God Bless Text Messaging

I got two wonderful pieces of news today.  Knowing B had a doctor's appointment, I was eagerly awaiting that little text message *ding* from my phone.  (Thanks, Tara, for teasing me this morning!)  The morning came and went.  Lunch and the afternoon came and went.  4:00 came, 5:00 came, and then...

B: Hey my c-section is scheduled for the 27th of April.
Me: Everything looking good?
B: Yeah babies are as healthy as can be.

Praise the Lord! Healthy babies coming in four weeks! AAAAAH!!!

I feel like I’ve been waiting to find out when Christmas will be! Meanwhile, I finally, finally picked out fabric for the babies’ room. I’m so thankful to have a great friend who’s a pro at all this stuff. (Check her out at http://www.savvy-stitches.com/.)  Stripes and dotted circles are for window treatments and the other two are for their bedding.  I'll probably also use all four fabrics for various other things in the room.  Paint color is in the middle.

We had our first baby shower last weekend and it was wonderful and weird. Weird because it took a while to even feel like it was ours. Everything has happened so fast, and we’ve been so busy trying to get things in order, we’ve barely had time to let it all sink in. Yet there we were, opening gifts and eating cake and drinking punch. And let me tell you, not being pregnant at your own baby shower is definitely strange! We were so blessed that night by the outpouring of love and generosity. We now have stacks and stacks of diapers, our double stroller, and both of our car seats!

Tonight I was unable to make it to church, but Tim came home with a surprise from the kids there.

How adorable!  Hand-made fleece blankets and burp cloths with their hand, foot, and finger prints.  I've worked with these kiddos (and siblings and parents) for the past few years and love them SOOOOO MUCH.  It's like getting a gift from my babies for my babies!

March has been a wild ride.  As we've gone through this whole adoption process, Tim started a new job, I turned 32, we got to take a great trip to Atlanta, Kentucky has made it to the Final Four beating three of our "hated" teams along the way, and Spring has refused to show its face.  Crazy.  And now I will admit that I just typed "I turned 31" and didn't even realize it until my final edit.  A girl can hope, right?

So many prayers beyond ourselves this week and upcoming weekend.  Chuck and Abby travel home from Ethipoia with Zeek and Layla on Friday.  There will be teams from our church heading to eastern Ky. and also to Arizona for mission trips during spring break week.  And finally, the baby of some friends born just last week is suffering from major heart problems.  Please take a minute to pray for baby Owen.  My heart breaks for his family as I rejoice in our good news.

More updates as I have them.  For now it's back to organizing and cleaning - only four weeks left!

Everything's FINE!

How do you feel?
     I'm fine.
Fine? You know what "fine" stands for, don't you?   
     Yeah, unfortunately. Freaked out... Insecure... Neurotic... And emotional.

From one of my and Tim’s favorite movies, The Italian Job. And that’s EXACTLY how we feel right now – FINE!

We found out a few things this week, as B has had two doctor’s appointments. She will go back to the doctor on Monday and they will be scheduling her c-section for sometime at the end of April. All of a sudden we are down to one month and counting! She has also been put on bed rest, so we ask your prayers that she will adhere to that and that the little ones will hang in there a few more weeks and not try to come too early. They are around 33 weeks right now. This week’s ultrasound also showed a boy and a girl, so we’re about as sure about that as we can be at this point!

Wanted to share a couple of fun stories from the past few weeks.

Telling my 93-year-old Grandma was so much fun. She has lost all of her hearing, so we ended up making her a short storybook. Her reaction was priceless! The next day she had my dad take her out shopping, because she just had to be the first one to get the babies a gift. Those little green receiving blankets will be cherished forever!

Quote from our little friend Colby after being told by his mom that we were going to have two babies: “Does that mean Tim gets to have one in his belly too?”

And our friend Austin insisted to his mom that twins could not be a boy and a girl. Twins have to be two boys or two girls that look exactly alike.

