Prayer Request

When you think of me, could you please specifically pray for these two things?

1) Please pray for my husband and I tomorrow (Tuesday, July 26) at 8:30 AM. This will be another BIG day and Kevin and I will need lots of wisdom.

2) Although I haven't ever mentioned the cost of adoption, it is considerable. This week we applied for our final grant. We are prayerful that one of the organizations will be able to assist us. We know God has guided and led us in this direction and we trust Him to provide.

There are several more personal prayer requests, but those are two I feel comfortable sharing at the moment.

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and love. We have been overwhelmed by the kind response, encouragement, and prayers by so many of you. Thank you!

PS - Only 38 days until baby's due date! :)

THE CALL

June 27, 2011
What started as an ordinary day would end as one of the best days of our lives! We will never forget how the Lord blessed us on June 27th.

Monday is one of our favorite days! Kevin and I often catch up on projects around the house or take the day off on Monday. Since we had recently finished our home study we thought we should start painting the baby’s room. We were having a great day together and it felt good to get things accomplished in our home. Kevin was painting the bedroom a buttercream yellow and we were brainstorming about decorating ideas. I was in the kitchen attempting to make my first ever strawberry freezer jam. J During the middle of this messy task, my phone rang. I looked down and immediately had butterflies in my stomach when I saw Elisa's name. I quickly answered the phone and began pacing the floor. A quick flashback of our last conversation popped into my head. "Elisa told me she would instantly let me know if she was calling concerning a question", I thought. Elisa was very chirpy on the phone and asked how we were doing, she asked about our anniversary, and on and on....to be honest I was getting annoyed. “Why is she so chatty?” I thought, but secretly I was hoping it was THE CALL. Finally, she asked if I was with Kevin. At that moment I KNEW exactly what she was going to tell us. I got all shaky when I turned on the speaker phone. Elisa was elated to share that birthmother “P” had chosen our profile and was very impressed! There were eleven profiles and birthmother “P” was glued to our little profile book that was never intended to be in her hands. Her social worker urged her to look through the other copies, but “P” never wavered. The emotions of that moment were overwhelming and powerful. I burst into tears. I cried and cried and cried....(I still cry when I think of that moment)

After we hung up Kevin and I were overjoyed!  We couldn't sit still - we couldn't focus, we were so thrilled! We went out to dinner to celebrate our answer to prayer and of course we had to go and buy our little guy some clothes!

There is no doubt in our minds that God is in control. Seventeen short days after completing our home study we had a placement! Just writing about our story gives me goose bumps as I reflect on God's goodness. His plan is always perfect.

I started a journal to my baby boy on June 27th. Love him so much....I can't wait to hold him!

This is a picture of the front cover of THE profile book. :)

Stay tuned to hear about the day we met birthmother “P”. J  

A Bump in the Road

Our profile books were finally finished, approved, and ready to be ordered. I "randomly" decided to order a 5x7 paperback book for a personal keepsake. It wasn't a random act at all though, because it was the very book that linked us to our (future) son. I made sure to order the nicest 8x10 hardcover profile books for the birthmothers to look through. Little did I know the paperback book was faster to process and would be delivered just a couple days later.

June 20, 2011

The morning of June 20th was frustrating as I attempted to call the UPS store to find our order. No help – it was already on the truck and there was no way to get a hold of the driver. I prayed and waited for the brown truck to pull in our driveway carrying the hardcover books. If birthmother “P” was to view our profile at 2:00 that afternoon we desperately needed the profiles! The clock struck one 'o clock and we left the house with the "random” paperback book I intended to use as a keepsake. We arrived at Bethany right before the social worker got into her car to meet birthmother "P". After passing off the book, Kevin and I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if nothing came of it, at least we knew we did our best.

Later that night, what do you think was lying on our doorstep? Of course- the three, beautiful 8x10 hardcover profile books!

June 23, 2011

We were on our way to Indiana for our anniversary and we stopped into the Bethany's East Lansing office to visit Elisa (our case worker and now precious friend). She had the official copy of our home study that needed our final signatures. As my husband and I sat and signed our official home study it was a strange feeling to sign a paper that took so much time and effort to complete. It took Elisa forty hours to write and that is not including all the visiting time, emailing, phone calls, etc. What a labor of love!

My husband and I asked about birthmother “P” and if she had selected a family yet. Elisa reassured us that we would receive an email notifying us of her decision or a phone call if we were the chosen family. I mentioned in passing, “Please don’t call me for questions then because my stomach will be in knots when I see your name on my phone!” We laughed and Elisa said, “If I do call you with questions, I will begin the conversation with – I’m only calling concerning such and such….” I didn’t think too much about that little conversation until just four days later...

The Beginning of the End

So much is happening around our home at the moment. I thought I would take some time to get you caught up on our lives.

June 14, 2011

This day was quite significant in the fact that we received birthmother “P’s” profile. This is an email with basic information about a birthmother who is choosing an adoption plan for her child. Also included in this profile is information concerning the birthfather, medical records, details concerning the pregnancy, and the birthmother’s explanation for choosing adoption. The adopted family can then notify Bethany and say “yes” please show our profile or “no” please do not share our profile. We had received two other profiles, but for a variety of reasons our profiles were not shown. On this particular occasion, Kevin and I prayed and both felt that we would like birthmother “P” to view our profile. This would be the first time our profile would be shown.

I wasn’t quite prepared emotionally for this process. Each email we received I would cry as I read the profile. I would wonder about the little life whose destiny was hanging in the balances. I would pray for the birthmother, especially when there were difficult circumstances involved. It broke my heart and I wanted to help everyone. Although I knew God had someone special for us, someone that He had already chosen for our family.

