*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...

*family portraits*

just think of all the details God had to put in place before the beginning of time to make these pictures possible!!  HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!!!

the end of a long process

the end.
josiah's adoption was finalized on april 27, 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its crazy to think that just a few years ago, ben and i went to an adoption introduction seminar at bethany christian services, walked out, and said to each other, "there is no way we can do this."  BUT GOD DID IT.  HE ALONE gave us the desire, strength, perseverance, and ability to bring josiah into our family.  forever.

ben's parents were able to come with in the court room for the finalization, and our pastor and his family joined us shortly afterwards!  we have truly been blessed with a wonderful support group and it was a joy to share the day with some of our favorite people.

we were the only ones in the courtroom.  we've never been in a courthouse before let alone a courtroom so we really didn't know what to expect.  after a lot of formalities and the official signing of the last stack of papers (WOOHOO!), the judge said, "there are two things i want to tell you.  number one, you have a beautiful family.  number two, our day just goes downhill from here on."  adoption is a joy in more ways than one!

in some ways, having a judge look over our papers (a very LARGE stack of papers) and declare josiah to "officially" be a cain was anti-climatic.  we already felt like he was a part of family - the Lord has graciously given us a relatively drama-free adoption with few fears of josiah being "taken back," etc. (PRAISE THE LORD!!).  the glory of it all actually hit me when we got back home and i ripped the foster parent forms off the fridge.  i shredded those babies and started tearing up as i forcefully threw them in the trash.  i guess i didn't realize how staring at those foster papers everyday made me feel like josiah really wasn't "ours" just yet.  that trash can slam dunk felt good.  really good.

i called this post "the end of a long process" which is a little deceiving.  because as any parent will tell you, raising a child is a process that's never done.  its just nice that know josiah has OUR name and is a legally a part of our family.  forever.

thank you for praying and supporting us through this process!!!  we don't feel like our family is full just yet.  at this point, we feel the inklings to start another adoption.....but we're eagerly awaiting God's perfect timing before we jump in.  don't worry.  we'll keep you posted.

ALL PRAISE TO THE GLORY OF HIS NAME!!!!
PRAISE TO THE LORD THE ALMIGHTY, THE KING OF CREATION!!

josiah at 6 months

josiah at 5 months