We were able to take one last trip together before our world changes forever. My parents had planned a big family vacation for the end of May, which obviously is not going to work for us anymore! Our “consolation prize” was that they took Tim and me down to Atlanta for the SEC Tournament. Let’s see… beautiful weather, great seats, a throttling of the Gators, and another trophy? I think I’ll take that as a consolation prize any day!

And God had neat plans for that trip too. The entire weekend at the games, we sat in front of some really nice guys from Alabama. They all seemed to be older high school or college age, and then there was one older gentleman. We joked and talked with them for a few days – cheered for them against Georgia and then beat them the next day, lol. But they were so nice and polite and a lot of fun. On Saturday mom got to talking to the older man, and found out that he was the father of the three guys beside him. Mom made the comment that she had three girls, and he said that he also has a little girl – who they adopted from China. (And her name is Lucy Grace, which is crazy, because my aunt is Lucy and her adopted daughter is Grace!) Mom then shared our adoption situation with him, and it turns out he is on the board of a large international adoption agency. Needless to say we got to talking about a lot of things after that, including Radical and David Platt, because they’re from Birmingham and attend one of the other large churches there. So cool.

 As I am writing this, our friends Chuck & Abby are in Ethiopia preparing to come home with their children Zeek and Layla! We also have some friends in China who will be home soon with their new daughter!

 A lot of people have asked about where we are registered. Here is the list:

Babies-R-Us
Buy Buy Baby
Target
Kohl’s
Wal-Mart
Elder-Beerman

 Look for an update next week once we find out what day everything is scheduled for.   :-)

Unanswerd Prayer = Best. Answer. Ever.

I’m about to tell you why sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. (And yes, I’m laughing at everyone who will now be singing Garth Brooks for the next five hours.)

We are adopting newborn twins. In May. WOW!!!!!

So here’s the story:

We have some great friends at church, Freddie and Jen, who have walked with us through much of this adoption journey. They have an eight-month-old daughter that they adopted through the agency we began working with last summer. About three weeks ago, Jen got a phone call from her mom’s foster daughter (we’ll call her A) saying that she had a pregnant friend who was looking to place her child through an independent adoption. That afternoon Jen called and talked with me about it. We agreed that Jen would talk to A and see how the birth mother (B) wanted to proceed. (These girls’ names actually DO start with ‘A’ and ‘B’, by the way, which is weird. I just want to keep their identities private.)

Over the next few days Jen talked back and forth with A and then called me to let me know how B’s doctor’s appointment went. I will never forget it – I was in Los Angeles with my mom to visit my sister Molly, and we were having lunch at Venice Beach when I saw that she had called. I walked out to call her back, and while I was standing there looking out at the Pacific Ocean and the mountains when she dropped the bomb. They had just found out that B was pregnant with twins.

So naturally I wrapped up my conversation and went on to my lunch with Mom and Molly without saying a word to them. Sorry, guys!

In the days that followed, Jen was able to talk with B and eventually meet her. We slowly learned more and more of her story, and on Saturday the 5th of March, the four of us met for dinner. Let me tell you, I’m not sure I’ve ever been so nervous in my entire life. Tim said he thought I was going to shake everything off the table. But it was great. She was sweet and quiet and honest. It took us all a little while to warm up, but by the end of dinner we were chatting about all kinds of things.

B is a 19-year-old who already has a young daughter. Because she is unable in her current situation to care for another child (children), she knew early on in this pregnancy that an adoption plan was the best choice for her and the babies. She began to research just what to do, and decided that she did not want to use an agency, partly because she was uncomfortable with the cost for adopting parents. The same reason that moved us more toward independent adoption!

The due date is May 19th, but it is common for twins to go anywhere from two to five weeks early. We are “planning” for the end of April or first of May, and hope to have it narrowed down as she continues with her doctor’s appointments. Oh – and I almost forgot! They are 99% sure one is a boy and fairly certain the other is a girl. She hasn’t quite turned the right direction in the ultrasound, but hopefully she will soon so we’ll know for sure!

There are so many other cool parts to this story. (In the words of one of my girlfriends, “Is that not cool enough?!?”) Let me share…

The one great-grandchild on my mom’s side of the family is biracial. Well, B is Caucasian and the birth father is African American, so we will now have two more biracial great-grandchildren! (Not to mention a biracial grandchild too!)

