August 5th will forever be one of my favorite days. On August 5, 2008 John and I drove to Child Haven to meet a sibling group of 4 that we felt God was telling us to take as our first placement. As we were driving I was feeling so many emotions... excited, nervous, happy, scared. When we walked up to check in we were first directed to the "Agassi Cottage" where babies and special needs children were. As we entered the cottage there was 1 baby screaming his head off and everyone else seemed peaceful. As long as we weren't getting the screamer I was good. Too bad that screamer was Iggi. As I walked over to pick him up I was thinking I could quickly turn and go back to the car and be pretty sure I would never see any of these people again but the moment I picked up that screaming baby, he stopped. Not slowed down, stopped. He just needed some love. As I held him and waiting for his older 3 siblings to come over from their cottage, I spoke with the cottage supervisor. He mentioned that these kids had been in there at least 3 times before, it sounded like jail time or something. He said that he felt the kids were ready to be adopted and joked about how funny it would be if we adopted our first placement.
HOLD THE PHONE!!!!
I'm 23 years old, I've been married for 5 months and you'd like me to adopt 4 kids. You've lost your mind!
I went back to thinking about how quickly I could get to the car and put this whole thing behind me when 3 of the chubbiest faces I'd ever seen came barreling through the door. There was no where to run now. We played with these kids for an hour and they instantly stole my heart. There was no way I was going to adopt them but I could see taking care of them for a little while. We said goodbye to Iggi and walked the 3 big kids back to their cottage. After seeing where they all slept, played and ate, we asked Jose how he would feel about living with us for a while. He had such a concerned look on his face. After a few moments of silence (the only time Jose has EVER been without something to say) he asked if his baby brother could come too. Once we assured him that Iggi would be joining us, he smiled and agreed to come home with us the next night.
The following day, it took 2 cars and 3 adults to pick up the kids and after dinner, baths and a very rough bed time, day 1 was over. I didn't know what we had gotten ourselves into but I knew we were doing what we were called to do.
August 5, 2010, after 2 years of ups and d
owns, good times and bad, much laughter and many tears, we were once again in the car driving to Bonanza and Pecos...this time, to legally adopt Jose, Diego, Zoe and Iggi. There were times I directly told God, "I am not adopting these kids.". Well, I guess we all know I'm not in charge. I couldn't have planned a more perfect life for myself if I tried. Praise God he doesn't leave that up to us.Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future".
