Finally!!

Dakota is now on the road to becoming our son.

I don't know where to begin in expressing the gratitude we have for the prayers and encouragement along the way. Your generosity has been humbling.  Without it, the next few years of debt would've been a huge struggle for us. One income in this economy is just hard. Many of you have blessed us in so many ways by giving us a freedom and a peace from financial obligations. And, not to mention, the gift of our son. 

I am still taking this all in....

What a ride it has been and the adventure is only beginning!

Thank you for being a part of our journey.

 

Please keep praying for us.

I know I need it everyday :-)

Thank you! 

Update

On May 1, the second round of paperwork was received. Although the person that signed for it was not the birth father. So we are running the ad for 3 weeks and if that goes smoothly, we will do placement in July.
I am sure the few people who read this will need further elaboration on the lingo. Please feel free to ask. Typing on an iPhone while getting a baby to nap is a bit awkward.
But not as awkward as asking for help to pay the final costs of this adoption. At placement, we will have to pay Bethany for all their hard work.
I am no George Mueller, he was extraordinary in his faith. And me being ordinary does not negate God's goodness. So I humbly ask that if you have any ideas on how to raise money over the next few weeks, please share - or help.
I am trying to get paperwork together for adoption grants but that is a part time job in itself. And we are trying to sell puzzle pieces, like we did with Kadence.

And, as always, please keep praying.

Apology

I have, in the past, shared things that should've been left un-posted. Things that were vents and rants and completely inappropriate. I may go back and delete some. Or I may keep them as a reminder of how big a sinner I am. Not that I don't run up against that innumerable times each day. Thank you, Jesus for your love being bigger than my sins.
So, if i have hurt or offended you in anyway through my blogging actions, please forgive me.
I will continue to posts updates here.
As for an adoption update, I pray to have something solid to share next week.

I humbly ask you to please keep praying.

Stop me before i say something stupid . . .

Here is an official update, straight from my case worker at Bethany:

"Yes, she is going to send another letter. The first one was sent certified mail and then next will be FedEx. This shows a diligent effort on Bethany's part o give him notice of the situation. If he does not accept that letter then she will move on to publishing for him. The publication runs once a week for three weeks and then at the end of the three weeks, there is a 30 day window for him to respond. "

The first letter had been sitting at his address for two - or so - weeks, unclaimed.

I try to encourage myself with the knowledge that God had this baby here for His purposes whether he is ours or not. If anyone else had anything better, please share.

So the 'thirty days' won't start for a month or more. If more is typed, it will be ugly and embarrassing as I am moving into a state of frustration. Gonna go check this heart and try to nap.

Please keep praying.

And call or stop in anytime. Hugs are welcome.

Thank you.

Update

Well, he has received paperwork but I am unclear now whether 30 days starts after signing or after receipt.
I am waiting on further clarification.

Supposed to be napping

I do not believe that the birth father has been served the legal paperwork. So we are waiting to wait. Over 30 more days to go on whether or not we know if Dakota will be our son.
There have been fears that have, selfishly, kept my heart closed and somewhat detached in regards to the bonding process. At the same time though, it is hard to keep a 'safe distance'. A roller coaster of emotions. Mix that with a lack of sleep and things can get rather messy around here. Thankfully, God is sovereign over messes!!

Our pastor preached from Romans 12 today, verses 1-2.

'I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.'

In testing what is good, self protection is ultimately the worst choice. The Lord has opened my eyes to how much more concerned i am about myself ( pride ) than i am His glory.
As hard as this newborn phase is, as hard as this waiting is, this is how we get to lay down our lives in this season of life. Is there a bit of selfish gain in this for us? Yes. Absolutely.
But our ultimate gain comes in how Christ is working in our lives through this little man. Christ is our ultimate gain. Whether Koty stays or goes, Christ is gain.
In worship, you are exalting Christ and drawing close to Him in order to have your empty cup filled to over flowing. Jesus, fill my cup, give me more of you.
We pray for the children under our roof to be ushered into Christ's kingdom. We have a limited view on life but understand that Koty's life may not be lived here. We may not be the gardeners that get to tend this life and help plant heavenly seeds. God has a plan. We may not like His plan but we have to trust it. And that can be so hard to do.

Thank you for praying for us. You are helping to keep our hearts and eyes open and on our ultimate prize.
And thank you to our kind friends and family who have loved on us with food.

