Big Brothers!

Wondering what the boys are thinking about being big brothers???

Hahaha!  In all seriousness, they are super excited!  Well, at least Jax is...and we tell ourselves that Hudson is (even though he can't quite communicate that with us yet).  When we found out we were pregnant with Hudson, Jaxon was convinced he was getting a little sister.  So much so that he convinced most of us that there was indeed a little girl on the way.  We didn't find out the gender of the baby, but we all felt pretty sure that it was a girl.  Needless to say, it took a little bit of adjusting to when Hudson popped out and was actually a boy!!!  This time around, he was a little bit smarter about things and would make comments like, "I know God is the only one who really knows if I am getting a sister or a brother, but I REALLY hope he gives me a sister!"  Here was his reaction to finding out he really does have a baby sister on the way...

Thanks for praying for Baby Girl!  Would you add her big brothers to the prayer list?  They will have quite a bit of adjusting to get used to here in a couple months :)

Adopt Together

In an effort to run one last BIG adoption fundraiser, we have started an AdoptTogether page.  Straight from their website, AdoptTogether says this:

AdoptTogether is a non-profit, crowdfunding platform that bridges the gap between families who want to adopt and the children who need loving homes.
At AdoptTogether, our vision is to live in a world with no more orphans-- a family for every child. Whether you’re a family who wants to adopt or a future donor, you’re a big part of turning this vision into a reality. 

Visit our page at https://www.adopttogether.org/lovechoseyou.  If you feel led, please feel free to share it with others via Facebook, Twitter, or email!

As a THANK YOU for your donations through AdoptTogether, we would like to offer the following for each level of donation:
$10--a personalized thank you card from the big brothers for helping bring their baby sister home
$25--the FIRST PEEK at our first photo as a family of five (and a card)
$50--a LOVE print specially designed by Aunt Kelsey (and a family photo and a card) 
$100--a heart necklace handmade in Kosovo//the outer heart is copper and the inner heart is silver//symbolizes that EVERY baby grows in our HEART (and a card)
$150--a heart necklace and a LOVE print (and a card)$200--a heart necklace, a LOVE print, a family photo, and a card 

Details about the necklace:

This is a beautiful, hand crafted, fair trade heart pendant made with classical technique (AKA: a hammer) in Kosovo.  The outer heart is copper and the inner one is silver.  The chain has a silver outing.  This is a beautiful symbol of adoption, motherhood, or love as you picture the love growing in your heart.  These necklaces were donated to us by a sweet family that is currently fostering to adopt 3 children in Atlanta, GA after journeying through their own God-ordained adoption story.  

Details about the prints:
Each print will be printed as a 5 x 7 photograph and send via mail.  You can also choose to have the digital file emailed to you if you would rather.  Please choose from the following designs. 

Song of Solomons

I love you

Winnie the Pooh

Black Chevron

 

Together

Small Things

love

Love You Forever

World

Adventure

All You Need

BIG NEWS!!!

We thought it was the right time to go ahead and share our BIG NEWS here on the blog!  We have been matched with a birthmom and are expecting a little girl at the end of March!  We are so excited and still processing what it might be like around here with a GIRL!!!!  Our birthmom, I will call her Miss L on the blog, is from Cincinnati and we have talked on the phone once and done a little bit of emailing back and forth.  She is very sweet and confident about her decision to choose adoption. 

We were officially matched with Miss L on January 2nd...what a great way to ring in the new year!  We shared the news with our families, but felt like it might not be best to go public with anything until we had talked to Miss L.  There was something about that phone call that seemed similar to making it past the first trimester in a biological pregnancy.  The anticipation of that call was a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  We rescheduled 2 different times before we were able to connect with Miss L.  Our social worker reassured us that this wasn't abnormal and happens more often than we probably thought it did.  Turns out she had gotten hit with the flu pretty badly and was trying to catch up on sleep.  We were finally able to talk to her on January 13th and it was so great!  Yes, it was definitely awkward at times, but overall it was so reassuring to be able to talk to her and get to know her a bit.  She was very curious about what it is like in Kansas and we tried really hard to convince her it wasn't all farms and tornadoes out here!  We spent this week sharing the good news with the people we wanted to share it with in person before sharing the news publicly online.  

We have a couple of really specific prayer requests to share with you:
-Please pray for Miss L!  Pray for her health, her heart, her family, and anything else that is laid on your heart.  
-Pray for baby girl!  We don't have many medical records, so there isn't anything specific other than her general health.  
-Pray for our finances.  I will share a more in-depth post about our finances, but we still need to raise about $7,000.

Thanks for joining with us in this journey!  We couldn't do it without you!

