We have BIG news!
We are adopting a BABY!
After 12 years of praying and 5 years of trying to foster-to-adopt, we are beyond excited that God has led us to adopt through Lifetime!! We are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $35k-65,000. This is why we have set a goal of $20,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as he/she grows up.
I said the next time you get an update would be a birth announcement!!! And…it was!! But I forgot to update on here 🫣baby brain🤪
So… I wanted to let you all know how incredibly grateful we are to you for supporting us along this journey!! It has been a very long one, but completely worth the wait!! Kalani Rae Mathis made her debut in the world on June 8th, 2023. Weighing in at 6lb. 3oz. And 19in he’s long, she was definitely a “keeper”! (To use my husband’s fisherman terms!)
In the weeks of being home and enjoying (& adjusting) to having a newborn in the house again, Kalani has met her sisters 👯♀️, her puppy 🐶, and several family members! She’s kind of a Big Deal around here!! She has taken trips to Walmart, the Peach shed, the doctor, & the horse ranch! Kalani is loving her swing, her naps, and her bottles most right now in her life! She also LOVES the outdoors~So many fresh colors and smells! Kalani is excited to CELEBRATE with some WELCOME TO THE WORLD parties in the next few weeks!! We have a Baby shower at our church in the 17th in rage evening, & a Meet n Greet at a friends house in Sat, the 22nd!! All are welcome to celebrate with us…our beautiful little gift from God💝
My next update will be to share that we have officially finalized! In the meantime, please continue to keep us and Kalani in your prayers for a smooth finalization. It should be about 2 months away!
Thank you all again, so very much!!
That's right!! 18 Days after I posted our last update about the Wait...God brought our Birthmother to us! She made one of the most loving and selfLESS decisions of her life... and chose our family to raise her baby. We are so grateful for this opportunity to grow our family through the beautiful gift of adoption!
WHAT EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW:
~ She is a baby girl!!
~She is expected to make her appearance in this world mid-June!
~She is healthy!
~~~HOW CAN WE HELP???~~~
We receive more of this question than anything else...well, this and "What do y'all need?"
We are so grateful for a community of friends and family who have walked with us through this journey so faithfully! Below are a few ways to help us as we excitedly look forward to the day we hold our baby girl in our arms and bring her home!
~We expect to have travel expenses and other financial obligations due to the fact that I will not have income during the first few months of maternity leave. If this is a way you would like to help, you can do so through Venmo @Annie_Mathis_Fam, Apple Pay, or on Adopt Together, this site!
~We have registered at Walmart and Amazon and would love for you to visit them sometime to scope out our wants/needs.
~Pray~ We need prayer, Baby Girl needs prayer, and Birth Mom needs prayer... There are so many emotions involved in the process of adoption on every side. Please pray for God's gracious hand to move in each of our lives so that He is lifted up...His name is exalted through our adoption story!
Thank you, again, for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers! We look forward to the next update to be a BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Hey y'all! So, it's been almost 6 months since I've posted an update. I truly apologize for that, but in all honesty, I have been on a bit of a struggle bus with this thing called, "The Wait"!
I never fully understood what my agency and those who have walked this path before me were talking about when they described their "actively waiting" process. I mean, I just knew going into this that waiting was inevitable and a definite part of this process. So, how could it affect me badly if I am prepared for it, right?.... WRONG!!
Here's what I've come to learn over the past 6 months:
~> When you have done absolutely everything in your power to MAKE this adoption happen, and to even hurry it up along, and yet you are still waiting to be chosen by a birthmother, that is when the reality of your WAIT actually hits. I recently heard from an adoptive mom who put words to this feeling so perfectly. She said, "I thought, somehow, that this was kind of transactional--like, if I check off all the boxes, turn in all the paperwork, submit everything on time, go above and beyond on my profile, get the word out via social media, listen to every webinar, and read every book, then my adoption would be right around the corner."
But, for reasons that only God could explain, this is NOT how it worked! Not for this woman, and not for me. (fyi- the lady I mention actually was sharing this story AFTER she did finalize her adoption story....so there is definitely hope!) But I learned that this experience is not transactional. It is a unique journey that is specially designed by God himself." And just like every single human has a unique fingerprint, every single adoption story has a unique tale.
