Thank you

Thank you. Two simple words. But what they express? Not so simple.

I'm no stranger to the kindness of others. I could tell you story after story of being the recipient of the generosity and kindness and love of others throughout my life. This time is no different.

We (I) was apprehensive about how to pay for an international adoption. Friends who had also adopted said that it was "doable" because the fees were split up over many months. Anyway, we decided not to do a fundraiser (nothing wrong if people want to) because we have decent jobs and have been working full-time longer than we care to admit. Along the way, I picked up a couple of extra classes and some side work to pay for our adoption fees. Bryan sold his tractor, blah blah.

By the time we hit the summer of 2012, we had enough money saved to cover the last major fee, and we were confident that we would have enough time to save up the travel/living expenses before we left. Then our septic system exploded :(. I'll spare you the details, but basically the only thing that was draining was our savings account. By the time we got a new septic system, we were no longer flush (how many puns can I use :)) with cash. I worried about it a little, but it wasn't a huge deal. If we needed to take out a loan, we'd take out a loan. I was still doing side work, too.

And then money came in. Sometimes it was anonymous, sometimes it wasn't. Sometimes it was from people I knew sacrificed a lot to give to us. They could have used the money themselves. Every time, I felt unworthy. We were able to pay our last fee with no problem. We will be able to pay for our travel and living expenses, too. I shouldn't have worried at all. So thank you.

Over the last few months, we have had multiple offers from people. How can I help? was the common question. Some people went shopping for me. Some people made food. Some people helped me clean. Some people helped Bryan with outside work. Someone is even sheep-sitting. And someone else is house-sitting! There are so many things that I can't even mention them all. And everyone picked up our slack when we were overwhelmed. To the people who saw needs, even when we didn't know them ourselves, thank you.

People have given us gifts for the kids and things for our travel, even people we don't know.

I can't tell  you how many times over the last couple of years that people told us they were praying for us. And they meant it. We made it through some bumps because of them. Thank you.

This has been an overwhelming, emotional, sometimes very hard journey. We weren't (and still aren't) sure we can parent these children in the best way possible. Every time I would start to get nervous, someone would tell me how excited they were to meet these children and how glad they were for us to have a family. I've had emails from people we've never met, and they are excited, too. Those sweet words renewed our desire to have a family, in spite of the challenges that are ahead. So for your kind, kind words, thank you.

Our employers and coworkers are willing to put in extra effort for the time we are gone. They are even willing to let us be gone in the first place:). And they aren't complaining about it. So thank you.

We don't deserve you. But thank you. From the bottom of our hearts.