Heartbroken

This week, Russia banned all American adoptions.

My heart is broken for all the families called to adopt these precious children locked in baby houses/warehouses, that must now wait.

My heart is broken for families that have already met their children and promised those sweet babies a home, and now, they must wait.

My heart is broken for these babies that have families that told them they were loved and would have a home, and now, they must wait.

My heart is broken for the babies that had no families promised, but were waiting for their forever home, and now, they must wait longer.

My heart is broken for these politicians, who think they are doing the right thing, but are unintentionally breaking hearts and lives.

My heart is broken for Russia. My heart is broken for orphans. My heart is broken. 

To read more about Russia's ban, read this blog entry of a family who just brought home a 10 year old girl and an infant son or this prayer from a blog of a mom and dad who just brought home their toddler son.

Waiting

So now begins the waiting. We know that this journey is going to be filled with various lengths of waiting, but I am not a patient person. Future Dad is quite patient. Possibly the most patient person I know. We have been discussing the adoption process and the waiting time, and it seems as though we are at odds with what we think the worst of the waiting will be.
He seems to think that this beginning time will be the worst, filling out papers and waiting for a referral. At this point, we have no clue who these children are and when they will join our family. 

I, on the other hand, believe that the second half will be worse. Once we know who our sweet children are, see their faces and know that they are meant to be in our family, I am going to have a really hard time waiting to get them. 
This process will be full of hurry up and wait. Wait for paperwork, wait for a phone call, wait for approval, wait for the meeting, wait for a match, wait to travel, wait to come home.... Our agency predicts 12-24 months from start to finish. 

Last Wednesday, the 19th, we submitted our application to Lifeline Adoption agency and we are currently waiting to be an official accepted family. They said 3-5 business days, but of course we submitted our application over the Christmas Holiday, so we are hoping to get the welcome phone call sometime between now and Friday. After that, we will have paperwork and an introduction interview (assuming we are accepted)!

Back to the blog title "Our Extra Pickles"... I know it will be a struggle to not complain about the wait and to enjoy it, but I will  enjoy this journey. I will enjoy the waiting because it means one more Christmas to spend focused on my sweet husband. One more dinner dreaming of our future. One more night out at our favorite restaurant complaining about the people with all the crazy kids just knowing in our hearts that soon enough, we will become that couple. Staying up giggling about who knows what, because we aren't yet exhausted from parenting all day. Being involved with our youth group and young adult ministries with our whole hearts before we add children's ministries to our list... We will try to enjoy our extra pickles as we journey to forever.

Our Extra Pickles

The secret is out... after years of praying for the children that will fill our home, Future Dad and I feel called by God to adopt 2 children from Hungary. 

ADOPTION MAKES US HAPPY!!! 

We feel so humbled and blessed that he chose us to parent his children. It must be a small tinge of what Joseph must have felt when he learned he would be Jesus' father. He is not Jesus' biological dad, but he was his father. He loved him, raised him and trained him in this world. When the Bible says that Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man", I have to believe that Joseph had something to do with it. 

We are starting out with the expectation that our children will be home by Christmas 2014. Anything earlier than that will be extra icing on the cake. 

Beautiful Hungarian Children!

We titled our blog "Our Extra Pickles" because during this journey, we very much want to appreciate all the little things along the journey. When Future Dad goes to get dinner and brings back Chick-fil-a (my all time favorite), I am reminded of how much he loves me. It is because he remembers to order my sandwich with extra pickles. I have the sticker on the dash of my car that came on the chicken sandwich box and it just says "EXTRA PICKLES". 

I took it from the sandwich box and put it on the glass next to my speedometer, so that daily, I am reminded of the love he has for me. It is the little things that make life special and lovely.

This adoption journey is going to be filled with ups and downs and we are SO blessed to have each other. I cannot imagine a better partner for me and a better future dad for our kids. 

Our children will be a little bit older, the 3-6 range, which means they are already alive. They are already breathing, eating and sleeping humans. Our hearts and prayers are that they will be loved daily. That one person will hug them, scoop them up and whisper love into their hearts until we can get to them. We will be their parents and they will be our children. Our extra pickles.

Praying over our family Ruth 1:16 and 17: "For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."

Look at those eyes... a very loved Hungarian boy in the arms of his father.


Love always,
Future Mama