Deciding to Adopt

Now that we had decided this is what we knew we were supposed to do we took the next step to determine where our child would come from. While we weren't opposed to a domestic adoption our hearts were drawn to the situation in China. There they have a one child policy (at least have had and do have in many areas). As a result of the policy and other cultural norms girls aren't as valued as boys. As a result both girls and boys with deformities or disabilities are either aborted, killed after birth or abandoned. Girls are often abandoned for just being girls. We read a book called the Lost Daughters of China. This book shared one families journey into adoption from China and a perspecitve on why so many girls are unwanted there. We also began to ask our three boys what they thought about the idea of adding a girl to our family. It was challenging for them to grasp the idea that we were going to request the ability to adopt but they wouldn't have a sister for more than a year. This was especially challenging for our younger two boys. We'll tell you more about that in the next post.

Why are we blogging? Why are we adopting?

We want to share our journey to adopting Bethany and many other details along the way. Hopefully, after this chapter has moved past we will be able to share another exciting way in which God has changed our lives. We continue to be amazed every day at how He has transformed the way that we think about and view the world. It wasn't long ago that we were arguing over when to start having kids and then how many to have. About two years ago Becky and I somehow got onto the subject of adoption and weren't sure why but wanted to learn more. Before you know it we were ordering information packets from adoption agencies and late at night after the kids were in bed sat up and watched the informational videos. There was a particular video that shared one family's experiences throughout their adoption of a Chinese orphan. By the end of the DVD we were both in tears. Unexplainable and uncontrollable tears. I'm embarassed sharing that here but have to admit that I was moved to do something that I'd never imagined doing until that moment. All of the stuff before then was just talk. We both knew at that moment that this is something we were going to do. We didn't know how much it would cost, what circumstances we would face from moving forward but knew that this was what we were supposed to do. I've never been more certain of something God has called me to do in my life. The next post will include our next steps in the process and how the rest of the family responded to the idea. See you then!
--Dan