Thank You: Part 1

written while sitting in the atlanta airport

It’s taken 2 years to get to the point of departure and, while only part way to the end, I am (we are) overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. At times this journey – from infertility to 2 little Colombian ninas – has been very hard. Many have helped us along the way. I wanted to quickly mention them before we begin our travels.

In no particular order (and to be followed by part 2 after our trip!)…

Our Families. Without doubt, their prayers, support (verbal and financial), advice, general humor and keen sense of empathy has gotten us to this point. We love them all so much and can’t wait to add our girls to the chaos! I’m actually eager to have our daughters creating all kinds of mischief with Ava and Gracie.

Our Church Families. I am convinced that becoming a parent (adoptive or otherwise) is a spiritual moment. We’ve had so much prayer and support from our home church – College Hill Presbyterian – that I find it hard to envision going through an experience like this without their community. We also want to thank my wonderful childhood church – 14th St CRC – whose loving community still feels like home. Special thanks to the Walters’ family who, for all practical purposes, adopted Renee and me into their fun clan (Karis – can’t wait for you to meet Monica!).

Our Small Group. Some things are very clearly providential. In the past few years our small group has wrestled with the ups and downs of desiring a family, fertility problems, happy births and adventurous adoptions. It’s not that you have to go through those things to empathize and care, but it does add a dimension of realness. Their friendships and prayers have helped pull us through as well. We love them all and love the fact that we keep growing.

Our Friends. It was a blessing that in the few days before leaving our phones were constantly ringing with friends from all over the US wishing us well. Their humor and sincere listening has done much to relieve the stress of this process (and add to our excitement).

Our Work Places. It has not escaped our attention that Ren and I have some of the most awesome jobs in the world. Besides just being plain fun, our workplaces have been highly supportive of our entire adoption process. It’s not an easy thing to take off for 6 weeks (or in Renee’s case, the rest of the year). But everything has panned out beautifully.

The Adoption Community. Part of the reason we’re keeping this blog is for fellow adoptive parents. We’ve often relied on the community – their stories, advice, frustrations, and adventures – to plan and understand this experience. I have to do a special shout out to the Hollis family who, while probably not aware of this, had a Colombian blog that did more to settle my freak out moments (as in – what are we getting into!?) than anything else.