An Open Letter to Our Son's Birth Mother

  I know you've found my blog. I know you've found out who we are. I know you have seen pictures of him and even posted them as your own. You probably have even seen we have moved out of state. I'm also sure you have formed opinions of us and even his life. I know you've seen he calls us mom and dad, and when he draws his "family," it's clear it's us.
   But one thing I hope you have seen is that Michael is happy. He has adjusted once again to a new home and lifestyle. He's made friends and has a large extended family. He's excited to finally have the stability he has now. I also want you to see that he is LOVED. We love and adore him.   However, I want you to know a piece of his heart will always be yours. Sometimes it's hard for me to admit that, but he loves you more than words can explain. He talks about you a lot and he remembers you. He's not forgotten how much you love him.
  He has a picture of you and his siblings that we openly let him have. He decides where they go. He loves to look at them. He even worries about you. When it storms, his first thought is that you're safe.
  One thing you probably do not know is, we love you too. There is a love in our hearts for you that is unexplainable. We never talk bad about you. We always hold you to a higher standard. We pray for you every night with him. We pray for your safety and for God's protection on your life.
  We pray for your protection because we want to meet you one day. We will be the first to drive Michael to see you when we feel  he is ready. It will be when he is much older, but you can rest to know when he is ready, you will see him. He is content and happy, and any contact now would confuse him and not be good.
  I also know you will see this blog. I'm writing this to you so you know where we stand. I also write this hoping you will respect where he is in his life. I ask for respect because we respect you. I know this is hard, but I ask for you to trust where the Lord has placed him. Trust that he is being taken care of and we make every decision for him in prayer.
  The truth we both have to accept is we share a son. We even share his heart. But one thing you have to accept is we don't share custody. When we swore to the state we would care for him, we meant it. This isn't an "open adoption." He is our son and we will do everything to ensure he is safe, loved, and cared for.   We will continue to pray and love you. We will continue to talk highly of you. We will continue to talk of the days in the future when he can see you again. But for now, please keep your distance, for the benefit of everyone.

We are moving!

  Kyle and I are so excited about this next season in our life. We have been in continuous prayer over the past few months. It's been hard to keep what the Lord is doing in our lives a secret, but we couldn't fully expand on it yet. 

  In February of this year, Kyle and I felt as though the Lord would be leading our family to move so we began praying about it. Our adoption wasn't final yet so we knew it would at least be after that. 

  We were still in staff position at our church but we knew God was telling us our time there was drawing to a close. That was the hardest part. We loved the church we were serving in. We were always supported and really loved the people.

  We talked with a couple churches here and there. Nothing really serious, but we stayed hopeful because we knew God would open a door. In the beginning of August, we got a call from a church in Louisiana. We thought "Louisiana?? Would God really be calling us to there?" Not to mention we had no idea where they would have gotten Kyle's resume. We still aren't really sure and neither are they. 

  Fast forward a few weeks and we make a trip to Louisiana. We really enjoyed it and so did Michael. We met the committee and really just fell in love with the people of this church. Thankfully, the church felt the same way and we both wanted to proceed. 

  A couple weeks later, October 3rd actually, we resigned from our church. We had not been voted in by the church in LA or knew of a timeline of a move. We really didn't know it was a "for sure" thing. God just made it clear it was the best time for us to resign and we did. We stepped out on faith knowing our God would supply all our needs.

  So now, in this new season, God is relocating our family to Louisiana. Kyle has accepted a full time ministry position for youth and worship pastor! We are excited about this new time in our lives! We are moving to a small town about 9 hours from home! Through this whole process, God has moved in ways unimaginable. God is so faithful when you are obedient to Him!

  As we start this new chapter in our lives, please keep us in your prayers. Kyle, Michael, and I are excited to be moving. Michael has already made new friends and looking forward to us being here!