Major Change

Hey!

Sorry it has been so long. We have been making some major changes. After some discussion, research, and a LOT of praying, we have decided to pursue the adoption through another country.

We found out that the information that we were recieving was not consistent with what other people were being told. We don't hold anything against Uganda or any of the people that we have been recently working with. Uganda will always be close to our heart. It just seemed to us that this was not the direction that God wanted us to take. It seemed like he was shutting this door. One sadness is that we won't get to meet Godfrey (he seems like such a great person). Perhaps someday we will have the pleasure of visiting.

With all that said. We have been researching Ethopia. I have met with a family who recently came home with their precious little girl from there. In going with Ethiopia we can go through an agency. We know that there will always be ups and downs with any adoption (foreign or domestic). However with an agency things will be laid out and we will have more people to go to with any questions.

Hmmm, it seems like there is so much I don't know where to start. We began researching Ethiopia and were really encouraged by the information. Then we found out that they literally just changed the requirements and that you would be required to make 2 trips. You would have to meet and leave your child!! Of course we immediately rejected this. However, all the while I was thinking it seems a lot of the things we have said no to God has said yes you are! So I met with the woman who adopted from Ethiopia. It is still new, but basically you need to go and do the court proceedings so the child is legally yours. Then the reason for two trips would be that you have to wait to get an appointment at the US Embassy to obtain your childs visa. We are praying that there may not be a huge time span between these 2 things and that we may be able to stay there.

There are so many things that have been popping up with this new development, that I think I will tell you about them in several posts. Just to keep me writing more.

Please pray for this WHOLE new path. Pray that we will let God lead us and not try to take over!!

-Kristin

Job!!

Hey!
Update I was offered a position today at JC Penneys. I am so thanful to God. It is a position that I am actually kind of excited about! What a bonus.

I still will need to pick up a few more hours either nannying or with another job so please keep praying!!

On the adoption front we are going to meet with a family who just come back from Ethiopia recently with thier new baby daughter Ruby (she is just beautiful!). We are exicted to meet with someone who has been through the process!


-Kristin

International Adoption

Some questions have been raised about why we are adopting internationally. One of the most common questions we encounter is "don't you think children in the US deserve a home?". Of course we think they do! In turn though a question to be asked of them is. Do you thnk that children in foriegn countries don't also deserve a home?

I feel that all adoption is an amazing opportunity for not only the child but also the parents. The decision whether to adopt internationally or domestically is between the adoptive parents and God. I believe that ALL children are on loan from God. We are being led by God (as evident by the many answered prayers and guidance) to pursue not only international adoption but adoption in Uganda.

There is nothing I have to against any legal form of adoption. There are many factors that make a certain path fit to each family. We are very supportive to all prospective adoptive parents! We would welcome and appreciate the same.

-Kristin

Our Story Part 1 (by Kristin

This is our post of our story from our original blog so it was written right around Christmas:

Sorry it is taken us so long to post this. It has been really busy with the homestudy and of course the holidays.

We have wanted to have children for 4 or 5 years. Through some infertility testing and procedures we discovered that the possiblilty of having biological children was very slim. To continue would require some procedures that were not only very expensive but also something we were not comfortable with ethically.

Adoption is something in which I was always interested, and we were planning on seriously considering adopting in addition to having biological children. So throughout the infertility process this was always an option. The decision to stop pursuing infertility was actually a relatively easy one for us. At that point it was a relief to have a clear path on what was next for us.

We took some time to grieve for the loss of having biological children. Adoption is not a replacement, it is a different path. To be fair to our future adoptive children we had to be at peace.

We feel we have been ready for a while, but were completly overwhelmed by the cost of international adoption. It was something, at that point, we had pushed to the back of our minds in the interest of protecting ourselves.

We have recently started attending a church that we had stepped away from for a while. We have recieved an amazing welcome and support from brothers and sisters in Christ. The growth I have been able to make after finally trusting in Jesus (I have believed for many years but was unable to submit to fully trust)has been such a true blessing from God. We were led back to the church on the cusp of a new ministry that is focused on adoption and orphan care. We were also introduced to an amazing couple who have 6 children, 2 adopted from Uganda. They took the time in thier busy lives to spend an evening with us sharing thier story and listening to ours. Chris and I left there with an excitement that had been missing for a while. However we quickly discarded the idea of Uganda due to the length of time we would have to spend there. Don't you love how God works!

