One Sought Me

We are so thrilled and extremely grateful to the Lord for directing our paths and leading us to this day that we can announce that we accepted a referral of a precious little one!! Our adoption process through Ethiopia has opened our hearts and stretched our minds in ways we never knew possible!  In several ways, Todd and I are not the same people who started off in this journey 2 years ago. And for that, we also praise the Lord for His goodness, His love, and His teachings.  God has shown us more of himself through His word, through life events, provisions, trusting journeys, changes of the course, ups and downs, and now He has shown us His little precious child who needs a family! Finally the day has come that we can announce that we have a referral!!!!!!   Thank you Lord! Our agency called us in the evening and it was a blessing that the entire family was together.  I have our agent's number on a special ring tone so when I heard that it was her, and ...

Thank you so much for checking in with our adoption process!  Thank you for thinking of us, praying for us, and encouraging us as we continue to wait for news!  God hears every prayer and for that we are very thankful! As many of you already know, we are hoping to adopt two siblings from Ethiopia. We started this process in December of 2012, completed our home study, and all requirements were completed in June 2013 and to Ethiopia by August 2013.  It's been a long wait and amazing road thus far!  God is with us all the way.  He goes before us, and He stands beside us. Last week we received a phone call from our agency.  Not "the call" that we were expecting, but we knew this adoption journey would be long one, and turns out it's a winding road too.  Twists and turns, waiting and more waiting that is out of our control. However, we rest in the peace that God is in ultimate control of this adoption journey. Our agency proceeded to tell us that in...

It's amazing that this is One Sought Me's post number 100! My New Year's Resolution for the year 2013 was to start a blog and now, 100 posts later and over 10,000 views, I'm blessed to say that this is one New Year's Resolution that I've actually stuck with past February! lol.   Thank you for stopping in and please visit again to keep up to date on our adoption of two from Ethiopia!   This post reflects the notes from today's speaking engagement at First English Baptist Church where Todd and I spoke, the kids sang, and we shared our all time favorite video, Eric Ludy's Depraved Indifference.  All in sharing our hearts for the orphan crisis, child care needs, and God's heart for the children in need around the world.  *                                 *                                     ...

If you have been following our adoption journey, thank you!! And thank you for praying for us!! I hope that you have seen that our dossier (all the required papers) has finally been completed, county approved, and state certified too with the fancy golden stickers and all! We mailed our lovely dossier to our agency and I didn't realize the relief that would come along with completing that phase.  Letting that paper work go was so freeing in that all that responsibility was now completed and moving along to someone-else's plate. We called the agency to confirm that everything was in order and looking good to get the news that it was "a beautiful dossier" and one of  the best she's seen!  Presented organized and professional, we packed that baby up right.  Good news!  Then our agent said that now the dossier gets mailed to the agency that does the referrals/child match and gets registered there.  The dossier isn't finished traveling yet as it will travel t...

Adoption is a reflection of the love story written by the Lord God.  He sought us- One- THE One and only God of creation sought me, loved me, and took me in to be called an heir to the throne, a daughter to the King of Kings!   "One Sought Me" "We love because He first loved us!" 1 John 4:19  Adoption means acceptance and love.      Pure love's example is seen through God.             God is love. Love is  giving ; it's  selfless , it  takes risks , and many times, it takes us on a road less traveled and doesn't make much  logical sense .  Look of God's example of Love. He loved us so much that He: 1.   Created us  ( giving)  He gave us life.  He thought of us and imagined us. He formed the first man from dust and woman from the rib of man and placed them in the garden. God formed you and me too. Why? So He could fellowship with man.  So He could delight in H...

UPDATE:  The event was an amazing hit all praise to God!! Read more here. We are excited to announce this fundraiser for the adoption! And very grateful for two friends who had a heart for this cause and moved on it by creating this event! Jason and Don! Here it is: Benefit on the Lawn for Orphan Adoption from Ethiopia Todd and Erin Vogtman's eyes have been opened to the orphan crisis and the extreme states of poverty in Africa and abroad.  This local couple can no longer resist the tug on their hearts to open up their home and give hope to the hopeless and love to the orphaned children in need of a forever family. Please join us to support this family in their pursuit to adopt two siblings from Ethiopia. Bring your favorite lawn chair and enjoy an evening of food, live music, fun,  and inspiration!  All Welcome! Date: Saturday, May 4th 2013 Place: 715 Memorial Avenue, Cumberland, MD Time: 6-8 p.m. Food provided by Queen City Chick-fil-...

I bribed the kids with candy this morning so that they'd pleasantly smile and participate in a set of photographs I've been wanting to take.  Thankfully, they did great and we all had fun!  A major break-through for our track record of getting our photos taken.  Here are some cute shots of the bio kids waiting for their brother and sister to join our family!

The realities of adoption: We are fighting the good fight that God has set before us.  We don't even know who our new daughter and son are yet, how old they are, or what they look like, but we are fighting for them and honored to do so. Do you know who does know how old they are, where they are, and what they look like?  Our God does, He sees them, and He asked us to fight for them along with Him. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans. LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.    Psalms 10:14,17-18 We will fight with vigor to the end, and honestly, there is no end.  Not even when our kids come home are we going to stop there.  Adopting children is a life long mission.  People need to know and understand that we are called to care and love- especially to the least of these. ...

My husband's grandmother is a sweet little thing.  And I mean literally "little" when she would be pushing for 4 1/2' tall and 85 lbs.  Our little Bug (kid #3) takes after her great grandma's tiny stature but they both have a  great big heart and boundless understandings of the true treasures in life.  All of the grand-kids, and now great grand-children too, often measure themselves in comparison to "G.G" (Great Grandma) and near 8 or 9 years old, they've won the privilege to say, "I'm as tall as G.G." G.G. has amazing stories to tell about her life growing up in a small town, her husband overseas fighting in World War II while she was home in the states giving birth to their first born son.  G.G. kept all the letters her husband wrote to her during the war including the one that read, "war over?" on the outside of the envelope.  He did make it home again to hold his little boy and the family enjoyed a simple life together....

In you the orphan finds mercy. Hosea 14:3 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. Proverbs 31:8-9 The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans. LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.   Psalms 10:14,17-18 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. Psalms 68:5-6 When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the L...