Dear Crazy Readers,
Roger and I want to adopt again and I want you to join us. I’m starting something I’ve never done before- a 365 day blog challenge to adoption. I want to blog or vlog {everyday} my journey as a mom going through the adoption process. We are at the very beginning- no expectations, no time line, and no idea where God wants to take us. This is a real adventure. Will you join me? I’m setting the goal to pray everyday and share my feelings about the craziness of adoption… the good, the crazy, the setbacks, the challenges, the trials, the joys and the miracles!! You have my permission to keep me accountable and to set me straight when I hit speed bumps along the way and feel afraid. Ok- we are in this together!! What is YOUR adoption prayer for this year? Lets challenge each other starting today- 365 days!!! You can read my personal journey at the end of each daily post “365 days!” I can’t wait to see what God will do in our lives this year.
I will continue to blog 6 days a week in 2011 to encourage moms, celebrate adoption, mission news and advocating for orphan care. I’m excited about the new projects God will take My Crazy Adoption Blog on this year!! I hope my blog continues to challenge you to make a real difference in the life of children… we are all called to Simply Love.
I want to know what your adoption prayer is for 2011- share with me!!
Due to all my new guest posts this month and keeping up with my 365 Day goal to write everyday, I’m going to post on my facebook page daily. You can join me at Kari Smalley Gibson and I will be thrilled to have you faith walk with me!! Thanks for your understanding.
January 1st, 2011 at 4:39 AM
I love it! You ask at the end what are our adoption prayers… I come to the Lord seeking peace. I have ALWAYS known that I am supposed to adopt one day, since I was a young girl, however, as soon as we started to move towards the process… so so so many problems. I know that it is spiritual warfare. So we kept rolling with each setback: turning down twins my friend is caring for, some issues choosing an agency, not being able to do our homestudy til we move into our own house because we live with my husbands grandmother who has alzheimers (they live in inlaw suite), the list goes on and on… now I am pregnant! After 4 miscarriages, 2 high risk pregnancies, we had decided that we were DONE and by 1000% impossibility by man and 10000% a God thing I am now 9 weeks along. I know that God has a plan, however, I have dreamt about my daughter in Ethiopia and I believe with ever fiber of my body that she is alive. I know that this must be Gods way of making us wait because she is not ours yet, but I am still sad to have to wait for her and trying really hard to go with another curveball in my plan by God and be happy about my growing baby. I just cant get over how many are orphaned and I feel guilty in a sense. Everything good that I have been striving towards or seem to put my hands on, through much prayer and waiting seems to have crumbled this year. I almost feel like Jonah and yet I have no idea what I have not said yes to or something or place I am supposed to do or go. Thanks for listening to my rambling prayer.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:06 AM
My adoption prayer is that we will receive "clearance" from the US embassy in Ethiopia and will make the January 10th embassy date so we can pick up our new 4 year old son.:)
January 1st, 2011 at 8:19 AM
Our adoption prayer is to successfully pass court in Ethiopia on 2/28/11 and then to get an Embassy date and bring our 4 year old Peaches home!!!
Very exciting that you are pursuing adopting again…
January 1st, 2011 at 9:45 AM
Congratuations! I am so excited for your family. I look forward to following your journey. My husband and I are praying about adopting again. I would like to be open a special needs child/children, but only time will tell! Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2011 at 9:46 AM
I’m with you! We are adopting number 12 and 13 from China, and this journey will be completely different because they are 6 and 10 years old and we have never adopted older children before.
Let the journey and the challenge begin!
loves,
Shonni
January 1st, 2011 at 9:49 AM
my adoption prayer is for God to protect the orphan's soul (mind, will, emotions and memory). i that families adopting will be able to bond and make a heart connection with their adopted child. my prayer is for the orphan who had all things taken away from them, those things the Lord will return. my prayer is for HEALTHY attachment between child and parents.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:03 AM
My adoption prayer is that our adoption would continue to move forward and that our two babies can be home very soon! I also pray that we can make a impact in our community to encourage others to adopt.
Blessings on your adoption Mama Kiki!
Love you-Ash
January 1st, 2011 at 10:12 AM
I am totally with you on this! We are – basically – in the same place. At what I HOPE is the very beginning of our journey to our next child. I have no idea where that might be….here or abroad. In this society of instant gratification, I would prefer to just go online – like searching Amazon – and "FIND" our next child. I know in my heart that God does great things in and through us in the PROCESS…in the adventure…in the refining fire of waiting and persevering on our way to the child or children He desires to add to our families.
I will be praying for YOUR child as I pray for MINE! Thanks for the invite!
January 1st, 2011 at 5:00 PM
I was so excited when I came across your site, my husband and I have known for a long time that we were going to adopt. We have been married for 8 yrs, I came into the married with 4 beautiful daughters, we were never able to have any of our own. We currently foster two handsome little men ages 4 and 6. Walking through that process has shown us why we were unable to bear children, it has given us so much hope and joy! We currently started a ministry in our area called Isaiah's Hope it is an Orphan, Adoption and Foster care ministry and we offer prayer, support, encouragement and resources to families who have, are in process or are feeling called to adopt, we also are forming support groups. Through starting the ministry God had really laid it on our hearts to move forward with adopting. At a special New Years Eve dinner last night my husband and I made the decision in which we feel God prompting us to…ADOPT!!!!! So we are right there with you, and I feel blessed and honored to walk with you and others through this. We are currently looking at Uganda,we are not sure how many God will bless us with. We look forward to the journey!!! We too will be praying for your blessing and we pray for ours!!!
