In 2009, we began to feel the call to adopt. For some time, I had wanted a third biological child, but really wanted a son. Scott manages OCD and ADD and always felt like the baby stages would overwhelm him a third time. We would joke that if we could birth a 3 year old son, we’d do it. Somewhere in 2009, it hit me that adoption could be the answer to that desire in our hearts. We moved churches and the pastor did a series on making an impact to our community. Our pastor asked the question What if there were no orphans in our county? That question would be a defining moment for our family.
In January of 2010 when the earthquake hit in Haiti, Scott also began to see the need for adoptive families. We weren’t sure whether we were called to adopt out of Haiti or locally. We spent the rest of the year talking to other adoptive parents and continuing to pray about it. The Lord moved mightily in my heart at the Catalyst conference in October 2010. I remember holding back the ugly cry in my seat, knowing that adoption is where we were headed.
Adoptions closed in Haiti and we continued to feel impressed that we should adopt from foster care.
In 2011, we officially began the adoption process with South Carolina DSS. We immediately began working on an addition to our house to have an enough room, which was completed that summer.
After 2 failed adoption pursuits, we got a call on July 3rd, 2014 that we had been matched with Jac0b. What is really cool is Jac0b was 3 years old when we began thinking about adopting. And, he not only was from our State, not just our county, and not just the same city as our church, but almost right down the street.
We spent much of July doing visitations with Jac0b.
On August 7th, 2014, almost exactly 5 years after our first Sunday with our new church, we adopted our son Jac0b from foster care. Following is the timeline and posts related to our adoption story. As they say, the rest is history, but I do mean HIS STORY. God continues to show up in big ways since he was placed.
You can continue reading our journey on the home page or specifically read stories related to the adoption here. Of special note is how God began to reveal himself through feathers after a particularly trying weekend. Read more about that here.
2014
August 7: He’s placed with us and I recount a dream given to a friend about Jac0b: Friends, Meet Our Son
August 5: We announce the placement date: Big Day Plans!
August 3: Recap of our weekend visit The Weekend Visit
August 1: We announce the weekend visit plans and talk about next steps: The Weekend Visit and Next Steps
July 30: Recap of our first overnight: On Coming Home and God’s Goodness. Our First Overnight.
July 29: Story of our spaghetti dinner: A Spaghetti Dinner to Remember
July 27: Recap of our first home visits: Our First Home Visits
July 24: Story of how God provided through our dining room table: The Story of the Fifth Seat
July 23: Recap of our first meeting: That Moment You Meet Your Son for the First Time
July 22: I talk about God always providing the next step: For When You Have No Idea What You’re Doing
July 20: I talk about how adoption while beautiful, always begins with grief: Adoption and Grief
July 17: Recap after we have our first introductory meeting: That Moment You See Your Son For the First Time
July 15: We announce the introductory meeting and ask for prayer Adoption: Presentation Meeting and Prayer Requests
July 14: Fangirl, Adoption Update and a Birthday Request
July 11: Talked about waiting in the adoption process: Faith and Waiting
July 10: I talk about love growing even before knowing him, the last papers were submitted: Love, Anxiety and The Wait
July 8: I talk about his room: Around the House, July 2014
July 4: I talk about balancing all the joy but also being cautious when everything is so unknown: Joy and Doubt
July 3: We find out we’ve been matched with Jac0b: Chosen
June 3: I return from a blogging break and announce we’d be expecting to adopt, but were not the chosen family: In Which She Returns
2013
January: We find out we are not adopting a little boy we’d been pursuing: Again
2012
December: I talk about the possibility of adopting a boy and the hard wait: Adoption Update – The Wait
March: We get final approval to adopt: Adoption Approval
February: I talk a little about the fear about parenting a boy: Adoption Update and On Parenting a Son
2011
September: I talk about how I thought of Jac0b in November 2010 in our family picture: In the Picture
September: I talk about seeing an adoptive family at a bakery: Cupcakes and Manners
July: I recap some of our inspections: A Friday Few
July: We submitted our adoption paperwork: Positive
May: From our adoption training, I discuss issues with older children: Adoption: Hidden Issues and Older Children
April: I discuss the checklist we had to fill out and how God always accepts us: The Checkmark
January: I talk about the addition to our house we needed to make: Laying the Groundwork
January: I talk about how adoption is a sacrifice, but something we felt called to: Sacrifice
January: We begin making plans to put an addition on our house and contact DSS: Addition
2010
October: I attend Catalyst in Georgia where I am more convinced than ever we should adopt: Catalyst 2010 Day 1
January: Haiti earthquake happens and we announce that we’re seriously considering adoption: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
2009
August: We start attending NRHC and I am challenged to be an answer to the question “What if we had no orphans in our county?” We talk about a 3 year old. Jac0b is 3 at this time.
2005
Jac0b is born
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