Having Jen and Freddie involved is another amazing part of the story. While going through their adoption process, Jen began contemplating how she could get more involved. She has contemplated just what that means - working for an agency, becoming an adoption counselor, starting an agency, etc. Over the past few weeks she has done an OUTSTANDING job as the liaison between us and B. She tells me that she has loved it, and that it has given her even more encouragement and confidence to move forward. Jen and Freddie are now looking into the possibility of starting an adoption agency.

We have another dear friend involved as well. They attorney handling things on our end is our friend Dave. Just recently, Dave left a large firm in a big city to open a small, two-man firm in his hometown. While in the process, Dave had mentioned that adoption law was something that he’d really like to get into. Well, now he is, and he gets to start with us!

Not to mention that the very first adoption possibility that we were ever presented with from our agency was a boy and girl twins. Aaaaaaannnnndddd… we’re back full circle!

I will never, ever say that what we’ve been through the past few years was easy. Heck, I’ll even admit that when I heard the same old “It’s all in God’s timing… God has a plan…” I smiled and thought, “uh huh”. Of course we always knew that was true, but it was so hard to understand.

To look at it now… and the story God has written to involve all these people we love dearly… we are thankful that our prayers went seemingly unanswered for so long in order for it to be this way. Only He knew where Jen and Dave’s hearts were and where He was leading them. Only He knew that Tim would finally start a full-time job the same week we were presented with this opportunity. Only He knew that there was a girl out there who would feel the same way we do about agency adoptions.

And only He knows how we’re going to handle TWO BABIES!!!!!

I have to end by saying thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone out there. We know that there have been more prayers lifted up for us than we could ever imagine. There have been listening ears and encouraging words, kind hearts and sweet spirits who have been with us every step of the way.

We ask that your prayers would continue. Not just for our preparation and the health of the babies, but for B. She truly has a sweet heart, and mine breaks at the unfortunate situation she is in. She is so mature and selfless despite everything, and my prayer is that she will be able to improve her life as she says she desires, and ultimately to discover the love that only Christ can give her.

If you need even MORE details, we’re happy to talk to you about it. Just give us a shout! Look for an update from Tim’s perspective soon.

Guess our life really is about to turn upside down!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I have written and re-written this update at least four times.

Weeks ago when I started, I was writing out of frustration and sadness.

Last week when I went back to finish, I edited out a lot of the “cranky Doh” because I had calmed down.

Today I’ve erased everything and I’m starting from scratch. So here’s our adoption update:

I’m not going to share all of the details publicly, but please ask me if you’d like me to tell you privately and I’d be happy to. About a month ago we had a situation arise with the agency we had chosen to work with. After dealing with them and finding out some things we hadn’t known before, we decided that maybe we should look in a different direction.

So there we were at what seemed to be Square One all over again. My frustration came from the fact that had everything gone as planned, we would have had a baby by the holidays. I was overwhelmed with the thought of having to go back through the process of choosing an agency. It was definitely a huge step backward, but the good thing was that over the summer we had taken a few steps forward – we had completed our home study and fundraised close to $7,000.

So where are we now? Funny thing... We’re back where we started. When we first decided we wanted to try to adopt, our hearts were really moved toward a private adoption and not an agency adoption. But somehow that seemed so impossible – we’d basically have to just tell everyone that we knew that we were wanting to adopt, and hope that someone knew someone who knew someone who was choosing an adoption plan for their child. That could take forever. When we first heard about our agency, we were ecstatic. Working with them definitely meant a baby by the holidays, not within a year or two like a lot of other places. We had waited so long for a child already, deciding to work with this agency just seemed the right move.

But now it’s back to the beginning. Looking for a private adoption situation. Yes, we are telling everyone we know to please be aware of our situation and keep their ears open. We’ve also been in contact with an adoption attorney who frequently has expectant mothers come to him looking for help with a private adoption. Legally he cannot match mothers with families since he is not an agency, but he can share information. He’s done this type of work for over 25 years and we trust him completely. He’s a very kind, compassionate, Christian man who is dear friends with some friends of ours from church.

