Brian - age 46
Toni - age 48
Ashlyn - age 18
Noah - age 16
Emma - age 7 (almost 8!)
We live in Boca Raton, Florida, which is located on the southeast portion of Florida between West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. We actively attend church, Calvary Chapel Boca Raton, a satellite church of Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale (Pastor Bob Coy) - the best church in the world! calvaryftl.org
We are a homeschooling family for two of our children - one to graduate from high school this May (Woohoo Ashlyn!). Noah will continue his homeschool high school adventure, while Emma attends a private Christian school, which she greatly enjoys.
Emma became a very special part of our family through adoption from China in 2005, at the age of 13 months. The love and joy she has brought to our home was a great impetus in our desire to adopt from China again. However, the main reason was what the Lord had laid upon the heart of Brian for the past 6 years: a strong and continuing desire to give an orphan a forever home, where they would come to know Jesus as their Savior, and where they could be blessed, as we have, in this great and free country.
It wasn't until a year ago, that I (Toni) felt my heart open to the idea. I am glad for Brian's patience and prayer in this area. We are confident this is God's will because of all the doors He has opened that we thought were securely shut; as well as some things that have occurred that we know are too remote and fantastic to be coincidences. We are not "rescuers" or "do-gooders". We just hope to be used by God to be a family to one who is "family-less"; and to show others that ordinary people with daily struggles, flaws and sin, can be used by God, in His great grace, to accomplish His will - one life at a time.
We are extremely thankful to all our family and friends that have been so supportive of this decision and for their Godly counsel and prayer. Thank you for sharing this journey with us.
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. Psalms 68:5-6