At the same time this was occuring we were attending a small group through our church. One aspect we were focusing on was praying expectantly. We prayed knowing that God could get anything done, but with the thoughts that he wouldn't do it for us. A defense mechanism to protect ourselves from the hurt and disappointment. We realized how important it is to pray with complete faith in God that he will work amazing things in your life.

After that, came the turning point that has been the whirlwind of the last few weeks!!

Our Story Part 2 (by Chris)

Adoption was something that I wanted, but figured now was not the right time. I could always come up with reasons why we should wait. However, God had other plans for our lives. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving our church held a missions service where we partnered with Children’s Hopechest. Our church decided to sponsor a village in Swaziland. God just worked on my heart. James 1:27 states; “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” After the service I talked to Kristin and said that we needed to start saving for adoption. The NEXT DAY a friend came over to the house to work on something with Kristin. She and her husband had recently adopted from Uganda and she “mentioned” to Kristin about a little girl that needed to be adopted quickly. When I called home on my break from school Kristin told me about the little girl and right then I said we should do it. There was not hesitation with either of us. Our friend text us on Wednesday stating she had the story wrong and there were two girls not one. We sent a text back immediately saying it didn’t matter. We feel that this is God’s plan for our lives and that He will provide for us. The first step in the process is to complete a home study. An expedited home study cost $1,750. Less than a week later God provided funding. Two families each donated $1,000. God continues to provide for and be with us along this journey.

Chris

Nothing New

Not much to post really. Things seem to have come to a standstill, or at least occasional info that doesn't seem to be helpful.

I really need to find a job so prayer for that would be awesome. My house has been kind of crazy. Mom had her knee replaced 2 weeks ago and has been with us since. Last week Chris had the flu. They were calling me on my cell if they needed anything. I got more calls from inside my house than I did outside the house! Chris is back to feeling fine; although tired basketball wrapped up and now he is coaching track. Mom is doing awesome. She was finally able to shower today (and boy were Chris and I glad/ just kidding)and she had her first outing today.

Home Study Agency

Hey,

I just needed to post a note about our home study agency. They have been amazing! From the first contact we made with them. Up until I request we made just yesterday.

The social worker was Awesome. I wasn’t nervous about the home study until about 5 min before she was supposed to arrive. Then I had a panic attack. Chris found me hiding in the closet (just kidding) I was actually in there kind of staring at my shoes. Like I thought the social worker wouldn’t approve us if I didn’t have the right shoes on!! Anyway, I felt at ease with her after about 15 minutes. She worked very hard to get our pre placement assessment done very quickly. This was so great because it was all done over the Christmas holiday. She worked until late one Sunday night. And she kept in touch with us through e-mail if there was any change or development.

The office administrator is great. She is so helpful and responds so quickly to any questions we ask. We needed our child abuse clearances and I thought it was something that they had performed but was not certain. I sent her an e-mail on Tues and inquired about it. She sent me an e-mail and said she would send them to us. We received them today. Two days after my inquiry!!

It is so great to not only have started this crazy process with an agency that is so supportive. Also the knowledge that they will continue to help us!

If you know of anyone adopting in North Carolina we recommend whole-heartedly this agency!

late update

Hey!

We got an update yesterday. We heard from the babies home. They sent me a list of their requirements. All of the things on the list should be no problem for us to complete.

There was one thing that surprised us. Two years after we are home we have to sponsor a member of the board at the babies home. We have to pay all of their travel and expenses while they are here. However there is no fee to pay the babies home when we adopt (a lot of them have fees) so this is not a problem. It is actually very reassuring that they care so much about the babies that they want to follow up.

We are required to give them regular updates. Also something that shows their love and hope for the best for these babies.

The thing we need to focus on right now is gathering the documents for our lawyer, and most importantly the $2000.00.

Keep praying!! It seems like God is gearing us up for phase 2!

-Kristin