Well, we got the call that we've been waiting on now for....oh...I don't even know how long! Our adoption agency called and told us that a birthmom has chosen us and she is due IN THREE WEEKS!!! We are shocked, excited, nervous, shocked, thrilled, giddy, shocked.....you get the idea!
Please pray for this birthmom in her final weeks of pregnancy that God would prepare her heart for the very hard days....possibly the hardest days of her whole life...to come. We are hoping to meet her within the next couple of weeks so we are excited about that. Also, please pray for us as we continue to move forward with this adoption plan, knowing that there are no guarantees but that God knows what's best and gives what's best.
So in the meantime....we are doing what we've been doing for months and months now which is pray and hope and wait! Oh yeah, and heading to the beach for a week! YIKES! Which will then just give us two weeks until the due date!!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
15 years...
Hello friends...and family. Yes we are still here and yes....we are still waiting. No news yet. Although it is hard waiting on the Lord for anything in life, I know He has us exactly where we're supposed to be. I am studying the life of David at my women's Bible study at church and this week Beth Moore pointed out something that just blew me away. Fifteen years passed between God annointing David as King and when David actually was crowned King! Did you hear that? Let me repeat it....fifteen years! Talk about a journey of waiting that David endured and of course there were many twists and turns on David's journey. So, I began thinking to myself "Am I really okay to wait on the Lord for our baby no matter how long it takes?" And then the hard question of, "What if it takes 15 years? Can I wait that long?" Now, surely to goodness we aren't going to have to wait 15 years because that would be just plain crazy-I would be almost 50 by then! But, I still have to come to a place in my heart where it's okay no matter how many years God has us waiting.
And oh the good....I mean GREAT things that can come from waiting! If you read John Piper's blog then you probably saw a post a week or so ago about waiting and I wanted to share a few quotes from that post that I thought were truly insightful.
"Remember, waiting isn’t just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become as you wait."
"He is committed to using every tool at his disposal to rescue you from yourself and to shape you into the likeness of his Son. The fact is that waiting is one of his primary shaping tools."
Those quotes are from Paul Tripp. So since waiting Paul says is one of God's primary shaping tools then I feel as though I should be shaped right up! Ha! I feel as though sometimes waiting is the story of my life. But in all seriousness, I do not want these days of waiting to be wasted! I want to grow and learn and change. I want to keep hoping in the Lord rather then allowing satan to keep me discouraged. Thanks for your prayers and support...they mean more to us than I can say!
And oh the good....I mean GREAT things that can come from waiting! If you read John Piper's blog then you probably saw a post a week or so ago about waiting and I wanted to share a few quotes from that post that I thought were truly insightful.
"Remember, waiting isn’t just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become as you wait."
"He is committed to using every tool at his disposal to rescue you from yourself and to shape you into the likeness of his Son. The fact is that waiting is one of his primary shaping tools."
Those quotes are from Paul Tripp. So since waiting Paul says is one of God's primary shaping tools then I feel as though I should be shaped right up! Ha! I feel as though sometimes waiting is the story of my life. But in all seriousness, I do not want these days of waiting to be wasted! I want to grow and learn and change. I want to keep hoping in the Lord rather then allowing satan to keep me discouraged. Thanks for your prayers and support...they mean more to us than I can say!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Making It Much
God has taught us so much throughout our adoption journey(s) about His great love for us and our faith and trust in Him has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. This morning our teaching pastor Andy Savage taught on the familiar story we all know about Jesus feeding the 5,000. I encourage all of you to go listen to it at http://imperfect.tv/ if you weren't there to hear it. I felt like it so mirrored our life and what we are going through. The disciples said, "Do we have to spend all of our money...8 months worth of wages....to feed all of these people?" So many times, like the disciples, we have questioned the Lord's wisdom saying, "we don't have enough money to adopt!"
We are limited in our resources. The disciples were limited in their resources. As Andy said though, "part of growing spiritually is accepting that we are limited! We don't have what it takes." But here is where it gets good.....
The little is MUCH in the hands of JESUS! None of us has much to offer, but God can use it. God says to us, "You just bring me the little you have and I'll bless it!" That's exactly what God has done in our lives. He's been SO faithful in His provision to us for all that we have needed throughout this entire journey! What is He calling you to? What is He asking you....to give your little so He can make it much? For us right now, it's bringing home another precious adopted child. We don't know what it will be in the future but we do know that whatever it is....we'll do it!
We are limited in our resources. The disciples were limited in their resources. As Andy said though, "part of growing spiritually is accepting that we are limited! We don't have what it takes." But here is where it gets good.....
