Growing family

What a summer this has been!! We went to court with our 2 boys, and became an official family of four. The adoption is final. Our adoption party was a blast. We had 90 people stream into our backyard to celebrate with us. We believe adoption is such a miracle and God’s plan weaved us together so perfectly. God had another miracle waiting for us. Around the same time as our adoption, God surprised us in another way also. In February we are going to have a baby! This is what Damari has been praying about for awhile. He is sure it is a little sister. God is faithful and His timing is perfect. Chris and I believe that if we would have had biological children first we would not have pursued foster care and never would have met Damari and Timothy. They are such a joy to us and we are so honored and grateful that they are our sons.

Damari John- We call him DJ. -John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
Denton- Chris’ middle name and a his mom’s family name.
Sahr

Timothy Joshua -Joshua 1:9 says, “This is my command--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Laine- Janice’s middle name (Elaine) and her mom’s middle name.
Sahr

Forever Family

Once again we were in court for our boys... the judge decides to set a finalization adoption date for our family... June 27th we welcome our boys to officially join Team Sahr!!!
Even though our 4 year old is convinced he wants to live with my sister Barb, we are excited to settle into our role as mommy and daddy to these two wonderful little guys. We received a children’s book about adoption from our social worker. As I read this to the kids I couldn’t help but take it to heart when reading the words, “I don’t know for sure, But I”ll offer this clue- If I were your mom I’d be looking for you.” Yes, my sons I am your mom and I have been looking for you, praying for you and loving you for a long time... long before we ever met you.
Our love for them grows everyday and we pray that they will grow up to be men after God’s own heart. When questions arise for them about their past I pray peace for their minds and souls and an assurance that God can fill that void like nothing else can. Everyday I pray for wisdom and I am totally relying on the Lord to teach me to show them love and grace. “For finding your mother, There’s one certain test. You must look for the creature who loves you the best.” -Little Miss Spider
I am blessed!

Family

The situation was out of our hands. There was nothing we could do. But we rested in the peace that either way the judge moved we knew that God was still in control, not us.


Our foster sons have been with us now for 8 months. We love them so much. We are blessed.
 
The boys biological mom decided to appoint us as adoptive parents. We understood that even though she decided this, the judge could still side with the relatives that had stepped forward for the boys. While in court, after hearing from the child protection workers, social workers, and lawyers the judge said he needed to take a 15 minute recess. During the recess he requested that Chris and I sit down and talk with the
relatives that wanted the boys. We met this beautiful couple and after a heart felt private conversation they shared that they would love for the kids to join our family.
We all returned to the courtroom. The room was quiet as we waited for the judge's decision. Even though the judge didn't know the content of the talk we just had, he announced that after reviewing the laws he decided he agreed with mom and wanted the boys to stay with the foster parents! The relatives turned to us, hugged and congratulated us. God was in that courtroom as our advocate. There are still a lot of court dates to
get through but as of now it looks like we will be a forever family!


As most of you know Chris' mom passed away on Jan. 9th. She loved our boys and one of the last things she said to us was, "You tell the boys everyday how much their Nana loves them." She prayed that we would be able to adopt them. The day after
she passed we got the phone call that the kids biological mom wanted us to be their parents.


We are so grateful to all of you that have been praying for us and encouraging us.


We love all of you, the Sahr family

Roller Coaster Adventure

 I keep wishing that I could post photos of the boys... of our family. You need to see how cute they are:) We are not allowed to put any pics online until they are officially ours. Until then you will just have to visit us!!!!
 


We have been blessed to have two beautiful boys in our home for 6 months now. I suppose every family experiences what we are experiencing in different ways. We are just finding our way through this new path. We love the laughs we have with the boys, the interesting answers we come up with to the difficult questions “D” (our 4 year old) asks, the dancing in the family room (and laughing at Chris’ moves that he is teaching D), the belly laugh that we love to hear from “T” (our 7 month old), the newness of the Christmas season through their young eyes. They are fun, inquisitive, lovely boys. We have found the tough part comes when we are told that they have found a new family member that has expressed interest in having the kids live with them. Selfishly, sadness sets in... then the next week the family member  declines... Joy fills our hearts. I know reunification with the biological family is the goal but my heart says different. The county has to keep looking for family members... nation-wide... and so we wait. So, we are asked a lot if we know if we get to adopt the boys and when it will happen and the truth is that we just don’t know. When I get anxious and want to know what the future holds, Chris reminds me that we are here to love them day by day and it is not our job to anticipate what will happen. This helps me focus on my calling to this ministry of giving my all to these kids, it helps me breathe again. Just as a wise friend told me,” Stay in today.” That is how I need to live each day... Stay in the moment, stay in today.

