From the Beginning

So many ask about our family. We're just like any other family...sort of. Our family began in July 1999 when my husband, Howard, and I got married. We were always on the "five year plan" to have children, and it worked out as just that. In 2004, our daughter, Julia, was born. Life was good. In 2005, Howard and I made our first trip to an orphanage in Mexico. Howard continued to travel to Mexico and began leading teams to build houses for people in need of more adequate shelter. In 2006, he met Wendy, age 18 months...she captured his heart. Over time, we found out Wendy had three siblings. We "adopted" the four of them from afar by sending cards, letters, gifts, etc. We envisioned that's all it would ever be. God had different plans.




Howard and I always thought we might adopt a child. We didn't know when we would feel the push to begin an adoption journey, but we thought someday...when the time was right. That time ended up being November of 2006. Howard and I felt God was leading us to officially adopt Wendy and her siblings into our family. It was in November, 2006 we hired our first adoption attorney in Mexico. Most people thought we lost our minds. Sometimes, I think we even thought so; however, we knew this is where God was leading our family. In 2007, our son, Elijah, was born. Much happened over the next two and a half years. We fired our first attorney, hired another one, got an adoption homestudy, filled out a boat load of paperwork, hit many road blocks, made plans, made new plans, made plans again, made new plans again (you get the picture)....not to mention continued our family and works lives here. Finally, in August 2009, we were able to travel to Mexico to pick up our children; Victor (age 16), Emmy (age 12), Linda (age 7), and Wendy (age 5). Julia is now five years old, and Elijah is two. Today, we spend most of our time learning to become a family of eight.




As I mentioned....many people ask about our family. Why? Victor, Emmy, Linda, and Wendy crossed paths with many individuals over the three plus years they lived at their orphanage. Many people all over the United States and Mexico met and fell in love with one or all of them. We are blessed to be their parents. They are blessed to have so many on their side. This blog is our attempt to allow you to continue to be a part of their lives (and now ours) by providing....The Whole Nine Yards.