Let's Start at the Very Beginning - A Very Good Place to Start

Nervous. Excited. Anxious. Hopeful. Curious. Wondering. Trusting.

Yesterday Emma and I ran a very special errand. We went to the post office and mailed in our application for adoption to ABC! What a strange feeling that was! To be holding one amazing answer to prayer and to be submitting another request at the same time. We most likely won't be on the waiting list until fall as we have to jump through all the same hoops before that can happen but at least the ball is rolling and we have taken the first step. I would think the waiting would be easier this time with Emma filling our hearts and lives but I know I will still be praying lots and wondering and hoping and trusting, always trusting. We have seen that God definitely knows what He is doing in all of this and I am excited to see and to meet the next part of His plan. Although I will admit that our little Emma is such a special little girl I wonder how our next child and adoptive situation could ever match up.

I have been thinking about adoption alot lately and have realized how much my viewpoint has changed. I always thought it would be great to adopt, have wanted to adopt since I was very young. I liked the thought of giving an 'unwanted' child a good home and giving them the love they deserved. What I never could have anticipated is what I would receive through it all. I actually find myself almost feeling sorry people who have not experienced this beautiful gift. What a wonderful feeling to realize that you have been specifically chosen to raise a child who otherwise may not have had a loved filled life. To love with a love that grows day by day until you feel like your heart could burst. To know that God created that little one just for your family and that He had to orchestrate and weave every situation just so to make sure that baby ended up in your arms and heart. I honestly tend to forget most of the time that I didn't carry Emma and didn't give birth to her. She is so much a part of me and I of her that it is as if I did carry her and knew her all those months before she came into the world. I love watching her and discovering the little person she is. There is no saying "she gets that from her daddy" or "she must take after your side" because to us she is just uniquely Emma. Yes there are similarities as there will be from being raised by us and being in this environment but I love that Emma is just Emma. A beautiful little girl filled with so much love who loves to share and giggle and get into trouble and climb and dance and make others laugh.

I am looking forward to our next unique little one. Looking forward to seeing who God is going to bless us with this time and how and when. As I sit and write this my arms ache to hold that baby and to introduce them to their amazing big sister.

Would you join with us again as we wait and pray?