Luke 18

In the middle of this process, before our lawyer had talked to mom, I became very discouraged and felt like giving up. I had a great talk with my friend Tamra who told me to keep my head up, and never quit because this is my dream. After John got home from work I decided I needed some time to myself to pray. So I came down to my room, alone, and laid on my bed and talked to God. I asked for an answer and sat in silence as I heard many things go through my head.

At this point I feel like I am making up words and talking to myself, when the name "Luke" stands out. As I open my eyes I look straight at a box with the number 18 written on it. Ok, Luke 18 it is. And I quote:

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."

If that is not the most perfectly timed message I don't know what is. God is great, and He knows when we need to hear from Him. We just need to be able to recognize His voice.

Auction Fundraiser part deux

The date is set... Saturday April 30, 2011 at 2:00 we will be holding an auction fundraiser. It will be held at His Place church. Any proceeds earned that exceed our amount needed will be donated to the up and coming His Place adoption fund for other families hoping to adopt in the future.

So far we have some Partylite candles, Scentsy warmers, a movie night basket, and Cabela's gift certificate. We are in the process of getting TireRama gift cards, some craft items, and other gift certificates. We are hoping to include baskets of all kinds :)

This is open to anyone so if you are interested in coming let me know. Our friend, Christine, is putting this on for us. I am gonna owe her an awesome bridal shower next year :):)

Auction fundraiser

I have some awesome friends who have come up with an idea for a silent auction as an adoption fundraiser. I like it because people get something in return for their support. My friend Christine is bringing Partylite baskets and also doing a "Movie Night" basket, and Teresa is making a Scentsy basket. I have friends who have offered to donate crafts, and Tirerama will do a gift certificate. I hope to find more things geared towards men though. And I am really excited about doing this :)

We are looking at the last weekend in April to hold it, and I think we are attaching a baby shower to it as well. So the auction is held for maybe an hour and then we will have a baby shower after, for games and fun for those who want to stay. Traditional? Not at all. :)

9 weeks to go

I don't think this will feel real until the paperwork is signed 2 days after baby is born. As for now I am getting all prepared and am excited, but there is always the possibility of a change of mind on her part, so I am trying to protect my feelings. Which is impossible really.

Got an email from mama this morning and she said the pregnancy is going well, she is just getting uncomfortable and is anxious for her to come. I wish I could take all the pain away from her, and I would if I could. It is funny how the worst parts of a pregnancy are the ones you miss the most.

Well some of my friends told me I "Have" to register, since they are throwing me a baby shower, ... so I did. It was really fun :) But I really don't need tons of things so it is not very big. Here is a link:

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/1H7HAQET9N0AK

And I found THE CUTEST baby bedding set in the world lol. I was not going to buy a new one.... until I found this!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support! We are so appreciative of all of you, and so thankful :)

The cost of the media

Who knew that we would have to pay $300 to run an ad in the paper for 3 days. Geesh it seems so expensive to me but my lawyer's assistant said that she has seen up to $2000 for the same thing in other states. Anyways this runs in the paper to give biological dad an opportunity to be informed of baby girl. He has 3 weeks to read it, and 30 days to respond. So now we wait... and pray... and wait.

We are also looking into some fundraisers. We were not financially prepared to adopt right now, but we will make it happen. My little sister gave us some money at just the right time. It has been cool to watch as people want to help us. We feel so blessed by the prayers and support by our friends and family, so thank you all!

Here we go

Paperwork is underway. Mom has signed her part (Very quickly I might add) and we just signed our petition. Baby is due May 28. This has been an emotional rollercoaster: up's and down's of emotions ranging from happy, to nervous, to scared, to stressed. I know that it will all be worth it in the end. And mom has emailed me, asking some questions so I hope she is completely comfortable with us by time baby comes.

I have lots of stuff for her already and don't need much more. I bought the cutest little outfit for her to come home in from Target. BUT she won't be able to come home for a few days after birth- we actually have to stay in Washington until the court "allows" us to cross over to Idaho. Court is just 2 days after birth, to terminate parental rights, so hopefully by the 3rd day we can go home.

Some of the pictures we included

How it all began- Part 1

We have always hoped to adopt a little girl in the future, but this opportunity fell into our lap... actually the Lord placed it there. But the story is one of faith and patience.
One Monday morning in February I recieved a phone call from a woman at a church in Washington. She was looking for help in locating Christian adoption agencies in our area. She had called our church, as they know our pastor, and our receptionist gave her my number, as I help run a foster care/ adoption ministry through the church. As I was speaking with this woman I found out that they were looking for a home for a baby to be born in May. She said that it was very important that this baby would have a good Christian family. So I asked, out of curiosity, if the baby was a boy or a girl... she answered that it is a girl. The excitement I felt was indescribable! I expressed my interest and told her our story and she was very excited to see how God led them to us. We also found out that this other church is one that John attended as a child, and this other pastor baptized him.
Our next step was to wait a week and a half, until the mama would be meeting with the pastor to talk about her options. I got the call on a Friday that she had decided that adoption was a good choice for her, and she would consider us as an adoptive family, along with another family who lived near her. The church was asking that I put together a portfolio with information and pictures in it... so I worked on it all weekend. Here is what it included:

1. A typed letter from John and I to mama.
2. About 7 pages of pictures of our family
3. One page for each of my children, with a picture of them and a letter they they wrote to mama, or a picture they colored.
4. Letters from 5 of our close friends, and my mom.
5. A sealed, hand written letter from me to mama.

They recieved our portfolio on a Wednesday, and mama got it that evening. And then.... more waiting. Our wonderful pastor called the church to give a recommendation for us, which was awesome. It was very hard to be patient but he reminded me to "Pray and Watch." The next Monday morning I got a call from the church letting us know that mama had chosen us! I made more phone calls that day then I do in an entire week. I can not describe the emotional rollercoaster I felt: excited, nervous, scared, anxious, confused... you name it.