Birthmother “P” would be viewing family profiles on June 20^th. This was a bit of crunch time on our part and a whole lot of faith. As mentioned earlier we finished out home study on June 10th. The process for domestic, infant adoption through Bethany Christian Services is that the birthmother actually chooses the forever family for her child. For this reason it is very important you have an impressive profile book (the one I mentioned I had spent over 24 hours preparing). In this profile book are pictures and lots of information about the adoptive family. Because our home study finished faster than we anticipated, we hadn’t had our profiles completely finished or shipped for that matter!

We went right to work to finish the profile books and have them delivered on our doorstep before the meeting on June 20^th.

Desperate Need for Older Child Adoption

Today my friend emailed me a link to a blog speaking about the desperate need of adoption, specifically older children. It touched my heart and I thought I would share it with you. The picture before the article made me tear up. It's a photo of a grandmother, mother, biological daughter, and a teenager who was adopted from the foster care system. What selfless love for someone to open their heart and home to a child who needs a forever family! Adoption is a powerful decision that affects so many lives. I hope you will enjoy this article.

 http://raisinghomemakers.com/

Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel (John Piper)

When we were considering adoption I wanted to get my hands on anything and everything I could about the topic. I educated myself on the process and laws. I read lots of books and searched the Internet for information. I studied the Bible passages about adoption and sought to hear preaching concerning adoption. Sadly there were very few Bible messages on the topic. Naturally, I feel adoption would make a great series of sermons! I do understand that there may be a few controversial thoughts about John Piper and his ministry but his message on adoption was very encouraging to me. I would strongly encourage you to take some time to listen.


Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel (John Piper)

Steps to Adoption

I have had several people ask about the process to adopt. I thought I would give you a little idea of the steps taken to complete a home study. Here is a brief version of our home study time table. It's different for everybody, so don't listen to the horror stories. If God has called you to adopt, He will open the doors. Our home study was relatively smooth and quick!

February 3, 2011 – God opened the door for us to adopt. We began to pray the Lord would clearly direct our path. We felt the Lord was leading us to domestic infant adoption through Bethany Christian Services .

March 7, 2011 - Attended domestic adoption orientation meeting

There were about a dozen couples who were at the meeting. There were couples of various ages, backgrounds, and family situations. It was great to meet other people who had the same heart for adoption. After this meeting we completed the following:

•  Pre-Application Form – This was a basic application form we filled out before we were   “officially” accepted.
• Statement of Personal Faith – Both my husband and I had to write our individual statements of faith.
• Online Formal Application – Once our pre-application form was accepted, we received the online formal application. This was quite lengthy and included quite a bit of information about our residence, finances, employment, education, marriage, and childhood.
• Six Reference Letters – We begged and pleaded with friends and family to give us a good reference! J

March 31, 2011 – First home study visit at Bethany Christian Services

This visit was by far the most difficult. We were very anxious and nervous as this meeting marked the beginning of our home study. It was nearly three hours long and it took quite a bit of physical, mental, and emotional strength. We were asked very serious questions concerning our plans, expectations, and comfort level of adoption. During this meeting we had to either say ”yes” , “ no”, or  “will consider” for a list of physical, emotional, and mental challenges in a child. There were about three pages of items we had to mark. Three pages! We were so overwhelmed that I was quite physically sick after this meeting for about the next week. So many people thought I was pregnant during this time. Little did they know! I believe my labor for my child began at this point. Adopted mothers may not labor physically, but they have a lengthy process that they labor through emotionally.  

April 6, 2011 – Second home study visit at our home
During this visit our social worker walked through our home and inspected things such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detectors. We had to explain what we would do to make our home “child-friendly”.  Once again, this meeting was about three hours and was mainly a leisurely chat getting to know us.

April 19, 2011 – Third home study visit at our home (individual sessions)
This was the longest home study visit. Our social worker interviewed us together about our marriage and such, and then separately for about 1 ½ hours each about our childhood, background, and experiences. By the end of this interview our social worker pretty much knew everything there was to know about us.

April 26, 2011 – Fourth home study visit

This visit was short, sweet, and wrapped up the final details on our adoption plan. At the end of this visit my mom and Kevin’s mom came over to meet our case worker. This was a great way to include our family and for them to ask any questions.

Writing the Home Study - During this time our social worker had to write our home study. This is a formal, legal document that the judges will review. It typically takes about six weeks for the case worker to complete the study. This includes writing the study, review of the study, corrections, printing, and formal approval to enter the program. By the time it was finished it our home study was 13 pages of fine print!

Profile Page – While our social worker was writing our home study we had to assemble a profile page. This includes pictures and information that introduces a prospective adoptive family to an expectant parent (s) considering adoptive placement. This was another high in my emotional labor of the adoption. I had to write a letter to the birthmother! I will write a post about birthmothers later, but so often I would begin the letter only to drop my pen in tears. You can see a similar copy of the letter on our  online profile page.

Profile Photo Book – This was extremely time consuming. I spent nearly 24 hours on this book…but it’s beautiful if I can say so myself! J After a birthmother reviews our profile page, she may wish to know more about our family. This profile photo book was designed for us to share our story with her through pictures and lots of text. We have two books at the Grand Rapids office and one at the Lansing office.

June 10, 2011 – HOME STUDY FINISHED!

I can honestly say the home study wasn't as bad as I had heard. The process went very smoothly thanks to Elisa, our sweet social worker. I just love that girl! It does take lots of time, commitment, patience, and prayer. I'm praying that someone reading this will feel called to adopt and begin their home study. What a beautiful gift! My heart is full and I have so much I could say right now. I have to be careful not to post too much information at one time. It can be overwhelming to process all at once. Thanks again for all your love and support.