Bulgaria! Here we come!!!

There are 147 million orphans in this world. It's time to do something. After much prayer and tears, we have chosen to adopt from Bulgaria! We are very excited and cannot wait to see what God is going to do through us and in us.

1. Why Bulgaria? We chose Bulgaria for many reasons. The program offers children from various ages, but we will likely be placed with a child from ages 2-4. The program has only 2 short trips to make, instead of long stays in country. Also, Bulgaria is a country we thought we might like to revisit with our children. The country is just on top of Greece, which I've always wanted to see!

2. How long will it take? We don't know for sure! As with all international adoptions, there are no guarantees. We hope to be bringing our child home next year at this time. It could be much shorter or it could take 18 months at the longest. We are trying to prepare ourselves for a long wait.

3. Boy or Girl? We have decided not to choose! So this will be another big surprise for us! (Those of you who know me, and know I am a planner must be SHOCKED! We just really felt led to let God do the choosing. It will also help our wait time.)

4. How does Addie feel about all this? She is SOOOOOOO EXCITED! She is telling just about everyone we meet that we are going to get her a baby brother or sister from Bulgaria. She has been bringing home maps of Bulgaria from school, and praying for her new brother or sister.

5. What will the child look like? They have olive skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes.

6. How much does it cost? About $28,000. I know it's a lot of money. Believe me, I know. (If any of you have extra money lying around . . .)

7. What agency are you using? Hopscotch Adoptions in North Carolina. For some reason (we believe is the Lord) I just kept feeling drawn to it.

Please pray with us as we walk this new journey. It's finally time to move forward in this area of our lives. We are very excited, but there are many new challenges that await us. Pray for our transition, and the transition of this precious child who may soon be ours who lives a world away from us RIGHT NOW! This child is already born, living in an orphanage with no family to call their own. I cannot help the 147 million orphans around the world, but I can love one.

Uncertainty

In our Sunday School class at church, we've been doing a series on marriage. We've been looking back at those first years of marriage and comparing how our lives have changed since then. Our first 2 years of marriage were a blissful time for us. After spending almost 2 years long distance dating, it was wonderful just to be near each other daily. We had our struggles, but they were mostly financial. God always provided in those lean times. I was thinking in class a couple of weeks ago, how wonderful it was to really TRUST God for things. We had so many needs, we depended on His goodness DAILY. We lived simply, because we had no other choice. We still need the Lord as much as we did then, really even more. I know I take for granted things God has blessed us with, especially financial blessings. Now, each paycheck pays for all the things we need and more. It is a HUGE blessing, but one I regretfully take for granted. I found myself wanting to trust the Lord like that again.

Be careful what you wish for. . . It's been a difficult week for us. There's so much going on we are having to trust God for, and prayerfully decide what we need to do in so many areas. BIG things. These decisions may take us completely out of what we envisioned our next few years to look like.

There has been a country song which I have listened to so many times. The song is "Red Light" by David Nail. I am relating to the lyrics about how I am feeling. Not about our marriage, but about the pain. When you are hurting deeply, it seems like everywhere you look life is continuing as normal for everyone else while your world is crashing down around you. Guess it's time to trust God. Really trust Him . . .