The little is MUCH in the hands of JESUS! None of us has much to offer, but God can use it. God says to us, "You just bring me the little you have and I'll bless it!" That's exactly what God has done in our lives. He's been SO faithful in His provision to us for all that we have needed throughout this entire journey! What is He calling you to? What is He asking you....to give your little so He can make it much? For us right now, it's bringing home another precious adopted child. We don't know what it will be in the future but we do know that whatever it is....we'll do it!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
...waiting....waiting....
There's really no major update at this point. We are just waiting. Waiting on God's perfect timing for anything in life is really never easy but it's what changes you...shapes you. We appreciate your prayers for us and all the support you've given us while on this journey! Here's a little blurb/story I thought I would share with you that was given to us before we adopted Caroline. I just love it...
Different Trips To The Same Place
Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place; you've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.
So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait, and wait, and wait.
Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"
After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry; we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."
"By BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.
It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.
Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. Is is more exquisite that you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnigfied by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.
People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy."
You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.
So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait, and wait, and wait.
Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"
After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry; we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."
"By BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.
It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.
Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. Is is more exquisite that you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnigfied by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.
People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy."
You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
There are so many things I could say about our yard sale today. It was nothing short of amazing. We started taking donations a few weeks ago and as my house and garage starting filling up with items I knew that it was going to be big. I just didn't know it was going to be this big. At 5am this morning Stephen and I along with a few dear friends(and I do mean DEAR) began setting up shop and shortly after the people came. And came. And came.
My prayer for this sale was that we would raise $1,000. When we totaled it all up we made......$1,219. WOW!!
We cannot say thank you enough to our sweet friends and family. We had a truck and trailer loaned to us, we had help loading and unloading furniture, we had help pricing and organizing, we had help with food provided while we were working, we had help with tables to display stuff....okay I'll stop but I think you get the picture.
My prayer for this sale was that we would raise $1,000. When we totaled it all up we made......$1,219. WOW!!
We cannot say thank you enough to our sweet friends and family. We had a truck and trailer loaned to us, we had help loading and unloading furniture, we had help pricing and organizing, we had help with food provided while we were working, we had help with tables to display stuff....okay I'll stop but I think you get the picture.
God is so awesome! It makes me think of the song I learned as a little girl in children's church...
"My God is so BIG. So strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do!!!"
Saturday, August 14, 2010
YARD SALE!!
So we've turned everything into the agency and now all we have to do is wait....so seeing as how that is so boring and all let's do something CRAZY like have a yard sale! No, seriously we are still not quite to our goal with our fund-raising so we thought we'd have a yard sale. It will be on Saturday September 4th(which is Labor Day weekend) at our house. Here's how you can help......
*Bring over any unwanted junk(we all have some) anytime starting now until the Friday night before the sale.
*If you don't have anything to donate then you could come the week of the sale to help price
*Help the day of the yard sale-set up/tear down
*If you have a truck and can haul off the stuff we don't sale to take to Goodwill-there is one close to our house.
*Spread the word of sale to friends and family!! The more stuff we have to sell, the more money we raise for our adoption!!
Oh, and we are accepting basically everything for the sale except for clothes. So we will take household items, furniture, decor items, electronics, books, baby items/equipment, kids toys, movies, and anything else that I have left off this list!
*Bring over any unwanted junk(we all have some) anytime starting now until the Friday night before the sale.
*If you don't have anything to donate then you could come the week of the sale to help price
*Help the day of the yard sale-set up/tear down
*If you have a truck and can haul off the stuff we don't sale to take to Goodwill-there is one close to our house.
*Spread the word of sale to friends and family!! The more stuff we have to sell, the more money we raise for our adoption!!
Oh, and we are accepting basically everything for the sale except for clothes. So we will take household items, furniture, decor items, electronics, books, baby items/equipment, kids toys, movies, and anything else that I have left off this list!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Almost There...
The end is in sight! Our social worker came out on Tuesday and we had our last interview with her. Caroline gave her the tour of the house and showed her where the baby's room will be. It was so cute to hear Caroline telling her all about how she used to sleep in that crib and now the baby will sleep there. The social worker will write up a report and approve us(we hope) and then we'll be done with our case study. We have another set of questions to answer but we are nearing the end of those too. And the AMAZING Kim McMillen came over this past week to get our scrapbook started. Only she did a lot more than that...she almost knocked out the whole book in one night! So, I just have to add a few things to it over the weekend and it will be ready to turn in. It still amazes me how so many friends and family have rallied around us to help in all kinds of ways! We are so thankful to all you!! So, hopefully we will have everything turned in by late next week and be just about ready to be on the waiting list!! So exciting!! It's hard to believe that all of the work is almost behind us and now we just wait. That's all for now. I'll keep you posted once everything is turned in and we are "officially" on the list. Thanks for the prayers...keep them coming!
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