Does anyone else have such a crazy busy life that they sometimes forget how important it is to just simply sit and be thankful? I firmly believe it does a body (and a mind) a whole lot of good! Thanksgiving and peace fall hand in hand according to Phil. 4. I surely want to experience the peace of God so why do I sometimes spend more time complaining about things rather then offering thanksgiving? (Just thinking out loud here)
So as I sit and think on things I am blown away by the love and care that Brian and I have been shown by a certain group of friends who have just jumped in along side us and our journey in not only our adoption process but in our lives.
A few weeks ago most of you know a corn hole tournament was held as a fundraiser for adoption expenses. It was an amazing day! Everything was wonderful! Even now as I think back about it I am again blown away by the love and care (and work!) that went into this. We have never known a group of friends who have only known us for such a short time to go out of there way for us like this group.
Brian and I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this possible and to those who came out to support us!! We couldn't have done this without any of you! We were blessed more then words can say!, not to mention we ended up winning a set of corn hole boards thanks to Kristen buying us a few raffle tickets :)
We are so thankful. So far through this process we have seen God open doors through others giving financially, giving of the time and giving of odd jobs. We are seeing God do some amazing things and the journey has just begun. We are excited to see where this road will take us. A dear friend reminded me to focus on the journey at hand not the destination because we often miss so much that God wants to give or do in us otherwise.
So a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has come along side us in some way, shape or form!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Getting Closer
Our homestudy is complete and our Lifebook sent in! Yay! We are that much closer to bringing our baby home. I am not sure i have ever been so excited to wait for something in my life!
Once our agency receives our homestudy along with our Lifebook we will be available for profiling birth mom's whose preferences are a match to us. We are hoping in the next week or so that will begin happening.
We also had our first big fundraiser and that went so well! Brian was able to get a roof job and a bunch of guys to volunteer their time and energy to help us. It was such a blessing to us to be able to see the willingness of our friends to help us in such a way. The weather was perfect and Brian had just enough help. Thank you so much to all who helped!!
Once our agency receives our homestudy along with our Lifebook we will be available for profiling birth mom's whose preferences are a match to us. We are hoping in the next week or so that will begin happening.
We also had our first big fundraiser and that went so well! Brian was able to get a roof job and a bunch of guys to volunteer their time and energy to help us. It was such a blessing to us to be able to see the willingness of our friends to help us in such a way. The weather was perfect and Brian had just enough help. Thank you so much to all who helped!!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Little Things
My heart is dancing. I love the sweet little moments that God gives me where He reminds me once again that He not only loves me but He also delights in me! Lastnight was one of those sweet moments and it still warms my heart now as I am thinking about it.
Four years ago Brian and I were living in a rental house as we were house hunting for our own home. It was sunny, warm and yard sale season. Our neighbors a few houses down were having a yard sale so we went to check it out. I saw the cutest matching pack-n-play, swing & stroller set or at least I thought so. It was one of my favorite french patterns and I absolutely loved it! We however at the time didn't need any baby stuff so we didn't think too hard about it. Of course now that we are in the process of our adoption baby things are on my mind a little more frequently. I had thought about this set everytime I thought about baby sets and how much I loved it.
A few days ago I mentioned it to Brian how I wish we could find something like that for our baby. I saw a set that looked very similar to it for sale so we went to look at it. It was the same exact set! We pulled up to the very same house where we went to the yard sale 4 years ago! She had put it up and just decided to pull it out to sell again. We were blown away.
I know it is a small thing but it was so sweet to me. God truely does delight in us and that is no small thing. Oh how I love Him!
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take DELIGHT in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will Rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17
Four years ago Brian and I were living in a rental house as we were house hunting for our own home. It was sunny, warm and yard sale season. Our neighbors a few houses down were having a yard sale so we went to check it out. I saw the cutest matching pack-n-play, swing & stroller set or at least I thought so. It was one of my favorite french patterns and I absolutely loved it! We however at the time didn't need any baby stuff so we didn't think too hard about it. Of course now that we are in the process of our adoption baby things are on my mind a little more frequently. I had thought about this set everytime I thought about baby sets and how much I loved it.
A few days ago I mentioned it to Brian how I wish we could find something like that for our baby. I saw a set that looked very similar to it for sale so we went to look at it. It was the same exact set! We pulled up to the very same house where we went to the yard sale 4 years ago! She had put it up and just decided to pull it out to sell again. We were blown away.
I know it is a small thing but it was so sweet to me. God truely does delight in us and that is no small thing. Oh how I love Him!
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take DELIGHT in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will Rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17
Monday, April 22, 2013
Steps of Faith...
Welcome to the beginning of our story.
"We make our plans, but the Lord dertermines our steps" Proverbs 16:9
I have never had a desire to start a blog of any kind. However the thought of this blog kept coming up over and over again to the point where I could no longer deny the fact that I was going to enter the blogging world. This blog will mostly be me sharing bits and pieces of my heart and inviting you, if you are interested, to take this journey with me.
