It's been a while since we've updated our blog. There's a reason for that. We've been praying and waiting on God to reveal His plan at this time. Again, we've been taken by surprise and seen that our plans don't always go the way we think they are going to go. With that being said, we are ready to let you know about our current situation.
We are expecting to have a baby in March.
That's right: WE are expecting to HAVE (as in deliver) a baby. Marie is pregnant!!!!
To say this is unexpected is such an understatement. We've told only a few people up until this point, but someone looked at us with a look as confused as we felt at first and said, "But...I don't understand. I thought it was medically impossible?!" To which we responded, "Well, it was medically impossible. But nothing is impossible with God!" We hadn't been trying to conceive a really long time yet when we met with the Reproductive Endocrinologist back in December who discussed some findings of a test that had been done. Even in his words he said, "In my line of work I don't use the word 'impossible', but if I did, I'd definitely say it now."
All babies are miracles. Conception is a miraculous thing. And this one is just that: miraculous! It is NOT because we started adopting and weren't "stressed" about conceiving. It is NOT because we relaxed. The fact is that the necessary components needed for conception were not there! There is no doubt that this is a blessing straight from God! Even after the shocking news that we would likely never conceive naturally, we knew that God can work miracles. We knew that maybe one day we might be blessed with a biological child. But we NEVER expected it to happen now!
We are extremely excited and overjoyed about this gift and the opportunity to carry a biological child! It is an amazing thing that has been hard to wrap our heads around. At times we have been SO scared and nervous about something going wrong. But we are trusting that God has a plan for us and this baby.
Marie is almost 11 weeks pregnant! She has had two appointments so far. We were able to see the baby and the heartbeat at 7 weeks, and Marie got to hear the heartbeat at 10.5 weeks! It is such an amazing thing, especially when it's something we were told we would likely never get to experience! Both times the heartbeat was very strong and everything looks great so far! We were going to wait a little longer to tell everyone, but Marie's OB/GYN said at this point our risk for miscarriage is very low, and she encouraged us to go ahead and tell and enjoy the excitement.
With all of that being said, we realize this is not a typical announcement to just say we're pregnant! We have had SO much unbelievable support from our friends and family to help us adopt and bring home Baby King! While this pregnancy obviously changes things, in a way it doesn't. We said from the beginning that we always have wanted and planned to adopt. Our choice to adopt didn't come after we were told we couldn't have biological children. Our hearts remain the same on this issue. We want to adopt. We love this baby growing in Marie SO much already, but we also love the Baby King (or Kings?) we will adopt one day, the one you've joined us in praying for throughout this process. I've said it before, it really is hard to understand how much we love children we've never met! But we do, those that are biological and those that are not.
At this time, we will continue to pray and be open for God's will for our family. Right now, we are still active with our agencies. (On another note, we may have to drop one agency we are working with. They have increased their fees so much that at this time we are going to be unable to afford what they are requiring to adopt through them.) There is a lot to consider when thinking about when we can adopt. We've always wanted children close in age anyway, so maybe it will work out like that! But we also have to take into account that we will be managing a high risk pregnancy and working hard to keep Marie as healthy as possible and off of bed rest. Also, since we are working with agencies and doing domestic adoption, you know that the birth mothers will pick who they will give their children to. We expect that when they find that we are pregnant at this time, they might choose others who are waiting to become adoptive parents who aren't expecting. Because of these issues and others, we realize that we may be unable to adopt before or close to the birth of our biological child.
Obviously, there is a lot to think about and consider. We could analyze everything over and over and over and try to make a plan for our adoption right now. While we know it's smart to think about these things, we also have learned that we are NOT in control!! We know that God has a plan. We are surprised more each day at what might be in store, but we are learning more and more that He knows the plans He has for us. So, we plan to keep our hearts and minds open to what those plans might be. Knowing it may mean a lot of sacrifice and figuring out things to be blessed with two children relatively soon, or it may mean that we don't get to meet our adopted child (or children) for maybe years down the road. It may mean we are meant to do international adoption and not domestic adoption. While we don't know a lot at this time, we DO know that we are thrilled and excited and overwhelmed by this blessing of a biological child, and we know that we love and are excited for the day we will bring a child or children into our home through adoption. We don't know a timeline or an exact plan, and that's okay.
So, now that you know all of that, we have received a lot of money to go toward helping us with an adoption. That money, at this time, has not been spent at all! All adoption expenses that we've had so far have been paid from our money. All donated money has been kept safely in a separate bank account. At this time we'd like to continue with the plan and keep that money in this separate bank account for our adoption, whenever it may happen. We can assure you that the money you've given for adoption will be used for adoption! We do, however, realize that your plan for that money, or at least the timeline, may have changed. If you would like to be given that money back for any reason at all, we are happy to accommodate those wishes. We know some of you have given a great deal, and it may be hard knowing the child may not be here for a while longer than we thought. If for any reason you need or want a donation back, please feel free to contact us. If not, it will be kept in a separate account for adoption expenses at whatever time God shows us!
We are still early on this new journey of pregnancy! Almost through the first trimester but not yet. We ask you to please join us in praying for this miracle baby! We pray that it continues to grow and develop into a healthy baby that we get to hold in March! Pray for health and safety for Marie and Biological Baby King! We would also love if you would continue to pray for our adoption, whenever and however it happens! Pray for birth mothers out there who are delivering children that they will put up for adoption, and for adoptive parents who are waiting to and are meeting their new little ones that they will bring into their homes. As we've said before, your support means the world to us, and we are continuously overwhelmed by the beautiful gracious people God has placed in our lives. Thank you so much, we love you all!!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Trusting and Following
Yay! We are now officially active with both agencies that we're working with! In the last post I explained about the delay with one agency because of missing paperwork. The day that post was made public I received confirmation from the agency that the paperwork had been received! Usually, at that point the agency has their social workers review our home study and make sure everything looks good to them before they start to match us, but they said because of the confusion with the paperwork that they would go ahead and consider us active while that step was being done! It has since been done and we received another confirmation via a letter in the mail that everything was good to go!
Since then, we're waiting. Some of you have asked about the process at this point, and what exactly we're waiting for. One of our agencies will call us when they have an "available situation" that they think we are a good match for. The other agency has a password protected web page that we were told to check. When they have available situations they post the race and gender (if known) of the baby, and the due date and fees that apply with each situation. If we are interested, we contact the case worker for more details and decide if we would like to be presented to the birth mother. In both cases, the birth mothers look at portfolios from different families and makes a decision about who she would like to adopt the child. (Both of our agencies right now have a large number of families waiting to adopt and have not had many birth mothers at this time.) When the birth mother makes a decision we will get a call to let us know if we have or haven't been picked. If we are picked a phone conversation is arranged between us and the birth mother and the rest of the journey goes from there.
Waiting is hard. Especially in the case of the one agency when I have the ability to check and see if there is anything on the web page. I put a shortcut on the home screen of my phone to make it easier, which of course means I push the button about 10 times per minute it feels like! Until Saturday, nothing at all had be posted there.
We have been presented with some options that we have decided to decline. This sounds crazy because we are very anxious and want to be presented to as many birth moms as possible! We are extremely flexible and open to most situations that may come available, but there are a few details that we just aren't comfortable with. We want to be careful. We are praying constantly to follow God's plan for us during this time. We want to be sure to not turn away and be closed off to something just because it's not perfectly comfortable for us. We've learned that God often calls us out of our comfort zone for His purposes! We don't want to be disobedient to something He is calling us to. However, we also don't want to jump into a situation that isn't right for us and our family simply because we are anxious and impatient. We want to make sure that the future will be stable and safe for baby. We are praying for God's direction when we make these extremely difficult decisions and trust that He knows the plans He has for us. We just want to be faithful to follow where He leads.
I hesitate to say publicly when we are being presented just because there are MANY people being presented to the same birth mother. It's easy to get our hopes up and get excited about even the smallest possibility. But we want to inform our family and friends so you guys can pray for us and the birth mothers and babies that we are told about. With that being said, we are being presented this week to a birth mother who is pretty far away. We were told so much information about the birth mother; her family, her thoughts, physical characteristics, hobbies, past and current living situations, how/where she grew up, and health information, as well as a little information that is known about the birth father. I was surprised about the amount of information that was given to us, but thankful. Even though the information at times is disturbing and honestly unnecessary as we aren't picky about what baby we will call ours, it's nice to be informed and to know that this case worker is thorough and has a relationship with this birth mother. We told the case worker that we were interested in being presented to this birth mother as possible adoptive parents. The birth mother had said that she was looking for a couple who couldn't have biological children, who were christian and would raise the child in a christian environment, and who would give the child opportunities to play sports growing up! Wow! We seem to have exactly what she's looking for as far as those things go! As I said before, many profiles will be given to her to pick from, probably between 15-20. It's easy to get excited and to think about what if this will be our baby, but we understand the situation and the process and take comfort in knowing that if God has chosen this baby for us, it will happen, but if not, it won't.
