Adoption Update: Moving Forward

We have had some good news and some bad news this week.

First the good news...

We have the green light and our adoption is now able to move forward!! Praise God!! We don't know any specifics as to when we will get or court date or when our court date will be, but we do know that we are moving forward and will receive one at some point hopefully in the near future.  It is so hard to wait, but there have been so many lessons in this wait and most importantly it has strengthened my relationship with the Lord.  HE is good.  HE did this!

• We ask that you will please continue to pray for our case and that it will move super fast.  We don't expect to be traveling before the rainy season, but we would LOVE for God to surprise us with that and we are still praying for it to happen!  
• We pray that our Baby T is being taken care of, that he is loved and safe, and that he somehow has the peace of knowing he will be with his family soon.

The bad news...

There are still many families whose situations are uncertain and we ask for your prayers for them also and that they will be able to get to their waiting children as soon as possible.  We have faith that God can work all of this out!

There can be so many roadblocks to adoption, and it just goes to prove that spiritual warfare is so real.  When you are following the Lord's plan the devil will try his very best to bring you down and to thwart those plans!  The devil is working overtime to keep these babies from loving Christian homes...BUT our God is greater and we are praying overtime that these babies are home soon!!



Blessings,

Supporting Families with Autism

Marriage is hard in the first place without adding an autistic child or a child with special needs.  It's been widely known that having a child with Autism can be a marital strain and studies now show that your marriage is not only at risk during the early years of raising a child with Autism, but throughout the child's adolescent years and adulthood.

“There seems to be a prolonged vulnerability for divorce in parents of children with autism,” says Hartley.

“Typically, if couples can survive the early child-rearing years,parenting demands decrease and there is often less strain on the marriage. However, parents of children with autism often continue to live with and experience high parenting demands into their child’s adulthood, and thus marital strain may remain high in these later years.”

source

The stresses of parenting an autistic child are pretty much the same as that of a typical family, just enhanced.  Finances and paying for therapies, finding time for each other, worrying about your child and the unique stresses of child rearing a child who has special needs.

Many families fall apart. But with the right support system and most importantly a foundation in the Lord a family CAN stay together...and I believe even flourish under their new set of trying circumstances.

“Few developmental disabilities appear to be more taxing on parents and there is a great need for support services for families when the child is an adolescent and adult. Providing support for couples to help them work on their marriages is an obvious step. If we can get information and support to these families, we hope to be able to support lasting marriages.”

source

From the beginning of our journey with Autism we have had such a strong support system.  Many friends and family members who have chipped in in so many different ways to help our family in some of our most trying times.  We couldn't be more thankful for the help that we have received through people truly being the hands and feet of Christ for our family!

But, not everyone has this type of support, even thought they desperately need it.  And they need you to take the initiative...we, like most families, didn't solicit help...it was freely given to us.

What can you do to help out a family that you know??

It's hard to know what you can do to help a family in this situation, but this article from autisable.com lists seven easy peasy ways in which you can help out a family dealing with autism. 

• Grabbing some groceries on your grocery run
• Learn the facts about Autism, but refrain from giving advice
• Take out the sibling of a child with Autism for a special treat
• Give the parents a date night
• Offer to help with housework or organization
• Bring over a cooked meal
• Ask you high school child to spend some time weekly to play with the child with Autism

 Even something that seems small to you can be a BIG help to families who need it!