Sweet Girls,When I first met each of you, you were sandwiched in the middle of your school-aged years, your childhood behind, and the teen years beckoning you in, for better or worse. And for all the devouring they could have done, God's grace has kept you and brought you to this day. I'm thrilled to... Continue Reading →
A Basket of High Hopes Not Disappointed
There I stood knocking at Vivian's door holding a decorative basket filled with some red and tan dish towels and cloths to match her new house. She had lost everything months before to a housefire, she and her husband Andrew, escaping only with their few month old daughter, Madison, and the clothes on their backs.... Continue Reading →
I Love What I’ve Got
We've been on the FL waiting list for adoption now for about 4 months (waiting a total of 16 months including our time in MI) and we haven't received placement yet. We put this simple video together, basically using photos from our profile book expectant parents view. No one else on the Florida waiting family... Continue Reading →
2015: Walking Forward with a Limp
Lunches packed, backpacks zipped, and the girls buckled in. Matt pulls the van out of the garage this morning as "Speak Life" blares through the speakers. He's doing his own cheorgraphy to make Ruby laugh. We're all forced smiles and silly dancing to hide our sadness that the time has come for our family to... Continue Reading →
When It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas
The candles flicker in their mason jar holders. Fake candles they are, because heaven knows I'd burn the house down with real fire.Christmas looks different this year. It feels different. It even smells different. Our old dollar store decorations look tired and beg a well earned rest from their decade plus of duty. The kids... Continue Reading →
Our Promise
Thanks to those of you who have followed our adoption journey as I've shared it here this past month. For our friends in Florida who haven't been with us from the beginning of the process, I hope reading about it has helped you to feel more a part of things by knowing how we got... Continue Reading →
The Money Thing
Adoption can be expensive. It costs about $25,000 for domestic infant adoption. After our first information gathering meeting at Bethany, we were overwhelmed with the cost and discouraged knowing we certainly didn't have that kind of money. 33% of Americans consider adoption. 79% of those are concerned about the costs, the biggest deterrent. Less than... Continue Reading →
Some Fun Stuff – Possible Names, Baby Clothes, and a Rocker
This series has been heavy at times, so I thought as I wind it down, I'd mix it up a bit and throw in a little fun!Since moving to Florida, I will admit I have become an avid Walmart shopper. We have one literally 2 minutes from our house (and Target is about 20 minutes... Continue Reading →
Thankful for my Adoption
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Transracial Adoption – How?
In yesterday's post, I wrote about the concept of missional living to answer the question of why we're adopting transracially. In today's post, to answer the how question, I'll use the term incarnational.During our transracial adoption training at Bethany, we were required to watch a lengthy video of several adoptees evaluating their experience being raised... Continue Reading →
Transracial Adoption – Why?
This is a hard post to write in the aftermath of the Ferguson verdict yesterday. As a family approaching transracial adoption, specifically African American placement, I feel my heart pulled in two different directions. One is the world of white privilege I've always known and taken for granted, and the other is the world our... Continue Reading →
A Father’s Heart
(This post originally appeared here in June 2013. As I wrote yesterday, it is the outpouring of what God was helping me think through as we attended adoption training to help our child with the grief of a lost birth parent relationship.)I held it like it was you, that red crochet heart. It hung on... Continue Reading →
A Museum of Memories 