We are learning more than ever how to trust and be faithful and that, as cliche as it sounds, God really is in control. I know I say it in about every post, but we have to cling to that reality right now. I am the kind of girl who likes to have everything planned out, at least the important things anyway. Money, nursery furniture and design, clothes, supplies, etc...everything that needed to be would be prepared before baby got here if I were pregnant and had my say! (I know even with pregnancy things don't always go as planned, but you get what I mean!) With adoption, it's not always that way. IF this particular situation were to be a match, there are a lot of things we have to figure out. The fees this adoption will cost is more than what we had originally anticipated. When thinking about a timeline of adoption fees and normal bills and when our next paychecks will arrive, it's hard not to get worried. We are also looking at a LOT of travel expenses as far as airline tickets there and back (with baby items to check), and food and lodging for up to 2 weeks! We also understand that there is a possibility for the birth mother to change her mind after we are there, meaning a lot of money for airline tickets and broken hearts if we returned without a baby. Not to mention the cost of baby stuff that we don't have yet. It's been suggested to us and we've chosen not to buy anything for baby yet due to not knowing when we will have a baby, whether it will be a he or a she, etc. We discussed going ahead and getting a crib, dresser, and rocker to at least have that here when we get home, but at this time it looks like we need to keep all money we can in our account to cover adoption fees and travel expenses. Aside from expenses, we need to figure out a lot of other things. For example, how to stay in a hotel with a newborn for 2 weeks and then how to fly home with an infant! (If anyone has any tips, we're open to hearing them! :) )We are also faced with being away from our jobs for a long while (but not knowing when that might be) and preparing for our students to be taken care of while we're gone! There are so many things we'd like to prepare now, but can't. When I start thinking about some of these things I feel silly, like I'm getting way ahead of myself since we don't yet have a baby. But at the same time we are expecting at some point and I feel so far behind!
Yes, this is a lot of personal stuff to share. It's so easy to get overwhelmed and worried about the future, especially when you're used to planning the important things ahead of time! But I am finding more and more that God is teaching us and reassuring us each and every day. While all of the unknowns are scary and seem like such big things, God really is giving us a peace about them. They are all such small things for Him. We know that when the situation is right, we need to follow and trust that He will work all things out for His glory.
Thank you, again, for your support! Your prayers mean so much to us! Continue to pray for the birth mothers, and specifically this one, who is deciding in the weeks to come who she would like to raise a child she is carrying. Pray for God to give us wisdom and guidance during this time as we make important and often difficult decisions about the adoption and the future. Pray that we are faithful to trust and follow through each step of this journey.
Since then, we're waiting. Some of you have asked about the process at this point, and what exactly we're waiting for. One of our agencies will call us when they have an "available situation" that they think we are a good match for. The other agency has a password protected web page that we were told to check. When they have available situations they post the race and gender (if known) of the baby, and the due date and fees that apply with each situation. If we are interested, we contact the case worker for more details and decide if we would like to be presented to the birth mother. In both cases, the birth mothers look at portfolios from different families and makes a decision about who she would like to adopt the child. (Both of our agencies right now have a large number of families waiting to adopt and have not had many birth mothers at this time.) When the birth mother makes a decision we will get a call to let us know if we have or haven't been picked. If we are picked a phone conversation is arranged between us and the birth mother and the rest of the journey goes from there.
Waiting is hard. Especially in the case of the one agency when I have the ability to check and see if there is anything on the web page. I put a shortcut on the home screen of my phone to make it easier, which of course means I push the button about 10 times per minute it feels like! Until Saturday, nothing at all had be posted there.
We have been presented with some options that we have decided to decline. This sounds crazy because we are very anxious and want to be presented to as many birth moms as possible! We are extremely flexible and open to most situations that may come available, but there are a few details that we just aren't comfortable with. We want to be careful. We are praying constantly to follow God's plan for us during this time. We want to be sure to not turn away and be closed off to something just because it's not perfectly comfortable for us. We've learned that God often calls us out of our comfort zone for His purposes! We don't want to be disobedient to something He is calling us to. However, we also don't want to jump into a situation that isn't right for us and our family simply because we are anxious and impatient. We want to make sure that the future will be stable and safe for baby. We are praying for God's direction when we make these extremely difficult decisions and trust that He knows the plans He has for us. We just want to be faithful to follow where He leads.
I hesitate to say publicly when we are being presented just because there are MANY people being presented to the same birth mother. It's easy to get our hopes up and get excited about even the smallest possibility. But we want to inform our family and friends so you guys can pray for us and the birth mothers and babies that we are told about. With that being said, we are being presented this week to a birth mother who is pretty far away. We were told so much information about the birth mother; her family, her thoughts, physical characteristics, hobbies, past and current living situations, how/where she grew up, and health information, as well as a little information that is known about the birth father. I was surprised about the amount of information that was given to us, but thankful. Even though the information at times is disturbing and honestly unnecessary as we aren't picky about what baby we will call ours, it's nice to be informed and to know that this case worker is thorough and has a relationship with this birth mother. We told the case worker that we were interested in being presented to this birth mother as possible adoptive parents. The birth mother had said that she was looking for a couple who couldn't have biological children, who were christian and would raise the child in a christian environment, and who would give the child opportunities to play sports growing up! Wow! We seem to have exactly what she's looking for as far as those things go! As I said before, many profiles will be given to her to pick from, probably between 15-20. It's easy to get excited and to think about what if this will be our baby, but we understand the situation and the process and take comfort in knowing that if God has chosen this baby for us, it will happen, but if not, it won't.
We are learning more than ever how to trust and be faithful and that, as cliche as it sounds, God really is in control. I know I say it in about every post, but we have to cling to that reality right now. I am the kind of girl who likes to have everything planned out, at least the important things anyway. Money, nursery furniture and design, clothes, supplies, etc...everything that needed to be would be prepared before baby got here if I were pregnant and had my say! (I know even with pregnancy things don't always go as planned, but you get what I mean!) With adoption, it's not always that way. IF this particular situation were to be a match, there are a lot of things we have to figure out. The fees this adoption will cost is more than what we had originally anticipated. When thinking about a timeline of adoption fees and normal bills and when our next paychecks will arrive, it's hard not to get worried. We are also looking at a LOT of travel expenses as far as airline tickets there and back (with baby items to check), and food and lodging for up to 2 weeks! We also understand that there is a possibility for the birth mother to change her mind after we are there, meaning a lot of money for airline tickets and broken hearts if we returned without a baby. Not to mention the cost of baby stuff that we don't have yet. It's been suggested to us and we've chosen not to buy anything for baby yet due to not knowing when we will have a baby, whether it will be a he or a she, etc. We discussed going ahead and getting a crib, dresser, and rocker to at least have that here when we get home, but at this time it looks like we need to keep all money we can in our account to cover adoption fees and travel expenses. Aside from expenses, we need to figure out a lot of other things. For example, how to stay in a hotel with a newborn for 2 weeks and then how to fly home with an infant! (If anyone has any tips, we're open to hearing them! :) )We are also faced with being away from our jobs for a long while (but not knowing when that might be) and preparing for our students to be taken care of while we're gone! There are so many things we'd like to prepare now, but can't. When I start thinking about some of these things I feel silly, like I'm getting way ahead of myself since we don't yet have a baby. But at the same time we are expecting at some point and I feel so far behind!
Yes, this is a lot of personal stuff to share. It's so easy to get overwhelmed and worried about the future, especially when you're used to planning the important things ahead of time! But I am finding more and more that God is teaching us and reassuring us each and every day. While all of the unknowns are scary and seem like such big things, God really is giving us a peace about them. They are all such small things for Him. We know that when the situation is right, we need to follow and trust that He will work all things out for His glory.
Thank you, again, for your support! Your prayers mean so much to us! Continue to pray for the birth mothers, and specifically this one, who is deciding in the weeks to come who she would like to raise a child she is carrying. Pray for God to give us wisdom and guidance during this time as we make important and often difficult decisions about the adoption and the future. Pray that we are faithful to trust and follow through each step of this journey.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Planned Set-Backs and Overwhelming Support
I'm sorry it's been so long since we updated you guys! A lot of people have asked about how things are going! The fundraiser event was 2 weeks ago and it was amazing! Attendance was a little lower than it would have been had we held the event on a weekend. Even though we missed some of you, we totally understand! We decided to have the event on a week day because we were able to rent the venue for an extremely generous discount thanks to Ms. Sharon Osbourne who was so sweet to help us make this night a success! We did have lots of family and friends attend and had a great night! I could never thank everyone enough; from Pam Simpson who prepared all of the delicious food and the group of women who helped her serve, to those who donated items for the auction and everyone who came to show support through prayers, words of encouragement, and monetary donations! Here are just a few pictures from the night!