Only God knows when and if a situation will arise for us. But for now, this is our plan and we are confident in it. Am I happy to be waiting longer? Um, no. The thought of another Christmas with a bajillion little cousins, nieces, and nephews while I sit without a child of my own makes my stomach turn. But we’re doing all we can do – taking the next obedient step. Even if that step sometimes sends us backward!

Tuesday's Tidbits

Yes, I know it's Wednesday, I just didn't get home early enough last night to post. :-)

Last night we were excited to go to a children's consignment sale in Louisville. We looked at furniture, strollers, carseats, highchairs, and the like, but ended up coming home without making a purchase. Still, it was fun to actually be able to shop for those things!  We know that a match could come more quickly than we anticipate, but for now we're waiting patiently.  On a frustrating note, there was some misunderstanding with our home study, and as of today (over a week later), we still have not received a copy.  That is delaying our application process for grants and loans.

We are super, super, super excited for our friends Chuck and Abby!!!  (http://robinsonaddition.blogspot.com/)  They found out on Friday that they have been matched with two children in Ethiopia. We can't wait to meet Layla and Ezekiel!

We are also thrilled that our friends Bo and Tara (and Colby & Kallee) have finally been able to move into their house. (http://thecracrafts.tumblr.com/)  They've been an inspiration as they've walked through the decision to live life more simply, and we know Pradero will be a wonderful home for them.

My little sister Molly left for Los Angeles last weekend.  I'm very excited to see what God has planned for her as she follows her talents to the west coast.  And I'm secretly hoping she makes the connections she needs to quickly so that she can come back closer to home!  I pray that she will find a church and group of friends quickly - people who will encourage her both spiritually and in her music endeavors.

Hope Church broke ground for the playground this week!  Absolutely cannot wait for the kiddos to have a fun and safe place to play outside. Hope also celebrated its 12th birthday last weekend, and we've ceratinly been blessed to be a part of that family for the past four years.

Hope the next post brings exciting adoption news!  Until then...

Humbled by His Plans

Sunday morning I got to church early, so I was looking back through the last few entries in my journal notebook. I laughed as I read a journal entry from about a month ago. I was freaking out over the adoption process – completely baffled at how we’d ever come up with the finances. Oh, silly girl, when will you ever learn to trust in the Lord and lean NOT on your own understanding?

Just over a week ago we marked the end of our first fundraiser. Four days at the 127 Yard Sale brought in over $5,000. Five. Thousand. Dollars. (Hey, Doh, it’s me, God. What’d I tell ya?) I have to admit that the week leading up to the yard sale I was an absolute wreck. Tim had just returned from eight days in Honduras and my mom’s house was covered with yard sale junk. So many times I felt overwhelmed and told my mom and sister that it wasn’t worth it. We’d kill ourselves trying to be ready for the weekend – we should just chill out and do it sometime later on. Thankfully they told me to chill out and convinced me to continue!

Oh how we were able to see God in our midst the whole time. First of all, had it not been for the timing working out perfectly for us to take advantage of the 127 Sale weekend, we never would have made as much as we did. On top of that, had our dear friends Drew and Cack not offered their perfect location, we never would have had the traffic we did.

Thursday was supposed to be our set-up day with no selling unless we felt ready. As soon as people saw tents popping up, they headed on over and started digging through boxes. It was absolutely the most stressful day of all as we dealt with customers while trying to unpack, organize, and setup tables and tents, but the stress and chaos of the day brought $1,000. Not bad for a day you weren’t even planning to be open – I guess God had different plans than we did.

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends, family, and people we don’t even know. From the moment the yard sale was planned, we had people offering to donate things to sell. All weekend long, as we would begin to put a dent in our stash, more stuff would arrive. We thought we’d sold all of our “big ticket” items multiple times, only to have another table or dresser donated. Yet another way the Lord provided – no way did we have $5,000 worth of stuff on our own!
We had some neat experiences and met some great people over those four days. Multiple people shared with us that they had adopted, had been adopted themselves, or had adopted children somewhere in their family.

