If you think my hands are full...

I've heard from many people recently as they see me out and about with Caden and Noah that I "must have my hands full." And, it's true. My boys are a handful! But, I recently saw a woman with a shirt on that said, "If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart." It got me thinking, "Is my heart full"? So, as I sat and thought about it, I have come to a conclusion. My heart is wonderfully joyful that we have two healthy, loving, wonderful boys. They are the best job I've ever had, stretch me in ways I couldn't imagine, and I love them more than I would have told you was possible before we had children. They are such blessings. But, is my heart full, as in, cannot love another?
As I prayed about that, the answer the Lord gave me is a resounding no. My heart is full to overflowing, and I know that having a third child so quickly will be chaotic (or a third and fourth, should we get twins), but I guess the way I think of it is that my heart is a tall glass or pool, almost filled with love for our boys and my little family. Now, picture a kid joyfully taking a flying leap into that glass, doing a picture perfect cannonball right in the middle, landing safely in the love of his or her new mommy! Sure, there's going to be change, ripples throughout and puddles under the cup, but it's all love that spills out, joy that we'll share knowing God has blessed us with another child or more children. So, for now, we're waiting! Please continue to be in prayer for us and our boys, for the birth mother and what she's going through. We love and appreciate you all supporting us through this journey!

Lastly, our adoption agency has a Facebook page and I borrowed this picture from it. I just love it. We hope you all are well, and that God is holding you in His perfect peace, just as He is holding us!

Justin, Rachel, Noah and Caden

Guess what?!?!?

I always said I wanted a big family with a yard full of kids. Well, guess what?!?! We're gonna have more kids, but not the way you're thinking. When Justin and I were engaged, we both felt individually that we wanted to adopt at least one kid one day. We knew that we wanted to see our family grow in this way, and now we're taking the plunge. As of last week, we have submitted 98% of our paperwork to our wonderful adoption agency, Christian Homes and Family Services. We went to an orientation and got our zip disk full of paperwork, have worked and worked on it, and feel like now is the time that we're supposed to welcome another child into our family. We're so so so excited about this!
Let me tell you about our adoption agency. It's a phenomenal Christian organization where they know our names (and lots of other information about us after getting our paperwork) when we walk in the door, they have prayed for us since day one and have some of the best people we've ever met. It's been a joy to work with them.
When we were at our orientation, I realized how big their ministry is. They not only do the adoption side, they have foster-adopt families and babies to care for, they provide homes for women who are planning to give their child up for adoption and feel like God led them to do so. It's such a blessing to be working with them.
our journey will be a long one. We're just starting, and it could take as long as two years, though we're praying it won't take quite that long. Pretty soon, I think you'll be able to look us up on the Christian Homes website, http://www.christianhomes.com/. We'll keep you all updated on our progress here.
In the meantime, if you know of anyone who is thinking about adoption, both for adopting a baby or for if you know a woman who is struggling with what to do with a surprise pregnancy, you can refer her to Christian Homes. They really are an amazing group of people and we're honored to walk through this with them.
We covet your prayers as we walk through this amazing journey. Please pray for us, for the boys and for our birth mom and baby! Health for all, love, and especially for the birth mom as she makes an incredible decision to give her baby to us to love for its entire life. We can't imagine how difficult that would be, so please pray for her emotional, physcial and spiritual health.
Thanks you guys! We love you all!