The Announcement that Everyone has been Waiting For...

We are Expecting... A little Girl! 

     Well sort of... As you have probably guessed by now from the title of the this blog, we have decided to pursue adoption.  This is probably as big of a surprise to you as it was to us.  We have always had the mindset that if God chooses to bless us with children, GREAT! And if not, that's okay too! But we never really considered that He may be calling us to adopt until He started to whisper adoption in our hearts separately in 2016.
      It wasn't until January of 2017 when we were watching a TV show (Mike and Molly) that talked about adoption that one of us said "Hey, maybe we should adopt..." and the other replied "That's what I was thinking!", and it was at this point we realized that God had been laying it on both of our hearts individually.  To make a long story short, over the last 8 months, we have prayed about and come to the decision to pursue adoption AND we have already gone through all of the training and approval process.
     This was not an easy secret to keep and we apologize that we kept it a secret, but we wanted to make sure that this was something that was actually going to happen before we got everyone excited. Of course, there is still a chance that we will never find the right match and end up not adopting.  However, if we do, there is still a long road ahead of us, but at this point, we are approved and are beginning the matching process in the hopes of adopting a child into our family!
      Now, we know that some of you can't wait to see us with a baby, but before you get too excited, you should know that we have chosen "Older Child" adoption (or foster to adopt).  So the likelihood of us ending up with an infant is very small.  The thing is, there is not a huge need for parents who wish to adopt newborns, in fact, many parents choose to adopt internationally because of this, however, there is a GREAT need for parents who wish to adopt older children.  So, the reality is that we will likely end up adopting a little girl between the ages of 8-12 years old who needs a forever family.  Fortunately, we have gone through many months of training that will help us be prepared to bring an older child into our home.  Besides that, babies scare us a little...
      Not only do we have the desire to be parents but we also truly believe that this is what we are called to do.  Scripture tells us to take care of the widows and the orphans (children who need family) (James 1:27) and it tells us to be generous with the things that God has given us (Matthew 10:8). God has given us a loving family, including our parents and siblings, a nice house with an extra room, and jobs with good income. We can think of no better way to fulfill this call, than to share these things with a child in need.
      We know that you probably have a million questions and want to know how you can help, so we invite you to check out our FAQ page and The Adoption Process page for more information.  If you still have questions, feel free to ask.  We will be happy to answer your questions as we are able! And don't forget to Follow Us By email using the link on the left side of this webpage, so that you will get the latest information directly to your email inbox.  We will do our best to send updates as things progress.
       We are completely excited (and a little terrified) about this next season of life, but we are so grateful for this call on our lives.  We are also very thankful for you, our friends and family, who will be our support system through years ahead.  Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!

In Christ,
Stephen and Sarah