I just want to give a shout out to my sweet cousin, Kristin Torode. About a month ago she contacted me about participating in the "Shop for a Cause" fundraiser at her church. She explained how there would be a $5 entry fee at the door and all of that money would go to their church's adoption fund! How awesome is that! She then went on to tell me that she wanted to sew her adorable, awesome bibs (my desription, not hers- and they truely are adorable!) and sell them at the event. Each person who has a table can donate their profit to whatever cause they choose. Well, she wanted to give the profits from selling her bibs to our own adoption fund!! :) Not too many people selflessly choose to take time out of their own day, to serve someone else. She did though (and mind you she has 4 of her own little ones at home!). Can you say a godly heart! Her offer alone was such an encouragement to our family!
Wes and I thouroughly enjoyed this event! It was so awesome to walk around the room, looking at each table and see the beautiful crafts and products that were being sold. Even better than that though, was meeting the people at each booth. It was so much fun to talk to everyone and hear about their "stories." Many families were in the adoption process themselves, and it was such a joy to hear their stories and where they were adopting from, etc. Adoption is not for the "faint at heart." I have already seen a few ups and downs and we have barely begun the process. So, it was just the encouragement we needed to talk with others who have been where we are now- at the very beginning and at a point where the road seems so long and possibly impossible. Just what we needed. God is awesome!
Thanks Kristin for your selfess, loving, godly heart!
(my only regret is I didn't think to get a picture with her and her adorable table of bibs- *sigh*) :)
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Matthew 19:26
So, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with our families! LOTS of yummy food, the Macy's parade, and awesome family!! Wes and I experienced our first early morning black friday shopping at Target (an experience indeed-ha)! Ofcourse Sat, we watched the Iron Bowl. It was a tough one to swallow. I'm pretty sure around the 3rd quarter I spied my hubs asleep- you know the game is a loss, when Wes is sleeping and working during then second half-lol! Oh well, maybe next year, right??!!
We talked with Ethan throughout the month about being thankful. Each morning (ok, so only the mornings I remembered) we all said what we were thankful for that day and then we added it to our "thankful tree". We started off doing pretty good, but about two weeks into Nov, I would always forget to write down what we were thankful for and add it to our tree. So, the idea was pretty good, but I was not so good with the follow through. Atleast it got us talking about thankfulness. :)
Mostly we are thankful for God's grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, patience, and the many abundant blessings He has given our family, especially our Lord and Savior! We are thankful for our wonderful and loving family and friends! We are thankful Wes has a career that he enjoys and can support our family, allowing me to stay home and cherish these moments with Ethan (and work at my very part-time job which is super fun!). We are thankful for our first little miracle, Ethan who is almost 4!?! (Where, oh where, does the time go?!) We are thankful He has led us to grow our family and make one less orphan in this world through adoption! We are thankful His timing is now!
We are thankful God is soverign in all things. We are thankful that nothing is impossible with God. I needed to remind myself of this truth the other night. :) I kind of lost it. hehe ;) I started worrying about how we were going to finance this adoption without going into major debt that we can't afford. We have strived as a family to be debt free and for the most part (besides our mortgage) God has allowed us to live within our means. When we started praying and thinking about beginning an adoption, the financial side was the part we struggled mostly with. Most people know adoption is expensive. That is the most common comment I get when I talk with others about our adoption. I think I've heard some form of the phrase: "isn't adoption very expensive?!" numerous times. Yes, it is expensive and no, we don't have a stockpile of money or a magic money tree growing in our backyard (wouldn't that be nice! ha). However, we know this is God's plan for our family. He brought us here and Lord willing, we will bring a new little one home one day through adoption. Therefore, we are trusting in His provision. It is a giant leap of faith, but isn't that a great place to be! So, the other night I was struggling with how we were going to afford this adoption, thinking to myself: "There is NO way, no way possible for us to finance this adoption without major debt. How are we going to do this?" and without a pause in thought, God reminded me of this simple and great truth, "...with God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
We are thankful for His truth, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
And because all posts are better with pictures, here are a few pics from when we got our Christmas tree this weekend:
We talked with Ethan throughout the month about being thankful. Each morning (ok, so only the mornings I remembered) we all said what we were thankful for that day and then we added it to our "thankful tree". We started off doing pretty good, but about two weeks into Nov, I would always forget to write down what we were thankful for and add it to our tree. So, the idea was pretty good, but I was not so good with the follow through. Atleast it got us talking about thankfulness. :)
Mostly we are thankful for God's grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, patience, and the many abundant blessings He has given our family, especially our Lord and Savior! We are thankful for our wonderful and loving family and friends! We are thankful Wes has a career that he enjoys and can support our family, allowing me to stay home and cherish these moments with Ethan (and work at my very part-time job which is super fun!). We are thankful for our first little miracle, Ethan who is almost 4!?! (Where, oh where, does the time go?!) We are thankful He has led us to grow our family and make one less orphan in this world through adoption! We are thankful His timing is now!
