LANGUAGE LEARNING AT AGE 4

I first started learning Spanish when I was 4 years old, when my family moved to Paraguay to work in church planting there. I don't remember not knowing Spanish and I don't remember learning it.

That said, I have definitely had to brush it up since moving to Mexico, as the Spanish pronunciation and some grammar is different than in Paraguay, and I had also been living in Canada for some years before we moved here and wasn't speaking it nearly as often. I did take one semester of Spanish as a brush up before we moved here, while Dallas was taking the full year.

So, I can't really say what it's like to learn a language from scratch, but while we were at language school I really had to respect those that were learning for the first time! That included Dallas, who had taken a bit of Spanish before, but learning it to speak it fluently is another matter. It's much more difficult doing it as an adult (but do-able).

Fast forward to this last year, when our newest addition, Salomón moved in with us at 4 years old last July!

When he moved in he had never heard English before. He arrived not understanding anything and so we spoke mostly Spanish in our house so that he would adapt to our family without having that barrier in the way. Bit by bit we started talking half English and Spanish and just let what came out, come out when we were together as a family in the house.

Kids pick language up naturally when they hear it a lot, and we had seen our other 3 boys learn Spanish and English simultaneously, as they were living here when they learned to speak. So we knew that Salo would eventually pick up English just by living with us and hearing it often. But I thought it would take longer!

Over Christmas break is when we really saw how much he speaks already. We had two sets of visitors from Canada over the break and so he heard a lot of English, and he said that he wanted to practice his English.

He is now talking in sentences and it is so cute and amazing.

For sure he still speaks Spanish better than English, and we still talk a lot of Spanish with him, especially when talking directly with him about something he's feeling or something that happened or just to connect better with him as he can express himself better in Spanish. But, he is doing so well and enjoying it.

It's fascinating the way our brains work, and it's fascinating to watch someone learn a language without even having to really try!

The best example of learning this way was the other day when he asked me, "Can I go grab a sweater?". He's using our expressions and sayings (grab) in context and without thought.

So, it's been fun to watch this.

FAMILY UPDATES - SEPTEMBER!

Dallas and I were saying this morning that it feels like this is the first week since June that we have had a "regular" routine! 

So many good things have happened since June, and they're also just simply things that make life busy.

The kids got out of school at the end of June and were home till mid-August. 

In July our new missionary co-workers moved to Guadalajara and we spent quite a bit of time with them in the summer, which was so great! 

On July 23, Salomón moved in with us (our 4 year old!) and as good as he did in adjusting, it still means adjusting for all of us. We took a family holiday together shortly after he moved in, which was such a great bonding time

In August all 4 boys started school and my parents came to visit for 10 days! Salo and Sofi bonded so quickly with my parents, as they had seen them on Skype and we talked a lot about them before they came, so it was so neat to see.

My mom and dad

And last week we had representatives from our Board of Missions in Canada here for a week, which meant meetings and people in our home all week, also good and also busy.

So, life continues to be busy but we are settling into a routine now of ministry, regular meetings, school, homework times, kid's activities, etc....at least for the next few weeks ;)

Here's just a quick update on each of us these days!

Carter (aka Chaí) - age 11, grade 6

This summer, Carter got into camping quite a bit. He went to Bible camp for a week, he spent a night camping with Scout friends, and he did a two day hike and camp-out on the mountain together with Dallas, Logan, and our friend, Juanca. 

He also loves spending time with his friends and once every week or two he is invited to someone's house after school or has a friend over here to the house. 

He just finished swimming lessons this week and was asked to be on a competitive swim team. He chose not to though, as it means swim practice every day of the week. Instead, he is going to join the Scouts program on Saturday afternoons and is also taking piano lessons during the week.

He also instigated starting a YouTube channel together with Logan and Brady :) We'll see where that goes. It's private for now but they like to do mostly food challenges at this point.

He also loves to draw, cook, play with the neighbor kids, and read books.

Logan (aka Logey, Logancito, Gancito) - age 9, grade 4

Logan also really enjoyed the hiking trip this summer and spent his time there hunting for mushrooms and taking pictures of them (he found about 10 different kinds). He also went to Bible camp for a week.

