Saying Yes- Samuel Theodore

A few weeks after beginning the paper chase for Gabriel, I sent my agency an email asking for information about adopting two children at the same time. I wasn’t sure why I was asking them about it because I honestly didn’t think there was any way we could or should consider it, but I couldn’t dismiss the feeling that we had two children waiting for us. Chip and I talked and prayed about it, and I tried to step back and allow God to confirm it through him.

About a week later, our daughter, Anna Grace, and I were up late the night before Thanksgiving. As we were talking about Gabriel and the adoption, she asked if it was possible to adopt two children at the same time. I stared at her and felt my heart race. I told her that it was and we were actually praying about it. She shared that on the drive home that day (she lives about 5 hours away), she couldn’t help but think that we were supposed to adopt two children.

The next morning (Thanksgiving Day), Chip posted this as his Facebook status:

I am grateful for my Savior and the grace and peace He gives me daily. I am grateful for my wife and children- to include the one(s) we haven't met yet. I am grateful for friends, whether recent or lifelong. I am grateful for family, near and distant, living and passed. I am grateful for warriors and patriots.

The (s) was his way of letting me know the answer was yes. :)

I first saw Samuel through an advocacy group on Facebook and I asked his agency to see his file. I won’t go into the details, but his needs are complex. I was able to speak with another adoptive mom whose son had similar needs and she was incredibly kind and gave us a lot of information. (I can’t say enough about how incredible it’s been to be able to connect with other adoptive families in various Facebook groups. It's been such a blessing.)

Samuel Theodore

Samuel’s file was with a different agency and we needed to request it be transferred to ours. We were told to wait a week and inquire again because they wanted to try to place him in one of their families, if possible. Some agencies won’t transfer files at all, so we were thankful we at least had a chance. We waited a week and asked again, but within hours of the agency letting us know they would transfer the file, they received notice from China that an agency in Italy wanted the file. It was a roller coaster day and night of emotions- we had no idea if we would be able to get the file or not, but we prepared a LOI (letter of intent) to be submitted immediately in case we were. I cried a lot that day- I thought we were Samuel’s family and I thought we were going to lose him. During one of my teary prayers, a verse came to me:

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27

I knew at that moment that if God did allow us to receive his file, his name would be Samuel. I sent Anna Grace a text and told her that I felt his name should be Samuel, but I accidentally sent her the wrong reference. For some reason, I typed “1 Samuel 1:17.” Out of curiosity, I looked up that verse- just to see what it said. It reads:

“Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked him.”

Our agency sent us an email around 9:30pm telling us his file was ours. Our LOI was sent the next day and we received pre-approval for Samuel Theodore about a week later. So very grateful God's answer to our prayer was yes. 

Two sweet boys ~ so loved.