And if you feel like getting a puzzle piece, we still got a ways to go before we reach our goal. I'll try to get more details on how we are doing on all of that.

A loss

I went out Wednesday morning to a tragic sight. . .

A fox (we believe) had gotten into our chicken coop.

Not one survivor.

I am still beside myself.

All my girls strewn across the ground.

I felt this really start to pull my down, as it revealed the weight of the fear of other possible losses.
And so, I trust in the Lord and how he is using the loss of our little feathered friends to grow us in His glory. Still, I am sad.

We still have so much to be thankful for and I know that Aslan is on the move.
Further up and further in.

In baby news:
We are doing great. Food in our bellies, clothes on our backs.
And, for the most part, smiles on our faces. And joy in our hearts.

Thank you for praying. Please keep 'em coming!

April 1

Everyone is good here.
Thriving on your prayers.
Surviving on caffeine. ( typical nights with newbies )

Birth father gets served the legal paperwork this week. We are still in a fragile situation. And still so much to rejoice in no matter what.

I am much in love with this little man - a fully blessed life now overflowing. I want him to be our son. Kadence's little brother. Who knows the Lord's plan?

So much to share from my head and heart. So little time and energy right now.

Please keep praying. And rejoicing.

Thank you.
Thank you.
A million times thank you.

A strange twist of events

So....

Back onto the roller coaster. If you think your heart can take it - please join us. We could use all the encouragement and prayer available.

The birth father won't sign recision paperwork. From here, Bethany's lawyer serves him paperwork. After it is served, he has 30 days to respond. After 30 days his parental rights are terminated.

During that time, he will need interim care and we seem like good candidates since we already know how to feed him and apparently he is hard to feed.

We are trusting the Lord and walking this out until He shuts the door.

Please pray.

No baby

Just a quick update.

We went to Columbus, Ga to meet baby boy. He was in the special care unit at the hospital there. We got to feed him and love on him. Smell him. Kiss him. Pray over him.

Then the meeting with the birth father happened on Friday. And it was all downhill from there for us.

A lot if woulda', shoulda' and coulda' ....

We are trusting the Lord. This is not just about our story. O! The depth if his riches and wisdom and knowledge. How inscrutable are his ways.
He is not surprised over our grief. He has not forsaken us. We are loved with a never-stopping, never giving up, always and forever love.

May give more details later here. Just need to heal a bit more.

Thank you for your prayers. Keep 'em coming!! :-)(-:

Eeets a rrrace!

I went on a woman's get away this past weekend. And there was a theme of motherhood that came across for me in various ways. It wasn't at all the overall theme of the getaway, just what the Lord had for me. So when I say the theme was 'for' me, I mean from Him. Did I mention that I forgot my Bible? Yeah, well, I did.

Good thing my uber wonderful husband bought me that iPhone I was so resistance to, otherwise, I might have to {gasp!} share! Good thing.

Otherwise I might have missed the call that came through on Sunday. The one from our adoption agency.
No, no news, they just had an emergency situation and want to know if we want to be presented. Sure! Add us to the pile.

We get another call from our agency on Tuesday saying that we are 1 of 2 families selected by this birth mother. This baby is already born and in a special care unit in a hospital in Columbus, GA. Ok.
Pray. Is this our baby, Lord?

We got a call on Wednesday. Yes, that would be today. We have been selected by the birth mom!!!

We are on a mad dash to get things ready so that we can get out the door and head to Columbus, GA to pick up our son. Tomorrow morning.

We could use prayer. He could use prayer. His birth mom, birth grandma, and birth aunt could all use prayer.

Please pray.

And I am not trying to reach into your pockets but if you are willing and able, we have had a puzzle sitting around for over a year (like the fundraiser we did for Kadence but somehow had more time to invest in while we were waiting . . .) that we want to complete for Dakota. There is a paypal link over yonder ----->.
We are hoping to get $10 for each puzzle piece. And for every piece that you buy, we will put your name, family's names, or whatever (keep it short,sweet and clean, folks) on the puzzle pieces purchased. Make sense? Well, I am a bit delirious from day and ready for bed. But still gotta pack!

But if you can't, don't fret. God's got it. If you could just pray, that'd be fantabulous, encouraging, humbling, and so very meaningful - beyond words.

In Christ,

Daniel, Vanessa and Kadence