Blood

God is always busy working things out before they even happen.  He looks into our future and knows exactly what we will need and when we will need it.  It may not make complete sense at the time, but He has it under control.  Maybe you think you have it all figured out, when in fact God's plan is so much bigger than mere human understanding can fathom. We had always thought that adoption was God's answer to our being advised not to attempt pregnancy anymore. We see now that when God set us on the path to adoption, He had more in mind for us than just raising kids. He has used adoption to teach us lessons that we are applying to every aspect in life.  We have said that "DNA doesn't make family". I've shared many pics on Facebook that feature that very sentiment as a part of advocating that adoptive children are just as much family as any other child, regardless of blood.  Recently trials have showed us that God meant us to learn that lesson for other reasons.

What is a family?
Life is full of choices. Some people will choose to love, support and be there for you, and some will choose not to. Some people will choose to knock you down, and others will be there to pick you up.  DNA alone doesn't make a family.  Being family is a choice.  A true family is made up of individuals who love each other regardless of blood.  It is a commitment that is held together by honesty, trust and a desire to lift each other up, to support each other and to encourage each other through life. It should be rooted in Biblical teaching and fully relying on God and God's will.

Blood That Matters
There is ONE blood that does make a family. The blood of Jesus Christ. His is the blood that matters most, the only blood that really matters at all.  Jesus, God's own son, sees no divisions of DNA or color.  He loves ALL.  As a family of Christians bought and paid for by the precious blood of Christ, we are to live a life that reflects Christ in us. We are new creatures, born again... co-heirs in Glory with Jesus (our brother). We are family. We are BLESSED to have so many brothers and sisters by THIS blood.

Laramore Family Adventures

After having our beautiful epiphany concerning our changing life (see "Lessons and Blessings"), we have decided to change the name of our blog and Facebook page.

Our blog will from hence forth be titled
"Our Beautiful Journey... God's Great Plan."

Please "follow us" and feel free to share our blog or any individual post with your friends.

Please also visit our revised Facebook Page:

Laramore Family Adventures

https://www.facebook.com/LaramoreFamilyAdventures

Facebook users:  Please visit our page. While there, "like" and "share" it with your friends.

We say it often, but it's just as true now as the first time we said it... We feel blessed to be on this journey.  We are thankful to God.  We know that we are not alone in the changes we have faced and will face, and that means so much to us.  God is with us, and He has placed wonderful, caring and supportive family and friends in our lives to count and lean on, to laugh and cry with, to pray and rejoice with.  He is supplying our every need in His own timing and according His plan.  Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers. We are blessed to have each of you.  God bless you all.

