Expanding Our Home by EIGHT Feet

These eight feet ... their story ... their need ... That's where this adoption journey began.

We didn't envision ourselves as a large family. With six kids we just felt we were a little larger than average. We weren't "looking" to increase the size of our family, but this isn't about what we were "looking" for, it's about what God was looking for. And that's where these eight feet, these four siblings from Colombia, South America enter the story. God was looking for a family, a forever family, an adoptive family, for these sweet kiddos. You see, I don't believe adoption is about God finding children for families, it's about God finding families for children. 

Not knowing for certain what God's plans for our family or these four kiddos might be, we took a step in faith. We ask ourselves,

"Can we parent four more kids?" And then, more specifically, "Can we parent for more kids from hard places?" And our answer to both questions was, "YES! As long as we keep God at the center of it all."

So here we are, many months after we first saw those eight feet. We have completed piles of paperwork, been through medical exams, psychiatric evaluations, fingerprinting (more than once), background checking, home visits, conference calls, training videos (more than we really cared to), and we have finally reached a point where this process is essentially "out of our hands."

At this point we are waiting for the proper authorities in Colombia to "officially" match us with the children. They have already "unofficially" made that match. In the upcoming weeks the children will be introduced to us, via photobooks and video. We will (hopefully) begin getting to know them using video calls, and more applications will be filed. 

Simultaneously, we will continue preparing our home for eight more feet. Sorting clothing - making our best guess of sizes and styles, setting up beds, rearranging rooms, and otherwise just prepping the physical space. But preparing our home also involves pouring into our resident children. It means game nights, and short road trips. It includes snuggles and whispered conversations. It involves intentional conversations about the "what ifs" of adding four more children to the mix. And more than any other preparation ... it involves lots and lots of PRAYER.