an adoption update

Hi peeps!

I know, I haven't done a good job of keeping you updated. I was recently completing an online survey which asked, "Do you blog?" and I honestly felt bad answering "yes", because I do it so infrequently! I want to do better; really I do!

I have had several people ask me how the adoption process is going. Here's where we stand now:

• We have finished all of the paperwork. {I think we have; there is so much, we may have missed something. :-) }
• I've been working on our adoption profile, which is basically a snapshot of our lives. I'm doing it as a photobook, which is how we did our first one. It's almost finished; we are just getting a couple of updated photos to include, and then we'll be able to order a few copies to send to the agency to show to potential birth mothers. If you'd like to see our photobook, click here. {I think you may have to sign in with a Walmart.com account, so I apologize if it's too much hassle. And please let me know if that link doesn't work! :-) }
• Our fundraisers are going SO WELL, thanks to all you generous people! Honestly, we are so astounded at how giving everyone is! We have had a lot of people give us donations, and Baron has had several orders for his sports figures. I don't know right now how many Wild Olive Tees we have sold, but I hope it's going well! They are such cute t-shirts, and I love that they have this adoption fundraiser as an option.
• I hesitate to announce this, because I'm almost embarrassed, but I'm so excited that I just can't hide it: we had one super awesome individual donate ALL of the rest of the money we needed for our agency fees!!! People, that is a huge chunk o' change. When this person emailed me to tell me, I was completely shocked. I have known a lot of generous people in my life, but I have never been the recipient of such an amazing monetary gift. We are SO blessed!!! The individual asked to not be named, so I will respect their privacy. But I couldn't help but share the news!! We will still need to save up money for travel expenses and legal fees for the finalization, and that is where the rest of the fundraising money will go. But it is such a relief to not have to worry about the rest of the agency fees. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!
• We are also still in the process of making room in the house for baby #2. I know once we send our first payment & our profile to the agency, I will start to get the nesting fever, as I did when we were waiting for Natalie. When we get to that point, we will have no idea how long we'll be waiting for a baby, so my OCD-ness will begin to kick in, and I'll want that space ready, like, yesterday. :-)

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We truly feel that adopting is God's calling for us. There's no other way to explain the generosity of everyone, and the way everything just "falls into place". It seems like an impossible task in the beginning, the whole process. Then when you get into it, and everything starts to work out, you just know that it's what God wants. It really is a God thing, and He knows what He is doing!! Please continue to pray for our adoption journey; the prayers really are felt!

{ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him; who have been called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28 }

{ Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world's evil influence. ~James 1:27 }