Merry Christmas 2017!

We will always remember 2017 as a great year!  In a word, it was a year of family.  We filled it with many stories and memories, waiting and expectation, and finding ways to have fun and stay grounded as the "three of us" became the "four of us."

The most obvious and exciting news for our family is bringing Collin home in November!  We have been delighted to have him home for almost two months already, with his handsome smiles and budding personality.  As he celebrates his first Christmas, we remember again God's kindness to us both today and in sending His Son many Christmases ago.

With all of the excitement in the last few months, we don't want to overlook the many good memories we made earlier in the year.  For spring break, we loaded up the Prius for a whirlwind trip where we visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero in NYC, and the White House and other museums and monuments in Washington DC.  Over the summer, we took a short weekend getaway to Lake Geneva, something we've always wanted to do.  We visited the Brookfield Zoo for the first time and surprised Sam with Cubs tickets for Adam's birthday.  (Yes, you read that correctly.)  Adam and Sam also went camping and fishing with the Miller men, and although we didn't catch anything, we have some stories that we'll never forget!  Sam and Allison also met the Cubs World Series Champion catcher, David Ross!  We will also remember this summer as the summer of mini golf.  We started trying out local mini golf courses and found at least one wherever we traveled.  It is now Sam's goal to travel from coast to coast in his grandparents' RV to find the best mini golf courses in the country.

Sam played up a level in his basketball league last winter and then played spring and fall baseball for the first time.  He finally broke the 54" height barrier and can ride everything at Six Flags, including a few roller coasters that even make his dad queasy.  He excels in school, where his favorite subject is math, and he is learning multiplication and division.  He enjoys his new role as a big brother and takes time to play with Collin, eliciting giggles and smiles from his delighted sibling.

Allison is now living her dream as a stay-at-home mom.  She worked at the school through October, and officially retired when Collin came home.  The school community poured out their love and generosity for us at that time, sending meals and gifts, and even throwing us a "Sip and See" shower for the baby.

Adam ran two more half marathons, and while he did not end up running the full marathon in Indianapolis, he still logged just under 1000 miles for the year.  He continues his work as an engineer for Grainger.  He is amazed, humbled, and blessed to be married to his beautiful wife for 11 years.

As we reflect on all that this past year held, our hearts are full!  We thank God for the memories and for His goodness to our family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Adam, Allison, Sam, and Collin

2015 Year in Review

"I haven't checked the blog in a while.  How is the adoption coming along?"

Thank you for asking!  We get that a lot, and it's a question that needs answering.

2015: Yes ➞ No

To be honest, we haven't been around the blog since this time last year.  2015 proved to be a year where our family said "yes" to many, many things.  We each said "yes" to new opportunities in our careers, with Allie accepting a new role at Sam's school, and Adam continuing to expand his responsibilities in his tenth year at Grainger.  At church, Adam said "yes" to leading the search for a new Director of Worship and Creative Communication.  We said "yes" to taking some time for very special vacations with family and close friends.  We said "yes" to making some healthy lifestyle changes.  We said "yes" to enrolling Sam in swimming lessons and a basketball league for the first time, and enjoyed seeing him grow.

The net effect, however, was moving much more slowly through the adoption process in 2015 than we had planned.  At the end of many of these full days, we simply had to say, "No, not tonight," and delay our progress.  "Yes" to many things became a de facto "no" on adoption progress, wearing us down and leading to frustration at not being further along.  To be sure, we attended additional classes, met with our counselor, and are well on our way through the home study.  We're much closer than we were this time last year- we just expected to move more quickly.  We knew that adoption can be a long process, and in 2015, the delays rested squarely on us.

Yes and No

2016: No ➞ Yes

2016 will be different.  2016 is already different.  In the next year, we will be saying "no" a lot more- even to some good things- in order to intentionally and emphatically say yes in our journey toward bringing a child home.  That probably means pulling back from select activities in order to make time for adoption meetings, classes, and paperwork.  It means spending time on weekends prepping our home for visits and inspections.  It means reserving our margin for family time and preparing for this next chapter.  It also means spending more quality time with friends who will come alongside us.  We hope it means welcoming a son or daughter this year.

Three small things you can do

We also need you to join us in several small ways.  There are three things you can do:

Pray for us.  We know God has brought us this far.  We know we have a long way to go.  Pray that God would stretch our faith and reliance on Him.  As we lean into what He is doing, we look forward to sharing with you the story of His grace and goodness.

Keep asking us about the adoption process.  We're absolutely thrilled that you're interested!  Bringing a child home through adoption looks very different from what most people are used to, and it's OK to have questions.  We'd be glad to grab a cup of coffee and share our experience with you.

Ask us how you can help.  Are you able to give?  Great!  Are you a prayer warrior?  Fantastic!  Are you an encourager?  Bring it on!  Can you whittle with the best of them?  We'll find a way to make it work!  The more the merrier!  The point is, we trust God to raise up a community to build into our growing family through this journey, we'd love for you to be part of this story however God has enabled you.

By praying for us, asking us about adoption, and finding little things to do to help, we are confident that God will use you as He writes this story.

-Adam

Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas!

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus, whose birth and incarnation we celebrate!

Looking back at 2014

This past year has given us many wonderful memories!

In March, Adam had the opportunity to travel out west with his brother, David, and (now) sister-in-law Hilary, spending the week taking photographs at some of his favorite national parks, including Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, and Canylonlands, as well as visiting beautiful sites in the Navajo Nation like Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon.  Many of the photos are at his photography site, www.liveincontrast.com. 

In May, our whole family traveled down to Florida with Allison's parents for a Walt Disney World vacation.  This was the first visit for everyone except Adam, and we had a blast, including more than our share of "Disney magic."  We participated in the unofficial opening of one of their new roller coasters (The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), and also ended up visiting the Magic Kingdom for their once-a-year 24 hour extravaganza.

The whole family at Disney World

Over the summer, our family spent a couple of weeks camping with Adam's parents on our way to Arizona for David's wedding.  After the wedding, we enjoyed several days at the Grand Canyon including a train ride, some hiking, and a sunrise at what we dubbed "Hoskinson Point" along the South Rim, before spending our 8th wedding anniversary in Moab, UT.

Sunrise from "Hoskinson Point" at the Grand Canyon

By the end of the summer, Adam only had three vacations days left for the remainder of the year.  As he likes to say, "They were all used well."

In the fall, Sam began kindergarten at Westlake Christian Academy, where he had been attending preschool for the last two years.  Each week he brings us new stories of his friends in class, his "popcorn" vocabulary words, and his new Bible memory verses.  He also has a reading challenge each month where he can earn a free Pizza Hut pizza, and we have begun reading chapter books with him such as Henry Huggins (Cleary), Captain Underpants (Pilkey), and Peter Pan (Barrie).

First day of kindergarten at Westlake Christian Academy

Sam as Peter Pan for Halloween

Looking forward to 2015

On November 1, we officially began the process of adoption.  The last few months have only just scratched the surface of this journey, as we tackle stacks of paperwork, fundraising, additional parenting classes, and preparing our home for a larger family.

As we've written on our blog, this isn't a new idea for us, but we are finally in a position to move forward.  Sam prays faithfully each night to adopt a baby brother or sister.  We have also been encouraged by the support and generosity of our family and friends, even in these initial stages.   If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to receive our updates, and if you are able, please make a donation to our adoption fund.  As 2015 begins, we are still about $31,000 shy of our goal.

Thank You!

Finally, we offer a warm thank you for your friendship in the last year and the joy it brings us.

Peace to you and your family in the new year!

 

With Love,

Adam, Allison, and Sam