one less orphan

Her name is Zoe Amanda. She caught us by surprise. And she is our daughter.

picture of our first meeting, courtesy of The Archibald Project

We found out about our first two children early in each pregnancy, so the wait for each was the typical nine months until I gave birth to them here in Raleigh.

We found out about Zoe Amanda three months after her teenage mother gave birth to her in Taiwan. The time from when we found out about her until when we got to hold her is felt like forever, but in reality it was shorter than the wait for each of our first two children. The whole adoption process - from finding out about her to bringing her home - was five months long, due to the fastest homestudy ever (it took a week. our social worker rocks), record-speed processing in Taiwanese courts, and her status as a waiting child who had been passed over by families due to the uncertainty of her special needs.

We found out about Zoe on January 28, 2012, and we brought her home to Raleigh on July 12, 2012. Fast. Crazy, exciting, God-speed fast. 

Here's the post where we announced her adoption. And here's the one about how it all started. Here and here are two posts in which I explain how God blew us away during the process. Here's one about her anticipated special needs before we brought her home, and here, here, here, and here are updates about that since we brought her home. Here's an explanation of her carefully selected name. And, if you'd like to read about our trip to Taiwan to bring Zoe home through status messages or see it through pictures, you're welcome to do so too!

Finally, here are my two most popular adoption posts: an open letter to Pat Robertson, from the adoptive mother of a child with brain damage and why I'm neither brave nor gracious.

This is a wild and crazy adventure God invited us to take with Him.

And we're so thankful that we have been able to share it with y'all.