Hi all!! I hope this note finds you well. If any of this doesn't make sense its because my mind is a big mush pot right now. Jake and I have been on quite the rollercoaster for the last few days and I thought it was time to share with all of our dear family and friends.
After having our profile in the books for just ten days...we got "The Call"!! We had just gotten into San Francisco to spend the day hanging out and taking pictures when Jake got a very cool phone call. I could NOT believe it whe he told me it was Bethany (our agency) and that they possibly had a baby for us. Of course I immediately burst into tears, we hugged and walked to the middle of Union Square holding onto one another as we listened to what our social worker had to say over speaker phone. It was a beautiful, sweet moment that neither one of us will ever forget. She told us that there is a women who has chosen us, gave us some information and asked us to pray about it and let her know the following afternoon. She also told us that time is of the essence because the baby boy is due Feb 24th!! We hung up, screamed with excitement, jumped up and down (really...what better place to act like a crazy person than SF?!) calmed ourselves and went to the Lord. Our amazing God instantly gave both Jake and I a peace that passes understanding. It was a peace that we have longed for and that we have not felt in a long time. Even though we know that this is not over until its over God is still giving us calm hearts as we continue to move forward.
Ok, so that was Saturday afternoon. We prayed and prayed and called our family and a few friends to have them pray and God made it clear that we should move forward and meet the birthmom. We called our social worker Sunday and said, "YES!!" We wanted to set up a meeting and the meeting was to take place Monday in the birthmom's hometown up north.
So, we traveled yesterday about 5 hours north and met our birthmom. There are details about this whole process that Jake and I are committed to keeping to ourselves and our kids but what I will tell you is that the birthmom is beautiful. And by beautiful, I mean gorgeous! She is kind, smart, healthy and has a big, loving, supportive family! We were blessed to meet her mom, sister, two brothers and best friend. The whole meeting was so comfortable and fun. We laughed and cried and hugged and took pictures...it was just a really lovely day!
Again, I want to remind you that nothing is final and she can still choose to parent. So, Jake and I are beyond excited but still guarding our hearts as much as we can. Although, we already feel a deep love for this precious little boy even though we don't know him yet.
Thank you for praying with us and praising God with us! Please continue to pray for the health and well being of our birthmom and her baby. Please pray that Jake and I would continue to be open to what God has in store for us and that we would allow Him to continue to guide us through this unknown territory. He is good and we trust Him and we know that He has something amazing planned for us. If it is this baby boy, then praise God and if its not, praise God because we know He is perfect, His plans are perfect and His timing is perfect.
Thank you for continuing to walk this road with us and allowing us to share our hearts with you.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
And now we wait...
Well, we did it! We turned in our profile about an hour ago and are now officially waiting parents!! We feel relieved, scared, excited and exhausted. Mostly excited though. This profile was much more work than we originally thought. Thanks to many wonderful friends and family we got it done in just a few days. The letter to the birthparents was emotionally hard to write, it was difficult to know what pictures to put in and what colors and what words, etc. We had to continue to stop, be still and be reminded that our amazing God is in control. I know I keep saying this but my little human mind and heart needs to be constantly reminded of this truth. Our God knows this birthmom, He knows this baby, He knows our hearts and our desires and He knows what is best for us. Jake and I spent a few sweet moments this morning laying hands on our profile and giving it all to the Lord and both felt such peace and joy in that moment!
Now we just ask that you would pray for us as we wait. We could wait a week or we could wait a year. Only God knows at this point. From all the people that we have talked to (our social worker, adoptive parents, etc) this is the hardest part. The waiting. Pray that God would give us peace and strength each day. Pray that as we look in our baby's room we would be filled with hope and joy. We want to enjoy this time together, enjoy falling more in love with each other and more in love with Jesus.
Thank you again for your prayers. We feel them in each moment, unlike anything else we've ever experienced. We look forward to posting again to tell you we've been matched! We love you...thank you.
Now we just ask that you would pray for us as we wait. We could wait a week or we could wait a year. Only God knows at this point. From all the people that we have talked to (our social worker, adoptive parents, etc) this is the hardest part. The waiting. Pray that God would give us peace and strength each day. Pray that as we look in our baby's room we would be filled with hope and joy. We want to enjoy this time together, enjoy falling more in love with each other and more in love with Jesus.
Thank you again for your prayers. We feel them in each moment, unlike anything else we've ever experienced. We look forward to posting again to tell you we've been matched! We love you...thank you.
Monday, December 17, 2007
On to the next step!
