Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Our Little Boy

We are SOOOOOOOOO excited to announce that yesterday, we accepted the referral of little Samuel. Samuel is 5 years old, and on October 21, 2006 (my birthday) he swallowed a liquid form of bleach that he mistook for a bottle of water. The last information our agency received (Feb 07) stated that Samuel weighed 20 pounds and was 37 inches tall. That is just 2 pounds more than our 10 month old! Samuel is currently living with his birth mother, but it is our understanding that he will be moved as soon as possible to a hospital or to the guesthouse for better care. We have been told that the process should take approximately 4 months to get him back here.

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We have been praying about adopting Samuel for about a month. Several things along the way pointed us in this direction, but we still just weren't positive. We kept thinking that it would be a huge sacrifice for our family. However, yesterday Blu came home from his New Testament class and shared with me a Scripture that was read that spoke to him.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 (Contemporary English Version)
I am not trying to make life easier for others by making life harder for you. But it is only fair for you to share with them when you have so much, and they have so little. Later, when they have more than enough, and you are in need, they can share with you. Then everyone will have a fair share, just as the Scriptures say, "Those who gathered too much had nothing left. Those who gathered only a little had all they needed."

We were faced with the truth that God has blessed us and given us the ability to meet this little boy's needs. And in return, we are going to be so blessed by his life!! We no longer think of it as a sacrifice!! We are going to come out ahead in the end!

In the next few days, we expect to hear an update from our agency regarding Samuel's medical condition and new pictures. Please be in prayer for our Samuel, that he will hold on until we get there. Please pray for his birth mother, who is making the ultimate sacrifice in giving up her son to save his life.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey I am glad to here that you guys are adopting Samuel. I was thinking about adoption the other day and thought that I would never want to adopt a special needs child because it would just take up too much of my time. That was a really selfish thought. I really admire you guys!!!

Erika

Tama said...

We are praying big time!!! I am so excited he will be with your precious family. I have been praying for him for soooooo long!
We love you guys!

Anonymous said...

Love that scripture!Love that version...wow. Praising the Lord with you. Love, DEnise

S and K said...

So blessed by this post! So excited for answered prayers. God bless you both!

Praying like crazy that he comes home very soon!

Love you!
Katy

Brandi said...

Yeah!!! Finally, the announcement!!! I've checked your blog 100 times in the last couple a days!

Praise the Lord for Samuel. I am so excited for all of you. He is a precious little thing and I absolutely love how on the yahoogroup people kept commenting that they'd been praying for his family. How cool is that? You are the answer to many people's prayers, including his birth mama, and he is the answer to yours. The Lord is too good. I am overwhelmed by Him!!

Love you guys,
Brandi

Anonymous said...

oh,,,, the blessings you will have in heaven, my friend! I love you on so many different levels but THIS takes the cake. We will get him to the US and get him healed. Poor baby. What do you need, money wise and supply wise.....lets get to work on it. Count me in on whatever leg work you need. H-town (where we live) has some of the very BEST children's hospitals and doctors in the country. You can stay here with us if you need to for as long as you need to!!

CeCe and Joe

Jamie said...

Darbi,
I am REJOICING with you!!!! I am thrilled beyond words, with tears clogging up my vision right now. PRAISE GOD!!!!! And CONGRATULATIONS!!
Love,
Jamie Z. (in Oregon) :0)

Denise Nelson said...

Thank you for obeying the Lord! He is a precious little boy!

Denise in MI

Sintari said...

Hi, Darbi!
I am so excited to see this post. :) Samuel is one year older than Ruby, and at this point, weighs less than her. Ruby now weighs 24 pounds, and is about 35 inches tall.
Ruby's adoption process went lightening fast, and we had her home only 2 and a half months after her referral. Samuel could be home in 4 months OR LESS... hopefully! :)
I'm so excited for you guys! I can't WAIT to see his transformation play out in pictures and your words! :) I'll be glued to your blog!
- Amy

~tmc~ said...

What a precious little boy--We are praying for Samuel!

Chattin Family
AOH group

dreamingBIGdreams said...

YIPPEE! Congrats! I just found your blog tonight and read lots of your posts.

We are too in the adoption process. In the past month we have started the adoption process for a little 2 year old boy in Haiti.

I wish you the BEST!

Michelle said...

Great news! We will be praying! The Johnson's (AoH family)

Sintari said...

Hey, Darbi!!! I love the arranged marriage idea!!! All the holidays would be so easy - our families could just get together. I hope you have a huge house. :)
Your kids are adorable, and I'm so happy to see another brave couple adopting a medically fragile child when you have the two little ones. It's do-able, but boy do some people look at you like your crazy, and sometimes you feel like maybe you are! :)
- Amy, mommy to the future Tidwell girls, future MIL to Cambree Peterson :)

A Family said...

Darbi,

Congratulations on your referral! Samuel will be blessed to have you all as his new family as you will be equally blessed!

This is the first time I have visited your blog and we totally are on the same time frame. It will be fun watching each other's progress!

Your kids are too cute! And you too will have action packed Saturdays to look forward to soon enough!

I look forward to being updated via your blog.

Christine

Rebekah Vincent said...

We are praying for your family. We are also in an adoption process. God is so awesome knowing that our children were thousands of miles away from us and connecting us with them. Your family is so blessed.
Bekah in Madisonville KY

Tasha Kent said...

What a beautiful young boy! Congrats on your referral!

I found your blog from a bloglist. I'm adopting from Uzbekistan, a place that has no international adoption history so I am drawn to the blogs of other countries to learn of their processes.