He just finished swimming lessons as well, and is going to start the Scouts program and is also taking piano lessons. As you can see we generally have our kids in the same activities ;) so far they like the same things more or less and it makes it easier with multiple kids and taking them to their activities.

He is a curious kid and likes to see how things work and what he could do with different things.

He also likes to draw and make up stories and comics, he loves Calvin & Hobbes, he likes to play with the neighbor kids, swim, ride bike, and bug people.

Logan is also a very sweet kid and loves to play with Sofi and Salo. He often asks to help put Sofi to bed and will sing and pray with her.

Brady (aka Tobey, Tom) - age 8, grade 2

Brady turned 8 on August 14 and asked us to do a friends party and then to surprise him for his family party. He invited several friends over to the house to make pizzas and play, and then we took them all to see a movie. For his family party we went and played mini-golf and went for lunch.

Brady is a people person and loves to talk to people. He is not afraid of very many things and likes to see what he is capable of doing. He prides himself on being everyone's friend at school and got an award from his teacher in June for being the funniest in the class :)

He likes to roller blade, bike, play with legos, swim, and play with his friends. He also just finished swimming lessons, is taking piano lessons, and will be joining Scouts.

He wants to be a teacher when he grows up and he already has such a great way with younger kids, explaining how things are done. Salo is in preschool here and has homework and Brady has a much better way of explaining things to him than I do! Maybe it's a patience thing :)

Salomón (aka Salo, Salomoncito, Salemono) - age 4, Pre-school

Salo has been doing so amazing since he moved in. He has adapted way more quickly than anyone expected and it's so good to see him flourishing. He shares a room with the "big" boys and loves to copy anything they do. 

He speaks 100% Spanish but is starting to learn some English. We speak to him mostly in Spanish, but he hears English all day both at school (it's bi-lingual) and at home when we talk among each other and he's starting to understand quite a bit. 

Having a 4 year old again is interesting as we get used to hearing "por qué" (why?) all day long! But he is learning so much about the way our family does things and how the world works in general right now. 

Salo likes to play with lego, play with with cars, he likes to ride his bike, go to the park, swim, and play dress-up. He likes the color red, loves Superman, lions, and monkeys.

Sofía (aka Sofi, Chofis) - age 2

Sofi has got the personality to run a household of 4 older brother! haha She is a girl full of life and fun and determination. She is a big people person and loves to be with anyone, but at the same time, rarely lets mama out of her sight. 

She loves to play with play dough, with cars, ride her little bike, be with people, wrestle with daddy and the boys, and she likes pigs at the moment.

She also likes to pick out her own clothes, change her shoes about 10 times per day, and always have a "moño" (bow) in her hair.

Tara 

I don't think it's hard to guess that I've been a little busy with mothering 5 kids! It has made life quite a bit fuller with adding two kids, although I think it's mostly because of their ages and that they need more attention and care at those ages. So it's expected and fun but I do find that I am still figuring out a new routine and balance with 5 kids. I'm so thankful that they all get along well and are happy for the most part!

Besides taking care of the kids and alllll that this entails....

I am a wife! and all that this entails :)

I also am involved in our ministry through leading two weekly ladies Bible studies, meeting with women one-on-one for mentor-ship, meeting with women and families weekly, volunteering monthly at Sofia's orphanage, hosting two weekend Bible studies weekly, teaching Sunday School, being part of our missionary team planning meeting and prayer times weekly, etc.

It all adds up to too much to do in one week...and I'm currently evaluating and figuring out, you guessed it, a new routine!

As far as enjoyment, I enjoy times of reflection, reading for fun and for learning, being with closer friends, skyping with family, relaxing and hanging out as a family of 7, organizing things (ha! yes), watching a couple of shows, drinking coffee, biking in the park, baking cakes here and there, and being creative in different ways.

Logan thought he was sooo funnyy....

Dallas

Dallas is also busy being a dad to 5 kids now! Between everything else he does, he has been trying to be intentional about spending on-on-one time with each of the boys as they go through adapting to new siblings and a new family. I think this has helped them to not "get lost" in the mix and in the process.

