tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30819692517478270172024-03-05T18:27:46.486-08:00Our Adoption JourneyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-75486080631811826052010-07-12T10:12:00.000-07:002010-07-12T10:12:27.354-07:00Deciding what to read...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been writing this blog for a couple reasons :</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. To keep family and friends updated on the adoption process. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. To keep a journal to look back on for ourselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. To keep track of how God answers prayers over and over again! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will find that my next post is a little long because I wanted a post to look back on and remember the time when we brought our son home. There are so many little details that I do not want to forget (and many that I couldn't even add to the blog or I am sure I would have run out of space)! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feel free to read the whole post, but if you are just wanting a quick update on where we are with the adoption of Malachi, you can skip down to the last section titled "It's Official".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope you are blessed by what you read! God is so faithful!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-23937148436152915062010-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:002010-07-12T13:09:50.678-07:00Home at last!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Introducing Malachi William <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: #ffffff;">Strunk</span>: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYlywoqf-d2FUxRHRUCaHEmYIGjRE26sPcXra6WBX1qSZCtFBMFZZNimAlJcHM3T39muZSAIjrSVyIlkhx01QP4W_S5FeEB2goF0-GBspq89b6nIo4cNGLcabkTGhOo4qt3Dy_7TU01k/s1600/IMG_4649small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYlywoqf-d2FUxRHRUCaHEmYIGjRE26sPcXra6WBX1qSZCtFBMFZZNimAlJcHM3T39muZSAIjrSVyIlkhx01QP4W_S5FeEB2goF0-GBspq89b6nIo4cNGLcabkTGhOo4qt3Dy_7TU01k/s320/IMG_4649small.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Malachi was born on June 20th at 3:20pm! He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 20 in long.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our son is finally home! </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A LITTLE REVIEW</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What an amazing journey this has been. I am not even sure where to start. As most of you know, we met Christina back in March. We spent the past 4 months getting to know her and her family, attending doctors appointments, and preparing our home for a baby. It was an exciting few months realizing that we might actually be parents soon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We immediately fell in love with Christina and her whole family! They are such gracious and loving people. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were all pretty sure Mr. Malachi was going to show up early, so we spent most of June anxiously awaiting his arrival. Although we were super excited to meet him, we knew that the hospital time would be a roller coaster of emotions. We never could have imagined how God would meet us there!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the thing I heard Christina say the most these past 4 months was that she was so excited for us to become the parents of Malachi! How could she feel that way when she was dealing with the grief of such a difficult decision? We could not fully understand except to know that Christina has found this amazing peace in Jesus Christ. He really did give her joy and peace beyond understanding! </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE CALL</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We received the phone call from Christina on June 19th at 10:30pm. We were busy sorting through a bunch of clothes that some dear friends of ours donated to us. Their son was also adopted and now that he was 5, they decided to pass his clothes on. So our living room was piled high with clothes and Kurtis' phone rang. When he answered the phone and I realized that he was talking to Christina my heart started to race. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was this it??? Were we about to become parents? She told Kurtis that her water broke and that they were on their way to the hospital. He hung up the phone and told me the news and I started jumping up and down! We spent the next 45 minutes or so pacing back and forth in our house. We were supposed to be packing for the days we would be at the hospital, but neither of us could think straight. We were about to be parents!!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE ARRIVAL<br />
