If you missed the previous posts in this series you can find them all right HERE!
We waited almost 2 1/2 years to meet our little Emalee! Finally, on December 20, 2006 we got a phone call from our adoption agency with the news. We were so excited to tell our family about our new addition and did just that as a Christmas surprise for my parents. I don't want to go into much detail about our adoption story in this post, but if you'd like the read our entire adoption story just go HERE.
Early 2007 brought us a HUGE ice storm and later on that spring, March 22 we boarded a jet to Seoul, South Korea to pick up Emalee!
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| Me and Emalee meeting for the first time. I'm giving her some long awaited mommy kisses! |
The rest of 2007 was pretty uneventful. We primarily focused on bonding with Emalee, getting the boys in their new school and just carrying on with our normal family routine.
The one thing that I wanted to point out that started happening during this time was the influx of gifts that we received from people for our adoption. Many family members, friends and our church gave us monetary gifts as well as formula, diapers and clothing.
When we first heard the Lord's voice and chose to follow His direction we specifically asked Him to provide for our adoption. If you don't already know this, adoptions can be VERY expensive. Some adoptions, depending on the process, are NOT pricey. For some reason the Lord lead our hearts to international adoption and that IS pricey! Some people have asked us to explain why we chose international adoption over domestic adoption. My answer to that is simple....We didn't choose it...God did...We chose to obey Him! We're glad we did!
When we first heard the Lord's voice and chose to follow His direction we specifically asked Him to provide for our adoption. If you don't already know this, adoptions can be VERY expensive. Some adoptions, depending on the process, are NOT pricey. For some reason the Lord lead our hearts to international adoption and that IS pricey! Some people have asked us to explain why we chose international adoption over domestic adoption. My answer to that is simple....We didn't choose it...God did...We chose to obey Him! We're glad we did!
Was it easy? No! There were times that I would get remarks from people (some that we loved and trusted dearly) that really hurt me. In those times I had to remind myself to go back to the beginning. Go back to God's initial calling. Go back to the Scripture that He used to confirm that calling. It was Him that called us to this. He spoke to me very clearly one day through the song linked below.
I learned a very big lesson during this process:
God's Voice of Truth is all that matters! The world's voice is very loud....not like God's still, small voice. The world's voice can be very deceitful...sometimes sounding like God's voice, but it's NOT God's voice. It MUST line up with God's Word! We MUST be in His Word to be able to know His Voice and to discern between the two!
I'm still overwhelmed with the generosity that was shared to us by others. Some of that continues to this very day...continuing to prove to us that God is our Provider! I have one friend that has supplied almost every stitch of clothing that Emalee has ever worn by giving us her daughters hand me downs. I seriously have only HAD to buy Emalee some socks and shoes. It seems like such a simple gesture to most people, but to us it has meant the world!!! I don't know how to thank all of our friends and family (you know who you are) for your love and support as we've brought Emalee into our family. She's been home just over 4 years and has blossomed into a beautiful, bouncy little girl that we love and adore beyond our wildest dreams!
thanks for posting this amazing story Heather. I am sooo glad God laid this on your hearts, and that you and Brian listened to HIM. Emalee is a huge blessing and seeing her smile makes it all so much more worthwhile. I hate to think that there are children in those orphanages who need someone to adopt them. How could anyone not want their child? You carry them for 9 months, and they are a precious gift from God. It breaks my heart to think about all the unwanted babies/children in those orphanages. :( It is a BIG blessing to watch Emalee grow up and her smile is just priceless. I know it was rough getting her settled in for the first few months, but look at her now! Our kiddos think she is so cute. Hopefully your post will touch many people and allow them to listen to God and trust in his Word and follow Him when he calls. That is a big step, ya know! :) and of course very important as Christians. U R amazing!! :)
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