"Keep Moving Forward"

A few weeks ago, I got to see "Meet the Robinsons" for the second time. And for fome reason, it really spoke to me! There's a phrase that is used quite often, "Keep moving forward!"
So, we have chosen to move past all the miscommunication and various issues and stay with Bethany. It goes against my natural instinct to jump ship - but we both have a peace from the Lord with our decision.

We've met with Melinda, who will be our worker. And we have another meeting with her Monday, August 24th. Hopefully by the middle or end of September we will be on the other side of this home study and waiting. And hopefully being presented to potential birth parents!

Please be praying for:

Our Baby

Birth parents

Bethany

Finances

Love, Patience & Joy in the waiting

grace IS sufficient

The good news or the bad news, first?

There are these amazing people that surround us and support us - listening, praying, encouraging, laughing and just loving us. I thank the Lord for my friends and my family.
I am grateful that the Lord has brought us into this process because it has certainly shown us how weak we are. I have found that I lack severely in grace-giving and patience. My expectations on people are too high. When one area of my life is an overflow of emotions, it tends to ooze and splash and spill onto everything else. Lots of ugly revealed! But we're still loved by the Lord and even our friends and family still love us. That's the good news.

However, I don't the agency is really loving me too much right now! After about a month and a half of unreturned e-mails (about 5 total) and several voicemails, we have both run through several different layers of disappointment, frustration and anger. At this point, Lucille has been the only one to call or respond, even though she is NOT our adoption specialist. That's the bad news - no Lucille.

And I'm sure about this one - maybe you can help me out, good news or bad news?
We submitted our formal application via e-mail on June 21 - Father's Day. And then sent in the accompanying paperwork the following day with a $500 check per Vicky's instructions.
We followed up to see if the paperwork arrived safely and at one point, it seemed as though it was but when our check wasn't clearing, I got concerned.
Then ensues some more one-way communication on my part - like I'm yelling in a cave or something. Then the admin sends me, via e-mail, the blank paperwork that we had already filled out and sent in exactly one month ago. My response to this - is there an issue with our paperwork? we already turned this in. And we have yet another unanswered e-mail that came from that.
Well, onto greener pastures, I got an e-mail this week asking me for clarification on some information that could only be found on the 'lost' paperwork. Anywho, in the brief, somehow it magically appeared in Vicky's inbox this past Wednesday. Please keep in mind that the admin had spent 2 days last week looking for this paperwork and could not find any of it. And the conclusion that we came to was that it must've gotten lost in the mail. Good news or bad news? You can chose.

Whether it's a series of miscommunications, non-communication, people not doing their job, people not fessing up when they make a mistake or my too high standards, our experience with Bethany has been less than satisfactory. But this is part of our story and the Lord works this all out for His glory and in His time.

Please pray that the Lord would grow our family and bless us with children.

::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!!!

Father's Day Milestone

This week, we turned in our formal application. I'm assuming that we'll be pending approval while they check our personal and work references. We're still in the process of working on the required classes and soon, hopefully, we'll be working on the homestudy and family profile. And from what I understand, Lucille is working on getting back into the swing of things and recovering well.

If anyone has any ideas for fundraising they'd like to share - that'd be great!!

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Keep praying for us, please.

Prayer Request

Please keep Lucille in your prayers. She is the case worker who is teaching our classes. Last week, class was cancelled because she was sick. This week, they have cancelled the next two classes because she had to have surgery. We don't the details but she is doing well, has been discharged from the hospital and is at home.

This does effect the adoption progress slightly but it's the Lord's timing and not ours. And it is rather insignificant next to a friend recuperating from surgery.

We are set to work on the formal application (as opposed to the preliminary application). After that application, we wait for what seems like 'official approval' and then move onto our home study (which is even more 'official' as far as approval). Lots of hoops to jump though but it'll be worth it. Looking at the actual paperwork that commits us to this process has brought on some butterflies, cold feet, anxieties, fears . . . testing.