One of the best Stories (pt. 1)

I recently decided to sit down and finish writing down Isaac's birth story. It is the first chapter of his life as a Taylor.

So this is the first part of the story:

Thursday morning, October 11, began as any other Thursday would begin. Jay and I were both working from our home office aware that it was going to be a very busy day since we were planning on holding a GIANT fund-raising garage sale that weekend. We also were host Jay's uncle that night when he drove in from Canada for work.

In the middle of a phone meeting that Jay was a part of, we received a call from Julie, our Adoption Specialist. When I answered, she asked if I had a couple minutes to talk and if I had something to write with. As I scrambled to get a piece of paper and a pen, my mind was racing. No way. No way was this a phone call about a baby. We just had our final home-study three days earlier and we were told it would be about three weeks until that was complete and we were waiting family.

The notes we took while on the phone

 But it was that call. 

Julie proceeded to tell me about a baby boy that was going to be born that day or the next. She told me a little about the birth-parents and their circumstances. She told me how he was going to be a preemie (5 weeks early) and how his birth-mom had no prenatal care. She told me that two other families in the area had already turned him down because of how quickly they would have ended up with a baby. She told me how we were being called because the birth-parents wanted the adoptive parents at the hospital shortly after the baby was born to take over care.  She asked me if we would accept the placement of this baby boy into our family.

I could barely breathe as I told her the answer would most likely be yes, but I had to talk to Jay. I ran upstairs where Jay was still in his meeting  and I don't even remember saying anything, just dancing around next to his desk with what must have been the biggest smile on my face. Jay hung up from the meeting mid-sentence and I shared all the details with him.

The "Is this really happening" look we had most of the day

We took some deep breaths and prayed. We talked details and questions that we had, and prayed some more. We called a couple of friends who had made this decision before for counsel and prayed once more. We called Julie back with our questions and before we had even asked all the questions on our list, we had accepted placement.

On the phone with Julie

Once that phone call was complete, we decided we needed to activate our network. We had next to nothing to prepare our home for a baby. We had a garage over-flowing, ready for a sale. We needed help.

Within an hour we had people at our house with baby items. They organized garage sale items, prepped a car seat, ordered food, made signs, and put up a massive tent.

Meanwhile, Jay and I continued with our work day. After a particularly long equipment meeting I had that afternoon, one of my friends asked me how I could concentrate. I told her I didn't remember much of what was said in that meeting, but that I was glad I sounded focused.

Sometime in the afternoon we received the social/medical history of the birth family and we were told that we would receive a call when the baby was born.

We stayed up late that night, discussing names and contingency plans. We prayed for the birth mom, for the labor, and for the tiny soul about to enter the world. We laughed at our mock disappointment that he wasn't born that day - what an easy birthday it would have been to remember, 10/11/12!

One of the people we called when trying to make the decision asked if we were spiritually and emotionally ready for a baby. Not knowing how this whole situation was going to turn out, we went to bed that night with the Peace of God reigning in us. 

Laughter has come

The words "I'm in" have a quiet power

Bob Goff

Sometimes it is the power to change our lives forever.

                                                                                                                                                                      

If you know Jay and I, you know that we rarely say "No". We desire to live lives that are open to new people and new experiences. Life in Christ is life abundant. We also knew when it came to our adoption, we would need to deeply consider our "Yes" as it would be one that would alter the rest of our lives.

To our absolute shock, that moment to say "yes" or "no" came a lot sooner than we had expected.  On Thursday, October 11, we received a phone call from Bethany telling us about a "gift baby" that was to be born that day or the next. Our adoption worker told us about the family and the circumstances and a little about why we were being called as we hadn't even received our completed home study yet.

Jay and I talked, prayed, jumped around, called some friends who have had made this decision for counsel, prayed some more, called the adoption worker with more questions, and soon we both reached a very confident "YES - we're in"

In my previous post I mentioned that Bethany said we would have baby by the end of the year instead it ended up being by the end of the week!

World, meet Isaac!

Full Steam Ahead

"You will have a baby by Christmas" was the jaw-dropping statement made by our Adoption specialist yesterday afternoon.

Finally we were told why we were being rushed through the home study process. Bethany has too many birth-moms giving birth soon and not enough families who are open to bringing these babies home.