Thank you so much for praying for Jake and I during our home visit Friday night. It went really well. It was supposed to begin at 4 but our social worker didn't get there until 6:30. She did a placement that day and was trying to get all the paper work in by 6 so the family (from out of state) could make it home with their new baby by Christmas. So, Jake and I didn't mind waiting at all.
She loved our home, saying several times how beautiful it was (thank you to all my sweet friends and family who made it that way). It helped that she came in the evening when our house was lit by a few lights and lots of candles. Everything looks better against candle light, right? We had all our medications, cleaning supplies and other potentionally harmful items in a safe,locked place. We have the beginnings of a baby's room set up with a crib, changing table and rocker. All these and many more were requirements. We basically have the safest house around right now! She also loved our dog, Gomer. That was answer to prayer...not because he is a bad dog by any means, he just gets very excited and clingy with new people.
So, all in all, we passed with flying colors and can move to the next phase. She gave us some paper work (nothing to fill out, though!!) to look at. Papers we will sign at the hospital, papers explaining what to do when we get "The Call" and other info sheets as we prepare to bring our baby home. She told us that we can start to get a little excited and prepare a little more because this is like my pregnancy! Yay, for not having any baby weight to lose! There is an upside to every situation.
Now we are starting to work on our profile. This profile is filled with our "stats" like who we are, our ages, occupations, religion, race, education, etc. Also, a letter to the birthparents and lots of pictures of us, our home, our dog, our family and friends and trips we've taken. This profile will be shown to birthmoms/parents and that is how we will be chosen. There are meny steps after that before we actually have a baby but we can talk about that as it gets closer.
If you could be praying for us as we prepare this profile we would appreciate it so much! Especially as we write the letter to the birthmom/parents. I have already written her several letters in my mind as think of her unbelievable sacrifice and gift to us. Pray that God would be close to her and she would know His presence even if she doesn't have a relationship with Him right now. And please pray that God would give us wisdom and grace and love as we write her this letter. We are praying that she would hear our hearts and know our desires for her and this baby. Jake and I could also use your continued prayers for us as we walk this road. To be honest, some days are so good but most days are just really tough. But because we know and love the Lord, there is beauty in this pain and that beauty is all of you who lift us up in prayer, who come and clean our house, who already love this baby and birthmom, who stand for us when we are to weak to stand alone and who show us daily what it means to be unconditionally loved by the Father. We love you all so much.
We hope that you have a fun, relaxing and meaningful Christmas!!
She loved our home, saying several times how beautiful it was (thank you to all my sweet friends and family who made it that way). It helped that she came in the evening when our house was lit by a few lights and lots of candles. Everything looks better against candle light, right? We had all our medications, cleaning supplies and other potentionally harmful items in a safe,locked place. We have the beginnings of a baby's room set up with a crib, changing table and rocker. All these and many more were requirements. We basically have the safest house around right now! She also loved our dog, Gomer. That was answer to prayer...not because he is a bad dog by any means, he just gets very excited and clingy with new people.
So, all in all, we passed with flying colors and can move to the next phase. She gave us some paper work (nothing to fill out, though!!) to look at. Papers we will sign at the hospital, papers explaining what to do when we get "The Call" and other info sheets as we prepare to bring our baby home. She told us that we can start to get a little excited and prepare a little more because this is like my pregnancy! Yay, for not having any baby weight to lose! There is an upside to every situation.
Now we are starting to work on our profile. This profile is filled with our "stats" like who we are, our ages, occupations, religion, race, education, etc. Also, a letter to the birthparents and lots of pictures of us, our home, our dog, our family and friends and trips we've taken. This profile will be shown to birthmoms/parents and that is how we will be chosen. There are meny steps after that before we actually have a baby but we can talk about that as it gets closer.
If you could be praying for us as we prepare this profile we would appreciate it so much! Especially as we write the letter to the birthmom/parents. I have already written her several letters in my mind as think of her unbelievable sacrifice and gift to us. Pray that God would be close to her and she would know His presence even if she doesn't have a relationship with Him right now. And please pray that God would give us wisdom and grace and love as we write her this letter. We are praying that she would hear our hearts and know our desires for her and this baby. Jake and I could also use your continued prayers for us as we walk this road. To be honest, some days are so good but most days are just really tough. But because we know and love the Lord, there is beauty in this pain and that beauty is all of you who lift us up in prayer, who come and clean our house, who already love this baby and birthmom, who stand for us when we are to weak to stand alone and who show us daily what it means to be unconditionally loved by the Father. We love you all so much.