January 1st, 2011 at 7:26 PM
I pray that many more people's hearts will be open to adopting. I'm very glad to have found your web site-thanks!
January 1st, 2011 at 7:32 PM
How very exciting for you all!
Praying that we pass our second court date on January 13th! We were there the 3rd week of Dec. and did not pass because our dossier has been lost. Please pray the find it before the 13th and we pass!!! We are adopting 2 babies Stella and Benjamin, about 9 months old, (not twins:). We would love prayer that we go through court and through embassy smoothly.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:38 PM
We are adopting two children from Belize. We are just wrapping up our home study. I found your blog while searching for fundraiser ideas. I'll be coming back! I'm blogging about our adoption too. It's nice to meet another family following God's call to help the orphans!
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:14 AM
my adoption prayer for 2011 is similar to yours, we both know we want to adopt again and hopefully, Lord willing, even start the process this summer after our first son whom we adopted turns 1. Right away the enemy starts scaring me with the cost of adoption again since we dont have the $ for it, but we didnt for isaacs either adn God provided and I have to remember that! So i am praying God shows us when and where and makes it clear with confirmation and peace and provision for our next adoption!
January 2nd, 2011 at 11:25 AM
How exciting!!! Congratulations!!! Our adoption prayer, that at the moment, our baby is safe & being taken care of and that soon … sooner than we realize … we will come together in this journey.
January 2nd, 2011 at 12:12 PM
I pray that within this 365 days, my husband will develop a heart for adoption and that he will finally see that it's on God's agenda and not just mine.
January 2nd, 2011 at 12:23 PM
Hi Kari,
My adoption prayer for 2011 is for many more hearts to be stired, and many more of these BEAUTIFUL kids will get "FOREVER" homes, they all deserve so badly!! Congratulations on adoption #2!!! We are with you every step of the way!! You inspire so many people!!
I LOVE YOU!!
Sherrie xox
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:34 PM
I have several adoption prayers. My first adoption prayer is that my husband and I be the best parents we can possibly be to our two adopted children from Ethiopia. I pray that I might be able to touch the lives of others in the adoption process through my job as an adoption social worker. I pray that the children who are still waiting for forever families will not have to wait long. I pray that more and more people open their hearts and homes to the orphans or the world. Last but not least I pray that God will show me where I can do more to serve these amazing children.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:03 PM
My prayer is that God will move in my husband's heart, as he has mine in 2010, toward adoption. My prayer is that we will be unified in this decision so that we may begin the process of adopting a child in 2011! I know in my heart this is God's plan for our family, and now patiently wait for God to reveal this to my husband as well, as it is clearly all in HIS timing. I will excitedly follow your 365 days this year! God bless you and your sweet family.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:25 PM
Oh Kari, how I am so eager to begin the adoption process again!! We are now certain it is Africa but not sure if it will be ET or Uganda. Talked to Ryan at AW recently and I reckon we may just stop in the office there when we are in the area.He was so helpful and answered my thousand questions!!
Yet we still wait for a house of our own! ugh!! The Lord knows! Should we wait or start before we move into our own home? Only the Lord knows and I know He will show us!
I still wish that I was going on that trip in Feb with you! My hubby is quite confident that we shall go on one together some day! Please also pray for me this month if you think about it, Jude would have been born this month and we shall be missing him dearly! The Lord is good even though this year has been stinky! The lessons He has taught me are worth every trial!
i will so enjoy following along your journey and cannot wait to hear more!
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:43 PM
My prayer is that we can complete our adoptions this year. We live in Haiti, and our two girls have lived with us since they were infants, and they are 7 years old now. It is important to me to get this finalized, because when we leave on furlough we have to leave the girls behind, and it breaks my heart every time. My husband and I have decided that we will not be taking any more furloughs until we can take our girls with us. So we are praying this is the year for us!
January 3rd, 2011 at 12:56 PM
Awe…congrats. My ((adoption prayer)) is that everything works out for you and the family in your adoption journey!
I am still attempting to have another child, but if it doesn't work out I think I may look into becoming a foster parent.
My personal prayer is that whatever is meant to be… happens and we accept it gracefully
January 3rd, 2011 at 3:07 PM
My heart is sooo blessed by your comments this week!!! I'm praying and writing down my thoughts- totally forgot about all my guest bloggers for the next week. I want their posts celebrated right now:) I will add my daily journal up on top tab for now.
I love you and thank you for your prayers too!!
xoxo
January 3rd, 2011 at 10:05 PM
Hey Kari, I started an adoption journal when we began this process and love going back and reading all that God has done and reliving those memories. Our adoption prayer is to bring our 2 sons from Sierra Leone in the next coming months. We also need a financial miracle to make that happen
January 4th, 2011 at 12:31 AM
My 2011 adoption prayer is for the Lord to give me strength as I raise my children. Our last 3 were adopted in May of 2010 after fostering them for 2 years. Just as we finished the adoption and I felt things would settle down some our 3 yr. old daughter began having seizures that led to brain surgery. She has been in and out of the hospital numerous times since then. I am leaning on Him for strength.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:05 PM
For the next few weeks I will share daily to keep up my 365 Day goal on my facebook- you can follow along and share your daily thoughts too.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:56 PM
I'm always grateful for your blog and your faith in our big God! I'm praying for the Lord to provide us with the $ we need to start the process this summer of adopting from Ethiopia.