Introducing: The Loyds

Our fourth family is a wonderful young family who also has a mix of biological and adopted children. They are the Loyds: Dr. Josh and Janiece, Aiden, Isaac, Rishona, Nathan, Malachi, and Michaela. Josh is an ER physician and works at various local hospitals, while Janiece has a more than full-time job being a wife, mother and home school mom to 6 young children. In addition to their their own family, Josh's sister-in-law, Becky, and her three children are staying with them while Josh's brother, Jacob, is deployed in Afghanistan. Did I mention that Becky will soon give birth to their fourth child?

Josh and Janiece have quite a story of God's providence in their adoption. I don't want to give away all the details, but I will say they had to fly to Vietnam from Dallas instead of Houston, because their scheduled travel date happened to coincide with Hurricane Ike. When they adopted Nathan, they already had three biological children. Aiden and Isaac went with Dad and Mom to bring Nathan home, while Rishona stayed with family.

Another facet of their story is that, even before they were married, Josh and Janiece had discussed and decided they wanted to adopt children. They always knew that there is no difference between children who come into the home through the womb, and children who come into the home through adoption. Since their adoption of Nathan, their family has grown again twice through birth: first with Malachi, and then with Michaela.

Here are some pictures of the Loyds, shortly after their adoption:

Janiece and Nathan in the airplane home.

The whole family (then) reunited back in the States.

Here are some photos of their family now:

Josh and Janiece tell their story.

Family game time.

More family time.

 We spent the day filming at their home, including family worship time. It looks a little different in every home as the fathers tailor the worship time to the ages and capabilities of their growing families. We also filmed at a local Chick-Fil-A®, courtesy of the manager, which was a lot of fun. Thank you, Loyd family for hosting us in your home for the day!