Thailand. Home. Family of Three.

Our trip to Thailand. Finally a family of three. United forever.

For the safety and security of our adoption, as many of you have noticed, I did not blog in Thailand. Instead, we sent out email updates to all of those supporting and praying for us. And this will hold true for months to come. However, I don’t know the distance my words have gone here, and I want to continue to share our story, our testimony. It gives evidence of the One who gives grace, mercy, who has kindness, and serves justice…my story, our story is of Him. Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. (My Story, Big Daddy Weave)

Today is the one month mark from being home, which means it has been over six weeks from when we first left home. It truly was the trip of a lifetime. Everything I could of dreamed of. Plane rides, boat rides, up mountains, at the beach, managing the busy streets of Bangkok, hiking in Chiang Mai, Thai Massages and spending every minute of it next to the love of my life. It was awesome! 

However, it wasn’t just a trip. It wasn’t just a one time experience. It would change our lives forever. Because we met a little boy. A boy we’ve prayed year after year for. A boy who needed a family. A boy who God so clearly chose for us. A boy we pray God will do great things through, and a boy God is giving us to steward well, love deeply, teach always and share the hope we have found in Jesus Christ with. This is why we named him “Dominick” - his name means belonging to God.

After a month into it, it’s extremely hard for me to answer if motherhood/parenthood is what I expected or is adopting what I expected. God stretched my faith, gave me a reliance on Him, taught me patience and made our marriage strong in the many years of waiting. Parenthood and adoption now let’s me apply everything God taught me, and although we expected that - it still seems surreal that we are here. There are many things in parenting and adoption you know of, but you won’t truly understand it under you endure it. Watching your child run towards you to hug you, seeing them learn new things, getting to comfort when they are sad, or helping him deal with his grief, encourage attachment or teaching them new words. 

I didn’t want to set an exact expectation of either parenthood or adoption, because I wanted God to define what they’d be and how He’d call me to live them out in my own life. And writing this blog helps me recap what God has shown me, what I see Him doing and how small I am in His great plans. 

Since we’ve been home, I’ve been able to write updates to our supporters, our agency, his foster family and his sponsors. One of my biggest take-aways from our meetings in Thailand was although many were sad to see our boy leave his home country, they all felt like joining our family was what is best for him. That’s a heavy weight to carry…high expectations to meet. But we know this is what was best for him, not because they said it, but because God made it so clear. 

This has certainly been a transition for all of us, but seeing Dominick do well in his forever family, in a foreign country, with a strange language and white people everywhere…it’s so worth it. In the last week alone, I rejoice at the following accomplishments he has made: a cashier pointed out how talkative he is (which anyone who has met him would be shocked by this, and yes much was babbling, but still :), he has eaten many things he wouldn’t try in Thailand, he will sit and listen through storybooks now, he sleeps more soundly at night, he has a slight obsession with our dog whom he was afraid of at first, he pedals his tractor all over our drive-way, he is slowly learning to play with little friends, he’s so comfortable in church he’s not a quiet little boy anymore, he is a phenomenal morning cuddler which I get the benefits of more than Jason, and he is great at joining us on family adventures like hiking this past weekend in southern Indiana.

As I entered the post office this past week with him (a place we went to often preparing to bring him home) or as I checked him into HarvestKids at church or as we still are introducing him to many of you and seeing those introductory smiles, I’m reminded how our family looked different not long ago, and I bask in just how good of a God we serve. One month home is hard to sum up, but I can tell you each step of this process, we get to see God show up, work in and through us, and we are so grateful to be used by him. And that it includes a sweet little three year old who is such a sweet, amazing gift to us!