Apparently God really is in control and listens when we ask for things.
Not two hours after I published the last post about trust and him being in control I got an e-mail from a wonderful woman (Hi Lindsey!) who gave me links to gun safes. They ended up not working out, but that led me to a place where we found a gun safe for $99.99.
Then I found the exact crib we had been looking at on the BabiesRUs website. The one on the website was $250. We got the crib we wanted, mattress and matching changing table for $110.00. All of that separately would have been about $450!
Thank you God for your provisions! and thank you family and friends for your prayers!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Garage Sale
While we fully believe that God will provide the financial need for our adoption we also believe He does not want us sitting on our rears waiting for the windfall. So we decided to have a garage sale.
And what a garage sale this will be! Throughout the short time we've been on this journey, God has shown how wonderful he is by providing us with amazing and supportive friends and family. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be getting such support. So far we have an entire garage full of things donated to us to sell. And there is still more to come! Our garage is packed and I mean PACKED full of clothes and furniture and knick-knacks and electronics and anything you can imagine.
So on May 3 & 4th we will be holding our garage sale. If your in the area stop on by, even if it's just to say hi, we'd love to see you. For obvious reasons I will not be posting our address here, so if you want to stop by but don't' know where to go e-mail me and I'll give you directions.
Our goal for the sale is $1000, but anything we make will be more than welcomed (and appreciated!). God has been very faithful so far - blessing us with things we've needed for free! We've just got to be faithful ourselves and not worry about the things He is in control of, which of course is easier said than done.
It's easy to get caught up in the worry and fear that somehow the money won't be there. It's daunting adding up all the expenses of the adoption, let alone all the other things we need as well! We have the same dreams of the "perfect nursery" and the brand new things as every parent does. We want things to be just so for our first child. Just because we aren't giving birth to this baby doesn't mean we don't have the same first time parent wants and desires. We just have to remember that God provides in ways that aren't necessarily the way we were thinking He would, or should. Even though it's not what we may have wanted, at the time He is giving it to us, it is exactly what we need. And I have to remember that. Every little thing is a blessing, everything we DON'T have to pay for (even if it isn't the "one" we wanted) is a HUGE blessing.
So far God has made it abundantly clear that He will provide everything we need. We just need to let it go.
So stop on by, or keep us in your prayers that weekend and we'll watch a miracle take place - adding more money to our fund!
If you are of the praying persuasion - here is a major item we need in order for our home study to be completed: a gun safe.
These things can be very expensive, usually between $300 and $700 dollars. This is an expense we will HAVE to come up with and before the end of next month, which means that amount gets taken away from the actual goal. So pray that God will provide for one that meets our needs (must be able to hold a shotgun and a rifle at the least) and that it becomes available before the end of next month! It must be in our home, installed and in use before May 30th.
And what a garage sale this will be! Throughout the short time we've been on this journey, God has shown how wonderful he is by providing us with amazing and supportive friends and family. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be getting such support. So far we have an entire garage full of things donated to us to sell. And there is still more to come! Our garage is packed and I mean PACKED full of clothes and furniture and knick-knacks and electronics and anything you can imagine.
So on May 3 & 4th we will be holding our garage sale. If your in the area stop on by, even if it's just to say hi, we'd love to see you. For obvious reasons I will not be posting our address here, so if you want to stop by but don't' know where to go e-mail me and I'll give you directions.
Our goal for the sale is $1000, but anything we make will be more than welcomed (and appreciated!). God has been very faithful so far - blessing us with things we've needed for free! We've just got to be faithful ourselves and not worry about the things He is in control of, which of course is easier said than done.
It's easy to get caught up in the worry and fear that somehow the money won't be there. It's daunting adding up all the expenses of the adoption, let alone all the other things we need as well! We have the same dreams of the "perfect nursery" and the brand new things as every parent does. We want things to be just so for our first child. Just because we aren't giving birth to this baby doesn't mean we don't have the same first time parent wants and desires. We just have to remember that God provides in ways that aren't necessarily the way we were thinking He would, or should. Even though it's not what we may have wanted, at the time He is giving it to us, it is exactly what we need. And I have to remember that. Every little thing is a blessing, everything we DON'T have to pay for (even if it isn't the "one" we wanted) is a HUGE blessing.
So far God has made it abundantly clear that He will provide everything we need. We just need to let it go.