We are thankful God is soverign in all things. We are thankful that nothing is impossible with God. I needed to remind myself of this truth the other night. :) I kind of lost it. hehe ;) I started worrying about how we were going to finance this adoption without going into major debt that we can't afford. We have strived as a family to be debt free and for the most part (besides our mortgage) God has allowed us to live within our means. When we started praying and thinking about beginning an adoption, the financial side was the part we struggled mostly with. Most people know adoption is expensive. That is the most common comment I get when I talk with others about our adoption. I think I've heard some form of the phrase: "isn't adoption very expensive?!" numerous times. Yes, it is expensive and no, we don't have a stockpile of money or a magic money tree growing in our backyard (wouldn't that be nice! ha). However, we know this is God's plan for our family. He brought us here and Lord willing, we will bring a new little one home one day through adoption. Therefore, we are trusting in His provision. It is a giant leap of faith, but isn't that a great place to be! So, the other night I was struggling with how we were going to afford this adoption, thinking to myself: "There is NO way, no way possible for us to finance this adoption without major debt. How are we going to do this?" and without a pause in thought, God reminded me of this simple and great truth, "...with God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
We are thankful for His truth, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
And because all posts are better with pictures, here are a few pics from when we got our Christmas tree this weekend:
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| Ethan helping Daddy look at Christmas trees |
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| Ethan wanted to take a picture of Mommy and Daddy :) |
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| Playing in the leaves as Wes put out our Christmas lights |
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Inch by inch...
Inch by inch, slowly but surely, we are moving along with our adoption. We finally got our fingerprints and background check application in the mail! On a side note, am I the only one who thought police and sheriffs still made fingerprints the old fashioned way like they do in movies? You know, pressing your finger onto a big ink pad and then stamping it down on paper. Well, I was wrong! lol Who would've thought that they have caught up with the times like the rest of the world! lol! FYI, fingerprints are now done by a computer for those of you wondering. ;) Anyways, we would have mailed them last week, but as I was walking out the door to mail them, I realized we needed to make a copy of the background check application and send it to Lifeline as well. So, finally copies were made and then to the post office we headed. This is the first "big" step which comes right along with our first "big" payment. We are trusting in the Lord's provision here people! :) Next on the list is a phone conference with Lifeline, and scheduling our first homestudy. So, yes we are moving along with the process- a little more slowly than we would like, but that is just the way it seems to be falling. It's all good! You know why? Because God is All good, All the time! We are happy to move through our adoption process a little slowly if that is where God wants us to be. However, if it's still going slowly 6 months or a year from now check back with me. I might then be struggling with contentment and patience! haha ;)
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| Our fingerprints and some paperwork. |
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| Paperwork on it's way to Lifeline. Yep, that's my little buddy not wanting to have anything to do with looking at the camera. Pretty typical these days :) |
Monday, November 12, 2012
A link to a great blog...
I love her blog and thought this was pretty interesting. Although we have just begun our adoption journey we already have heard phrases that make us do a double take sometimes. :) We welcome questions and conversation about our adoption process. Thankfully, we have not come across anyone with a negative attitude toward our decision to adopt- we are blessed with awesome family and friends who love adoption as well! Click on the link below:
It's Almost Naptime!: How to respectfully ask questions about adoption: Adoption answers we are too polite to say out loud by: addylawson As an adoptee, I have also had people come up to me more times...
