Ihavenewsandnowe'renotpregnant.

I feel like that is the mantra I've been saying on repeat over and over the last little bit...

"I have news... and no, we're not pregnant."

Over the last 4 years, well, really... since the day we left the hospital... people have been asking us if we're going to have another child.  Really, people?  See this 3 day old baby in my arms that took 4.5 years to "get"?  Why don'tcha let me enjoy her for a bit and then I'll get back to you...

More and more as people around us were having their 2nd, 3rd, 4th child while we were stilling hanging with "just" E, we got the question more and more.

24 days ago... we got our answer.

God has been prompting Dan for years that we need to be a foster family.  Since his first psych rotation, he knew this was something we were supposed to do.  I, however, totally disagreed with that.  While I thought it was a great idea in theory, I thought it was a great idea for someone else.  I told Dan repeatedly that the worst day of my year was always the last day of camp when I had to say goodbye to all my brand new BFFs through tears and snot-filled hugs.  So how on earth was I supposed to open up my home to a child who needs love in big ways, love them, then send them "back" to what could potentially be a harmful situation?

No, thank you.

Dan, being the sweet and patient man that he is, waited on me.  He continued to mention it... and continued to pray.  And while he was gently nudging me, God decided to smack me in the face.  (So thankful it was Dan nudging and God smacking me in the face, or the adjectives I'd use to describe Dan would not be "sweet" or "patient"...)

24 days ago, with barely any sleep after our return from the Happiest Place on Earth, we went to church.  (We are so godly.)  During a sermon given by- of all people- one of my best friends who happens to be married to my bestie, God started stirring something big.  Dan and I went home to debrief the sermon and found that He had been stirring the same thing in both of us.  (Want the longer version of this story?  Invite us over for a glass of wine and we'll debrief.)  During the conversation about what home renovations we though we were being prompted to make, I casually asked Dan "Do you think we're supposed to have more babies?"  (Because, like the general public, I'm curious about this, too.)  Sweet and patient Dan responded with, "Yes... but I don't know that you're supposed to give birth to them."  Unsure whether he was talking about adoption or fostering, we talked, cried, prayed... and jumped full-on into the world of the unknown.

Here are some of those unknowns I'll be happy to not-answer for you now:

• Will we get more than one kid?  Perhaps.
• What agency are we using?  Dan keeps saying we're "dating" a couple now, trying to decide which one to settle down with.  We've narrowed it down to 3 (2, really)... so that counts for something, right?
• When will we "get" a child?  Who knows.  Upon finishing the application, there's 30-ish hours of training left to happen, then inspections, then placement.  Could be within a few months, could be longer
• Do we know the ages of the child/children? (See above since we don't know the answer to our second question, the answer to this one is... nope... but yes, we can submit a preference.  We just have no idea what that would be right now.)
• Would we adopt if the kids became available for that?  We'll let you know when God tells us, but if you ask us, we'd say yes.
• Are we worried about letting go?  Yes.  But have you met me?  I don't so much let people leave my life easily...
• How does Elizabeth feel about this?  Don't know yet... we're still keeping it on the down-low.  I feel certain she'll have something great to say.  Already she busted out (3 days after our "decision") that we needed a new car... maybe a mini-van... that could haul around more people.  I'm telling you, that kid's neat.  And, ps, we'd appreciate it if you don't tell Elizabeth yet, either.
• 8. Are you scared?  Nope.  Nervous?  Sure.  Excited?  Abso-freakin-lutely.

If you've picked up on my FB posts about "re-purposing rooms" and wondered if I'm pregnant and we're setting up a nursery... well, we're not, but you're close.  And if you've wondered why I've been a little AWOL on my blog... well, this is it.  We wanted to have a chance to tell our families first before we blurted it out on the InterWebs.  So one trip to Wilmington and one trip to Asheville down... here's our latest.

We welcome your prayers and your support over the next leg of our journey.  We are not naive- we are well aware that this will be hard.  But if our Jesus is who He says He is, we'll get through it together.  Can't wait for the adventure...