We are Pregnant and Still Adopting!

Some of the most special occasions often occur when we least expect

Surprises usually throw off our plans, but most happen without any regret

Especially if our hope is not in our own will

but in the One who has always been faithful and proves faithful still

It all boils down to perspective of who’s in control

The Lord God our Father, that’s his unchanging role!

The Bible is clear He reigns supreme

Grace and mercy are his unending theme!

Many times His blessings are more than we can fathom

And His ways for us are better than we could have ever imagined.

Sometimes it means that your plans take a detour

And you travel down a new path trusting and sure.

So today we share with you what our Mighty One has done

by creating within Amanda a new little one

Yep, that’s right, and soon you’ll see

That our kiddos, now number ONE, TWO, THREE!

I can imagine many of you have questions like “Were you trying to get pregnant?  When did you find out?  Are you still going to adopt?”

Well, I will go ahead and answer that last question very first, YES!  If you know us at all or have been keeping up with our blog then you know our choice to adopt really was not about us just having more kids. Last May I wrote a post called Why We Are Adopting.  Nothing we said in this post has changed because we found out that we are pregnant.  The symbolic nature of adoption, our calling/conviction, and the need for orphans to be adopted are not things that have changed. 

Now, many dictionaries define “conviction” as a strong belief about something, but for us it’s more, SO much more.  Our convictions are established by our understanding of the Bible and how that affects our values, commitments, and motivations- not simply our opinion about something.  I once heard a that  “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!”  I’m not sure who said this, but it has stuck with me and I feel that convictions determine our actions and conduct and they are unchanging and firm.  So, with that said, we have had, and still have, a deep conviction and desire to adopt!

So, what’s our plan?  Well, to be quite honest, we are still trying to figure that out.  Anyone who has traveled down the road of adoption knows that there are random rules and polices that you have no control over that dictate how and when you can adopt.  Our agency, CCAI, has done an excellent job compiling the basic list of qualifications needed to be able to adopt from China.  To see the entire list please click here.  http://www.ccaifamily.org/WaitingChild/WCP-Qualification.aspx

Specifically for us, there are two big qualifications that will need to be reevaluated in light of our pregnancy.
*  Children at Home- The qualification to adopt stipulates that the youngest child currently in your home must be at least 12 months old at time you submit your dossier. Now, obviously, this was not an issue because Josiah is already 2 years old.  However, now there are a few additional hurdles we may need to jump through to still satisfy this qualification/requirement. 
*  Finances- The qualification to adopt from China stipulates that families must make a specific amount of annual income per household member, including the child to be adopted.  The difference for a family of five and a family of six are significantly different.  We know that in some cases exceptions can be made and sometimes they look at assets and how well the family budgets/manages money.  Either way, this is something we will just have to trust the Lord with.

Once we speak with our agency a little more and talk through a lot more specifics we will need to prayerful consider and decide between a couple different options:

Option 1:  Continue as planned with the adoption of a special needs little girl from the waiting child program. Technically, we can move forward with our home study and with preparing our dossier (in hopes of completing and submitting it prior to our baby being born the first week in June).  Typically after you submit your dossier you receive a referral of a child within 6-12 months.  Then, once you have accepted your referral you travel to China approximately 2-6 months later to complete the adoption.  This would mean, that there is a possibility we would have a 8 month old at the time we would need to travel abroad for two weeks (or more). 

Option 2:  Postpone our adoption until after having the baby in June.  We would have to close out our current application and restart the entire process next fall in hopes of submitting our dossier around baby’s 1^st birthday (sometime in June of 2015) and then proceed through the adoption process just as we would have.

Option 3:  We amend our current application and paperwork and pursue the adoption of a healthy child.  We would plan to have the dossier submitted before baby is born in June; however, the referral typically takes much longer so we would most likely not go to get our sweet Chinese girl for another 5-6 years.  We are not as excited about this option because we were hoping to adopt a special needs little girl and this means that the age difference between our biological children and our adopted daughter would be very different.

Although none of these options are ideal we know that the Lord already knows what will happen and we trust that His plan is perfect.  These verses have come to our mind as we have been praying for discernment and wisdom about which route to pursue. 

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

As far as the silent auction, we still plan to proceed with it as scheduled for next week.  Whether we continue to move forward as planned or choose to delay the adoption the money raised will still go directly into our account and be used only for that purpose.  In addition, I have given my word to many individuals and business who have made donations that I was going to advertise for them and I want to be able to follow through on this.

Others of you may be wondering if we were trying to get pregnant.  Well, the simple answer is, we were not preventing.  After Josiah turned one year old we began trying for a little while; however, my body was showing similar symptoms as when we found out I was medically declared infertile.  After about five months we decided to start praying through adoption and not worry about if we were ever going to be able to have any other biological children.  So, in all actuality this pregnancy was a huge surprise but we are beyond thrilled at how God has chosen to bless us with another little one from my own womb.  We are very excited about this baby and very excited that in June we will be a family of 5 and hopefully not too long after that a family of 6! 

Please join us in praying for wisdom and discernment and please make sure to check back soon for an update on our decision.