Needless to say, I couldn't sleep last night. My mind was churning with all of the preparations we need to make. We have nothing for a baby yet - well not nothing - we have a toy (singular), a crib sheet (no crib), a high chair (that I hear a baby can't use for a while), but that is it. We also have (had?) all sorts of plans for fundraising because we do not have the savings to cover the cost of the adoption.

(Oh my . . . )

Although, this is the timing I had hoped for, I never expected things would move this fast. Now, I am fully aware that there could be complications (legal and otherwise) that could slow this down, but for now we are functioning under the impression that we will have a newborn in the house within two months.

(Give me a moment while I catch my breath. . .)

Soon our little family will be growing and we don't know the baby that will be joining us. We don't know their family history, gender, face or name. But God knows what is going to happen. He knows the plans He has for us.

Whatever may come down this road to adoption, we are moving forward full steam ahead.

Decisions, decisions . . .

Jay and I are terrible at making decisions.

Perhaps I should correct that - I am terrible at making decisions and I pull Jay into my indecision.

We have had to make so many big decisions in less than 5 years of marriage, you would think I would be used to it by now, but I'm not.

The decision to adopt was an easy one for us. However, all of the other decisions were born from that single decision seemed crippling at times. Which agency will we use? Domestic or International? If international, which country? How open are we to special needs? Age ranges? Race?

And in the adoption process you have to have clear answers for all of these and more.

Jay and I decided to read the book Adopted for Life as part of the decision making/infertility grieving process.(I would highly recommend it anyone to read, especially if you are feeling apathetic about adoption) One thing the author mentioned in his chapter written specifically to couples who are infertile was to pray for clarity of vision moving forward in the adoption process.

So pray we did and we held off moving forward in making any of those decisions until we really felt clear about what direction was right for us.

Over the next several months I felt like we were given the answers.

On the questions of race, we knew from the beginning that didn't matter to us. We know there are and will be many obstacles to overcome by adopting a child of a different race, but God doesn't discriminate about which races He allows into His Family, we aren't going to either.

On the question of special needs or medical conditions, we will consider almost all. That was a hard answer to come to because we know that if we were pregnant, we wouldn't be able to discriminate.

One the question of age ranges, we have asked for 1 year or younger. We discussed older child foster/adoption, but this answer came as a tourniquet for my still-grieving heart. I would love to know my child since the day they are born or as close to it as God allows. Since that may never happen with biological children, I am praying that this happens in adoption.

Finally the big question of domestic or international. Both Jay and I felt like we are called to fill the gaps, to adopt children who might not otherwise be part of a forever family. Logically, that led us to attend an orientation on International Adoption. As we listened to the information presented, we were struck by how many countries in the world were closed to adoption simply because there were too many families waiting to adopt and not enough children to be adopted. Realistically I know that is a bureaucratic issue more than anything else, but when we talked to an adoption specialist after that orientation she mentioned a drastic lack of families in the US who were willing to adopt a child of any race.

And that did it.

We walked out of the office that night knowing we were going to adopt domestically.

We decided on Bethany Christian Services as our agency and within a week of turning in our paperwork packet, we received a call telling us that they were expediting our paperwork because of our open preferences.

We should be a waiting family by the first week in November and only God knows what will happen after that.

We would appreciate any and all prayers and encouragement moving forward with this process, and we are so grateful for everyone who has come along side us in the process, those who have grieved with us, and  those who have celebrated with us.

God is good - all the time.

Photo Friday

The not-so-glamorous side of traveling for work

my desk on the road

To my dear Summer Admins

(SpringHill Day Camp summer 2012 is nearly over and this is a thank you letter to my Admins)

To my dear Summer Admins (Jonathan, Mac, Emily, Rebekah, Megan, Julie, Sammy, and Laura),

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The eight of you have made camp possible for over 11,000 (and counting) campers this summer.

Megan - D-easy

 You have spent countless hours in front of the computer.

Emily - Indy

You have set up your office in nurseries, basements, lobbies and backstage areas. You have worked in all extremes of weather and noise levels.

Mac - D-West

  You have bandaged hundreds of cuts.

Reba - D-easy

You have dealt with angry customers. You have mastered stubborn technology, and handled the stress of registering thousands of campers. 

Laura, Julie, Jonathan and Sammy (Cinci) at training

You , as well as anyone, have lived out the phrase "for the kids" day after day and set the bar of service and sacrifice high on each of your teams.

Laura (Chicago), Julie (Expansion)

You have worked hard and you have (hopefully) played hard.

