A mini-bio of our family

I know that there is an "About Me" tab to the right, but assuming that some people who might stumble upon this blog don't know me I thought I'd tell you a little more about me and my family.

Let's see....my name is Marianne and I'm 32. I've been married to my amazing husband Joel for 10 years and we have 3 awesome boys together. Joel and I were both born and raised in California (though he did spend a few years in Minnesota), but met in Seattle during the hay-day of flannel shirts and the birth of the Starbucks craze. After finishing Bible college, Joel moved back to California to pursue his Master's degree in theology. We got married after his first year at Westminster Seminary (in Escondido). We didn't wait long to start a family as our first baby was born a month after our second wedding anniversary. Sam, our baseball aficionado, is now 8. Next came Ben - our critter "whisperer" is almost 7. And Nate-the-Great is almost 5. We moved to Florida almost 2 years ago after Joel accepted the call to pastor a church plant here in Gainesville. I get to be the stay-at-home mama of our boys. I home school them, and Joel mostly works from home, so we spend a lot of time together as a family. Thankfully we get along supremely well! Well....the boys do have their moments :-) But all-in-all we are a "happy" family.

So, why do we want to adopt, and especially a little girl with Down syndrome? Some things can't be explained how they got put into your heart. I suppose God just impresses certain things onto your heart and mind as your life crosses different paths. My first post will explain more of how it happened to me.

I just feel like there is a little girl out there, perhaps in an orphanage across the Atlantic Ocean, waiting for a place to call home - our home. No, we aren't perfect or rich, but we do promise to love unconditionally and smother her with affection and provide for her needs. We promise to give her a chance at a real life and not let her languish in an institution. And above all, we promise to raise her up in the admonition and fear of the Lord. 

Adoption is a beautiful picture of Christ's redemption and love for us.  We didn't know how truly lost we were until He sacrificed His own life on our behalf so we may become the children of God.   He cares for us, nurtures us, and loves us unconditionally.  We would love to emulate Christ's love to the best of our abilities by saving even one precious child from life and death in an institution.