Here are "Miracle's" gifts from the families this year.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
One Year
Today is the anniversary of us starting our adoption paperwork!! It was on this day last year that we mailed off our preliminary packet to be initially approved for adoption through Bethany. What a year we have been through. So much has happened, both good and bad. If I had to pick a top in both category it would be: 1-GOOD. We are so much stronger and we both feel that we are being prepared for things to come. God has stretched, molded, flattened, filled up our hearts this past year and we are headed to the mountaintop! 1-BAD. We haven't been selected by a birth parent yet.
As the new Third Day song says: "I need a miracle"
As the new Third Day song says: "I need a miracle"
Thursday, November 29, 2012
3/5 of FAITH is WAIT
Another part of our story, who knows what chapter we are on:
Back on the 13th, we got a message on our web portal about a potential birthparent placement that they were asking waiting families to pray about and consider if we wanted to be shown to this couple. It caught my eye because they don't let us know about being shown to a couple. As I read the case, I was taken back as I noted each sentence and planted it into my heart. Out of respect, I won't go into a lot of details, but basically the first paragraph was the "ideal" baby. Two parents who were supportive of adoption, healthy, under prenatal care, no drug/alcohol/tobacco use, a girl :), Caucasian....I could go on. Oh, and she is due at the end of January! When I read the second paragraph, that is where the case got interesting. Apparently their was going to be a big sum of birthparent pass through expenses...about $20,000. WOW~and this would be in addition to the amount already due at placement. Cha-Ching. I mean, CHA-CHING! Such a blow. They were asking us (waiting faimilies) to prayerfully consider if we want to be shown to this couple and to let our case worker know by 11/26. Ty and I discussed it and we were so torn because we wanted to go for it, but the dollar signs are soemthing that we don't have. I don't even know who has that kind of cash. (If you do, please consider helping me out!)
After much prayer and even getting some prayer warriors involved, we wanted to go for it, and I really bad. I understood Ty's point because he said that he didn't want to go in debt, but I just couldn't think about passing up this "free" to at least go for it mind set. If we weren't selected, then that would be a closed door for sure. You see, we are children of God and serve a mighty, powerful Father who can move mountains and make miracles happen. Over the weekend we had prayerfully decided to go for this couple and have our profile book shown.
I didn't get a chance to call my Social Worker until the 21st. I emailed and sent a message to her on our portal and it kicked a message to me saying that she was out of town for Thanksgiving. Strike One. Then I called the Charlotte office and nobody answered so I left a message. Strike Two. A little while later, the precious adoption counselor called me and I loved our conversation. She said that this is part of the journey and H-U-G-E leaps of faith. Sometimes she said that you just have to jump. We were told that we couldn't ask any questions...but we did talk further about the case and she said that the BM was out of a different branch and that they didn't have a lot of profiles to show because of the extra money involved. That gave us a great hope. The counselor also said that it is possible that the cost wouldn't be that high if she was able to get things worked out. Was that a sign that God had already provided for us? She said that she would call the branch right now, done.
Over the remainder of the week, we were hopeful, scared, excited, and nervous. I would be lying if I said that I didn't look up how many weeks the BM was, thinking about "pink" things, and finally getting to say that we were placed. Also, she would get to wear my cousin Alli's hand-me-downs, and mom is set on the fact that she is going to have one of each grandchild. (Remember that my brother and his wife are due in May~and we all think that it is a boy.) It is a really freaky feeling to know that someone was going to be digging into our lives and deciding if we were "perfect" to them to raise their child. On Monday, I got some text messages curious to know if we had heard anything. I love my prayer warriors/family/friends.
I always keep my cell phone on my desk this year, you know, just in case. I checked my phone after lunch today and I saw that I had a message on my portal. I read that the BM looked at profiles yesterday and selected an adoptive couple, and they had already been notified. Reject, defeat, disappointment, sad. However, I had 22 first graders who need me to be on my toes and teach them to the best of my ability. One sweetheart waved her hand in front of me shortly after I read the message, because I was staring into space. Focus, Molli. I made it to the end of the day, and I was so proud because I haven't shed ONE tear! Yay, me. I called Ty and messaged a few family/friends. I love their kind words of encouragement. I stayed at school tonight until 6:10 and that helped too, I think. Ty and I went out to dinner and we talked about how we were sad, but yet glad to not have to get a loan for the pass through expenses.
As I have been taught: "God is either protecting you, or saving you for something better." I love my mom.
Maybe this chapter is turning into its own novel, sorry.
Mom called and said "we didn't nickname this baby Miracle for nothing" and I totally agree. That made me totally smile from ear to ear. We have to keep waiting on our Miracle to come from above. We have already waited eight years, officially in adoption world for almost a year, and we will continually wait and be so forever grateful for His blessing to our family.
Back on the 13th, we got a message on our web portal about a potential birthparent placement that they were asking waiting families to pray about and consider if we wanted to be shown to this couple. It caught my eye because they don't let us know about being shown to a couple. As I read the case, I was taken back as I noted each sentence and planted it into my heart. Out of respect, I won't go into a lot of details, but basically the first paragraph was the "ideal" baby. Two parents who were supportive of adoption, healthy, under prenatal care, no drug/alcohol/tobacco use, a girl :), Caucasian....I could go on. Oh, and she is due at the end of January! When I read the second paragraph, that is where the case got interesting. Apparently their was going to be a big sum of birthparent pass through expenses...about $20,000. WOW~and this would be in addition to the amount already due at placement. Cha-Ching. I mean, CHA-CHING! Such a blow. They were asking us (waiting faimilies) to prayerfully consider if we want to be shown to this couple and to let our case worker know by 11/26. Ty and I discussed it and we were so torn because we wanted to go for it, but the dollar signs are soemthing that we don't have. I don't even know who has that kind of cash. (If you do, please consider helping me out!)
After much prayer and even getting some prayer warriors involved, we wanted to go for it, and I really bad. I understood Ty's point because he said that he didn't want to go in debt, but I just couldn't think about passing up this "free" to at least go for it mind set. If we weren't selected, then that would be a closed door for sure. You see, we are children of God and serve a mighty, powerful Father who can move mountains and make miracles happen. Over the weekend we had prayerfully decided to go for this couple and have our profile book shown.
I didn't get a chance to call my Social Worker until the 21st. I emailed and sent a message to her on our portal and it kicked a message to me saying that she was out of town for Thanksgiving. Strike One. Then I called the Charlotte office and nobody answered so I left a message. Strike Two. A little while later, the precious adoption counselor called me and I loved our conversation. She said that this is part of the journey and H-U-G-E leaps of faith. Sometimes she said that you just have to jump. We were told that we couldn't ask any questions...but we did talk further about the case and she said that the BM was out of a different branch and that they didn't have a lot of profiles to show because of the extra money involved. That gave us a great hope. The counselor also said that it is possible that the cost wouldn't be that high if she was able to get things worked out. Was that a sign that God had already provided for us? She said that she would call the branch right now, done.
Over the remainder of the week, we were hopeful, scared, excited, and nervous. I would be lying if I said that I didn't look up how many weeks the BM was, thinking about "pink" things, and finally getting to say that we were placed. Also, she would get to wear my cousin Alli's hand-me-downs, and mom is set on the fact that she is going to have one of each grandchild. (Remember that my brother and his wife are due in May~and we all think that it is a boy.) It is a really freaky feeling to know that someone was going to be digging into our lives and deciding if we were "perfect" to them to raise their child. On Monday, I got some text messages curious to know if we had heard anything. I love my prayer warriors/family/friends.
I always keep my cell phone on my desk this year, you know, just in case. I checked my phone after lunch today and I saw that I had a message on my portal. I read that the BM looked at profiles yesterday and selected an adoptive couple, and they had already been notified. Reject, defeat, disappointment, sad. However, I had 22 first graders who need me to be on my toes and teach them to the best of my ability. One sweetheart waved her hand in front of me shortly after I read the message, because I was staring into space. Focus, Molli. I made it to the end of the day, and I was so proud because I haven't shed ONE tear! Yay, me. I called Ty and messaged a few family/friends. I love their kind words of encouragement. I stayed at school tonight until 6:10 and that helped too, I think. Ty and I went out to dinner and we talked about how we were sad, but yet glad to not have to get a loan for the pass through expenses.
