::nudge::nudge::push! **PRAY**

It seems like everything we have to report lately has been a hurdle or some issue. But, for the most part, I think we're staying 'half-full' - mostly optimistic. We don't know the Lord's plan or His timing - we just do what we can to rest in Him.

An e-mail just went out to the person in charge of domestic adoptions from Daniel and I. Without getting into too much detail, we have decided to push for Ms. Lucille to be our adoption specialist. Lucille takes care of African American adoptions and by making this request, we understand that it could slow down our process some. But again, this is in the Lord's time.


For those of you who would like more details:

From the beginning of our classes at Bethany, we really wanted Lucille to be our 'worker', well, I wanted Lucille - I know Daniel thought she was great but I don't want to speak too much for him. When I found out she wouldn't be our 'worker', I was disappointed but figured we'd just go along with the rules and trust the Lord. But there has been something gently persisting inside of me to stick with Lucille.

You see, the Domestic Caucasian Infant Adoption Program is undergoing some changes. The worker who was taking care of that program left to be a stay-at-home-mom right as Daniel and I were committing to Bethany. Since then, it seems a bit chaotic and unorganized (from my perspective) but that's to be expected. I'm sure they are doing the best that they possibly can.

To keep boring details to a minimum, the communication has been, well, lacking for lack of better words. They have left several of my voicemails and e-mails unanswered, among other things -which I am sure is just part of the whirlwind of change that they are going through. But yes, it has tested my patience.

But the person who seems 'on top of it' is - well - you guessed it - Ms. Lucille. Plus, we want someone representing us (again, lacking better words) who not only knows 'the system' but knows us. We appreciate her straight-shooting honesty and her humor. And we trust her. So, we're pushing this idea with the hopes that it will be received well.

Please continue to pray for our birthmother, the finances, Bethany and this whole process.

One small step . . .

This past Friday, Lucille sent us our paperwork for the home study. I won't go into the dramatics or nuances. I'm just grateful to be putting one foot in front of the other.
We have one class this Friday with a lawyer and then somewhere in this process we will be completeing an infant care class.
We will be working on our family profile and researching pediatrcians, formula, diapers (yes, we want to do cloth diapers. no, we are not crazy), etc. . .
We will also be working out having some fundraisers. We have a few ideas but we are open to suggestions.
There will be quite a bit going on and then we will go into the waiting.
Please continue to pray for us.

Prayer Requests

Although we turned in our application the week following Father's Day, there doesn't seem to be too much movement on the end of our agency. Our adoption specialist seems to have a double title of Domestic Infant Adoption Specialist and Birtmother Counselor - which seems like a lot for one person to do. Please pray for Bethany as you pray for our patience, love, kindness, gentleness and understanding.

There is a woman or young lady (that we don't even know!) that the Lord has set aside for us to carry a baby for us. She will undoubtedly be making one of the most difficult decisions of her life. Please pray and continue to be in prayer for the birth mother.

Please pray for our preparedness of being parents. I know that nothing ever prepares you but I must admit that I have been questioning if I am ready to be a mom.

The money required to complete this process isn't in our pockets. This is a reality that is testing my faith. I keep researching fundraising ideas and wondering if I shouldn't pick up a second job (ok, maybe obsessing!) when I know that the Lord knows ours needs. Not that I just kick back and do nothing - making myself exempt from responsibility for action - but I just need to chill out about it and really just trust Him. And please know that I am open to suggestions in regards to this area!! But I need prayer :-)

Thank you so much!!!