Many couples say when their first child is born, "How could I possibly love any future children of ours as much as this one??" Some are even so concerned that they hesitate to have more children because of this fear. Of course, once we have that 2nd, 3rd, 4th and more children, that fear is eliminated completely! God has given us the ability to love deeply....and there's no limit to how many people that can touch.
I remember someone asking my mother years ago if she found it hard to love her two adopted children as much as her biological. My young ears tuned in to hear what she had to say! She responded without hesitation that there was no difference! I can now fully understand what my mother was saying. Ariana has lived with us going on 8 years now, and my love for her is deep as it would be for a biological child. Yes, I regretted not having more biological children, but having an adopted child is at least as rewarding! I definitely can't say I would rather have had more biological children than to have been able to adopt two children as we have been! Or the other way around! Having more children biologically or adopting.....which is better?? Neither is better. They're both great! Pursue both or either one! You can't lose when loving children and taking them into your home!! It's God's design.
As an update, we will travel to India on March 12 to visit our four grandchildren there. Then on the 23rd of March, we will go to China and pick up Xiao Man a couple days later. We will finish up our paperwork for a week and come home with our new daughter on April 5! I called her 'Lydia' in the last post, but that was the American name the orphanage gave her. We have chosen Avigail Hope to be her Litchfield name. We are very excited!
God has provided in an amazing way this past year!! The finance has come in in a wonderfully! We don't even make in one year what this adoption costs and we are having to give very little out of our pocket! Yet, I've felt like I've had a part time job this past year just filling out all the forms for the adoption and the grants! We know that the way God has helped with paperwork and the costs that He intends to help us in the years to come as we endeavor to love Avigail like an ocean!! I have seen in a huge new way that God cares for the orphans and He will go out of His way to advocate for them to have families and homes. We stepped onto the path of reaching out to orphans through adoption, and we very quickly had God's winds in our sails as we ventured onto the waters.
We have been skyping every other week with Avi for a number of months now. I can't tell you how delightful she has been to us! We sing to her, Don reads her a story, she sings to us and we show her our home. We're thankful for this time to bond! This little girl has some major changes coming her way!
I've started following some groups on FB that are about adopting children with Down syndrome. Whoa!!! I've been blown away by the excitement that has come by reading about the joy these children have brought into families! People should be standing in line to get these children!! We sit in our homes content with redecorating our living room or watching a ball game!! What a contrast to choosing to invest in the lives of children who have no home and no loving parents to guide them through life and to teach them about Jesus!
If I have good internet reception on our trip, I will keep everyone posted with pictures and updates! Pray for our travels. I'm not looking forward to the flights, but I know God will help us.
God's got love like an ocean!
I remember someone asking my mother years ago if she found it hard to love her two adopted children as much as her biological. My young ears tuned in to hear what she had to say! She responded without hesitation that there was no difference! I can now fully understand what my mother was saying. Ariana has lived with us going on 8 years now, and my love for her is deep as it would be for a biological child. Yes, I regretted not having more biological children, but having an adopted child is at least as rewarding! I definitely can't say I would rather have had more biological children than to have been able to adopt two children as we have been! Or the other way around! Having more children biologically or adopting.....which is better?? Neither is better. They're both great! Pursue both or either one! You can't lose when loving children and taking them into your home!! It's God's design.
As an update, we will travel to India on March 12 to visit our four grandchildren there. Then on the 23rd of March, we will go to China and pick up Xiao Man a couple days later. We will finish up our paperwork for a week and come home with our new daughter on April 5! I called her 'Lydia' in the last post, but that was the American name the orphanage gave her. We have chosen Avigail Hope to be her Litchfield name. We are very excited!
God has provided in an amazing way this past year!! The finance has come in in a wonderfully! We don't even make in one year what this adoption costs and we are having to give very little out of our pocket! Yet, I've felt like I've had a part time job this past year just filling out all the forms for the adoption and the grants! We know that the way God has helped with paperwork and the costs that He intends to help us in the years to come as we endeavor to love Avigail like an ocean!! I have seen in a huge new way that God cares for the orphans and He will go out of His way to advocate for them to have families and homes. We stepped onto the path of reaching out to orphans through adoption, and we very quickly had God's winds in our sails as we ventured onto the waters.
We have been skyping every other week with Avi for a number of months now. I can't tell you how delightful she has been to us! We sing to her, Don reads her a story, she sings to us and we show her our home. We're thankful for this time to bond! This little girl has some major changes coming her way!
I've started following some groups on FB that are about adopting children with Down syndrome. Whoa!!! I've been blown away by the excitement that has come by reading about the joy these children have brought into families! People should be standing in line to get these children!! We sit in our homes content with redecorating our living room or watching a ball game!! What a contrast to choosing to invest in the lives of children who have no home and no loving parents to guide them through life and to teach them about Jesus!
If I have good internet reception on our trip, I will keep everyone posted with pictures and updates! Pray for our travels. I'm not looking forward to the flights, but I know God will help us.
God's got love like an ocean!