We hope that you have a fun, relaxing and meaningful Christmas!!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Home Visit
Hi Everyone! I'm sorry its been so long since I posted anything. It kind of takes alot out of me when I write and I just haven't had the energy lately. This is going to be really short, I just wanted to ask for prayer. We have our home visit tomorrow from 4pm-6pm. We're feeling really good about it thanks to some wonderful and amazing family and friends who have cleaned and organized our home (cleaning and organizing...not my thing!). However, it is still a bit scary to think of a goverment social worker coming to examine your home and observe the way you live to see if you're fit to be parents. So, we're asking the Lord to keep us calm and relaxed and to remember that Jake and I and our home don't have to be perfect and that God knows what He is doing even when we don't have a single clue. And could you please pray for strength and rest and health for Jake and I. We are overwhelmed and exhausted with waiting, paper work, decisions and home repairs.
We cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support. I'm overwhelmed by God's love and care for us even as I write this and know how many people are loving us through this. I will write more after the home visit and let you all know how it went. Thank you again so much.
We cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support. I'm overwhelmed by God's love and care for us even as I write this and know how many people are loving us through this. I will write more after the home visit and let you all know how it went. Thank you again so much.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Thank you for praying!!
We had our intake interview with Bethany last Wednesday and it went so well. I wanted to write sooner and let you all know how it went but my brain was a little melty after 2 hours of interviewing! So now I'm sitting here writing with a crazy stiff neck (because that's what happens when Joy gets stressed) to tell you how amazing our God is.
Leading up to the interview we were a little nervous..."Will they like us?" "Are we too young?" "Is there anything that would keep us from getting a baby?". And going through many emotions like frustration because people that just get pregnant don't have to get the third degree for wanting to be parents. But God is so faithful and confronted every one of our fears and got us thinking rationally. YAY...for rational thinking!!
So we met with our social worker Rhonda, who is an adopted person and an adoptive parent. Needless to say she is intimately acquainted with this whole process inside and out. She asked us everything under the sun from how did we meet to our testimonies to how do we plan to discipline our kids and so much more. We're pretty sure that Rhonda now knows more about us than anybody! We prayed that we would be honest and transparent because God is going before us and already has a sweet baby picked out, we don't need to worry. At the end Rhonda went over the interview with us to talk about our "chooseability". Is that a word? Anyway, she said she didn't see any reason not to move forward. She said we're young, married long enough, stable and good looking (I'm serious...she said that!). So, she doesn't think we'll have long to wait. But we're trying not to get our hopes us about that. We just keeping trying to remember that God knows when our baby will be conceived, when they will be born, when the mother will seek Bethany out and when we will get that call. We are not doing this alone, thanks to all of you who carry us through your prayers and Praise to God for holding our hands and holding us up when we're too weak to stand. My favorite passage from the Bible has been fresh on my mind lately and that is Psalm 139. I have longed to place my hand on my growing belly and pray that passage for our baby but now I pray that God's hand would rest on the womb where our baby grows as I pray,"You knit me together in my mother's womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made". How cool to picture God's hands holding our baby already.
So, now we continue to move forward with...you guessed it: more paper work!! We each have a little 8 page packet of essay questions to fill out and finger printing and some other legal stuff. Then Rhonda will schedule our individual interviews, our home study and then we can turn in our profile and start waiting!
Thank you so much for your prayers and comments and emails and encouragements. Our praises are that we are using an amazing christian adoption agency with an outstanding reputation and that our social worker loves Jesus and loves adoption and already loves us! Our prayer requests would be that we wouldn't stress about finances and for the health and well-being of our birth mom and baby and for the strength to make it through the tough days. Thank you again for taking the time to read this and pray for us. We are truly blessed.
Leading up to the interview we were a little nervous..."Will they like us?" "Are we too young?" "Is there anything that would keep us from getting a baby?". And going through many emotions like frustration because people that just get pregnant don't have to get the third degree for wanting to be parents. But God is so faithful and confronted every one of our fears and got us thinking rationally. YAY...for rational thinking!!
