Our lawyer woke us up this morning with the glorious news that we now, officially, have a birthmother!

We actually “met” our birthmother via phone for the first time last week, and it was a wonderful hour-long conversation filled with our mutual love of these two precious kids.

So today, we give thanks:

• Thanks to God – Every step of this process has been orchestrated by Him
• Thanks for our birthmother – For her selfless and generous love of her children
• Thanks for our new children – That they will use the safe haven of our love and our home as a place to thrive, grow, process and explore
• Thanks for our new family – We have a new nuclear family as well as new extended family members (a birthmom, grandma, grandpa, aunt and an older brother who lives with his grandparents). Our only child is now a big brother with siblings!
• Thanks for the existing members of our family – Both sides of our family have been extremely positive about this process, and so welcoming of the children
• Thanks to our friends – We had a cadre of friends who prayed for us, the kids, and this situation. We got (almost daily!) calls, e-mails, check-ins – so much support! (2 Corinthians 1:11)
• Thanks for our support professionals – We have an amazing attorney who is an adoptive father of four himself. We have two wonderful social workers (one in our state and one in our children’s home state) who define all that is good with “the system”.
• Thanks to each other – We had to make a lot of choices in this process. We had to sacrifice a few things. But it has made our marriage stronger.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17; NASB)