Thursday, November 12, 2009

Blindsided

Yeah I know that is the name of the new movie that is coming out and I cannot wait to see it because I can so relate. First of all because it’s about adoption and anything about adoption I am so ‘there’. But also because it’s a story of how God blesses you when you least expect it. It’s a story of how God reveals his plans right in front of your eyes and the plans are something you never could have dreamed up yourself- because if you had- they would have never been THAT AMAZING. God is that good- all of the plans you could have come up with yourself could never be as good as what HE has for you.

And that my friends is where we are right now. Blindsided and blessed beyond anything we could have ever imagined.

For the past year and a half there has been a little guy in our lives who also made his way into our hearts- the first time I met him. Which, happened to be the first time I met our son Kaden as well. This little guy lived in the same amazing foster home as Kaden did and they grew up together for over a year there. You know, they shared the same toys, loved the same foster mommy, daddy and foster siblings, shared holidays together, cried together and laughed together. Kaden and this little boy were both in this home because it was a safe haven for them. A place where for the first time in their lives they were taken care of and cherished the way they deserved to be. A place where they could heal and grow and be fully loved. And I will be forever grateful for this home and for this family. I hope they know that the sacrifices they have made for children over the years has made such a difference. Not only in these children, but in their children one day as well. The legacy they are leaving is amazing and I want them to know that we will never, ever take that for granted.


Because of our obvious love for this family we have become close over the past year and a half since we had the privilege of adopting Kaden. Actually, we consider them family now and our relationship with them means the world to us. How awesome is God to give Kaden two families who love him unconditionally and more than life itself? How awesome is God to bless us with this amazing friendship with this family and how awesome is God to now give us another son out of this safe haven in their home?

I’d like to officially introduce the newest member of our family- our incredible, perfect, beautiful, amazing, out of this world, blesses our socks off son Carson. :0) Because we are adopting Carson out of the foster system we will not be allowed to share his picture until the adoption is final. But trust me, he is drop dead gorgeous.

Carson is 2 years old and we are blown away that God allowed us to become his family. As we look back over the last year and a half we know in our heart of hearts this is something God and only God could have orchestrated. We didn’t plan it, we didn’t chase it, we didn’t see it coming. We prayed over this little boy like you wouldn’t believe because we loved him from the second we met him and only wanted a good life for him. But we just never, ever would have guessed that God would choose us to be his family. He and Kaden share this awesome bond that I cannot even describe. It’s like they somehow knew all along something that the rest of us didn’t. It’s precious and it’s priceless. We are humbled, we are thankful beyond words, and we are in awe.


Dear Heavenly Father, the words thank you seem so small. We know Lord that this child is a gift from you- that he belongs to you and only you. We stand in awe that you saw us fit to be his family and we are once again blown away at your goodness. Thank you for this privilege and thank you for the miracle of adoption- for through it we have never felt closer to you. We love you Lord with everything we have and everything we are.



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72 comments:

Kelli said...

WOOHOO!!!!! That's so exciting! God bless you for giving Carson a better life...can't wait to "meet" him!

Stacy said...

Amy!
THat is sooo awesome!! I am so happy for you!
Congratulations!
Stacy

natali said...

oh my goodness! I was SO not expecting that - as you guys, too! LOL! CONGRATS! Their story/relationship is so touching! GOD plans things, and they are necessarily the way we would've pictured them, BUT, don't we all know His plans are better :))

p.s. Hey Carson!

Cari said...

wow! how great is our God?! :)

alicia said...

Thank you for your incredible sharing from your heart. The day that Kaden turned three was the day that we met our little baby boy. Your blog that day gave me the encouragement to go forward and say, "Yes, we would love to foster this little boy....even if we lose him or get to keep him in our home as a forever son." Thank you for this post. We have been fostering for 3 weeks and are waiting for more court dates and decisions. Continue to encourage those around you with your life.

Meredith said...

Holy cow.. that is not what I was expecting to read :) Congratulations and we're praying for a smooth adoption process until Carson is legally yours... only God knew he was yours from the beginning.

You really are the 'change' you speak of, definately an inspiration even if you don't intend it that way.

God Bless!

Sara said...

Aww, that is so awesome! It sounds like it truly fell in place and oh so perfectly!!

Amy said...

Woohoo!! God is amazing! He knew your hearts for this little guy and blessed all of you with bringing you together!

Congratulations!

Lisa said...

Oh how EXCITING! What a special special way to get to know the newest member God had in store for you! I'm so thrilled for you, for Kaden, for Carson! :) yay God!!!

Andrea Hill said...

Awhhh Amy, I love you sooooo much. Why do you always make me cry. It is so true what you said about being blindsided and everything else. God has blessed your family so tremendously its just beautiful to watch. The things God blesses us with are so incredible. Now you also have your perfect 4some. 2 girls and 2 boys, and perfect playmates. I cannot see what our incredible God has in store for you next. You just blow me away. Tag your it. I am right after you with my announcement! Hopefully soon... Love you.

