It's a Waiting Game

Now we wait  . . . (Only 23 days until due date) 

We speak with the birth parents over the phone or through text messages every week. The birth mom is doing well and all of the check-ups have gone very well. The baby seems to be growing right on target and has a strong heart beat. The birth mom will be 37 weeks this Wednesday! When she went for her check up Thursday, August 29th the doctor's told her she was 3cm dilated. She now goes for check-ups weekly until her due date or until she goes into labor. Since that visit on August 29th she has remained stable at 3cm. However, she could go into labor any time now. 

David and I have been preparing everything for traveling to Florida to meet our new little man. For those of you that are not aware, we will be required to be in Florida for a minimum of 2 weeks. This is because there is a court process that takes place to legally transfer guardianship to David and me. So, we will have to pack everything that we could need during that time. It looks a lot like this  . . . 

I also recently had my first baby shower which is the reason I even have all of this stuff that I am able to pack! I had so much fun and it was so great to see everyone that was able to attend! I am working on these as well so please look for yours in the mail very soon . . .

Thank you again to all of you that have been on this journey with us. For all of you who have contributed financially, those of you who have contributed time or have contributed items for the yard sale, those who haven given a gift to help us prepare for the baby and for all of those that we know are praying for us we are so grateful. 

We hope everyone is doing well and we will be sure to let everyone know when we get word that our little one is on the way!

Raffle Winners!

We have drawn the winners of the corn hole raffle. Thank you to everyone that participated! 

We were able to raise over $450.00 with this fund raiser. 

Congratulations to Christian and Amanda Demyan!

Cornhole Craziness!!

Well as football season rolls around we are thinking about tailgating as are most of our friends and family. David is an excellent craftsman and this Summer decided to make some quality cornhole boards for my brother Franklin for his birthday. They turned out so well that we decided why not offer another set to our friends and family. Thus we came up with the idea for this raffle. The details are below:

Prize: Personalized cornhole boards. 

These are quality handmade cornhole boards.  

These boards are full sized (2ft x 4ft), unlike the much smaller ones you may find at the large box stores.  

The back leg stands fold in and out for easier storage and travel.

We will customize the paint colors to your preference. (Even Alabama colors).

Price to enter the raffle: $15.00

For each $15.00 donation your name(s) will be added to the drawing. 

Ex) $45.00 = 3 entries 

Ways to Enter:

1. Submit payment through paypal on our blog.

2. If you see us give us the money in person.

3. You can send us the entry money in the mail. (Please personal message us for our address if you do not have it.)

We must receive all entries by 11:59pm on Sunday, August 25th. 

The winner will be announced on Monday, August 26th.

Financial News

 We have updated the 'Fundraising Progress' tab found at the top of the blog. We are quickly trying to raise the rest of the final amount due to the law firm by the end of this month.

We found out a couple of weeks ago that we have been approved for a $7,000 no interest loan through the ABBA Fund. We are so thrilled with this news. The great thing about this loan (other than the no interest part) is that as we pay back the money, it will be recirculated to help other couples finance their adoption. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer for us.

However, we did hear back from the other two grants we had applied for. Neither will be able to provide any funds for us at this time. This news was discouraging. But, we know we don't see the big picture. There are many families out there that are welcoming special needs children into their homes or other special situations and maybe they do need it more. We have a tendency to be on the selfish side and think we are most deserving. We are trusting God to provide as He has throughout our journey thus far.

Please be in prayer that we will find the doors we know He will open for us to provide a way to finance bringing home our baby boy. We are so close!

As I write this I am amazed that baby boy is due in only 55 days!! We have been in touch with the birthparents throughout this process. It has truly been a blessing to be able to get to know them. The idea was scary at first, but it has been a ministry to us. I actually crave to hear from them now, because when I am able to speak with them, even if it is only a text message it gives me a peace. The birthmother is doing well. She had another doctor's appointment last week for her glucose test. All is well. She is now in the third trimester and is 32 weeks. She is commenting now that she is getting very uncomfortable and that she is looking forward to the finish line. We are too :)!!

The nursery is coming along very well. My mother is sewing the curtains, bedskirt, and bumper pad cover for us. I will post pictures once we have those things up!

Thank you for your continued encouragement and support. We couldn't do it without our support system of family and friends. While this process can be unpredictable and scary at times we are so thankful to have people around us reminding us to take time to enjoy this time (as normal expectant parents would) and to dwell on the positive. So, that's what we are doing day-by-day trusting our God will provide and placing our worries in His hands so we can remain positive.

WE ARE MATCHED!!

We are so excited to formally and officially announce to everyone that we have been matched with a birthmother!

Our adoption consultant informed us back in May that a law firm in Florida was seeking families to be shown to a birthmother located in Florida due later in the fall. Tracie, our adoption consultant, had previously worked with this law firm on several occasions. David and I were excited about the idea of having a baby so close. The majority of the situations we had previously been presented to were located in Arizona, Utah and Nevada because that is where the agencies we were active with were located.

After our family profile along with several others were presented to the birthmother were informed the very next day that WE HAD BEEN CHOSEN! We were slightly in shock I believe but words can hardly express our initial joy. David says he had an initial peace. I believe I was in the shocked state a little longer.

