GREAT NEWS!

We have so much JOY right now to share some great news with you all.

We met with a birth mother yesterday who decided she wants to give her baby to us!!!! 

FAQ:

Q: How old is she?

A: She is 21 years old and just so beautiful and sweet. 

Q. Does she have any kids?

A: She has 2 little boys already, ages 1 and 2. I think her hands are just full at this point, and she is basically single parenting. But this will still be a VERY difficult decision to follow through with, as it would be for any mother so we need to continue praying that she feels confidence in us and in her decision. 

Q: When is she due?

A: September 23rd, 2011!!! Very soon...this is 6 weeks from tomorrow. She would like me to be in the delivery room with her, and Kev will just be waiting at the hospital while she labors and delivers. Her hospital is in Illinois, and so we will be living in Illinois for a couple weeks until we are legally allowed to bring the baby across state lines. She will have 72 hours after the baby is due to change her mind, so we will need to COVER her in prayer as this will be a huge loss for her.

Q: Race of baby?

A: The baby will be 1/4 hispanic, 3/4 Caucasian! Mommy is half hispanic and birth dad is white. Birth dad isn't in the pic anymore due to abuse, so we need to pray for protection for mom at this point. 

Q: Boy or girl?

A: Baby boy!! We have a name picked out, but don't ask. :) It's a secret until he is officially our baby. 

Q: Open, semi-open, or closed adoption?

A: She wants an open adoption, which is a little scary for us but also exciting! We are praying for continued bonding between us as the next few weeks progress and praying that it will be an appropriate and awesome match. This means we will coordinate times to meet and she will get to see the baby/meet him and watch him grow. We don't want to keep the adoption a secret from our children at all, it's something to celebrate! However, it won't likely be a 'close' friendship. We are going to feel it out, so we can't say for sure but we probably won't see her more than a couple/few times each year. They definitely let us decide what we're comfortable with, so we're praying about it and trusting God with the details.

That should pretty much cover the basic questions, feel free to email, call, or hang out with us to talk about any more questions you may have. 

Another thing we want to hilight is how God's provision is just over us. Adding to our excitement and peace about the situation,...we are literally OVERWHELMED with joy and thankfulness for all of your prayers and  generosity. It's just amazing. We have raised over $2,000 dollars already, and are hoping to raise at least 1,000 more at our fundraiser on August 20th and T-shirt sales! This will allow us to cover the $5,500 we owe when the baby is born, and then we will owe another $4,500 over the next year. Obviously, this isn't something we can put a "price" on, and every penny is so worth it. Thank you for giving and praying and buying T-shirts. I registered at Target and Babies 'R Us yesterday when I got the good news (with my good friend Katy who gave me some good mommy tips and insight.) 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And we ask you to continue covering the birthmom and our new baby boy in prayer. This could be it (and we definitely know to keep our expectations in check in case it falls through), so it's totally out of our control and we're just trusting and praying, with great hope and expectation. 

Homestudy Numero Tres!

Not too much to report from the third home study! This is kind of how it went: our social worker came over. We didn't have any questions. We turned in our marriage certificate and a couple other pieces of missing paperwork. We gave Nancy a check, and went over our written up "Home study!"

One humorous moment was when I was reading over the home study and I came across Kevin's personal interests. We want it to accurately reflect who we are, so we have to proofread the final copy. It said in the last sentence of this section: "Kevin’s personal interests include playing golf and basketball, grilling out with friends, art, music, dance and theater." This sounded a bit "flamboyant," which is not an accurate way to describe Kevin's personality or interests. Therefore, I had her change this sentence and a few minor details about our families and our history.

We also need to change a couple things in our homestudy profile scrapbook, because I gave a little too much information about where family lives. We don't want anyone stalking us later in life (haha...but really.)

Other than that, it was a pretty easy deal! We're officially in the system, and will continue to pray for patience as we wait for the right mommy to pick us out to be her baby's parents, and follow through with giving us her baby.

I can't imagine how difficult and scary that decision is going to be for her, and that's one of the main things I am praying for her about. Courage. Faith. Peace in that decision.

This is all TOTALLY and COMPLETELY in God's hands! We are just having fun talking about baby names and preparing for the little one to arrive. I like fundraising, so the Holy Yoga/Zumba event is going to be legendary. We're working on live music, t-shirt designing, etc!!

Now for the Baby room sneak peek:

Yay baby!!

