Celebration

Tomorrow we will mail off 90% of our paperwork, and I am just thrilled! This paperwork includes our formal application packet that has every possible piece of information about us on it along with a few other random things we had to sign off on. This also includes the 33 question autobiographies that we have been working on for a month! I cannot explain just how excited we are to have this one completed! Whoo hooo! With this packet we also send in $300 dollars which is the last cheap payment we will make in this process. Once they have all of this, they will schedule our home study. The day of the home study we will write a check for about $1500 and the waiting shall begin.
We have our letter to the birthmom written up and will have copies ready to be shown after the home study. My next mission from there will be creating a scrapbook of our lives. This scrapbook will go to the birth mother who chooses to place her child with us. It will be a momento for her. It took me forever to get pictures together to go on the back of our letter to the birth mom, so I know this scrapbook will be quite a project. I have a friend that is going to help me, but it will take so long to organize my pictures and decide what all I want to put in it! The fun just never ends=)
Continue praying for our future birth mother that she will have strength, wisdom, and confidence in herself and her decision to place her baby with a family. Pray for patience as Brian and I wait on the right time. Something I learned in Bible Study this week.......God is not always going to lay it all out in front of us (where would the faith be then?). He will tell us to take one step, then another, then another. He is walking WITH us and not in front of us! What an encouragement during this time.
Step 1. Send off paperwork

Keep Praying

The Lord has intervened in that young lady's life in a major way postponing any decisions so far. Friends are reaching out and sharing the love of the Lord........God is powerful!

Thoughts

I learned yesterday about a young, pregnant lady who was having a very difficult time handling the fact that she was a teenager and pregnant. An update from a friend told me that she was struggling even more recently and was contemplating ending the pregnancy. She has friends around her trying to reach out, but it did not look very promising. This was such a humble reminder to me that Brian and I need to be fervently praying for our birthmother. She is possibly facing the same emotions and decisions right now with no support around her. We need to be praying for the Lord to surround her with Godly friends and family that will provide wisdom during this time. I still try to place myself in their shoes and I am simply amazed at the bravery of those that choose to place their child for adoption. Especially when everyone around them is pushing them to abort the baby or force them to care for the child when they have no means to do so.......adoption is such a mature decision for a young lady experiencing a roller coaster of ups and downs.
Still praying for our friend we don't know........

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm or ahhhhhhhhhhhh

I have been reminded why I wanted to finish school all at once and never go back once I had. I hate writing papers! This paperwork is making me crazy. I have spent a good 3-4 hours on it today (off and on between laundry and snowman building!) and I still have four questions to go. As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief!"
A dear friend (who has been through this same turmoil) has provided me with a little perspective. "Whitney, it's your paperwork pregnancy--it's supposed to be painful!"
So true! At least Brian has to share THIS pain with me! hehe!

As I walk away from them for the evening I am left wondering, "What IS my philosophy on life?" I know what my philosophy on writing is............but don't tell my students!
Maybe if you are feeling really bored you could go ahead and post YOUR philosophy. It sure is a lot easier to copy someone else's answer=)

Snow Day!

Unexpected snow days are so fun! Brian and I got to sleep in a little and woke up to about 8 inches of snow on the ground. There was only 4 inches when we went to bed! It was beautiful. We got to play in the snow a little last night when Brian got home. The dogs and I went out again today and I learned two things: 1) I do NOT make good snowmen, and 2) It is NOT fun to take the dogs in the snow because they get tiny snowballs stuck to their fur and it is NOT easy to get off!
Here are some photos I snapped! More to come of the house and cars in the snow.

Oh yeah....I know this has nothing to do with the adoption but it was too fun not to share with you non-Texas folks!

So the journey begins

A possible opportunity has been presented to Brian and me. A friend approached me yesterday and asked if she could share something with me. She shared some information about her niece's friend who has just found out that she is pregnant. She is a young teenager and is already thinking that she wants to place the child for adoption. My friend shared with the family that Brian and I were working through the adoption process, and might be interested although she wasn't sure how it would all work out. The birth mother lives in a different state that is not traveled to in a days' time. The birth mom sounded interested in this possibility of placing her child with a couple that someone knew instead of a random couple from off the streets.
The birth mom has a hard road ahead of her, as some have already encouraged abortion. Above all, we want to pray for God to place believers in her path that can encourage her through this process. I cannot imagine what the pressure must feel like on her right now. For Brian and I, we are praying for confirmation on whether or not we want to pursue this situation. We want our desires for a family to be His desires. Join us in praying for our feelings and emotions to be kept in check. Pray for the birth mom as she begins an emotional roller coaster of creating an adoption plan for her child, whether that involves us or not.

Crib set!

Sorry it is dark. Bad lighting. Clearly, I am no photographer, but you get the picture right? You have to look closer on some of them to see the mint green accents but it is so beautiful! I can't wait to put it in a crib and see the finishing touches!

whew

ok, one set of paperwork complete..........now to finish the 33 personal questions! I think we can, I think we can. I am thinking that maybe I should just set a due date so that maybe we will be a little more motivated.....
I got a hit on a black crib that I am going to check out this week (thanks, Connie!). Keep the ideas coming, ladies.

Baby stuff

Thanks to Brian's Aunt Jan in Allen and my mom, we have almost all the pieces made for a crib set! It is absolutely stunning if I do say so myself. We have a bumper, bedskirt, diaper stacker and valance (already hung) complete and ready to go! Aunt Jan is working on the blanket and pillow to match. Now all we need is a crib and most importantly, a baby!
Our walls in the "nursery" are mint green. The crib set is black and white toile with hints of mint green accents. I will try to get a picture posted soon. I am so pleased with it! It is one of a kind and way cheaper than ordering something online that looked like it. We are hoping to get a black crib, but that has been really difficult to find, especially when it has to match my criteria! I'm really not that picky, but so many of the beds now are super fancy and the bottom part covers where the bed skirt would be. I don't want that covered up after all Jan and mom's hard work! There are also not many options for black cribs either. Any ideas?
Way back when I thought we would have our own biological child, Brian and I always said we never wanted to find out if it was a boy or girl. That is why I chose the toile and green.............it goes either way! Well, I guess the Lord was just preparing us for an adoption because we won't know what we are getting still! He works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?!

Paperwork

Brian and I used our time wisely yesterday after church and got started on some of our paperwork for the agency. By paperwork I mean 33 autobiographical questions each! Fun questions such as "describe your childhood" and "what is your philosophy on life?" WE have decided that all parents should have to go through this type of screening in order to be parents! I don't think I have ever thought so deeply about my life.=)
I keep telling myself that the faster I get this done, the faster our profile is viewed. Bring on the questions!