Tyler and I were overwhelmed all through the night by the encouragement and support that was all around us! We were able to raise a substantial amount to put in our Baby King account! We have been blessed with so much that we don't deserve and are so thankful for everything!
Tyler and I both received 3 paychecks in 3 days right around the date of the event. (This is the way we receive payment through the summer months and for the first months once school starts back.) After our paychecks were deposited and we deposited the generous donations from the fundraising event, our account showed that we had enough money to show our "proof of funds" to our other agency so that they can begin to match us with a child! We are so excited to have reached this point! We are still unsure of what this means for the future... The agency will see our account balance and begin to match us because we have the amount they will require. However, they don't know that we do not get paid again until October! That being said, if we were to be placed with a child before that point and write a check for the fees, we don't necessarily have the funds at this time to purchase things the baby will need, pay fees for post-placement visitations, and pay bills. While we're unsure of how everything will work out depending on timing of paychecks and a possible placement, we aren't worried. I feel like we've been pretty open about the financial part of this journey, and I've done that on purpose. Some people we know and many we don't know have commented and gotten in touch with me and have said they've found our blog through a google search or heard from someone else. For those people and others who are interested in adoption, I want to share just one story of how it is working for us. When we began this journey, and still today, we've had lots of questions about the process. It helped so much to talk to people who had already gone through what we were beginning. I know every single family and situation is different, but God has provided so much throughout this whole process and we know that he has been in control of every step. While the financial aspect of adoption is one of the most uneasy parts, it might be encouraging for others to see how two teachers have been blessed by God and so many others who have made this possible. So, while we're still unsure of exactly how the finances will work out through the end of the adoption process and into the beginning of this new chapter in our lives as parents, we trust God and take comfort in knowing that He is leading this path for us to take.
So anyway, we were SO excited to fax our account statement to the other agency. I had called several times in the last month and a half to confirm that a "proof of funds" was all we needed to provide in order to become active with this agency as we are already with the other. I faxed this on Monday after the event. On Wednesday while at BFG, I was excited when the agency came up on the caller id. But I was very frustrated and discouraged when the lady I talked with informed me that they had received our account statement, and now they were waiting on one friend reference letter, medical references/physicals for both of us, certified and notarized copies of each of our birth certificates and our marriage license. What? Surely this was wrong. These are all pieces of information that had been handled months ago along with our home study and we'd already received confirmation that this agency had everything else they needed. Needless to say, something went wrong, as this lady couldn't find these documents in our file. The social worker who did our home study was quick to start working on sending over copies of the couple of documents that she had (and was diligent in tracking down a correct email address when the one I was given over the phone was wrong)! (By the way, she has been amazing throughout this process! She has answered so many questions and helped with so many things, including sending copies of documents quickly to our agencies on several occasions! Thank you SOO much Leigh! She is at Heart to Home Adoptions in Lexington, KY if anyone is looking for a great person to work with to complete an adoption!) And I sent our original certified copies of birth certificates and marriage license the next day (and still need to order more for our records)! That was one week ago tomorrow. I have called and left a message asking for confirmation ASAP that all documents have been received and am waiting to hear.
As funny as it sounds, we've been encouraged to hear about things that seem like set-backs from others who have adopted. A couple told us about confusions that happened when they spoke with someone in a foreign country when adopting their boys who were talking about the wrong children and flights that had to be booked and childcare arrangements that had to be made within 24 hrs! Even though it's frustrating to be taking care of things now that we thought were already taken care of, and things that could have easily been handled months ago, we know this is part of the plan.
Please pray that our documents arrive quickly and safely to our agency and that there are no more confusion or miscommunication issues. We are so ready to begin being matched by that agency, too, as we are getting very anxious at this point! Pray for our agencies as they work with birth mothers who are deciding they are unable to keep and raise the children they are carrying and match them with adoptive parents who are waiting. Pray for our child, wherever he or she may be. Continue to pray for our financial situation as we work to budget the money we have for the next several months. Pray for us as we anxiously wait for the call from an agency who has a child who needs a home!
And again, THANK YOU for coming along with us on this journey! We seriously can not wait to introduce you to Baby King who YOU helped to bring home with your prayers and support! We love each and every one of you!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Baby King Adoption Fundraiser!
The status of our adoption is about the same as my last post. We are actively being presented to birth mothers by one of our agencies and still working on funds to show to the other agency. Last week we were able to attend two "training" classes provided by our home study agency to fulfill some of the requirements for the home study. The trainings were helpful and fun, and only made us more anxious to meet our little one and begin our journey as parents! Every time my phone rings I find myself hoping to see our agency's number pop up! Even though we're anxious as we wait, we are praying and continue to take comfort in knowing that God already knows our child and will bring him/her home in His perfect timing!
The past few weeks we have been staying busy with preparing for our fundraiser event on Thursday! I can't believe it's so soon but we are so excited! We have had help from our family, many friends, and businesses to be able to do this! Someone today said it has been like planning a wedding reception! It has definitely been a lot of work but we can't wait to see everyone and enjoy a fun night to support adoption! The food is going to be fabulous, music will be fun, lots of great company, and a bigger than expected silent auction! Just a reminder, the auction will be this Thursday, June 21st at June Morning (209 Ashland Ave, Richmond, KY). Everything will begin at 6pm! Anyone is welcome to come and you can also invite friends who may be interested in coming if you'd like! Please let us know if you have any questions. If you don't have our phone numbers you can see the event page on facebook for information and contact us there, leave a comment here on our blog, or email me at smk627@gmail.com.
Thank you again to our friends and family for continuing to support and help us during this process. So many friends and family have donated items for the auction and I could never explain how much this means to us. I also want to thank the many businesses who have donated merchandise or gift cards for our auction: Ace Hardware, Waco Animal Hospital, Kendrick Contracting, O'Charley's, Paradise Cove, Applebees, Chick-fil-A, Take It Personal, CiCi's Pizza, Purdy's Coffee, Kentucky Outfitters, First Gear, Olive Garden, Logan's, Soft Shoe, Fitness with Faith, Cato, Cinemark Movies, and Gibson Bay, Battlefield, and The Bull golf courses. Thank you!
Thank you for continuing to pray for us during this time. Please pray for our event; that ultimately God will be glorified as others give, and that people will come to see and understand adoption as a beautiful picture of the gospel and our salvation in Christ! Also, please continue to pray with us for our child, whoever and wherever he/she may be right now, we love them already! Pray for his/her birth mother as she carries him/her now, pray that she is being taking care of and is taking good care of our child until we can hold them in our arms! THANK YOU!
The past few weeks we have been staying busy with preparing for our fundraiser event on Thursday! I can't believe it's so soon but we are so excited! We have had help from our family, many friends, and businesses to be able to do this! Someone today said it has been like planning a wedding reception! It has definitely been a lot of work but we can't wait to see everyone and enjoy a fun night to support adoption! The food is going to be fabulous, music will be fun, lots of great company, and a bigger than expected silent auction! Just a reminder, the auction will be this Thursday, June 21st at June Morning (209 Ashland Ave, Richmond, KY). Everything will begin at 6pm! Anyone is welcome to come and you can also invite friends who may be interested in coming if you'd like! Please let us know if you have any questions. If you don't have our phone numbers you can see the event page on facebook for information and contact us there, leave a comment here on our blog, or email me at smk627@gmail.com.
Thank you again to our friends and family for continuing to support and help us during this process. So many friends and family have donated items for the auction and I could never explain how much this means to us. I also want to thank the many businesses who have donated merchandise or gift cards for our auction: Ace Hardware, Waco Animal Hospital, Kendrick Contracting, O'Charley's, Paradise Cove, Applebees, Chick-fil-A, Take It Personal, CiCi's Pizza, Purdy's Coffee, Kentucky Outfitters, First Gear, Olive Garden, Logan's, Soft Shoe, Fitness with Faith, Cato, Cinemark Movies, and Gibson Bay, Battlefield, and The Bull golf courses. Thank you!
Thank you for continuing to pray for us during this time. Please pray for our event; that ultimately God will be glorified as others give, and that people will come to see and understand adoption as a beautiful picture of the gospel and our salvation in Christ! Also, please continue to pray with us for our child, whoever and wherever he/she may be right now, we love them already! Pray for his/her birth mother as she carries him/her now, pray that she is being taking care of and is taking good care of our child until we can hold them in our arms! THANK YOU!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
ACTIVE!