We were somewhat hesitant to share with friends and family until we were further along in the matching process. Over the last 6 weeks or so since we were initially informed of the match we have been in constant contact with the law firm. The law firm has been exceptionally kind, patient and helpful. We have a case consultant that we can call at anytime with any questions. We have had a conference call with the lawyer to clarify what we can expect in the legal process of the adoption as well as the risks involved. We have also been provided a copy of the birthmother's health records throughout the pregnancy.

We have also had the privilege to speak with the birthmother and birthfather over the phone. We were initially anxious about making contact with the birthmother. However, after speaking with the birthparents the first time both David and I felt it was a great experience. It was amazing to be able to thank this woman for the amazing gift she is giving us. We have developed a relationship with the birthparents over the last several weeks. We have spoken to them over the phone on several occasions and text back and forth.

The last doctor's appointments have gone very well. We have had doctor's review the medical records we have been provided with and they have informed us that everything looks good. As with any pregnancy there are risks that cannot always be foreseen.

The birthmother shared these with us last week!!!

IT'S A BOY!! DUE OCTOBER 2nd!!

Baby boy at the time of the ultrasound almost two weeks ago was already 2lbs 7oz and just above the 60th percentile in size. The birthmother at the time was 27 weeks. Her next appointment is this Thursday July 18th. 

We are earnestly praying to hear back from the grants and loans we have applied for. We know that all of the applications have been received so we are prayerfully waiting for those responses. 

Prayerfully Waiting

We received an email today verifying that ABBA fund received our application materials. We have applied for an interest free loan. It would be so wonderful to receive any funds at all from this wonderful organization. Please be in prayer for the board as they consider our application, and for David and I as we await their reply. It usually takes about 6-8 weeks to receive a reply.

You can check out their amazing organization here: http://www.abbafund.org/

We are also waiting on verification that another one of our grant applications was received. We will let you know as soon as we hear anything!

Hope you all are doing well! Thank you for your continued support!

Playing Catch Up

We have been terrible about keeping up with the blog. I think it is obvious that we are not "natural bloggers", if there is such a thing. I could make some valid excuses like we haven't had Internet at our house the last 6 months (trying to save some money and just use our cell phones), or that we have been really busy, but the truth is we should have been better about it. So, here's to playing catch up!

1) Our home study was finalized and approved on January 14th of this year

2) We then prepared applications to be sent to 3 agencies/law firms. 

This preparation included more paperwork. Most applications have an actual application to be filled out, that includes personal information as well as all of your financial information. In addition we often had to provide copies of our recent check stubs, copies of our driver's license, copies of last years tax returns, sometimes our birth certificates, our marriage license, copies of our physicals and background checks, and usually an application fee (around $100 - $200 per agency). Just to give you an idea. We also had to finalize and print out our family profile packets. 

3)This preparation phase took us a bit of time. We were active with all three agencies/law firms by the beginning of March!

4) What does being active with an agency mean?

This means that we are in their database and listed as 'waiting to be matched'. As 'situations' arise the details are emailed out to everyone in their database listed in the 'waiting to be matched' category. A 'situation' is when a birthmother comes to their agency and wants to place their unborn child (or sometimes recently born child) up for adoption. The emails we receive look a lot like this (this is not a real case):

______________ Adoption Agency/Law Firm is seeking families to present to Jessica (birthmother's name). 

Name: Jessica

Location: Utah

Due date: August 2nd

Baby's Race: White/African American

Gender: Unknown

Father: agreeing to adoption

Medical/Mental: No none family mental illnesses. Mom has had prenatal care. Mom does smoke regularly. No drugs indicated. Does have a history with cocaine use. 

Other: Mother would prefer a younger family that wants to have more than one child, or currently has at least one child.

Cost: Agency Fee ($22,000) plus $8,500 on legal/case management plus $4,500 in birth parent assistance plus $8,000 in finalization costs. Total of $43,000 estimated. Please let us know if you would like to be shown.

David and I began to receive emails similar to these with varying case details at least once or twice a week. When we received an email we would contact each other and decide based on the information given if we would like to be shown. If we wanted to be shown we would contact the agency.  We would then receive an email letting us know that we were not chosen. 

5) We received a match. Friday, May 17th

We had been presented to a birthmother in Florida. Out of the blue David received a phone call from the law office letting him know we were matched. David was on his way to Virginia to play rugby with a van full of guys and I was still in Auburn. This was a whirlwind situation. The mother was due in 3 weeks and they were anticipating her to deliver early(within the next two weeks). There were several other medical details given that I will not disclose. The total cost of this particular adoption was going to be about $35,000. 

6) We turned down this first match, May 19th

David and I prayed over the situation Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ultimately we decided that we did not have a peace about the situation. It was a heart wrenching decision and many tears were shed. 

7) Throughout this time period we have been researching/preparing grants and loans. We have also been slowly preparing the nursery. We cleared out the room (for the most part) and painted the walls a pale aqua color (tranquility was the name of the paint color). We also were given a crib and crib mattress from my cousin Reagan and her husband Blake. Thank you guys again!! Our nursery is pretty tiny so the only other pieces we are planning to get are a glider and a dresser. I am planning to place a changing pad on top of the dresser so it can serve as storage and the changing table.