So many people have asked me to share our adoption story and I thought it would be most appropriate to share the whole story now that it is final. Chris and I had always said that we wanted to adopt and had began to think we were ready to start our family…. My Mom and I were going to lunch one day when she mentioned that there were 3 children in our family that were probably going to be taken from their parents and they would be looking for homes. That sparked some interest in us but we knew that was a long way off, so we decided to pray about it until the time came. My Grandma kept me updated on the progress of the kids and their situation. After many updates we heard that the kids had been moved back to Texas and were staying with their aunt and uncle (who were amazing and rescued them from a terrible situation!!) They were really wanting to keep them in the family and were looking and praying about how to proceed. The aunt and uncle already had 3 children and knew that taking on 3 more children (who would need lots of attention) was more than they could do. So, Chris and I really began to pray about what God was calling us to do. They were discovering that it would be very hard to find a family that would be able to take all 3, so with much thought and prayer, they decided to look for a home for the twins and the aunt and uncle were seriously considering adding Torie to their family. In spite of that, Chris and I told them of our decision to add Torie to our family if they decided that they wanted to place her also. It was a very anxious time for us because we were just waiting on a decision from them. In the meantime, we decided we would go ahead and make a room for her so that when she came to visit she would have her own place and her own things. We painted the room red and went with the ladybug theme. As we were driving to meet Torie for the first time we prayed and asked God to give us a sign if this was His will for our family. (Remember we did her room in ladybugs) As we walk outside to meet her, she turns around, and I look down at her dress and see a little ladybug embroidered on her dress (sign1) and not five minutes later someone says, “Heidi, you have a bug on your shoulder!!!” I look down to swat it away and it was a ladybug (sign 2.) As we drove away from our first meeting we decided that God had spoken to us and we would soon be a family of 3.
A few weeks after our initial meeting Torie came to visit for the night….we had so much fun and were sad to take her back. A couple of months of ups and downs finally led to July 17th, 2004….Chris and I were having a garage sale and I came in to get a break from the heat and decided to call and check on Torie. When I called, her aunt said that she had been asking for us…when she would get hurt she would cry for “Hily”, she would ask where “Hily” and “Tis” were and when she could see us again. Her aunt said that if we were ready we could come pick her up. I remember my heart pounding in my chest with excitement as I ran to the garage to tell Chris to pack up all the garage sale stuff we are going to get our daughter. As we made the drive to Grapevine I could hardly contain my excitement….when we walked in the door I saw Torie coming down the steps and she yelled out, “HILYYYYYY!!!” and came running in my arms. We had dinner, packed her stuff in our car, took lots of pictures, and shed many tears that night! But the most amazing part was bringing her home at last. I can’t even begin to explain all the emotions we felt….excitement of having a family, scared that something would happen with all the legal stuff, anxious about being immediate parents to a 3 year old, but most overwhelming of the feelings was JOY. God had SO many incredible things in store for us. And as I look back over the last 3 years I am amazed at all the ways He has worked to change all of us for the better. On Tuesday, as we were driving to the courthouse for the last time, many emotions were pouring over me, but again the most overwhelming one was JOY!! We don’t deserve to be blessed with such an amazing gift but I am SO glad that God doesn’t look at our worthiness when he chooses to bless us. Thank you God for working your miracles in our lives. We are officially a family of 4. Thank you for your prayers throughout this amazing journey! Here are some pictures of our day in court.
All 4 of us waiting to go into the courtroom.
Torie posing next to the sign outside the courtroom.
Torie with Grandmom and Granddad.
Torie with Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa….still waiting to go in!!
I just had to add these in….Torie with her Kindergarten class!!
Ok…and now I have to brag just a little. When Torie came to live with us (she had already made lots of improvement) you could not understand very many things that she said. Chris and I would joke that we had to translate for her. She knew no colors, no shapes, no letters, no numbers, no nursery rhymes, no Christmas songs, none of the things most all 3 year olds know. I say all of that so that you have some background info and to also tell you why we are SOOOOOO proud of her. She had an awards ceremony at school the last week of school and she got three awards for that six weeks….Spelling Award (she could spell all 30 sight words with no help) Reading Award (she could read all 30 sight words with no help) and Super Student (1 boy and 1 girl out of the 150 Kindergartners at her school got this award for overall behavior and performance.) I cannot begin to tell you how hard she works at school and how much she has overcome!! There were tears in my eyes as I read over her last report card. She excelled in every area accept one (she mastered it, but it could improve some) and that was when she’s writing sentences sometime she forgets to capitalize the first letter and sometime forgets to punctuate at the end. Who would have thought 3 years ago that she would be doing so amazing in school and be headed to first grade!!! (side note: thanks for letting me brag, and for reading the never ending blog, I promise I am almost done!!!)
Receiving one of her awards!!
At Jade’s Birthday Party!! She is a busy little girl….
Thanks for letting me post the LONGEST blog ever!! Please continue to pray that God would help us be the kind of parents that always direct Torie towards God, that we are able by God’s power to instill a passion for Jesus in her, and that someday she will choose to follow Him!!
We love you all.
Greatest Blessings 