His focus is also our ministry, and he has meetings and prayer times each week with our missionary team, spends time planning and brainstorming and researching and praying and prepping for upcoming ministry things, preps and studies for the weekend Bible studies and services, meets with men and youth in the evenings for one-on-one mentor-ship or counseling, and many other things. Ministry is hard to pinpoint as it changes throughout the week but he enjoys the spontaneity of it and also enjoys visioning for our church plant.

He also is busy with another course towards his Counseling Masters online, which means a lot of homework.

And he enjoys mountain biking, biking as a family, wrestling with the kids, playing some sports with the boys, bbqing, etc

SOOOO that is a quick update on life these days! There is much we are processing and learning and much we are thankful for at the same time. God is good.

EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS

Ongoing discipleship and investment into people's leaves means meeting them where they are at, and this often includes meeting up with those we mentor, disciple, and invest in through everyday activities. 

Like helping our co-workers find a puppy and taking them to a church member's house who hasn't been attending for a while. Her dog just had puppies, so they get a puppy and we get to encourage someone who has been struggling lately.

And like checking out a big new sports store to look for a few things we need, but going to that one specifically because we heard it's good but also because one of our church members started working there. We were able to brighten his day and show some interest in his life, as he had been hinting at us to come visit him there.

And like walking with the kids to the local park and meeting up with a neighbor who, after meeting our 2 kiddos, shared that her and husband have wanted another child for many years and looked into adoption but hadn't been able to find information on how to go about it. I was able to encourage her to take that step and sent her the phone number to call.

And like having two of my ladies Bible study ladies and their kids over for lunch so that the kids could play, giving us an opportunity to meet together outside of a Bible study time. This leads to different topics and types of conversation. 

And out of that meeting we were also invested in! One of the ladies heard me commenting on us thinking about needing a bigger fridge with more kids (our fridge is a basic, small fridge) and she said she had just been asking God to show her who to give her fridge to. So her and her husband decided to give us their side-by-side fridge that needed a bit of repair. We repaired it and now we have a bigger fridge. What a blessing to be invested in and cared for as well.

WE HAVE OUR 2 KIDS (+3) UNDER OUR ROOF!!

We are still in a little shock and awe, but we now have our 2 kids that we are in process of adopting living with us!!

I know we said just recently that it seemed like the process of visitations with our little boy, Salomón, would be another few months, based on what we were being told as far as process, but last week it was decided that he was ready and that it was best for him to come. It came as a very, very welcome surprise to us.

So we had a few days notice that he would be coming, which we took advantage of by moving beds around and setting up room for his clothes in the boy's closet, and then we waited and got a call Monday afternoon to pick him up in an hour! The 4 boys are together in one room and Sofía has her own room. Not because she is spoiled! 😅 but because he is used to sharing with many boys (and our 3 boys have always shared a room) and we felt it would make him more comfortable.

We are so thankful for the people involved in working with him and the process and we are so thankful to God for bringing the two siblings back together and for them becoming part of our family 💓 Of course it is hard for him as it's a huge transition (he is 4) but we are amazed at how well he is doing. 

                              

Now, they are not officially adopted yet - that will take a while yet as there is more paperwork to do. But in our hearts they are ours. Our boys are aware of the dynamics and we talk together about how while they are with us, they are our family and we love them as such. And the boys have been so amazing with both of the kids! They are proud to tell people that they are part of our family.

My prayer for Salomón and Sofía. That One is God.

JULY FRIENDS AND EVENTS

The end of June and the beginning of July always bring a lot of wrap-up parties and events with friends.

And living in Mexican culture means inevitable going to a lot of parties! People here love to get together and it's always a lively time. That said, we've been able to form closer friendships and connections with those at these parties by getting together one-on-one and in smaller groups, which is where those deeper conversations tend to happen.

So, here are some group shots from events in the past few weeks!

Carter with friends at a 1st communion party. Most of his friends are from traditional Catholic families and the 1st communion happens between the ages of 8-11.

Some of the parents at the 1st communion party - Dallas was taking the picture.

Carter was invited to a friend's house for a day and they went out to find a place to fly their drone. This is one of Carter's best friends since kindergarten.

The moms at Carter's 5th grade grad party!

And the dads at the party.

