This blog has existed for two years now! Wow! It's had some great posts and some weeks of nothing, but I continue to love the outlet. It will also never cease to amaze me hearing about people who read my blog. And so, I'm happy to continue to share our journey on this crazy roller coaster ride of life!
this year's top 5 most read/popular posts:
-puzzle fundraiser
-[adoption] not for the faint of heart
-our news :)
-our whirlwind week
-we need your help!!
my 5 favorite posts (excluding any of the above):
-adoption faq's
-[learning to] gain patience
-in honor of our first apartment
-supporting adoptive families
-meet Mendon
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
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Thursday, January 23, 2014
opening up to out of state
Recently we called our family advocate social worker just to check in and see if there was anything we could do since the phone has been silent. She said that sometimes it's just like this, which makes sense, because it all depends on how many birthparents they are working with and where they are in the process. She reassured us that our grids are all pretty open so there isn't much to change, but that the one thing we could update was to open ourselves up to out of state referrals.
When we first filled out our grids, more than six months ago, we decided to only be open to cases in NYS because out of state can get a lot more expensive with the travel and needing to stay in the other state for a while (you have to be cleared to cross state boundaries). We decided that if we were still waiting after a year, we would consider out of state. Our advocate told us that they had a few cases from out of state recently and that the costs were about the same as some of our previous calls. So we thought about it, both agreed that we didn't want to wait until the year mark that we had previously set, and decided to open ourselves up to it. Why not? I don't feel as scared of the possibility as I did before, and we also have the option to say no to a case if it unfortunately is not feasible for us.
The other night we sat down with the grids, and because they have been re-vamped, we re-did them all. We checked the box "will consider" for out of state, and now we'll see what happens! I feel like this step was one of faith and renewed trust that God has every single piece of this journey in His control. Now we have less to limit us by, so God can work!
When we first filled out our grids, more than six months ago, we decided to only be open to cases in NYS because out of state can get a lot more expensive with the travel and needing to stay in the other state for a while (you have to be cleared to cross state boundaries). We decided that if we were still waiting after a year, we would consider out of state. Our advocate told us that they had a few cases from out of state recently and that the costs were about the same as some of our previous calls. So we thought about it, both agreed that we didn't want to wait until the year mark that we had previously set, and decided to open ourselves up to it. Why not? I don't feel as scared of the possibility as I did before, and we also have the option to say no to a case if it unfortunately is not feasible for us.
The other night we sat down with the grids, and because they have been re-vamped, we re-did them all. We checked the box "will consider" for out of state, and now we'll see what happens! I feel like this step was one of faith and renewed trust that God has every single piece of this journey in His control. Now we have less to limit us by, so God can work!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
advice on how to support "the wait"
A friend that we met through adoption (one of the first families we got together with to talk to before applying to our agency) linked this blog post on Facebook recently. I love it and even though some of the content leans toward international adoption, I still think that it's extremely relevant. Yes we have made it through #3 so far, but we still have a little of #1, will always need #2, and are right now smack dab in the middle of the struggle of #4.
After reading the introduction, I am extremely grateful for all of you, our family and friends, who have supported us thus far in every way possible. I never dreamed we would lose loved ones throughout this process and thankfully we haven't, but I still recommend giving this blog post a read as we muddle our way through "the wait."
A favorite line from section #4: "Remember the way you felt when you heard your child's heartbeat for the very first time, or witnessed the kicks and wiggles on an ultrasound machine? That overwhelming desire to protect, and nurture your child with every fiber of your being before you had even physically met her? It's the exact same thing. But we don't have the privilege of watching our bellies expand and feeling the reassuring wriggling inside of us. We just have this stretched out heart.....We don't have the privilege of knowing that our wait will be just nine months - a definite ending point when we will see our child's face. Instead our timetable is very much indefinite, we get no guarantee of when he will arrive, and that is hard. It is so hard."
We applied to our agency and began the process with them right away in March. We have passed the 9 month mark from that point. We became a waiting family at the end of July. It's been 6 months. So yes, sometimes this difference in the length of time compared to a pregnancy is hard for me.
Thanks for loving, for supporting, for being there for us. This journey may be very long, so thank you in advance for still asking and checking in, even if we are learning to love "the wait" years from now (but hopefully we aren't...only God knows)!
After reading the introduction, I am extremely grateful for all of you, our family and friends, who have supported us thus far in every way possible. I never dreamed we would lose loved ones throughout this process and thankfully we haven't, but I still recommend giving this blog post a read as we muddle our way through "the wait."
A favorite line from section #4: "Remember the way you felt when you heard your child's heartbeat for the very first time, or witnessed the kicks and wiggles on an ultrasound machine? That overwhelming desire to protect, and nurture your child with every fiber of your being before you had even physically met her? It's the exact same thing. But we don't have the privilege of watching our bellies expand and feeling the reassuring wriggling inside of us. We just have this stretched out heart.....We don't have the privilege of knowing that our wait will be just nine months - a definite ending point when we will see our child's face. Instead our timetable is very much indefinite, we get no guarantee of when he will arrive, and that is hard. It is so hard."
We applied to our agency and began the process with them right away in March. We have passed the 9 month mark from that point. We became a waiting family at the end of July. It's been 6 months. So yes, sometimes this difference in the length of time compared to a pregnancy is hard for me.
Thanks for loving, for supporting, for being there for us. This journey may be very long, so thank you in advance for still asking and checking in, even if we are learning to love "the wait" years from now (but hopefully we aren't...only God knows)!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
"I will cast my cares on You, the Almighty..."