Lessons and Blessings

Matthew & Gabe

We started our blog in June 2012. It's hard to believe over a year has passed since then. As I said in a previous entry, this year has been filled with changes. Changes changes everywhere. Perhaps the biggest changes came in January when Matthew (age 4 years) was diagnosed with Autism, likely Aspergers. There has been no change in how much we love him. He is the same beautiful, wonderful, intelligent ray of sunshine that he has always been.  But we have had to change many of our approaches in how we work with him and handle his behaviors. I struggled with the idea of sharing details about our adventures with Autism due to the fact that this blog was created to update on our adoption process, but lately I have come to realize a few things.
First, the back story...
As some of you may know, last week Gabe (age 18 months) was diagnosed with moderate to severe Autism also-- more moderate than severe. He is very delayed in his speech and social skills. For over a month now, we have been attending weekly speech therapy with Gabe and have recently found out that he is extremely Vitamin D deficient. We don't know how it happened or what caused it, but being as D deficient as he is COULD play a part in his delay. For the experts out there, his D level should be between 80 and 100. Gabe's is 16. So we have started daily Vitamin D supplement drops (3,000 units daily) to try to get his level up as well as a daily multivitamin. We can tell a small difference in Gabe already.  He really seems to be more interactive with his surroundings. He plays with his toys. He is babbling alot more and actually pointing and making more words. He lets us know that he wants us and needs things now. We have heard and read about great results coming from getting Vitamin D levels in check, so we are praying that this is the case with Gabe.
Matthew continues to improve and make great strides. He will hopefully be starting Pre-K in the next few weeks, and we are excited to see the wonderful things that await him and the progress we know he will make.
Here comes the newest change... or the revelation. Rather, it was more of an "Ah Ha!" and "Duh!" moment all in one... Our adoption journey is directly related to our adventures in Autism. We are FAMILY. What affects one of us affects all of us, whether that be current family members or future ones. Autism isn't going to leave. It is a part of who we are and who our family is. Even if Matthew and Gabe are able to fully work through Autism and be symptom free, we will always be Autism advocates.  As adoptive parents, we won't be guaranteed not to face Autism with our future children also, and that is OK!! God is using both of  these situations to make us into what He needs us to be. Where we are headed we don't know, but God is there. He knows what is ahead, and He is preparing us to deal with it.  He is shaping us into what we need to be and teaching us what we need to know. It is not for us to ask why but for us to trust God. He holds the whole world in his hands and keeps everything balanced and working together. He created heavens and earth, land and seas, light and life. I'm pretty sure He can manage little things like Autism and adoption.  ;) We do ask for your continued prayers for our family as our story unfolds. From this point on I will be posting everything, so Prayer Warriors, stay on your toes! We have many lessons and blessings ahead, and we look forward to sharing them with you. We are so thankful to have each of you to share our journey with. God bless each of you.

You Never Know

Before we began our adoption journey, we probably couldn't name more than five people that we knew who were adopted or were touched by adoption in some way. That's the amazing thing, whether you realize they exist or not doesn't change the fact that they do. Since beginning the adoption process, we have become aware of several friends whose lives have been touched by adoption. Some were themselves adopted. Some are birth parents. We have also met many adoptive families and hopeful adoptive families. Some of these people we have known a while but were never aware of their adoption story. It just goes to show that you never really know what a person is going through or has been through. You can assume alot, but you never know for sure. Many people are fighting silent battles that no one else knows. They could have many reasons for not talking about their adoption. It may still be painful to them, or maybe they've moved on from it to where they don't consider it anymore. I know when we first started our process we didn't realize how common adoption really is, so we were concerned that others would think it odd or something; that people wouldn't understand. Maybe many adoptees and birth parents have the same fear, wondering what others will think.
To everyone I say this: adoption is a beautiful thing. The circumstances that brought you to the adoption process may not be, but adoption itself is a gift, a second chance from God. It is the chance to turn a mess into a blessing. It is the most selfless gift a birth mother can give her child. There is no shame in that. Adoption is a beautiful part of God's plan for us, a direct model of our Salvation. As born again Christians we are adopted by Him as sons and daughters, co-heirs with Christ. Though we started out in a seemingly hopeless mess, through the love of Christ, we have a chance at a beautiful future. Is being a born again Christian easy? No. It is met with much persecution. We are different. We are called to be set apart from the rest of the world. Is being adopted easy? No, not at all. Adoptees face many challenges that most can not understand, separations, losses, grieving, uncertainty of who they really.
There is no easy role in the adoption process. There is no role in the adoption process that is easy. It is not easy for the birth mother to make the decision to place her baby for adoption. It is not easy on the child to hear and accept that they were placed for adoption. It's not easy to be the parent whose child is taken into care due to mistakes and circumstance of your life. It's not easy to be the child who has to cope with the changes and moves that are a part of being in care. It's not easy on Foster parents to pick up the pieces and help the child move through the process, and it's not easy explaining to the child that they won't be living with their birth families again. It is not easy on the adoptive parents either. They have to watch their child go through alot emotionally, but as good parents they are there for them... to help them, to guide them, to love them. It's hard on the social workers and agency workers too. They don't enjoy seeing children separated from their birth families (for whatever reason), but they want what is best for the child as well. Adoption is NOT easy.
We are so thankful to all of our friends who have opened their hearts to us and shared their adoption story. God has a beautiful plan for your life, and He has definitely blessed us through knowing you. Much love to each of you! :)