We headed to <span style="background-color: white;"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat;">Thunderbird</span> </span>hospital around 11:30pm. The 45 minute drive seemed to drag on forever. We got to the hospital and spent the next 15 hours or so with Christina in the delivery room. We talked, laughed, and attempted to get some sleep (which happened very little). I had the privilege of being in the room when Malachi was born at 3:20pm on the 20th (9 days early). He was so precious (and a little funny looking) and it was surreal to think that I was looking at my son!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnRcimgNJQQTjeu_Y16OWq_I087f-AZSfY1hsPN0ZcwdbKO_qPO84fz10nGyrQbiLCOdgFjwX_2FGDZOZEva6ucFEBbiiuXRY9wwTSXaRSf-1wOjYs_XY7SiZ70nMD6-VyHFQhG8wORA/s1600/IMG_4568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnRcimgNJQQTjeu_Y16OWq_I087f-AZSfY1hsPN0ZcwdbKO_qPO84fz10nGyrQbiLCOdgFjwX_2FGDZOZEva6ucFEBbiiuXRY9wwTSXaRSf-1wOjYs_XY7SiZ70nMD6-VyHFQhG8wORA/s320/IMG_4568.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stayed at the hospital with Christina and Malachi for the next 2 days. I had been really nervous about this time. How would we know how much to be involved? What would Christina think of us as parents? What would Christina think of Malachi once he was actually here? A time that I had imagined would be most awkward and difficult ended up being one of the most peaceful and beautiful times we have ever experienced! It all happened so naturally. We were all there because we loved little Malachi. We took turns caring for him and passing him around. We stayed up late talking about the amazing ways God had provided and what a beautiful little boy had entered the world (he looks just like Christina :)</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70v7rQ7mC2Ms3qOQcgaBAMEfsnTNkVNjIuyqP7GJ36sR7a1osfUoFC6Cbiemc9F99zoijgHbmoJri3rCPswmqBuXwZHaXiUDyza3VOqo_SUbdh2JDFP5Jt-B52kNf9XXwuZTNpPC1_PU/s1600/IMG_4684Csmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70v7rQ7mC2Ms3qOQcgaBAMEfsnTNkVNjIuyqP7GJ36sR7a1osfUoFC6Cbiemc9F99zoijgHbmoJri3rCPswmqBuXwZHaXiUDyza3VOqo_SUbdh2JDFP5Jt-B52kNf9XXwuZTNpPC1_PU/s320/IMG_4684Csmall.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuesday (discharge day) came quickly and we spent the day at the hospital enjoying being together and preparing to go home. The mood was joyful. As discharge time neared, Christina's dad led us in a prayer dedicating this adoption to the Lord as we wept. We all had the opportunity to thank God for how good his plans are and for the new family we were forming. I had been saving up the tears all weekend and now there was no holding them back. Christina said the most beautiful prayer for her son and for us as his parents. Once again, we were in total amazement of how God works. Not that we really should be surprised, but we just could not have imagined it being any more peaceful and right.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNR5Yv6g1T4qAprnurksfj_2uVM-PHzK-z2vDk0vlcdGXIhEbZLTISirm3amsCHV2yhhfNkiJM-bgitkPsxMURkq3RT1fMJj2cEmZi-nYtMMl7QqVJ-1TbBqSv7wVoMUen29ZMwhkYzE/s320/IMG_4693small.jpg" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ENCOURAGING EXPECTANT PARENTS<br />
Tuesday night was Christina's last child birthing class at the hospital. We all decided it would be great for her to be able to bring Malachi to the class and encourage all those soon to be parents. It was such a blessing to see her show him off to the class. As she stood there surrounded by all the expectant parents, I thought about how much she was giving up. She would not get the chance to have those everyday proud mama moments with Malachi. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HEADING HOME</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After stopping by the class, it was time to head home. We placed Malachi in our car. Christina sat with him, kissing his forehead and telling him how much she loved him. After she said goodbye to Malachi, it was time for us to head home. I think Christina and I hugged about 5 times before we actually left the hospital. The gravity of what was taking place really started to set in. This amazing woman of God was entrusting her child to us! She believed that we would be the best parents for him. We knew in that moment that we would have to fully depend on God to be the parents that Malachi needs us to be.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FAMILY</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bond that Christina and I share is indescribable. At points along the adoption process I was worried about what a relationship with a birth mom would be like. From the outside it seemed intimidating and messy to meet up with a birth family a certain number of times each year. But at this moment I knew the relationship we had developed was so much deeper than setting up how many times we would meet. God had made us family over the past four months, but especially in that moment. I am so thankful for Christina and her whole family and am excited that we will always be family with them! Although open adoption was a scary concept when we first started out, we are now so excited that Malachi is going to know his birth family and know how much he is loved! </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_dGVOwcKWPKxpDg7iGCIeAH7fhEOb2taJqIXjDvKfyhmVidjLoQg8KcV7cSTyVcbZIKufDujOMb2NHrdwbP9zGzTd730QG16WyqER2NDGRUTK6d74OA6efcKVBK2-zhrfkzpM2z3R-w/s1600/IMG_4698small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_dGVOwcKWPKxpDg7iGCIeAH7fhEOb2taJqIXjDvKfyhmVidjLoQg8KcV7cSTyVcbZIKufDujOMb2NHrdwbP9zGzTd730QG16WyqER2NDGRUTK6d74OA6efcKVBK2-zhrfkzpM2z3R-w/s320/IMG_4698small.