"There's Always Another Bend in the Road....."

Reflecting on life’s changes……

(Well, at least when everyone is sleeping but me-ha! ha!)

A bit over a year ago, our lives came to a screeching bend in the road.

We had finally arrived as a family of four. Ruth was mostly adjusted to her new family. Ana was a doting big sister that she had always wanted to be. Dave & I were still breathing a big sigh of relief that Ruth was finally home, & all the paperwork was done.

Then.....
August 11, 2007


Driving through the mountains of North Carolina,

(after being out of cell phone range for a few days),

a simple check of voice mail changed our lives forever.

I almost memorized the message I listened to it so much:

“Hi, Kim & Dave. This is Kelly. I know you are probably on vacation still, but I wanted to give you a call & let you know……I received a call from Ruby (our lawyer in Guatemala City) telling me that Ruth’s birthmother has given birth to a little boy, & she would like to offer you the first chance to adopt him.”

She said a few other things too,

about his pre-mature birth,

& that he was born on August 2 at 3 pounds, 2 ounces.

Dave is still driving, eyes on the road……while I shook & almost dropped the phone.

I don’t remember what I said exactly,

but I do know I told him that we needed to find a place to stop & pull off the road.

I remember him putting his hand over his mouth,

& saying something like, “Wow! Wow! Wow! We need to call Kelly.”

The phone call to her was unremarkable, other than we found out a bit more about him, that she was going to send us his info via e-mail, & that she wanted us to wait to make our decision until after a US Embassy doctor could evaluate him, since he was born early & so small. We also told her we were not immediately OPPOSED to adopting him.

To make a long story short, we began to pray.

For unity between us, & for guidance from the Lord.

On September 5, 2007, we officially said “yes,”

& began a RUSH to get paperwork updated

& begin again what we had only fully finished three months prior!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing I have learned is, you never know where God is going to take you.

We thought two kids was just perfect, but God had other plans.

Now, we already cannot imagine our lives without Natty, our “surprise baby.”

We have had many people ask us if we will take more children if the opportunity presents itself.

You know, before this major bend in the road-that is our life,

we would have said that we were DONE.

But today, we like to say, that we are done…….for sure…….for now. (wink!)

But, God alone knows our future.

Have you seen God change your life’s direction, too?

A man’s heart plans his way,

But the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

I ask you, could you say "no" to that face on your computer screen?

As we sat at the computer,

before we clicked on the file, (this was well before we said "yes")

Dave said to me, "You realize looking at his picture will change things forever."

Yes, our lives ARE changed forever, just like they have been by the two babies before him!