Created For Care Recap

I spent last weekend with my friend Kathleen and 450 other women whose hearts beat the same as mine.

thump, thump

Hearts that beat for adoption.

thump, thump

Hearts that beat for the orphan.

thump, thump

Hearts that beat for Jesus.

I fought back tears as I watched the slide show the first night. Photos of family after family who literally walked through hell to bring their children home.

Our photo flashed up – John, Jackson, and me with the judge. It was like I was experiencing God’s miracle for my family all over again.

And all the hard moments of the past 15 months faded away.

John and I aren’t sure what the future holds for our family. We thought we would start the adoption process again when Jackson turned a year old, but that time has come and gone and we know that it’s not time yet. I trust God will reveal His plan exactly when He’s ready – when we’re ready. I’d also be okay if He chose to drop another baby in our lap the way He did with Jackson.

Here’s what I took away from Created for Care:

1. We will adopt again. When I close my eyes, I still picture our family with an African-American child. I believe God placed that desire there.

2. We will adopt domestically (because there is a HUGE need!) and in all likelihood, we will adopt an older child. I’ve done the newborn thing, and the thought of doing it again makes me weary! We will probably adopt an older infant or toddler the next go around. But I also know never to put God in a box! He has crazy ways of bringing families together! 🙂

3. There was a very small group of domestic mamas at Created for Care. The majority of moms had adopted internationally. God affirmed to me over and over that I am to be a voice for domestic adoption – for the kids here in the United States who need Forever Families.

It was a great weekend and Kathleen and I made wonderful memories. I was able to meet several of my “friends” from Facebook and the blog world.

I “met” Erica when we began our journey to Ethiopia. She has two beautiful Ethiopian babes and I think her blog was one of the first I stumbled across. I also bought my Africa cookie cutters from her to make all those cookies for our fundraiser. It was so great to finally meet her in person!

A friend who I worked with at the Mission connected Jill and me through Facebook, because Jill has a sweet little one from Ethiopia! It was great meeting her at Created for Care!

I also had what I consider a celebrity blog moment when I checked in!

Lara, also known as The Farmer’s Wife in the blog world, was the first person to greet me at registration. She recognized me and said, “Isn’t your son Jackson? Aren’t you writing a book?”

I was so excited! I felt like I was in the presence of blog royalty! 🙂 Lara has an amazing blog and such a beautiful heart for Jesus. I couldn’t believe she knew who I was 🙂 I have a measily little blog compared to her!

Here’s a few more photos from the weekend!

Kathleen and I sporting our matching Created for Care pj’s! We laughed so hard trying to get this photo! We had such a great time! Don’t worry Kathleen, I’m not posting the really funny one 😉

Here we are with our friend Rebecca! The three of us represented Oklahoma well 🙂