Eight Years Ago Today

Eight years ago today, on the other side of the world, a woman who had sacrificed so much for nine months, was in a hospital giving birth to a baby boy. She knew that she couldn’t raise him. She knew that he belonged somewhere else. She knew that God had big plans for him.

Meanwhile, back on this side of the world, a young couple was beginning to realize that having a child the natural way wasn’t going to happen for them. They had tried all the ways that man has to offer but God had big plans for them.

That little boy was in the hospital for 15 days before going to his temporary home where he would wait for his mom and dad to come get him. Every day he was held and rocked and loved by the wonderful women at the orphanage. He grew bigger and stronger in that love. But still he knew that God had big plans for him.

Fast forward almost two years and you will see a little boy that was waiting patiently for his mom and dad while they were working tirelessly to get to him. Until one day, Marcy 21, 2006, the phone rang…

 “Hello,” his mother said.

“Kirsten? Are you okay” the voice said.

“Yes – I’m just trying to figure out why you’re calling me on a Friday afternoon.” (You see the voice was the adoption coordinator. They had a standing appointment for Monday afternoons but this was a Friday, highly unusual.)

“Well, I may have a baby for you,” she said.

The rest of the story is history, as they say. For the next two months, the little boy’s mother and father worked even more tirelessly getting ready to fly to the other side of the world to claim that boy as their own.

I have always heard that the first time you see your baby, you are instantly in love. I worried if I, too, would feel that instant connection. After all, this child grew under another woman’s heart for nine months and was loved by caretakers for 2 years. Would he reject me? Would our battle to have a child of our own come to an end or keep going?

Well, I’m here to tell you that the moment I saw that little boy in person, I was instantly in love! He was a little unsure at first but he came to understand that we were his family that he had been waiting for. Those two years before he came into my life were just the catalyst that God used to get us ready for family life.

And so today, I wanted to take time to honor that young woman that sacrificed so much to have a healthy baby. She had to hide her pregnancy because she was unmarried and would have been killed (beheaded) if her secret was found out. Instead of getting rid of that baby, she snuck into Kazakhstan where she knew she would be safe and so would her baby. When I think of her, I always say a prayer of thanks to God but I also offer up a prayer for her. I hope she knows that her little boy is well, happy, loved, and smart.

Even though this is a day to celebrate Bobby’s birthday we know how much bigger it is that we have him. So, thank you to that young woman that we will probably never meet. May your life be filled with blessings every day as ours is because of your gift. Thank you God for Your grace and love that allows me to be that little boy’s mother. Thank you God for giving him a wonderful father that was willing to go the “extra mile” to get him. Every day I have with that little boy is a blessing and he continually reminds me of Your unending love.

An Update on Our Family Adventure

 

Sadly, I am writing to let my followers know that my dear sweet husband, Michael Gene Goff passed away on December 19, 2011 at the age of 43. He was too young and we will miss him every moment.

     Funeral services for Michael Gene Goff, age 43 of Bonita (near Saint Jo) are set for 2:00 pm  Friday, December 23, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church in Saint Jo. A visitation is set for 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Thursday at the funeral home. The service will be officiated by Rev. Larry Coleman and directed by McCoy Funeral Home of Saint Jo. Michael died at about 8:30 PM Monday, December 19 at his residence.

     Michael came into this world on Oct. 11,1968, the son of Jerral Don and Mary Kathryn Goff. He was a very little 4lbs. 15 ozs. Everyone who knows him knows that didn’t last long. He grew up in Saint Jo and he wanted his son to do the same, so he and Kirsten bought a home in Bonita and planned to raise Bobby there.

     He grew up attending the Methodist Church, being a Boy Scout, playing summer baseball, and doing all the things that a boy does in a small town in Texas. He graduated from Saint Jo High in 1987 and went to Texas A&M where he earned his BS degree in Construction Science and learned to be a Real AGGIE. He worked for the Texas Highway Dept. and in the construction field all his adult life.

     He married Kirsten McGregor on May 28, 1994. The story goes that he posted a note on the internet that said “Where are you, slow talkin’ slow walkin’ country girl in the tight fittin’ jeans? If you like Aggies, respond.” Respond she did, and you know the rest of the story. The great adventures of his life was when they traveled all the way to Kazakhstan to adopt their precious son Robert Curtis ‘Bobby’ Goff. They went there again a few years later to show Bobby where he came from and to show the people there what a wonderful son they had.

     As a boy, Michael loved to fish with his brothers Curtis and Jerral and his friends he spent many, many hours on and in the Katy Lake. He had a great love for Colorado vacations there as a child, led to vacations there as an adult, at the cabin of Kirsten’s parents. He always planned in his heart to live there someday.

     Michael loved his toys and another love of his life was his Toyota Cruiser that he had lovingly restored and named “Clyde 2” as the successor to a jeep owned by his Grandfather.

Michael loved his family with all of his heart. A fact he thought he kept hidden from them, but made evident in his actions. Michael’s family loves him with all their hearts and the hole his passing has left in those hearts is immeasurable.

     Michael is survived by his wife, Kirsten Leigh McGregor of the home, a son, Robert “Bobby” Curtis Goff also of the home, Parents, Jerral Don and Mary Kathryn Goff of Saint Jo, a brother, Curtis Don Goff and wife Kathryn of Little Elm, Texas, Sister–in–law Ann Goff of Nacogdoches, Texas and nephews Jeffrey, Ryan, Curry and Taylor Goff. He was preceded in death by a brother Jerral Wayne Goff, grandparents, Curtis and Evie Martin and Jessie and Beaulah Goff.