Our family is expanding [through the miracle of adoption]

This is a hard post to start, because there isn't really a definitive "beginning." But, I'll try anyways and then we will move on from here with more regular updates.

For those of you who don't really want to read the whole thing, but want the facts, here they are:

• We're adopting two children under the age of three from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (that's in Africa- see map below).
• We hope to have them home by the end of 2011 or early 2012
• We have always wanted kids and while we haven't been able to have our own yet, we don't believe it is impossible for us to conceive our own children and so adoption is not our back up plan
• We believe that you can change the world by changing the life of one child

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the yellow country in the middle.

For those of you who love the details, here you go:

First of all, we have always wanted kids. If you asked us how many, I would say, "lots of them", Andy would say "a couple". I mean at least four, he means three. So we're not that far off, it's more semantics.

Second of all, we have both always thought about adoption and we both knew we would adopt, but we never really discussed details. I mean, when it's just an idea, what is there to discuss?

Thirdly, we have been "ready" for kids for about 18 months or so. We have tried to conceive naturally and tried a couple rounds of fertility medication, but so far nothing. Although we have been at times discouraged, we also know that we know that we know without doubt, that Gods plan for our lives is that we parent children. So no matter how they come to us, we know that we are somebody's parents.  

So that's the background to the background.

The background is:
July 2007, I become employed by Compassion International.  My world gets larger and my sight gets clearer.  During my first few months there, I learn the following: in this world, today, as you read this, people are suffering from things we can help prevent. Children are dying-of preventable diseases.  Children have no clean water, no shoes, and no access to medication.  Children around the world have never heard someone say, "I love you.  I believe in you." And here we sit.  I write and you read. And another child dies.  And another mom doesn't understand that diarrhea is caused by dehydration and so she stops giving her baby water.  Another baby loses her mom to AIDS.  And another child goes to bed hungry.  And another child begs for help.  And another child loses hope....
I learn through my work at Compassion, though, that with all this suffering, there is something I can do.  I learn that "the world" is a big place and while "world hunger" doesn't motivate me, and in fact makes me feel helpless, one child's face does and one person I can help does.  And depending on how much I am willing to give and sacrifice, I can change lives.  We immediately start to do just that through child sponsorship.

Sponsor a child today!

Sometime in June 2010, Andy's sister Betsy (who was working in the Congo) posted a link to someone's blog on her facebook.  The blog was someone else's adoption journey in the Congo.  I immediately read the entire thing.  Four things got my attention:
1. there are 4.5 million orphans in the Congo
2. adoptions in the Congo were taking place in 6-9 months (I had only ever heard of the journey being long and unpredictable)
3. the financial investment was not nearly what I expected it would be
4. the US government is offering an adoption credit that covers most of the costs. 

For the sake of not repeating everything I read, you can read what motivated me here.  
http://thejlees.blogspot.com/2010/06/now-is-incredibly-amazing-time-to-adopt.html    (If you don't read this, just know that they re adopting 3 kids from the Congo and they should be home in May!)
I thought about this blog a lot.  I eventually shared it with Andy and although we were in the middle of a massive home renovation, we started talking about the possibility of adopting children from the Congo.  For whatever reason, maybe it was the blog, we immediately jumped to adopting two kids at once.  We figured we would never know the difference since we have never had any kids, why not just dive in?! (Plus financially, it is cheaper if you adopt two at the same time- we're always looking for a good deal :)  We realized as we talked about adoption that we have (lots) of room in our hearts and (some) room in our home and there is no reason to waste any of that.

Sometime in September 2010, Betsy comes to visit us.  We start talking about her friends with the Congo adoption blog, casually at first, and then she straight up asks if we would ever do it.  We said we would and after some conversation, I said to Andy, something horrible like this, "I feel like when we talk about this, for you it's this far off idea, but for me, I would do it today.  Where do you stand?" So "Celina", so direct and unfeeling.  Right in front of his sister.  Poor guy, he should have left me on the side of the road.  Anyway, he says that he would do it today and then from there, we dive in (maybe being direct isn't all that bad).  We start making plans for research- blog reading, calling agencies, having dinner with people who have adopted....We decide that we will use the same agency that the bloggers used and open an application with that agency.  Though we feel confident in this agency, it bothers us that they don't allow you to travel to pick up your children.  Not a fact that will stop us, but one that saddens us because we feel it is an important step.  Anyway, we pay the first very small fee and say that we will pay the rest of the first (big) payment when our house sells. 