Those are just a few, as most of our pictures have our little girl in them! She is always with Dallas or I and so ends up in a lot of our pictures and therefore I have to pick and choose :) 

And here is one more of the boys with friends. All 3 of our boys are currently at a nearby Bible camp for the week, and based on the few pictures we've been sent, I know they're having a great time. This is Logan and Brady's cabin, and Carter is in a separate cabin. This year Carter had 2 friends go with him and Logan had 4 friends go, so this is a neat way for them to invite their friends to hear about and experience a week of God's love being taught and lived out. 

With the boys being gone this week, we have our little girl here with us and tomorrow our little boy comes to visit. The house is a lot quieter...and a lot cleaner!...less cooking going on here, that's for sure. But we've been able to get quite a bit done, some extra coffees and meetings in with contacts, organizing in the house, Dallas other work, so it's been a good week.

ADOPTION UPDATE & HOW WE'RE ALL ADJUSTING

Once again, while I would love to share pictures here on the blog of our two that we are in the process of adopting here in Mexico, I will need to hold off until it's more official. But, we are asked often about where we are at with the adoption so I'll give a quick update.

Our little girl has been living with us for just over 4 months now! We are fostering her while we wait on the legal processes of having parental rights revoked, for both her and her brother. We have no control over that paperwork and so it is a waiting game. Our adoption certification was finished last year in August and so we are ready whenever they are!

Because we met our little boy that much later after we met our little girl (they are siblings but they were separated), visitation was also started that much later. He is also older, having turned 4 in May, and so is more aware of what this means and Mexico's CFS is working to make the transition as smooth as possible for him. He comes to our house one day a week and every week we see him opening up more and more. Please pray that he will transition well and that he will thrive and continue to be a joyful little guy! Pray also for the social workers that make the decisions as to when he is ready to move in permanently.

Please continue to pray also for the paperwork. Parental rights need to be revoked and then we can begin the actual adoption paperwork! In the meantime we hope to have them together in our home in the next few months sometime.

In other news, our little girl turned 2 on Monday! It's hard to believe we first saw her when she was 2 months old. As soon as we saw her that first day, we felt a tug to ask about her and here we are. She is so full of enthusiasm for life and we feel privileged to have the opportunity to provide her with a loving family and to give her a place to belong, praying that she will rest in that and find refuge in God as she grows and reflects on her life.

The boys are also doing really well with the adjustment of having a sister and a toddler in the house. It means being quite sometimes when she is napping, having a little less time with us as parents, not being able to go to the movie theatre because you have to be 3 to go to the movies here ;) but they love her and have accepted her as part of their life and family. 

We often ask how they're feeling or what they're thinking and I think that helps, at least it makes me feel I'm checking in if nothing else! They are proud to call her their sister though. She came along with me to Carter's zoo field trip and Carter wanted her with him all of the time so he could show her off. That's great to see (may-hap there is a girl he wants to impress??). They are also talking about where our little boy will sleep, are praying for him every day, and waiting for him to come also.

It's taken Dallas and I some getting used to also. Going back to a toddler after having all 3 kids in school already has been a bit of a transition. I'm still getting used to having a child at home all day with me...although in reality, it means her going a lot of places with me. I lead 2 ladies Bible studies on 2 mornings and attend another one, so it makes it a little tougher when you have a 2 year old along. However if Dallas is working at home in the morning he can keep her at home while she naps or things like that, which makes it easier. 

We're getting more used to it though and it's feeling more natural to have a young one again. Our older 3 are so independent already and I need to be ok with having more demands on me with a two year old. And now seeing the age difference between her and Carter makes me want to hang on harder to Carter as he seems so old now and I don't want him to leave me!! ha! He's 11, still young I know, but I can't imagine them not being here. I feel like I'm becoming a middle aged mom and it's hard to believe that soon I'll be that 50 year old mom with an empty nest. All right, I'm starting to digress. I'm not even 40 yet. 

Anyways, to sum up, we are so thankful for the lives God has given these 2 kids and so thankful to see how things are going right now with the adoption process. We have no guarantees that the adoption will be finalized, as things can happen with foster care, but we are thankful for the moment, thankful for coffee when toddlers don't want to nap, thankful for our family, and thankful that God has blessed us with a daughter and another son right now. 

