A Time for Everything...

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven...  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Why is it that life's greatest joys are often accompanied by inexpressible sorrows?

As Joe and I rejoice in the little details of getting ready for our first child, it is coupled with a deadening grief over the recent news of a dear family friend of ours.

To put it succinctly, our friend, Kathleen Olson, has been battling lung cancer (though she's never smoked) for around a year now. The cancer has spread throughout most of her body, and she has been participating in numerous treatments to help alleviate the symptoms she's experienced and hopefully hold the cancer at bay.

Just a week ago (from Sunday) she and her husband led worship at our church in Iowa, but now she has been admitted to a hospice center because of her restlessness and needing more consistent care. Her husband Jeff has been by her side, and her 3 children (12 and under) will be returning from a short trip to the lake that they had over the weekend to get away.

Will you join with me in praying for their family? Here are some specific ways we can be praying:

• Healing - As always, we hope for the miracle of healing, and know that God is able to do all things, according to His infinite wisdom and mercy.
• Wisdom regarding what to do next - if Kathleen should stay in the hospice center, or be moved back home if she is stable enough.
• The Children (Jonathon, Hannah and Laura) as they return home tomorrow. When they left, Kathleen was still at home and able to communicate with them on a small level, but she has deteriorated much while they've been gone. Pray that they won't be frightened, and that the peace of Christ would be near to them. Also pray for all the decisions that will be effecting them in the future.
• Kathleen's parents. They are visiting now, and helping with all of the household chores and other "to do's". Pray for them as they see their daughter suffering, and ultimately, that they might make Christ their Savior.
• My family - My parents have been intricately involved in helping with Kathleen, watching the kids, making meals, cleaning, etc. I know that it's wearing on them emotionally and physically. Pray that they may be strong and a source of encouragement.
• Peace for everyone.

Your prayers mean so much. Thank you.

I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth... Psalm 121:1-2

We're Expecting...

But not in the traditional way.

Today our portfolio (which we finally finished! yay!) officially went "in the books". This means that we could be chosen any day now by a set of birthparents.

Can you say exciting? That doesn't even come close!!!

You have all been such a blessing to us through your encouragement, prayers and support -- thank you!! Here are some ways you can be praying specifically:

• Health - for the birthmother and the baby.
• Patience - for us as we wait to be matched. I tend to be a worry-wart and a planner, so facing the big unknown is a little out of my comfort zone. Pray that I am able to leave it all in the Lord's hands and trust His timing.
• Preparation - We have been blessed with a crib from some family friends, but there is much left to do to prepare! We will not be having a baby shower before our little one's arrival, as that will only intensify the waiting, and we want to wait until everything is finalized. However, I will be buying some diapers, onesies, formula, bottles and a few other baby items beforehand. (And I know that my mom has been picking up baby things at garage sales and the like -- she's an excited Grandma-to-be! :) ) It's all new to us, so wisdom and peace would be great in this area. :)
• Finances - Our first big adoption payment has been paid (praise the Lord!), and our second will not be due until the adoption is finalized. We have been so blessed by the generosity of friends (thank you! thank you!! thank you!!!), and we trust that the Lord will provide us with every cent we need along the way. I don't want this to become a source of worry, so again, pray that we can just trust in Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider.
• Comfort - for the birthfamily. This is a huge sacrifice and act of love on their part, and it's way harder than anything I've ever faced. Pray for a special measure of comfort, peace and hope for the family. That they wouldn't live a life of regret, but look forward in hope.
• Future - there are so many aspects in the future that are unknown...how our relationship with the birth family will be, the hospital time, the time in between the baby's birth and the adoption finalization, how we'll adjust, how the baby will bond to us, and so on! Basically, anything that you can think of -- pray for it! :)

Thank you again for holding us up in prayer! You will indeed be blessed! :)

Home Study

So I'm sure you're dying to hear how our home study went. That is, those of you that I haven't seen in the past 2 days. :) So here we go...

Laura (our social worker) showed up half an hour early...haha...not intentionally! But it did cause me to run around a little bit like a chicken with my head cut off, but it was all good. When she arrived, we finished up all the little bits of paperwork we had left to do...mostly just giving her what we had already filled out. Joe was at the computer, frantically trying to finish his autobiography so she could take it with her, and she was very understanding of that, which was nice.

After collecting our paperwork, she had me show her around the house, and she just pretty much walked into the rooms to see what it looked like, but she wasn't down on her hands and knees and "inspecting" or anything like that. So....I felt kind of silly doing all the hard work we had to clean our house - but at the same time, I was grateful that it was clean. And it's a huge load off my shoulders since I'd need to clean/organize in the future anyway.

After seeing our house, we sat and chatted for a bit and she asked if we had any questions. One main question we had was whether or not we would be able to adopt privately if someone we knew connected us with a birthmom who happened to live outside of our state. The answer is yes -- in fact, the fees drop considerably and LSS continues to work with us and the agency in the other state to make everything run smoothly. That was very encouraging!

