preparation

moving right along.
at a snail's pace.  *sigh*

adoption is the world of HURRY HURRY  HURRY....and waaaaaaaaait.
and then wait some more.
and then HURRY HURRY HURRY!!!!

right now we're in a short wait between the hurrys.  we've finished all our paperwork for the home study.  next friday we have our final interviews with our social worker.  then our home inspection.  yes, we do already have two children in our home who are happy and healthy and well-adjusted; and yes, we have already completed one successful adoption.
yes, we do still have to go through another home study to received that beloved "stamp of agency approval."
its all good.  just those hoops you can't think about too much or you get frustrated.  *check check check it off the list*

while we are in a little lull of calm, we are trying to take the time to prepare for the crazy when our next child does arrive home.  i'd love it if i could store up on extra sleep right now...stock it away for later when i'll need it.  but i tried that with josiah's adoption and it DOES.  NOT.  WORK.  made things worse, in fact...just a little FYI in case you've thought about that.  *grin*
what we are doing is creating a big fat folder of support.  medical specialists, social workers, adoption circles, etc....things that we may find that we need when our child comes home.  this way its already at our fingertips.  research it now in case you need it later, right?

this is a really great time for us to learn more about ghana.  we found a ghanaian association of sacramento (GASCAL).  *score*  unfortunately, we just missed their big annual celebration of ghana's independence in april, but we've got it on the calendar for next year.

we're also girding our loins to answer the inevitable questions that will come when we become a "conspicuous" adoptive family.  our little josiah is light skinned with blue eyes.  no one knows he's adopted unless we start talking about birthmothers, etc (which i do quite often and wonder by people look at me weird. "oh, right!  let me explain...josiah came to our family through adoption.").  with this new little one who will have beautiful ebony skin and dark hair, the biological differences will be more obvious.  while we've had our share of ridiculous and insensitive questions about josiah ("did i cost extra for a white baby?"  seriously.  seriously?!?!?!?!), we're thinking through our reasons for adoption so we can take the time to gracious educate those who ask thoughtless questions....or not.  honestly, sometimes i think you can sometimes reply with a crazy answer and walk away.  they might do better to think through the answer themselves without our children needing to hear it.  read a great little, humorous blog post on exactly this:
top 6 reactions to our adoption

please continue to pray for us as we see God provide mental stamina, TIIIIIME, and funding.  we'll have some news coming out soon about a few fundraising opportunities.
 
"let the word of Christ dwell in you RICHLY, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with THANKFULNESS in your hearts to God."  colossians 3:16

fostering hope in ghana

one of the things you have to come to grips with when you start an adoption is that its costs money.
a lot of money.
in the end, though, its not EVER about buying a child.  it is ransom money.  every penny gets you closer to gathering YOUR child into your arms.
think of it this way: if your child was taken from you and placed in the deepest, darkest jungle on the other side of the world, is there anything that would be too difficult or too costly to get them back?  no, of course not.  and when you are called to adoption, that is exactly how you feel.  YOUR CHILD is out there somewhere, waiting for you...of course there is no amount of money too great, no hoop too ridiculous to jump through, no dance you are not willing to learn so you can welcome them into your home.

that said....we spent a lot of time researching adoption agencies.  since we were going to be spending a lot of money, we wanted that money to be used in a way that would do more than simply bring our child into our arms.  we wanted to work with an agency that would help to keep families together and alleviate the orphan problem worldwide.
this is why we love bethany christian services (www.bethany.org).
they have foster programs and small business loans and gobs of other GREAT ideas in place in so many countries around the world.  in the US, they support birthmothers who choose to keep their babies and help them get back on their feet.  these are the things we believe in.  these are the things that help to keep families together.  adoption is ONE of MANY solutions to help orphans!  we love that our support of bethany christian services helps more than just our family...

here's a nice little article about what bethany is doing in ghana:  Fostering Hope in Ghana

how did we decide to adopt?

one of the questions we hear a lot is: "so, how did you decide to adopt?"
a fellow adoptive mommy friend wrote a blog post to answer that question (*high fives, alexis!*).  i really couldn't say it any better....so i'm stealing her wit instead.  *grin*

click here:
How We Decided To Adopt

golden trivia

a few fun facts about ghana....

1.  the official language of ghana is english.  there are, however, over 200 various languages spoken within its borders!

2.  "akwaaba" is the twi word for "welcome."  twi is spoken by the ashanti people in ghana.

"welcome" sign at the accra airport!

3.  accra is the capitol of ghana and is located on the country's southern coast.

