I remember driving in my car one day while I was pregnant with Casey. Nathan was three years old and he was my whole world. I just couldn't imagine loving another child as much as I loved Nathan. There just wasn't enough room in my heart. I vividly remember calling my mother in tears. I was a mess. What had I done? I always wanted two kids but in that moment I just couldn't fathom how it would work. This new little boy just wouldn't be loved as much because I was not willing to divide the love I had for Nathan. Then my mother told me the most profound statement I may have ever heard. She said, "Love doesn't divide...it multiplies! So you always have enough love to go around." And she was right.
Ten years after Casey was born we fell in love with a little girl half way around the world. We spent 9 months preparing document after document to bring her home. We finally welcomed her into our family in March of 2017. While we were mid-way through her paperwork process Kevin started talking to me about adopting two little girls...mind you, this is the same man who didn't want any kids when we first met! I was not even wrapping my head around having a third child (when the kids outnumber the parents, you're in trouble), I certainly couldn't picture having four kids! Then when we were in China to bring Cheyenne home, I feared for my life every time we were in a moving vehicle. So in those moments, I would tell Kevin, "Oh no! we are never doing this again!" (Which for the record I also said after giving birth to Nathan!)
But something happens when you leave China. You get settled into your new "normal" and you start to remember the faces of those you left behind. Then you recall the dire circumstances the children face in China. When you're an orphan and living in an institution, you "age out" on your 14th birthday! 14! And then you are no longer eligible to be adopted and unless you are severely mentally or physically handicapped you are kicked out to the streets. For the girls, this often leads to sex trafficking and/or prostitution. So when you get settled in to your new normal and you start to remember all those faces you left behind, you think, "We have room for one more!"
So here we are...in one more day and a wake up we will be boarding the plane to take another long journey to bring home our "one more". This little girl who we plan to name Faith stole our hearts back in January. The day we meet Faith will be just 19 months and 2 days from the day we met Cheyenne. So that means we have grown from two kids to four in just 19 months!
In trying not to panic, the only words that bring comfort is the reminder from my mom all those years ago...love doesn't divide, it multiplies.
Ten years after Casey was born we fell in love with a little girl half way around the world. We spent 9 months preparing document after document to bring her home. We finally welcomed her into our family in March of 2017. While we were mid-way through her paperwork process Kevin started talking to me about adopting two little girls...mind you, this is the same man who didn't want any kids when we first met! I was not even wrapping my head around having a third child (when the kids outnumber the parents, you're in trouble), I certainly couldn't picture having four kids! Then when we were in China to bring Cheyenne home, I feared for my life every time we were in a moving vehicle. So in those moments, I would tell Kevin, "Oh no! we are never doing this again!" (Which for the record I also said after giving birth to Nathan!)
But something happens when you leave China. You get settled into your new "normal" and you start to remember the faces of those you left behind. Then you recall the dire circumstances the children face in China. When you're an orphan and living in an institution, you "age out" on your 14th birthday! 14! And then you are no longer eligible to be adopted and unless you are severely mentally or physically handicapped you are kicked out to the streets. For the girls, this often leads to sex trafficking and/or prostitution. So when you get settled in to your new normal and you start to remember all those faces you left behind, you think, "We have room for one more!"
So here we are...in one more day and a wake up we will be boarding the plane to take another long journey to bring home our "one more". This little girl who we plan to name Faith stole our hearts back in January. The day we meet Faith will be just 19 months and 2 days from the day we met Cheyenne. So that means we have grown from two kids to four in just 19 months!
In trying not to panic, the only words that bring comfort is the reminder from my mom all those years ago...love doesn't divide, it multiplies.
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