October-December 2010  Is all kind of 'limbo' for us.  We put our house on the market as Andy has secured *employment in Denver and we decide that a move to Castle Rock is best for us in regards to our work commutes and in regards to 'settling down'.  We wait for our house to sell as we anticipate that we will be able to use the proceeds towards the adoption.  In December, we realize that we should start to plan financially for the fact that our house may not sell soon and we start aggressively saving money.    I join the congoadopt group on Yahoo and start asking questions about the agency we plan to use.  I called a woman I work with who adopted and she gave us some really sound advise: she said research your agencies and get the youngest children you can.  Thus my question asking on the Yahoo group.  I get positive responses to my question, but I also get a private message from someone who says, "Ask more questions.  Why does it cost so much with this agency? A friend used One World Adoptions (OWA) and the cost was 1/2 but I don't think they are accepting applications" Great, thanks! However, not one to be deterred, I call OWA.  Only to find out that they are accepting applications, they are 1/2 the cost, you do get to travel and pick up your child, and they run their own their own orphanage in the Congo.  We decide to switch agencies.  We wonder if our house hasn't sold because we were headed in the wrong direction....
Also during this time, I do a couple of rounds of fertility medication and the second time, I get really sick.  We discuss the reality that since no infertility treatment, doctors visits or medication is covered by insurance, we are possibly looking at a bottomless pit of money spent.  We compare the idea of spending thousands on fertility treatments and possibly seeing no children at the end, with the reality of spending thousands and bringing home children who could die without us.  So we quit that route and dive full force into the adoption process.  As I said, though, this isn't a "Plan B".  It's more like, we know we want kids, we know adoption will take some time and we are ready, so we're starting now.
(*As a side note, Andy's new company offers a $3500 per year adoption credit)

January 2011  After months of not having anyone even look at our house, we decide to take it off the market for a few months.  It just feels like we need a fresh start and the longer it is on the market the more desperate we look to buyers and really- the more desperate we feel, though completely unnecessarily.  So taking it off the market is the best move.   In the meantime, we are amazed at how much money we can pile up just be devoting ourselves to doing that.  The process will still be slow, but we're making our income work for us and for the Kingdom and that feels amazing!  (As a side note, I daily praise God that we didn't come into this process with any debt! Reason #1223008 to be debt free: Freedom to pursue your dreams!!)
Also during this time, I call several Colorado adoption agencies because we need to have a local agency do our home study.  We chose one to work with and the folks who run it happen to share our last name!

February 2, 2011  We send off both our application to the home study agency and One World Adoptions. And so now it begins...
We continue to research, read, and meet with people who have walked this same path.

We are so excited for this journey and we know and trust that we are in the right place at the right time.  We can't wait to hold our babies and we sometimes marvel that they are probably "out there" somewhere, waiting to come home.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

A couple of notes:
1. We have NO DELUSIONS that any of this will be easy- from the process itself to bringing home children who have been orphaned to raising children who have been orphaned
2. We have NO DELUSIONS that adoption is the only answer to the worlds problems
3. We have FULL CONFIDENCE that God is in this and we know that no matter what stumbling blocks come our way, we will trust Him!
4. If we do happen to conceive before we bring our children home, we have FULL CONFIDENCE that we will continue this process, although on what timeline is yet to be determined.

If 7% of the worlds Christians adopted one child there would be no orphans in the world!

To those around us who have inspired us to move toward this amazing journey, thank you!

To our friends who have adopted already, thank you for paving the way! To those who are praying for us, thank you- keep praying! To those adoptive families that we imposed on by inviting ourselves over for dinner, thank you!