We're Active again!

We found out late yesterday that our home-study update (due to moving) has been approved and we are once again an "active waiting family."  Yay! 


So, what now?!  Well, we wait...  and, we read books and we look for a pediatrician AND we pray...A LOT!  We pray that God continues to guide us through this journey.  We pray that Abigail will be healthy and that her birth mom is taking care of herself.  We pray that we will be good parents and that we will use this time to prepare well- in our hearts and practically. 


And, honestly, we pray that we get a placement by January of 2017 because if we do not, we will have to do a major home study update and that involves more paperwork and more money.  We already had to do an update fee due to the move so we're hoping to avoid more fees.  We know God is in control of when and how everything happens BUT (in our humanness) we'd LOVE a placement by the beginning of 2017.


So, that's it for now and there will likely not be much to report for a while.  We may not have anything to blog about until we have a placement-exciting!! In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers.  Also, if you'd like to purchase some coffee or make a small donation to help us with the extra home-study update expense and remaining we have to raise, it would be more appreciated than you know.  Any donations of $50 or more will automatically receive a tax-deductible receipt if made through the Lifesong link at upper right hand side of blog.  If we receive any additional donations, I will be sure to update the thermometer so it's accurate.


Thanks again- Love you guys!!!

Just a little update...

OK, so it has been FOREVER since we've posted but you haven't missed much :)  However, we love all of you that support and follow this LONG journey with us so we wanted to give you "just a little update."

So, a month ago we moved.  Oh, the joy of moving!  It was an unexpected but necessary move.  Honestly, it was kind of stressful and we're glad it's done. Since we had already completed our home study visit in our last home, we had to go on hold status until the social worker can come out to our new home and complete a new home study visit .  We have that scheduled next week! Once that visit and some paperwork we had to redo is approved, we're once again an "active waiting family."

I already asked our social worker when she thinks our profile book will start being shown and she said once our new home visit is approved, she would expect us to start getting some activity due to the amount of time we have already been categorized as a "waiting family."  We've been considered a waiting family for a little over a year and the average wait it typically at least 2 years so it's not unusual that we're still waiting.  And, the move has slowed everything down by a few months.

So, that's our little update for now...

For what it's worth, I've had this time next year on my mind...we'll see.  I'll update again to let everyone know when we are once again officially active. Hopefully, the new home study approval will happen quickly :)

April stats, dresses & tutus...oh my!

Hi Friends!

Happy Mother's Day!

We just wanted to share a quick status update & show you some cuteness that I can hardly stand!

So, everything is quiet on our end.  As you probably know, we're been on the active waiting family list for about 3 1/2 months.  At some point (next month or next year...only God knows) we will get a call that a birth mom wants to meet us.  Until then, here's some updates.

2015 April Update 

So, here's what has happened so far this year with placements... 

7 total infants placed...

•        Race:

o   4 are Caucasian

o   3 are multiracial

•        Gender:

o   4 are female

o   3 are male  

•        Special Needs:

o   4 kiddos have special needs

 

On another note, we were blessed this week with an abundance of the most adorable fancy dresses and tutus a little girl (and mom!) could hope for!  Check these out!  Talk about cuteness overload.  Abigail is sure to be the best dressed girl on the block- or maybe in the city :)  (Thank you Karen!  You have blessed us once again!)

 

(Click to Enlarge)

 

March Stats

Hi Friends!

I know it's been a while since I've posted so I just wanted to let everyone know we're still here :)  We're patiently waiting until we get a phone call....it may be next month or next year.  Thank you for your continued prayer!

As always, thank you for your amazing support!!

Here are the most recent stats from our agency...

2014 Agency Stats

We just wanted to share some quick stats we received from our adoption agency.  As you can see below, the wait in 2014 was anywhere from 90 days (completely open in preferences) to almost 4 years (very limited in preferences).  If I had to guess, I would say that we are around the middle of this range since we are specific that we want to adopt a girl but we are pretty open on other aspects. But, stats change all the time and are not the only factor.  If the expectant parent(s) that see our book connect with us that is really all that matters. However, we can say with true conviction that we are OK with whatever the wait because we know that God has the child for us in His perfect timing. And, we're closer than we've ever been! I still thought this was worth sharing just the same :)

2014 In Review

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, he leads the prisoners out with singing.”

— Psalm 68:5-6 (NIV)

Domestic Adoption Quick Facts

2014 DOMESTIC TRENDS ü  Increase of expectant parents desiring to build more open relationships with adoptive parents. ü  Increase of expectant parents desiring to incorporate names. ü  Increase in birthfather  involvement.

118 EXPECTANT PARENTS SERVED 41 CHILDREN IN FOREVER FAMILIES   18 Males                        31- 0 mo.            1- 2 yr.      23 Females                      6- 1 mo.            1- 3 yr.                                             2- 1 yr.                                                                                             16 Caucasian                    9 African American     1 Asian                               3 Hispanic     12 Multi-Racial                                                                                               Average Family Wait Time: 560 days Longest Wait: 1,373 days (limited preferences)    Shortest Wait: 90 days (completely open)

  

Profile books delivered to agency!!

Our profile books we're just delivered to our adoption agency today, 1/21! We are official!  Now, the 2 month to 2 year wait starts.  We are patient and excited for it to happen in God's perfect timing :)

Profile book done!!

We finally finished our profile book and wanted to share a few pages from it with you all!  This is part of the book that expectant parents will be shown when choosing an adoptive family for their child.  The hard copy books have been ordered and will arrive to the agency by 1/26 at the latest! At that point, it's just a matter of waiting to be chosen!!

We hope you enjoyed taking a look at it!

And, as always, we are so thankful for the support!  As you can see from the thermometer on the right top side of the page, the additional tax-deductible donations we've received in the last month have put us only $1600 from the $25,000 goal! Thank you!