Carter interviews Logan & Brady

Carter saw me writing on the blog the other day and asked to come up with some questions to interview Logan and Brady with! So here they are:

What's your favorite color?
Logan: Blue, Red, Yellow
Brady: Red

What is your favorite animal?
Logan: Lion
Brady: Cat

What do you like about Mexico?
Logan: The food and the school
Brady: School

What do you like about Canada?
Logan: That it's cold and that we can eat perogies. And hopefully we never eat that snow with syrup again. 
Brady: Snow

Would you rather go to the beach or to Canada for a holiday? Why?
Logan: Canada, because it's bigger and you can see your cousins and your grandparents.
Brady: Canada for a holiday because I can visit my cousins.

Do you want to adopt S and S?
Logan: Yeah.
Brady: Yes.

Who are your best friends at school?
Logan: Matt, Mateo, Ian, Mariana, Diego, Diego J.
Brady: Mateo, Edgar, Santi, Enrique

What do you like about school?
Logan: Lunch and Recess 
Brady: Lunch and Recess

What don't you like about school?
Logan: The double Spanish class.
Brady: Classes.

What kind of food would you choose? For example, Italian, French, Japanese.
Logan: Sushi! Japanese.
Brady: Italian, for fettucine alfredo.

Parties, Studies, Visitors, Extra kiddos, Counseling...oh my

 We've been back in Mexico just over a month now, but...it feels like so much longer! Just looking at these pictures of this one birthday party from January seems like such a long time ago already.

Time doesn't stand still just because you've left, and life gets busy no matter where you are. Busy is not necessarily good or bad. I think it depends very much on why and what you're filling your time with. That said, we are working on being better at setting aside time (actually scheduling it in more) for us as a couple and for us as a family. Ministry and relationships are our life and it is very easy to feel that every spare minutes should be filled with people other than our own family, but let's not forget those that God has entrusted to us in that very special and intimate way - our spouse and kids!

As Carter said to me the other day after I was talking to the kids about something or other - "Good speech, mom, good speech".  As he clapped for me. (insert eye roll here).

Anyway, we have been spending time with those in our ministry circles and back into the Bible studies and ministries that we're a part of.

We also celebrated my (Tara's) birthday on February 5! We usually plan surprises for whoever's birthday it is and Dallas and the boys surprised me with taking me to an Escape Room! I love them. They found one here in Gdl and this was the first time the boys had done one, and they also loved it. Then we came home and they made me my favorite, fettucine alfredo.

I also had some birthday breakfasts with friends.

Then, this last week we had friend from Canada come to visit! Frank & Angelica were here with their 3 kids and we did lots of fun things and spent some time visiting and hanging out.

Making a favorite for Bible study at our house one evening - guacamole.

The kids didn't always like having to sit all squished in the back seat of the van ;)

Dallas' studies for his Masters in Counseling have also kept him quite busy this month. He's in his second semester of Practicum now, and he is having to counsel a client each week and do the homework that is involved with that throughout the week.

And last, but definitely not least, we have been doing respite for our little girl that we are working towards adopting! She has been in our home often since we've been back and we are loving it. She just fits right in! We are also having more regular visits with our little boy, her brother, and so things are moving forward in terms of bringing them home soon! Pray with us for their paperwork that is being worked on so that this process can go more quickly.

I have a ton of pictures of them...but this will have to do for now ;) We will likely not post any pictures here publicly until the adoption is completely finalized.

Independence Day, Camping, Birthdays, and more...

Celebrating Mexico's Independence Day is always a good time!

The date is September 16 and the school always puts on a celebration during the week before where parents are invited, there are traditional presentations, everyone dresses up, and we have awesome food - churros, tamales, etc.

Carter with some friends

Logan and a friend

Brady and a friend

Then on the 15th in the evening, the night before, we headed out with one of our Bible study groups to a carnival type of event followed by the "grito" and fireworks. The grito is always done on the 15th in the evening and one person hollers out "Long live..." so and so (historical figures that aided in the Independence of Mexico) and the crowd responds by hollering "VIVA!" (long live). 

Mexicans are patriotic overall and we really enjoy participating in the different celebrations. 

The next weekend we were invited to climb El Nevado in the State of Colima! This is an inactive volcano and the goal is to hike 20 km up to a camping spot, and then to hike the rest of the way up to the peak. We went with a group of 15 and some hiked while others drove up in the vehicles with the supplies. 