So stop on by, or keep us in your prayers that weekend and we'll watch a miracle take place - adding more money to our fund!
If you are of the praying persuasion - here is a major item we need in order for our home study to be completed: a gun safe.
These things can be very expensive, usually between $300 and $700 dollars. This is an expense we will HAVE to come up with and before the end of next month, which means that amount gets taken away from the actual goal. So pray that God will provide for one that meets our needs (must be able to hold a shotgun and a rifle at the least) and that it becomes available before the end of next month! It must be in our home, installed and in use before May 30th.
Friday, April 18, 2008
It Went Well
We just finished our first meeting and it went really well! We really hit it off with our case worker and scheduled the rest of our appointments for 05/05, 05/09, & 05/30. So it looks like our case will go before the judge sometime in early June. Yeah!
It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be although we did have to answer some very personal questions. She was very impressed that our packet was so thoroughly complete and that we new things most perspective parents don't right off the bat. We do need to finish one thing, but in our fairness the directions weren't very clear!
All in all things are looking great. E (our caseworker) told us that we should start writing our letter to the birth parents now because we will be able to put it into the book before the judge approves us. I'm a little nervous about making sure the right thing gets said and that we make it look good. I know that God is in control so I really shouldn't worry too much, but after everything we've been through knowing the majority of our chances lies in that letter, well, I want it to be perfect.
It looks like we have one advantage already. E told us that firefighter and cops tend to be chosen quickly, so pray that is true! Anything we can do to up our chances is a good thing.
All in all it was a very good meeting and we all clicked right away. Apparently though, according to Russell, I talked too much! I can't imagine me talking too much, can you?
It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be although we did have to answer some very personal questions. She was very impressed that our packet was so thoroughly complete and that we new things most perspective parents don't right off the bat. We do need to finish one thing, but in our fairness the directions weren't very clear!
All in all things are looking great. E (our caseworker) told us that we should start writing our letter to the birth parents now because we will be able to put it into the book before the judge approves us. I'm a little nervous about making sure the right thing gets said and that we make it look good. I know that God is in control so I really shouldn't worry too much, but after everything we've been through knowing the majority of our chances lies in that letter, well, I want it to be perfect.
It looks like we have one advantage already. E told us that firefighter and cops tend to be chosen quickly, so pray that is true! Anything we can do to up our chances is a good thing.
All in all it was a very good meeting and we all clicked right away. Apparently though, according to Russell, I talked too much! I can't imagine me talking too much, can you?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
First Meeting
I just got off the phone with our case worker and we have our first meeting this Friday! This is just a get-to-know you meeting, we will still need to meet with her three more times. I asked her how long this process usually takes with her and she said if we can get things scheduled, she could be able to present our homestudy before the judge by the end of May.
Since she's on contract with our agency and not a full time employee her cases tend to move quicker through the system than the other case workers. Wow. I don't even have words to describe how quickly this is going! We could have our letter in that the birthparents choose from in the book before June (I'll explain this a little later).
Wow. We could use lots of prayer right now for this meeting and the next three to come! I'll update soon on how the meeting went.
Since she's on contract with our agency and not a full time employee her cases tend to move quicker through the system than the other case workers. Wow. I don't even have words to describe how quickly this is going! We could have our letter in that the birthparents choose from in the book before June (I'll explain this a little later).
Wow. We could use lots of prayer right now for this meeting and the next three to come! I'll update soon on how the meeting went.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Questions and the Uncomfortable
I'm still working out the paragraph bugs, but the comments are now working. It's amazing the amount of traffic we've already seen on our little blog and it's only been going for less than twenty four hours!
I know that adoption and infertility can be an uncomfortable topic, especially for those who don't know a lot about it. So if you have any questions, just let us know. Either through e-mail or by leaving a comment. We aren't afraid of any questions, you'd be amazed at what strangers will ask! We welcome this opportunity to help spread the facts about infertility and adoption. There are so many misconceptions floating out there and we want to make sure that as adoptive parents and as a couple dealing with infertility we share as much information as possible.
So ask away!
I know that adoption and infertility can be an uncomfortable topic, especially for those who don't know a lot about it. So if you have any questions, just let us know. Either through e-mail or by leaving a comment. We aren't afraid of any questions, you'd be amazed at what strangers will ask! We welcome this opportunity to help spread the facts about infertility and adoption. There are so many misconceptions floating out there and we want to make sure that as adoptive parents and as a couple dealing with infertility we share as much information as possible.
