The Violi Family

For us, one of the hardest parts of the adoption process was figuring out where to begin.  We had done some independent research, but we didn’t know where to turn or who to trust with our really difficult questions.  For that matter, we weren’t even sure what questions to ask or even what an adoptive family really “looked” like.  In April 2004, we decided to attend our first “adoption event,” the bi-monthly Tapestry meeting at Irving Bible Church.  We believed that our church community would be a safe place to ask questions and express some of our fears related to adoption.  Little did we know that this group, and the people we would meet, would play a profound role in our adoption journey.

After dealing with infertility, it was unclear to us how our lifelong dream of being parents would come true.  As we voiced our questions and sadness to God and searched His Word, He began to show us that adoption might be the path that He would lead us down.  Of course that meant that we would certainly have to trust Him like never before.  But we knew that God was the creator of families and He made it clear to us that He was perfectly capable of making ours.

After a great deal of prayer, research and more prayer, we decided to pursue an international adoption – and with great anticipation, we began to set our hearts and minds toward Russia!  As we began completing countless stacks of paperwork and all the necessary requirements to adopt a child from Russia, we became more connected with the community of families at Tapestry, and were encouraged as we heard from them about both the joys and the challenges that lay ahead.  We were also filled with hope as we began to see firsthand family after family that God had put together through the miracle of adoption.  These families proved to be a great resource for us and provided a wealth of knowledge as we eagerly waited for the day we would welcome a child into our family.

That day did come when our prayers were answered.  Our agency called to tell us that a little boy was waiting and ready to meet us. With nervous excitement we prepared to leave for Russia on the first of two amazing trips.   When we arrived in St. Petersburg and left for the orphanage to visit him for the first time, we were certainly not calm and collected!  When he was brought into the room, we were speechless as we stared into the sweet and smiling eyes of God’s wonderful gift to us, our son, Luke. There was a combined sense of awe, love and connection in our first meeting.  It is a memory we will always cherish.

Six weeks seemed an eternity before we received the second call to go back to Russia to bring him home.  On July 29, 2005, we arrived home and carried our 11 month old son off the airplane into a crowd of cheering and crying family members and friends.  We continue to be overwhelmed with God’s perfect faithfulness.  He did far more than we could dare to ask or even dream of…infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hope (Eph. 3:20).

A year and a half later we decided that we were ready to expand our family.  After praying, reading and educating ourselves on domestic adoption, we chose to stay closer to home this time and pursue an adoption through a local agency in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  As with our first adoption, the people in Tapestry, as well as other individuals we had met through the ministry, helped us in making our decision and provided us with resources so that we could educate ourselves on this “new to us” adoption process.  Our paperwork was completed in December 2006 and we began the waiting phase, excitedly anticipating how God would bring another child into our family.  During this time we continued to host Tapestry’s Waiting Families Group in our home and were greatly encouraged by remaining in community with others who had been in, or were currently in, the adoption process.

In July 2007, we received another phone call that would forever change our lives.  Our caseworker called to let us know that a baby boy had just been born and his birthmother had chosen us to be the parents of this precious little one.  We were extremely excited and of course very nervous as we hurried to get ourselves prepared to fly out of state the next day to meet our son and his birthmother.  The trip was a wonderful experience and we were overwhelmed by God’s goodness and grace as He showed us another beautiful picture of His redeeming love.  A week after meeting our son, Cade Taylor Violi, we headed home to Texas where he was welcomed into the arms of many happy family members and friends.

We can’t say that either adoption process was quick, easy or stress free, but it was during the long wait before each arrival that Tapestry continued to play a major role in providing support, encouragement and valuable information.  We certainly had our share of challenges along the way and needed a community who understood what we were going through.  This experience is one of the reasons we are so passionate about serving and supporting other families during their adoption and foster waiting process.

As we enjoy every day with Luke and Cade we are forever grateful for the ways in which the Lord has blessed us.  We are so thankful that God has drawn us closer to Him through this process and given our family a fresh perspective on our own adoption into His eternal family.  As we think back over the joys, challenges and even heartache involved in bringing both of our sons home, we are quickly reminded of the tremendous sacrifice God made to claim us as His children.  We cannot help but thank Him for entrusting these two amazing boys into our care.  “He has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy”  Psalm 126:3.

Anthony & Kristin Violi have served on Tapestry’s leadership team since 2006.

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