Our Babies

First, we've got Riley. Our "little brownie." Our sweet, spoiled, snuggly little dog. We got him from a shelter when we first moved to Bloomington, IN back in July 2007. He's been a much-adored member of the family ever since.

Second, there's baby B. The child we'd love to adopt someday. We don't know much about him or her, and pray that the Lord brings this child home in His time.

And then...

We found out a few weeks ago that there is a third baby.

A baby of the "homegrown" variety, who will hopefully make his or her debut in early November.

We're thrilled, and so very thankful for this little one. We feel immeasurably blessed to be expecting a biological child. We're humbled by God's goodness and graciousness to us, and we know that this child is a gift straight from Him.

I know what you're thinking: So what does this mean for the adoption?

It's been put on hold.

Depending on the timing of it all, we'd either need to travel with me very pregnant, or else travel with an infant, or else leave an infant at home for the better part of a month. None of these were appealing options. Furthermore, both infants and newly adopted children need all kinds of special care, especially right at first. We'd like to be able to provide that to the best of our abilities, and feel that it will be in the best interest of both kids to space things out a bit.

In the future, we'd still love to adopt. The idea has always been in our hearts, since the very beginning of our relationship, and we still plan to grow our family through both biological and adoptive means.

I feel strongly that we were meant to start down the "path" toward adopting a child. But now we find ourselves on a different path. In any case I know that our lives, family, and future rest in the palms of His loving, generous hands.

Proverbs 3:5-6 come to mind...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

For me, there's such comfort in those words. For both joyful and uncertain times, peaceful moments and difficult ones. The Lord is deserving of trust, and guides our paths.

And now, we just praise Him for this unexpected and extremely welcome gift.