As I have been taught: "God is either protecting you, or saving you for something better." I love my mom.
Maybe this chapter is turning into its own novel, sorry.
Mom called and said "we didn't nickname this baby Miracle for nothing" and I totally agree. That made me totally smile from ear to ear. We have to keep waiting on our Miracle to come from above. We have already waited eight years, officially in adoption world for almost a year, and we will continually wait and be so forever grateful for His blessing to our family.
Monday, November 12, 2012
God's little whispers of HOPE~
I wanted to let everyone know that you should clean your ears as often as you can. God will whisper things in your ear and tug at your heartstrings, which is what has happened lately.
We are just praying and waiting for birthparent selection.
A few weeks ago, we went to Louisville, KY for our nephew's wedding that was absolutely remarkable. It was by far the most spiritual wedding that I have ever been apart of. During their slide show one of the verses was whispered as a reminder of hope, because it is our adoption verse. Ephesians 3:20~it's on the cover of our profile book! Just a little touch of how our journey although on hold is still in the works.
Last weekend I had a girls day at the Holiday Market and one of the booths we passed was for Caroline's Promise. They were selling earrings and bags and I wanted to stop and talk with them, but they were busy. That was my first little whisper to remind me that they have grants out there for adoptive couples, once their home study is complete. Caroline's Promise is a Christian organization in Kernersville actually that gives $3,000 grants to Christian couples adopting domestically in NC/SC. So here we go with more paperwork, but hopefully it will be worth it.
The third whisper came last night at a concert at my church. The second band was called "The Sounds of Daniel Bashta" and his first song was good. I got up to go to the bathroom before the second song started. Bad mistake, or Satan one. We were sitting in the balcony and when I was getting ready to open the door, I heard the lead singer talking. I didn't want to disrupt by opening the door so I just stood in the doorway and listened as best as I could. What I missed was his testimony about their adoption journey which led to the song "Like a Lion." I only heard bits and pieces and when I sat back down, my friend was saying how cool that was, but that was all she said. After the amazing City Harmonic concert I came home and began investigating about writing the lyrics of a song. I found out they did a domestic adoption and now they are partnering with Bethany Christian Services (our agency). Then after further research, I found his wife's blog post and it totally moved me! I also found Project Gift through Christian Post Article. To me, this is a call and a cry out to promote the adoption plan for children in the US. Please download their song and think about making a donation. As I was home today from work, I decided to send the lead singer a private message on Facebook about last night and how it touched me. I hope that he will write me back!
My sister-in-law also messaged me today and said that she dreamed that "I was holding a baby ya'll just adopted and we were standing next to you congratulating us." She said that she couldn't tell when it was...but it was a sign from above. YAY!
Love whispers from the Great Planner!
We are just praying and waiting for birthparent selection.
A few weeks ago, we went to Louisville, KY for our nephew's wedding that was absolutely remarkable. It was by far the most spiritual wedding that I have ever been apart of. During their slide show one of the verses was whispered as a reminder of hope, because it is our adoption verse. Ephesians 3:20~it's on the cover of our profile book! Just a little touch of how our journey although on hold is still in the works.
Last weekend I had a girls day at the Holiday Market and one of the booths we passed was for Caroline's Promise. They were selling earrings and bags and I wanted to stop and talk with them, but they were busy. That was my first little whisper to remind me that they have grants out there for adoptive couples, once their home study is complete. Caroline's Promise is a Christian organization in Kernersville actually that gives $3,000 grants to Christian couples adopting domestically in NC/SC. So here we go with more paperwork, but hopefully it will be worth it.
The third whisper came last night at a concert at my church. The second band was called "The Sounds of Daniel Bashta" and his first song was good. I got up to go to the bathroom before the second song started. Bad mistake, or Satan one. We were sitting in the balcony and when I was getting ready to open the door, I heard the lead singer talking. I didn't want to disrupt by opening the door so I just stood in the doorway and listened as best as I could. What I missed was his testimony about their adoption journey which led to the song "Like a Lion." I only heard bits and pieces and when I sat back down, my friend was saying how cool that was, but that was all she said. After the amazing City Harmonic concert I came home and began investigating about writing the lyrics of a song. I found out they did a domestic adoption and now they are partnering with Bethany Christian Services (our agency). Then after further research, I found his wife's blog post and it totally moved me! I also found Project Gift through Christian Post Article. To me, this is a call and a cry out to promote the adoption plan for children in the US. Please download their song and think about making a donation. As I was home today from work, I decided to send the lead singer a private message on Facebook about last night and how it touched me. I hope that he will write me back!
My sister-in-law also messaged me today and said that she dreamed that "I was holding a baby ya'll just adopted and we were standing next to you congratulating us." She said that she couldn't tell when it was...but it was a sign from above. YAY!
Love whispers from the Great Planner!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
So MUCH!
I am SO behind on posting on the blog, and I hate that because so much has gone on in the past month!
First of all, on September 17th we got a very important letter from Bethany~! It was an approval letter saying that our home assessment had been approved and processed with the state director. In the letter it also mentioned that we are ready for the next step in our journey, birthparent selection :) and then hopefully placement! Just when we couldn't be any happier as we read the letter...the last sentence said that we have a bill of $3,500 due to cover the home study assessment. Man, so much of abusiness transaction process.
Next, we had dinner with friends of ours who are also adopting through Bethany. They are a super sweet couple who are just behind us in the adoption journey. It is so awesome to have another couple who are feeling the same feelings, going through the same frustations and emotions. Not to mention the excitement and fun as we long to complete our families.
Back tracking again, my "unofficial" grandmother also passed away from cancer. She was SO close to me and meant a lot to our family. It is my uncle's mother. People may think how can she be like my grandmother? Well, our family is extremly close and she would come to all of our family functions. Just a few days before she died, she told my aunt something that I will always treasure...She said that "when I get to heaven, I am going to ask God to send a baby miracle our way." Really, how priceless! I know she is sticking to her plan every day up there!
I also mailed our profile books to the three agencies: Arden, Charlotte, and Raleigh. As I waited in line at the post office, I prayed over these books, and for the hands that would hold them and choose an adoption plan for their child.
Lastly, on Wednesday of this past week I got an email saying that we can read over our home assessment and make any changes necessary. I read that 18 page monster the next day, made the changes, and clicked submit. On our portal, we found out that everything is good to go and ready for showing!
So now, as people ask "Have you heard anything?" we can officially say that we are "waiting on God to bring us together with a birthparent."
As always, prayers are appreciated as we await our miracle!
First of all, on September 17th we got a very important letter from Bethany~! It was an approval letter saying that our home assessment had been approved and processed with the state director. In the letter it also mentioned that we are ready for the next step in our journey, birthparent selection :) and then hopefully placement! Just when we couldn't be any happier as we read the letter...the last sentence said that we have a bill of $3,500 due to cover the home study assessment. Man, so much of a
Next, we had dinner with friends of ours who are also adopting through Bethany. They are a super sweet couple who are just behind us in the adoption journey. It is so awesome to have another couple who are feeling the same feelings, going through the same frustations and emotions. Not to mention the excitement and fun as we long to complete our families.
Back tracking again, my "unofficial" grandmother also passed away from cancer. She was SO close to me and meant a lot to our family. It is my uncle's mother. People may think how can she be like my grandmother? Well, our family is extremly close and she would come to all of our family functions. Just a few days before she died, she told my aunt something that I will always treasure...She said that "when I get to heaven, I am going to ask God to send a baby miracle our way." Really, how priceless! I know she is sticking to her plan every day up there!
I also mailed our profile books to the three agencies: Arden, Charlotte, and Raleigh. As I waited in line at the post office, I prayed over these books, and for the hands that would hold them and choose an adoption plan for their child.
Lastly, on Wednesday of this past week I got an email saying that we can read over our home assessment and make any changes necessary. I read that 18 page monster the next day, made the changes, and clicked submit. On our portal, we found out that everything is good to go and ready for showing!
So now, as people ask "Have you heard anything?" we can officially say that we are "waiting on God to bring us together with a birthparent."
As always, prayers are appreciated as we await our miracle!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
On the Way...
