Living the Minivan Dream... [Georgia UPDATE]

WELL... I feel like I have so many things swirling about in my head regarding our newest Foster Daughter & if I don't write them down, I'll forget.  Even just a general timeline needs to be recorded. I will add to this as time goes on & will link it under the "Foster Care/Adoption" Tab on the front page of the blog.

So >>>>> here we go!
Important dates:
June 5, 14: We got THE CALL at Disney World
June 7-8, 14: We prepared our home for a new little bundle of joy. This included getting out bottles, setting up the crib, pulling out clothes, mentioning the possibility to Reddington + Milannah, etc.
June 9, 14: GOTCHA DAY
June: Towards the end of the month, Birth Mom had a Court Date & DCFS was awarded the ruling that "YES, they had grounds to take Georgia from her Birth Mom."  *Had they been denied, Georgia would've gone home right away.
June/July/August: We carried on as a family of 5 or as I call it, "A Three Ring Circus" because we now have 3 kiddos & only 2 adults. WE SURVIVED & lived to tell about it! HA! :) During these summer months, Georgia had 1 visit per week (Wednesdays) with her Birth Mom.
August 25, 14: Birth Mom was released from prison.  We were set to meet her at the DCFS office the following day.  She left the meeting early because she wasn't feeling good so we were unable to meet her.
September 3, 14: Birth Mom has Court.  

"We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry & we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter their color." ~Maya Angelou

Regarding our "Foster Adventures: Part II," we're 100% flat out, blown away that God would allow us to embark on this huge faith-building journey not once, but TWICE with a newborn. Wow. When we started the journey with Foster Care close to 6 years ago, we had NO IDEA what the future would hold- we just knew that the Lord held our future & our family in the palm of His hands & we were ready to

​​

go wherever the road took us.  

We were met with adversity from family & friends at the very beginning regarding what this would mean for our family.  We continued on.

​

We knew that we were meant to do this.  Reddington was almost a year old at the start of the process when we were ready to explore the idea of Foster Care.  From the beginning, we have been in this to help kids that needed a loving family.  We weren't told until the middle of the licensing process that adoption could even be an option. We couldn't believe it, but were excited to hear that adoption is 

​sometimes ​

born out of this process & we may be able to adopt one day.   ​

As a little girl it was a big, scary dream/goal of mine to adopt. I had no idea if my future spouse would be on board, if we could afford it, or what it all

​truly

 meant. I'm so humbled that the Lord chose US to adopt Miss Milannah Joy Holt 

​(​

& possibly our sweet Georgia

​).

T​

here are no words! I'm just so thankful that I have a hubby that agreed to every detail along the way & is invested in it just as much as I am.

​ I thank God every day for Nathan.  

​After the adoption of Milannah, Nathan would've been just fine saying "we're done" with 2 kids, 1 boy & 1 girl. I wasn't done, however. For years I have dreamt of adopting ​a child that looked nothing like me. Why? Because I want to be a visible testimony by anyone that sees our family that we have at least 1 adopted child. The reason I want them to know this is because I want it to broaden their thinking 

​& encourage them ​

into 

​thinking, ​

"maybe our family could do that," or "I wonder if there's a need for Foster families,"

​ or even to just start asking questions & taking the leap of faith into serving others

. I desire for our family's testimony to encourage others to embrace orphans & brokenness.  To look at "family" in a whole new way because, afterall, LOVE makes a family.

​Is it hard? YES. Are we super

​-

 natural human beings that can take a newborn baby-- care for her, love her, raise her for a year

​ or more,

 & 

​easily ​

let her go back to her birth parents? NO. We are human! We do love our girls & try to guard our hearts at the same time. BUT, God knows. 

​He knows if Georgia will also be ours forever or if she will return home. He knows the timeline that everything will happen- we don't.  

​

We're in this not for ourselves but for these children who need a home during this transitional/unknown time period. 

​ If not us, who? If not now, when?

​God knows. He knows our desire to adopt & make 

​both of these

 girls a part of our forever family but he also knows that we are in this no matter how dark & ugly it gets for our hearts. We take it one day at a time.

​ You can regularly hear me saying, "

She's ours for today.

​"

Adoption is so different than the birth of a biological child. Both are AMAZING. Both are WONDERFUL blessings. Both are MIRACLES.  It's just different & it's so hard to describe & put into words unless you're talking to someone else that's adopted & experienced it.  I found this quote that I think sums it up perfectly: "The pure joy that comes from a rescue & a ransom of a child's life is probably the most satisfying thing you could imagine."

Y'all >>>>>>>>>> we're so blessed that Georgia is ours for TODAY. 

We can't imagine our lives without Milannah & are so glad that we don't have to.  The same goes for Georgia- I hope we don't ever have to live our lives without our brown beauty, sweet Georgia.  We shall see. 

The {2nd} largest faith journey of our lives continues...so stay tuned!