Moving along

Originally, I had planned this post to update you about Dylan, the 10 year old boy I referred to in my last update. But about two weeks ago, we were told that another family had been selected for him. It was hard to hear after putting in two months of prayer, locating community resources for him and talking with his social workers. But we have prayed all along that God would clearly tell us what we are to do by either opening the doors for us or close them firmly. Finding out that another family was chosen may have been hard, but it was an answer to prayer since that door is obviously shut.

Just a week after this, we received an email from Angela, one of the social workers we talked with about Dylan. She works with Wendy's Wonderful Kids to find adoptive families for kids who have been waiting the longest for a forever family. She said she has another child (Barbara, 11 years old) that she thinks might be a good match for our family. Bill and I prayed, talked and prayed some more. This was not an opportunity we sought out, and Barbara isn't listed on the state's adoption website or on the Northwest Adoption Exchange website. We would never even have known about her except that Angela told us. We decided that we would walk through this door, as well, just as we have done this entire journey.

We don't have many details at this point (and we couldn't share them even if we DID have them), but what we know so far gives us reason to be optimistic. The next step is to talk with Barbara's caseworker from the state. This is a busy time of year, so we are hoping to have some sort of contact in the next week.

Ways you can pray for us:

• Wisdom for us, Barbara's caseworker and Angela to discern whether this is a good match
• Patience and steadfastness (this is our third child/sibling group we have looked at for potential adoption - it is ALWAYS hard to hear that they are going to another family)
• Diligence as we explore Barbara's needs

We truly appreciate all the prayers on our behalf - thank you!