I bet that got your attention, huh? Well this title doesn't mean that we have a baby on the way...but that our four profile books are officially on their way from Snapfish! I was so excited to finally get the green light to order them. All we had to do was change the font to BOLD and shorten our wording on a page. I had originally ordered the first one we submitted, but I want an "official" one for Little Miracle to have as a keepsake so that when he/she is older, they can have a copy of the exact book that their birthparent used to select us. The books should be here any day...I will wait and track the shipping progress until it is at my doorstep.
On other news, our Home Study packet is sitting in the Arden (Asheville) office being approved by the head honcho there. Once she approves it, then we will be able to put our book and info at the three branches and wait!
A few Monday's ago, I had my heart sink to the bottom of my stomache when my case worker called about a possible placement for us!!!!! It was for a sibling pair, one 4 year old and newborn sisters. I unfortunately didn't get back to her until Thursday, but if I would have known exactly the circumstances of her call...then I would have been all over it. See, Ty and I have put in our preferences sheets that we want a Caucasian baby. However, this was for Hispanic children. I think that God is definitely tugging at our heart strings. Our case worker knew that we aren't looking for trans-racial placement, but she was told to call all of her parents...is that a sign? I mean, I don't want to accept just because it is the first opportunity...but wow. It really rocked my world! I mean this is the cultural shift in our area. I have a nursery all ready to go, but a 4 year old as well...man~
God has the perfect plan for us, and we are anxiously awaiting becoming a forever family with a Little Miracle...or two?!
On other news, our Home Study packet is sitting in the Arden (Asheville) office being approved by the head honcho there. Once she approves it, then we will be able to put our book and info at the three branches and wait!
A few Monday's ago, I had my heart sink to the bottom of my stomache when my case worker called about a possible placement for us!!!!! It was for a sibling pair, one 4 year old and newborn sisters. I unfortunately didn't get back to her until Thursday, but if I would have known exactly the circumstances of her call...then I would have been all over it. See, Ty and I have put in our preferences sheets that we want a Caucasian baby. However, this was for Hispanic children. I think that God is definitely tugging at our heart strings. Our case worker knew that we aren't looking for trans-racial placement, but she was told to call all of her parents...is that a sign? I mean, I don't want to accept just because it is the first opportunity...but wow. It really rocked my world! I mean this is the cultural shift in our area. I have a nursery all ready to go, but a 4 year old as well...man~
God has the perfect plan for us, and we are anxiously awaiting becoming a forever family with a Little Miracle...or two?!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Profile Book~
Well, I finished up the challenging profile book and we were so happy with how it turned out! We had to order only one so that it could be approved and then we will keep that one as a keepsake. Remember that this is the book that potential birthparents will look through to select us. As people ask about how things are going, they are surprised to find out that we are birthparent selected. I love it!
When our case worker reviewed it, she did mention that the background design we chose might be distracting. I had to be front with her...we don't want to change it. We think it tells more about our personalities. We are not solid colored people :) Of course, we will do what she says...but we will see. We are in the process of setting up a review session. We had several people read through everything and nobody mentioned the background as a distraction.
On another note, our Home Study assessment has been completed for several weeks and she should finish typing everything up...hopefully soon :) No rush, not!
The highlight of the month so far has bee my principal asking me if I have thought about who would do my long term sub leave when Little Miracle comes. EEP! A retired teacher from my school actually mentioned to me that she would be interested...so we talked and she is a GO! I hated not to be able to tell her a tentative date...but she didn't seem to mind. I told her the other day that she has certainly become an important person in this process. Yippee~one day it will happen. Stay calm, my heart.
When our case worker reviewed it, she did mention that the background design we chose might be distracting. I had to be front with her...we don't want to change it. We think it tells more about our personalities. We are not solid colored people :) Of course, we will do what she says...but we will see. We are in the process of setting up a review session. We had several people read through everything and nobody mentioned the background as a distraction.
On another note, our Home Study assessment has been completed for several weeks and she should finish typing everything up...hopefully soon :) No rush, not!
The highlight of the month so far has bee my principal asking me if I have thought about who would do my long term sub leave when Little Miracle comes. EEP! A retired teacher from my school actually mentioned to me that she would be interested...so we talked and she is a GO! I hated not to be able to tell her a tentative date...but she didn't seem to mind. I told her the other day that she has certainly become an important person in this process. Yippee~one day it will happen. Stay calm, my heart.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Can't believe it...
has been so long since I last updated the blog!
Tons have been going on, but I will start with our final home study meeting. I cleaned the house and took Meredith's advice and didn't worry about cleaning out the cabinets~but I did clean out all the rest of the closets that seemed to have been neglected. Not to alarm you, but we have handguns in our house. They are Ty's toys, and I knew that we needed to have a safe for them. Well we didn't get one. My case worker messaged me and said that we also needed "all other safety devices." I immediately went frantic over what that meant. I didn't know if I needed outlet covers, door knob grippers, and all that stuff that comes when baby gets mobile. I didn't want anything to not be perfect, but I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going out and getting that stuff then. We did get a fire extinguisher though. That just seemed to push me over the edge. I was tired, done, and decided that I was washing my hands of everything that we had done to prepare for this. The meeting and inspection went really smooth. She asked us final questions that she need clarifying, discussed the interim house from previous meeting, and then the biggie preferences sheet came up. This was a CRAZY set of papers. We had to select YES/NO/WILL CONSIDER on many types of things. We like to say that we are open and we are, but we are firm on a few areas. It doesn't mean that we are picky, racists, or unwilling parents nor are we looking for the perfect child. God has the perfect child to fit into our family, perfectly, forever. We have surveyed, prayed, completed activities, and discussed all of our characteristics. Here are some of the areas that were on the sheets: multiples, gender, transracial, personality disorders in birthmom/father/extended family, blindness, hearing impairment, LD in family, mental disorders in family, rape, incest, HIV, STDS, physical impairments in child...and the list goes on and on. I mean wow, this was intense. Then we had to put on paper about how often we want birthparents to visit, have a part in naming, where visits will take place, etc. We got through it and then we showed our case worker our profile book that we (mostly I) worked on. She wanted us to change several things, about it being to "wordy." She said that people don't really read now and just are looking for a quick snapshot-something that will catch his/her eye.
Our caseworker had to go out of town and we did too, and so she will be coming back by to look at our cable locks for the guns and to pick up the profile book. We made ours through Snapfish. She will take it to the CLT office and then if everything is good, then we will order three more to keep in the branches.
After that, we will OFFICIALLY be able to be seen by potential birthparents!!!!! I can't believe it.
The box from Snapfish can't come fast enough!
Tons have been going on, but I will start with our final home study meeting. I cleaned the house and took Meredith's advice and didn't worry about cleaning out the cabinets~but I did clean out all the rest of the closets that seemed to have been neglected. Not to alarm you, but we have handguns in our house. They are Ty's toys, and I knew that we needed to have a safe for them. Well we didn't get one. My case worker messaged me and said that we also needed "all other safety devices." I immediately went frantic over what that meant. I didn't know if I needed outlet covers, door knob grippers, and all that stuff that comes when baby gets mobile. I didn't want anything to not be perfect, but I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going out and getting that stuff then. We did get a fire extinguisher though. That just seemed to push me over the edge. I was tired, done, and decided that I was washing my hands of everything that we had done to prepare for this. The meeting and inspection went really smooth. She asked us final questions that she need clarifying, discussed the interim house from previous meeting, and then the biggie preferences sheet came up. This was a CRAZY set of papers. We had to select YES/NO/WILL CONSIDER on many types of things. We like to say that we are open and we are, but we are firm on a few areas. It doesn't mean that we are picky, racists, or unwilling parents nor are we looking for the perfect child. God has the perfect child to fit into our family, perfectly, forever. We have surveyed, prayed, completed activities, and discussed all of our characteristics. Here are some of the areas that were on the sheets: multiples, gender, transracial, personality disorders in birthmom/father/extended family, blindness, hearing impairment, LD in family, mental disorders in family, rape, incest, HIV, STDS, physical impairments in child...and the list goes on and on. I mean wow, this was intense. Then we had to put on paper about how often we want birthparents to visit, have a part in naming, where visits will take place, etc. We got through it and then we showed our case worker our profile book that we (mostly I) worked on. She wanted us to change several things, about it being to "wordy." She said that people don't really read now and just are looking for a quick snapshot-something that will catch his/her eye.