Today's sermon was partially about 1 Peter 5:7. At the end of the service, they showed this video and then transitioned into playing it live. I've never heard the song before, but the artist has a great back story that really drives the lyrics home. Click on the link below for the video, posted originally on our pastor's blog.
http://www.davidwhiting.org/my_weblog/2014/01/cast-my-care-song-from-sunday-a-video.html
http://www.davidwhiting.org/my_weblog/2014/01/cast-my-care-song-from-sunday-a-video.html
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
encouraging songs: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
This made song has been speaking to me lately. The music and lyrics are so powerful and evoke a lot of emotion within me. Our adoption journey has been a journey in trust and faith, and this just reminds me to keep asking God to bring us deeper in faith with Him, no matter where He leads us. I encourage you to take a few minutes and listen.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
new year's resolution
I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but after being unable to stick to a devotional plan and continually hearing about a bunch of free Kindle books, I decided that this year, I want to do three things:
1) get a million times better at doing my daily devotions
2) read more for fun
3) use my Kindle more
1 - Unfortunately, I consistently fail at the spiritual discipline of reading my Bible. I start, I stop, I try something else, I get behind. So I really want to work a daily time into my schedule that I will stick to.
2 - I love to read. It's always been my #1 hobby (nerd alert). Each year it seems that I read less and less. Feeling like I'm putting my English degree to shame, I want to read more overall and more for fun. I have so many book lists to use (Rory Gilmore reading list, my senior seminar lifelong reading list, every single book by my favorite authors, lit anthologies from college). I gotta get going!
3 - A year or so ago, I was blessed with a Kindle from my awesome coworker who had upgraded to a newer one. While I have used it, I have not used it to its full potential. I would hear about free e-books and save the info to download them, but then I'd never get around to it and the free window would close. This happened again a week ago with a book my pastor recommended that sounded really interesting, and so I vowed to dust off my Kindle and get to work! No more missing free books that I want to read. And in helping with goal #1, I quickly downloaded all the free e-books by Beth Moore before I lost the chance.
1) get a million times better at doing my daily devotions
2) read more for fun
3) use my Kindle more
1 - Unfortunately, I consistently fail at the spiritual discipline of reading my Bible. I start, I stop, I try something else, I get behind. So I really want to work a daily time into my schedule that I will stick to.
2 - I love to read. It's always been my #1 hobby (nerd alert). Each year it seems that I read less and less. Feeling like I'm putting my English degree to shame, I want to read more overall and more for fun. I have so many book lists to use (Rory Gilmore reading list, my senior seminar lifelong reading list, every single book by my favorite authors, lit anthologies from college). I gotta get going!
3 - A year or so ago, I was blessed with a Kindle from my awesome coworker who had upgraded to a newer one. While I have used it, I have not used it to its full potential. I would hear about free e-books and save the info to download them, but then I'd never get around to it and the free window would close. This happened again a week ago with a book my pastor recommended that sounded really interesting, and so I vowed to dust off my Kindle and get to work! No more missing free books that I want to read. And in helping with goal #1, I quickly downloaded all the free e-books by Beth Moore before I lost the chance.
What about you guys? Any late decisions on making a resolution?
Any tips on staying consistent with your devotions? Please share! :)
Thursday, January 9, 2014
polar vortex
We survived the Polar Vortex! I was even able to keep my Raynaud's under control.
This picture was taken in the parking lot at work one morning. Too bad my car couldn't show the wind chill!
This picture was taken in the parking lot at work one morning. Too bad my car couldn't show the wind chill!
Monday, January 6, 2014
7th puzzle update!
After our whirlwind these past few months, we haven't updated on our puzzle fundraiser progress since October. Since our adoption was disrupted, we are back at fundraising for our next match, so that hopefully we are a bit more prepared! Even though we unfortunately did lose money from our match deposit due to the failed match, we can 100% assure everyone that it was NOT ONE PENNY of what has been raised so far through all of your support. Our agency was kind enough to return our full placement check (which was paid when we signed all the paperwork the day she was born) due to the circumstances. We vow to continue to protect your donations as much as possible to use only for our finalized adoption. And so, we thank you for your past support and ask that you continue to pray for ongoing support!
Once our puzzle is finished, we plan to glue it together, frame it in a double sided frame, and place it in the nursery so that Little L can see both the jungle picture and the names of those who helped bring him or her home.
Each piece is $10, your name is placed on the back of the piece, and all donations go directly toward our adoption. Will you consider helping us reach our goal of finishing our puzzle? This is the only fundraiser that we have done, and even though the total raised will equal a mere fraction of our costs, it is very important to us to have a completed puzzle for Little L.
300 total pieces x $10 each = $3,000
Approximate total of entire adoption process = $30,000
Please continue to pray as we wait for more profiling opportunities. We are anxious and ready, trying to rest in God's timing. Thank you all for holding us up throughout this journey. Your love, thoughts, prayers, hugs, conversations, baby gifts, and support have kept us going! We love and appreciate you all!
Once our puzzle is finished, we plan to glue it together, frame it in a double sided frame, and place it in the nursery so that Little L can see both the jungle picture and the names of those who helped bring him or her home.
We have 104 puzzle pieces left! We are two-thirds there!
Each piece is $10, your name is placed on the back of the piece, and all donations go directly toward our adoption. Will you consider helping us reach our goal of finishing our puzzle? This is the only fundraiser that we have done, and even though the total raised will equal a mere fraction of our costs, it is very important to us to have a completed puzzle for Little L.
300 total pieces x $10 each = $3,000
Approximate total of entire adoption process = $30,000
Please continue to pray as we wait for more profiling opportunities. We are anxious and ready, trying to rest in God's timing. Thank you all for holding us up throughout this journey. Your love, thoughts, prayers, hugs, conversations, baby gifts, and support have kept us going! We love and appreciate you all!
Special thanks to:
Doug & Patty
Doug & Patty
Zack
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