End of May Update - Bethany

Thus far . . .
We have turned in our preliminary application and we're waiting for approval. We also attended the first of our required 6 classes for Bethany on May 15. We will have the second class this Friday the 29th. There will be one more big application for us to work on before we are able to start the home study (the gi-normous project).
We are also needing to collect pictures of our community for our profile so, if you happen to come across any pictures, would you mind sending them our way?
That's really all I have for you right now - as far as adoption updates go. The wheels are slowly turning and we can't rush this process. Pretty boring, I know - but I think I'll enjoy it while I can.

Love,
Vanessa

Mother's Day . . .

After googling "mother's day infertility", I must confess my irritation...





Like the one article that asks you to do something with your own mother. My mom and I don't have the best relationship and I have already planned on spending time with her doing what she'll enjoy. The article reads "Do something that turns the focus of the day onto the special relationship that you have, regardless of the day on the calendar. " Although I know what I have with her is special - that I will only have one mother, it seems to be a very strained relationship that can be trying for me. Essentially, we need years of therapy to work out our issues - but I love her still - no matter what. And that honesty kind of stings a bit.


In the same article "Do you have siblings? Are they aware of your infertility issues? Do they understand that this is a hard day for you? If so, enlist their help in your survival. Have them do the shopping or card selection while you contribute money. Let them order the flowers, or venture into the card shop if it's too hard for you to get there. "


No, I don't have siblings....


So . . . :-PPP.





And then the other article that refers to 'infertiles' - like we're friggin' mutants. Seriously!! If the person writing this article is dealing with infertility in her life, she really needs to change her personal view. I hope she doesn't see herself as a mutant.





Although harmless - the advice these people list seems so annoying to me right now. They seem bent on either ignoring it and finding distractions or faking it. "Surviving Infertility" is one of the titles.... but I want to do better than that - I'd like to thrive in it. Surviving seems so - I don't know - baseline. But I also don't want to be annoying to those close to me.


Yes, I would like to ignore this day. Yes, I wish this hallmark holiday would get blown off the calendar. But I can't change it.


So, how do I handle this head on with the grace that God wants us to have?


I have no clue. None whatsoever.


I only know how my 'old self' would be handling this and the temptation is always in front of me.

I don't plan on stewing in bitterness and resentment but I know that certain events in life will bring on grief cycles. And I pray that the Lord will strengthen me through those times. I don't know how He plans to use it and I may never know.

I do not plan on attending church on Sunday because I don't want to deal with by putting on a "poker face" or absolutely breaking down in front of people. Weak? Lame? Yea, I know.

So, I request your prayers. I ask that you pray for families who share the same grief that we carry daily. A grief that we will wear today and tomorrow - month after month, year after year. Even beyond my 'child-bearing years', I know that this will be cross.

Thank you for letting me vent. I hope I wasn't too annoying.

Working on giving in to something heavenly....





In Christ,


Vanessa

Do you take the leap of faith with your eyes open?

Yes, the garage sale was in March. And here it is May and we're still scratching our heads and staring at the fork in the road. Up until this point, we were trying to decide if we should pursue DFCS or an agency (Bethany would be the agency of choice). After some gentle probing from a good friend, Daniel and I discussed this (yet again) and have decided to go down the Bethany path.

Although, I must confess I am apprehensive and battle with the idea of agencies being this legalized black market - for lack of better words. I do mean that as non-offensively as possible. I'm not complaining about the paperwork or the red tape - I completely understand the essentials of this. But it just seems like - how can I put this?? Agencies are profiting on an urgent need - finding a safe home for a child but also adding a little extra $$$ onto it because they know that people are willing to pay to fill the hole in their hearts...

Ok, ok... so maybe I'm completely making this 'conspiracy theory' up...
but that's mostly where the battle of DFCS vs. Agency comes from for me.

But what would we do if DFCS places a little one in our house with the intent of fostering to adopt (that's typically how it happens until parental rights are terminated) and all of a sudden some relative comes from out of the blue and decides they want the baby? A battle would ensue, I know - but to lose would be like - death (I borrowed that one). Not that agencies will promise or guarantee smooth sailing - it's all a faith walk no matter what path we take.

Here's to adventure!!

In Christ,
Vanessa

P.S. http://www.adoptiondiscovery.org/ if you know anyone who wants to adopt, this is a great place for education and support.

So blessed....We are FLOORED :-)

Weeellllll, since the yard sale, we have received an amazing gift from our parents - Paul, Rhoda, Andrea, Ron, and Teresa. Teresa, taking the lead on this idea and pulling everyone together to contribute money so that we can have new flooring!!!!!!
The generosity and love behind this gift is amazing. Really, I was satisfied with the idea of having the carpet cleaners come in and do their best - with the knowledge that the carpets are not going to look new (far from it!!). I was curious just how clean they might actually get - or if I'd still be embarrassed by my floor.
Hopefully, next week we will have people laying bamboo flooring at our house!

So much is going on and we haven't even started a home study. I've been up early, tackling the to-do lists (I live by THE LIST) and going to bed late. It's been pretty fun actually. Albeit, a little tiring. We're just trying to get up to par. We are going to check out Bethany next Thursday, April 16th, for their orientation. It'll be nice to be on the other side of the home study.


Also, I was reminded that this time last year, I was recovering from my hydrosalpinx surgery.
It's awfully disappointing when things of that magnitude don't go as planned. This is not the path I would've chosen. But I want to thank the Lord for my friends and family who have rallied around us with love and prayer and just have poured out into us - overflowing! Thank you all so much!

In Christ....

THANK YOU!!

$2,169... in two days.

The Yard Sale is OVER. We still have a few items left that we're planning on listing on Craigslist, which will be in addition to the over $2,000 (!!) this past Friday and Saturday brought in.
We are grateful for all of our friends and family who came and helped. It was exhausting work but you guys made it so much fun. THANK YOU!!

I just don't have words to express the gratitude I am feeling. Thank you seems to fall short.

Thank you all who showed up early and helped us set up. Thank you all who endured the day with us, helped with money and bargaining and breaking down on Saturday. Thank you all who came and shopped! We thank the Lord for the brave people who took a chance and journeyed down our long driveway to check out what we were selling. Which, apparently, is a big risk, even for seasoned yard salers. Thank you all who donated to this yard sale which helped make it impressive to so many people. Thank you for your prayer support during this time. Thank you to those who gave gifts over and above.
The generosity that has been poured out is just a small glimpse into the Father's love for us.

Please remember us in your prayers as we continue to get ready for and go through our home study.

Adoption Fund Raising Yard Sale - ON!!!

Alrighty!! It looks like the weather experts are predicting 61 degrees and sunny for for Friday and Saturday!
YEEEAAAAAHHHHH!

As of now (Wednesday, March 18th), we are planning on having our yard sale on Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21 from 10am-5pm both days.

Please tell your family, your friends, your neighbors, your c0-workers.... anyone that you can think of!

I hope that we can see you there.

Yard Sale Postponed

We are scheduled to have showers and rain for the next few days.

I don't know many people who will want to shop outside in wet weather.

The yard sale will now be...

Friday March 20 from 10a-5p

&

Saturday March 21 from 10a-5p

For those of you who were planning on coming out to support us this weekend, I hope and pray that you will be able to make it next weekend.

March 20 is the first day of Spring! What a way to celebrate!

I apologize if this is an inconvenience for anyone.

Once we get on the other side of the yard sale, we are planning on hitting the homestudy pretty hard. So, you can imagine that we are ready to have this yard sale. We can't do any major cleaning with our house overflowing with generous donations! Most things are on pause for now.