Our caseworker had to go out of town and we did too, and so she will be coming back by to look at our cable locks for the guns and to pick up the profile book. We made ours through Snapfish. She will take it to the CLT office and then if everything is good, then we will order three more to keep in the branches.
After that, we will OFFICIALLY be able to be seen by potential birthparents!!!!! I can't believe it.
The box from Snapfish can't come fast enough!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Final this week...
I can't believe that this Thursday will be our FINAL Home Study meeting! It is so surreal to me, well to us actually.
Our case worker met with our lead minister on Wednesday, and according to him it went well. Those of you who know Bill, will appreciate the funny and sarcastic emails that we exchanged regarding this meeting. I was very impressed about how prompt he was!
I have been working on our profile book and it has gone very smoothly so far. So much will ride on this book created by us, printed from Snapfish. This will be what potential birthparents will look through to decide on a plan for their baby.
On the way up to PA we completed our preferences sheet. This sheet will give birth counselors a "yes/no" answer to issues and concerns and what type of child we are willing to accept into our family. While I would love to just answer yes to get a child faster, I know that isn't in the plans that God has for us.
He has already orchestrated so much on our journey and he has the perfect family picked out to complete our family! I have to trust Him and his timing. While on our trip, I saw the cutest wall hanging that I wanted to buy but the lettering wasn't very readable. It said: God dreams a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself. I want that to be stamped, sealed, and etched in my heart now more than ever!!!
After this meeting Thursday, if our assessment is approved, we will be a waiting couple for a placement to be adoptive parents!!!!!!
Our case worker met with our lead minister on Wednesday, and according to him it went well. Those of you who know Bill, will appreciate the funny and sarcastic emails that we exchanged regarding this meeting. I was very impressed about how prompt he was!
I have been working on our profile book and it has gone very smoothly so far. So much will ride on this book created by us, printed from Snapfish. This will be what potential birthparents will look through to decide on a plan for their baby.
On the way up to PA we completed our preferences sheet. This sheet will give birth counselors a "yes/no" answer to issues and concerns and what type of child we are willing to accept into our family. While I would love to just answer yes to get a child faster, I know that isn't in the plans that God has for us.
He has already orchestrated so much on our journey and he has the perfect family picked out to complete our family! I have to trust Him and his timing. While on our trip, I saw the cutest wall hanging that I wanted to buy but the lettering wasn't very readable. It said: God dreams a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself. I want that to be stamped, sealed, and etched in my heart now more than ever!!!
After this meeting Thursday, if our assessment is approved, we will be a waiting couple for a placement to be adoptive parents!!!!!!
Friday, June 15, 2012
No Worries...
Yesterday was my first day of summer break and all I wanted to do was lay around in my jammies, drink coffee, watch the Today Show, and veg. Instead, I cleaned scrubbed all the nook and crannies of this house to get ready for our case worker interrogation visit.
I was not actually that nervous and didn't review through the mounds of adoption books to search for the right answers to tell her. I did make one mistake...get on mtv.com and watch the Teen Mom: Adoption Special. That wasn't too smart. I didn't want my mascara smeared and show that I am in Ty's words "a basket case". I have been fascinated by Katelynn and Tyler's story (I did get to chat with her on FB through Bethany earlier this year) because they used Bethany and her little one lives in Charlotte now. She is such an inspiration to other moms and have been influential into their decision to adopt, and (wink, wink) go through Bethany.
When our case worker arrived, my interview was first. I was so glad that she wanted to sit on the couch and even gave her one of those lap desks to use :). You know me, the hostess with the mostest.
We talked alot and the time seemed to go by quickly somewhat. When Ty got home from work, he went upstairs to pack for our trip and it was kind of weird talking about our marriage with him upstairs. I did feel kind of weird then and I began thinking about how he must feel upstairs.
I was talking with her for about two and a half hours and then I decided I needed to make a trip to Target and Kohls while she met with Ty. Ty text me about 8:30 and said that he was done. Yikes!
We have our last meeting scheduled for the 25th, but I would like to move it to the 28th because our profile book has to be approved by her before we print it. At that meeting she will inspect the house, go over our preference sheet, and finalize any questions she has before she writes up our assessment. Then WE WILL WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over our vacation with Ty's family I am going to have to work on our profile book through Snapfish. I like doing that kind of thing, so it should be fun. However, this book will be SUPER important because our birthmother will select us based on this book. No pressure.
I was not actually that nervous and didn't review through the mounds of adoption books to search for the right answers to tell her. I did make one mistake...get on mtv.com and watch the Teen Mom: Adoption Special. That wasn't too smart. I didn't want my mascara smeared and show that I am in Ty's words "a basket case". I have been fascinated by Katelynn and Tyler's story (I did get to chat with her on FB through Bethany earlier this year) because they used Bethany and her little one lives in Charlotte now. She is such an inspiration to other moms and have been influential into their decision to adopt, and (wink, wink) go through Bethany.
When our case worker arrived, my interview was first. I was so glad that she wanted to sit on the couch and even gave her one of those lap desks to use :). You know me, the hostess with the mostest.
We talked alot and the time seemed to go by quickly somewhat. When Ty got home from work, he went upstairs to pack for our trip and it was kind of weird talking about our marriage with him upstairs. I did feel kind of weird then and I began thinking about how he must feel upstairs.
I was talking with her for about two and a half hours and then I decided I needed to make a trip to Target and Kohls while she met with Ty. Ty text me about 8:30 and said that he was done. Yikes!
We have our last meeting scheduled for the 25th, but I would like to move it to the 28th because our profile book has to be approved by her before we print it. At that meeting she will inspect the house, go over our preference sheet, and finalize any questions she has before she writes up our assessment. Then WE WILL WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over our vacation with Ty's family I am going to have to work on our profile book through Snapfish. I like doing that kind of thing, so it should be fun. However, this book will be SUPER important because our birthmother will select us based on this book. No pressure.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Second one is coming...
This Thursday is going to be our second Home Study assessment meeting. Our case worker will meet with me at 1:00 at our house and then she will meet with Ty at 3:00.
I am very curious about what we will discuss and how we will do.
I am going to be honest, myself, and keep an open mind. That is all I can do.
EEK! We are getting closer. I must remember that nothing worth it is ever easy.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support.
I am very curious about what we will discuss and how we will do.
I am going to be honest, myself, and keep an open mind. That is all I can do.
EEK! We are getting closer. I must remember that nothing worth it is ever easy.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support.
Monday, June 4, 2012
One is done...
We survived our first Home Assessment meeting. We had to be at the meeting at 3:00 and as I left school, many co-workers were saying that they were praying for us. I so needed that!
I stopped on my way to get my adoption file because our case worker needed a certain paper, although our file was complete. That began to freak me out a bit.
The interview started with Ty and I reading some scripture and prayer~Colossians 1:9, Psalm 21:6, and Isaiah 12:2-3. What a perfect way to start the meeting.
I was somewhat nervous at first and we had to start with our journey that led us to adoption. That certainly took a while. It was very detailed and personal, but they already know so much. When we were discussing that, it brought back a lot of memories and recounted more of our journey that we so safely tucked away in our minds and hearts. We also talked about what we understand about adoption, the birth mother, and how we are going to discuss adoption with our child. Our case worker did say that Ty needed to answer some of the questions first because I was so extroverted. Hee, hee. We did joke and laugh and we all got along great. Ty and I did disagree or have different opinions about one thing...but that's okay, just something that we have to discuss.
I honestly didn't really know what we could talk about for right at three hours, but we managed to do it. I did feel my armpits get sweaty, well, because I was sweating bullets the entire time. I think they set the thermostat hot to sweat it out of you like in an interrogation.
We tentatively set up the remaining meetings. I am hoping that we can meet on the 14th and then finish up on the 25th. If not, then we will have to go into July. I really want to be done before then.
The next meeting we will be doing the preferences sheet and then come to our house for separate interviews with each of us, yikes. Then we have the official home visit....and then after she gets everything typed up, we WAIT!
Thanks for your prayers, I felt them today.
I stopped on my way to get my adoption file because our case worker needed a certain paper, although our file was complete. That began to freak me out a bit.