Seven years ago I married the man of my dreams. We were happy, healthy and full of dreams and plans for our future together. We envisioned a cute little house with a few children of our own at some point but we were in no rush for babies to come. We first wanted time for just us and we thought when we were ready to have children a few years down the road we would.
A couple years into our marriage we decided we were ready for children and we wanted to have them now. Children were now apart of our plan. So we tried. They did not come. Never did we ever imagine we would struggle with infertility. This has been a long and at times heartbreaking struggle for us. This as also been one of the biggest faith testers we have yet to encounter. We found ourselves asking questions like, "Has God forgotten us?" & "Are His plans really good for us?" We didn't know what to do and we sure didn't understand. It was a pain we had never known.
Even in the midst of all that God has proven Himself to us both, especially to me. Even though I didn't understand and honestly I'm not sure i completely understand now either, I do TRUST Him. I have by no means walked this road perfectly but there are a few things i have come to know. I KNOW He loves us. I KNOW He has not forgotten us. I KNOW He has more in store for us then we could ever ask or imagine!
For the last few years adoption has been something that has tugged on both mine and Brian's hearts but we were never quite sure how to proceed and if that tugging was God or just our desire to have children.The whole concept was unfamiliar as well as overwhleming to us so we would just bury the idea and go on with life as we knew it.
Fastforward to the beginning at this year and our hearts began to stir once again in the area of adoption. I was not sure if I was willing to let my heart go there but my wonderful husband couldnt shake it. Brian began to pray. The Lord began answer. Doors just started opening for us in places we would never have even thought. It seemed that God was directing every step we were taking to something or someone with information we needed. God began to make it clear to both of us that this would be the year we would step out in faith and persue adoption. We feel we have been in a time of preparation for this for the last several years and that this is the path the Lord is leading us down and we are so excited!
We have already chosen the agency we will be working with and have applied and been accepted. We also have already had our 3 homestudy visits and we are just awaiting the final paperwork to come back so we can finish up this process.
While we are so excited it is still a little overwhleming at times. This is a huge step of faith for us. Questions frequently run through my mind like "How will our family react?" "Will we be waiting long?" "How will we afford this?"
We of course are trusting God to provide and we are sure this is His leading but these questions are still there as we wait. Waiting is always the hardest part for me because i want so badly to do something but wait I must.
This new adventure has only just begun! We will keep you updated along the way.
~Brian & Jennifer
"We make our plans, but the Lord dertermines our steps" Proverbs 16:9
I have never had a desire to start a blog of any kind. However the thought of this blog kept coming up over and over again to the point where I could no longer deny the fact that I was going to enter the blogging world. This blog will mostly be me sharing bits and pieces of my heart and inviting you, if you are interested, to take this journey with me.
Seven years ago I married the man of my dreams. We were happy, healthy and full of dreams and plans for our future together. We envisioned a cute little house with a few children of our own at some point but we were in no rush for babies to come. We first wanted time for just us and we thought when we were ready to have children a few years down the road we would.
A couple years into our marriage we decided we were ready for children and we wanted to have them now. Children were now apart of our plan. So we tried. They did not come. Never did we ever imagine we would struggle with infertility. This has been a long and at times heartbreaking struggle for us. This as also been one of the biggest faith testers we have yet to encounter. We found ourselves asking questions like, "Has God forgotten us?" & "Are His plans really good for us?" We didn't know what to do and we sure didn't understand. It was a pain we had never known.
Even in the midst of all that God has proven Himself to us both, especially to me. Even though I didn't understand and honestly I'm not sure i completely understand now either, I do TRUST Him. I have by no means walked this road perfectly but there are a few things i have come to know. I KNOW He loves us. I KNOW He has not forgotten us. I KNOW He has more in store for us then we could ever ask or imagine!
For the last few years adoption has been something that has tugged on both mine and Brian's hearts but we were never quite sure how to proceed and if that tugging was God or just our desire to have children.The whole concept was unfamiliar as well as overwhleming to us so we would just bury the idea and go on with life as we knew it.
Fastforward to the beginning at this year and our hearts began to stir once again in the area of adoption. I was not sure if I was willing to let my heart go there but my wonderful husband couldnt shake it. Brian began to pray. The Lord began answer. Doors just started opening for us in places we would never have even thought. It seemed that God was directing every step we were taking to something or someone with information we needed. God began to make it clear to both of us that this would be the year we would step out in faith and persue adoption. We feel we have been in a time of preparation for this for the last several years and that this is the path the Lord is leading us down and we are so excited!
We have already chosen the agency we will be working with and have applied and been accepted. We also have already had our 3 homestudy visits and we are just awaiting the final paperwork to come back so we can finish up this process.
While we are so excited it is still a little overwhleming at times. This is a huge step of faith for us. Questions frequently run through my mind like "How will our family react?" "Will we be waiting long?" "How will we afford this?"
We of course are trusting God to provide and we are sure this is His leading but these questions are still there as we wait. Waiting is always the hardest part for me because i want so badly to do something but wait I must.
This new adventure has only just begun! We will keep you updated along the way.
~Brian & Jennifer
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