Homeschooling Five: Adoption

Well, we finally have an official adoption date for the newest member of our family. On September 29th at 1:30 p.m., we will legally be a family of 7 :)
We are so excited for the finalization of a very long process. We are also grateful that our little guy won't even skip a beat because of the age he is at. As for right now, he doesn't know anything different than us as his family.
We are also extremely fortunate to not only have extended family members who have walked this road before us but also close friends that have adopted from foster care. We will and have already used these resources in helping us navigate the journey of adoption.

We are also beginning the pursuit of adoption from Haiti. A couple of months ago, my kids and I went on a mission's trip to Haiti and all of our lives were forever changed. It was impactful, empowering, heartbreaking and eye opening. We did so many things on that trip that we will never forget, but one thing that has stayed at the forefront of our conversations since we have been home is a little boy. He is 1 month younger than Troy and he captured the heart of all 5 us immediately.
Since we have returned home, Cory and I have been praying and talking about him and trying to figure out what God was calling us to. Well, we have officially decided to pursue adoption from Haiti. We know the process can be anywhere from 1-3 years and we are jumping in with both feet and not any idea of the world of international adoption. We are excited, nervous, overwhelmed and at peace all at the same time. We know one of the biggest hurdles in international adoption is the cost. So, we will be trying to raise as much of the funds as we can along the way.
We know that the finalization is not guaranteed and there are several hoops we will need to jump through and there will be several times along the way that God can close the door. For now, we just know we are called to be "willing". The rest of the process and the future we leave in God's hands.
We also know that moving forward in this direction is crazy and doesn't make logical sense. But, if there is anything we have learned while walking with the Lord in our marriage, it is that He often (and I mean, often) calls us to do things that sound crazy. So, here we go. Jumping from a new family of 7 to a soon to be family of 8.