our story

Mark and I have always been open to adoption. While we were dating, his mom, Janice, started working at Bethany Christian Adoption Services. One of my favorite things to do was look at pictures in her office of all the babies and ask about the stories. Even when we were just dating, I was drawn to adopting. I even wondered if we wouldn't be able to have biological children since I felt such a strong connection to adoption. As all of you know, that was not the case and God quickly blessed us with three beautiful children. As they got older, I did keep wondering about adoption and always was very interested in adoption stories. As Macall's last birthday approached, she said that all she wanted for her 10th birthday was a sister from another country. When Stephen Curtis Chapman's precious daugther was killed on May 21st (Macall's birthday), God really started pushing us to look deeper into adoption. Going on his website was such an inspiration for adoption. China didn't seem like an option for us since the process now took 3-4 years. As we looked, Mark learned about an incredible missions project in Ethiopia called Acacia Village. Acacia Village will be a much needed orphange for children that will also house a medical center and educational center for mothers and children. Mark had always said that he would one day do medical missions in Africa. Through Acacia Village, we learned that there are 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia. We were astounded!! At the same time, we kept asking God to give us signs if we were meant to adopt. All I have to say is don't ask God unless you are ready to hear the answer. From a dream my mom had about an abandoned little black girl to the people next to us on the beach this summer that had adopted from Uganda, the signs were pouring in. Macall and Brynn prayed every night that we would adopt a baby. Every sermon seemed to be directed at us and seemed to scream "you need to adopt". Brynn started saying so matter of factly, "this is what we are supposed to do, let's just do it!". It's funny how God can use everyone and everything to speak to you when you are trying to make a decision. In the middle of June, Mark left church one day and said, "we need to do it...let's do the paperwork". Well, that's when I slammed on the brakes. I had thought about adopting for so long and then fear just stopped me in my tracks. I started trying to convince myself that we were content and that three was enough for us. I spent the whole summer in a tug of war with God. I could go one to two weeks "ignoring" adoption and His calling and then for a full week, I would be bombarded with adoption. When the children went to school in August, I found out that two of the teachers at our school were in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. Before that, I had never heard of anyone that we personally knew that had adopted from Ethiopia. It got to the point that I would just laugh out loud at all the the things that were happening. Mark just let it go for a while, but all along, he knew what we were meant to do. He was just waiting on his stubborn wife. One night in September at church, the fifth grade girls were going to hear about some missionaries. I was there as their leader, but I had already decided that I had heard this story and I would just spend the hour relaxing. I was wrong!! Van Wade shared a great story that night about Jim Elliot and his friends. Two points brought me to my knees. Their group simply obeyed what God was asking them to do (was I doing that?) and God does not ask you to do something for Him and then not give you joy (being a mom is my favorite thing in the world...why would He not give us more joy through another child?). I got in the car and said that I was ready. As we rushed in and tried to get the kids to bed, I couldn't find Mark and I was getting frustrated. I found him at the computer quickly filling out the first paperwork for Christian World Adoption before I could change my mind. That first night, I really didn't sleep. Once we told our families, there was an unbelievable peace that I hadn't had all summer. I knew that adopting from Ethiopia was what we were meant to do. Since September, that decision has been confirmed over and over. Right now, we are finishing up our paperwork and hope to have everything to Ethiopia by March. CWA says that the average wait for a girl is 6 months, so we are hoping to bring her home in the fall or winter. Macall, Brynn and Hudson are thrilled and we hope that this is life changing for them. Many of you ask why we didn't request a boy. We just felt like it would be a girl and we are trying to keep Hudson's special spot as the only boy. He's so laid back about the process, but he did say yesterday that he thought the girls should move to the third seat of our car and he should sit by the baby to help take care of her. For now, just please pray for the baby and for her birth parents. We want to always honor them and can't imagine what they may be enduring at this time. Macall thinks she will be born in April so we will have birthdays in 6 consecutive months. No matter when she comes into this world, she needs our prayers. Ethiopia is the third poorest country in the world and babies usually have no prenatal care and once she is here, she may not have milk. God is bigger than all of that and we know He has a plan for her. Thank you for your love and support!