Then, Joe finished his autobiography, and she took it hot off the printer! ;) My fabulous sister-in-law (who took our pictures with Quincy for our portfolio) had finished editing the pics the morning before Laura arrived, and so I was able to go and order prints in town quick so that Laura could take them back with her. I didn't plan on having those done by Friday originally, but it was such a relief to have that part finished!!

Now all that is left is for the rest of our references to be submitted (only 2 left - yea!), mail our finalized "Dear Birthmother Letter", and finish our portfolio (the scrapbook of our lives). Yay!! We're hoping to have all that finished in the next week or two, and then at that point, we will officially be in "the book" for birthmothers to look through. Crazy! And very cool... :)

And, as many people have been asking, here are the long awaited pics of the nursery -- painted and everything! :) Enjoy!!

We plan to have the crib where the fan and basket are now. 

And, unfortunately, I think we're going to have to trade the corner bookshelves in for something more space efficient...

 

See the lovely shag carpet on the floor of the closet? 

That's what originally covered ALL of the floor. 

Lovely, isn't it? 

We hope to get a rug to help muffle sound in the future...

OCD

I just want to say that I think even my favorite TV star Monk would be pleased with the state our house is in now... Let's just say it's clean. Very clean.

Funny how motivating one little home study can be... :)

Anywho, I will post pictures in the next week, but I just wanted to give a big thank you to my parents who came up and joined the whirlwind of chaos at our house! They did a FANTASTIC job of helping me get organized and helping us accomplish some things.

And my husband is a saint. I can't tell you the amount of work he's done this week. Simply amazing.

There were others too...helping Joe cart brush to the dump, dropping off items at the thrift store for us, lending us their painting supplies...you know who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you....

So, our big home study is Friday at 2pm, (tomorrow, but since it's already 11:15 pm and most of you won't read this until Friday, consider it today...haha) so if you think of us, pray for us, please. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm trusting that the Lord will guide our lips. :)

Thanks again!!

A Confession

So...I got my facts mixed up a bit regarding our education classes this weekend. I thought I had been told that they were parenting education classes...but really, they were adoption information classes, and they were GREAT! :) There were 4 other couples in the class with us, and we were able to turn in another big chunk of our paperwork which was a huge blessing!

Also...the most exciting news....we will be able to have our social worker come and do our homestudy in 2 weeks from now!!! Yahoo!! Originally, I thought we had to complete all of our paperwork before our homestudy could be finished, but apparently not!

So basically, these are the only things we have left to complete before we can be considered a "waiting family":

1. Proof of house/car insurance coverage.
2. Joe's autobiography -- thankfully, he will be working less hours next week, so he hopes to finish this up :)
3. Our letter to the birthmother -- this will be our first impression to any birthmother who comes in wanting to form an adoption plan for her child.
4. Our portfolio -- a 12 page scrapbook summing up who we are and what our lives are like.
5. Our homestudy -- which will be done in 2 weeks!!!!!

And that's it! :)

I tell ya, it's absolutely exhilirating...

We had the opportunity to talk to several adoptive families who came in with their kids and shared their stories over the weekend. It's amazing how each one is completely different. I can't wait to see how the Lord orchestrates our story! :)

Other things we discussed in our education classes:

• Transracial adoption -- being prepared for inappropriate comments, different types of skin/hair care needs, etc.
• What to expect at our first "match meeting" (This is when we meet the birthmother who has chosen us for the first time).
• Glimpses of what the process is like emotionally for birthmothers (this was heartwrenching...)
• How to talk about adoption with your child.
• How to bond with your child and help them adjust to a new home

And so much more...

Needless to say, we are getting very excited -- and scared to death -- as we approach the "waiting" period. The next 2 weeks will be a flurry of activity as we try to clean our house, paint the soon-to-be-baby's room, finish Joe's autobiography, and at least start our portfolio.

Here's how you can be praying:

• Persistence - as we try to finish up our paperwork and get things done around our house. As I speak, Joe is tilling up our garden so that our backyard will look presentable (finally....).
• Wisdom - as we write our letter to the birthmother and begin our portfolio. Thankfully, I was able to see quite a few portfolio examples, and I think I have a good idea of where to start and what I want to do with ours! But it's a daunting task...
• Our vehicle situation - We are still searching for a replacement for Joe's car, though right now, that's not at the top of our list. Even if we don't find one before a baby is placed in our home, that's ok. We trust that the Lord will provide us with what we need, when we need it.
• Birthmother/father - As always, we pray for the woman we will have the honor to meet someday. Please pray that she is safe and makes wise choices for herself and her baby.

As always, thank you so much for your prayers! We look forward to telling our baby how many people were praying for him/her someday... :)