaven.

. I'm grieved by the brokenness that makes adoption a thing.

 I'm sad that people have often times corrupted the institution of adoption.

I'm totally against some practices that go on with some adoptions.

I've matured in my understanding, and I don't think adoption is for everyone, not for every "orphan" and not for every family. 

 I definitely think adoption is for FAR more people than actually enter in, but it's not a firm yes across the board.

  I've learned some things along the way and learned a lot about my own heart in this process.

Some good some gross.

When we set out to adopt over 8 years ago, we thought it was about the orphan and how we could help make a difference.

 We thought we were doing what God called us to, we thought we could provide a child that needed a family, 

with a family,

 a really big one.

  I still believe we were/are called to adoption, but I believe we needed it even more than our adopted children. 

 We have learned more about God and our own adoption into His family, than anything else we have ever done. 

Laboring to give birth, is the most beautiful, painful, exhausting, exhilarating and amazing messy hard thing God has ever designed a body to endure, and I put those same adjectives with adoption.

 Adoption is a different kind of labor, and it can stress a person beyond control, and it can bring out beautiful life and joy to the whole family. 

  God needed to grow us in a lot of areas; so what better way than to throw us out in a big wild sea that is full of high winds and waves and full of enough fear to sink any ship. 

 He has taught us how to rely on Him, and in the process of teaching us,  He has brought us a  few more kids to love and raise.  

Our family needed these kids, more than these kids needed a family.

Our adopted kids, as well as our bio kids, have their own story, that I have often been too open in sharing. 
 I have learned to tame it back a bit (probably not enough) and let them tell their story to who they want when they want.  I get excited to share and it blesses me and blows me away what God has done, so I thought it would bless all who heard.  I have learned that when I share too openly, I open the door for people to share their opinion. God put our family together, and it is not subject to opinion, it is a gift from our Lord.

 I love that I can point to God and say,  HE DID IT!  I don't want to take credit as the one who did something wonderful when things are good, which can bring pride, and I don't want to think I'm a total screw-up when things are hard, which can bring shame.
 Neither of these is helpful for anyone.

It was God that lead us on this journey no matter how we have stumbled and fallen our way thru it at times.
 I can look to Him when things are wonderful and when things are hard and everywhere in between.

I love that our adopted kids have a different color of skin than us pale peeps. 
Our family was anemic in a lot of ways.
  We needed some color added to our lives.
  Adoption comes in all skin colors, but for me, I especially love to look at my kids that look nothing like me and know that God went across the world and borders and oceans and color charts and allowed me into a world that I knew nothing about. Only God could have done such a colorful creative thing in our family.  I look at my bio kids and marvel at how much they are like us, we pick out things on each kid saying who each particular feature reminds us of.
With our adopted kids we revel in the way they look so different from us. 
We love how different skin and hair need different things to be healthy.
We embrace both, we are in awe of both.
Esther put coconut oil in Cellie's hair the other day, which is a very healthy thing to do with African hair.
  I had to remind Esther that limp hair cannot take that oil.
 I have laughed and enjoyed experiences many times over these kinds of
"differences".

 Both, the ways our kids are like us and the ways they are different bless my mother heart beyond anything I can describe.

I can't tell stories and show pictures of our family without including our heart adoptions.
Adoption comes in many different forms and looks different and unique with each one.  

We have 2 sons that are in Uganda, Simon and Patrick, and they have a beautiful mother that has raised them well and continues to be a vital loving part of their lives on a daily basis.  God has allowed Charlie and I  to step in and fill a role with these boys that have helped and supported their family unit.  We get the amazing privilege of filling this role and loving them as our own.   I can tell you with every fiber of my being they are our sons.  We have adopted them into our hearts into that special place that is saved only for our children.

Claiborne is our son that resides in a place in our hearts the size of Texas.
Claiborne has a family that loves him and have been in his life from the day he was born until forever.  Somehow, by the grace and goodness of God, from the time we met him, there was this family bond that took over our hearts towards him, and our kids all took to him like a brother.
 Once that love has been adopted into your heart, it is forever family.

   The beautiful part about family is there are no limits in age, color, or number that can overextend the love of a family that draws their love from the

 Wellspring of Life and Love.

Adoption has made this limitless love a reality for us and the outside is only a glimpse of what it has taken place on the inside.  

Ephesians 1:5-6

 In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.