Jonathan - Grand Rapids

You have shown God's love to all kids this summer no matter their age, race, special needs or socioeconomic background. 

And just in case you haven't heard it enough this summer - THANK YOU.

Everyone else - don't forget to hug your admin today!

Just like Harry

I have been trying for weeks to figure out how I wanted to share the information that I am about to share in this post. I am not one to share deeply personal things on the internet, and I somewhat despise social media for the mere fact that people use it for that reason. Also, my mind thinks in analogies and until I have a good analogy or word picture to explain the situation, I typically don't share it at all. 


In this case, some very wise people in my life have encouraged me to share my ongoing story and the Harry Potter books, of all things, provided the inspiration. 


Jay and I recently found out that we may not be able to have children. This news has caused a type of grief in my life that I have never experienced before; the helpless loss of hope and long held expectations. 


And no one gets it.


At least no one among my current interactions (including Jay) gets it. Everyone has a quick solution - IVF, adoption, foster parenting, etc . . ., and although I am excited to see where God is going to take us in this journey, something inside me has been altered and scarred forever. (Wait for it - Here comes the Harry Potter analogy).


The only way I can explain it is this: In the Harry Potter books, Harry witnesses the death of one of his classmates. When he returns to Hogwarts a few months later, Harry feels isolated, but to his surprise, he can now see the once invisible creatures that pull the carriages that carry the students up to the school. His friend can't see them, but it is explained that only people who have experienced death can see the Thestrals.

In my own way, I feel like I can see the Thestrals. My world view has changed and it seems like no one sees it the same way.


But I know this isn't true. Our God has prepared me for this in so many ways. He has given me so many friends who have struggled with infertility. He has created a longing in my heart to care for the widows and the orphans. He is teaching me what it means to be adopted into His family and how to open my life to children who need a family.


I am excited to see where we will go and who God will bring into our lives and our family and we would love your prayers as we move forward in this journey.

Fill 'er up!

A year ago, Jay and I were blessed with the opportunity to purchase a home . . . a big home . . . a home with 5 bedrooms! It is a little two big for our little family, but we love to fill up the extra rooms by having people come and stay with us. In the past month we have a had a lot of people make a temporary home here at Taylor Manor. Here is  glimpse of their visits:

Allison Zandarski (the name just drips with . . . ) was on our India team. She has a passion for the people of India and soon (Lord willing) will be attending medical school in India. She drove from South Bend to stay with us for 24 hours, so we gave her a whirlwind tour of the Metro Detroit Area.

She also was on a Danial Fast (Fruits, veggies, whole grains only) for her visit. I love to feed people, so this provided an extra challange to the weekend.

One of most unexpected part of the day was when we accidentally found ourselves serving at Mack Avenue Community Church's Saturday morning corner store.

The other surprising part of the day was all of the people who were openly upset that we were not wearing green on St. Patty's Day. One lady in Detroit actually pinched Allison and yelled, "B#@!h, where's yo GREEN?!"

A couple off weekends later our friends Levi and Courtney came to visit from DC. (We went to visit them this same time of year last year). We did similar tour, but since they were here longer than Allison, we were able to take things a little slower. 

A few weeks after that, we had 9 people from SpringHill stay at our house for the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast.

We feel blessed to be a blessing and thank God that we are able to provide a bed and food for the people God places in our lives.

P.S. This summer we are housing several people for several weeks: Bruce, our friend and Indian videopgrapher/photographer who is coming to work in the states for the summer, Danae, our friend and co-worker who is temporarily homeless, and April, a friend and (soon to be ex) co-worker and bride to be who will be crashing with us as needed until her wedding.

It's what we do . . .

I promised, now I will deliver, and finally answer what we did in India.

It has been about 110 days since we have returned, and, still, I miss it every day. I miss the people and the amazing example that they set of joy and hospitality. I miss the culture and the colors. I miss doing something everyday that completely was within the strengths that God gave me.

While we were in India we ran camp. We were asked to come along on the trip because a need was identified that the children of the Irula Colony needed to know that they are loved and created by God and adopted as heirs into His family.

As the people who were brought in from SpringHill, we programmed the week in the style of one of the day camps we run in the states. We themed each day, planned crafts, Bible stories and games. We trained the team on debriefing, songs, and small group team building. We invited the village, paid their wages so the adults could attend too, and we prayed . . . a lot.

Before we left, we heard a lot of  "Well, you could try that, but be ready to change your plans", and so we were ready. We had plans and back-up plans and they changed on a daily basis during the week.

