Yesterday we had our last home study!! We still have a few things in the paperwork department that have to get finished & we will be done with those on Friday! I am off today to have my fingerprints done, Brian has his physical on Friday afternoon & Brian & Alexa will go to have their fingerprints done on Friday! I can't believe we are almost to the end of our homestudy. We still have lots of paperwork to do with our agency & a profile book to make yet. But at least we will have 1 major thing to cross off our list.
1 big distraction is certainly this nice weather! The kids are begging to wear shorts to school but I've had to be the bad mom & tell them to wait! It's still pretty chilly in the mornings yet when they get on the bus. We are looking forward to having Easter break with the kids & there will be lots to accomplish!
Only By God's Grace-"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act"-Proverbs 24:12
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
State AAU Volleyball 2010
What a day it has been! We've spent the last 2 days in Newton with Alexa at the state AAU volleyball tournament for the 9th graders. It started out with 16 teams who had qualified for this tournament usually by placing either 1st or 2nd in a particular tournament. Alexa's team came out of pool play in 2nd & proceeded to play 2 extremely tough matches to make it to the semi-finals. There they met our other 9th grade Tri-County team. It was so close & went to 3 games & Alexa's team ended up losing in that final game 14 to 16. The other 9th grade team went on to win the championship!! All the girls played so hard & we couldn't have been prouder of all the girls today! Way to go Tri-County Gold for a 4th place finish in the state tournament (and Tri-County Maroon for your 1st place finish)!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
New Favorite Song
In all my running around today, every time I seemed to get in the car, this song was playing on Life 96.5. I had never heard it before & it has become a fast favorite of mine & I could wait to find it online. What a wonderful description of God's grace for us. Enjoy!
Click here
Remember to pause the music at the bottom!
Click here
Remember to pause the music at the bottom!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
All worked out
Thanks for all the prayers. Like I said yesterday, it wasn't a major thing but just something we hadn't talked about. I talked with our agency today to discuss these things & we feel better about them now.
I have stated before that we were pretty sure that we would specify boy. We have found out that with this agency, we cannot specify gender. While at first, we didn't know how this would work in our house, we sat back & talked about how this would all work. It's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things & we just needed to think about this logically. God is in control & God decides what is best for both this child & for us. He just needed to make it clear to us that what might be the most convenient for us, is not necessarily what we need. (And what woman would ever turn down the opportunity to buy all the cute girly things out there!) So we will now just wait & see what God has in store for us.
There have been some awesome posts by some other bloggers out there that I hope to post the links to. I have truly been blessed by numerous people on different journeys of adoptions that have said so many things that I needed to hear at just the right times. I have sat with pits in my stomach knowing that God was using some specific posts to change my heart & my attitude toward different things.
Well, the weather is just too nice to stay inside!! I'm off to enjoy it with my kids!!
I have stated before that we were pretty sure that we would specify boy. We have found out that with this agency, we cannot specify gender. While at first, we didn't know how this would work in our house, we sat back & talked about how this would all work. It's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things & we just needed to think about this logically. God is in control & God decides what is best for both this child & for us. He just needed to make it clear to us that what might be the most convenient for us, is not necessarily what we need. (And what woman would ever turn down the opportunity to buy all the cute girly things out there!) So we will now just wait & see what God has in store for us.
There have been some awesome posts by some other bloggers out there that I hope to post the links to. I have truly been blessed by numerous people on different journeys of adoptions that have said so many things that I needed to hear at just the right times. I have sat with pits in my stomach knowing that God was using some specific posts to change my heart & my attitude toward different things.
Well, the weather is just too nice to stay inside!! I'm off to enjoy it with my kids!!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
And the Ride Begins
The roller coaster has begun. Nothing too major but there are some things that have brought to our attention about certain things that our agency wants us to commit to that we are unsure of. We totally understand why they do & we are positive it is all for the greater good but we just weren't prepared for it. So Brian & I need to talk & pray about how we will handle this & then proceed. We also are looking at having our profile sent it to at least 1 more agency but we are unsure yet of which one it will be. Just keep us in your prayers as we face this small hurdle! Thanks!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Another step done
We had our 3rd homestudy done this past Monday. Only 1 more to go!! We won't have our final homestudy til March 29. We got through quite a few things & really only have a couple things left to discuss. Things really are moving along quickly & it makes me excited & nervous all at the same time! We also are down to only needing a few things left to hand in for our home study.
