We are adopting!

Never thought I would be a blogger. But given our life right now, this is a great way to share our updates, answer questions, and share what God is teaching us. Just don't correct my grammar - it's sure to be writing like I talk... which is southern and not always "proper"! :)

We are adopting! We have always wanted to adopt but thought it was years down the road, after a few biological kids. Back in January, we celebrated one year of marriage. Jeremy and I headed up to the mountains to spend time together and reflect on the past year. We've been so blessed by our church community and God has taught us so much through the year. When we talked about 2012, "baby maybe" was definitely in our minds.
A few weeks went by and our pastor announced that an adoption rep was going to come and answer questions for interested couples. We talked afterwards and said for lack of better words - this may be our "baby maybe." As we talked/prayed about it, it became more and more clear that God was opening our hearts to adoption. We called our families and here we are- preliminary application into our local Dept of Social Services and background checks being done. Next up -orientation, training, and homestudy.
Then a little bit of a curve ball came at us. Deployment was always a possibility but in my mind, it was back burner. It didn't really play into our conversations about adoption. Until the weekend I mailed the first application. That same weekend, Jeremy found out that deployment was happening. Pause - if you know anything about the military, you know that happening doesn't mean happening until someone is putting your bags on a plane but my math brain says 90% chance. We had a decision to make- is this God closing the door for now? I'm not going to pretend I didn't get discouraged, disappointed, and down right annoyed. I had it all laid out in my head and this was not part of it. Now, my picture looked different and the time line was all out of whack. But pretty quickly and so patiently (thankfully), God gave me peace in knowing I was never in charge and reminded me that it wasn't up to me anyway.
I should stop and say Jeremy is amazing. He's so calm and his trust in the Lord is solid. He is always quick to remind me that God knows who our child is and when we'll meet him/her. Our dating story is a good reminder of His right timing and sovereignty. We'll meet our child just like we met each other - on God's watch and not when we planned it. Jeremy is definitely my best friend and I wouldn't want anyone else walking this journey with me.

The next few weeks will be busy as we get things done on our end. Training classes, lots of paperwork, and home study. We'll fill out forms and make calls with open hands. Knowing that this will happen when it's supposed to happen. If that's possible before he leaves while still giving us time to spend together, great! Other adoptive families are probably laughing at my optimistism--- but it really won't happen if we do nothing. So we'll take steps. If we are stopped short of certified, that will be God slowing things down for our good. This year apart does have purpose. God is good and gracious.