Our adoption as sons

We had scheduled a homestudy today so we can become DCFS licensed. This is a foster care license which is not necessary for becoming a safe family, but preferred. This is necessary for an adoption, so this gives us a fun, unexpected advantage. Crazy and unpredictable Chicago weather means our homestudy had to be moved to Friday- I know it is only 2 more days, but I am so eager to love on some families! We are heading to B's family this weekend to pick up a crib and a double stroller-such a blessing to have family hand-me-downs waiting on us.

I should take some time to tell you our hearts and why we want to adopt. I know lots of people have asked and we welcome the opportunity to try and tell you how God has worked in our lives.
It all started with Romans 8:15..."For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba, Father!" I truly learned for the first time that I was an orphan, born into Adam and God chose me. ( I am continually amazed by the way God leads by example in the things he calls us to do- I saw this even today as I read Matt 5:42-45)
I started studying Romans well before our miscarriages and so the question- are we adopting because of our miscarriages? Well, God has used those in our lives to bring us to this place where we are able and eager to adopt. But, no- we are adopting because God has layed it on our hearts to adopt. Everyone can point to milestones in their life that led to big decisions and it is beautiful to see God weave our life together. This is why I love our journey, because I can rest in each day knowing that I am a chosen daughter of the King and He has a plan for our lives that will ultimately bring Him the most glory and isn't that what truly matters in this world?
Why adopt from Ethiopia? At first, this ended up being one of 4 countries we qualified for due to location and age, and then we just fell in love with the people of Ethiopia. From all our reading we were first struck by the way that Ethiopians love and care for children. They truly try to come together and love on the kids, unfortunately this is not always an option due to extreme poverty and illnesses. They have a strong Christian Faith background ( even one of the wisemen was likely from Ethiopia) and they have over 4 million orphans right now. If this touches your heart (Matt25:35) - check out http://www.fieldsofpromise.org/ about sponsoring a family for as little as 35$ a month.
So thanks for being a part of our journey, we are excited to see God shape a new identity for our family-knowing all along that our true identity comes from HIM.