1. Doctor's forms(which we both needed physicals updated)
2. House plans with room dimension
-Disaster plans for fire, tornado & blizzard with this
3. Fingerprints for our criminal background checks for Brian, me & Alexa
So, typically we left the most unpleasant for last!! After our homestudy, we will need to send an approved copy along with our application to the adoption agency. From there, we will have some things to complete on that end. I know that since we are out of state, we will have to complete a class that is on DVD & do some "homework" in regards to that. We will then have an adoption support person from the agency help us with getting our profile book together.
At the same time, we are filling out several grant applications. I'm still doing some research to see which ones we even qualify to send in for. We are just praying for at least 1 of these to come through but there is never a guarantee that any of them will. We know that with the economy, many places that give these grants run on donations & have been struggling. We will just trust that God knows exactly where we will get the remainder of the money to complete this adoption & He has never let us down yet!
Well, off to my domestic duties! I was hoping to stall enough to talk myself out of doing the bathrooms but it must be done! Where's a maid when you need one?? haha!
1. Doctor's forms(which we both needed physicals updated)
2. House plans with room dimension
-Disaster plans for fire, tornado & blizzard with this
3. Fingerprints for our criminal background checks for Brian, me & Alexa
So, typically we left the most unpleasant for last!! After our homestudy, we will need to send an approved copy along with our application to the adoption agency. From there, we will have some things to complete on that end. I know that since we are out of state, we will have to complete a class that is on DVD & do some "homework" in regards to that. We will then have an adoption support person from the agency help us with getting our profile book together.
At the same time, we are filling out several grant applications. I'm still doing some research to see which ones we even qualify to send in for. We are just praying for at least 1 of these to come through but there is never a guarantee that any of them will. We know that with the economy, many places that give these grants run on donations & have been struggling. We will just trust that God knows exactly where we will get the remainder of the money to complete this adoption & He has never let us down yet!
Well, off to my domestic duties! I was hoping to stall enough to talk myself out of doing the bathrooms but it must be done! Where's a maid when you need one?? haha!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thinking about her
There is another post by Julie, another blogger who is going through the same agency as we are, that got me really thinking about our future birthmom. Sure, we've talked about the fact that there will be a birthmom but lately it's becoming extremely real what this whole adoption will entail. It will involve heartache, loss & a huge sacrifice by this courageous woman. This past weekend we were riding through a not so great part of Des Moines & as we were stopped at a stoplight, I looked to my right & there, with a huge sign in the window, was a woman's clinic offering "birth right services". I couldn't help but wonder who the person was that placed this clinic in such a "convenient" low income area. Then the thoughts drifted to our future birthmom & I started wondering. Who is she? What is she doing right now? Did she just find out she is pregnant or is she further along & still not sure of what to do? Has she contemplated aborting this child & visited a place similar to this? What living conditions is she in? Does she know Jesus & all that His unfailing love & ultimate sacrifice can do for her?
Knowing what it's like to find yourself young & unexpectedly pregnant, I feel for her. It can be a very scary, lonely time, especially without the support of the father. Life as you know it will forever be changed. I pray to God that He gives this birthmother the strength to give her child life. For her to know that she will forever be a blessing to this child, even if she chooses not to parent. I hope that at some point, we will be able to meet her & tell her what she means to us & to this child. I hope that if we do get a chance to meet her, that she can know the love of God through us. I know that some of this sounds like a fairy tale but it is my wish & my hope to be a blessing to her too, for her to know that her child will be well cared for & loved like our own, even if he may not look like us. We want to raise this child to become a good Christian man, as this is our first goal with all our children.
So if you would, please join me in praying for our future birthmom & for all the future & past birthmoms out there. So that they may know that there is a better choice for her & for these children & that God will give them the strength they need to make this loving, selfless choice.
Knowing what it's like to find yourself young & unexpectedly pregnant, I feel for her. It can be a very scary, lonely time, especially without the support of the father. Life as you know it will forever be changed. I pray to God that He gives this birthmother the strength to give her child life. For her to know that she will forever be a blessing to this child, even if she chooses not to parent. I hope that at some point, we will be able to meet her & tell her what she means to us & to this child. I hope that if we do get a chance to meet her, that she can know the love of God through us. I know that some of this sounds like a fairy tale but it is my wish & my hope to be a blessing to her too, for her to know that her child will be well cared for & loved like our own, even if he may not look like us. We want to raise this child to become a good Christian man, as this is our first goal with all our children.
So if you would, please join me in praying for our future birthmom & for all the future & past birthmoms out there. So that they may know that there is a better choice for her & for these children & that God will give them the strength they need to make this loving, selfless choice.
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