We are adopting Miley Hanalei. She is due December 25th! Why would a couple with 4 children who don't have the money to adopt decide to adopt? Good question. If you want to understand, we need to go back a few years. After being blessed with our beautiful daughter Lynnea we experienced our first miscarriage. We were then given our little boy Connor and a couple years later Shane. After Shane we experienced another miscarriage. We saw our baby floating in the sack with little eyes and stubs for hands and feet. A moment of amazement and great sorrow. Then along came Wesley. After Wesley we experienced 7 more miscarriages. Each one a little more devastating than the last, not only because of the loss of each child that I had carried and we had planned on, but because I got further along with greater physical and financial consequences. My last two were perfectly formed little boys. They had everything a full grown baby has - eyes, ears, fingers, toes, a cute little belly button, and even fingernails and toenails. Perfectly formed but gone. We mourned for a long time and tried to come to grips with the fact that we were done having kids. Then it happened. A moment in time that would change the course of our lives forever. I knew that we had a made a promise to a very special little spirit a long time ago. We knew there was a specific child that was always part of our family and would come to us through the selfless gift of another. We have experienced countless mountains, boulders, and even dead ends. The feelings to adopt were so strong that we moved forward knowing that there was no way we could afford it. We were matched with a little girl a few months ago whose parents are both from the Marshall Islands, but now live in the United States. She is due January 12th. Mike's business is struggling, and he was very concerned that by the end of the year we would be out of money and unable to provide for our family as it is - let alone shoulder the overwhelming costs of an adoption. So we did as much fundraising as we could, organizing a neighborhood garage sale, selling donated items online, a baked goods sale, and crocheted items our daughter made and a gumball machine from our son all to help raise funds. Now we must trust in God to provide the funds to adopt. There are not words to describe how humbled and grateful we feel to those who have helped and will help us to bring our Miley home. We love you!
