I love the hearts of our kids!!
I'm not saying they are by any means close to perfection, & I certainly have days where they challenge me to the core of my being :) Just thought I would say that, in case any of you thought anything different :)
Sam & I are processing and trying to decide "WHAT" we are supposed to do WHEN the time comes to travel to Ghana to bring Ella home!!
Well today, the kids made a unanimous decision!
Sam & I have gone back and forth, sometimes flip flopping all within one day!!!
We are trying to decide if Sam should come with me to Ghana, or not!!
It is such a haaaaaaaaaaaaard decision!
We have been asking God to make it clear!!!
There are definite pros and cons with either decisions!
Two MAJOR obstacles with him coming are #1 FINANCES!!! I know, I know ... none of us have the money to do everything that is needed to adopt ... but oh boy is God faithful in providing for our needs in a variety of ways!! So at this point we are debating/talking/praying ... are we to charge Sam's plane ticket!!! Our reality is that we are "pretty close" to having all of the adoption costs/fees paid for (that is another entire long post)!
And obstacle #2 is leaving our 4 kids at home without either one of us, the thought of leaving Kody being particularily hard!! Soooooo ... we will see how this works out!! Depending on the "timing of when" we go ... is also a factor! Sam's parents have offered to do part of the time if we both went, and just today my mom offered to do part of the time = which would be AWESOME!!! Kody (and the other 3) absolutely adore their omma & grandma and pappa ... and feel totally comfortable with them ... so both of our hearts would be at peace with this situation ...
Well, I've been talking with the kids this week about the possibility of daddy coming with mommy on this next trip!! Their first initial responses were of course no ... and then they had a day or so where their hearts paused and they really weren't sure ... and now today they all said "yes, daddy you should go!" How TOTALLY SELFLESS of them!!!
Adoption has been part of their life for each one of them since they have entered our family ... our first child was adopted, the 2nd one was biological, and all of the rest have been adopted so they already truly love Ella and think of her as their sister (it does not matter to them that she is only now joining our family, versus when she was a baby)!!! So today I asked them to put themselves in Ella's shoes ... and we talked about how special it would be for daddy to help bring her home on the airplane, & for daddy to get to see where she was born (we will travel up North to the village where she was born), and for daddy to meet the birth family (grandpa & probably grandma)!! For each one of them, both Sam & I have had the HONOR of bringing them home (so to speak) and I asked how they would feel if only mommy had gotten to do this!!!
I totally understand how in some families it is NOT possible for both parents to travel & bring the new child (or children home) ... I totally do not believe in the one glove fits everyone analogy ... right now in our family though it has not been clear whether us both traveling has been POSSIBLE!! Actually up until this week, it has not been possible for Sam to take the time off from work ... so now him coming is back on the table in our prayers!
Sooo ... after the very real convesation today with the kids, they told me that daddy should go! And when Sam came home, they told him the same thing! And when Sam asked them why they thought he should go ... they all said "ELLA!"!!
We still could flip flop the other way!! God could close the door ... depending on "when" the passport comes, depends on if we have childcare!!! But as of NOW, Sam is "planning" tentatively on coming WITH!!!!!!!!
I'm not saying they are by any means close to perfection, & I certainly have days where they challenge me to the core of my being :) Just thought I would say that, in case any of you thought anything different :)
Sam & I are processing and trying to decide "WHAT" we are supposed to do WHEN the time comes to travel to Ghana to bring Ella home!!
Well today, the kids made a unanimous decision!
Sam & I have gone back and forth, sometimes flip flopping all within one day!!!
We are trying to decide if Sam should come with me to Ghana, or not!!
It is such a haaaaaaaaaaaaard decision!
We have been asking God to make it clear!!!
There are definite pros and cons with either decisions!
Two MAJOR obstacles with him coming are #1 FINANCES!!! I know, I know ... none of us have the money to do everything that is needed to adopt ... but oh boy is God faithful in providing for our needs in a variety of ways!! So at this point we are debating/talking/praying ... are we to charge Sam's plane ticket!!! Our reality is that we are "pretty close" to having all of the adoption costs/fees paid for (that is another entire long post)!
And obstacle #2 is leaving our 4 kids at home without either one of us, the thought of leaving Kody being particularily hard!! Soooooo ... we will see how this works out!! Depending on the "timing of when" we go ... is also a factor! Sam's parents have offered to do part of the time if we both went, and just today my mom offered to do part of the time = which would be AWESOME!!! Kody (and the other 3) absolutely adore their omma & grandma and pappa ... and feel totally comfortable with them ... so both of our hearts would be at peace with this situation ...
Well, I've been talking with the kids this week about the possibility of daddy coming with mommy on this next trip!! Their first initial responses were of course no ... and then they had a day or so where their hearts paused and they really weren't sure ... and now today they all said "yes, daddy you should go!" How TOTALLY SELFLESS of them!!!
Adoption has been part of their life for each one of them since they have entered our family ... our first child was adopted, the 2nd one was biological, and all of the rest have been adopted so they already truly love Ella and think of her as their sister (it does not matter to them that she is only now joining our family, versus when she was a baby)!!! So today I asked them to put themselves in Ella's shoes ... and we talked about how special it would be for daddy to help bring her home on the airplane, & for daddy to get to see where she was born (we will travel up North to the village where she was born), and for daddy to meet the birth family (grandpa & probably grandma)!! For each one of them, both Sam & I have had the HONOR of bringing them home (so to speak) and I asked how they would feel if only mommy had gotten to do this!!!
I totally understand how in some families it is NOT possible for both parents to travel & bring the new child (or children home) ... I totally do not believe in the one glove fits everyone analogy ... right now in our family though it has not been clear whether us both traveling has been POSSIBLE!! Actually up until this week, it has not been possible for Sam to take the time off from work ... so now him coming is back on the table in our prayers!
Sooo ... after the very real convesation today with the kids, they told me that daddy should go! And when Sam came home, they told him the same thing! And when Sam asked them why they thought he should go ... they all said "ELLA!"!!
We still could flip flop the other way!! God could close the door ... depending on "when" the passport comes, depends on if we have childcare!!! But as of NOW, Sam is "planning" tentatively on coming WITH!!!!!!!!
Comments
Warm Ghana blessings.