Quick Update: We are officially "active!" That means one of the agencies we are working with will begin to present our profiles to birthmothers who are planning to put their children up for adoption at birth! They have told us about two birthmothers specifically that they will present our profiles to this week! We were told it was very unlikely that we would be picked by one mother. She is 30 and is looking for an "older couple" in their 40s. Both birthmothers have looked at about 7 profiles so far and have not picked a couple, so they will be looking at our profiles this week. It's amazing to think that even though we know very little about these ladies, one of them could be carrying our child right now! But even if we aren't picked, we are officially active and will be presented to other birthmoms in the weeks and months to come. We know that God knows who and where our child is right now, and we anxiously await the day when we are able to hold him/her in our arms!
We are not yet "active" with our other agency due to the fact that we are unable to show "proof of funds" for the cost of the adoption at the time of placement right now. We are SO thankful to so many people who have supported us so far, prayerfully and financially! We are still working to raise more money so that we can show this amount to our other agency and be prepared for the cost we will need to pay. To help with this, we are hosting a Baby King Adoption Fundraiser event on June 21st at June Morning in Richmond, KY. We will have a dinner, dance, and auction event for all who wish to join! Money will be raised from the "admission" charge and there will be a variety of items to bid on at the auction! We are SO excited for a fun night with family and friends!
Please continue to pray for us during this time! We are still working hard with the adoption process itself, but it's starting to sink in that we could be parents very soon! Most people have at least 9 months to consider this and prepare. With adoption it's easy to busy yourself with other necessary things. We are so excited and anxious to become parents! Pray that we would be Godly parents who display the Gospel in our home through our actions and words everyday to our children and to others. Please continue to pray for our child, wherever he/she is. Pray for safety and health for him/her and for the birthmother who may be carrying him/her at this time, or may be soon. Also be in prayer for the fundraiser event; that people are able/willing to come and that their sacrificial giving will glorify God!
We are not yet "active" with our other agency due to the fact that we are unable to show "proof of funds" for the cost of the adoption at the time of placement right now. We are SO thankful to so many people who have supported us so far, prayerfully and financially! We are still working to raise more money so that we can show this amount to our other agency and be prepared for the cost we will need to pay. To help with this, we are hosting a Baby King Adoption Fundraiser event on June 21st at June Morning in Richmond, KY. We will have a dinner, dance, and auction event for all who wish to join! Money will be raised from the "admission" charge and there will be a variety of items to bid on at the auction! We are SO excited for a fun night with family and friends!
Please continue to pray for us during this time! We are still working hard with the adoption process itself, but it's starting to sink in that we could be parents very soon! Most people have at least 9 months to consider this and prepare. With adoption it's easy to busy yourself with other necessary things. We are so excited and anxious to become parents! Pray that we would be Godly parents who display the Gospel in our home through our actions and words everyday to our children and to others. Please continue to pray for our child, wherever he/she is. Pray for safety and health for him/her and for the birthmother who may be carrying him/her at this time, or may be soon. Also be in prayer for the fundraiser event; that people are able/willing to come and that their sacrificial giving will glorify God!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Change of Plans, Exactly as Planned!
I'm so sorry it has been so long since we've last updated our blog! We've had some unexpected things come up that have been hard, as well as being busy wrapping up the school year, but I'm excited to update you all now, on what's been going on!
Our profiles are finished! The guy who has helped us with our profiles has been amazing! He has hand delivered some copies to one of our adoption agencies last week. The rest of the copies are on their way to our house and are guaranteed to be here by Wednesday! Once we receive those copies, we will mail some to our other agency!
Once we get the profiles to the other agency, they will begin to present us to birthmoms who are looking for people to adopt their children. The agency who has our profiles already have everything they need to begin matching us with birthmoms except proof of funds. They will not begin to present us to birthmothers until we can prove that we have all of the money they will require upon placement. We are not yet able to show this amount in full, so we will continue to wait as we work to save more money for the adoption.
We want to say thank you, again, for all of the prayers, support, and money! We could not do this without your help! Support from our friends and family have been amazing, but we've been blessed by strangers, too! While donating blood about a month ago, a woman walked in and sat across from me. It didn't take long for me to notice that she was staring! I tried not to pay attention and attributed it to the fact that we were on a tiny blood mobile van (I'm not a fan of these, by the way). In just a few minutes she said, "I know now! You're Joy's daughter-in-law!...You're adopting!" She had recognized me because of my mother-in-law sharing our story, and quickly pointed out that she was wearing one of our bracelets that we've sold as a fundraiser! She said she'd worn it everyday and would keep wearing it and praying for us until our baby made it home! This was wonderful! I sat looking at a woman I had barely met who was so supportive and had been praying for us! Just this weekend we went to a friends birthday party. We sat across from a couple I'd met once. She came back to her seat and said, "This might sound really weird but.....are you all adopting?" When I told her we were she said, "I thought so! I've been reading your blog!" and continued to ask us all about what was going on now! The other day while riding a bus with my co-workers, someone started counting all of the women we work with who were currently pregnant. The count reached 4, and then she added me! She said I was pregnant in a "different way", but I still counted, and concluded that we had 5 people who were expecting children! All of these things seem so small, but are in fact so big! We feel so blessed to have support from so many people who are partnering with us to help bring Baby King home!
And now, we wait! We will be waiting for calls from our agency to tell us they have a birthmother they'd like to present us to. Then, we will be waiting to see if we are picked. At this point we will probably be matched with a birthmother who is still pregnant, but there's also a possibility that we could be called and presented with an opportunity to adopt a child who is already born. Either way, there are many ways an adoption could begin but then fall through. At this point there are a lot of things that are still uncertain. Many things can change with our adoption plan at any point.
While these unknown factors are hard to think about sometimes, we take comfort in knowing that God knows the path we will take. He knows our child already! This is such an amazing truth! In his book, Adopted For Life, Dr. Russell Moore talks about this reality in his concluding chapter. As he gets ready to celebrate his son's 7th birthday, he talked about how on that day 7 years ago he didn't know his son, and he wasn't there for his 1st birthday, but even on that day God knew! He says, "I'd prayed every morning and every night for children. I would have done so that day too, with a desperate whine to my voice. I didn't know that day that my prayers had been answered, in a way beyond all I could ask or even think. I had no way of knowing that the greatest joys of my life so far were here, and yet not here; already and not yet. God wasn't ignoring me. He was training my affections to love these two boys, to be a father theologically, not just biologically. It makes me wonder this morning what else I've prayed for that is secretly answered already. In the big scheme of things, everything- literally everything- fits into that category."
Wow! This year has brought many new challenges and changes of plans for Tyler and I. But it's amazing to know that things are going exactly according to God's plans! It is no mistake that we are where we are, embarking on this journey, with you! No, we didn't plan it exactly this way, but He did. And He is growing us into His image to fulfill His purposes. What a humbling reality!
Please continue to pray for our child, wherever he/she may be right now. Pray for the birthmothers who are choosing to give their children life but are making the unimaginable decision to put their children up for adoption. Pray for our agencies as they work to help these birthmothers through this process and help other couples to complete their families by giving orphans homes and families. Pray for us, that we would continue to raise money that is needed to complete our adoption, and that God would continue to prepare our hearts for what is coming! Thank you!
Our profiles are finished! The guy who has helped us with our profiles has been amazing! He has hand delivered some copies to one of our adoption agencies last week. The rest of the copies are on their way to our house and are guaranteed to be here by Wednesday! Once we receive those copies, we will mail some to our other agency!
Once we get the profiles to the other agency, they will begin to present us to birthmoms who are looking for people to adopt their children. The agency who has our profiles already have everything they need to begin matching us with birthmoms except proof of funds. They will not begin to present us to birthmothers until we can prove that we have all of the money they will require upon placement. We are not yet able to show this amount in full, so we will continue to wait as we work to save more money for the adoption.
We want to say thank you, again, for all of the prayers, support, and money! We could not do this without your help! Support from our friends and family have been amazing, but we've been blessed by strangers, too! While donating blood about a month ago, a woman walked in and sat across from me. It didn't take long for me to notice that she was staring! I tried not to pay attention and attributed it to the fact that we were on a tiny blood mobile van (I'm not a fan of these, by the way). In just a few minutes she said, "I know now! You're Joy's daughter-in-law!...You're adopting!" She had recognized me because of my mother-in-law sharing our story, and quickly pointed out that she was wearing one of our bracelets that we've sold as a fundraiser! She said she'd worn it everyday and would keep wearing it and praying for us until our baby made it home! This was wonderful! I sat looking at a woman I had barely met who was so supportive and had been praying for us! Just this weekend we went to a friends birthday party. We sat across from a couple I'd met once. She came back to her seat and said, "This might sound really weird but.....are you all adopting?" When I told her we were she said, "I thought so! I've been reading your blog!" and continued to ask us all about what was going on now! The other day while riding a bus with my co-workers, someone started counting all of the women we work with who were currently pregnant. The count reached 4, and then she added me! She said I was pregnant in a "different way", but I still counted, and concluded that we had 5 people who were expecting children! All of these things seem so small, but are in fact so big! We feel so blessed to have support from so many people who are partnering with us to help bring Baby King home!