The interview started with Ty and I reading some scripture and prayer~Colossians 1:9, Psalm 21:6, and Isaiah 12:2-3. What a perfect way to start the meeting.
I was somewhat nervous at first and we had to start with our journey that led us to adoption. That certainly took a while. It was very detailed and personal, but they already know so much. When we were discussing that, it brought back a lot of memories and recounted more of our journey that we so safely tucked away in our minds and hearts. We also talked about what we understand about adoption, the birth mother, and how we are going to discuss adoption with our child. Our case worker did say that Ty needed to answer some of the questions first because I was so extroverted. Hee, hee. We did joke and laugh and we all got along great. Ty and I did disagree or have different opinions about one thing...but that's okay, just something that we have to discuss.
I honestly didn't really know what we could talk about for right at three hours, but we managed to do it. I did feel my armpits get sweaty, well, because I was sweating bullets the entire time. I think they set the thermostat hot to sweat it out of you like in an interrogation.
We tentatively set up the remaining meetings. I am hoping that we can meet on the 14th and then finish up on the 25th. If not, then we will have to go into July. I really want to be done before then.
The next meeting we will be doing the preferences sheet and then come to our house for separate interviews with each of us, yikes. Then we have the official home visit....and then after she gets everything typed up, we WAIT!
Thanks for your prayers, I felt them today.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Here we go...
We were supposed to have our first two Home Assessment meetings on the 24th and the 31st. God sure does have an amazing plan...their is NO way that we could have done that these past two weeks. My baby brother is getting married this Saturday and with all the things that I have to do for the wedding, I don't think that it would have gone well.
These meetings are so very important to our adoption journey, and I know that we need to be fully focused on these three hour meetings...
Someone in our case worker's family had to have surgery, so now our first meeting is this Monday, June 4th. Please pray for us as we start this last leg before the waiting game of being matched with a birthmother!
These meetings are so very important to our adoption journey, and I know that we need to be fully focused on these three hour meetings...
Someone in our case worker's family had to have surgery, so now our first meeting is this Monday, June 4th. Please pray for us as we start this last leg before the waiting game of being matched with a birthmother!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A Mother for Choco
Many of you know that I teach first grade. In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to have my Guided Reading groups read the story A Mother for Choco which is a sweet story about a bird who doesn't have a mother and he searches for her. After visiting several animals, Choco finds a bear. Mrs. Bear hears Choco crying and asks him to tell her his story. She asks what his mother would do if he had a mother. Choco goes on to say that she would hold him (and Mrs. Bear does), kiss him (and she does), and sing and dance with him (which she does). She invites him to come home with her to meet her other children and have some apple pie. When they arrive, her other children greet him and to Choco's surprise, her children are a: pig, hippo, and an alligator. Choco goes in and plays with the children and is happy. On the very last page of the story, Choco says how happy he is with his new mother, no matter what she looks like. When we read the story, I asked one group of students how that could happen...and not one understood adoption. Once I told them about adoption, they got it. During the next group, one of my students immediately knew that the animals were adopted. When I asked what that meant she replied: "when someone buys a kid because they don't have any." Needless to say, we had LOTS of good conversations. They were curious why Choco didn't have a mom, if his mom comes back can she have him back, and why people adopt. It took all that I had in me not to just bust out and tell them all about how I was adopting. See, we switch classes for Guided Reading, and I didn't feel that it was appropriate, even though I do have some of my own students in my class. I just loved this, and it made me feel so special to make them aware of what adoption means and how it was important for them to know that when you are adopted you are really loved and that it isn't that your mother didn't love you.
Yesterday, we had our 8th annual Mother's Day Tea party in my classroom, and as always it brought tears to my eyes. Last year, I didn't think that I would get to experience "Mother's Day" in my child's classroom, and so on. Well as we did our program, I found myself touching my mommy necklace and smiling on the inside knowing that I am going to be a mother and get to experience all the joys of this day!
Happy Mother's Day weekend!
Yesterday, we had our 8th annual Mother's Day Tea party in my classroom, and as always it brought tears to my eyes. Last year, I didn't think that I would get to experience "Mother's Day" in my child's classroom, and so on. Well as we did our program, I found myself touching my mommy necklace and smiling on the inside knowing that I am going to be a mother and get to experience all the joys of this day!
Happy Mother's Day weekend!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Sit on a TACK!
Oh man~this is a very hard post to type. I wouldn't by any means say that I am a "holier-than-thou" girl, but I do try to live my life daily for my King. I have been actively involved in the Women's Ministry at my church for many years, and joined the Leadership Team about four years ago. I have loved being on the team and helping to fascilitate God's will through this ministry. The bible studies that I have attended and taught, have changed me. This Spring, we planned to start a new study on the book of Nehemiah by Kelly Minter. I loved teaching her study on Ruth, and was excited about this study. I got my book...and we are now on week 5~and I went to my first Wednesday night class since before the study started. I have done absolutely zilch! I am being completely vulnerable here by saying that I have put it on the WAY back burner. I have missed it, hated not being apart of my group, but we have had a lot going on. I am not making our adoption journey an excuse, but we have had full plates. Honestly, I would forfeit a baby over my relationship with my Jesus. He comes first and I want Little Miracle to feel the same way. I am not saying that I have lived life on the wild side and gone nuts, but I haven't been as active with a daily bible study. I know that it is SO important for every aspect of my life. The amazing thing is that my Jesus is a loving and forgiving~and in His arms is the only place that I go and don't have to feel judged. Thank you, Father! When I went to our team meeting last night, one of the leaders and dear friend said that she kept thinking of me. Another sweet friend said that tonight's video was about adoption and asked if I was staying for bible study. I had planned on it and turning in my book since I haven't done any of the homework with the study...however I went and got my book out and said that I wanted to do the study! When it was time for church to start I came with an open mind and heart. This past week's lessons were on the joy of the Lord. We sang the oldie vacation bible school song, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart...if the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack" song. Well as far as I am concerned...he can sit on a tack. Another sister, Ramona, heard me talking about this attack that Satan has had on my heart. After the evening was over, just after an interview about a mother who adopted from China on the video, Ramona said that she feels led to pray with me. I said of course and agreed that I was comfortable having all the women pray over me. All the women in the study gathered around me a prayed a beautiful, tear-jerking prayer. I love my church, women's ministry, and how God works purposefully in everyone. Needless to say, I am going to get back on track, and borrow the sessions that I have missed to get caught up.
Thanks for hearing me and maybe you will be encouraged by this post~
Thanks for hearing me and maybe you will be encouraged by this post~
Friday, April 20, 2012
Adoption Meeting
Yesterday we went to Charlotte for a follow-up meeting with our agency. There was only five couples, so it was a lot more intimate although I don't have trouble speaking and asking questions in front of others. I mean to me, these meetings are SO valuable and an opportunity to be clear on everything. We learned more about what will be happening during the home assessment part...which can't come fast enough. We are just waiting on our case worker to contact us to setup our first interview. One of my questions/comments was: "No pressure, but when should we expect to hear from our case worker?-Cause we are more than ready." We also learned about when to tell our child about adoption. I mean I knew that we should talk to Little Miracle right away through trade books, etc. One thing that I really loved was what Angela, the Charlotte case worker, said in regards to telling about adoption. She said, "When do you tell your child about Jesus?" Well, duh! Done, enough said! We got to look through profile books of other couples, and got a lot of ideas of how to create ours. I am going to get started soon, since this is more my cup of tea than Ty's. He will be in charge of the video we make to go along with our book. In a nutshell....we are waiting to complete our home assessment and profile book/video, then we will be a waiting family~
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Easter basket
This past weekend was Easter, and Little Miracle got an Easter basket from the Bunny. It was filled with the goods below.
All of Little Miracle's clothes pretty much have "yellow ducks" on them. Mom said that she isn't going to know what to do if I buy something else with a yellow duck on it. (I just can't resist a good price.)
Here is what Little Miracle got for it's first Easter even thought he/she isn't even born yet. :) Owl for the nursery, Gymboree caterpillar set (outfit, booties, blanket), frog lovie, sleeper.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Sneak Peek....
Here is a glimpse of our nursery fabric~bedding. I love it!
I am waiting on something to come in the mail and then I will be able to post pictures of the nursery. Until then, I hope you like what you see.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
It's green alright...and a beautiful sight!