I wonder what it was like for the boy’s biological mom to have her children taken from her. Does her heart ache? Does she wonder? I pray for her that in this Christmas season she will know that her children are being loved and cared for and that Jesus loves and cares for her.

 I can’t imagine what some parents go through. I stared at the TV as we learned that those little children were tragically murdered in their classroom... I have held mamas weeping as their babies die of Malaria or AIDS... I watched from afar as my good friends in Arkansas walked on a painful road after tragically losing their 10 year old daughter... my younger cousin lost two young daughters due to a genetic condition. My mind cannot wrap around this immeasurable pain. I wonder how their lives go on. Maybe they are all clinging to the hope that God has promised us... a hope  that someday there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more children taken away... a hope that changes our hearts and sets us on a journey of being whole and loved by the Prince of Peace. That is our hope as we stay in today.



We love you, The Sahr family

Wow...

...And then there were 4... What just happened? This is something Chris and I ask each other while standing stunned and sleep deprived in the middle of a house strewn with toys, dirty diapers and baby bottles. This has been a whirlwind and we are loving it. Overwhelming but exciting.

We received Timmy, age 3 weeks, into our home on June 13th and just welcomed brother Damari age 3 and a half on Thursday July 5th. We consider ourselves so blessed as God has brought these kids into our lives and we have been given the opportunity to take care, love and nurture these beautiful boys. We have been having fun swimming, going to the park and  having visitors over. Damari’s favorite line is, “Chris, you are so funny.” He loves to laugh and ask a lot of questions.

 Our wish would be to adopt but the process will be a very long road of hearings, court dates and waiting. We want to love these boys as much as we can and hope it will be forever. We pray with them and for them daily and know this is out of our control. These are God’s kids and we put them in His hands every day. I go into their room at night and stare at them in awe as I think about how easy it has been to fall in love with them. This is an adventure that we don’t know where it will take  us but we hang on to the hand of Jesus knowing that this may not be an easy road. But Chris has said from the beginning that our lives were not meant to be easy but to be obedient to what God has for us. We are not in this to protect ourselves but to love these kids with abandon. Whirlwind, uncertainty, craziness... then I hold these guys... and I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Team Sahr is growing!

When I was single I had to not only be at peace with being single but I had to come to the point that I was okay with being single for the rest of my life. I came to that point... soon after I met Chris.  We together have struggled through different phases of life: not getting pregnant, waiting for foster kids, disappointment with adoption, etc. Last week we were shown that those disappointments needed to be brought back into perspective. We realized how blessed we are with having such a great marriage and wonderful family and friends. We had to not only be at peace with not having kids but we had to come to the point where we were okay with never having kids.  We came to that point... and right now I have a 3 week old baby boy sleeping next to me!!

Yes, we were asked last night if we were interested in taking in a baby... he came this afternoon... and in the next week or so his 3 year old brother will also join us! We think this may be permanent. Our family is doubling in size!  We are so blessed.

 God has taught me time and time again that I can trust Him fully with my needs and desires. He promises that He will supply all our needs. I worry about situations but no matter the outcome I know that I can trust the Lord and give Him my heavy heart. He might not give us the result we thought He would but He will take care of us. Whether  I  get what I want or He gives me something different I give God all the glory!

   Come visit anytime. We would love for you to meet our little guys. Love you all!

Hello again...

People have been asking about what is going on with foster care. I have been silent because nothing has been happening and it has been a bit frustrating and disheartening. The longing is still there to have kids in our home so we have been pursuing international and domestic adoption as well as waiting for foster kids. The process is long and we keep running into bumps in the road due to our age.

I know!... we don’t think we are too old either. :)

Also we received a phone call telling us there is a baby for us and then it fell through around Mother’s Day. That was heart breaking. When discouragement creeps into our lives we know that God is bigger than any age limit or the cost of adoption or disappointment. If God wants us to have a certain child He will knock down any obstacle in the way. God is greater than any man made rules. I am grateful for my women’s prayer group, Hannah’s Circle, for that reminder. Also, the encouragement of 1st Peter 1:3-9... God has given us a living hope- kept in heaven for us...


We heard a wonderful sermon on Sun. about falling at the  feet of Jesus and shamelessly, audaciously and persistently praying about a desperate situation in our lives. We will continue to pursue God for our little family and trust that He will show us His big picture and that His plan is better than anything we could imagine. Thank you for standing with us as we continue to dream about becoming parents.

We have been busy with a big yard project and also tearing down walls in the basement. Chris and I love to work together and have so much fun while we work. We think we should start a landscaping/demolition business but we spend too much time getting into water fights or hysterically laughing from something Chris said or did.

We love you all and will keep you updated on any news happening with us. Please feel free to send us your prayer requests. We love to pray for others. You mean a lot to us.