We split the 100 or so people who showed up for our program into 5 color teams (Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, and Purple) and we divided our GCC team and ourselves up onto those teams as well.

God used the programming in ways we couldn't have imagined. He engaged a village through our activities, crafts and Bible study times. We watched 86 year olds engage in what we were doing with the same enthusiasm as the six year olds and no one who experienced that week will ever be the same.

Because an entire village was engaged, we know the impact of the week of camp will last longer. Whole families were impacted by the Gospel. If you think of our trip to India, please take a moment to pray for the missionaries who are planted in the colony, that they, through God's grace, would be able to continue to the share the Gospel to this group of precious people.

If you haven't seen the video of our trip yet, please check out this link to see our trip in action.

Irula - a Colony going from Darkness to Light

One of the most common questions I am asked when I tell people that I recently traveled to India, is "Where exactly in India were you?"

The short answer is a rural village near the southern tip. The long answer is the Irula Colony near the town of Kalavai three hours inland from the coastal city of Chennai in the state of Tamilnadu, India.


As you can imagine, I usually just give the short answer.


It has been over a month since I  returned the states and I find that the people of this Irula colony is on my mind more than ever. My prayers are focused on specific requests for the people there and I am also praying for an opportunity to return.

I was reading an old blog post written by Jack Magruder, the director of Life Mission International at Granger Community Church, I was drawn in by a post about Kasi's baptism (there is more about Kasi in this previous post).


This particular quote from Kasi  blew me away:

 "You know... the word 'Irula' actually means 'People of Darkness'. And for many hundreds of years, we have been People of Darkness. We have had no Hope. But now, that is no longer the case. Rather, since Pastor Sam (the indigenous church planter with whom we work), the teams from Life Mission, and GCC have begun to come and to help us... well... NOW, we are the People of Light! The Darkness is fading away, and the Light is coming!"

The Light is coming to the people of the Irula colony and to the people of India. The harvest is ripe and God is transforming the people of India in amazing ways. I was honored to be a part of that transformation for a short time.

P.S. - many people have wanted to know exactly what we did while we were there and I promise to post on that soon!

People of India - Babu

On my Blue team, we had an abundance of young boys. The most out-going of them was boy named Babu. With an infectious smile and a contagious enthusiasm for everything, his name was one of the first that I learned.

Babu took a self portrait on my camera.

He was one of my zoo buddies and we RAN through the zoo at the pace of an energetic 10 year old boy.

Babu and K-man, my two zoo buddies.

By the end of the week, Babu was a constant companion of mine.

At the end of the week, Babu received the boldness award. He is a natural leader and my prayer is that he grows up to be a man who uses that enthusiasm and energy to lead people to Christ.

The People of India - Kalavani

Do you have anyone in your life who has a beautiful and infectious laugh? Someone who has so much enthusiasm that they scream whenever they think something exciting is about to happen?

On our trip to India, that person was Kalavani. She was a ball of energy, enthusiasm, and laughter in a tiny package. Whenever you would walk up to her, she would scream and rush into your arms because she was anticipating fun and, possibly, a tickle fight.

Kalavani was maybe 5 years old, but she left her mark with her contagious laugh and big hugs. I did my best to capture her laugh in the video below - enjoy!

The People of India - Kasi

On the Blue team, we were blessed with the opportunity to have the village elder on our team, Kasi.

Kasi became a Christian because of Life Mission reaching out the village of Kalavai. He was the grandfather to most of the kids on my team, and he told us his most treasured possession is his copy of the Bible in Tamil. It was amazing to hear members of the GCC team tell stories of how Kasi was in the past. Apparently on past trips, he was not engaged and he even caused a lot of division between the Mission and the people of the village. We experienced the complete opposite of that.

Kasi helped to lead the Blue team all week.

Kasi was often seen moving his cow around the village and he would speak enthusiastically about the Lord and the Lord's blessings to our team. He loved the game of Little Sally Walker, and he made sure everyone on our team had a chance to play.

Kasi playing Little Sally Walker

When the blue team was given the van with the A/C on the way to zoo, he gave a sermon to our bus about how good Jesus is because He gave us A/C.

At the end of the week, Kasi sought me out to pray blessings over me in Tamil: an amazing God-designed moment that I will always cherish.

Kasi brought us a lizard to play with and they were preparing to eat it when we left.