So ask away!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Working Out The Bugs
I'm having a hard time setting up the comment section. So if you'd like you can e-mail me at
nessa120@yahoo.com in the mean time.
Also, I am working on the paragraph issue. It shouldn't look like a giant mass of words.
Sorry!
nessa120@yahoo.com in the mean time.
Also, I am working on the paragraph issue. It shouldn't look like a giant mass of words.
Sorry!
In the beginning
Most of you know our story already. For those that don't, here is a little introduction.
In November of 2005 Russell & I thought I was pregnant. So the day before Thanksgiving, we went to the doctor to find out, super excited to unveil the big news the next day with our family. What a thing to be thankful for!
Well, as you can all guess - it was a no. No big deal though, we hadn't been trying and it wasn't a big let down. The next day we hosted our first Thanksgiving with about 15 people in a very tiny condo. We also decided, what the heck, let's start trying to make a baby. So we threw out the birth control and announced it to the world on Turkey day. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult, and what a fun pastime! We assumed within a few months we'd be on our way to baby land, if not by Christmas.
Except Christmas came and went and so did many more months without any sign of the illusive stork. And you'd be amazed how quickly the thought of that pastime can make picking up dog poop sound like a much better thing to do! Two and half years later and many tests, doctor appointments and tears, we were crushed. And by we I mean me. And not in a bad way. Russell has always, from the very beginning known that someday we would be parents and that God was in control. It's not that this isn't difficult for him too, it's just that I can be a little ... obsessive. So it's a good thing he's around or I wouldn't be so sane right now.
We had always known that at some point we would like to add to our family by adoption, you know, after we got a few of our own under our belt. And with Russell being adopted, it just felt like the it was the right thing for our family. The only hic-up in this plan was that we weren't given an option to get a few of our own before adding to our brood by adopting - it turns out it's the only way we are going to get our family.
Before we had actually made the decision to adopt, still clinging to the hope of having our own, God decided to start showing us His plans. Little by little he opened our eyes just a bit at a time to what his grand plan would be. It's kind of like putting a puzzle together. Except you don't have the cover to guide you. You kind of know what it's supposed to look like, but the details are still a little fuzzy. This is how our world has been for the last nine months.
This is an amazing journey we have gotten ourselves into and we are excited to be able to have you all along for the ride. I will try to update as often as I can, letting you all know about the progress.
Today's progress?? We turned in our application. Let the whirlwind begin!
In November of 2005 Russell & I thought I was pregnant. So the day before Thanksgiving, we went to the doctor to find out, super excited to unveil the big news the next day with our family. What a thing to be thankful for!
Well, as you can all guess - it was a no. No big deal though, we hadn't been trying and it wasn't a big let down. The next day we hosted our first Thanksgiving with about 15 people in a very tiny condo. We also decided, what the heck, let's start trying to make a baby. So we threw out the birth control and announced it to the world on Turkey day. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult, and what a fun pastime! We assumed within a few months we'd be on our way to baby land, if not by Christmas.
Except Christmas came and went and so did many more months without any sign of the illusive stork. And you'd be amazed how quickly the thought of that pastime can make picking up dog poop sound like a much better thing to do! Two and half years later and many tests, doctor appointments and tears, we were crushed. And by we I mean me. And not in a bad way. Russell has always, from the very beginning known that someday we would be parents and that God was in control. It's not that this isn't difficult for him too, it's just that I can be a little ... obsessive. So it's a good thing he's around or I wouldn't be so sane right now.
We had always known that at some point we would like to add to our family by adoption, you know, after we got a few of our own under our belt. And with Russell being adopted, it just felt like the it was the right thing for our family. The only hic-up in this plan was that we weren't given an option to get a few of our own before adding to our brood by adopting - it turns out it's the only way we are going to get our family.
Before we had actually made the decision to adopt, still clinging to the hope of having our own, God decided to start showing us His plans. Little by little he opened our eyes just a bit at a time to what his grand plan would be. It's kind of like putting a puzzle together. Except you don't have the cover to guide you. You kind of know what it's supposed to look like, but the details are still a little fuzzy. This is how our world has been for the last nine months.
This is an amazing journey we have gotten ourselves into and we are excited to be able to have you all along for the ride. I will try to update as often as I can, letting you all know about the progress.
Today's progress?? We turned in our application. Let the whirlwind begin!
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