Meet the Bowers: July's Family of the Month
Happy July!
I'm excited to introduce you all to the Bowers family. They are friends of friends! It's been fun connecting with adopting families in different ways :)
Seriously, aren't they the cutest?
Let's get to know them a little bit with some Q&A:
A: We got married in July 2005. We had always thought of adoption being a part of our family someday. But we intended on having some biological children first. But it appears that God has a different plan for us! After 4 years of waiting for God to answer our pleas for a pregnancy, God made it very clear to our hearts in March 2011 that now is the time to adopt.
It really felt like God just flipped a switch in our hearts. Instead of the longings and feelings of emptiness in infertility, there is now excitement and eagerness over adoption! We look back on those 4 dark years of infertility with thankfulness. God gave us those years of searching for joy in the midst of unfulfilled longings in order to strengthen our faith. And we imagine there are thousands of purposes that God accomplished through those years as well. At least we pray that is the case!
Q: Why domestic adoption?
A: We are pursuing a domestic adoption. Mostly because we feel like this is what God has called us to! One thing we're finding out about adoption is that there are a lot of decisions. Decisions that don't necessarily have right or wrong answers. Prayer and God's calling draws our hearts in certain directions. God guiding our hearts is what has brought us to a domestic adoption.
There are also some practical reasons to support God's tugging on our hearts towards domestic adoption. The biggest being that women with unexpected pregnancies need to have options that include giving their baby life! We want these mothers to feel encouraged about giving their babies a family. We are excited about loving our baby's birth mother through this difficult time in her life.
*Remember that 25% of Dulcitas profit goes to the family of the month. If you want to read more about how that began, read about it here.*
I'm excited to introduce you all to the Bowers family. They are friends of friends! It's been fun connecting with adopting families in different ways :)
Seriously, aren't they the cutest?
Let's get to know them a little bit with some Q&A:
Q: Why did you choose adoption?
A: We got married in July 2005. We had always thought of adoption being a part of our family someday. But we intended on having some biological children first. But it appears that God has a different plan for us! After 4 years of waiting for God to answer our pleas for a pregnancy, God made it very clear to our hearts in March 2011 that now is the time to adopt.
It really felt like God just flipped a switch in our hearts. Instead of the longings and feelings of emptiness in infertility, there is now excitement and eagerness over adoption! We look back on those 4 dark years of infertility with thankfulness. God gave us those years of searching for joy in the midst of unfulfilled longings in order to strengthen our faith. And we imagine there are thousands of purposes that God accomplished through those years as well. At least we pray that is the case!
Q: Why domestic adoption?
A: We are pursuing a domestic adoption. Mostly because we feel like this is what God has called us to! One thing we're finding out about adoption is that there are a lot of decisions. Decisions that don't necessarily have right or wrong answers. Prayer and God's calling draws our hearts in certain directions. God guiding our hearts is what has brought us to a domestic adoption.
There are also some practical reasons to support God's tugging on our hearts towards domestic adoption. The biggest being that women with unexpected pregnancies need to have options that include giving their baby life! We want these mothers to feel encouraged about giving their babies a family. We are excited about loving our baby's birth mother through this difficult time in her life.
Q: What are you most excited about when you bring your baby home?
A: Oh goodness! What an exciting thing to picture.. bringing our baby home. It's an idea that we have been protecting our hearts from dwelling on throughout the past 4 years. But now that we're adopting, we're slowly allowing the picture of a sweet baby actually being ours. Living with us. Changing diapers and late night cuddle sessions. The crying, the spit up, the blow-outs... we look forward to it all! :) We've babysat enough of our friends' children to realize it won't be easy and we'll be tired and want to complain a lot! But we believe there will be a sweetness in parenthood that wouldn't have been there without the 4 plus years of waiting. Hopefully God will help us be more patient and thankful than if we had been able to get pregnant on our own schedule.
A: Oh goodness! What an exciting thing to picture.. bringing our baby home. It's an idea that we have been protecting our hearts from dwelling on throughout the past 4 years. But now that we're adopting, we're slowly allowing the picture of a sweet baby actually being ours. Living with us. Changing diapers and late night cuddle sessions. The crying, the spit up, the blow-outs... we look forward to it all! :) We've babysat enough of our friends' children to realize it won't be easy and we'll be tired and want to complain a lot! But we believe there will be a sweetness in parenthood that wouldn't have been there without the 4 plus years of waiting. Hopefully God will help us be more patient and thankful than if we had been able to get pregnant on our own schedule.
Q:What are some of your favorite family activities?
A: Most of our time revolves around the people God has put in our life. We moved to Minnesota four years ago for Johnathon to attend Bethlehem College and Seminary. Our families are back in Ohio, so we go there often for visits and much needed hugs. Crystal works as a nurse for children with cancer and blood diseases. Most of our time is family, school, work, church, and dear friends. We also signed up for a marathon coming up in October, so much of our week is spent in our running shoes as well! Johnathon loves books and all things academic, Crystal loves cooking and all things domestic.
A: Most of our time revolves around the people God has put in our life. We moved to Minnesota four years ago for Johnathon to attend Bethlehem College and Seminary. Our families are back in Ohio, so we go there often for visits and much needed hugs. Crystal works as a nurse for children with cancer and blood diseases. Most of our time is family, school, work, church, and dear friends. We also signed up for a marathon coming up in October, so much of our week is spent in our running shoes as well! Johnathon loves books and all things academic, Crystal loves cooking and all things domestic.
If you want to read more about their story, you can visit their blog: http://thebowblog.wordpress.com/
*Remember that 25% of Dulcitas profit goes to the family of the month. If you want to read more about how that began, read about it here.*
Yay, yay, yay!!! What a sweet family :-)
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Future Mama
http://expectingablessing.blogspot.com/
so sweet! i wish them all the luck, and the answer to "what are you most excited about when you bring your baby home" gave me chills- i am just overjoyed for them as they embark on this process and will soon be able to "bring the baby home!"
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