So we met with our social worker Rhonda, who is an adopted person and an adoptive parent. Needless to say she is intimately acquainted with this whole process inside and out. She asked us everything under the sun from how did we meet to our testimonies to how do we plan to discipline our kids and so much more. We're pretty sure that Rhonda now knows more about us than anybody! We prayed that we would be honest and transparent because God is going before us and already has a sweet baby picked out, we don't need to worry. At the end Rhonda went over the interview with us to talk about our "chooseability". Is that a word? Anyway, she said she didn't see any reason not to move forward. She said we're young, married long enough, stable and good looking (I'm serious...she said that!). So, she doesn't think we'll have long to wait. But we're trying not to get our hopes us about that. We just keeping trying to remember that God knows when our baby will be conceived, when they will be born, when the mother will seek Bethany out and when we will get that call. We are not doing this alone, thanks to all of you who carry us through your prayers and Praise to God for holding our hands and holding us up when we're too weak to stand. My favorite passage from the Bible has been fresh on my mind lately and that is Psalm 139. I have longed to place my hand on my growing belly and pray that passage for our baby but now I pray that God's hand would rest on the womb where our baby grows as I pray,"You knit me together in my mother's womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made". How cool to picture God's hands holding our baby already.
So, now we continue to move forward with...you guessed it: more paper work!! We each have a little 8 page packet of essay questions to fill out and finger printing and some other legal stuff. Then Rhonda will schedule our individual interviews, our home study and then we can turn in our profile and start waiting!
Thank you so much for your prayers and comments and emails and encouragements. Our praises are that we are using an amazing christian adoption agency with an outstanding reputation and that our social worker loves Jesus and loves adoption and already loves us! Our prayer requests would be that we wouldn't stress about finances and for the health and well-being of our birth mom and baby and for the strength to make it through the tough days. Thank you again for taking the time to read this and pray for us. We are truly blessed.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
It was a miracle
Our garage sale was amazing this weekend. Our goal for the enitre weekend was $500 and we were going to be super excited and feel incredibly blessed to have reached that goal. Well, God had something else in mind for us. Our total for both days was $2,933.03!!! How amazing is that?! The most we have ever made at a garage sale was $80. So, needless to say we were left speechless and in awe of this God who knows what we need, when we need it.
Thank you so much to all our friends and family who were praying for us this weekend and to all those who donated items, stopped by, helped us both days. This would have been a much more difficult task without all of you by our side.
Well, I hope to have pictures posted soon but our computer is just not cooperating. So, check back...they should be up this week.
We also have our intake interview with Bethany this Wednesday at 9:30-11:30. We are very excited but also a bit nervous because we don't really know what an intake interview is so we don't know what to expect. We would really appreciate your prayers!!
Thank you again for loving us and praying for us....we can't wait to tell our son or daughter someday how much God loves them and how much all of you have loved them before ever meeting them.
Thank you so much to all our friends and family who were praying for us this weekend and to all those who donated items, stopped by, helped us both days. This would have been a much more difficult task without all of you by our side.
Well, I hope to have pictures posted soon but our computer is just not cooperating. So, check back...they should be up this week.
We also have our intake interview with Bethany this Wednesday at 9:30-11:30. We are very excited but also a bit nervous because we don't really know what an intake interview is so we don't know what to expect. We would really appreciate your prayers!!
Thank you again for loving us and praying for us....we can't wait to tell our son or daughter someday how much God loves them and how much all of you have loved them before ever meeting them.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Well, I'm very new to this world of blogging. Its kind of scary...so we'll see how it goes. We wanted to create this blog so we could share this journey with our family and friends. We are so excited as we anticipate the long awaited homecoming of our first child and scared out of our minds as we look at all the paperwork and waiting and all the unknowns. So, thank you so much for walking this road with us. Through all your love and support we are reminded of God's intimate love and care for us.
We have 2 fundraisers we are going to be doing so far. The first is a garage sale Sept 28 and 29. If anybody wants to get rid of any junk and donate it to us we would love it! Jake or I can come pick it up anytime, just give us a call. The second is TBA because we don't really know the details yet, so stay tuned!
Thank you for all your encouraging emails and notes. We are so blessed and so humbled. We have 28 steps total in this process and we have already completed 1-5. YAY!!! We have to focus on the small victories! Thanks again for all your support! I'll try to be diligent in my posting so come back and visit!
We have 2 fundraisers we are going to be doing so far. The first is a garage sale Sept 28 and 29. If anybody wants to get rid of any junk and donate it to us we would love it! Jake or I can come pick it up anytime, just give us a call. The second is TBA because we don't really know the details yet, so stay tuned!
Thank you for all your encouraging emails and notes. We are so blessed and so humbled. We have 28 steps total in this process and we have already completed 1-5. YAY!!! We have to focus on the small victories! Thanks again for all your support! I'll try to be diligent in my posting so come back and visit!
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