It's Almost Naptime!: How to respectfully ask questions about adoption: Adoption answers we are too polite to say out loud by: addylawson As an adoptee, I have also had people come up to me more times...
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Why adoption?? Why now??
Well, the most simple answer to this question is that God has led us to adoption, and we are simply following Him. :) The longer answer is that Wes and I have always had a heart for adoption. We have so much love in our family and we have and know the love of Christ. How can we not desire to share that love and grow our family. Yes, we have struggled through infertility, but that is not what led us to adoption. We are adopting because we prayed for God's desires to be our desires. God loves adoption. As believers, He first adopted us. We are adopting because through God alone, we can help there to be one less orphan in this world. We are adopting because we want to simply love another child into our family! After being blessed with our first son Ethan, we new one day that adoption would be a part of our family. We just didn't know when God would lead us there. Through His soverignty, and His perfect timing, that time is now.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27
Galatians 4:4-6 - But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
Why international adoption?
Well, why not?? ;) God calls different people to adoption in many different ways. He also places different desires on each person's heart. So why are we adopting internationally? Easy answer, God gave us the desire to do so, we are simply following Him.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27
Galatians 4:4-6 - But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
Psalm 68:5-6 - Father to the fatherless, defender of widows- this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families..
God places the lonely in families..
Why international adoption?
Well, why not?? ;) God calls different people to adoption in many different ways. He also places different desires on each person's heart. So why are we adopting internationally? Easy answer, God gave us the desire to do so, we are simply following Him.
Orphan Care Sunday- Nov 4th, 2012
Wes and I were given the opportunity to share our testimony of how God has led us to adoption, during Orphan Care Sunday at our church. Let me just say I am not a public speaker, not in any way. I usually run very fast from any public speaking. However, when God gives you an opportunity to share His goodness, and faithfulness in your life, how do you say no?!! :) So, we nervously accepted the opportunity and shared our testimony with our church family. God is so good and gracious, that He allowed me to get through our testimony with out breaking down in tears, or passing out! haha ;)
Before reading this please know that God calls people to adoption in many different ways. This is how He called our family. We are not adopting because of infertility or because we haven't yet had a second child biologically. Yes, we have struggled through infertility, but that is not why we are adopting. We are adopting because God loves adoption. We are adopting because we prayed for His desires to be our desires. We are adopting because through God, we can help make one less orphan in our world. We are adopting because we can't wait to love on our new "little one!" It is simple, God led us to GO NOW and adopt! Our hearts have always known adoption would one day be a part of our family, but God chose for us to go now. This is simply how His perfect timing came to be.
We are sharing it because we want God to be glorified.
Our testimony:
Psalm 68:5-6
Before reading this please know that God calls people to adoption in many different ways. This is how He called our family. We are not adopting because of infertility or because we haven't yet had a second child biologically. Yes, we have struggled through infertility, but that is not why we are adopting. We are adopting because God loves adoption. We are adopting because we prayed for His desires to be our desires. We are adopting because through God, we can help make one less orphan in our world. We are adopting because we can't wait to love on our new "little one!" It is simple, God led us to GO NOW and adopt! Our hearts have always known adoption would one day be a part of our family, but God chose for us to go now. This is simply how His perfect timing came to be.
We are sharing it because we want God to be glorified.
Our testimony:
Psalm 68:5-6
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families
. Well, we are excited to announce that God has led us to grow our family through adoption! We have just started this adoption journey and are at the very beginning of the process. We are with a wonderful Christian agency Lifeline Children's Services and are so blessed to be working with them. We know we will be pursuing an international adoption, however we are still praying about what country God is leading us to. Heather and I have always had a heart for adoption and have known since before Ethan was born that adoption was going to be part of our family. I remember sitting at the dinner table one night with Heather and Ethan and comenting on how God has blessed our family so much. Not only do we an abundant amount of love in our family, but we have and know the perfect love of Christ. We started talking about adoption and how we have been adopted by God and are now His children. We just knew that we wanted to share the love in our family and the the love of Christ with a child who may never experience that.