This past week we had some painting done including the nursery. We chose "Afternoon Delight" which is a light lime green. It appeared soft enough for a nursery yet bright enough for the modern non-traditional nursery feel I am going for in the space. Well...it is bright green! After the painters started the trim I began to worry. I kept telling myself that once the furniture went in, it would change the color and soften it. I was right...I love it!
We needed to put up new light fixtures in the master bath and afterwards we planned on putting together the nursery furniture. Ty isn't really big on home improvement projects...but my begging worked because we began to put the furniture together at like 7:30 that night because I wanted to spend the rest of the week getting the nursery put together.
We have never seen so much styrofoam, cardboard, and HUGE boxes. (The recycling guys are going to love us!) We got everything together rather quickly and we were so pleased how it all turned out. I did get a little teary eyed at one point. I mean I have waited eight years to do this...and it just melted my heart.
I am not ready for the big reveal yet. Remember patience is a virtue.
Friday, April 6, 2012
been so long...
***Click on the image to make it bigger and see the details.It has been so long since my last blog post, but lots have been going on. I received the most special gift from my mom and dad Sunday at church. They gave me a "mommy necklace". It was so special. I have seen them online at differenct Etsy shops...hinted to Ty for Valentine's Day, but no such luck. The top circle says: "born in my heart" which is from the adoption creed and has two pearls that represent Ty and I. The bottom circle says: "lil miracle". How sweet. The seller said that she would replace the bottom circle with the Little Miracle's actual name when he/she arrives. I fell in love and I wear it everyday. When I see it or touch it, I say a prayer for our future birthmother. We have turned our prayers to her and for her decision to let us be the parents of her child. I am so blessed to be going through this adoption journey to gain a forever family. Another proud moment was sharing my gift with Mehya's mom. She was so excited to see such a special piece of jewelry and wanted one of her own~
Thanks mom and dad for such a special piece of jewelry!!!
When you see me (and my necklace) say a prayer for our birthmother and us as we continue on this journey~
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Adoption Meeting
Last Friday, we had our first of two adoption meetings. We decided to go to Raleigh the night before to eliminate any traffic issues, and well to spend some time together away from home. We love to go on little getaways, and we know that we may not have as many once Little Miracle comes, which is fine with us.
We had such a great day on Friday! I have to admit that I was a little nervous and apprehensive meeting other couples in the same place as us, wanting the same thing. I didn't want to feel like it was a competition, but these will be the ones whose profiles will be out at the same time as ours. It is so wrong to feel that way, but I am just being vulnerable.
When we got there and chose our seats, I wanted to introduce myself. I began talking to the couple beside us, and what do you know...they are from Winston too! It was so awesome! We hit it offright away and planned on going to lunch. During lunch, we had a great time getting to know each other and plan on getting together in the future.
It was great to meet all of the Bethany staff in person but what was so special was to see God first in there life and mission. They talked about our motivation to adopt. I love this that they said: "Bethany is not finding families for children, but children for families." We learned about the risk factors of the babies and even as a newborn, they face loss. We have to try and make sense of the past and become realistic of the future. This is our journey, but more importantly, God is on our journey with us.
Another powerful point was in discussing God's perfect plan: "Did God say okay fish, flop around for a few days, I haven't created water yet? No, God created water first for the fish to swim in." love it!
When a birthmother goes through her counseling and then birth, they get a basket from Bethany that includes a journal, devotion book, Bible, and personal needs. They told us that most of them come during their third tri-mester and that they are with them when they make their adoption plan and decisions. The staff told us that we will meet atleast once with the birthmom and then at the hospital. It is so hard to go from theory to reality.
It was most powerful to hear about the open adoption process. Ty and I had many myths and wonders about open vs. semi and even closed. We decided that we want an open adoption...to build trust, have a long term relationship, enable us to keep in touch for the future, and allow our child to know their mother and maybe even father. We thought that an open adoption meant that they had to come to Thanksgiving, etc. It is not the case at all. We have an adoption covenant that we set up together.
I asked lots of questions, especially when four sets of adoptive couples came in, along with a birthmom. It was very touching to see their babies and get to get some answers.
We learned so much about what was coming up next...which is that we should get our financial contract and then our social worker will contact us for the home study interviews. We got to meet them, and we don't know which one will be ours though. Leah (our adoption specialist) complimented us on how fast we have gotten everything done and good all of our paperwork looks so far. She is a hoot I tell ya!
Home Study looks like: 1. joint meeting interview 2. separate interviews 3. home visit 4. pastor visit (usually same day as home visit). They will have thirty days to write up the assessment...then we can show our profile online and at the agencies :) followed by the dreaded wait.
Many of the couples there were doing the domestic newborn program, but a few were pursuing international or older sibling adoption. It seemed as though many of the people there were behind us in the process. The next meeting will be the first of April where we will learn about our profiles and how to make the book/video. I am hoping to get started before then.
We both left and felt that God confirmed our hearts and the perfect plan for builiding our family through adoption. We are so excited about moving forward with this journey. After a long discussion on the ride home, we decided to shift our prayers to praying for our future birthmom. We have been SO blessed this far with our paperwork and now we need to begin praying harder for our birthparents. We covet your prayers for our birthparents too.
When we got home, our financial contract was already in our mailbox! God is good, real good.
We had such a great day on Friday! I have to admit that I was a little nervous and apprehensive meeting other couples in the same place as us, wanting the same thing. I didn't want to feel like it was a competition, but these will be the ones whose profiles will be out at the same time as ours. It is so wrong to feel that way, but I am just being vulnerable.
When we got there and chose our seats, I wanted to introduce myself. I began talking to the couple beside us, and what do you know...they are from Winston too! It was so awesome! We hit it offright away and planned on going to lunch. During lunch, we had a great time getting to know each other and plan on getting together in the future.
It was great to meet all of the Bethany staff in person but what was so special was to see God first in there life and mission. They talked about our motivation to adopt. I love this that they said: "Bethany is not finding families for children, but children for families." We learned about the risk factors of the babies and even as a newborn, they face loss. We have to try and make sense of the past and become realistic of the future. This is our journey, but more importantly, God is on our journey with us.
Another powerful point was in discussing God's perfect plan: "Did God say okay fish, flop around for a few days, I haven't created water yet? No, God created water first for the fish to swim in." love it!
When a birthmother goes through her counseling and then birth, they get a basket from Bethany that includes a journal, devotion book, Bible, and personal needs. They told us that most of them come during their third tri-mester and that they are with them when they make their adoption plan and decisions. The staff told us that we will meet atleast once with the birthmom and then at the hospital. It is so hard to go from theory to reality.
It was most powerful to hear about the open adoption process. Ty and I had many myths and wonders about open vs. semi and even closed. We decided that we want an open adoption...to build trust, have a long term relationship, enable us to keep in touch for the future, and allow our child to know their mother and maybe even father. We thought that an open adoption meant that they had to come to Thanksgiving, etc. It is not the case at all. We have an adoption covenant that we set up together.
I asked lots of questions, especially when four sets of adoptive couples came in, along with a birthmom. It was very touching to see their babies and get to get some answers.
We learned so much about what was coming up next...which is that we should get our financial contract and then our social worker will contact us for the home study interviews. We got to meet them, and we don't know which one will be ours though. Leah (our adoption specialist) complimented us on how fast we have gotten everything done and good all of our paperwork looks so far. She is a hoot I tell ya!
Home Study looks like: 1. joint meeting interview 2. separate interviews 3. home visit 4. pastor visit (usually same day as home visit). They will have thirty days to write up the assessment...then we can show our profile online and at the agencies :) followed by the dreaded wait.
Many of the couples there were doing the domestic newborn program, but a few were pursuing international or older sibling adoption. It seemed as though many of the people there were behind us in the process. The next meeting will be the first of April where we will learn about our profiles and how to make the book/video. I am hoping to get started before then.
We both left and felt that God confirmed our hearts and the perfect plan for builiding our family through adoption. We are so excited about moving forward with this journey. After a long discussion on the ride home, we decided to shift our prayers to praying for our future birthmom. We have been SO blessed this far with our paperwork and now we need to begin praying harder for our birthparents. We covet your prayers for our birthparents too.
