Unexpected Adoption: Join the Harris Family

I am a long-time friend of the Harris'. I have had the privilege to know and love Jeanette from before her meeting her amazing husband Heath, then through their courtship, flash mob wedding, their foster parenting, and onto the eventual adoption of their first two children, more fostering, and this wonderful new addition to their clan. I can attest that God has given them such beautiful receptive hearts as well as an abundance of love to pour out. When I received the call from Jeanette, my heart and tears welled up within me. God is so good and just keeps blessing. Jeanette always wanted to be a mother and God has just surprised and blessed again!

Heath is a corrections officer for the state of Oregon. Jeanette has a BS in Developmental Psychology and Crisis and Trauma Counseling. She is on pause for her Master's in Licensed Mental Health Counseling. She also homeschools their other two children, Marshall and Danielle, and nannies for one of her previous foster babies.

The adoption was not planned for other than by God who knew that they were about to have a baby. The legal costs of adoption, medical bills, and state mandatory visits are estimated to be around $25,000. Here is the short version of how they came to adopt Grayson Norman Harris from Jeanette.

Where do I start? How about a snapshot because if I were to give every single detail, well, there just would not be enough room.

It all started with a DM (direct message), "How do you like your family of 4?"

It was an odd one from this particular friend. In a nutshell, she was seeing if we would be interested in adopting a friend of a friend's daughter's baby: "She had a family set and they opted out and now she is due in a month." We heard a smidge of the story and Heath already had the "Yes" before I had time to process the plethora of outcomes. I asked if he wanted to pray about it first, as that is our common practice, especially when we were foster parents. "Why talk to the Lord about what He has already called us to and made us for?" That is where this adventure began.

This has been and continues to be a beautiful and rich adventure that the Lord has weaved His goodness in every step from the virtual meeting, to building a relationship with the birth mom, to being in the room with her and having the honor of being her calming coach through the birthing and the aftercare.

Here is the Bigger Picture: Heath and I are made to love and be the home of refuge, restoration, and unconditional love. Fostering means fostering new life and freedom. Adoption means being the hands and feet of Jesus and splicing in hearts to ours; sacrificing self, personal space, selfish wants, and really having an open heart to other hearts... Loving deeply and well. This is not something we do considering the budget or really anything else other than we are designed for it and called to it, so we say "Yes" when the Lord brought this opportunity to us.

This journey has had me overwhelmed with God's goodness with sweet moments, answered long-awaited heart desires, restorations of forgotten dreams, community and family boundless extraordinary love, and how He stretches hearts to take in more and interrupting our comfort and convenience with even more joy and love than ever imagined.

WE LOVE to our marrow this little man and are richly blessed by his addition. He is healing wounds he didn't make in the hearts of our children and giving new life and opportunities for their hearts in the most beautiful ways.

Again, this is a snapshot just on the Grayson part alone. This extraordinary journey has layers of radical.love, sacrifice, new friendships, and the glorious supernatural work of the Lord in beautiful details.

If you can help in any way I know it would be so appreciated. Also I know they would love to read any notes that you might want to send with your love, prayers and congratulations

This is a beautiful new chapter in an already beautiful love story!

Blessings,

Kelly and the Harris Family