We are adopting.  In those three little words, there is so much meaning.  They are the words that send our hearts soaring — it’s so surreal, has been SO long on our hearts, and the journey we’ve taken to this place looks nothing like we originally intended. But so it is with God. ⁣
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His panoramic view has smashed our Polaroid at every turn. We can see only what is in front of us—the virtual snapshot of the life I’m living—and yet in his gracious goodness, He sees it all and is not shaken by the tidal wave of any one moment. His plan has been perfected in the waiting, and it is with great thankfulness and JOY that we find ourselves back here, in this space....waiting on His timing.

We are adopting from Armenia.  We are pursuing a waiting child ages 0-2 with Down syndrome, although we cannot be officially matched to her until we have submitted our dossier for review. We plan to name this little girl Saylor – a name that means ‘rope’ or ‘tether’.  Her name has become a metaphor for this entire adoption journey.  Our hearts are tethered to a tiny baby living half a world away.  We’re tethered by the promise of what is to come, by the permanence God has already spoken over our family and the intention with which He’s chosen us for one another.

God has anchored this little one to our very souls and she is a part of us--even now.  The need is great and the families are few, and we believe she is worthy.  We desire to proclaim God’s gracious goodness and intention over her precious life.  She is worthy of being wanted.  We have chosen to pursue this little girl as our beloved daughter with deep, loving intention.      

We have four kiddos, ages 7, 5, 3, and 1 – two boys and two girls.  I am a public school kindergarten teacher and my husband works for our state government. We aren’t uniquely qualified in any way to pursue an international adoption, but we love Jesus with all we’ve got and our steadfast faith is in Him alone.  We believe that He will light this path as we walk forward to bring our baby girl home!

We are stepping out in bold faith and brave love. We began this process in January and are running towards her with everything we have.  Our home study was finalized last week and we have applied for USCIS immigration clearances.  

International adoption is daunting, on so many fronts.  The financial implications – especially for our big and blessed family of six – are substantial.  We know this will stretch us, but we also know that God is so much bigger. We know He delights in bringing orphans into their forever families, and we raise our arms to Him knowing He will make a way for us in this season. He’ll light the path, and we’ll walk it in JOY as we bring our girl home.

I always tell my three year old, as he’s running around the house at lightning speed with his eyes on the floor, “LOOK UP! Look up, so you can see where you’re going”

Friends, will you look up with us? Will you fix your eyes on the One who adopted us ALL into His family as orphans, and will you help us bring this precious baby girl home?

In Him,

Adam, Mandy, Blake, Lainey, Tucker and Charli Breitenstein