Episode 6: Celebrating International Adoption With Tiffany
Meet Tiffany!
Today we're chatting with Tiffany Bluhm! She is a wife, momma, Bible teacher, writer extraordinaire. I have been reading her blog and listening to her on podcasts for years now!After we recorded today's episode, we even realized our lives have collided in real life! A few years ago, my husband was at the She Speak's conference working, and Tiffany just so happened to attend. She was able to see my husband teaching at the conference and she had no idea that he was my husband until I mentioned where he worked. Not to mention, she currently lives in Seattle which is only a few hours away from where I grew up in the Pacific North West.A bit of background on Tiffany and her family... Tiffany is an East Indian women who is married to her wonderful husband. Together they are raising a beautiful multiethnic family with their two little boys. I love seeing how transparent they are as a family and it has been a huge encouragement to my family.
Today, Tiffany is sharing her family's story in adopting their little boy Jericho.
As an adopted woman herself, she had a heart for adoption. However, her and her husband had no idea how quickly they'd throw themselves into the process until it began. She knew she had to be 25 years old to adopt internationally... So what did they do? She and her husband filled out all the paperwork and sent it off on her 25th birthday!They pursued adoption in Uganda, and the process ended up taking them two years! Two years of waiting to bring their little boy home. They had originally set out to adopt two little ones, but complications prevented them from adopting one of the children.Tiffany and her husband spent four months in Uganda getting to know Jericho before they were able to bring him home. Jericho hit it off right away with his new family; however, the concept of daddy was foreign. Jericho ended up calling him uncle for a while at first because that's what he knew.One thing you need to know about Tiffany and her husband is they didn't walk into the adoption process blindly. Her background is in social justice, and she understood that adoption wasn't all rainbows and butterflies.
"Adoption is born our of loss, and there's no getting around that."
As a family, Tiffany and her husband walked alongside Jericho. They started the family mantra early on, "Family for the long haul." They wanted Jericho to know they were with him for the good and hard times.Shortly after arriving home, they put Jericho in trauma counseling. Tiffany knew how vital counseling would be for her son because he had strong memories growing up in Uganda and now creating a new home in the US.
This year the Bluhm's celebrated their 5th adoption anniversary with Jericho!
Over the last five years, they have learned what it means to be a strong family. This means talking... a lot! They talk about it all from Jericho noticing the last of diversity in books he reads to the diversity in his own family. They've walked through some difficult seasons a family, but they do it together.Tiffany says adoption has been the best decision of her entire life after marrying her husband. She knew it wouldn't always be easy, but also knew it would change her family for the better. She has grown as a person and has seen the blessing adoption has had on her life and family.Raising a multiethnic family means you will face unique challenges. Jericho is learning how to stand up against stereotypes and what he can do as a leader. He has a big heart to lead and that means he has a HUGE opportunity to make a change around him.
Challenge:
Tiffany's challenge for all of you is to research people who have been adopted and learn about them as a family. Did you know Superman was adopted!?
Head over and follow Tiffany today!