8 Days of ADOPTION- Oh God, is this your will?

Welcome back!  Today is the 3rd day in the 8 Days of Adoption series!  "Oh God, is this your will?"

 I'm counting down to sweet Landrie's 1st birthday!  This topic is one that I struggled with LONG before we started trying to have a baby.  God's plans  for my life are obviously the best, so of course I want to follow them.  Unfortunately, there's no "Book of Corrie" in the Bible that lays our every decision for me!  I have to pray that God will make the correct decision clear.

During the years of infertility (which seemed like decades!) we always knew that adoption was an option for us.  The question was just how far to go with science.  We did countless fertility treatments and, in January 2009, Mark and I headed back to the fertility doctor to discuss the next one.  We left the great appointment at the hospital, and it was as clear as if God had spray painted "NO" on the side of the parking garage in bright orange paint!  We knew that we were done with fertility treatments.  I checked out this book:

It is a GREAT read if you are even thinking about adopting one day.  Within days of leaving the fertility doctor's office, we felt OVERWHELMING peace about pursing adoption.  We were ECSTATIC!!  That same week, Landrie Grace was conceived.

You always hear that it can take years to adopt, so I immediately started the daunting process of finding an agency.  Our friends were in the same boat, so we had a spreadsheet that we passed back and forth!  Two agencies stood out.  We liked Inheritance the best, but they were overwhelmed with more prospective parents than ever and were making very few placements.  By my calculations, it would be 18 months before we could even be officially waiting!  Ughhh. 

 The other place promised a match in 2 months, but there were several things that made us feel uncomfortable.  After a month of debating, I couldn't just sit around any more.  I printed out the application packet of the 2 month place.  Mark got home and I told him I wanted to at least start it.  He checked the answering machine before we began.  Leslie (from Inheritance) left us a message.  They had a TON of babies placed all at once and they were ready to start the process NOW!  That 18 month wait that I had calculated vanished into thin air.  We were just days away from sending a huge down payment to the wrong agency.  Thank you God, for preventing me from messing everything up with my impatience!

We began with our Paperwork Party then started on our scrapbook.  The potential birth moms look through these to choose the couple for their parent.  We chose Jeremiah 29:11.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Meanwhile, Misty from Inheritance sent Brianna a card and Brianna put it on her fridge.  You guessed it, the card had Jeremiah 29:11 on it.  Months later, she got our scrapbook profile and found the same scripture.  

From the time we felt peace about adopting, we knew we were having a girl.  When Leslie called just a week or two after turning in our profile (!!!) to tell us a birth mom wanted to meet us, I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even ask if the baby was a boy or girl!  In the middle of the match meeting when Brianna told us it was a girl, it was all I could do not to lose it right there!  

Just 5 1/2 weeks later, we were flying down the highway to be there for Landrie's birth!  She came 3 weeks early, and we weren't quite ready!  Brianna asked us if we had a name yet and we told her our top two.  When we said "Landrie Grace" was one option, she couldn't believe it!  "Grace" was the one name that had been on her heart.  That made our choice easy!


I could go on and on about all the ways God has reassured us that we are on the path that He as planned for us.  Now we are just trying o figure out when his perfect timing will be for us to adopt a baby brother or sister for Landrie!


See Part 1 and Part II here and here!