Bringing Caleb Home

I love seeing the excitement on my kido's faces at Christmas time, and I look forward to it again this Christmas.  But even with all of the excitement and happiness, we can't help but feel a little piece missing.  It is hard to explain unless you have experienced having a child on the other side of the world.

We constantly pray that God will send a special angel to watch over him and love on him.

I often wonder what he is thinking or feeling.  In September we sent him a care package and in it was a photo album of our family and a teddy bear with our family picture on it.  A few weeks later, we received a picture (very unexpectedly).  In that picture he was hugging the bear with a very genuine smile on his face.  I wonder if he is happy to know that his family is coming for him or if he is nervous or if he is scared.  Caleb has gone through more than most of us will in our entire lives.  More than anything, we want Caleb to know unconditional love.  We want him to feel safe and secure.   

Every child deserves that.

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LOA

It has been a crazy few months with little time to update here!  Everyday we are praying for Caleb and are longing for him to come home.  And now, we have LOA (Letter Of Acceptance - basically a letter from his country saying that they accept us to be Caleb's parents)!  Our agency tells us that we should be able to travel within the next 2-3 months.  And this means that we get to share his picture...FINALLY!  So here he is, our sweet Caleb.

Happy Birthday Sweet Caleb

Today has been a busy day.  I made breakfast, cleaned the house, speech class for my daughter, dropped the kids off at my mother-in-laws, then off to work.  But in the back of my mind through out the craziness of the day, I could not stop thinking about my little boy.  Today is his birthday.  He probably just woke up a couple of hours ago.  I wonder, if anyone will celebrate his birthday with him today.  Will they even tell him it is his birthday? Will anyone tell him how completely special he is and how much he is loved?  These are the things adoptive moms think about when they can't be with there for these important moments.

If he were here, he would have opened his eyes to a room full of balloons covering his floor and streamers hanging from his doorway.  He would have come downstairs to his favorite breakfast and lots of hugs and kisses.

Today I am praying that Jesus, the one who loves him more than we ever could, is the one that makes him feel loved and special.  So Happy Birthday Sweet Caleb!  We love you already and cannot wait to spend many more birthdays with you.

Here it goes...

I have been sitting on this post for awhile.  I've been trying to find the "right" words to say and how I want to say it.  So here it goes....

I have to admit that I do not love the term "special needs".  It feels like a label that someone gives you that you cannot escape.  And we all have needs, maybe some more special than others.  Maybe you wear glasses, use a hearing aid, take medications for a medical condition, had to have speech therapy, struggle with your weight, or take insulin for diabetes.  We all have or have had or will have a need of some kind, at some point in our lives.

With that being said, I was hesitant to put anything about our son's medical condition on this blog or anywhere else.  For fear, that he would be labeled.  I do not want him to be labeled by his medical needs, but I want people to see him for who he is, for who God created him to be.  Our son has Spina Bifida.  Without going into too many details, it is a medical condition that can affect his ability to walk, run and can cause some other limitations, as well.  Currently, he is doing very well.  They tell me he can walk and run (although he may need some physical therapy after coming home).   This may not always be the case, although I pray for his sake that it is.  But should God have other plans, we are okay with that.  And I feel it is our job, as his parents, to teach him that God has a plan for him and he is valued, important and loved.

This is a medical condition that I had never considered before on this road to adoption, but God has given me a place in my heart for this little boy.   It doesn't matter what medical condition he has or "special need" he has.  He is God's precious child, and God has entrusted me to be his mother.

So I encourage you, when you see someone that has a medical disability or special need, look them in the eye and say "hello".  Treat them, as you would treat anyone else.  If you have the opportunity, get to know them for who they are.  Get to know their heart.  This is how I hope and pray people treat my son.

His Plan

Well, let me start by saying that we were not quite expecting to go down this road again quite so soon.  We knew that God was calling us again, but I was thinking that it would be at least another year(or two).  So at first, I will be honest and say that this plan (His plan) might have been a little "interruption" in my very well thought out plan.  But there is one very important realization that I have come to, and that is that I only want to be where He wants me to be.

For those of you trying to figure out what I am talking about...yes, we are adopting again.  There is a very special, six year old boy, in an orphanage, on the other side of the world that needs a family.  And God has chosen our family!  I really wish I could post a picture, but we are not allowed to do that quite yet.  

He has such a sweet little smile, and has already been through more in his six years than most of us will in a lifetime.  And God chose us to give this little boy a life outside the walls of an orphanage.  It's humbling, exciting, and a little scary, but we feel so blessed to be a part of this journey.

God has a plan.  He has a plan for this sweet boy.  He has a plan for our daughter, who came home a year and a half ago.  He has a plan for our two older boys that have been first hand witnesses of how adoption changes lives.  They have been a part of it, and have given their unconditional love (yep, I'm a proud mama)!

Adoption has changed our family forever.  There are hard days, and there are joyful days.  God's grace is always sufficient during the tough moments.  And the blessings...I cannot even begin to count!  Adoption is truly a gift, and we love that God uses our family to be a part of it.  

We cannot wait to meet our little boy!  Will you come along side us?  Will you pray with us?  Please pray that God prepares his little heart for the changes that he will go through when he comes home.   I constantly pray God's protection on him and that God gives him an "angel" in the orphanage that loves on him!  Please pray, as we set out to raise funds to bring this little guy home. Fundraising looks like a daunting task at times, but we know that God will provide every penny!  

I'm so thankful to be on this journey!  I'm so thankful that God showed me that His plan was so much better than my plan.