Bible Study Dropout

That’s right, I’m dropping out of Bible study. More accurately, I’m not “re-enlisting” this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bible Study Fellowship. Last year, our study of Genesis was greatly enriching, and fostered several deep friendships during a time when I was new to town and had no social life to speak of. I was even asked to lead a small group for this coming year, but I’m not one to half-heartedly commit…

You see, not only do I plan on spending almost a month in China with my family this winter, but immediately upon our return home, I’ll be busy “Cocooning”.

Cocooning is a common practice employed by adoptive families, characterized by socializing less and instead retreating into the home more. We won’t be hosting as many visitors, will attend fewer playdates/potlucks, and likely not utilize our favorite babysitter for coveted date-nights. New Sister will be adjusting to a new home, a new (crazy) family, new food, new climate, and a new language- by way of immersion. By limiting her outside stimulus and creating a routine in a peaceful, consistent space, we hope to establish ourselves as her sole caretakers– her Forever Family.

From what I have read, life in an orphanage is marked by inconsistency. Many children adapt, learning quickly to fend for themselves versus dare to hope to depend on a caretaker for their well-being. It’s been reported that orphanages are eerily quiet, as babies soon give up on crying after months (years?) of their protests going unnoticed.

From infancy, my others daughters have been as blessed by their time in Bible study childcare while I was in my actual class. They have been rocked by “Grandma Teachers”, learned stories & songs about their favorite Bible heroes, and socialized with their peers. As wonderful as this was for them, the last thing we would want to do after bringing home New Sister is to drop her off with a stranger in a foreign classroom full of children. Sounds a little institutional, right? Perhaps reminiscent of an orphanage? I can only imagine the anxiety that might arouse in her little heart.

We aim to gain the trust of a little person who probably has learned, out of self-preservation, not to rely on anyone. We won’t be passing her around to be held, only her father and I will be feeding her, and we won’t be leaving her alone with anyone else for quite some time. Just like with our other babies, I will likely be found utilizing my favored attachment-parenting technique: “wearing” her in a sling, frontpack or backpack. (Depends on how big she is, our requested age range is 0 to 5 years old.) And go ahead and judge me think what you will, but we are huge fans of co-sleeping. New Sister will either room-in with her eager older sisters, or her father and I.

wearing first baby, San Diego Zoo

wearing 2nd baby, Bend Oregon

wearing both babies, Silver Creek Falls Oregon

1st baby wearing 2nd baby, stubbs stewart state park

2nd baby wearing babydolly, Drinking Horse Mt., Montana

Quick update: We will likely be matched with our new daughter in the next few weeks (!!!). We can’t wait to share the news here, but will likely not be able to share her photo publicly. If you’d like to be notified about our newest family member apart from this blog, please email us and we will enthusiastically share our joy with you. After we are matched, it will be about six months before we get to bring her home to Montana– which puts us at about March. Between now and then, we will be  fervently saving to cover our hefty in-country costs. We are elated to be at this stage in our journey, but still have a long way to go. We appreciate your prayers as God prepares each one of our hearts for such a big, albeit exciting, transition.