Eight Is Not Enough: And Then There Were Eleven

Why "Eight Is Not Enough"?

When we were younger, there was a television sitcom that was called "Eight is Enough". The television watching world was entertained with the thought of a family with eight children. Most of us were shocked at the prospect of such a large family- myself included! Then ever so slowly, God began to work on our hearts, until we surrendered to Him all of our lives- yes even gave Him sovereign control over the size of our family and He has blessed us immeasurably, with eight biological children. Each of these children have been an amazing gift to us and we cherish each of them. And we praised God for them and felt to ourselves "eight is enough" - at least for a time.

Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

And Then There Were Eleven

Our GOTCHA day is here. And what a day! We can not begin to describe all the emotions of the day. We should be exahsted with the days event on top of the long day yesterday, but we are still very much feeling the rush of the day. All we can say is WOW. God is so great, we are not even sure where to begin. These three children are soooooo precious and we feel so blessed to be their parents. We got to the ICBF office in Saocha at about 10:45 am. We met with the kids social workers first. They asked us if we were still sure: ARE YOU KIDDING ME! We were so ready! A few minutes later they were sent into the room. Jim's first big blunder-- I was not expecting then so soon and I turn around to find Yeission jumping into my arm saying Mi Padre. What did I say Mi hijo Carlos. OOOPS. It happened so fast I thought Carlos had come in first- but I was quickly forgiven. In the briefest on moments we received the most unbelievable welcome from the kids. Hugs all around and around and around- and it still is going on. we are hearing Mami and Papi constantly. We like the sound of it. These children are very sweet natured and seam to be very eager to please us. We had been told to prepare for them needing to have some time to get used to us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yeission was immeadiately talkative. He is most expressive and talks to us all the time. Tatiana and Santiago were very loving but took a few hours to warm up to talking with us. All it took was a stop for lunch at McDonalds! They have not stopped talking since! We are learning to walk the streets of Bogota with 8 of our kids 6 of them 9 and under- they all have been great! They all listen and respond instantly to no. As a surprise we discovered Tatiana has beautiful curly hair and also wears glasses- her and Ashley will have a lot in common. They are shorter then we anticipated - we may have misjudged the sizes. An incredible day- We could go on for pages on our day, buy this should give you all a sense of it. Incedible incredible blessing - we praise God for his goodness. All glory for this day goes to Him. God brings to our hearts James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change God Bless and keep each of you thanks for you thoughts and prayers! More Tomorrow. Jim and Betty

10 comments:

Anonymous said...: I was so moved by the blog today! It was very exciting to see the pictures and read about your day. They are precious!

Nancy; November 25, 2008 at 6:28 PM
Wendi and Benjamin Wood said...: Congratulations!!! I am glad everything went well! Enjoy your time in Colombia!; November 25, 2008 at 7:29 PM
Anonymous said...: If we are faithful in the little things, God blesses us in all things. Congrats on a super day and a big welcome to the extended Porter family. We love you guys. Look forward to hearing more and praying for every step of your journey!!!

Uncle Frank; November 25, 2008 at 7:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey family!

We're on the road to Minnessota, but thanks to Ryan's phone we got to read about the great news! Sounds like everything went better than we could have ever hoped for! Love you all and am anxious to meet everybody.

Love,
Kevin for Erine, Eli, Nora and RyAn

Sorry if the spelling is bad - Ryans phone is hard to type ok!; November 25, 2008 at 8:52 PM
Dan and Karen said...: Congratulations on such a wonderful first day! There really is nothing quite like it is there? We have 2 biological children and while their birth was an amazing time, meeting our boys for the first time was equally amazing. The children are beautiful and you make such a lovely family. Thanks for taking us along on the journey.
Karen; November 25, 2008 at 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: We loved the pictures, God bless you and every one of your children.

We will keep praying for you.

Un Saludo para Yeisson, Tatiana y Santi.

Sandra y Alvaro; November 25, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Anonymous said...: Porters,

I read your "first day with the kids" last night and now this morning to my kids, and just realized there were pictures. I was brought to tears and overwhelmed with the triple joy God has brought your way. We are sooo thankful for this special time of Thanksgiving for you, and us, as you share. Thank you for your faithfulness. We look forward to seeing you all soon. Love, Kameron, Carol, Kyra and Merrick; November 26, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Congrats! We are really glad that the first day went so good for everyone. The pictures are precious. We look forward to hearing more and meeting the new additions at Christmas.

Christi and James; November 26, 2008 at 8:58 AM
G.Dowell said...: Wow, what a beautiful testimony of God's love and provision for His children, and how He works all things for the good of those who love Him. I'm praising Him with you.; November 26, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow we are so excited for you!!! We absoulutely CAN NOT wait to meet them!! God bless!
Love, the Keeleys; November 30, 2008 at 6:02 PM