Monday Feb 6th, 2012

Hebrews 10:39
"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

Cole and I got married and like any other young couple had our 5 year plan, our 10 year plan....and so on and so forth. We had spreadsheets, and timelines, and hopes and dreams of how our new life together would play out. Two children...a boy and a girl...of course. We started saving for college for both of them right away. We even planned out their future on our spreadsheet...what they would be named, how far apart they would be, how much we would spend on thier sweet 16 vehicle, where they would go to school, their wedding time frame...etc. What we didnt plan for was the fact that we would be unable to control God's plan for our life!

As many of you know we have been blessed with a beautiful 6 year old little girl. Addison. She is our joy and our love for her is unmeasurable and undescribable by mere words. Oh how we have longed for a second child...and she has longed to have a sibling. Over the past 5 years we have tried and tried to make this dream of ours come true. We have prayed, and begged, and pleaded with God. We have cried and hoped. Every month I have eagerly awaited for "that time of the month" to come and go....just so we could try again the next month. We have been to doctors and they have tested us in just about every way possible. We have bought ovaulation watches, and ovulation tests, we have tried thermometers and supplements, and tried all of the crazy advice given to us by all the fertile parents out there. We have tried "not trying" .... we have gotten fat, and been lazy, taken vacations, and tried being less "stressed" all in hopes for getting pregnant. Over the past 5 years we have had several miscarriages. We have watched all of our friends have baby, after baby, after baby. There is just something about being a woman...and not being able to carry a child...that makes you feel pretty defeated and useless. As the years went by and each month became another reminder that I was not going to get pregnant we came to the realization that we had to let go of our plans...we just had to let them go. Finally...last year....we started to consider adoption.

After several International trips and seeing the real need these countries have for basic things: water, food, shelter, protection....love....there was no denying...God had a better plan for our life!!! Seeing the poverty and loving on these kids...man, it just makes you want to adopt them all!!! International adoption is without a doubt where our heart is and where we have felt led to move forward.

Psalm 10:14, 17-18 "You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more."

So this is where our journey begins...we have spent the past 6 months truly seeking God about this adoption. We spent the last few months working with All Gods Children and were denied by them last week due to the nature of Cole's job. Last night we applyed for adoption thru the Bethany Christian Services, Adoption Agency.

We ask for your prayers and for your support. We do not expect this to be easy...in fact we expect it to be one of the most challenging endeavors of our life. We will need your prayers. The Lord promises that wherever two or more gather in His name that He will be right there amongst us! What a promise!! We hold firm to the promises of His word and we know that no matter what His answer or what the outcome of any situation is....He is right there with us every step of the way! He will sustain us, He will encourage us, He will protect us, He will comfort us...God is so good all of the time. In a World that is so lost, so fallen, and so seperated from Truth ... He shines bright.