After that fateful day, we were on mission to get licensed as quickly as we could.  There are a number of variables beyond your control, when you finally choose (or are lead to) a path of adoption.  One of the few choices you do get, is choosing the agency that will help you in your goal to foster/adopt.  We chose a faith based agency, in part because we had friends that spoke very highly of the organization.  The other motivating factor, was that we could complete our training in an two intensive weeks, as opposed to stretching it over 2+ months.

So just a few weeks after completing the “If You Were Mine” course, we began our classroom training through Covenant Kids. Concurrent with our training, we were running the other paths toward licensing (Home Study, Health, Safety and Fire Inspections, Background checks, etc.).  Kris was burdened with the majority of the paperwork, but we got through it.  We had hoped to be licensed by the beginning of June, but knew that we would not be open for placement until mid-July.  The beginning of our Summer included a trip to Colorado for family camp, a week back in Dallas, a week in the Smokey Mountains for vacation, then off to Ohio to visit family.  After Ohio, we had relatives in town for a week.  Then, at long last, we were open.

There was some confusion with our agency as to when we were open, so at one point we had to decline placement of a set of twins.  It broke our hearts.  We cleared up the calendar with the agency, but knew that there was no way we could turn down another placement.  We trust that God is sovereign and that any call for placement that we would receive, we would accept.  Our only stipulation on placement, was that we preferred children younger than our daughter, who was 4 years old.  We were open to a sibling group of up to three children, any race and any gender.

Playing the odds, I (Ryan) was sure that, though we were licensed for three children, we would likely get only two.  As I mentioned, the children would be younger than our daughter.  Proof that God has a sense of humor…at 1:30p we got a call for a sibling group of 3.  By 6:30p our family nearly doubled in size.

Our entire family has grown leaps and bounds over the last month.  Not simply from a count of 4 to a count of 7.  I won’t pretend that every day is a triumph, but every day offers the opportunity for taking ground.  We hope to share the blessing of this experience with you, in an honest way, and hope that you’ll partner with us in praying for our family.

After some more conversation, I committed to exploring the possibility of adoption.  I took it to the guys in my community group, and felt somewhat affirmed in my hesitancy to growing our family.  I knew though, that I had to move beyond one conversation, and speak with others that were actually entrenched in adoption and had gone before us in the process.  I had a few lunches with adoptive fathers.  I studied the Bible, seeking answers.  I prayed a ton.  All the while Kris was unaware of the homework I was doing.  I failed to keep her informed about how my heart was being shepherded.  Kris agreed to be patient, and to pray for me and for our family.

This culminated in another serious conversation around January of 2010.  Rightfully so, Kris felt that I had not held up to our agreement to explore adoption as a path for our family. My mistake was not giving her updates on what I was learning, or that I was doing anything at all.  As we discussed adoption again, nearly six months after we first began the conversation, we were in a similar place.  At the same time, our church was going to be offering a class called “If You Were Mine” developed by Hope for Orphans.

We took the class and were further challenged to pursue adoption.  We simply didn’t know what that would look like.  We wrestled with the idea of Ethiopia, domestic adoption, Foster Care, or perhaps Haiti (the earthquake there was on everyone’s mind at the time).  One afternoon, I felt the Lord really leading me toward Foster Care.  That same afternoon, Kris had a conversation with a, then acquaintance, now friend.  She and her husband had been fostering for about a year.  After which, Kris came to the same conclusion.  So when I came home from work that evening, I told her of my conviction, only to discover that the Lord had gone ahead of me and given Kris the same heart.  Confirmation?  We thought so.

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