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took the long trip home, which Malachi slept through, and thought a lot about the amazing gift we were bringing home. We spent the rest of that evening sharing Malachi with our family. Malachi made Kurtis' parents grandparents for the first time, and he is the first grandson for my parents. As you can imagine, it was an exciting night!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IT'S OFFICIAL</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have spent the past three weeks learning about and enjoying Malachi William! We received a call on Thursday, July 1st from our agency to let us know that both Christina and the birth father had signed consents for the adoption, so what was already true in our hearts became true on paper. Malachi became an official part of our family. The adoption should be fully finalized in about 6-9 months.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you for all your encouragement and support along this journey! We have so appreciated your prayers and know that God was always listening! All along the way we knew the "peace that passes all understanding" as mentioned in Philippians 4:7. We are so thankful! </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our hearts are overflowing!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-64898707939713738202010-04-11T14:40:00.000-07:002010-04-11T14:41:40.090-07:00A Picnic in the Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1ZKCMKoBFgCfUVtm82PCCzuLF9hLmiwgUSUnZfCiKkgVlI8oGp4GXzOqc3RPvTO3V9FjeACO3VGZA6cDJes3RsDTZYmZfJA2YVAxXdHs4ZFOvT3rXlHMjwvd3kzknyHnuhRHtlqM7Pk/s1600/IMG_4406CS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz1ZKCMKoBFgCfUVtm82PCCzuLF9hLmiwgUSUnZfCiKkgVlI8oGp4GXzOqc3RPvTO3V9FjeACO3VGZA6cDJes3RsDTZYmZfJA2YVAxXdHs4ZFOvT3rXlHMjwvd3kzknyHnuhRHtlqM7Pk/s320/IMG_4406CS.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let us introduce our new friend "C". Her name is Christina and we had the opportunity to meet up with her and her parents for a picnic in the park last Tuesday evening. They were so sweet and made the long trek to meet us closer to our side of town so that we could make it there for dinner after I got off work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was so great to sit down with her and her family and learn more about their journey! God has done some amazing things in their lives and their stories increased our faith and hope in what God is doing here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are really looking forward to the next couple months with Christina! She is an amazing woman and is a blessing in our lives! Her baby boy is doing really well and Christina said that he is a very active little guy! We are really looking forward to meeting him in a few months!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Christina has invited us to attend her doctors appointments so we will be attending one with her next month. We are excited to hear his little heartbeat!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-61195974522392243592010-03-27T11:32:00.000-07:002010-03-27T11:32:04.601-07:00It's a Match!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtis got the call early yesterday morning that C picked us! (If you're really confused right now, you can check out our last post before reading on). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are so excited that we may be parents to a little boy in a short few months! C is due June 29th. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She would like us to attend doctor's appointments with her and we are looking forward to the opportunity to get to know her and her family better! God is good and we know he has a good plan for C, this little baby, and for us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Emily & Kurtis</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-47472414462111173862010-03-25T19:31:00.000-07:002010-03-25T22:27:24.480-07:00Just a meeting, or much, much more?<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">So exactly two weeks ago, on March 11<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>, we received the call we had been keeping our phones off of silent for :o) I was sitting in a meeting with my team at work when Kurtis called me. I didn't answer since I was in a meeting. My phone rang again and I started to wonder why he was calling. By the third phone call I knew something must be up, so I excused myself from the meeting and and answered the phone. The words I heard from Kurtis made my heart jump! "We just got a very interesting call from the agency...". He proceeded to tell me that a young expectant mother saw our profile and chose us to meet with her to discuss a possible adoption plan. He filled me in on the rest of the details in the next few minutes and I hung up the phone and walked back into my meeting (although I don't think I heard a thing that was said for the rest of it).