WHY adoption?

Hi friends :)

I just have to say a huge thank you for all of the amazing love, the outpouring of prayer and especially all of the positive support upon our big fun announcement :)  We are so excited to be on this journey with you!

If we have met or if you have gotten to know us at all - you might notice 2 distinct things.... How different Dan and I are.  He's the introvert to my extrovertedness. Or as he charmingly said in his autobiography  for our adoption paperwork, "...She was my missing piece"  When we met we were both very different people than we are today.  Dan too was the missing piece of the puzzle and by entering into each others lives and allowing for one another to grow into who we are, we have really seen how we have been each other's missing piece.  Now - we aren't referring to the slightly cheeeeeeesier version of "so-and-so makes me feel whole"  Being a missing piece and "feeling whole" are two different things.

We choose to live life deriving our self worth and sense of wholeness through believing in and having a relationship with the One who made us.  A God who, in every season of life has been present, a Jesus who saves us from ourselves time and time again.  A God who we believe through miscarriages and failed attempts at conceiving has led us to the point of adopting now.  Dan was just the piece of the puzzle of me that has best help me get to this point :)

So - the big question - WHY ADOPTION?  Beyond God, beyond failing to have our own biological kids now, why are we choosing to adopt?

Growing up Dan and I both had very unique experiences with adoption.  Dan's sister Aylana was adopted into their family when Dan was 4 and she was 2 - so he has a lifetime of experience with adoption :)

I on the other hand grew up knowing adoption in a different way.  One of my best friends at a young age was Britt.  We had a bit in common - our dads are pastors, we were both in gymnastics and we both had a sister within 18 months {older} than us.  Britt's mother is one of the most amazing people you will ever meet.  To date, they have adopted 10 kiddos into their family, plus birthing John, Courtney, Liesl and Britt.  They have adopted from all over the country and globe. SO for me, growing up, I saw an adoption as a way of life.  Once you're done having your own kids, you just take in more that need homes!  It's just what you do :)

So - for us, we knew even pre-marriage that some day we would both want to adopt.  Have 2 or so of our own and then add a few more in {how that would look, age, domestic vs international, we didn't know - just knew we would}

After 5 years of marriage, the miscarriage and yet another year of attempting to conceive, we just started to talk about other ways we can do things.  We certainly haven't given up on the idea of having our own biological kiddos, we just spent many hours evaluating our own childhoods {him being the first born, me being the second child} our styles of attachment {and an odd comparison how that relates to the dogs} the parenting styles in which we were raised and how we see that affecting how we will instinctually {made up word?} raise our kids {and also various modifications}

All of that brought us to now.  No matter what we want to adopt kids.  Emotionally we feel as though having that time with our child {brought to us through adoption} alone first and without having our biological kids around yet, will give that baybe {the spelling for how we say, baebee, you'll just have to hear it sometime} and us the most precious time of all to bond.  Just us and that sweet baybe :)

So. There you have it!  That is why we are pursuing adoption now.  There are so many lovies out there that need homes and we just hope and pray that a birth momma sees us as the ones who are meant to raise the joy she is carrying.  Maybe you know her?  Maybe she isn't yet with child - maybe we won't meet that little one for 2 years? We don't yet know - but we are so very excited to find out when that time comes :)

xox,
K :)