Rejoice Always.

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Dear Friends and Family,

First of all, we would like to sincerely thank each of you that have showed care and concern for us throughout our adoption process.  We have felt tremendously encouraged by each of you.  Indeed, our journey has been filled with peaks and valleys, and we appreciate you sticking with us along the way.

Many of you know that Henry and Hayden were born on October 22.  We were absolutely delighted to welcome them into this world.  Christi was even able to be in the operating room with the birthmother as well as privileged to name the babies upon delivery.  It was an incredible experience to say the least!  Because they were born six weeks early, the boys have been in the NICU for the past 13 days.  Overall, they have been healthy, but they have needed to grow a bit before being released from the hospital.  We were able to spend quality time with them in the NICU every day since they were born.  Getting to know these boys has been such a joy.  They are incredible!  As you can imagine, we quickly fell in love with these boys, and it felt so natural to expand our family by adopting Henry and Hayden.  The doctors and nurses told us that the boys were on track to come home today.  We were very excited to bring them home and adjust to our new life together.

The details of the adoption were working out just as planned.  The boys were born, the birthmother signed over legal guardianship to us, and all of our plans were in place.  Unfortunately, with deep sadness in our hearts, we will now not be bringing Henry and Hayden home.  Our adoption attorney called us on Friday afternoon to tell us that the birthmother changed her mind and decided to keep the boys.  We were utterly shocked and devastated by this.  As a result of the birthmother’s decision, our efforts to adopt Henry and Hayden have ended.  Though we love them dearly, it is clear to us that it is not God’s desire for us to be their parents at this time. 

It’s safe to say that the past two days have been the deepest valley that we’ve ever experienced.  We are heartbroken and confused.  While we have so many questions about the whole situation, we are extremely confident in at least a few things.  One, we believe that God’s plans for us are perfect (James 1:2-3).  Two, we believe God’s plans for us include a bright and hopeful future (Jeremiah 29:11-14).  Lastly, we know that God is not finished with us yet (Philippians 1:6).  Consequently, we look forward to what He has planned for us.

We would really appreciate your prayers for us as we struggle through this.  More importantly, please pray for Henry and Hayden.  It is our deepest desire that they are raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Again, we express our gratitude to all of you that have encouraged us throughout our journey.