Fourth Blog (Mar 22nd)

Nothing too much has happened since the last time I wrote. We are still waiting for our homestudy to be written. Hopefully next week. But we did pass a milestone in our craigslist sales.
I was looking at the fees we have coming up and I started to feel a little overwhelmed today. The next set of fees due before we send our paperwork to Ethiopia are more than I can imagine being able to raise. I looked at the number and prayed, "God, where am I going to get this from?" I did quickly remember that he has provided so much already. But sometimes it’s still overwhelming. I just want to have her now!
I am just so in awe of the way God has opened my heart. Before I started the adoption process I was so fearful. I had a thousand what if’s. But now my fears are no more than any new mom. What if I’m not a good mom? What if I can’t handle the lack of sleep? But I really dont focus on those questions because all I can focus on is getting my baby girl. It’s strange to me how I can long for someone I have never met. I can’t even explain the way my heart aches for her. Right now all I can do is pray for her when I feel that ache inside.

Third Blog (Feb 28th)

A few things have happened since I last updated you all on the adoption process.
We have started our Home Study. We had our first interview with the social worker last night. Everything went great. We'll have another interview March 11th. It will take a couple of weeks to finish the home study and then we will be awaiting the approval from Immigration Services before we can move to the next step.
God is so good. He has been faithfully providing for us to take each step.
Lately I have been so excited about the adoption I can hardly stand it. I think about it constantly. I pray for her everyday. I pray that she would be warm and safe and that God would provide nourishment for her body, even if that means supernaturally. It's so strange that for all I know today could be her birthday and I don't know it. I cannot wait to hold that baby in my arms, look in her eyes and tell her I love her.

Second Blog (Feb 7th)

Okay, here is my second blog. I will try to catch you more up to date on the details.
We are adopting a baby from Ethiopia through Christian World Adoption. We said we prefered a girl (which means it could still be a boy) age 0-18 months. The process will probably take around 9 months.
Right now we are trying to gather everything to start the home study which will take a bit to start. We have been so blessed to have people be so supportive.
The homestudy involves a lot of paperwork, interviews, doctor appointments, home checks, etc. After we complete the homestudy we'll prepare our dossier, which is the paperwork that is sent to Ethiopia. We'll then wait for a referal. Once they refer a child to us it will be about 2 months until we can travel and pick up our baby! I CANT WAIT!!!

First Blog (Feb 3rd)

You may or may not have heard that Sam and I are adopting a baby from Ethiopia. I decided that I would periodically post blogs along the journey. Alot has already happened in my heart so I wont try to catch you up all at once. I'll start with what lead us to decide to adopt.
Sam and I have talked about adopting internationally since we were dating. After getting married and it became more of a possibility I became fearful of adopting. There seem to be so many unknowns. Sam would periodically bring it up, but I didn't want to talk about it. One day I realized that I had completley shut out the idea of adoption because I was fearful. I began to pray that God would open my heart to it and that He would show me if this is what He wanted for us. And He did just that. Instantly he began to open my heart and assure me that I needed to trust Him. Through one particular conversation I became really excited about adopting. I started looking for agencies that very week. I figured I didn't need to wait and see if I was being impulsive because the process is so long that I would have plenty of time for God to change my mind if this was the wrong path for us. But He hasn't. Some people have asked what if the baby has health issues? What if they have developmental or behavioral problems? etc. I have asked these same questions and there are no guarantees. But the thing is, when we have our own children there are no guarantees. Our only guarantee in life is that God is in control and He cares for us. "We believe that God knows the number of hairs on each child's head, where that child will live and who his or her family will be." We are not just adopting a baby. We are adopting our baby. The baby that God knew before time, would be ours.

My new blog

Welcome to my new blog! I wish I had started this at the beginning of our adoption journey. But better late than never right!? I plan to use this as a way to keep people updated on the adoption progress. I posted a few blogs on my myspace. I will copy those on here so people can see where we started! Thanks for your interest and your support!