Daddy's Hats

Henry's Ark

We had a blast this morning with several of our friends from church!  We took our kiddos to Henry's Ark, a small little farm-like place with all kinds of neat animals roaming around.  We've been once before, but this time my two were walking instead of riding in a stroller.  And little miss was MUCH more brave about feeding the animals.  It was such a fun (and free) outing!

A Terrible Loss

I've been following the blog of a young couple in the pilot program with our previous adoption agency to bring home a baby boy and girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and I was very sad to read this post today.  Please pray for their family and for the fatherless!

This will officially be my first blog post…a tough place to start, but a good outlet for what’s going on in my heart and mind right now…

This week the director from our agency is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her main goal while over there: visit the children in line to be adopted, take new pictures and video of the children and bring them care packages put together by their new families.

We were so excited to get to put together a care package specifically for our little girl a couple of weeks ago; the adoption process can drag out and seem like it’s never going to end and sending this package to her allowed us to feel more connected with this sweet little girl! You can imagine the excitement and anticipation we were experiencing the past couple of days. I found myself checking my email more regularly throughout the day hoping to see new pictures of my daughter and get an update of how she was doing.

A couple of nights ago Bethany and I were just talking about how much we loved this little girl that we knew so little about. We talked about how it didn’t even matter to us what potential illnesses, disabilities or delays she could have, we loved her no less and couldn’t wait to meet her and bring her home.

Tuesday evening we finally got some news…

I was driving home from work and got a text message from Bethany, “Hurry home. I just got a call from CCI.” I hoped this would be good news but feared what that message might mean.

When I walked in the door Bethany was sitting at the kitchen table with a picture of our little girl in front of her and tears in her eyes. It was written on a piece of paper so she didn’t have to say it, “Our little girl died four days ago.”

We’ve been told that the adoption process can be a rollercoaster of emotions and to expect the unexpected, but man……………….…this really blindsided us.

After several hours to think about things and some encouragement from friends and family, I just want to share a few thoughts…

God is Sovereign. That phrase is thrown around a lot, and can sometimes seem like nothing more than a hard reality; just deal with it and move on. But if understood correctly, it is a glorious truth! It is helpful for me to think about what it would mean if God is not sovereign. If God is not sovereign, then God does not reign over evil, God does not work all things together for our good and we can have no hope in the midst of suffering. What good would it do to pray to a God that is powerless to sovereignly answer prayer? As R.C. Sproul put it, “…if God is not Sovereign, God is not God.” With this in mind, how awesome and powerful are these truths: 

“The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” – Psalm 97:1

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” – Romans 5:3-4

One verse that I was struggling to understand last night was from Psalm 146:9, “The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” I couldn’t help but think about how she probably suffered and died from something that would have been preventable here in the States, how our director arrived in the Congo four days too late and how in just a few more months we would have traveled to pick her up and take care of her. How is the LORD upholding the fatherless here?!

I was helped when a friend called last night and prayed with me. On the phone he said, “She is no longer fatherless; she is face to face right now with her heavenly father. However she was suffering, God heard her cry and had mercy on her.”

As sad as it may be for us right now, God had mercy on this little girl and brought her home. Praise God, who in His sovereignty and mercy upholds the widow and the fatherless!

Now that she is deceased, we are allowed to share her beautiful face with you.

Her name was Leseli Joyce. We had already decided and filled out the paper work to change her name to Audrey Joy Meacham, named after my Dad’s Father, her great-grandfather, Audrey L. Meacham.  

If you would consider, here are some ways you can be praying with us:

Pray that God would give us a peace that surpasses all understanding, knowing that God is a sovereign and merciful God.

Pray that we would not grow weary in the adoption process, which can at times seem like there is no end in sight.

Pray that God would uphold the fatherless in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (and throughout the world) and that many children would be able to be adopted by Christ-centered families.

In Christ,
Jon

Almost Two!

The kids are just a few months away from turning two years old, and they've been making leaps and bounds verbally and physically.  Anybody that's spent time with them can attest to the fact that they talk all day long.  A friend said tonight about our sweet boy that he narrates life.  And that's probably a good way to put it.  I feel like I have a running commentary on everything that happens all day long.  And his sister is not far behind him.  They both talk primarily in short phrases, really pretty close to sentences.  We've got two talkers on our hands, that's for sure.  These kiddos are full of personality!

They're doing such big kids things lately.  I really think having each other spurs them on.  Our little 20 and 21 month olds can walk down the stairs holding on to just the rail.  Not mommy's hand.  Hard to believe, isn't it?  Here's some evidence:

I need to get the video camera out more often.  Sweet miss is doing it too.  And they regularly go down the whole staircase that way.  They surprise me every day. 

We went to the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and they didn't have any double shopping carts at the front.  We only needed a couple of things, so I took a chance on one of the little mini-shopping carts for kids to push.  My two littles LOVE to be helpers.  So I encouraged them to help me push the cart.  And they pushed it all through the store.  Now this is not just a small grocery store.  It's a big one -- so big that sometimes I pick another one just so I don't have to walk the length of it.  And we needed things from both ends of the store.  But these little troopers stood side by side and pushed their cart from the time we walked in the door to the time we hit the checkout lane.  I was so pleased (and a little surprised, to be honest).  God has been so good to give us these precious two!

Hands Full

A few excerpts from a great blog post...

A house full of kids is full of so much richness, joy, tenderness and fun that I wouldn't trade it.  I wouldn't trade it for more time to myself, more quiet, more money, or more freedom. I wouldn't trade it for less mess, less laundry, less bickering, less whining, or less work. 

I want my children to know I celebrate them.
I am grateful for them.
I don't want them to feel like they are a burden to me.
Yes, my hands are full.
But so is my heart.