Surprise Addition

For those of you who read Brian's blog, this post isn't going to surprise you. (Unless you're wondering why it's taken me so long.) For the rest of you who are about to be surprised, I wish I could call or write all of you and tell you individually, but it just isn't possible. So, here we go...

This little guy sitting with Brian is Alex. Alex is 16 months old, and Lord willing, he's going to be our son, hopefully as soon as February.

Now that I've got your attention, let me explain. :)

Alex is the biological son of one of Brian's cousins. Because the parents are unable to care for him, Alex was taken out of their home by CPS (Child Protective Services) We first learned of Alex and his situation in August, but didn't start seriously considering adopting him until November. The more we thought and prayed about it, the more we felt that this was something God was leading us to, or leading to us, as the case may be.

Brian went to Odessa last week for the mid-point court hearing so he could get all the information about the case, and talk face to face with lawyers, CPS, etc. While he was there, the judge actually called him up to the stand, and after a short interview, approved us to take Alex into our home. So, pending a successful home study, I will be a mom in short order. :)

As the situation stands right now, we will not initially be adopting Alex. He will come to us in a Permanent Managed Conservatorship. It looks basically the same as adoption in terms of our rights, responsibilities, and decision-making, but we cannot change his name to reflect his new family. CPS will not allow Alex to go back and live with his biological parents, but lawyers do not believe that they have a case for terminating the rights of the parents. Brian talked to his cousin (the father) last week, and he seemed open to the thought of giving up his rights so that we could officially adopt Alex. We haven't talked to him again since Brian got back, so we don't know if that is still his position, but we're praying that we will be able to fully adopt Alex in the near future.

Right now, we aren't exactly sure when we'll have Alex in our home. CPS says it will be "sooner rather than later," but they're overwhelmed with cases, and Alex is only most important to us. ;) We have to have a home study done (basically an interview to make sure we're not crazy) and once we pass that, we can start transitioning Alex into our family. CPS will bring him out to us for a visit, so he can meet us, spend some time in our apartment, hopefully start to feel comfortable around us. They may only bring him out for one visit before he moves permanently. CPS said that normally they don't take too long in the transition with children as young as Alex, but it will depend on how he seems to do on his visit. I'm looking forward to this visit because I haven't gotten to meet him yet. Brian went to Odessa during the week while I had to work.

As you can imagine, it has been a rather overwhelming few weeks. And I'm sure the next few weeks and months will be the same, as we make this huge life-change. I'm excited, but at the same time, overwhelmed and nervous, unsure of what life's going to be like in two months.

We ask for your prayers in several ways:

-We would be able to rest in God's timing as we're waiting to welcome Alex into our home.

-We would ultimately be able to adopt Alex officially

-Alex would quickly become comfortable with us, and that his transition would go smoothly

-Brian's school - I will still be working full-time, and with the help of our amazing church family, Brian is going to stay in school full-time. This is his last semester of course work, so it will be great for him to be done. But it means this is going to be a very hard semester for him, as he balances being a stay-at-home Dad and a full time grad student and TA.

-Most importantly, we pray that God would draw Alex to Himself, that at a very early age he would put his trust in Christ, and that he would grow in his faith into a strong, godly man who loves the Lord.

Whew, I think that's enough for one post. As we get more info and a more definitive time schedule, we will definitely let ya'll know. Thank you for your prayers, and for loving our children before you've met them!