On the Verge...

For the first year and a half of our adoption process, we were the only people we knew that were adopting from India. Last summer, I did find an online community of TONS of other families from all over the world who were adopting or had adopted from India and it has been a game changer for our process. One of the most valuable aspects of this community, for me, is seeing that the kids eventually do come home.  In fact, that is an oft quoted phrase, usually accompanied by an adorable picture of an adorable kiddo. "They do come home." It's so good to see and remember. Comparing timelines is also a helpful benefit to knowing other people going through the process. At first I was scouring the internet for any other blog posts that might give us any idea as to how long our process might take. So, for that reason, I thought I'd share our timeline for information, encouragement, and posterity. I hope it will also help those who would like to to know how to pray and to rej

It was September 2015 when Quinn and I felt that we wanted to add a 4th child to our family. It's hard to explain how you know that feeling or how it's even possible to have that feeling when our arms were already so full with our first three kids. But there was just this space  that we felt. A space that was ready to receive another child. I've explained in previous blog posts that we were contemplating adoption at that point, but got pregnant that week. And that's when our arms and hearts began aching to hold our next child. On January 13, 2016 (three years ago today), we felt that ache even deeper in our hearts when we held Joanna in our hands when she came out miraculously easy after passing away at about 17 weeks gestation. We had been scheduled for a surgery to have her removed, but I am so, so glad  that she came to us whole in the hospital so that we could spend time holding her. It was weird and strange because they don't look like a normal baby at that