God's Mysterious Plan

"No one is exempt from trials and tribulations. In fact, this is often what happens to people God loves very much, for it is part of God’s often mysterious and good plan for turning us into something great." -Timothy Keller

I read this quote yesterday morning and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.  Yesterday was supposed to be a big, exciting, momentous milestone in our adoption journey.  Instead, it was sad, disappointing, and frustrating.  We were supposed to be on the phone with people who will be very monumental as we move forward in our journey, but instead we were left with an unanswered phone call and questions that couldn't be answered (along with Pinterest, listening to Serial, and doodling to fill the silence).

A couple hours later, this is what our life looked like as Hudson and I waited at the emergency room for them to stitch up his lip.

It was so sad, because he was terrified all night.  He would cry at even the littlest things, like when the doctor tried to listen to his lungs.  There was a long list of initial possibilities, including the need for a plastic surgeon to repair the lip, an ENT specialist to fix the mouth and ruptured gums, a broken nose and/or cheekbone, and a concussion, all of which were narrowed down to only needing 3 stitches on the lip!  

At the end of the night, I was desperately wishing for a direct line to ask God what His purpose was for our day.  Why the missed phone call?  Was everything okay?  Why the ER visit and added costs to our already non-existent budget?  It made me start to feel a bit defeated.  And then I kept hearing this verse of one of my favorite songs on repeat in my head...Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King!  It was a beautiful reminder that Satan was doing his best to get us down.  As we venture forward and get closer and closer to bringing our baby home through adoption, he must be feeling a little antsy.  But ultimately, I must believe in God's Mysterious Plan and trust that He will turn this all into something great.  I ended my night fervently praying against his attacks and clinging tightly to the hope that can only be brought through Jesus.  Will you join me in that prayer?  Specifically will you join me in praying for quick healing for Hudson, miraculously small medical bills, and peace as we move through the next few days with our agency?  

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for us.  I can't wait to share more, but until then will you pray for us?  My nerves are going crazy, and I know I'm not the only one!  Thanks friends.  Stay tuned for more news coming soon...

Why Adoption?

We have had lots of people ask us this question.  Here is an article that I wrote for our church newsletter (and tweaked a bit for the blog) that gives you a glimpse into our hearts for adoption.  Happy reading!

Our journey toward adoption has been daunting and exciting all at the same time. We worry about paperwork and money and planning, but we can’t help but smile when we dream about what our family might look like.  Lining those dreams up with God’s plans for our family is what this journey is all about.

In high school, Kirby wanted to adopt because he knew his kids would never be tall enough to play basketball. Cara vividly remembers the summer camp she was at when she first heard the command to care for the widowed and orphaned, and the legalistic part of her wrote in the margins of her Bible that she would do this someday. Jaxon cried when we explained what adoption is and told him we wanted to adopt a baby because he thought we were “getting rid of OUR baby Hudson to go to another family.”

Needless to say, our attitudes and motivations have shifted as we have grown more in the realization of what it means to be adopted into God’s family. As Christians we have been bought with Jesus’ blood, adopted into His family, and invited to spend eternity with Him!  Adoption is one way that our family can spread this good news.  Just like we have been invited into the family of Christ, a little baby out there will be invited into our family.  And not because we want this, or feel like we need to do this, but because there is a tug on our hearts to do what Jesus would do.  A quote that stood out to us from our recent study at LIFE group reads:

…Jesus can be the only Hero. We must stand where He would stand on behalf of what He would stand for, not so that we are seen as heroic but so that He is seen as the ultimate Hero in the battle for what is good and right and just.

~Jason Johnson, All In Orphan Care

Will you join us in fighting the battle?  We strongly believe that there are other families reading this blog that will adopt.  Are you one of them?  There are families in this community that will help fund those adoptions.  Will you?  And above all else, there are LOTS of you out there that will pray for the journeys!  How will you help fight the battle?  Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your story.  We would love to pray for your journey!

busy month!

Hi friends!
I am so sorry for the lack of update on the blog...I did not mean to leave you waiting in suspense!  Life has been incredibly busy for us this month.  As the anticipation of bringing our little one home anytime now, the pressure to quickly raise the necessary funds has been looming.  Our days have been full of sewing burp cloths, crafting Christmas ornaments, and preparing for Breakfast with Santa!  And what a blessing each of those projects have been!  In addition to bringing in money, they have brought lots of fun memories.  For those of you interested in numbers (or maybe even looking for fundraising ideas of your own) here is a breakdown of what each project made us: burp cloths = $110 (with more hopefully to come!), ornament fundraiser = $464, Breakfast with Santa = $1,125.  WOW!  And here are a few pictures to recap the fun...

In the midst of all the fundraising, there have been several baby possibilities.  None of them have been our perfect match yet.  I plan to blog on that more later, when my heart is ready.  Through each possibility, my heart has really broken for everyone involved.  Each story has made me more aware that it isn't just a baby--it is a baby, their birthmom, their birthdad, and in many cases, lots of birth siblings.  While I knew that in my head, my heart is feeling it in ways I hadn't anticipated.  Will you pray for those families as you pray for our journey?  Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!