We were able to sell a tv with closed captioning to a lady who was hearing impaired. We communicated by writing everything down on a pad of paper as she asked me about the tv. I offered to plug it in so we could check it, and thankfully our friend Chad had arrived just in time to carry it over to the house for me and eventually to her car.

Mom was able to donate some Swiffer and Clorox mops to a gentleman who works at some sort of shelter or soup kitchen, and we also sent some backpacks and bags with a gentleman who helps out with a “Backpack Buddies” type program at his church.

Throughout the weekend, shoppers offered an extra dollar, ten dollars, or even more as they paid for their items. Many of them also offered prayers for us and our adoption process. People came to us at church and simply gave a donation, and other donations came through the mail. Even still we’re having people offer up things to sell at our next yard sale.

Like I said before – humbling. I don’t know that you’d ever choose in life to be in the midst of a difficult or trying situation. Yet how encouraged we have been by the outpouring of love, support, and generosity from so many around us! We are even more grateful now than we’ve ever been before for the family and friends that God has blessed us with.

So here’s where we stand: We are officially home study approved! Yesterday we received a letter stating that our home study was on its way to our agency and another copy on its way to us. Once we receive it, we will send copies of it along with our applications for various loans and grants. THEN….. we’ll finish our profile for the agency and send it off so that we can be matched!

Thank you again to EVERYONE who helped with the yard sale. If you came by and spent two dollars, donated junk from your attic, or simply prayed that the weekend would be a success, you were a blessing to us. Look for details for yard sale #2 and a cookout lunch soon!

Fundraiser #1 a HUGE success!

Wow. That’s really all there is to say. Wow. I am utterly amazed at the love that has been poured out upon a child who isn’t even here yet! This weekend’s yard sale was above and beyond successful.

I have a lot of thoughts and things to share, but for now we just want to let you know how grateful we are to everyone who pitched in in any way. Your giving enabled us to raise over $5,000 toward our adoption expenses!

There are SO MANY people we want to thank for donating time, money, or things to sell. First of all, my mom, who finally got to get rid of clutter in her house and worked her tail off for two weeks to be ready for this past weekend; my sister Molly, who was slave to me and my mom throughout this whole process; and my dad, who put up with all of the insanity while being whatever help he could.

Drew Causey and Cack Detherage (the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Causey!!!) who allowed us the use of their yard, garage, and home for four days. The location was PERFECT and we would not have had the outcome we did without your generosity. Thanks also for loaning us Scout to keep us company and entertain the shoppers.

Bethany Meacham, who showed up every day, folded and sorted more clothes than an employee at the Gap, and came with Robert to help us tear down on Sunday afternoon.

Andrew and Amy Zopff, who gave up their Saturday afternoon and evening to come – with their kids - to run our yard sale so that we could attend my cousin’s wedding. Those six hours no doubt helped toward our total. And to Amy for fixing a cooler of cold drinks for us on our set-up day.

Hope Community Church for the use of tables.

Richard Weese for helping us transport and set-up on Thursday.

Buddy Bennett, Jamey Bennett, Tommy Current, Tim Lucas, Jason Gilbert, and Andrew Zopff for loaning us canopies that saved us and our shoppers from the intense heat and sun.

Bo Cracraft, Jason Gilbert, and Brad Gross for moving furniture and boxes out to the site.

Lucy Karsner, Gracie, and Peyton for helping with set-up.

Jeff Ford for loaning us his truck the entire weekend.

Gilberts and Cracrafts for making food runs.

David Rowe for helping us transport and unload all the leftover stuff on Sunday.

Donations of various kinds: Robinson, McQuinn, Roberts, Tilley, Current, Cracraft, Zopff, Gilbert, Karsner, Reddick, Ross, Meacham, Walker, Lucas, Doolin, Chrisman, McGrath, Rennels, Noble, Foster, Maggard, Tigges, Rose, Birdwhistell, Snelling, Rowe, Uebel, Gay, Bowman, and so many more that I didn’t get a chance to write down.

You are all blessings in our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you!