And now, we wait! We will be waiting for calls from our agency to tell us they have a birthmother they'd like to present us to. Then, we will be waiting to see if we are picked. At this point we will probably be matched with a birthmother who is still pregnant, but there's also a possibility that we could be called and presented with an opportunity to adopt a child who is already born. Either way, there are many ways an adoption could begin but then fall through. At this point there are a lot of things that are still uncertain. Many things can change with our adoption plan at any point.
While these unknown factors are hard to think about sometimes, we take comfort in knowing that God knows the path we will take. He knows our child already! This is such an amazing truth! In his book, Adopted For Life, Dr. Russell Moore talks about this reality in his concluding chapter. As he gets ready to celebrate his son's 7th birthday, he talked about how on that day 7 years ago he didn't know his son, and he wasn't there for his 1st birthday, but even on that day God knew! He says, "I'd prayed every morning and every night for children. I would have done so that day too, with a desperate whine to my voice. I didn't know that day that my prayers had been answered, in a way beyond all I could ask or even think. I had no way of knowing that the greatest joys of my life so far were here, and yet not here; already and not yet. God wasn't ignoring me. He was training my affections to love these two boys, to be a father theologically, not just biologically. It makes me wonder this morning what else I've prayed for that is secretly answered already. In the big scheme of things, everything- literally everything- fits into that category."
Wow! This year has brought many new challenges and changes of plans for Tyler and I. But it's amazing to know that things are going exactly according to God's plans! It is no mistake that we are where we are, embarking on this journey, with you! No, we didn't plan it exactly this way, but He did. And He is growing us into His image to fulfill His purposes. What a humbling reality!
Please continue to pray for our child, wherever he/she may be right now. Pray for the birthmothers who are choosing to give their children life but are making the unimaginable decision to put their children up for adoption. Pray for our agencies as they work to help these birthmothers through this process and help other couples to complete their families by giving orphans homes and families. Pray for us, that we would continue to raise money that is needed to complete our adoption, and that God would continue to prepare our hearts for what is coming! Thank you!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A Month Full of Changes, Uncertainties, and Blessings!
Today marks 4 1/2 weeks since Tyler and I made the exciting announcement that we had started the process to adopt a child! In some ways it seems much longer than that, and in other ways shorter. We have been so busy this month with paperwork, home study visits, background checks, organizing and planning finances, preparing our family profiles, prayer, answering questions, and sharing our story! It's hard to believe how much has changed in one month!
We have had, and continue to have, many things we are uncertain about, but so many things have been answered already. Two months ago we struggled to pick the right adoption agencies to work with. We made phone calls, researched online, talked to people who had completed adoptions, and prayed. This was such a hard step! Agencies differ in their fees, programs, services, locations, beliefs, and types of adoptions they provide. We knew once we found the right agency, other things would begin falling into place as we would have someone to help guide us through the process. But so many agencies seemed dishonest. A lot of them required a lot of money upfront and, once money had been given, had little communication with adoptive parents and little concern for a completed adoption were something to fall through. We wondered how we'd ever get all of the paperwork done correctly and sent to the right places. We have been blessed to work with three agencies so far; one in Lexington who completed our home study, and two other agencies in other states who will soon be working to match us with our child and place him/her in our arms! All of the people we have worked with so far have been wonderful, informative, and honest. We are so thankful to have them to guide us through this process.
Other uncertainties included our curiosity about how others would react to our news and how we would tackle financial concerns. Last summer we began to get excited about the day we could announce to our friends and family that we were expecting a child because I was pregnant! With an announcement like this, we expected hugs and support from our family and friends. It's not that we didn't necessarily expect support for an adoption, but circumstances surrounding an adoption are different. Also, knowing we were embarking on a process that could require more than $25,000 was scary to say the least. Although we both have been blessed with jobs consistently, neither one of us have had a consistent position, and we ended up taking a significant pay cut this year. Many of these worries have been calmed. Our friends, family, and church family have (for the most part) been amazingly supportive! We love when people ask us questions about what's going on and how we're feeling and what is coming next in the process. A friend a few weeks ago apologized for being "nosey," but I told her she was silly! This is our "pregnant." No, people aren't going to ask me about cravings or sickness, they aren't going to comment on my growing belly, and they aren't going to ask us when we're due. And that's okay. But in the same way we LOVE when our friends show interest in the fact that we are definitely "expecting" a child and ensure us that they're praying for us and our baby!
I have been so encouraged as I've read through Adopted for Life by Dr. Russell Moore. He does a wonderful job of putting the adoption of children so clearly within the context of the gospel of Christ in a theological, practical, and deeply touching way. In one part of his book he says this: "Adoption is not just about couples who want children- or who want more children. Adoption is about an entire culture within our churches, a culture that sees adoption as part of our Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself." Tyler and I have learned so much about adoption and the gospel, and through every step we have been so blessed with a church family who is focused on the Great Commission and ministers to orphans and widows. Many families within our church body have adopted children domestically and around the world. Our church and friends who don't attend our church have seen adoption as a mission. Most of these families are not pursuing adoptions of their own at this time, but they have joined with us on our journey through support, prayers, and giving financially! Adoption is especially hard for those who live where the process of adoption is not seen or understood by others. And yes, we know we will come in contact with many people who will not understand and maybe will not accept our family, but there is such comfort in knowing that within our church and many of our friends and family, adoption is understood as being rooted in the gospel. We are incredibly blessed with people who are joining with us to rescue an orphan and welcome him/her into our home. What a beautiful picture!
One month ago we received our first donation of $20. Today, 4 weeks later, we have received a total of $5,996.00. Wow! We are in awe of continued generosity and the way God is providing means to complete this adoption. We are still far from the total we need, but God is showing us everyday that He is providing for us as we follow His path for us. Thank you again to everyone who is burdened for the fatherless and who has felt led to support us through prayers and financial contributions. We couldn't bring this child home without you.
Right now we have submitted everything for our family profiles, mailed off our official home study reports, and finished all we can at this time. Now, we continue to raise money and wait. We're waiting, now, for our profiles to be ready. Once these are finished, printed, and several copies sent to the three agencies, we will officially be waiting on a phone call. Before that, though, one agency will require us to show "proof of funds" meaning they will need to see proof that we have the total amount they will require when a child is placed with us. Without proof of this money, they will not move forward with the process.
Please pray that our profiles are completed soon, as this (and money) is all that we are waiting on! We are excited as we move closer each day to holding our baby. We can't wait to show you, our friends and family, the miracle you helped to bring home!
We have had, and continue to have, many things we are uncertain about, but so many things have been answered already. Two months ago we struggled to pick the right adoption agencies to work with. We made phone calls, researched online, talked to people who had completed adoptions, and prayed. This was such a hard step! Agencies differ in their fees, programs, services, locations, beliefs, and types of adoptions they provide. We knew once we found the right agency, other things would begin falling into place as we would have someone to help guide us through the process. But so many agencies seemed dishonest. A lot of them required a lot of money upfront and, once money had been given, had little communication with adoptive parents and little concern for a completed adoption were something to fall through. We wondered how we'd ever get all of the paperwork done correctly and sent to the right places. We have been blessed to work with three agencies so far; one in Lexington who completed our home study, and two other agencies in other states who will soon be working to match us with our child and place him/her in our arms! All of the people we have worked with so far have been wonderful, informative, and honest. We are so thankful to have them to guide us through this process.
Other uncertainties included our curiosity about how others would react to our news and how we would tackle financial concerns. Last summer we began to get excited about the day we could announce to our friends and family that we were expecting a child because I was pregnant! With an announcement like this, we expected hugs and support from our family and friends. It's not that we didn't necessarily expect support for an adoption, but circumstances surrounding an adoption are different. Also, knowing we were embarking on a process that could require more than $25,000 was scary to say the least. Although we both have been blessed with jobs consistently, neither one of us have had a consistent position, and we ended up taking a significant pay cut this year. Many of these worries have been calmed. Our friends, family, and church family have (for the most part) been amazingly supportive! We love when people ask us questions about what's going on and how we're feeling and what is coming next in the process. A friend a few weeks ago apologized for being "nosey," but I told her she was silly! This is our "pregnant." No, people aren't going to ask me about cravings or sickness, they aren't going to comment on my growing belly, and they aren't going to ask us when we're due. And that's okay. But in the same way we LOVE when our friends show interest in the fact that we are definitely "expecting" a child and ensure us that they're praying for us and our baby!