Dardi said...

So excited that things are coming along. The family portraits that God creates are beyond magnificent!

Unknown said...

Can't wait to see him again! So, So, Happy for all of you! His plans for you are incredible.

Unknown said...

Can't wait to add his sweet face to your sidebar!

Hugs and much love - can't wait to see this movie too!

Jill
Who now has a COURT DATE to pray over!

trustandobey said...

How wonderful!!! Congratulations to your family!
Lisa

The gFamily said...

YAY!!! God is so amazing!! Congrats on your newest little treasure!! I am so excited for your family!!

My husband and I were so blessed to be able to see the prerelease of the movie Blindside at the Show Hope weekend! It is so good and you won't be disappointed! Go see it!!

mica said...

oh I am just in tears as a read this. What a special feeling this gives me as a foster parent and just as a child of God seeing him work. He knows his direction always, Why can't we just keep this through our thick brains. So excited for ya'll. Love,Mica

Mom 4 Kids said...

Wow! What an amazing gift for Kaden and your whole family to have his heart brother be his forever brother! Congratulations!!!

A. Gillispie said...

Wow! How awesome! I am SO SO SO happy for you!!! You can tell just by the back of his head that he's scrupmtious! And what an amazing story, he and Kaden together forever.
Anita

Leanne said...

WOW! Welcome Carson!
What an incredible blessing - congratulations!!!

Karin said...

Oh my goodness...that is so fabulous! God writes the most amazing stories, does He not? Wow... Congratulations!!!

Sean and Lisa said...

Oh my, take my breath away and bring on the tears! What an amazing gift and a perfect fit for your family...sweet Carson.
Rejoicing with you and praying over all the details!!!!
YEAH GOD!!!!!!
Oh and a big Congratulations to each of you as well!!!

Kathleen said...

Only God could be this wonderful and giving...I think this little boy is the perfect fit and I am so excited for all of you. Thanksgiving will be special this year for sure:) Congratulations!!!

rachellechaseblog said...

beautiful family. :)

Unknown said...

Yay!

Unknown said...

Love the name, Amy. It's one we tossed around a lot. I love it so much, I want to use it with the next blessing God gives us.

Sarah said...

Amazing! Absolutely amazing. God is so good. Congratulations Amy. I'm praying for you and your sweet family!

Laurel said...

Yea! Congrats! Can't wait to see him added to your family picture.

How special for Kaden. Wow!

Hugs!

Laurel :)

angie said...

Congrats!! I am so happy for you guys! Of course I love his name... now we both have a Caden and Carsen! (different spelling) I really am thrilled for you and him!

James 1:27 Family said...

YES! YES! YES! Praise God!

Love in Jesus,
Amy

darci said...

ahhhhhhh!! my whole body is covered in goosebumps and my eyes with tears! yippee! congratulations! whoohoo!!! praying it all goes smoothly and quickly and praising God for His amazing gifts! :)

Renee said...

Praise God!

Shonni said...

Ohhh, I am so excited for your family...what a blessing and a gift! Yea Jesus!!!!

Rachel Goode said...

So happy for you!

Our journey following Christ said...

Wow, congratulations to your family!! God is truly amazing in His ways. Only he could orchestrate bringing this little boy into your family the way He has done.

You are truly blessed!

Blessings,
Laura

Phyllis said...

Wow, I am so excited for all of you. That is wonderful that Kaden and Carson will be brothers, together forever. Can't wait to see his picture. And yes, I am definitely going to see the movie, too. I can't wait.
Phyllis

Anonymous said...

Oh Congratulations! Is he home now??? Been thinking and praying for you all...we need to catch up! Love you ~ Heather

GinSpaghetti said...

MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
Love from NC!
Gin

Gardenia said...

Gos is so good. and unpredictable! blessings and congratulations.

Sister Haiti said...

Yipee! Yahoo!! Yay!!!!

Big hugs,
Salem :)

JG said...

Yay! So happy for you!

waitingarms said...

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. What a wonderful gift for Kaden and for the rest of your family. I love it when God does blindside us - I laugh when I look back at "my" plans from a year ago and am so thankful at how God blindsided my family - He entrusted us with the most wonderful treasures that we are honored to parent. I am also in awe of the countless foster families who sacrifice of their time and love to provide a safe haven before our children can find their forever homes. They are indeed unsung heroes.

Blessings to you and your family!

Christi Ucherek said...

AHHH!!! Amy... so excited for you.. praying!

Jill said...

Awesome, Amy! The most incredible thing in life is watching God at work! He always surprises us, and you're right, its better than we ever could have planned it ourselves. So happy for your family! God is good!