~> God is teaching me, growing me, and holding me in this WAIT! There have been so many beautiful nuggets of God's presence right here with us as we wait to grow our family through adoption. One of them is the Sparrow... I have been drawn to birds over the past several years. We have a birdfeeder in our backyard, and the most beautiful birds come to visit it. Some of them are so incredibly tiny! And the Lord has reminded me of His view of the sparrow on multiple occasions. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus explains that not a single sparrow will fall to the ground without him Caring for them, and you are worth far more than many sparrows. Another reminder is that beautiful old song that I cannot seem to shake: His eye is on the Sparrow, and I know he watches me! One day in the last month, as I was listening to an adoptive mom share her story, she mentioned the sparrow!! My ears perked up, and sure enough-God had used that sweet little bird in their faith story as well! They even saw a sparrow in the airport sitting in the chair beside them as they were on their way to meet their baby! Last week, I went to the baby's room to just pray, and as I looked around, I noticed that I had decorated the room with so many sparrows...I know it sounds crazy that I didn't notice this before, but I have been decorating this room little by little over the past year...and sure enough-sparrows-EVERYWHERE!!! little figurines, pictures on the wall, little plaques. I felt like Rapunzel in the movie, Tangled, when she finally sees the "flower" in all her paintings! I thank God for our wait...as I am learning to appreciate the daily moments more and more.
~> It is incredibly healthy to LIVE FOR TODAY as you have hope in the future that God is building on your behalf! I have been undeservedly blessed with two beautiful, talented, hard-working, genuine daughters. And my job right now is to be their mother to the best of my ability--To NOT MISS A MOMENT with them! God has given me a magnificent husband who loves me like Christ loves the church. And I cannot miss out on this present moment with him. And on top of that, it is a gift that God has given us to be able to teach our children the beauty in the Wait! Especially in this day and age when we have been programmed to expect everything right when we ask or desire. The WAIT is what builds character! Romans 5:3-5 states that "...we glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. "
Sorry for the long post, but it was WAY overdue!! And I look forward to adding more updates in the future... where our HOPE rests! We know we will bring our baby home one day soon! And we thank you for all of your support through finances and prayers!
May God Bless you!
~The Mathis Crew
We are soooo excited to announce that Pure Gift Of God has awarded our family $3,500 in a grant for when our baby comes home!!! 💛
This process is not for the weary! It’s like awaiting a sunrise and it feels like FOREVER!!! But we know that our baby will come home at Gods perfect timing!! And in the meantime…we are working hard to gather the funding!!! Our goal was to raise at least $20,000 of the $40,000 we expected it to cost~> we have raised $10,000 to date!!! We are HALFWAY THERE, people!!! ((Oooohhhh—-we’re halfway there. OooooOOOOHHH!)) you know you started singing it too!! 😆
But seriously-PLEASE share our story once again as we try to drum up the last half of our funding to welcome a child home!
I’m so so so stinkin’ excited to share this update with you all!! We have officially received our very first grant!! As I’ve shared before, our adoption will cost an estimated $40,000. Now, we had to submit the first $20,000 before being able to go “ACTIVE” with our Agency. We were blessed to be able to do that with the $5,000 we’ve received in donations and then using our own funds.
But the next $20,000 is CRUCIAL! We desperately need a work from God to be able to afford the last $20,000… this money can be broken down into the following broad categories:
•$5,000 - for estimated birth mother expenses… this goes directly to the doctors and or hospital where the Birthmom needs are (this money does not go directly in to the hands of Birthmom).
•$10,000 - for lawyers fees associated with the process. Many times there are two sets of lawyers… the one in our state and the one in the state from which our Baby will come from.
•$5,000 - our estimated Travel funds… this is the BIGGEST question mark, as we could travel to any state in the US (including Hawaii). Also, the time frame that we will need to stay at the hospital with the baby can vary drastically between states and baby’s well-being! Some states require only a 5-day stay, and then some adoption cases have required up to 3 weeks.
**Because we don’t know the “WHEN” in Gods plan for our baby… we are trying very hard to raise the funds as quickly as possible, in case we get a call sooner rather than later! I’ve been spending hours upon hours filing for different adoption grants over the past 2 months & I am thrilled to share that we received our FIRST ONE!!! In case you don’t know- it’s a HUGE DEAL! Most people don’t receive grants. There’s just so many people who apply and so few funds to allocate. So, we were THRILLED and PRAISING our GOOD, GOOD FATHER for this amazing news today🙌🏼💛🙌🏼 The grant was for $2,000 and was from Called To Care, which is a local Grant Agency in Tifton, GA!! ( only 30 min away from us! )
***Please join us in praying and believing for the rest of the $18,000 to come in!!! And as always, thank you so much ☺️ please keep SHARING OUR STORY~~ we never know who God will use to help us grow our family and rescue this baby!!
