His Promises Kept

HAHA so funny story...Baby O received his/her first toy today.  Apparently, while I was looking at amazon...I accidently clicked on a 2-day shipping 1-click button (it was on my phone)...and well... apparently I bought baby's first toy! LOL  Steve received the email stating that it was being processed and being shipped out...he was confused and showed it to me, I was confused as well.  We tried canceling it, but it wasn't allowing us to cancel it....so....umm...yeah...this is what we got our soon-to-be new Einsten! :)

I find myself more and more in awe of God.  This weekend I went to a baby shower, and for the baby shower, I made her a few items...some baby shoes and a couple of headbands.  I then started to think about my shower and what it would be like and to hold the new baby...well when she opened her gift everyone loved her items.  They then realized that I made then and they were asking me more about it...I was then able to hand out about 8 or so business cards! I was excited. Then today, a co-worker asked me to make her something because she keeps hearing about me being able to make things.  Then after work I had to go to Joann's to pick up some yarn for a customer and as I was looking at the ribbon, I asked another lady her opinion.  Then after showing her what I wanted to make she was impressed and in shock.  I then handed her a card!!  She then told me that she was impressed with our decision to adopt because she said she didn't think she would be able to love someone else's

T-shirts are up and ready to order!  They are $20 (XXL and up are $2 more).  If you need shipping we can arrange that as well. If you're interested, please email me or comment.  Below are the two colors, they are slightly lighter than the actual t-shirts, but they are close (there are more...if you would like a different color, but can still keep the white lettering, we can talk).  All proceeds will go towards our adoption fund!! :)  Thank you for your support!!

Well our homestudy was yesterday and it seemed to go well.  We basically answered questions together, like how we handle conflict, what kind of child are we wanting (like a white baby, mixed baby, is it ok if the birthmom smokes, drinks, etc...) and then we did individual ones that asked us questions about our own family (mom, dad, siblings); how we were disciplined, etc.  So not to bad.  Then she did a quick (and I mean quick) look around our place...and that was pretty much it. :-)  Easy Peasy! LOL  So now all we are waiting on is for her to type that up...2 more references, our blood work, and Bear's dog license from his rabies shot...then she can submit it to the court system.  Once she has finalized it on her part then they will send us the report of the approval and then we can start applying for grants!  I can't believe how far we have come in just the few short weeks since we have decided to completely go with this. I'm very excited and again in awe of how God is

I can't believe that tomorrow is our home study already.These past few weeks have flown by and yet it feels like we have been researching and doing things for this adoption for awhile now...but in a good way. It's just such a part of us now that it's become a second language in our home as well as second nature to what and how we do things. We find ourselves saying...this will be different when we have a child....or...wow this would be better when we have a little one...or....I wonder how he/she would respond to this...or just imagining them run through the house...or how to rearrange the bedroom for all their stuff and where to put all the other stuff lol. But all again...it's all good thoughts and we are very excited to see how this is going to unfold and come into focus and reality. :-) Again...thank you much for following this process and joining us on this incredible journey!! :-)

Hey there!! We are going to start taking orders for our T-shirt fundraiser.  All shirts are $20 (if you need a XXL or bigger, then please add an additional $2.)...if you need shipping then we can arrange cost over email.  I just sent the prints to the printer, so I'm waiting for the actual design of the shirt, but the pictures below are what we have so far.  Right now we only have black with white print, but I am looking into other colors like a heather gray with white print...I will keep you posted on those...and post up the actual pictures of the shirts once I get the proof back from the printers.  If you are interested in wanting to order a shirt, please email me. I will be happy to take your order. Thank you again for your support. :-) Front of shirt Back of shirt

I stand amazed and in awe of how God is really moving in this process.  More and more things start coming into focus and play and it's amazing to completely see the hand of God on it all.  This once dream that started to unfold is slowly becoming a reality more and more.  I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and they said they wanted to pay for all the support letters that I'm about to send out.  They said they already told me that and I said, "NO! I would have remembered that!!" I started crying because the jester in that alone was so beyond words!!  I am even tearing up as I'm writing this!! How awesome!!  I was just telling my husband when we were at the store getting the envelopes..."Well, this was the easy process...umm...so how much do you think it's going to cost to send out about 100 of these???"  We both looked at each other, he said probably around $50, we both sighed and we were both like...well, we gotta do what we gotta do.  And t