When we got home, our financial contract was already in our mailbox! God is good, real good.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Intense but exciting...
Yesterday, mom and I went to register Little Miracle at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I chose to register there because they have a great baby section and a lot of the things that I want, they carry...and Babies 'R Us doesn't. It was a lot of fun, but yet so intense. I have researched and read reviews of tons of categories/products but I still felt unprepared with some things.
I am very excited about registering here because they have free shipping when you purchase something from a registry! That works out great for out of town family and friends.
One really neat thing was that when I filled out the paper to get started, I had to put my "due date" which obviously we don't know. So I randomly picked June 21st. Wouldn't it be SO crazy if the baby was actually born that day? Cool, huh? I hope it is before then, but Summer would be an awesome time.
Here is a picture of me registering for bottles. 
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Here comes the nursery!
Today, family came over to get my "big girl" bedroom suit from the extra bedroom. Last night, Ty and I worked really hard to get everything ready. While I was at a student's basketball game, Ty moved all the furniture from the nursery to the new extra bedroom. I was so proud! Here is the blank slate that we are starting with, and a picture of the closet. I finalized the nursery bedding that I am having custom made from Etsy, and we LOVE it!!! When I get the fabric swatches in the mail, we will select the paint colors and get that step done. This week we will also pick up the furniture :)
Consignment Sale
Here are some pictures of the items I scored at my first consignment sale. I went with mom, Dawn, Andrea, and a colleague from school. I got a bouncer $20, Leap Frog learning table $12, hooded towel/washcloth $1, few cute outfits $6, and a super cute pair of little shoes $2. I had a lot of fun shopping, just wish I knew the gender and time so I could have gotten more clothes! Almost all the clothes I have are either ducks or something yellow....so excited about the green froggie outfit I got.
Friday, February 17, 2012
The Big Purchase
Last Saturday, Ty and I went out shopping. While out, I mentioned running by Babies 'R Us to look at the furniture to see what we liked. They were having a trade-in event with a big sale and gift card, so I wanted to possibly take advantage of the good deal :) We walked around the Greensboro store, and only found two collections that we liked. I have researched and researched found that baby italia was one of the best brands. We found one set that was on clearance in a beautiful cinnamon color. The sales associate said that she would give us an additional 20% off because it was a display, that certainly made Ty's ears perk up. However, we found too many scratches and knicks to make it worth it to us. We home and on the way we talked about going to the Winston store to see if they could order it. In between going to dinner with friends, we swung by the other BRU and as I walked back to the furniture dept, I saw a man taking the cinnamon bed apart. I had spoken to someone earlier at that store, and I couldn't believe that someone would snatch it that quick. (If only Ty didn't need to shave his head...we would have been able to get the set we wanted-but that's another story.) That collection couldn't be ordered because it was on clearance, but Ty went looking around some more. We both kept coming back to the baby italia, but in a different style, Hamilton. It is so beautiful. The lady that helped us was the supervisor and she said that she loves it and that always gets good reviews. When we were doing the paperwork of ordering, my heart started beating fast and my palms got sweaty. They said it would be ready in 7-14 days, no worry for us! Well we got a good deal, but it was still VERY expensive: 25% off crib because of trade-in (went to thrift store and bought an umbrella stroller) to use, then we got another 10% off for opening BRU CC and the lady gave us an additional 20% off the chest of drawers.
I love our furniture and I know that Little Miracle will enjoy having such a nice set from the time they come home until when they leave for college!
I love our furniture and I know that Little Miracle will enjoy having such a nice set from the time they come home until when they leave for college!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Common Ground
This picture is of sweet Mehya and I with a present she gave me today.Mehya and I have a special bond, adoption. Mehya was adopted from Korea and was one of my students in reading last year. Her mom is a teacher at my school, and told Mehya our news one day. I love how she connects Mehya with her special story! One day when walking down the hall, she had asked me if I had a baby. I told her no, but didn't go any further than that. I didn't realize that her mom had told her that I have a baby growing in my heart like her mommy did. Well, when I found that out, it melted my heart. Just a week or so ago, I saw Mehya again and she asked about the baby again. We had a great conversation and she went on to ask if I had a picture. I told her not yet, but maybe soon. Then she pointed to my heart, and I said yes, the picture is in my heart. Melt again.
Today, Mehya stopped by my room with a gift bag shouting my name. (Those who know her, you can imagine that sweet Kernersville/Korean slang she has) I asked her who it was from, and she just smiled a big grin and said....it's a secret. I asked if it was from her, and she said...I gotta go. Bye! I kept it on my desk unopened for a while. I thought it was from my Secret Pal.
When I opened it, the card read: "This is a little something for the baby growing in your heart." Love, Mehya
Then I opened the tissue paper to find a sweet little plaque that said: "Baby~Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." It is beautiful...enter tears and a big smile.
After school, I went to her mom's room and thanked her for the gift. She was so excited. I told her that I was going to put it in the nursery, and that I would take a picture of it and show her. We took our picture together and hugged!
Thank you, Mehya for this heartfelt gift!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Big Kahuna!
When we got the first packet, I thought...okay, we can handle it. Then, on Ty's birthday, a bigger envelope came! Happy Birthday! This packet included: criminal record papers, physicians reports, tons of papers to sign, statement of faiths for each of us to write, create a will paper, health insurance, infant care class, more financial statements, and after that...it just gets blurry. Needless to say, we are still working on this packet. It is so hard to balance work, personal life, and church. One paper at a time is our motto. We just got word yesterday that our friends got their reference letters to fill out. So things are moving forward. Formal Application picture
Here is a picture of Ty with our formal application approval letter! His face says it all...yay! paperwork! Here comes the long haul!Sunday, January 22, 2012
A Baby Event and more prayers~
This weekend was really fun. Saturday morning mom and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to their Baby Event. We were greeted with four months of CFA coupons for breakfast and milkshakes. When we went to the back of the store, it was like being in a convention. Vendors of all kinds, here to overwhelm you. We joined in the conversation a mom-to-be was having with an associate on car seats. Come to find out, she is the store manager at Buy Buy Baby and was so super nice. It was like having our own personal shopper during the event. She showed us all about car seats, strollers, the never ending bumper on the crib debate, and the dreaded bottles. She was so excited to hear about our adoption and told us to ask for her when we go back to CLT to her store. The raffles that they were giving away seemed awesome...although I wasn't going to be happy to win the breast pump :). My name was called for the first prize, so anticipation left early. I won a Joovy foocot, which is a modern brand. I won a child's cot with storage bag and it is a cool lime green color. It retails for $79. Ty wants to sell it, so we will see. Mom ended up getting her crib bedding on clearance for dirt cheap too. I went to BRU afterward to use a coupon...can't let those $5 ones go to waste. I was able to get 3-2 packs of pacis (1 pack is glow in the dark for night time), outfit with hat and socks, 2 teething toys on clearance with addl' off, and 3 travel size lotions for $20-SCORE.
Friday morning I got a text from my minister at church which was a little weird I must say. He said that he wanted to know if he could use part of our story to introduce his sermon Sunday for Baby Dedication day. We chatted on the phone, and went to church like normal. Several people stopped me in the hall to tell me congratulations from the first service, so I knew that it was meant to be. Sure enough, Bill began by telling that it is easy to become a parent, sort of. Then he said our names and had us wave in the audience. He said that after trying for several years and after doctor confirmation, we knew we couldn't have kids. He said that we still wanted to become parents, so adoption found us. Everyone in the congregation clapped for us. Yes, we turned vibrant shades of red. Then he told the story of how we told our family. After that, he went into more detail about becoming a parent. The goal of that wasn't to boast about us or make us feel like we are the "super couple." I mean, he called us. I think that it was a sign from God to tell the services so that more people can be praying for "little miracle." I believe that with all my heart. I sure do hope that we can be a part of Baby Dedication 2012...Ty said "it will be cool when we do it!" Yep, it sure will.