Like I said we have always had a desire for adoption, but we had "our own plan" as to when we would pursue an adoption. After we had Ethan we knew we wanted to evetually grow our family. "Our plan" was that we would have a second pregnancy and then years down the road, when we had saved more financially we would pursue an adoption. Well, God had a better paln for us and we are so thankful!
What I would like for you to get from our testimony is not that we struggled through some trials (everyone goes through trials at some point), but that God's grace was and is sufficient for us. It is His grace and His soverignty that has brought us to this awesome blessing of adopiton! Anyways, like Wes said, for a long ttime we knew adoption was going to be part of our family. However God's plan and our plan looked a little different. About a year and a half ago God placed the desire on our hearts to grow our family. About 3 months later we found out we were pregnant and ofcourse we were SO excited. Sadly, howerver shortly after we found out we were pregnant, we lost the oregnancy and had an early misscarriage. 3 months after that in Oct of last year we found out we were again pregnant. We were so excited, and rejoiced. However, once again we had another early miscarriage. That was probably the hardest time Wes and I had ever experienced in our married lives togetrher. To have the excitement, joy and promise of a new life and then it so quickly taken away is hard. We struggled. A lot. However, it was during those moments of pain and the months that followed, God was so graicous and faithful to us. We prayed and asked God to fill our hearts with joy. Even though we were aching, to please fill our hearts with joy. Joy in the many blessing He has already given us, joy in the goodness of God, and joy in Christ our Savior. He was faithful. He allowed us to be joyful in our sturggles. Not that it wasn't ever hard. Not that it wasn't ever painful. But we were able to see the joy in the satifaction of Christ and His goodness.
What I would like for you to get from our testimony is not that we struggled through some trials (everyone goes through trials at some point), but that God's grace was and is sufficient for us. It is His grace and His soverignty that has brought us to this awesome blessing of adopiton! Anyways, like Wes said, for a long ttime we knew adoption was going to be part of our family. However God's plan and our plan looked a little different. About a year and a half ago God placed the desire on our hearts to grow our family. About 3 months later we found out we were pregnant and ofcourse we were SO excited. Sadly, howerver shortly after we found out we were pregnant, we lost the oregnancy and had an early misscarriage. 3 months after that in Oct of last year we found out we were again pregnant. We were so excited, and rejoiced. However, once again we had another early miscarriage. That was probably the hardest time Wes and I had ever experienced in our married lives togetrher. To have the excitement, joy and promise of a new life and then it so quickly taken away is hard. We struggled. A lot. However, it was during those moments of pain and the months that followed, God was so graicous and faithful to us. We prayed and asked God to fill our hearts with joy. Even though we were aching, to please fill our hearts with joy. Joy in the many blessing He has already given us, joy in the goodness of God, and joy in Christ our Savior. He was faithful. He allowed us to be joyful in our sturggles. Not that it wasn't ever hard. Not that it wasn't ever painful. But we were able to see the joy in the satifaction of Christ and His goodness.
A couple of months ago in Sept we knew God was saying to go now! Stop tip toeing around, and just go. Trust Me and start this adoption journey. Well, as excited about this as we were, there was just something holding me back. And that was just heartache for the two miscarriages we had experienced and the aching and longing for a second healthy pregnancy. Well, I prayed and said God, if you want us to go now. To adopt now, we are ready. I prayed and said God, I can't heal my heart. I can't do it. I need help. Well, about two weeks later Wes and I "just happened" to experience another trial. Those two weeks that I went throught that trail were very hard. However, it was during those two weeks that all of a sudden what I once saw as important no longer was so very important. All I wanted was to come out of that trial I was experiencing, and get on the other side, so we could begin our adoption. He is faithful. He graciously answered my prayer. He used that trial I experienced for His good plan and for our good! God faithfully and graciously answered my prayer. John 13:7 says, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
So that kind of brings us to today. The very beginnign of our adoption journey! We are beyond excited to see the Lord working in our lives. We are beyond excitement to see who the child is that God has already chosen to be a prat of our family! We are thankful that God told us to go and adopt now. We are thankful He chose us for this adoption journey! We are thankful He gave us hearts to obey and follow Him!
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