After a wonderful week together, Jason headed for home this morning. It pretty much sucks to be away from him. He just called to tell me Cali and Cooper are lying on the floor in front of the fireplace. Hannah and I miss our pets alot. When I'm home I complain about them (the barking and the shedding), but I miss them like crazy right now. Hopefully, we'll be home soon.

So, about Isaac. His doctor feels he may be ready to come home (to our house) within the next few weeks. We've tabled the transfer, again, in hopes we'll be taking him home soon. This morning he started getting a bottle for every feeding and is going up 4ml every 12 hours. He also received the first of many of his immunizations this evening. If he does well tonight (tolerating his feedings by bottle) they may move him to the stepdown unit tomorrow. This would be his first time out of the NICU. His move to the 4th floor would also mean Hannah would be able to come with me to see him. Jason and I excited to think this could be it. It's also scary to be sooo close to the end, knowing that any illness could set him back quite a bit. Tonight, when I fed him his bottle (and forgot the camera AGAIN), I told him how proud I was of him. I told him to keep fighting and to keep growing and to keep trying and that Mommy and Daddy would always be here to encourage him along. I also told him if he couldn't do it, yet, that it was ok. I told him we love him no matter what. Healthy or sick. In the hospital or at home.

I think it's very kind so many of you applaud what we're doing. Really, it's nothing. We don't adopt kids because we want to save them, or because their birth families don't want them. Our children were placed for adoption and then adopted because that's how God orchestrated their lives, for reasons we'll never know. We are just a part of God's plan for our children's lives. And for that, we are eternally humbled and grateful.

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I think it's interesting how we think about families as "mine" and "yours", "birth families" and "adoptive families." As a Christian, I believe that we're all a part of God's family, therefore, everyone is family. We talk about being "brothers and sisters in Christ" but do we love and care for each other like family? Just a thought.

Many people refer to birth families in a negative manner. A common misconception about birth families is that they don't love their kids--that's why they "give them up." I've never found that to be true. Something many people say to me about placing children for adoption is, "I could never do that." And I think, yeah, it's THAT difficult. Why do we assume it's an easy choice for a birth family to place a child for adoption? Why do we assume they don't love their child? I don't think we make the same assumption of Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22). Instead, I think we look at him as a man of great faith. Trusting God and obeying God despite his human selfishness. There are a million things I don't know about birth families because we're not one. But I do know that my experience with birth families leads me to believe that they love their children as much as every parent. Except they love enough and trust and obey God enough--to let go--something most parents could never do. If there is ever a hero to me, it's a birth family. November is National Adoption Awareness Month. If there is anything I could make you aware of, it would be the love and self sacrifice of a birth family.

Blessings to every birth family who has placed a child for adoption. I believe God has seen your sacrifice, and will reward you greatly.