Friday morning I got a text from my minister at church which was a little weird I must say. He said that he wanted to know if he could use part of our story to introduce his sermon Sunday for Baby Dedication day. We chatted on the phone, and went to church like normal. Several people stopped me in the hall to tell me congratulations from the first service, so I knew that it was meant to be. Sure enough, Bill began by telling that it is easy to become a parent, sort of. Then he said our names and had us wave in the audience. He said that after trying for several years and after doctor confirmation, we knew we couldn't have kids. He said that we still wanted to become parents, so adoption found us. Everyone in the congregation clapped for us. Yes, we turned vibrant shades of red. Then he told the story of how we told our family. After that, he went into more detail about becoming a parent. The goal of that wasn't to boast about us or make us feel like we are the "super couple." I mean, he called us. I think that it was a sign from God to tell the services so that more people can be praying for "little miracle." I believe that with all my heart. I sure do hope that we can be a part of Baby Dedication 2012...Ty said "it will be cool when we do it!" Yep, it sure will.
Friday, January 20, 2012
first trimester
I am pretty sure that I have finished my first trimester of being paper pregnant. This next trimester is going to be H-U-G-E! We are starting the Home Study portion of this journey.
I found out today that we have been approved to begin our paperwork for our Home Study. Here are the words from our intake coordinator: "Hi Molli and Ty, you sure are approved, congratulations! I am working on putting your paperwork together right now, so I can get it in the mail today! I'm really looking forward to working with you both." She is so sweet, quick, and prompt.
When I opened the link for the "packet" she wasn't kidding that it will keep us busy til our meeting on March 9th. It contains 16 pages for each of us, and the questions aren't fill in the blank...but open-ended! YIKES!
I think we will need hand massages for each other on a regular basis :)
God has blessed us with such a smooth journey so far. Thank you SO much for all your prayers as I enter this trimester, which will be a long one~
I found out today that we have been approved to begin our paperwork for our Home Study. Here are the words from our intake coordinator: "Hi Molli and Ty, you sure are approved, congratulations! I am working on putting your paperwork together right now, so I can get it in the mail today! I'm really looking forward to working with you both." She is so sweet, quick, and prompt.
When I opened the link for the "packet" she wasn't kidding that it will keep us busy til our meeting on March 9th. It contains 16 pages for each of us, and the questions aren't fill in the blank...but open-ended! YIKES!
I think we will need hand massages for each other on a regular basis :)
God has blessed us with such a smooth journey so far. Thank you SO much for all your prayers as I enter this trimester, which will be a long one~
Monday, January 16, 2012
Thoughts...
Things have been somewhat quiet this week because we are waiting on our formal application to be approved from the State Director. Our intake coordinator said that this shouldn't really take long because most of the issues kick back on the prelim app. She said that we will get another "packet" to work on for our Home Study and that "should keep us busy" until our first meeting on March 9th.
I have been cleaning out and getting yard sale bins together to put in the garage. I am not sure what is going on, but I am more willing to get rid of things. I guess I know that I won't want to read all those books that I have already read on my bookshelf. I will have children's books to read to little miracle and I have my Kindle. Plus, if it can make more moola for us to pay for the "big transaction" then so be it.
If you have ideas for any fundraisers, please let me know. We usually do really well at our neighborhood yard sale that I coordinate, so I have that. We will also have a Poker Night that should do really well. We are also thinking of doing silicone wristbands too. I plan on applying for grants, but I can't until we have completed our Home Study. I would love to sell the cute, new and trendy stamped pendants, but I don't know anyone personally that does them~and I really don't want to start something new. The total due at placement isn't confirmed, but I know it's going to be a lot of zeros, like 6~~~yikes! It makes the excitement of placement kind of a downer.
Okay, I am getting ready to blog puke everywhere and let it all out. Personally, I am overjoyed and excited about this adventure we are starting. I would almost consider phase 1 complete. People that I talk with have lots to say and lots of opinions. "What if you get all this ready, and the birthmother changes her mind?" "Why are you shopping, and are so far out from placement?" "Why do you only want a caucasian baby?" "I could never give up my baby." Well, it is the ultimate sacrifice, just like when God gave up his son to die on the cross for all of us. The questions go on and on. Trust me, all of these things do go through my head. How I am dealing with everything is a simple thought...TRUST and PRAYER. I have to cling to the One who has made all things possible, both good and bad. It might or might not be all butterflies and rainbows, but I KNOW that God has a miraculous plan for Ty and I. Inhale and then exhale.
We need your prayers and appreciate all of the prayer warriors around the country!
I have been cleaning out and getting yard sale bins together to put in the garage. I am not sure what is going on, but I am more willing to get rid of things. I guess I know that I won't want to read all those books that I have already read on my bookshelf. I will have children's books to read to little miracle and I have my Kindle. Plus, if it can make more moola for us to pay for the "big transaction" then so be it.
If you have ideas for any fundraisers, please let me know. We usually do really well at our neighborhood yard sale that I coordinate, so I have that. We will also have a Poker Night that should do really well. We are also thinking of doing silicone wristbands too. I plan on applying for grants, but I can't until we have completed our Home Study. I would love to sell the cute, new and trendy stamped pendants, but I don't know anyone personally that does them~and I really don't want to start something new. The total due at placement isn't confirmed, but I know it's going to be a lot of zeros, like 6~~~yikes! It makes the excitement of placement kind of a downer.
Okay, I am getting ready to blog puke everywhere and let it all out. Personally, I am overjoyed and excited about this adventure we are starting. I would almost consider phase 1 complete. People that I talk with have lots to say and lots of opinions. "What if you get all this ready, and the birthmother changes her mind?" "Why are you shopping, and are so far out from placement?" "Why do you only want a caucasian baby?" "I could never give up my baby." Well, it is the ultimate sacrifice, just like when God gave up his son to die on the cross for all of us. The questions go on and on. Trust me, all of these things do go through my head. How I am dealing with everything is a simple thought...TRUST and PRAYER. I have to cling to the One who has made all things possible, both good and bad. It might or might not be all butterflies and rainbows, but I KNOW that God has a miraculous plan for Ty and I. Inhale and then exhale.
We need your prayers and appreciate all of the prayer warriors around the country!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Prelim letter
Friday evening, I got an email that said our prelim app had been approved and now we have access to the Bethany Portal. On it, we can fill out our formal app, view our financial activity, ask questions, and more. This was so exciting! We like the formal app because it is all online. Here is a pic of me holding the official letter that came in the mail yesterday. Ty said it was cheesy, but this will be a part of "little miracle's" story one day~
We have been working on it all weekend, and should finish everything up tomorrow. I am waiting on some clarification from our adoption specialist on one of the components.
Things around the house are getting into swing. I have cleaned out the closet in the nursery and under the bed. That furniture will go into the other bedroom and then we will be moving out the current furniture at our adoption yard sale in early Spring. The next goal is to clear out the other bedroom, which hopefully will happen this weekend. We made room in the garage for more yard sale storage bins too.
In some of my "spare" time, I have been doing some nursery research....I will save it for another post.
We have been working on it all weekend, and should finish everything up tomorrow. I am waiting on some clarification from our adoption specialist on one of the components.
Things around the house are getting into swing. I have cleaned out the closet in the nursery and under the bed. That furniture will go into the other bedroom and then we will be moving out the current furniture at our adoption yard sale in early Spring. The next goal is to clear out the other bedroom, which hopefully will happen this weekend. We made room in the garage for more yard sale storage bins too.
In some of my "spare" time, I have been doing some nursery research....I will save it for another post.
I do want to share some thing so super sweet though.....
Mehya, a special student who I had in Reading last year (adopted from Korea) asked me in the hall Friday if I had a baby. I told her no, and she said is it just you, and I replied yes. Well that was the end of the conversation. I sent her mom a message because she is a teacher at my school. This was her reply: "I think she asked about the baby because I told her you are going to adopt a baby, like mommy and daddy adopted her and Nate. And we speak about a baby growing in your heart, like they grew in ours! Wonder if that is what she was thinking about!" Yep, that is planted in my heart forever!!!!
Mehya, a special student who I had in Reading last year (adopted from Korea) asked me in the hall Friday if I had a baby. I told her no, and she said is it just you, and I replied yes. Well that was the end of the conversation. I sent her mom a message because she is a teacher at my school. This was her reply: "I think she asked about the baby because I told her you are going to adopt a baby, like mommy and daddy adopted her and Nate. And we speak about a baby growing in your heart, like they grew in ours! Wonder if that is what she was thinking about!" Yep, that is planted in my heart forever!!!!
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