I have been so encouraged as I've read through Adopted for Life by Dr. Russell Moore. He does a wonderful job of putting the adoption of children so clearly within the context of the gospel of Christ in a theological, practical, and deeply touching way. In one part of his book he says this: "Adoption is not just about couples who want children- or who want more children. Adoption is about an entire culture within our churches, a culture that sees adoption as part of our Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself." Tyler and I have learned so much about adoption and the gospel, and through every step we have been so blessed with a church family who is focused on the Great Commission and ministers to orphans and widows. Many families within our church body have adopted children domestically and around the world. Our church and friends who don't attend our church have seen adoption as a mission. Most of these families are not pursuing adoptions of their own at this time, but they have joined with us on our journey through support, prayers, and giving financially! Adoption is especially hard for those who live where the process of adoption is not seen or understood by others. And yes, we know we will come in contact with many people who will not understand and maybe will not accept our family, but there is such comfort in knowing that within our church and many of our friends and family, adoption is understood as being rooted in the gospel. We are incredibly blessed with people who are joining with us to rescue an orphan and welcome him/her into our home. What a beautiful picture!
One month ago we received our first donation of $20. Today, 4 weeks later, we have received a total of $5,996.00. Wow! We are in awe of continued generosity and the way God is providing means to complete this adoption. We are still far from the total we need, but God is showing us everyday that He is providing for us as we follow His path for us. Thank you again to everyone who is burdened for the fatherless and who has felt led to support us through prayers and financial contributions. We couldn't bring this child home without you.
Right now we have submitted everything for our family profiles, mailed off our official home study reports, and finished all we can at this time. Now, we continue to raise money and wait. We're waiting, now, for our profiles to be ready. Once these are finished, printed, and several copies sent to the three agencies, we will officially be waiting on a phone call. Before that, though, one agency will require us to show "proof of funds" meaning they will need to see proof that we have the total amount they will require when a child is placed with us. Without proof of this money, they will not move forward with the process.
Please pray that our profiles are completed soon, as this (and money) is all that we are waiting on! We are excited as we move closer each day to holding our baby. We can't wait to show you, our friends and family, the miracle you helped to bring home!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Speeding Along!
Wow! It's been a week since my last post, but SO much has changed!!
We had our second home study visit on Wednesday, April 25th. Our social worker called that afternoon and asked if we could/wanted to meet at Panera instead of at our house since it was easier for her to get there. We agreed and met at 5:30pm. She shared some literature with us, some books for us to read about adoption, and some children's books about adoption. I loved them! One story by Jamie Lee Curtis was all about how the child came to be a part of their family, but instead of the typical story, funny pictures and words showed how the parents got a phone call one night that the child had been born! They called the grandparents, grabbed a baby bag, and hopped on a plane to go get their child. It was very sweet. She gave us one to keep called A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza. It's all about Choco, a little yellow bird, who is looking for his mother. He asks everyone if they are his mother (a giraffe, a penguin, a walrus, etc.) but they all say they couldn't be his mother because they aren't yellow or don't have striped legs or big cheeks like he does. Finally he runs into Mrs. Bear, who asks him what a mother would do. He says she'd hold him and cuddle him and sing and dance and play with him, so Mrs. Bear does all of these things. Then she asks, "What if I was your mother?" Choco is confused because he says she looks nothing like him. She assures him that looks mean nothing, and takes him home and introduces him to her other children, Ally, Hippy, and Piggy (an alligator, a hippo, and a pig). Choco joins the family and the last page shows Mrs. Bear in a rocking chair holding her 4 children, none of whom look like her. It is a beautiful picture of family and adoption.
Anyway, we talked for a couple of hours and our social worker showed us the print out of our home study that was already typed up. She needed to clarify a few things, and was just waiting for the FBI prints and background checks to come back before everything would be finished. She told us again this could take a few months. We didn't expect everything else to be ready so soon and knew we needed to work quicker on getting our family profiles ready!
The next day as I was leaving work about 5:30, I missed a call and listened to the message. It was from one of our adoption agencies who was calling to check on where we were in the process of our home study and profiles being completed, because they wanted to present us to a birth mother!!! We NEVER expected to be contacted so soon about a possible match for us! I told the agency our profiles weren't ready and we were still waiting on FBI prints. One one hand we were encouraged to hear that there are birth moms out there that might already be interested in us to be parents for their biological child, but at the same time I felt so sad that we couldn't be presented because we weren't ready. I was reminded that God knows who our child it. If it is that child, the birth mom won't find a suitable family and will pick us at a later time. If that child isn't ours, I know our child is still out there and we will know them in God's timing.
On Saturday, I checked the mail to find the final pieces we've been waiting for. One thing was Tyler's physical (which for some reason had taken a long time to get back!) and OUR FBI PRINTS!! Instead of taking 3 months, it was closer to 3 weeks! Praise the Lord!
So, tomorrow a check for our home study, Tyler's physical form, and our FBI background checks are in the mail to our social worker. As soon as she receives these, final information will be plugged into the home study report and will then be mailed off to our agencies! At that time we are ready to become active except for two things. We can not be active without portfolios to show to birth moms, and one of our agencies will not begin to present us until we show "proof of funds," which for them is about $17,000. We don't have that money yet.
So last week we still felt like we were in the middle of this part of the process, and 7 days later we feel more like we're at the end of this part and heading into the hard "waiting" stage. I am working hard on our portfolios and have been told they will typically take 3-4 weeks. However, the guy we are working with to complete them says if we stay on top of things he will do everything he can to expedite the process if at all possible, since this is the final thing we need to become active!
We take comfort in knowing that God is in control and is working everything out to bring our child home.
Today my friend teared up as she told me about an experience that really opened her eyes to domestic adoption. She picked up a very young woman who had voluntarily checked herself in to rehab just 3 days before and had walked out. My friend graciously gave her a ride as she told her about her 5 children, the oldest was 8 or 9 and she had never even seen the youngest, who is 4 months. She said all of the children had been born "dirty", some premature, and most had gone through withdraw upon being born due to her excessive drug use. She told my friend she knew her children were better off with their grandparents, but she desperately wanted to just be near her kids, to be able to see them. Her love for them was evident, but she in no way was taking care of herself and couldn't take care of them. Lately I have heard so many stories like this that breaks my heart. We are so excited about the opportunity to rescue a child who may be born into a family who although they may love them. can not give them the life they deserve. It's crazy how much we love our child already, even though we know NOTHING about them!
I'm amazed at how much has changed in just one week! This process hasn't been easy, but it has gone remarkably fast up to this point! Although we've been praying and researching about adoption for a while now, we didn't officially start this process until about 3 1/2 weeks ago, and we're almost "active!" Wow! Please pray that our portfolios are completed and printed as quickly as possible, and that God continues to provide the funds necessary to continue from this point! Also remember to pray for our child and his/her birth mother, and our agencies as they work to bring us together for the sake of rescuing an orphan. THANK YOU again to those of you who continue to pray and who have offered and continue to offer financial support. We are so blessed that you have chosen to join with us in this journey!
We had our second home study visit on Wednesday, April 25th. Our social worker called that afternoon and asked if we could/wanted to meet at Panera instead of at our house since it was easier for her to get there. We agreed and met at 5:30pm. She shared some literature with us, some books for us to read about adoption, and some children's books about adoption. I loved them! One story by Jamie Lee Curtis was all about how the child came to be a part of their family, but instead of the typical story, funny pictures and words showed how the parents got a phone call one night that the child had been born! They called the grandparents, grabbed a baby bag, and hopped on a plane to go get their child. It was very sweet. She gave us one to keep called A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza. It's all about Choco, a little yellow bird, who is looking for his mother. He asks everyone if they are his mother (a giraffe, a penguin, a walrus, etc.) but they all say they couldn't be his mother because they aren't yellow or don't have striped legs or big cheeks like he does. Finally he runs into Mrs. Bear, who asks him what a mother would do. He says she'd hold him and cuddle him and sing and dance and play with him, so Mrs. Bear does all of these things. Then she asks, "What if I was your mother?" Choco is confused because he says she looks nothing like him. She assures him that looks mean nothing, and takes him home and introduces him to her other children, Ally, Hippy, and Piggy (an alligator, a hippo, and a pig). Choco joins the family and the last page shows Mrs. Bear in a rocking chair holding her 4 children, none of whom look like her. It is a beautiful picture of family and adoption.
Anyway, we talked for a couple of hours and our social worker showed us the print out of our home study that was already typed up. She needed to clarify a few things, and was just waiting for the FBI prints and background checks to come back before everything would be finished. She told us again this could take a few months. We didn't expect everything else to be ready so soon and knew we needed to work quicker on getting our family profiles ready!
The next day as I was leaving work about 5:30, I missed a call and listened to the message. It was from one of our adoption agencies who was calling to check on where we were in the process of our home study and profiles being completed, because they wanted to present us to a birth mother!!! We NEVER expected to be contacted so soon about a possible match for us! I told the agency our profiles weren't ready and we were still waiting on FBI prints. One one hand we were encouraged to hear that there are birth moms out there that might already be interested in us to be parents for their biological child, but at the same time I felt so sad that we couldn't be presented because we weren't ready. I was reminded that God knows who our child it. If it is that child, the birth mom won't find a suitable family and will pick us at a later time. If that child isn't ours, I know our child is still out there and we will know them in God's timing.