Well, our home study is drawing closer and closer.  Less than a week before it's done (on Thursday).  We are excited for this journey that we are on.  There are a few minor things that we are still in the midst of to get ready for Thursday though.  Monday we will take our one dog (Bear) to get updated on his rabies shot...our other dog (Joy) is fine...then Steve and I ourselves have our own doctors appointment the same day.  We got our prints done through my work this past Thursday...and now all we are waiting on will be the reference sheets.  I'm getting more and more excited with each new day...learning about the process and just taking complete delight in the process (after all...didn't God take delight in the process as well when he was adopting us???).  Just makes my heart smile more and more. Now looking at pregnant people brings different set of tears to my eyes...before it was hurt and pain, now it's joyful, laughter, and just sheer excitement that I'll be

I have been calling around different agencies to see how much their covered costs are.  I have accured a lot of information over the past couple of weeks on how agencies run and what their pricing goes towards.  This is what I have found so far... Most agencies range between $20-30,000...about 75% of that is to market to the birthmothers as using adoption as a means for their child, instead of abortion.  Then on top of that are attorney fees (not always, but this seems to be on the general range)...and those will depend upon how long the case lasts, etc.  So that's probably another $5-10,000...then on top of that there are birthmother expensives.  I was told that if you don't help pay the expensives then it will take an even longer time to get matched.  So tack on another $5,000 or so....and this money is non-refundable if the birthmother changes her mind during or just after the baby is born (in most agencies). This doesn't include the home study which can range from $1,

Well ladies and gentlemen ..we have our home study date and time set.  It will be on Thursday Jan. 24th at 6pm!!! WOOHOO!!! Once this is complete and signed off from our agency, they will give us a copy and we can turn around and start applying for grants.  However, the home study will still have to be approved by the judge here in the state of Arizona.  Once it is approved and sent back, really the next step will be raising the funds to complete the process.  Once funds are raised or close to being raised, then we will be able to go forth and see if we can be matched, after that we wait for finalization...then we'll be home with a new bundle of joy!!  I'm so full of mixed emotions as I think about the possibilities! I was given some profiles from our agency to look at that were not needed...as I looked at some of them and realized that I am going to be doing the same thing....my heart was over flowing with love and joy that is indescribable!  Here it's been almost 9 years

Well, here we go with starting to fundraise to get the funds we need.  It's amazing how expensive the road to adoption is. We are looking at around $25,000. This will cover the agency, attorney, and birth mother expenses.   You can follow how we are doing by watching the ticker in the side bar.  Here is where we can use your help...you can do one of the following... 1. When we are doing a fundraiser like buying coffee, T-shirts, or matching dollar for dollar...you can get involved in that. (Those will be coming soon...more details will be posted as we decided what to do) 2. Pray with and for us 3. Use donate button below

Well, I have been reading several blogs and one that I found looked at the process of adoption as her own pregnancy...so that's how we are going to look at it as well.  Here is what she had said... First trimester is the Home Study process Second trimester is the approval of the home study to the time we get picked by a birth mother Third trimester is the part of the journey from the matched to the close of the adoption So...we have just started this journey so we are in the 1st trimester... Looking forward to the rest of the journey!!! Thank you for the prayers of support.  Here is what we are praying for... Smooth, quick, and finances come through! Will you help us and pray with us on these? We would greatly appreciate it. <3 Steve and Chris

Our story begins about 10 years ago when we first got married. I married my best fried and soul mate. The first year went by and we decided we wanted to become parents. A couple of years later we finally were going in for testing because it just wasn't happening. Test came back of being fine...tubes were clear...doctors were not sure why we weren't conceiving. I did try fertility meds but didn't like how they made my body feel...so I decided not too. I looked into doing an IVF but after doing the research I ended up deciding that that wasn't the road to go down...mainly for personal beliefs. So here we are....almost 9 years of still nothing, left us turning down a new road....a road full of hope and towards creating a miracle!  We are about to begin down the road to adoption.  We have gotten tons of information and have looked into adoptions through all kinds of different agencies.  We are starting our home study.  It's amazing how over whelming everything can be!