November of Thanksgiving

Mabuhay (welcome/hello)!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, each of us is, of course, reminded of all the things we can be thankful for in our lives. This past year has brought great change, big decisions, and abundant hope for Ben and me. Our family is growing! Albeit maybe at a slow pace, but a steady one nonetheless. We are encouraged and oh so very thankful for this.

While Ben and I have spent much of our dating and married lives together planning on growing our family through adoption someday, 2019 was the beginning of truly taking steps on this journey. Ok, you could argue (and in fact, it was a factor) that in 2018 we began this journey by purchasing our first home. But nonetheless, in March of this year, Ben and I officially made the decision to begin international adoption. Over the remainder of the year, we've spent considerable time gathering documents, writing answers, attending appointments, and so much more in anticipation of finally becoming eligible to be considered to adopt kiddos. We chose the country and culture our future kiddos would come from – the Philippines. We carefully considered and prayed over how many kiddos (2 to 3) and the ages (up to 10 years old) we think we are equipped by God to handle as a part of this first adoption process.

With gratitude, we were blessed to finalize our home study in August and receive our USCIS approval in October. Now, we still await our approval from the Philippines. Our journey so far hasn't been without some hardships, careful deliberation, and yes, even some pushing/fighting for what we believe God is calling us to. But we are so blessed by all the support and encouragement we received already in the process!

• To all of our friends and family who have welcomed the idea so excitedly, we cannot thank you enough for the encouragement you are to us. We are blessed to have so many people in our lives who support what God is doing in it.
• Our adoption agency, and the many people we have met through it, have been such a support to us as well! I can't tell you how many annoying questions I've sent over to them this past year. 😊Thank you, Holt International and it's entire family, for guiding us through this journey!
• To our kiddos, while we wish we could be sharing life with you right this second, we are so thankful that God already knows we are a family and you are our children. We are thankful that in only a short while, although it may feel like a long time, we'll be united.

We know the journey ahead, though, is likely to come with even greater challenges. But we are so thankful that this is the path God is using to grow our family. We cannot wait to meet our children. In this time of thanksgiving, we are thankful for our kiddos, our family, our friends, our adoption agency, and every person who has touched our lives. Above all, we are thankful to our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can ever fully grasp and who is giving us more blessings than we ever deserve.

My prayer this month: I pray that our Heavenly Father would continue to bless our children. I pray He would open their eyes and their hearts to His blessings. Even in the midst of challenges, pain, or discouragement, I pray the Holy Spirit would fill them with a hope of better times to come – both on earth and in Heaven. Oh Lord, please bless them with foods in their bellies, a safe home to protect them, and many loving adults in their lives while they wait. Help them know their parents eagerly await their arrival.

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you! May your homes and hearts be filled with love and gratitude this season. Know that Ben and I love each of you!

Until next time – all our love!