Our Journey to YES - part 4

Remind me to never again start a post series during the summertime - it's too hard to keep up! It's been nearly a month since part 3 which you can catch here.

Fast forward one year and we are more firmly established in Ventura. RJ transferred from the retail store to a Quality job in corporate, we moved from our first teeny-tiny apartment to a bigger duplex, I got a good job in Santa Barbara and we found a church to call home. Looking to get more plugged into Reality Church and meet some friends we joined a weekly Bible study. A few weeks later we found ourselves having dinner with the Cicileo family. 

I can't find a good photo of us with the Cicileo's around this time period so here's one of just RJ and I

Dave, Raegan, RJ and I hit it off immediately. It's not often you find friends where both the guys and the gals enjoy each others company equally. Ten minutes into our first dinner conversation we knew we would be friends for life. 

Dave and Raegan also had a four year old son, Elijah. After Elijah went to bed that first evening, Raegan and I found ourselves alone while the men discussed real estate ventures in the other room. Kindred spirits we instantly began sharing our hearts. She told me how she had been praying about adoption (they had been unable to get pregnant since Elijah) but she didn't think Dave would ever consider it. Much to my own surprise I found myself telling her, "I would really love to adopt one day too."

Hours later, as RJ and I were driving home, I kept repeating that statement over and over in my mind. I had surprised myself when I said it, and yet, I felt utterly confident and sincere in my words. Almost as if God himself had written the desire on my heart before I had fully realized it myself. I really did want to adopt one day. 

Meanwhile, I was sitting next to a husband mumbling something that sounds much like this: "It's just so weird. They're our age. And they're fun and funny and interesting but they have a four year old kid. It's just so weird. I'm not sure we are really going to be able to hang out; I'm not sure I'm into that kid stuff."

I immediately thrust all thoughts of adoption aside.