Meet January's Family of the Month: Nathan and Angela
I'm so happy to introduce you to this lovely family. Angela was the first one to contact me almost a year ago about being a part of their adoption auction and the rest is history! She has often been so encouraging to me, and I am very excited to have them as the family of the month.
Here they are (so darling!):
Let's get to know them a little more, shall we?
Q: Why did you decide to adopt? Where are you adopting from?
A: One day. That's what we thought about adoption. It was a plan for one day, when we had the perfect little house and the full banks accounts. Many couples turn to adoption after struggling with the heartbreak of infertility, but that is not our story. After we got married, and began talking more seriously about a family, adoption was an idea that we couldn't push from the corners of our minds. Our original plan was to have a couple biological children first, saving adoption for when we were more financially stable. International adoption isn't something most young married couples choose. But God had other plans for our family. With current orphan estimates soaring over 160 million worldwide, we felt that adoption was where we were called to begin our family, not end it. The short story: God led us to Taiwan. The longer story: the beauty and modern cities of Taiwan mask a harsh truth; up to 50% of all Taiwanese women have had an abortion. For many, this is not a "pro-choice" decision, most of these women have no choice. The orphanages are full and the stigma associated with being an unwed mother is severe. Cultural factors place a tremendous amount of value on bloodlines, so the children remain in orphanages, un-adopted by the people of the country. Because the orphanages are full, some experts now believe that the yearly abortion rate exceeds the birthrate, for mothers who do not want their children have no viable choice for their children. We have chosen to work with an agency, His Hands, whose primary focus is not adoption, but to support the birth mother and teach her the skills she needs to raise her child as a single mother. Should she chose not to do so, they offer adoption as a last option. This need for adoptive parents, combined with many other reasons, has led us to the decision to adopt a child, of either gender, from Taiwan. And we are so excited!!
Q: What are some family traditions that you excited about introducing to your child?
A: This past holiday season overflowed with a mix of excitement and nerves for us. It was very likely the last one for my husband and I as "just the two of us." As we celebrated family traditions, our minds wandered to next year, wondering if we would be sharing them with a little one. From eating M&Ms while decorating the tree to baking cookies, the season is a fun one for us and we can only imagine how much more fun it will be with a toddler in the kitchen, adding mess to our mayhem.
Q: What are some of your favorite family activities?
A: We love snuggling by campfires and eating s'mores. We love walking our hyper puppy, who lives to run and roll in fresh grass. We enjoy cooking, reading, and watching How I Met Your Mother. I'm a history nerd. My husband's an exercise buff. We work well together and we can't wait to add a child into this mix.
Q: Any other things you'd like to share with us about adoption or your family?
A: I suppose one thing I would like to share about international adoption is that yes, the financial obligations are scary, but there is joy in the journey. While our adoption is not yet fully funded, we have been amazed by how far we have already come. Not only are we saving every penny we can, we have been blessed with donations from friends, family, and complete strangers. If you would like to follow our journey, our blog is: http://expectingablessing.blogspot.com/
I hope that you all take a moment to go and visit Angela's blog (I love reading it!) and getting to know more about them!
**If you are new around here, 25% of each sale from Home for Hire {the shop} goes to the family of the month. I love supporting those who are adopting and feel so blessed to be a little part of their journey! You can read more about how that got started over here**
Here they are (so darling!):
Let's get to know them a little more, shall we?
Q: Why did you decide to adopt? Where are you adopting from?
A: One day. That's what we thought about adoption. It was a plan for one day, when we had the perfect little house and the full banks accounts. Many couples turn to adoption after struggling with the heartbreak of infertility, but that is not our story. After we got married, and began talking more seriously about a family, adoption was an idea that we couldn't push from the corners of our minds. Our original plan was to have a couple biological children first, saving adoption for when we were more financially stable. International adoption isn't something most young married couples choose. But God had other plans for our family. With current orphan estimates soaring over 160 million worldwide, we felt that adoption was where we were called to begin our family, not end it. The short story: God led us to Taiwan. The longer story: the beauty and modern cities of Taiwan mask a harsh truth; up to 50% of all Taiwanese women have had an abortion. For many, this is not a "pro-choice" decision, most of these women have no choice. The orphanages are full and the stigma associated with being an unwed mother is severe. Cultural factors place a tremendous amount of value on bloodlines, so the children remain in orphanages, un-adopted by the people of the country. Because the orphanages are full, some experts now believe that the yearly abortion rate exceeds the birthrate, for mothers who do not want their children have no viable choice for their children. We have chosen to work with an agency, His Hands, whose primary focus is not adoption, but to support the birth mother and teach her the skills she needs to raise her child as a single mother. Should she chose not to do so, they offer adoption as a last option. This need for adoptive parents, combined with many other reasons, has led us to the decision to adopt a child, of either gender, from Taiwan. And we are so excited!!
Q: What are some family traditions that you excited about introducing to your child?
A: This past holiday season overflowed with a mix of excitement and nerves for us. It was very likely the last one for my husband and I as "just the two of us." As we celebrated family traditions, our minds wandered to next year, wondering if we would be sharing them with a little one. From eating M&Ms while decorating the tree to baking cookies, the season is a fun one for us and we can only imagine how much more fun it will be with a toddler in the kitchen, adding mess to our mayhem.
Q: What are some of your favorite family activities?
A: We love snuggling by campfires and eating s'mores. We love walking our hyper puppy, who lives to run and roll in fresh grass. We enjoy cooking, reading, and watching How I Met Your Mother. I'm a history nerd. My husband's an exercise buff. We work well together and we can't wait to add a child into this mix.
Q: Any other things you'd like to share with us about adoption or your family?
A: I suppose one thing I would like to share about international adoption is that yes, the financial obligations are scary, but there is joy in the journey. While our adoption is not yet fully funded, we have been amazed by how far we have already come. Not only are we saving every penny we can, we have been blessed with donations from friends, family, and complete strangers. If you would like to follow our journey, our blog is: http://expectingablessing.blogspot.com/
I hope that you all take a moment to go and visit Angela's blog (I love reading it!) and getting to know more about them!
**If you are new around here, 25% of each sale from Home for Hire {the shop} goes to the family of the month. I love supporting those who are adopting and feel so blessed to be a little part of their journey! You can read more about how that got started over here**
Okay first...HI!!! I think I am back to blogging :) Second, love the new look of the blog! And third...I think this is the coolest and most generous thing you are doing for these families!! It breaks my heart to to hear about all these orphaned children in Taiwan. I had no clue it was like that over there. Nathan and Angela have such big hearts. I pray that they will soon be able to hold their son or daughter and make even more memories and traditions.
ReplyDeleteWe are so excited to be a Home for Hire family. Yay! Thank you!!! And thank you Andi for your super sweet comment :-)
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