On Saturday, I checked the mail to find the final pieces we've been waiting for. One thing was Tyler's physical (which for some reason had taken a long time to get back!) and OUR FBI PRINTS!! Instead of taking 3 months, it was closer to 3 weeks! Praise the Lord!
So, tomorrow a check for our home study, Tyler's physical form, and our FBI background checks are in the mail to our social worker. As soon as she receives these, final information will be plugged into the home study report and will then be mailed off to our agencies! At that time we are ready to become active except for two things. We can not be active without portfolios to show to birth moms, and one of our agencies will not begin to present us until we show "proof of funds," which for them is about $17,000. We don't have that money yet.
So last week we still felt like we were in the middle of this part of the process, and 7 days later we feel more like we're at the end of this part and heading into the hard "waiting" stage. I am working hard on our portfolios and have been told they will typically take 3-4 weeks. However, the guy we are working with to complete them says if we stay on top of things he will do everything he can to expedite the process if at all possible, since this is the final thing we need to become active!
We take comfort in knowing that God is in control and is working everything out to bring our child home.
Today my friend teared up as she told me about an experience that really opened her eyes to domestic adoption. She picked up a very young woman who had voluntarily checked herself in to rehab just 3 days before and had walked out. My friend graciously gave her a ride as she told her about her 5 children, the oldest was 8 or 9 and she had never even seen the youngest, who is 4 months. She said all of the children had been born "dirty", some premature, and most had gone through withdraw upon being born due to her excessive drug use. She told my friend she knew her children were better off with their grandparents, but she desperately wanted to just be near her kids, to be able to see them. Her love for them was evident, but she in no way was taking care of herself and couldn't take care of them. Lately I have heard so many stories like this that breaks my heart. We are so excited about the opportunity to rescue a child who may be born into a family who although they may love them. can not give them the life they deserve. It's crazy how much we love our child already, even though we know NOTHING about them!
I'm amazed at how much has changed in just one week! This process hasn't been easy, but it has gone remarkably fast up to this point! Although we've been praying and researching about adoption for a while now, we didn't officially start this process until about 3 1/2 weeks ago, and we're almost "active!" Wow! Please pray that our portfolios are completed and printed as quickly as possible, and that God continues to provide the funds necessary to continue from this point! Also remember to pray for our child and his/her birth mother, and our agencies as they work to bring us together for the sake of rescuing an orphan. THANK YOU again to those of you who continue to pray and who have offered and continue to offer financial support. We are so blessed that you have chosen to join with us in this journey!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
147 Million Orphans, Minus 1
We have officially began our home study! Our first visit from the social worker was last Saturday. Tyler spent the morning mowing and I spent a good part of the day cleaning and organizing! Our social worker called and said she'd be about 30 minutes late, and she got there about 7pm and stayed for almost 2 1/2 hours! I got more and more nervous as we waited! She took a tour of our house, then sat with us at the kitchen table and talked for a while! She is extremely nice and easy to talk to. She explained some things to us, talked with us about the process a little more, and shared a little bit from her experience as an adoptive mother and from her experience working with other adoptive parents and birth parents. She didn't ask us any hard questions or critique our house like we expected...but maybe that will happen next time! When I asked her about the time it would take to complete the home study, she said she would be ready with all of the paperwork, but we would basically be waiting on the FBI background checks. She said this could take up to a few months! (When I sent the fingerprints and forms in, I put on the front "Please process by" with a date one week out as I was told to do. She said sometimes this works to speed up the process, sometimes it doesn't.) A few months seems like a long time! We are still working on gathering some other paperwork as well. We're hoping it goes quickly, but we know everything will happen in God's timing!
We have continued to get a few donations from amazing friends and family, and continue to be thankful for their gifts and love for our child already! (Check out the total on the right!) We also have began selling Livestrong-style bracelets that say "147 Million Orphans Minus 1." There are approximately 147 million orphans worldwide! We are working to rescue just one (for now)! With a number so overwhelmingly big, 1 can seem so insignificant. But when I think of the life that we will one day hold, love, feed, clothe, and teach, nothing could be more significant! We are excited for the day our baby is in our arms and we will know there will be one less orphan from that day on. My mother's husband, our sister-in-law and my sister have shared our story at their work places and are selling these bracelets for us and they have already asked for more! It is wonderful how people we don't even know are willing and happy to contribute to bringing this baby home! One woman cried, and bought 2 bracelets (and gave an extra donation!) because she wanted one for herself and one for her daughter! We are very thankful for our family who are willing to help us spread our story to others, and to those who have a heart for adoption and are able to help strangers! (We have black bracelets and Kentucky blue bracelets and are selling them for $5 donations! Let us know if you would like one!)
Our next home study visit is this Wednesday evening. We will miss our BFG (bible study) this week, but are excited to continue to make progress toward our goal. Please pray for fast processing for our FBI checks and other paperwork we're waiting on and continued support from those who are able. Also remember our child and his or her birth parents in your prayers. We take comfort in knowing that God already knows this baby and we are anxiously awaiting the day He brings him/her home to us!
We have continued to get a few donations from amazing friends and family, and continue to be thankful for their gifts and love for our child already! (Check out the total on the right!) We also have began selling Livestrong-style bracelets that say "147 Million Orphans Minus 1." There are approximately 147 million orphans worldwide! We are working to rescue just one (for now)! With a number so overwhelmingly big, 1 can seem so insignificant. But when I think of the life that we will one day hold, love, feed, clothe, and teach, nothing could be more significant! We are excited for the day our baby is in our arms and we will know there will be one less orphan from that day on. My mother's husband, our sister-in-law and my sister have shared our story at their work places and are selling these bracelets for us and they have already asked for more! It is wonderful how people we don't even know are willing and happy to contribute to bringing this baby home! One woman cried, and bought 2 bracelets (and gave an extra donation!) because she wanted one for herself and one for her daughter! We are very thankful for our family who are willing to help us spread our story to others, and to those who have a heart for adoption and are able to help strangers! (We have black bracelets and Kentucky blue bracelets and are selling them for $5 donations! Let us know if you would like one!)
Our next home study visit is this Wednesday evening. We will miss our BFG (bible study) this week, but are excited to continue to make progress toward our goal. Please pray for fast processing for our FBI checks and other paperwork we're waiting on and continued support from those who are able. Also remember our child and his or her birth parents in your prayers. We take comfort in knowing that God already knows this baby and we are anxiously awaiting the day He brings him/her home to us!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Progress and Encouragement!
Well, it's been about a week since we publicly announced we were in the adoption process!
This week has been a bit stressful because we almost thought we were going to have to re-do a lot of paperwork that was sent out! I was determined to get ALL of the paperwork that we had at the time in the mail by last Monday! It took about a week to track down necessary documents, get signatures, fingerprints, physicals, financial statements, and fill out all of the papers and send it off to 4 different places! I was finally ready for it to be on it's way! There was so much that we paid about $30 in postage! Some of that was extra because we wanted to be safe and send it using certified mail. On the following Tuesday, while emailing with our social worker who is doing our home study, she mentioned that if I wanted to I could get started on the paperwork she sent...WHAT? This package was just going to Lexington and she hadn't received it 8 days later? I was a little worried, but after tracking it online I found out that they attempted to deliver it once and couldn't, and that was all they were going to try until I requested it be redelivered. If I didn't, after 15 days they would send it back to me. Requesting a redelivery wasn't a big deal, it really wasn't hard, but I was sad that I didn't realize what had happened and that all of that determination to get the paperwork in early was in vain. We were thankful, thought, that package arrived the next day safe and sound as I had requested. Since there was trouble with that one, I decided to track the others as well. There was another package that had arrived in the city it was going to, and it said they would attempt to deliver on the day it arrived at the sorting place(6 days before I was reading it), but there was no confirmed delivery! We were worried about that one too, but the agency picked it up the next day! I am trying to be on top of things, but I'm finding out that I'm going to need to be patient with the process.
Beginning last weekend we began mailing and handing out letters to all of our family and friends. Our goal with these letters are to spread the word about what we're doing, and let others know about how they can support us through prayers and, if they choose, through donations. We've mailed and handed out a LOT of letters! We are excited to let everyone know about our adoption! I keep thinking that this is the equivalent of a couple announcing that they're pregnant! Although this time is MUCH different for us than if I was actually pregnant, we are still announcing that we are expecting a precious baby! What a blessing! While there have been some settings in which people are not supportive, or maybe just uninterested, for the most part people have loved hearing our news! People have shared stories about people they know who are adopted or have been adopted, how they've always thought about or wanted to adopt, and how they are so excited for what's to come! We have been blessed with some donations this week that have raised our total and have been such a huge encouragement! While we still have a lot more to go, we are so overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family so far! We are so thankful for each and every donation, small and big. We have been touched by each one. We even had a donation from a beautiful woman that we hadn't been in close contact with for years, who shared her story, her heart for God, and her call to be involved in missions and said she felt led to help us in any way she could during this time! It is such an encouragement to see people who are willing to sacrifice what they have to help. We know we couldn't complete this journey without the help of every one of you.