Holy Yoga/Zumba Fundraiser!

We are SO excited to have our first BIG fundraiser for our adoption! PLEASE join us for this awesome event coming up on August 20th!

Where: The Center, 1411 Brady Street, Davenport, IA

When: Saturday, August 20th, 9:30am-12:00pm

What: DANCING, RAFFLES, FRIENDS, FUN, AND HOLY YOGA!

Price: $20 Entry fee into the event, and this includes a T-shirt if you donate your $20 through pay-pal on our website, or you can come to a Holy Yoga class to sign up and pay! If you use Pay Pal, just write a "Comment" on this blog post with your size and I will officially "Register" you! Or you can email me your size at oliviar@holyyoga.net prior to August 13th!



Adoption Fundraiser

Homestudy #2 and #3

On July 5th, our 3rd Anniversary (yay!) we had our second of three home studies! This was the "biggest" deal of the three, because we had to clean our house (even the office and storage spaces ;o) as well as turn in our Scrapbook/Profile.

Needless to say, it was glad to have that meeting over! I had been cleaning and scrapbooking like a mad woman, and it was time to just get it over with! I probably put at least 40-50 hours into the scrapbook, and it was sucking my time away. Obviously, every moment was worth it because this will be what the birth mom looks at to make a decision on which family to give her child to. But, at the same time, I just needed to trust that it was "good to go" and give it over. It's totally in God's hands now for timing. All of the work we could have done is done...and it's just a matter of prayer and trusting now.

One piece of paperwork we hadn't turned in yet was our marriage certificate, which we had to order another copy of, because we lost it. If you know me at all, you will start to know that I lose important things quite often. Luckily, this was only a 27 dollar mistake. I'm sure we'll come across it someday (probably next time we move!) We'll turn that in today at our third and final home study.

We really like our social worker. She is extremely patient and answers so many questions for us every time we get together. We're excited to "seal the deal" today when we pay the final amount due on our home study and turn in the last couple pieces of paperwork. We will also look over the final write-up of our "home study" which includes detailed family history, our relationship, and how we plan on raising our child/children.

We are so thankful for the three families who wrote our references and for everyone who has partnered with us in prayer. Please continue to pray for our continued patience and trust as well as protection over our future child!

We'll keep you updated as things change/we find out any new news!

(A little juicy tidbit: we started the baby rooM!! IT IS SO ADORABLE! We are doing a "Zoo Babies" theme with baby Giraffes, Baby Elephants, and baby Monkeys! So if you see any big stuffed animals of those 3, let us know! We painted the walls and got the crib set up! The crib is awesome and it was a gift from some close friends who are done having kids! Pictures to come!)

(this is a picture we included in our profile book! These are the adorable twins who were our flower girls, as well as their little brother and adopted brother and sister! I babysat them in College and their family has been an amazing resource to us in our adoption process!)

A HUGE blessing.

Hello friends!

I am finding a few moments here in this hectic week of cleaning (for our home inspection home study) to update you on a miracle that Kevin and I experienced this past weekend.

We were visiting home, and I happened to find time a sweet friend of mine gave me an envelope with our names written on the outside. She told me to open it later...so a little bit after the meeting I sat in my car and proceeded to open one of the most meaningful letters I have ever received.

My friend's note moved me to tears and I was SO encouraged in my faith. She also encouraged Kevin and my patience in waiting for God's timing as we start our family, writing about what wonderful parents we will be. Needless to say, the tears were many. (Now on this windy path, I have to admit that steadfast patience isn't something I can receive much praise for...but we have had times of courage, hope, and patience and this friend noticed the courageous bits and pieces. This inspired me beyond words.) Her words were like water in a desert season...so refreshing. So loving.

Not only did she encourage us, but she and her husband gave a GENEROUS donation toward our adoption fees. Talk. About. Moving. I sat in my car and bawled. Like, seriously? My friend who is pregnant with her first was willing to give soo generously to our adoption? GOD IS SO AMAZING!!! I don't even know how to say thanks to a sacrificial gift like that.

This act of generosity STIRRED our hearts and confirmed so strongly that the adoption path we're on is HIS will for our lives.  It came in a moment of need; being 1 week away from our second home study in which we owe another chunk of money.

It's so reassuring that our God doesn't leave ANY battle for us to fight alone. He brings brothers and sisters alongside of us to fight. And to glorify HIM...to make HIM look good to the world. So we turn our eyes upon Jesus and the things of this world grow dim....and I thank him and this wonderful friend for helping us on this exciting journey.

