“Boys become kings, girls will be queens, Wrapped in Your majesty…When we love, when we love the least of these.” (Audio Adrenaline)

In 2013, Bring Me Hope was asked to visit the lovely state of Indiana and speak about our work.  It was a joy to connect with everyone but especially to meet one of my favorite adoptive Moms, Jenny.  She had 4 kids and was in the process of adopting another child from China.  What made this adoption hit close to home, was that her new daughter was one of our sweetest Bring Me Hope campers.  As we talked life, I knew Carlee was going to have an amazing family and would love every minute of life with them.

With the chance to talk to Jenny again, it was time for an update!  We are going to be featuring Carlee again in a couple of weeks but wanted to give you a chance to hear from her Mom first.  We are so excited to have this opportunity and again so blessed to see how Bring Me Hope and our advocates can change lives!  

What is one piece of advice you would give adoptive parents?

Go into each adoption with realistic expectations.  Not just where the new child is concerned…..but for other family members, and the parents themselves.

What has been the easiest and most fun parts of adoption?

Getting to watch all the “firsts”.  New experiences are a blast.  For example, the first time we took Carlee shopping after she came home, she saw a frilly Rapunzel princess nightgown in the store.  Even at age 13, her face lit up when I took it off the rack and handed it to her.  She couldn’t WAIT to put it on and twirl around the living room in it that night.

What has been one of the biggest challenges?

Adoption does not come without it’s challenges.  I would be lying if I said it did.  In our case, we brought home a 13 year old.  That is 13 long years of never having a family.  The biggest challenge has probably been the fact that Carlee was not used to “rules”……now she has parents that insist she follow rules.  It’s been a bumpy road at times, but we’re getting there 🙂

How did you find Carlee & how did you know she was your child?

We found Carlee on the Waiting Child page of our agency’s website (WACAP).  After we brought Reese and Hannah home, we had a strong feeling that we had another child in China.  We still felt like God was calling us back there.  When we saw Carlee’s photo…..we knew.  We prayed about it and God made it very clear that we were to GO and bring our daughter home.

 How was Bring Me Hope involved?

Some of Carlee’s fondest memories of China were at Bring Me Hope camp.  She talks about it all the time and LOVES to look at photos from camp.  While we were waiting to bring Carlee home, BMH was awesome about taking photos of her while she was at camp and even helping us skype with her.  Huge blessing for us.

Thanks so much Jenny for chatting with us and sharing a few thoughts 🙂  Below is a picture of Carlee at Bring Me Hope camp and their weekly video!  If you haven’t gone yet, help us celebrate our 10 year anniversary and volunteer for a week!

For The Kids!

Caitlyn & Bring Me Hope Team