Family Update

Before Trey and I got married, we saw international adoption in our future. We didn't know when, from where, or which child, but we knew it would happen one day. We talked about it from time to time... the details, that is. And then we had Chandler. We are so blessed by her little presence and personality. Watching her grow over the last 17 months has been incredible. We began to talk about growing our family. We talked about when we'd start trying again. We counted out the months and when a new baby would be born. We talked about how old we wanted Chandler to be when she became a big sister.

Living overseas has continued to open our eyes to the heartache of this world. We've made friends who work at an orphanage (friends we've mentioned on here before) and have seen insight into their world. Also, insight into the children's backgrounds and lives. God continued to push international adoption to the forefront of our minds. We began to search out what it would look like to adopt from Benin. We've heard stories and seen people in the process here. It hasn't been easy, but then again, what adoption (domestic or international) is easy?

I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this... the family update we have.... we're in the process to adopt from Benin. We have begun and are taking it step by step, daily. There's still a lot of uncertainty in adoptions from Benin, which gives us a lot of uncertainty. But we know this is something the Lord has placed on our hearts for years. And we know He's giving us a peace about it now.

We are asking you to pray with us. Pray for ease in this process. Pray for judges and other officials to be compassionate. Pray for the child God has already picked out for us. Pray for their health and well being. Pray for those caring for him/her. Pray for Chandler and her adjustment to a sibling (and learning how to share!). And pray for us that we will be discerning in this process. And that we will be patient.

We plan to keep you updated on the process as much as we can. But know that often, we won't know what is going on! Feel free to write and ask us how it's going, too. We want to bring you, our partners in prayer and ministry, along on this journey.