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

November and December 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 Pink Pig

 

 Date Night

 

 

Christmas #1 in Jacksonville

 

 

We are doing great and, for the most part, staying healthy and happy.

 

We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS . . .

and

A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

In Christ,

Daniel, Vanessa and Kadence

 

 

 

Adoption Update

I could just leave this blank. No action in this department of our life.

I do want to share briefly about these feelings of anxiety that mount up every-so-often (or more often than not) about the timing, about having another little heart to chase after and the list could just go on. The A-list. But no, I stand before anxiety with the sword in my hand, knowing the His grace is sufficient, His timing is perfect and He is pursuing my heart and my children's hearts. So I believe God's staggering promises that allow me to slay this beast of anxiety.

Belief. What a powerful tool.

In Christ,
Vanessa

October (and the end of September)



This is from October 2010 . . . Oh me, oh my!!



And this is October 2011 . . .
 

October 2012



 
Frankly, this October's picture collecting has been somewhat lacking.

 We like to have dinner around the fire.
Why don't you come and join us sometime?

Toasty warm.

Does this really need words?

The focused artist.

fumbling

There is this internal battle that wages inside of me. It is a battle for joy.
If you know me and you're reading this, you probably have wanted to call me out on this for a while.
So, I covet your prayers. And allow you to spur me on and encourage me in this battle. Yes, Christ has the victory but so many times I find myself back in this bondage.
I so love how the Lord works (well, usually....) and how He softens me and puts me in situations that make me so grateful for this season of life that He has me living . . . He has me living. Evey breath that I take is sweet reminder of how precious I am to Him. How precious His children are to Him.
It is so easy to get consumed by worry and worldliness. Too easy. It is spoon fed to us through this multimedia culture - that we would define our value through our stuff, what others think of us, what we get accomplished - or don't get accomplished - but our true value is this...
that we are so loved that we can't even grasp it - we can't wrap our brains or hearts around it . . .
that perfect God stepped down from Heaven - out of eternity to become mortal. To feel the pain that we deserve - not just the abandonment of peers or the physical anguish of floggings but the ultimate separation from our Creator. Our Creator became unmade so that we could be made. Because He loves us. He promised it from the very beginning. He loves us. This is what should define us. This is where the well of joy should spring up in our lives. In Christ.

Fumbling recklessly through this blessed life not giving enough away. . .

A little bit of September

I apologize that I am not detailed or regular with updates on our family.

September has been a busy month for us and I can hardly believe how close we are to the end of it.

My mom stayed with us while recovering from a surgery.

And we are just chugging along.

 

 

 

 

We are still waiting.

As we prayed over this baby boy, we were not at peace with saying 'yes' to him being our son.

We are still waiting. Joyfully.

And to be completely honest, I never thought I would say no. I wondered how people could say no. But when you don't have a peace, you don't have a peace. But this this little boy has opened the door for conversations that we needed to have and need to have.

Please continue to pray. And please pray for this baby boy and this birth mother - and the family that the Lord has set apart for him. She is due in October and I am sure would be blessed by your prayers.

 

Thank you so much for your love, support and prayers.

Chosen

We have been chosen by a birth mother. Please pray for this decision that the Lord has set before us. Please pray for this baby and birth mother. I don't include much detail as we have not made a decision just yet. We could really use some serious prayer.
Thank you.

Fun times

For Kadence's two year birthday, we went to Chattanooga, TN for two days. It was tons of fun. TONS! We stayed at the Choo-Choo. Made a visit to the Children's Museum and the Aquarium. And we rode the bus a lot.

Guess who turns two this week!

We got the privilege and joy of celebrating with family today.