The beginning...

Many people ask how life is doing now that the adoption is over. But the reality is, the process is just beginning. Adoption isn't about paperwork, fingerprints, foreign governments and months of waiting. It's about kids. Adoption is adding a child into our family. The past two and a half years were the prequel. We have finally reached the beginning of the process.

It is the same as being pregnant. I think we as a society should get out of the habit of saying, "I'm having a baby" and into the habit of saying, "I'm having a child." Sometimes we are so captivated by the adorable baby clothes and the precious little blankies that we forget we are signing up for a life time of loving a child through the easy and the hard.

That's what we have done. We've signed on for loving sweet N through the easy and the hard. We've experienced both so far. In some ways, N is the easiest child. He has attached to our family so quickly and is often smiley and full of wonder. And did I mention that he SLEEPS?!?! Hallelujah! But we've experienced some hard. He currently has the language of a 1 1/2 year old with the stubbornness of a 3 -year-old. It's a rough combination.

But through it all, he's ours to love and parent and train. He's not a blank slate. He has baggage we haven't even uncovered yet, but we have a lifetime of loving on him to figure it out.

We have been so excited to hear friends that are looking to adopt now that they've watched us walk this path. We are thrilled because we believe that every child deserves a loving family, and we truly believe that adoption models God's heart for us. But I would caution that you shouldn't adopt because you are passionate about adoption or have a heart for the orphans.  Adopt because you have a heart for raising children because once the emotional high of walking off that airplane with the child you have been fighting for comes to an end, you have a lifetime of parenting still ahead. The real journey is just beginning.