It gives me great hope for what is to come.

Love you, girl.

Home Study Numero Uno

We're excited to announce that we passed our first of three home studies! It didn't take too much on our part, but we did have to answer some difficult questions, such as:

Are you willing to have an open adoption? (Contact with the birth mother/parents?)
Are you willing to adopt a child whose mother has used drugs/alcohol/tobacco during pregnancy?
Are you willing to adopt twins?
Are you willing to adopt a baby whose mother or father has mental illness in the family?
Which races are you open to adopting? (We said any race, of course!)

We said yes or will consider for the most part. However, saying yes still allows us a choice in the matter when we find out to what extent each of these things would be a reality. At that point, we plan on praying about it and just seeking God for clarity on whether or not that particular child is right for us.

I can't believe we said yes to twins! It would really be crazy to start with two kids. Although I know plenty of wonderful families who have done so, and survived rather well. In fact, I have babysat many-a-time for sets of twins. I have always wondered if God is trying to prepare me for twins of our own...

The biggest task now is getting our "profile" completed! This profile consists of a letter from us to the birthparents, as well as a scrapbook full of pictures that we compile to show who we are and how we intend to raise their child. I'm really excited about this part! I have already purchased scrapbook stuff and have pictures ready to go. It's just a matter of putting it all together!

Two weeks until our next home study (wherein our social worker will walk through our house). I am hoping to have the house immaculate by then! This process has actually been really fun. I need to have a deadline to encourage the "clean-machine" in me to come out.

We had our first fundraiser this past weekend as well! (A garage sale!!) So many friends pitched in by donating stuff, helping us set up, buying stuff (for more than we were asking), stopping by with lunch, and keeping us company! We felt SOSO loved, and it really filled us with joy to see everyone supporting us in something as simple (or-not-so-simple) as a garage sale. =) (They are actually more work than one would think. If you haven't ever had one, umm...I'll just say they aren't for the faint of heart.) We raised $325 thanks to the generosity of so many of you! It is an awesome addition to our savings so far.

Thanks for all of your continued prayers! We're feeling more encouraged and excited than ever before. We are continuing to focus on the positives of this wonderful adventure, and we daily look to the ONE who gives us a hope worth living for.

The Start of a New Journey

ἐλπίς (elpis) is the Greek word for HOPE. IT is one of the three great pillars on which the Christian faith is founded. (1 Cor 13:13).

Three miscarriages and many tugs on our hearts to care for orphans later, Kevin and I have taken a plunge into a world we know little about. This is the world of adoption. 


We are full of joyful expectation as we fill out page after page of tedious but thought-provoking paperwork to become officially "registered" with Bethany Children and Families, an adoption agency in Davenport. 

We have always wanted to have a big family (lots of kiddos), and for some sovereign reason, the timing hasn't been right for our biological family to start yet. It has been a difficult year, of course, but also one that we have felt God's loving presence surround us and strengthen us.

Through this season of grieving, our eyes have been opened as we realize the only hope we can cling to is that of our eternal hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and his saving grace. Our prayer has turned from "give us a child right now," to "Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone." (Psalm 33:22). Thank God we have this eternal hope to cling to; it's a hope that will reach fulfillment when we get to enter Heaven and meet our Savior face-to-face.

            

We have felt a distinct call to adopt for a few years, starting back in October of 2008 when we attended Catalyst, a conference for emerging church leaders in Atlanta. We learned about the orphan epidemic worldwide; 165,000,000+ orphans are currently living around the world. This was a huge wake up call to us, and as the speakers challenged the church to step up and live out our Biblical mandate to care for orphans and widows, we felt God tugging on our hearts.

It wasn't until December 2010, after the second miscarriage, that we talked more seriously about this Biblical principle becoming a reality for our family.  We knew we wanted to move forward with this at some point, so why wait? Each time we revisited scripture, it was clear that there was no reason for us to wait until our "biological family" was complete. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

            After many nights of research, conversation, and prayer, we feel that God has opened a door for us to adopt domestically through an agency here in Davenport, IA. Bethany Children and Families will be our agency as we move forward with a home study and profile creation, and also as we wait for a baby to be placed in our family.

            We are so incredibly excited to embark on this new journey as a response to God's distinct call on our lives, and we're equally excited to share the experience with each of you.