Well......here is the real reason we wanted to start a blog.  Missy & I are in the very early stage of trying to adopt a little girl from China.  We originally thought that a blog would be a great way to track our journey & provide a central location to keep friends & family up to speed on where we are in the process.

Why Adopt?
Missy & I have talked on an off about adopting since we got married (more off than on).   We have both been open to the idea & I've thought since college that if I was going to adopt it would be a little girl from China.  The whole idea had not come up for a while - but during a vacation to Thailand in January we were reminded again of the great need. I think we both felt that our family wasn't complete - we've been blessed with two amazing children.  Daniel & Caroline are such great kids but we still felt as though our family wasn't complete (this feeling was stronger from Missy's perspective).  We vacationed on the Island of Koh Samui in Thailand with good friends of mine (David) from JMU.  Of the 9 friends we were with 6 of them are currently living and working in China (a 7th is going over in the next month or so) & are making a big impact over there and another couple lives in India (the husband, Blair, works with International Justice Mission - serving the forgotten people of the world).   As we talked about life in China & life in India we were reminded of God's heart for the downtrodden & forgotten. 

Across the world from China & India (& Texas) - in Tennessee; another set of college friends have just completed the process with their little boy, Micah, from Guatemala - you can read about their experience on their blog - http://web.mac.com/surgedigital/iWeb/guatemala/Welcome.html  Missy & I were challenged and inspired by them.   

Shortly after arriving back in the states we started the adoption discussion again.... & wouldn't you know it that adoption kept coming up in random conversations - it was crazy how often it would come up out of the blue.  As we were processing through this decision it became clear to us that we need to either act or stop talking about it. 

Over the next couple weeks the Lord led us both to the place (independently) where there was only one option - we had to act. 

Where we are in the process
Right now we are in the process of selecting an agency to work with & really we're down to two agencies - Great Wall Adoption (http://www.gwcadopt.org/) & Chinese Children's Adoption International (http://www.chinesechildren.org/).  Once we decide on an agency we will start the paperwork process.  China requires that both parents be 30 years old before the paperwork is submitted.  My sweet wife won't turn 30 until January 2007.    So we can start the paperwork process in July but can't submit it to the Chinese government until January.  So....we've got a lot of waiting ahead of us.  

In the meantime, we have been doing research about China...trying to learn as much as we can about this great nation & the adoption process.   Missy has been on an educational quest - reading books, researching online, & ordering videos.   It seems now that we have made this decision we are running into people all the time who have adopted from China (I ran into 2 women with their little girls at the park on Saturday) - I guess we just missed seeing them before.

I have discovered that when I see little Asian children - I find myself looking at them through a new set of lenses - almost as though; for the first time; I see their beauty - their dark hair, round faces & almond shaped eyes.   I marvel at the Lord's creative handiwork - how different we all are & yet how there is a beauty & a dignity that transcends all ethnicities. 

Abigail (Abby)
Our little girl, Abigail, (from the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל ('Avigayil) meaning "joy of the father") most likely has not been born yet.  In all likelihood she hasn't even been conceived and her parent(s) certainly do not know that they will be abandoning their precious gift from the Lord - & yet, we are already praying for her & loving her.  We feel strongly that our daughter is in China & that we need to get her as quickly as possible.  Our hearts ache over the separation.  As each day passes we are more and more convinced of God's hand in this.  

Daniel has already gotten excited about his little sister & has started drawing her pictures (Missy is collecting them in a notebook).  He too has voiced his sadness with how long it's going to take before we can bring Abby home. 

We would love for you to join as we pray for the Lord to lead us to the agency that is in contact with our little girl.