Monday, November 14, 2011

Cruzer is 7 months & BIG announcement!

Our smiley, silly, happy boy is getting older. Everyday he becomes more expressive & makes a new sound. Today he was determined to master the art of yelling...all.day.long. He is going to be a little talker like his daddy:) Earlier this month we received our court date for December 13th! We LOVE the #13 in this family. Cruz was born April 13th, brought home with us May 13th & now our adoption will be final December 13th. It's really quite amazing how much joy he has brought to our world. We are loving every moment of parenthood! Was our adoption filled with bumps, yes! Have there been days where I am absolutely exhausted, yes! Would we do it again, YES & WE ARE!!!

As of today we were accepted into AWAA's Ethiopia adoption program! God has put Ethiopia on our hearts since this summer & we are thrilled to officially begin the journey to adopt our next kiddos from this beautiful country. We are hoping to adopt two at the same time. We are open to gender & age (up to 2 for one & 5 for another). At this point we begin our "paperwork pregnancy" & complete our home study. And of course wait...and wait for the phone call that we have a referral(s)! The timespan is anywhere from 1-2 years until we will have them home.

We have been commanded to this & we will follow through. We consider it an honor to be preparing our home and family for new additions through adoption.

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.

Psalms 68:5-6

Do we have any concerns going into this adoption? Absolutely. Concern thinking of the trials we will face through this process & in the parenting of hurting, scared children. We have no experience with parenting older children & may not have all the tools to handle what is coming our way. We could ignore the fact that there are over 147 MILLION orphans in this world. Turn our attention to something "easier" to do as an act of service & commitment to His word. With God's grace & guidance we will only say yes. YES to the hurting. YES to the lonely. YES to the parentless. YES to the love of another child. YES to getting our hands dirty. YES to being vulnerable. YES to the direction God has lead us. Because Jesus said YES to us. John & I are adoption success stories. God took me in when I was lonely & hurting. I was given a new life & became a child of His forever. Thank you Jesus!

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-6

We ask that you come along side us in this adoption journey to grow the Hagensen clan. Please pray for our children that we have not met yet. We love you & are humbled by your support.

~Brittany

Bible Verse

6 comments:

  1. Awesome post and awesome plan. I love that you two are putting two kids' needs in front of your own. I will pray for your journey. Thank you for letting everyone know. Are you looking into the place the Hatmakers brought their children home from?

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  2. We will be using there same agency. She is the one that told me about them! They have been great so far:) Thanks Lindsay!!

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  3. Wow praise Jesus! You and John are amazing, and I love seeing how the Lord is working in your lives! Congratulations :) -Sarah Voth

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  4. I am so blessed as a mom and as a grandma to be part of this wonderful family !!! We will be praying for our new little ones... and all that goes into this long and complicated process. God will work thru it all to bring just the right children to your (our) family. Nothing happens by accident...all by design... love you both so much ..MOM

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  5. Praying for you, John, Cruz and the new additions!!! I am constantly in awe of God's goodness and grace and I am so honored to know you, Britt. What an amazing act of obedience... one that God will abundantly bless!!! :)

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  6. Brittany, it's great to hear how well you're doing and the great work you're doing by reaching out to those across the globe providing love to others while at the same time bringing love into your own family.

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