So Thankful That God is in Control

We made a quick trip to Seneca.  We went after school on Friday and stayed all day Saturday.  

The kids get so excited to go back (and honestly, I do too).  As we pulled into Seneca, Zoe yells, "I love this town!" and Cole says, "Yeah, I love Sickena!"

Saturday, Mom and I drove to Bolivar to get Justin.  I love this kid, even if he is 19 now!

Cole packed "everything he needed".  It included 3 buckets of trains, tracks, and cars and a bag of books for Papa to read to him.We had a really great family day on Saturday.  We hung out, ate great food, walked over to the school to play, and watched a movie.

Blake even hung out with us!  It was a lot of fun.

Having all of Mom and Dad's "new" kids there made me a little sappy.  I started to think of where they started and how far they have come.

 14 years ago, my first year of teaching, I met Justin.  He wasn't in my kindergarten class, but everyone knew him.  He was in foster care and had lots of issues.  He was angry at the world and was a huge trouble-maker.  From the moment I met him, I loved him.  I told my Mom and Dad about him.  They hadn't had any kids in the house for 3 years and were finally overcoming the empty nest feeling.  After meeting him though, they too fell in love.  Dad took him to games and he started visiting more and more.  They decided to take foster classes, just so they could adopt him.

There are a lot of things that happened that just fell into place.  I would love to tell anyone who would listen the entire story, because it was obviously God led.  

We started finding out more and more things about Justin's life before us and each thing we found out was more horrible.  He went into foster care when he was only five and this poor boy has had to overcome (and will continue to fight) more demons than most of us ever will.  He is now living at Good Samaritan Boys' Ranch in Bolivar.  He has graduated and works there as a maintenance man.  He was baptized a few years ago and reads his Bible daily.  He is very polite and answers with "yes ma'am and no sir".  He opens doors for us (even our car doors) and offers to help with whatever needs done.  

He will always struggle with the awful things that happened to him the first 5 years of his life, but I have no doubt that he will be in heaven one day.  I can't wait to see him there, completely new.

Then  came Blake.  Wow!  When Mom and I went to pick him up he had just turned two.  He was the most adorable little guy I had ever seen.  We knew we were in trouble.

He has added a lot of spark to our lives.  

He's fourteen now, and ornerier than ever.  I can't imagine what our lives would be like without him.

When Mom and Dad got the call about Charity, I had just had a miscarriage a few months earlier.  Mom called me and told me that they had got a call to keep a baby girl for a week, but she didn't want to do it if it would bother me.  It was sweet of her to think about me, but of course it didn't bother me.  

Charity was 5 months old when we got her and weighed 11 pounds.  Her little eyes darted back and forth and she had dark, curly hair.  She was so adorable.  
I didn't know it at the time, but I was actually pregnant with Zoe when Mom and Dad had got the call to take her.  Of course, as you know now, one week turned into a lifetime.  Mom has said that had she known at the time that I was pregnant they probably wouldn't have taken her because they would've wanted to concentrate on being new grandparents.

Luckily, God was in control once again.  I truly believe Zoe would be a different kid if we didn't have Charity. Most people probably think Zoe took care of Charity, but in fact Char watched out for Zoe, especially the first 5 years.

Charity also has some battles to overcome.  In the world's eyes she does not, and never will, live up to the standards set for us.  The world judges us on academics, athletic ability, and other attributes that simply do not matter to God.  I'm glad she has my parents who bring out her best spiritual gifts.  When I think of Charity I think of  Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruits of the spirit.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Okay, we're still working on the last one, but for the most part she possesses these qualities.  What a gift she is to all of us.

Then, just when we thought they were finished, along came Judd.  

Stephanie had heard about him through Home of God's Love and was telling her Sunday School class that he needed a home.  Mom and Dad immediately said, "We have a home."  

Dad will be the first to admit to you that it doesn't make sense.  We all thought they were crazy.  Judd was from Taiwan.  He was 6 and didn't speak English.  We had never met him, but were told he was probably autistic, blind, and had a list of other problems.  

That didn't stop Mom and Dad from continuing to pray about it.

A few months later, they traveled across the world to pick up their new son.  Mom had never flown before and was terrified.  I still can't believe they did it.

He's only been here 9 months, but knows English well and is thriving in school.  He has lots of friends and fits in the family perfectly.

Anyone who has adopted knows there are daily struggles.  Thank goodness Mom and Dad do not have to do it alone.  They are surrounded by many people who love them and love their kids.  I feel a certain amount of guilt and sadness that I'm not there everyday anymore to love on them and help, but I know they live in a community where people are willing to help in so many ways.  What a blessing to have Justin, Blake, Charity, and Judd in our lives.