We have big news!
We are adopting!!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55: 8-9
How do you respond when God's timing and plan does not make sense? Where do you go when this happens? God knows all things and He is lovingly orchestrating the details of our life and yours.
I start there. Stephen and I both had plans for our lives. We both wanted children. And so we started having babies. We have 3 beautiful girls. After we had Landry(our youngest) we still desired to have another child. So fast forward to 2021, we find out were pregnant. We miscarried at 7 weeks. Three more miscarriages would follow and a cancer scare. Our 4th miscarriage, we lost the baby at 15 weeks. I (Nicole) ended up in the hospital and needed a blood transfusion. Our last 2 years have been a season of trials and suffering. Having questions like the one above and calling out to the Lord from Psalm 13, "How long Lord?". After our 4th miscarriage we've taken time to grieve and just sit in, "Lord, what is next for us?".
Stephen and I have over and over again have come to the same place. We still desire more children. Our girls desire another sibling. God has used all of the details, all our of heartache to open our hearts to adoption. We can look back and see how God was lovingly and patiently guiding us. Relinquishing our own wants, plans and saying, "Ok God, not our will, but yours. Give us open hands". The process of adoption has already revealed how much bigger it truly is. Adoption, welcoming a little one into our home, and the relationship with birth parents is so much greater than we could have imagined. So we will say it again. God knows all things and He is lovingly orchestrating the details of our life and yours.
"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.". Psalm 13: 5-6. No matter what has happened and what comes. This is where we place our hope.
Which brings us to, why do we need to raise funds? This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but ethical adoption is costly! Domestic adoption can cost 35,000 to 50,000 dollars. During the course of adoption, agency's pay for birth moms medical care, living expenses, and any other expenses necessary to make sure she is safe and taken care of. Included in the overall costs are agency and legal fees. This is why we have set a goal of 35,000 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 taking part in something that will forever change our lives, the birth parents and their child.
Hi, we wanted to stop in and give a fundraising update where we are financially for our adoption. With our silent auction we held in December, the continued support of donors through AdoptTogether, a grant we received, and shifting some things around in our own finances...we are almost fully funded!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We know this is only due to His provision and moving in people's hearts to support us!
The amount of financial support has blown us away! When the waiting is hard, we are reminded God is going before us and making a way for our adoption. He has not forgotten us. The financial support has been a tangible reminder for us. He will be in the details of when we are chosen!
Thank you again for your continued support and prayers!
Hi everyone! Officially going into the 3rd week of January which is WILD! We wanted to share how our silent auction went in December, a current update where we are financially, and where we are at in the adoption process. Over $13,000 was raised at our silent auction. This is only by God's provision and our people! We were blown away by our family, friends, and strangers generosity. We've been blown away by people's generosity on here as well.
In total with the silent auction, our own funds we have saved, and donations on adopttogether we currently have $32,000 raised. Which is amazing! Our goal is to continue to raise money. Our current plan is to hold a garage sale in March and family is setting up a raffle on our behalf. When we have more information on those, we'll share.
Our homestudy was approved right before Christmas, which was a sweet gift! Those can sometimes take much longer. We are with an adoption consultant firm, which works differently than being with an agency. Agencies bring expectant mom cases to the consultant firm and those are shared with us. We then can choose to present or not present our family to that expectant mama. We have started to see cases.
We are trusting in the Lord's timing and His plan for our family. Please pray that that would be our hearts in this process. Please pray for expectant mamas and their babies.
Passages we have been reflecting on and praying this week. Isaiah 61:1-3, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory".
And Psalm 139:13-18, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!".
Thank you for following along our adoption journey!
Exciting news our home study was completed Wednesday! We now start seeing cases of expectant moms. Prayers that we would trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance on when to present and God’s hand over when we are chosen!