Dallas had been last year with the same group, as they do this once a year for one of the men's birthdays. It's a beautiful place, unfortunately this weekend it rained non-stop - the 2 days and night! So it put a bit of a damper on the hiking but it made for some cozy times of visiting and eating around the fire. 

For your enjoyment, a random picture of the boys. They were playing school and this was art class ;) I think it only took about 3 showers to get all of that paint off. Fortunately it was over the weekend.

We have also been at a few birthday parties...this particular one was for a little girl in Brady's class. These are times of being friends, of meeting new parents, and connecting more with current parents.

A friend that also attends my ladies Bible study once a week

This month we have also done several visits with our little girl, as she came to our house once a week for the day and then was here all of last week! We were doing respite for her orphanage and we are so thankful that even though we can't bring her home permanently yet, we have had these opportunities to grow a much bigger bond! It was hard to let her go after a whole week together. I of course would love to share pictures but can't just yet.

And to end, an interesting story. We have missionary friends here who have a discipling school through MB Missions. Students come from several different countries, and this year they just welcomed a girl from Cambodia.

A lady in one of our Bible study groups is also friends with our missionary friends and she was asked to billet the girl, Sol, from Cambodia. So on Sunday Sol came to our Bible study. Well it turns out that she came here on an internship through MCC, and my second cousin from Manitoba happens to work for MCC and just was in Thailand doing Orientation with Sol and all of the young adults that would be sent out around the world with their YAMEN program.

Also, before Sol got to Guadalajara, she stopped in Mexico City for 2 weeks and was billeted in another home there. Well, at that home she met the parents of another couple in our Bible study!

Anyway, it was all a big circle and such a small world sometimes. I love how cultures and worlds collide and it was an encouraging time.

On the note of encouraging, we have been encouraged with our Bible study groups as we prepare to be gone for 2 months. People are taking initiative in planning for when we're gone, in wanting to help where they can, in supporting one another in the group, and it's been so good for us as we think of being away. Our goal is to pass on leadership and when we see that happening it's encouraging. We are also having a baptism in a few weeks and love how our group is coming alongside the young man as right now he doesn't have very much support in the decision he's made.

Thank-you for your continued prayers for our family and our ministry!
Have a good night.

Joy and Sorrow in Adoption (and who are we adopting??)

Something important to remember about adoption is that while it is a beautiful thing, it's always preceded by loss. In order for a child to become part of a new family, they had to lose their first family.

I know that this journey of adoption will have many moments of remembering and of questioning their birth family and origins but we pray it will also be filled with moments of joy in the new family God has joined together. 

I can't pretend to understand completely the feelings an adopted child has, and I never will, but I can be there and I can be open to conversations and I can let my children know that in our home, both Joy and Sorrow are accepted. 

Feelings and openness and talking about any subject are accepted. I so pray that our family can grow together and be a place of belonging, healing, acceptance, love, and joy.

I need to get out of the way one important fact, so that I can stop trying not to say "child" or "children", as we are in fact adopting a sibling set! We are adopting a little boy and a little girl. The story of how it came to be two instead of one was very unexpected as we first met our little girl and later were told that she had a brother. 

After much, much prayer, debating, and talking with many people, Dallas and I decided (or gave into what we probably knew we would do all along!) that we really wanted to keep them together. I won't go into detail here on the blog about their history but they are living in two different orphanages at the moment and we are able to do visits with them. 

The paperwork is a long process yet. While we are done all of our paperwork and are approved, the legal documents needed for the kids are not finished and that is a process that needs to be completed by Mexico's Child & Family services. So pray with us please that this gets done as quickly as possible! 

In the meantime we will be going to Canada this winter as planned for our furlough while we wait for the paperwork to bring them home to be completed. It will be at least until after the New Year (probably longer).

We are so happy that we can spend time with them at least while we wait! As a family we have been able to get to know our little girl quite well already, as we volunteer at the Orphanage where she is. She just turned 1 this summer. We have only met our little boy once though! As we don't have a connection with his Orphanage we need to wait for Child & Family to set up visits and let's just say that things are a little slower with that process. He is 3 years old right now.

