What do the kids think?

So Mom and Dad want to adopt, and we have shared our heart behind it. But what do the kids think? Are they truly supportive of our decision, or are they just going along with it because that’s what Mom and Dad want to do?

As a mom, I have been so excited to watch each of our children, excluding Gwynneth of course, get behind this adoption in ways we never expected. Before Jason and I made our decision, we talked with the kids first to get their thoughts on this. We know that bringing another child into our family makes things tighter financially, and also takes up more of mom and dad’s free time. With their mouths, they affirmed that they truly did want to move ahead with adoption.

The biggest blessing we’ve observed though, is how the kids’ actions have backed up their words. I don’t say any of the following to boast in my childrens’ accomplishments, but simply to boast in how the Lord is working in their tender hearts. My prayer for my children is that they will bring God glory, in the biggest way possible for them, where they are right now.

When we began the adoption process, we froze all unnecessary spending. Of course we take care of our necessities, but outside of those all other purchases have been put on hold. No trips to the zoo. No more eating out. No impulse purchases on clothing or toys. There has been no complaining from the kids, and most of the time it is them reminding each other, “No, we’re saving money for the adoption, remember?” Miranda and I even talked recently about how easy it is NOT to spend money on things we don’t need when we remember there is a little girl waiting for us in China!

Another example is when Grant came to us willing to sacrifice playing Upwards basketball this year, because he knew that we could use that money to bring his sister home. (I love how the Lord blessed his willing heart. Someone else stepped in and paid for him to play!) We’ve had kids empty their piggy banks in our adoption change jar (in spite of our attempts to make them keep their money). The girls have sacrificed their free time to help me sew items for our upcoming fundraiser. All the kids have pitched in with chores and extra jobs around the house to give me more time to get paperwork done. Miranda is talking about doing a baking project so she can raise a little money herself. They have decided that the best Christmas present they could ever receive is their new sister, so we have opted to skip buying gifts this year. This adoption has even motivated the kids to keep steady, or even work ahead a bit in school so they are finished by the time we return from China with our new daughter. They want to be able to devote as much time as possible to helping her adjust and bridge the language gap.

As I mentioned earlier, my goal in this post is not to make the kids look good, because we know we all have flaws. I simply want to share how the Lord is working in our family. While some of these sacrifices could cause frustration and resentment, I am grateful up to this point they have only brought our family together in unity. As a momma, it is amazing to watch our family unite and work together to reach a common goal.