Seedlings and Sunflowers: Adopted

We can hardly believe that the wait to make our little son ours, is over. We had a longing to adopt for many years. We heard a call to adopt in the fall of 2010. We applied to adopt the day after Thanksgiving that year (not knowing ...that a little baby destined to be ours, was already 2 months old).

Our Homestudies to adopt began in February of 2011.

(referral photo)

We received a referral in May of 2011. We watched each month that year as our little boy grew, and grew in those photos.

our first picture of Nathaniel, (June 2011) after accepting the referral

-here he is with our pictures we sent him-

We missed our boy's first birthday...here he is at 1 yr. of age.

(Sept. 10, 2011)

Here is the beautiful outfit his foster mom bought him to celebrate his 1 year birthday.

We received this photo in November - while we were at Disneyworld. How perfect for him to be wearing a Buzz Lightyear hat that we sent him! We suspected then that he would fit in well with this Disney lovin' family. (6 mo. after placement....he knew all the major characters from Mickey Mouse Playhouse...."Goofy" is his favorite...along with "Mickey")

We hung an empty stocking last Christmas, under a Star. God reminded me that lonely Christmas of 2011, that in His perfect timing, the Wise Men had met the Christ child when he was a toddler. He could have had them come earlier...or later. It was also His perfect timing that we meet our child as a toddler. No matter how much I wanted Nate with us last Christmas, it was comforting to know that I wanted even more...to meet him in God's timing. That Star, and any star we saw that Christmas helped us remember God's gift to man in his Son, and his gift to us - our new son.

The beginning of 2012 was heartbreaking for us and many families as we sat and waited, and waited...and did not see any children come home for 4 months. Everyday we opened our email expecting some good news....and it did not come. Even our agency prayed hard for all the families for some movement from the country to get babies home.

I went on a scrap retreat with some friends in Jan., and received 3 photos before I left. I had thought to be traveling soon, or had at least hoped for some movement. Instead ---I clung to those photos that weekend and prayed and prayed that I would see my boy soon. God reminded me once again - that his timing is perfect.

We thanked God that when movement did start again, and babies began to come home, that we were among some of the first families to be submitted and to travel.

our last photo from Korea ---Nate with Easter Eggs (April 2012-19 mo. old)

We saw our precious boy for the first time on April 27th, 2012. That first glimpse of him coming through that door, and watching him walk over to me, will be forever etched in my heart and mind. Holding him in my arms, at last, was truly amazing and indescribable. It was Perfect.

holding Nathaniel for the first time at the Holt Office in Seoul, Korea

Daddy interested Nate in a snack....they were good friends right away!

holding my boy in the taxi - on the way home to our hotel after leaving Holt

Months before we traveled, our oldest daughter asked why we needed to "adopt" Nathaniel. She loved him already and that seemed enough. Why was it necessary that we go to court and fill out papers and say publically that we chose him as our son? What an amazing opportunity I had to explain to her and the other kids about the spiritual truth behind the entire process. I told her that it did not change anything about our relationship with Nathaniel. It didn't make us love him more, or even prove to others that he was ours. It merely made it legal. Without it, however, he would have no true legal connection to our family. Adopting him meant......he was our "heir". He received an "inheritance". His birth certificate had our "name" on it. His status was "equal" to that of a child that Tim and I had had ourselves. He really "belonged" to us. Yes ----bringing him home, loving him, calling him our child, caring for him, raising him.....is enough. However, we wanted to do something more, we wanted to adopt him, to give him the status of a "son" and all that goes with it.

What an amazing comparison to us and God. We are adopted by him. We are his. It never occurred to me until that conversation that being "saved" was enough. God sending his son, Jesus, to die for our sins was enough. Receiving forgiveness for my sins was enough. Going to Heaven and living there forever was enough. However.....God.....did.....more. He Adopted Us. We are his "heirs". We receive the same "Inheritance" as Christ. We truly "belong" to him! We are called his "sons and daughters". We are forever a part of God's family.

Here are some photos of that beautiful day for us - when we adopted our Nathaniel into our family!

an ornament that Hallmark made for 2012--- "Forever Family"

"final" ---our Nathaniel with Mom and Dad and the judge

Our whole family with the judge

my parents with us all

(the judge offered to take photos for us!)

our attorney

sporting a Mickey Mouse tie for court

"whoa" - it was very windy

America's newest citizen

in front of the courthouse

we celebrated with something familiar from Korea-

Baskin Robbins

just noticed the signs "celebrate" and "take home" in the background

-definitely "celebrating" and taking

our new son "home"-

yummy

We ate ice cream before dinner!! Adoption 2pm, ice cream 4pm. We went to play awhile at Gma and Gpa's house, and then went out to eat at P.F. Changs. Poor guy had missed his nap and so he fell asleep, in my arms, on the way into the restaurant. He slept through his entire celebration meal. We took his rice to go. On the way back home we decided to treat him to another favorite thing - popcorn!