We will have our first home study visit by the social worker on Saturday and are anxious to see exactly what it will be like! We're excited with each thing that gets done that we are one step closer to holding our child in our arms! We will continue to raise funds. We've been told that we will need to provide "proof of funds" to one agency as soon as our home study is complete in order to continue on with the process. This means we need to show that we have about $17,000.00 in our bank account in a very short amount of time! Please be praying for these things.
Thank you, again, for all of your support! We will never be able to thank you enough for helping us to bring our child home!
This week has been a bit stressful because we almost thought we were going to have to re-do a lot of paperwork that was sent out! I was determined to get ALL of the paperwork that we had at the time in the mail by last Monday! It took about a week to track down necessary documents, get signatures, fingerprints, physicals, financial statements, and fill out all of the papers and send it off to 4 different places! I was finally ready for it to be on it's way! There was so much that we paid about $30 in postage! Some of that was extra because we wanted to be safe and send it using certified mail. On the following Tuesday, while emailing with our social worker who is doing our home study, she mentioned that if I wanted to I could get started on the paperwork she sent...WHAT? This package was just going to Lexington and she hadn't received it 8 days later? I was a little worried, but after tracking it online I found out that they attempted to deliver it once and couldn't, and that was all they were going to try until I requested it be redelivered. If I didn't, after 15 days they would send it back to me. Requesting a redelivery wasn't a big deal, it really wasn't hard, but I was sad that I didn't realize what had happened and that all of that determination to get the paperwork in early was in vain. We were thankful, thought, that package arrived the next day safe and sound as I had requested. Since there was trouble with that one, I decided to track the others as well. There was another package that had arrived in the city it was going to, and it said they would attempt to deliver on the day it arrived at the sorting place(6 days before I was reading it), but there was no confirmed delivery! We were worried about that one too, but the agency picked it up the next day! I am trying to be on top of things, but I'm finding out that I'm going to need to be patient with the process.
Beginning last weekend we began mailing and handing out letters to all of our family and friends. Our goal with these letters are to spread the word about what we're doing, and let others know about how they can support us through prayers and, if they choose, through donations. We've mailed and handed out a LOT of letters! We are excited to let everyone know about our adoption! I keep thinking that this is the equivalent of a couple announcing that they're pregnant! Although this time is MUCH different for us than if I was actually pregnant, we are still announcing that we are expecting a precious baby! What a blessing! While there have been some settings in which people are not supportive, or maybe just uninterested, for the most part people have loved hearing our news! People have shared stories about people they know who are adopted or have been adopted, how they've always thought about or wanted to adopt, and how they are so excited for what's to come! We have been blessed with some donations this week that have raised our total and have been such a huge encouragement! While we still have a lot more to go, we are so overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family so far! We are so thankful for each and every donation, small and big. We have been touched by each one. We even had a donation from a beautiful woman that we hadn't been in close contact with for years, who shared her story, her heart for God, and her call to be involved in missions and said she felt led to help us in any way she could during this time! It is such an encouragement to see people who are willing to sacrifice what they have to help. We know we couldn't complete this journey without the help of every one of you.
We will have our first home study visit by the social worker on Saturday and are anxious to see exactly what it will be like! We're excited with each thing that gets done that we are one step closer to holding our child in our arms! We will continue to raise funds. We've been told that we will need to provide "proof of funds" to one agency as soon as our home study is complete in order to continue on with the process. This means we need to show that we have about $17,000.00 in our bank account in a very short amount of time! Please be praying for these things.
Thank you, again, for all of your support! We will never be able to thank you enough for helping us to bring our child home!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Our Journey Begins!
Hi friends and family! We are so glad you've decided to visit our blog!
We are excited to announce that we're going to be parents! No, Marie is not pregnant, but we have started the process to adopt a baby from here in the United States!
Many of you may not know that we began trying to start a family a little while ago. We found out in early December that, aside from a miracle, we will likely never conceive a child naturally. This has been incredibly hard to accept and understand. We have always wanted to be parents. Marie has often said that being a mom is what she meant to do...it's why she's here! Upon hearing this news, we spent a lot of time in prayer. More than anything we desire to follow God's plan for our lives and to dedicate ourselves to His will and purposes. We know that this reality, as hard and painful as it is, is for a reason. We feel that God is making it clear that now is the time for us to pursue adoption!
It has always been a goal of ours to adopt. Since before we were married our hearts have been broken for orphans around the world. We always planned on adopting children into our families. Just months after we were married, we began sponsoring Marcos, a little boy from Brazil, with monthly donations. Something as simple as this, and being able to communicate through letters and pictures with him has only burdened our hearts more for little ones around the world who need love, money, and support. We thought we would have one or two biological children first, and then begin looking into adopting a child into our home. God, however, is showing us that He has a different plan. Even though we are heartbroken in a way, we know that God's plan and timing is better than ours could ever be! Adoption has always been a goal of ours. Adopting a child is NOT our plan B, it has always been part of our plan A. God is just making clear His timing for us!
We are truly excited about this journey, but we can not complete it alone. We need all the support we can get from our friends and family!
One significant way you can help is to pray! Please pray for us as we follow this process and wait. Pray that God will give us wisdom in our choices, patience, understanding, and faith along each step of the way. Pray for the employees of the agencies we are working with as they are working to find the perfect homes and families for children who have none. And please pray for the birth mother of our child, who will make a courageous and difficult decision to offer her child up to be adopted.
We are excited to announce that we're going to be parents! No, Marie is not pregnant, but we have started the process to adopt a baby from here in the United States!
Many of you may not know that we began trying to start a family a little while ago. We found out in early December that, aside from a miracle, we will likely never conceive a child naturally. This has been incredibly hard to accept and understand. We have always wanted to be parents. Marie has often said that being a mom is what she meant to do...it's why she's here! Upon hearing this news, we spent a lot of time in prayer. More than anything we desire to follow God's plan for our lives and to dedicate ourselves to His will and purposes. We know that this reality, as hard and painful as it is, is for a reason. We feel that God is making it clear that now is the time for us to pursue adoption!
It has always been a goal of ours to adopt. Since before we were married our hearts have been broken for orphans around the world. We always planned on adopting children into our families. Just months after we were married, we began sponsoring Marcos, a little boy from Brazil, with monthly donations. Something as simple as this, and being able to communicate through letters and pictures with him has only burdened our hearts more for little ones around the world who need love, money, and support. We thought we would have one or two biological children first, and then begin looking into adopting a child into our home. God, however, is showing us that He has a different plan. Even though we are heartbroken in a way, we know that God's plan and timing is better than ours could ever be! Adoption has always been a goal of ours. Adopting a child is NOT our plan B, it has always been part of our plan A. God is just making clear His timing for us!
We are truly excited about this journey, but we can not complete it alone. We need all the support we can get from our friends and family!
One significant way you can help is to pray! Please pray for us as we follow this process and wait. Pray that God will give us wisdom in our choices, patience, understanding, and faith along each step of the way. Pray for the employees of the agencies we are working with as they are working to find the perfect homes and families for children who have none. And please pray for the birth mother of our child, who will make a courageous and difficult decision to offer her child up to be adopted.
Our greatest need right now is financial support, as our adoption could cost in excess of $23,000.00. Our adoption expenses include home study costs, document preparation, background checks/ fingerprinting, agency fees, attorney fees, court fees, and much more. We ask that you consider supporting us in this important mission. It is the calling on us as Christians to care for widows and orphans. Not everyone is called to bring an orphan into their home, but it is our job to do what we can to care for them. There are many ways to do this, but we ask that you prayerfully consider donating to our family so that we may bring our child home.
You can do this in several easy ways. You can write a check to Tyler and/or Marie King and mail it to our home address (please email or facebook us if you need our address!) You can also click on the link on the right side of this blog to our secure PayPal account if you wish to donate that way. You could also head up a fundraiser for us!
When you donate any amount we will place your name on the back side of a puzzle piece and will frame the puzzle for our baby’s room. (See a picture of the puzzle on the right!) The puzzle will be a keepsake for us and our child and show them how our friends and family helped us to bring them home!
God already has a baby in mind for us. We don’t know if it is a boy or a girl or what it will look like, we just know that they belong in our family. They are our child. And we need help to bring them home.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
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