BrandiB said...

So happy for you guys! By the way, I left you a blog award on my blog if you want to check it out:

http://byerscrossroads.blogspot.com/

Aileen said...

Congratulations! What a blessing for your family and for that sweet little boy! God is good all the time!

Violet said...

AWWWWww! He looks SO precious, even from behind. Cute little ears, precious little bit of hair, perfect skin coloring.... Love the way the photo shows the boys' bond!!!

I'm just curious, are you guys still going through with the Ethiopian adoption? Did I miss something? How does this work/effect that process? Just curious as a young woman who REALLY desires to adopt someday, both from foster care and internationally and likes reading about adoption!

Debbie Doughty said...

Praise the Lord! I am so excited for all of you!

Kari said...

Congratulations Amy!!!!!!!

whenpigsfly said...

Congratulations Amy! The photo of the boys together is so beautiful,even without faces!
I really appreciated your post about the power of our example a few days ago too. SO SO TRUE, and sadly a bad example also carries much weight. LOVE that your kiddos see their daddy reading his Bible and just naturaly follow suit. POWERFUL to be sure!
Love,
Linda

Leslie said...

Wow--God's ways are so much greater than ours! That is so wondeful. I'm praying for y'all!

Jennifer said...

Congratulations on your new little guy! What a blessing for the whole family, esp for Kaden.

Kenli said...

Congratulations Amy...I love to look back and see God's hand in the details!!!!!! He loves each of us so much. Have a blessed day.

Kenli said...

sorry Amy...just realized I left a comment under my daughter's name. it is Kelly over at adama diaries.

kitzkazventure said...

Wow, what blessed news! So happy for you....can just feel your joy thru your words!

Heather said...

Congratulations to your family and to Carson- how awesome our God is! Thank you for sharing with us, your love, faith and big announcement!
Heather

Sophie said...

Amy I'm so thrilled for your family. It really is incredible how God brought these two little boys together to be raised as brothers and loved by an amazing family.
Blessings

Anonymous said...

Amy, Todd and sweeties,
Can't wait to meet and see our newest grandson. Congratulations!

Mom and Dad

Anonymous said...

Sharing your joy!

Lisa H.

Anonymous said...

Amy:
That is SO awesome! I am so happy for you all! What a wonderful addition he will make to your family.
Leveta

The Boisverts said...

So thankful to the Lord I found your blog! I found you via my friend Rachelle's blog; you had left a comment and I clicked on your name and voila...I found a fellow sister in Christ who is living the life we may be starting here at our home!
We've been married 10 years, have 3 boys (the old fashioned way) and are just about to have our homestudy done to finally be licensed to do foster care to adopt. I was in foster care myself from jr. high on.
I love how you express yourself -- I showed my husband your page b/c I was like "YES! She really GETS IT!!!!" The things you've written here are mirrors of things I've thought and felt and said myself. Seeing Him at work in your family in this awesome way is so encouraging!
Congratulations on God placing another precious life in your care...wow!
Thanks for "being the change."

Leah Wentzel said...

that is SO exciting!

Pedro and Felis Patlan said...

Oh my goodness Amy!!! How exciting...! This just brought tears to my eyes, tears of joy for you all and for this little boy. Can't wait to see his little precious face...:) hugs to you!

Doreen said...

BIG HUGS to you Todd and your family....What a blessing God has given you and this precious little boy... i have been out of town Amy and just read your exciting news.. i am so very happy for you...you truly are amazing...

Joy said...

What a great blessing for your family and Carson. The Lord is amazing. I hope some day you still get to bring home a little one from Ethiopia, but for now, cherish this beautiful gift and provision the Lord has given you. *Can't wait to hear more*

Adeye said...

Oh my goodness, my friend. How in the world did I even miss this post!!! Wow, I am speechless and amazed at what an amazing God we serve. Really!!! There just are no words to describe His goodness to your family. Another treasure to love and cherish--how blessed you are, my dear friend. I am sooooo excited for you. Just so excited.

With much love
Adeye

Anonymous said...

wow. congratulations on your brother Kaden!

God Bless the kids.

Elizabeth said...

CONGRATS!!! I can't believe I've been so behind on your blog!!! I am so happy that you now have Carson!!! I look forward to keeping up with you more frequently!! love and hugs,
Elizabeth

Flamingo said...

amazing. tears here for you. laughter over how creative God is with his timing and His ironicies:)

I am the Clay said...

This is wonderful news!!!!!!

God bless,
gloria

Created For His Glory said...

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!
Congratulations :)
Love,
K

Chris and Sarah said...

How exciting!!! Funny how things like that happen when you start praying for a child. That's how Jaxson came into our lives.

Bill and Christina said...

Congrats! So amazing! I am so very excited for you and your family!