Looks like I’m setting sail in the sea of bloggers.

After almost 16 years of marriage (Aghhh!  Are we really that old?), Chad and I have decided to complete our little tribe.  When Kira was born on Christmas of 1994, we decided that we wanted an even number of children.  We weren’t sure if that meant 2 or 4, but when Chase came along in 1997, it seemed like our family might be done.  Then…in 2000, while we were living in Korea, God gave us Seth.  In the 9 years since Seth’s birth, we have dealt with many challenges.  Seth wasn’t like Kira or Chase and it took several years of beating down doors and seeking answers in order for us to learn that he is autistic.  We were told just before his 4th birthday that he may never communicate verbally and that he may never be toilet-trained (SCARY!).  We were also told that he may never be able to participate in a mainstream classroom environment.  He proved “them” wrong by overcoming obstacle after obstacle and we are proud to say that he is now thriving and making honor roll in a mainstream 3rd grade classroom.

As soon as we knew that Seth was getting what he needed in school and at home, we started discussing the 4th child.  There were many talks about adoption and we even narrowed it down to international and possibly a child from the Balkans.  We joined a Balkan adoption group on Yahoo a couple of years ago, but were really just stalkers on the group page until now.

On Sept. 17th, I opened an email from someone in the group announcing that there were waiting children from the Balkans collected on one web page.  It was the first email that I had opened from them in almost 2 years.  I went to the page and as I scrolled down, I came across this precious little girl named Ana-Sophia who has been diagnosed with developmental delays and autism.  One look, and she was ours.  After 4 agonizing days of trying to figure out how we could financially pull off an international adoption, we sat together and Chad prayed.  He asked God to show us clearly where the finances would come from.  Two hours later, I got an email from the same girl who sent the link to Ana-Sophia announcing that there was a $750 grant available to help us with her adoption.  We took that as an answer.  If God is going to provide to start the process, He will provide to finish it.

So…this blog will be our link to those who are interested in following our process.  I feel as though I’ve been drinking in adoption information from a fire hose for the past 3 weeks, but everything I learn just gets me more excited and brings me more peace in this decision.

Welcome to our journey.