4.  ghana is home to the world's largest man made lake, lake volta.  it covers more than 3200 miles and provides the majority of the nation's electricity.

lake volta and the akosomba dam

5.  the secretary-general of the united nations from 1997 to 2006 was kofi annan, a ghanaian!  "kofi" is the akan name that corresponds with being born on a friday.

kofi annan, secretary-general of UN from 1997 to 2006

6.  in 1957, ghana became the first sub-saharan african country to gain its independence.

7.  ghana is the world's second-largest producer of cocoa.

ghanaian cocoa farmer

8.  the form of money used in ghana is called the cedis.  it is currently one of the most highly valued african currencies.

more cultural tidbits and lessons to come!  :)

*drum roll*

alrighty, peoples.

we're making it official: 

CAIN BABY #3!!!

that's right: we've started adoption #2 for cain spawn #3.

*insert crazy, happy dance of joy*

we actually started looking into the international adoption process last march, but stalled out.  we felt pretty sure that God was calling us to adopt again, but we just couldn't get traction started.

maybe because josiah still wasn't sleeping through the night at that point.

but now, here we are a year later, fully rested and thinking (somewhat) more clearly.

and God has lead us to adopt from Ghana, West Africa!  

where is Ghana?  here:

ok.  we'll cut to the chase and answer the questions you all have:

1.  why Ghana?

short answer: that is where our baby is.  we have a heart for africa!

longer answer: i (ashley) had the great privilege of living in Ghana for a summer during my internship with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  i totally fell in love with the culture, the people, the smells, the food, the everything.  here are some pictures:

ashley with the outreach team in bunkpurugu, ghana.  she's the one on the right if you coudn't tell.

ghanaian women and children.

the village of bunkpurugu where ashley lived during part of her time in ghana.

we had actually looked into adopting from Ghana back in 2008, but there were no local agencies with a Ghana program at the time.  in november 2011, however, we got an update from our adoption agency that they were opening a pilot program in ghana!  we both knew instantly that our next child was waiting for us in ghana.

2.  boy?  girl? how old will they be?

we are not specifying a gender.  Ghana has an established foster program so most infants are able to be placed with a Ghanaian family.  we will be adopting a 2 or 3 year old.  it is very likely that this child will be close in age to josiah.

3.  how long until you bring your child home?

we are about half way through the home study process right now.  being a pilot program, there are a few more unknowns.  we are estimating about 2-3 years until this adoption is finalized.

4.  how many times do you have to go to Ghana?

we are both planning to travel to Ghana for the two trips required by the government.  the trips will be 7-14 days each and about 3 months apart.

it is so easy to get overwhelmed by the process...especially at the beginning.  there are so many hoops and steps and fees and hokey-pokey-dances.  but in the end, we have great peace that God has called us to walk this journey, He will provide, and He will be glorified through the process!!  AMEN!

reflections

i'm looking back at the past year and a half of josiah's life and i'm thinking, "it can't be that long."
and really...it hasn't.  even though josiah just turned one on september 15, we have loved him far longer.  before we ever knew HE existed, we loved him....we hoped for him and prayed for him, and scratched and clawed and wept and danced our way to him.
praise.  God.

and now our jojo-baby is nineteen months.  WE'RE MORE THAN HALF WAY TO TWO, PEOPLE!  *whew*  and what a hambone our little josiah has become.  the eighteen months two two stage is so magical; you really start to see their little quirky personalities.

as ben and i have reflected on the past three years and the things God has taught us about adoption, we keep coming back to God's sovereignty.  the more we understand how BIG and ALMIGHTY and OMNIPOTENT God is, the more awesome His love for us becomes.  

people still ask us "why adoption?"  the best answer we have is this: if we really understand the depth of God's love for us in adopting US as heirs, the more it should spur us on to live out that gospel truth through the work of earthly adoption!  in his book, adopted for life, russell d. moore says it so well:

"adoption is, on the one hand, gospel.  

in this, adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father.  adoption as gospel tells us about our identity, our inheritance, our mission as sons of God.  

adoption is also defined as mission.  in this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ.  missional adoption spurs us to join Christ in advocating for the helpless and the abandoned...

without the theological aspect, the emphasis on adoption too easily is seen as mere charity.  without the missional aspect, the doctrine of adoption too easily is seen as mere metaphor."

and there you have it, folks.

yes, we wanted to increase our family.

yes, we wanted another child.

yes, josiah needed a family.

but there is so much more to adoption that just meeting needs and filing holes!

"thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"

2 corinthians 9:15

a year later....

so.  its been a year.
well, a year and a day.
time flies.  yesterday was our first gotcha day celebration for our little josiah.  april 27, 2011 he was officially declared a cain.  WHAT JOY!!!  its amazing to look back and see how much he has grown and how much WE have grown.
a year later we continue to praise our Great God for the gift of our second son...