While having 5 children had never crossed our mind and we are aware that it will mean more money and time and energy and more, Dallas and I feel complete peace and excitement about this. We don't know the future, we don't know what will all happen, but we trust God to be with us every step of the way, no matter the outcomes.

WE.ARE.ADOPTING!!

This is the thing I have really been wanting to write about for the past six months!! 

Yes, we have decided to adopt! and we are super excited about it.

Dallas and I have always had adoption on our hearts, since we first married and before we ever began having kids. It was something we dreamed of and hoped to do sometime in the future. 

Both of us have hearts for people living without hope and without belonging. 

And this is what draws us to church planting - people may have good families and good jobs and good lives on the outside, or they many not at all, but so many people we meet in life are empty inside, living in fear, despair, and with a sense of hopelessness for the future. We long to see people restored to a relationship with God! Being tools to bring people to a relationship with Jesus and a belonging to God's family is what our purpose here in Guadalajara is all about. 

This is the same reason we are drawn to adoption. We long to see the lives of kids that no longer have families be restored, so that they can live with hope and belong to a family that loves them. 

That said, living here in Mexico we weren't able to adopt as we were Temporary Residents for the first several years. We also couldn't adopt through Canada as we aren't living there. So, we had to wait until we were Permanent Residents here in Mexico, and that is what has now made it possible!

Last year Dallas and I were saying that we really needed to decide once and for all if we were going to pursue this. Our boys are getting older and we felt that it was the right time to make a decision. 

To be honest, the fear of the unknown made me unsure about pursuing it - what if we weren't accepted? What if we put our hearts into this and it fell through? The government and adoption can be a very long and tricky process!! But I have learned to trust God with my heart and know that it's worth the risk to fall in love with a child and pursue this. These kids are worth it.

So, there is so much I could explain about the process, about the orphanages, about adoption, but I will try to answer some of the basic questions that we get asked and if you have more, feel free to ask.

Is this an International or Domestic Adoption?

This is considered a Domestic Adoption since with our Permanent Residency we follow the same process of adoption as a Mexican citizen would. All adoptions in Mexico have to go through the DIF (Mexico's Child & Family Services), as private adoptions are not legal. So we work with them directly and we also have a lawyer working with us. Both Mexico and Canada are part of the Hague Convention , which regulates how adoptions must be handled, and this should make the process of dual-citizenship easier when the time comes.

When did you start the process?

We officially began the process of getting certified to adopt in Mexico in February 2017. It took two months for us to get all of the documents together that we needed and we handed all of this in to Child & Family in April 2017 and our process was underway. After that we had to go for interviews, do a home study, attend an adoption workshop, and have a psychological evaluation.

Where are you at in the process?

We received our certification to adopt on August 3, 2017, our 15th Wedding Anniversary!

Are you waiting to be matched with a child?

We actually began this process when we did because of a child we met at the Orphanage we volunteer at! Both Dallas and I knew pretty well immediately that now was the time. So, we know who we are hoping to adopt! 

However, it is a long process of paperwork in order for children in orphanages to be adoptable, as it is similar to a foster system in that many of the kids have families but were removed from their families due to many factors, or are abandoned, and I'm not going to get into politics, but the truth of the matter is is that the paperwork is usually not put into place until someone comes forward wanting to adopt and the paperwork is a really long process. It will be several months yet before we would have anyone actually in our home with us, but we are already doing visits. 

We probably will not share specific details about any child's personal background but will share a bit more in another post about who we are hoping to adopt!

Is adoption common in Mexico?
It isn't. Taking in a child that is blood-related is done, no questions asked. But adopting a child that is not related to you is not common at all. We have met about 12 other couples now that are in the adoption proces and they are all couples that aren't able to conceive. In that case they are looking to adopt newborns, which is great! But this also means that older children already in orphanages usually grow up there. We would love to see more families consider adoption here.

What do the boys think?

We have shared everything with the boys right from the beginning. Before we began the process we talked to them about it and so it has been something they've warmed up to and understood more and more as the months have gone on. They are completely accepting of it and excited about it.

Those are all of the questions I can think of right now....as I said, feel free to ask away and we will try to answer if we can.

We are so thankful for all of your support and prayers and while we know that this will mean more work and money and time and energy for us with more kids, we feel that it is right for our family. Prayers appreciated!