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Jared and I have always desired to have a large family.  Before I was even married I always said I wanted to have 4 children and adopt 2.  I am glad Jared was open to that plan!  After 8 years of marriage we were well on our way to fulfilling our dream, we had 4 beautiful children Everett, Beckett, and Francie, and Lyla.

In 2009 our family moved to Nashville, Tennessee for a year.  While we were there we met a family that had done a lot of work in Haiti and who was in the process of adopting a Haitian child.  The lady that babysat for us moved to Haiti to do missions work and just a few days after she started her work in the country the earthquake happened.  There was such a personal connection to the country of Haiti as we prayed for our friend and watched our neighbors bring home not one but two beautiful, vibrant little girls from a country that was devastated by the earthquake.

With the presence of two little Haitian girls now living in our small Nashville community, Jared, the kids and I learned Creole, watched as the girls experienced many firsts with their new life in America, and had our hearts pricked in a way that would change us forever.

We left Nashville and ventured back to Colorado Springs in the Spring of 2010.  We were so sad to leave behind so many of the great friends we had met while there.  That summer we were at the Desperation Conference and the speaker asked everyone to pray and ask God to put a dream in there heart.  Our four children lined the back row of the church.  After the prayer, I asked Everett, our then six year old, about the dream that God placed in his heart.  He looked at me and said, “mom we are supposed to adopt some kids from Haiti.”  My heart leapt when I heard this, but I wasn’t sure how that would ever unfold.

In the fall of 2011, after two very difficult miscarriages, Jared and I began to visit this idea of adoption.  As we prayed, we felt lead to explore Haiti.  In January of 2012 we were off to a country that we already loved, but had never experienced.  We had spent so much time praying for the people of this land.  Our hearts were moved beyond words and we left Haiti after five days knowing that the “conception of our next children” had begun.

This blog is our story of adoption.

Stay updated on the adoption Here

I love the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Even though its rated #74 for scariest scenes in a movie, I still love it. My favorite song from the movie is “Pure Imagination”. I feel like the song is sung from God’s perspective to us.Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imaginationTake a look and you’ll see into your imaginationWe’ll begin with a spin traveling in the world of my creationWhat we’ll see will defy explanationIf you want to view paradise simply look around and view itAnything you want to, do itWant to change the world? There’s nothing to itThere is no life I know to compare with pure imaginationLiving there you’ll be free if you truly wish to beThere’s this invitation to participate in the cosmic workings, or factory, that is the kingdom of heaven and “the kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of our God.” A transformation. A blood transfusion of grace.This whole process of adoption has opened up another world to me. I don’t even know all that it entails. I know it’s not just about John Diego or about my family. I know its about the kingdom of God and it’s changing my life. Probably just as much as music has changed my life. And Megan. It’s on that level of “this is so amazing. I don’t understand it, but I know I can never go back” amazing.I have so many questions about everything. I know John Diego was born two months after the earthquake. What were the circumstances? Why couldn’t his family keep him? Where are they now? How long with the process take? How much will he remember? Will he adjust to us and our family? Will we adjust to him? Will we ever meet his family? What will it be like to potentially have 3 two-year olds living in our home?But the process is pure imagination. I am changing the world and I’m being changed in the process. There’s nothing to it. Just saying yes and moving forward. Facing challenges and believing God that you can rise to meet them. John Diego turns two at the end of March. Megan and a friend are headed down for a few days to be with him. We are going to take our boys down at the end of May once they get out of school. A few friends are coming with us as well. I can’t wait.Living there you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.If you’d like to buy a piece of the puzzle you can do so at the top of this blog. Every bit helps. thanks.

The more time I spend in church the more I’ve fallen in love with testimonies. Sermons and songs are wonderful, but they don’t quite reveal as much to me as testimonies. Stories of God’s involvement in people never get old to me. It’s like listening to the Bible being retold in common, everyday, uninhibited language. What’s great is that when someone’s telling their story, when its not all polished and well-rehearsed, they’re not even thinking about the Bible, just about the story and what happened to them. Usually sometime later they make the connection. I have yet to hear a testimony that only involved the teller. There’s always at least one other character (in addition to God) if not more. One pastor describes that additional person in a testimony as a matchmaker. Maybe making disciples is really making matches. There is an art to playing a supporting role in someone’s testimony. You may not be aware of every role you’re currently playing. I love playing the memory game with my kids. We have Spiderman memory, Toy Story memory, Star Wars memory, and Muppets memory. Each game is similar with a stack of square cards (maybe 50) with 2 of each character. You shuffle them up and set them out in rows upside down and take turns looking for matches. At first it’s slow. No one knows where anything is. But after a few rounds everyone begins to remember what they’ve seen and make the matches. The Bible is like Israel’s memory game. There’s way more than 50 squares, but God is always reaching out to match or be united with His people. Abraham was matched with God, as was Jacob. Esau, not so matched. So how to be matched. The good thing is that God wants to be matched with us. If it were any other way we would be toast. Being fully matched to God includes allowing matchmakers around us to help. Heaven begins when we are fully matched to God and fully matchmaking with others. Christ is revealed in this unity, or mess, you might call it. I call it church, or marriage.The enemy or the distracter would like you to believe that you can be complete by only being matched with other people and God is not necessary. But that is hell, or the curse. We can only know each other if we know the Father. The ultimate matchmaker, Jesus, in human form who redeemed us from the curse and left us His Holy Spirit to glue us to God and to one another.Here’s to matchmaking.