Yes! We got word on Thursday that there's been some movement in our LOA process- we are OOT (Out Of Translation)! Now, we are in "review"- woo hoo! One. Step. Closer.
Thanks to those of you who prayed for us last weekend during our adoption seminar. David and I were so grateful to be a part of the training, and it was such good information for us. If you followed along our first adoption you know we had a difficult experience with that agency. This time we switched agencies, and it has been SO different- such a blessing!!! Yes, The Lord used agency #1 to bring us our daughter (blessing!) and ultimately our son (blessing!) because of being the foster sibling of Audrey An, but our experience with agency #2 has been absolutely wonderful. I actually was corrected last weekend at the seminar by one of the directors stating they weren't an adoption agency. He proceeded to explain, and David wholeheartedly agree- they are a ministry trying to present the love of Jesus Christ to people. Adoption is just aprt of what they do. The have many facets to their ministry and one being is education and support. I've told so many people they truly have the heart of ministry not business. Yes, I'm ALL about a well-oiled machine, but ministries who lose their "heart" for Christ are...ummm, a bit too "squeaky" if you know what I mean.
The biggest blessing from the weekend for me personally is that I've seen Audrey An through different eyes this week, and quite frankly I've needed that. I was reminded through the training (based on training and book from Dr. Karyn Purvis- www.empoweredtoconnect.org and required reading, The Connected Child) that parenting a child from "hard places" (orphanage, foster care, abuse, etc ) IS different. There are so many factors that go into a child's development- including the stress of birth mom. These kiddoes we bring into our homes have been in HARD PLACES. They are being adopted because of this. They have been abandoned because birth parents were in HARD PLACES. Some have laid on their backs for years on a wooden board/crib and stared at the ceiling for hours upon hours and are cross-eyed. Their food is sometimes shoveled into their mouths because a nanny has so many children to feed. Their cry is unheard. Their needs are not met. They are not loved on and nurtured like our bio kids. We are making up for years of lost time. But isn't that the beauty of earthly
adoption...an exact picture of my heavenly adoption! My very gracious
God and Creator of the entire universe rescued me from my HARD PLACES...eternal separation from Jesus Christ because of my own sin. Wow...
Psalm 68:5-6 " Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
Psalm 10:17-18 "Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them."
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
I sooooo forget Audrey An's hard places because only by the grace of God she transitioned so well into our family, but the issues we DO have make more sense now. I know WHY we are having the issues. I truly would like to say I've parented my girls differently but, no, for the most part I really haven't. That will be changing. That is changing already. That will really be changing once we get ADB, too. Not just because he's a boy. Not just because he's twice the age as when we brought AA into our family. Yes, those are both HUGE factors, but most of all, David and I have such a better grasp on what it really means to parent a child from "hard places" (as she terms it). I feel like David saw and understood a part of my heart over the weekend in regards to my "retired" teaching career that he's really not understood before. With what he (both of us) heard in the training I was able to explain why it's been so hard for me to not be as engaged with some of my parenting. Not exactly earth shattering but enough for me to make some changes and hubby to understand wifey better :-)
Psalm 68:5-6 " Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
Psalm 10:17-18 "Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them."
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
I sooooo forget Audrey An's hard places because only by the grace of God she transitioned so well into our family, but the issues we DO have make more sense now. I know WHY we are having the issues. I truly would like to say I've parented my girls differently but, no, for the most part I really haven't. That will be changing. That is changing already. That will really be changing once we get ADB, too. Not just because he's a boy. Not just because he's twice the age as when we brought AA into our family. Yes, those are both HUGE factors, but most of all, David and I have such a better grasp on what it really means to parent a child from "hard places" (as she terms it). I feel like David saw and understood a part of my heart over the weekend in regards to my "retired" teaching career that he's really not understood before. With what he (both of us) heard in the training I was able to explain why it's been so hard for me to not be as engaged with some of my parenting. Not exactly earth shattering but enough for me to make some changes and hubby to understand wifey better :-)
All that to say, God makes up for our weaknesses in our parenting. Man, I have PLENTY- He's kinda having to work overtime for me!
Ok, so onto some of the "fun"... Here are a few pics from the week. Abigail's band concert, AA's "Grandparent Day" program, and them reading special letters from Nana and Papa D on the way to school since they couldn't be here for Grandparents Day.
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