Christmas Day - Prayers for the Orphans

Christmas Day was full of fun and smiles and good times here in the Carr home. David and I both opened our stockings first, and then he had to show me my big gift and breakfast would have to wait. We both received many presents and we are all in all happy and content. We read the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew and discussed what it was like for Mary and Joseph and all the little meanings that we so often miss. This is the fourth Christmas that we have spend married, even though we've only been married three years! I'm so happy in our marriage and our spot in life, but there is definitely that little something that's missing.  Those little feet that jump on the bed to wake us up. Those little eyes that light up when they open their toys. Those little hands that wrap around us while we cuddle in for a day of Christmas movies and hot chocolate. While these thoughts make my heart ache, there is a thought that absolutely kills me inside; there are so many children RIGHT NOW that are longing, and their hearts are breaking for a mommy and daddy to do all those things for them! My baby is out there somewhere, whether already born and growing or not even conceived yet, my baby is out there. My hope, my desire and longing is that someone loves my baby this Christmas; someone shows them a trace of the love that David and I feel already.
I pray for all the babies, children, and teens that are without families, and seemingly without hope this Christmas. I pray God will wrap them tightly in His arms and let them know someone loves them, and someone is coming to get them soon. I pray for the families who have room, who have calling, who are considering to pick up their feet and use their hands to serve God's greater purpose with Faith and without Fear. I pray that more Christians will find the calling, that more babies and children can go HOME.
So tonight I'm so thankful for the one baby that was adopted by Joseph, and adopts me into his family as well. I praise you, God for the things you have done and have yet to do! I thank you in advance for taking care of our child/children and loving them more than I could ever understand or compare to. This Christmas, I hope you take some time to pray for the ones who are lonely, whether Orphan, or Widow, or otherwise. And that you open your heart to care for them, in some way.
Merry Christmas and God Bless.

Decision on which country: Bulgaria

Well, we've done some research and asked a million questions at multiple agencies and we've come to one conclusion. Bulgaria. This is a country we've never given much thought to until this year. The Bulgarian people can look anything from blonde blue eyed to tanned and dark eyes. They are known for having gypsies. I'm not entirely sure why (the Hunchback of Notredame probably has something to do with it), but I've always romanticized the idea of a gypsy. In reality, gypsies are a poverty stricken people. They live in tents instead of homes, and can travel or stay in one area and try to earn money in their nomadic way.

Bulgaria is a Baltic State and is where many Syrians are finding refuge right now. All of this information, and whispering from God to our spirits, has Bulgaria stealing our hearts. There is no age limit for us to adopt from there, but many agencies do have a minimum age of 25. We are attempting to find one that would cater to a slightly younger couple, but if not, we do now have an agency in mind to get us through this process a year from now when I turn 25. For now we're going to focus on getting our lives in order for a child (or children, recently we've been talking about siblings!) We need to paint our house, add some furniture, decorate the bare walls and pay off as much debt as possible, so when the time comes to get our home study they can see us in the best possible light. The first fee we're saving for is the home study, which looks to be around $2,500-$5,000, depending on whether or not we need to pay for travel expenses for the case worker. We are currently looking at an agency with case workers here in China, so hopefully it will save some of the expense!