Simplified.

I was going to give this post the title “K.I.S.S.” for the saying “Keep It Simple, Stupid” (not because of any affinity to or affiliation with the band), but I was afraid that you, the reader, would think I was calling you stupid… which I am not. It’s is an instruction directed at myself. 

I am rarely succinct in explaining things, as you know if you’ve ever read anything on this blog. I was going to write a post to announce our big news: We are adopting again! Back to China we go! Let the paper chase begin… again! It was going to be great. I was going to make you laugh and cry all at the same time. I was going to make you say “awwwww!” and I was going to call you to action. There would be great rejoicing in the kingdom and… I don’t know… unicorns would gallop over rainbows next to fluffy bunnies or something. You get the picture. I was aiming high!

Just a few technicalities, however. I had to tell a handful of people first. No good letting my grandmother find out via one of my cousins who read the news on Facebook before I’d bothered to call her. That wouldn’t work. I had to make sure Josh was ok with me announcing it (he is). And I just had to figure out how to word it all. I started a dozen posts in my head… on the notepad on my phone… on scraps of paper. I was plotting it all out. Then I sat down last Friday night to open the floodgates, and… nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. No words.

… This was a new experience for me. 

… I am never short on words. 

It’s not that I wasn’t excited to tell everyone. It’s not that I didn’t feel like writing it. I just sat down with a total mental block and couldn’t think of a single thing to say that would convey what I was hoping for. And then, sometime between that night and now… something someone said (and I’ve already forgotten who… probably a Steven Furtick podcast or something) made it click in my head: I am not responsible for your reaction. It’s not my job to write the best blog post you’ve ever read. I can’t ensure that, upon reading anything I say, anyone reacts the way I hope they will. In fact, I can pretty much put even money on the fact that at least two people will either misinterpret it completely, or give a response that makes me think “Nope. Sorry… that’s not at all what I was trying to say.” All I can do is state the facts. Simplify. Keep it simple and let it be. So, that’s what I will do for the rest of this post. K.I.S.S. 

1. WE ARE ADOPTING AGAIN! 

2. We are very excited!

3. We are going back to China, using the same agency, and are willing to work with the same medical conditions as last time. 

4. We do not have a match yet, nor do we have a specific child in mind. We have checked “no preference” as far as gender goes, which statistically (greatly) increases our chances for another boy, but we could not in good conscience make the choice. So, we are choosing to believe that when we say we have no preference, we are leaving it in God’s hands because He knows who it is that belongs in this family.

5. People keep asking why we are going again. Keeping it simple: We believe that God’s not done with us and China yet. That’s as simple as I can answer that one. I felt it very early on in the process with Asher. He wasn’t going to be the only one. 

6. We have just started the paper chase, but are at just about the same point now that we were this time 2 years ago because we know what we’re doing this time, which lets us make up a little time. 

7. We don’t know when we will travel. That’s completely out of our hands. We’re working to get there ASAP, but once the documents leave our hands, we have zero control (which is always a delightful fact to know… dripping sarcasm…).

8. We do, however, hope to be back with Little Green #5 by the end of the year. No idea how realistic that is, but it’s what we keep hoping for. 

9. The kids are excited! Annie says Asher says he wants a girl. Asher says he wants goldfish crackers and whatever Benjamin happens to be holding at the moment. Gracie enjoys looking through Show Hope newsletters and videos, pointing to each kid, and saying “That one’s cute. Can we adopt him/her?” 

10. This time around, there will be fundraising involved. Last time we had years to plan and work out the finances. We had to wait until we met the age requirement.  That gave us time to plan. This time… well, it’s a bigger step of faith in the money department. I know that when God orders something, He pays for it. So, being confident that He has called us to adopt again, we’re confident that He will see it through.  I do have a couple ideas in mind, and will be posting about them soon. I ask you all to pray for us, and to prayerfully consider what your role might be in supporting us. 

11. We will not be collecting quilt pieces this time around. I am ashamed to report that the quilt has still not managed to sew itself together, and my plans for that seem to have fallen through (between home schooling, life in general, and four kids, I haven‘t had a chance to learn how to sew it myself). I feel terrible about this because everyone who sent in pieces was so awesome and thoughtful to do so. I cherish each of your contributions, and I have nothing complete to show for them. I am open to suggestions (read: local volunteers who know how to sew). Otherwise, I’ll look for a seamstress, I suppose. It WILL happen! I WON’T let all that effort go to waste! And I have come up with a comparable project for “New China Baby” … one that I can personally see through to the end, but will still be equally meaningful and representative of the spirit of the Bai Jia Bei. Details to come soon as well. 

12. We are not super heroes or super stars. To be honest, I never thought I’d have five kids… at least, not up until a couple years ago. There are days when five doesn't seem like an unreasonable number. I know people who have five, or six, or even nine, and they are all actually completely sane, fantastically wonderful people, among whom I would be honored to be listed. Five isn't twenty. Five isn't completely crazy. Then there are those days when my four have me wanting to hide in a dark closet, huddled on the floor, whimpering to myself. Five seems like a lot on those days, but those days are usually few and far between. Five doesn't usually intimidate me. I'm confident that it's what we're called to do, and so I can be confident that He will provide whatever I need to do it. I don’t know what that will look like. I don’t know how our days will play out… life is pretty chaotic with the four we already have. We learn to juggle. I run on coffee and a lot of prayer! What I do know is that the Bible says that children are a blessing. Whether born to us or adopted, there is no distinction in that verse. Children are a blessing. Period. Therefore, we are extremely blessed. So we are excited for what (and who) lies ahead, and we are thankful that He has seen fit to entrust us with these precious gifts. There are difficult days ahead. The paperwork is taxing. The wait is trying… sometimes excruciating! The adjustments are uncomfortable at times. Rarely are they seamless and easy, but we all know that anything that is worth something in the end is worth the wait and worth the work. So, we accept the gift… and whatever challenges may come with it… and we do ask that you keep us in your prayers.