Adoption Update, Home Schooling & Kenya!!

It has been a while since I have had the chance to update this blog. Our hard drive crashed a month or so ago, and we have been without a computer. It was eye opening to realize how much I use my computer during the day! So, now everything is fixed, and I have some BIG updates!!

First, Baby J. had his hearing to determine the status of the reunification services being offered to his birth mom. The court decided to end services, make adoption his permanency plan and move him from the Family Reunification Dept. into Adoptions. This was the news we were hoping to hear. So, the next step in the process is for the courts to remove parental rights from the birth parent, which allows us to move forward with the petition to adopt him. From this point forward the process is fairly straight forward, with little opportunity for involvement by the birth parents. (They are allowed to appeal the process, but that is limited.) So, we stand at another crossroad which is so familiar to adoptive families. Every decision has two (or three) sides to it. For each decision that lands in our favor, there is a birth family that is losing the opportunity to know this really great kid. Yes, I know their decisions have brought them to the place they are in now, but my heart breaks for them just the same. They are in my prayers.

Second, this probably deserves its own blog entry, and I will come back to this in more detail soon, but... I have decided to homeschool Elise and Isaac in the fall. I also plan to homeschool Camille and Baby J. when they are ready. For those of you who know me, you know that this is HUGE! It is definitely a decision that has been bathed in prayer and a long time in coming. I am totally excited and will post more about it later!

Lastly, Brian is going to KENYA!!! He has been praying about our families' involvement in Kenya for a while now, and God has provided an opportunity for him to go on a short term mission this summer. In fact, this January our pastor announced that our church, in connection with Compassion International will be stepping up their involvement in Kenya, and a couple of other countries(I will let you know more as I know more). In fact, he has been gone with his family to visit Kenya and the other locations during the last few weeks. It is just so exciting to see how God puts everything together. Brian's heart for Kenya, our churches increased involvement there, and the opportunity to go serve. God is good!! So, please pray for us as we prepare for Brian to go, raise money during a recession, and continue to walk the path God has laid out for us. Our desire is to live a life of obedience to Jesus, regardless of the cost or consequence. When I told my parents Brian was going to Kenya the first thing my dad asked was, "Is it safe?" I love my parents, and they are Christians who love Jesus but they missed the point. Please watch the Francis Chan video. It is short, but clearly illustrates this point!