Thanks for all the well wishes and support!

God does work in mysterious ways. When Jacob first came to us last summer we really thought this was going to be a short term foster placement. We were open to just taking care of him for as long as it was needed and then helping him transition back to his birth parents.

Long story short: As time went by it became very obvious that going back home was dangerous for him so ti looked like a relative placement would most likely be the next step. More time and that possibility was even worse, believe it or not.

During this time we were focused on two sisters (I've shared a little about them before) in a bad situation that were on track for needing a permanent adoptive home. That was the plan, not Jacob. But as typical, whenever DHR and the courts get involved, things can get sideways. As of today, the girls are supposed to be going back to their mother soon--but now even that is in question and it might be months and months and months before anything is resolved. So they still languish in foster care (years!). They desperately need permanency.

God called us to the Foster Care Ministry. This is 100% through Him that we undertake this chaos and often heart-wrenching days. My wife, boys and I are not strong enough on our own to handle it, but through god and God alone we have found enough faith and strength to carry on. But it is so tiring and hard sometimes that part of me wants to just give up. But then I see their sweet faces and smiles, receive a hug, and I know deep in my soul that I must endure. So we love them with an open hand as much as that is humanly possible.

These children, even my own children, are not really mine...for they are really God's children. My wife and I have merely been entrusted with their care and raising until God works in their lives as they either move into adulthood (my sons) or they go back to their birth parents (our foster daughters).

Back to Jacob....God worked things out how He saw fit to happen. My wife and I are unapologetic believers and love the Lord, but we are bent, broken and sinners just the same. Somehow, for some reason, God saw fit to gift us with Jacob as our adopted son. We are so blessed for he is a precious boy! We've had him so long that he is very much like a birth baby to us from his perspective and ours.

Again, thank you for your prayers and kind words. We will strive to be found faithful in how we raise him and care for him. I'm already looking forward to the day when we go on our first hunt together!