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">The last 20 minutes of my school day seemed to take forever! As soon as I said bye to my students, Kurtis and I hopped on a conference call with our agency to tell them that we would love to meet this woman (who I will refer to as "C" for now). We found out on the phone together that she is due on June 29th and is having a boy! I think Kurtis was especially excited about this news! We set up an appointment to meet with her in two weeks, which just so happens to be today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">After a long two weeks of questions and excitement, we took an hour drive this morning to meet with "C", her mother, and an agency representative. I was quite nervous to meet her! Kurtis seemed pretty chill about it (although I know he was at least a little nervous too!). As we got closer and closer to the meeting place my heart started beating faster and faster. What would she be like? What will she think of us? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">We sat in the waiting room for awhile keeping ourselves busy with silly jokes and a little pamphlet reading. We were eventually invited back to meet "C". That walk through the office seemed to take forever! As we walked down the hall, I did my best to prepare myself to just <em>be myself</em>. It is so tempting to try to be who you think they will want you to be. I took these last few minutes to let that go and let God have control.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Although we were nervous as we entered the room, we felt a little more at ease just getting to meet her. She is a beautiful young lady with a very sweet smile and heart! We spent the next two hours with her and her mom, sharing life stories, answering questions about our hopes and dreams for our child, and hearing about hers. About half way through the nerves started to subside and we became more like family. (At least that is how I felt). It is amazing how you can have such love in your heart for someone when you have only known them for about an hour, but I can't describe it any other way! She has been through some really difficult times, but is amazingly courageous and has a very strong love for her child. Love so deep that she knows that making an adoption plan for him is the best thing she could do. In the past she has made some poor life decisions, but I really admire her determination to now run back to Jesus!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">The two hours went by way too quickly and we soon had to say goodbye. The meeting ended with a very touching prayer from "C's" mom and lots of hugs. We stepped out of the room and were told that they will give her some time to pray and decide if we are the couple she wants to place her baby with. We should receive a call in a few days with the news. After such a bond was made, it is really strange to think that we may never see her again. One thing that Kurtis and I are confident about is that this was no accidental meeting. We will continue to pray for "C" for freedom and peace and for this precious baby she carries inside! We know that God is carrying her and this precious baby boy and we are so thankful for that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">We will update our blog when we hear from our agency. We would really appreciate your prayers for peace and patience during this time and prayers for wisdom, peace, and strength for "C". She has a tough road ahead of her no matter what decision she makes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Emily & Kurtis</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-47999408086243305182010-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:002010-02-03T00:30:25.465-08:00In the book!<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In our past couple updates we have told you that things were "on hold" as we wait for the courts to certify us to adopt. We were needing to wait because we needed to apply for grants and the grants that we found would not allow us to apply until our certification was complete. Well, since then, we have found some grants that accept applications before certification! We finished up our first couple grant applications and got the last one sent in yesterday. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">This has also allowed us to move forward with presenting our profile to birthmom's who are looking to place their baby with a family. A while back we created a 4 page scrapbook about ourselves and our family and friends. The pages that we made were officially put in the "Matchbook" last Monday! The matchbook is a book of adoptive family profiles that is shown to birthparents at all the Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Arizona, and is also used at some hospitals. Our profile is out there, waiting to be chosen by the birthmom that God wants to unite us with! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Our agency places babies through two main routes; a preplanned match, and hospital calls. A birthparents working with our agency or with a Crisis Pregnancy Center will make a plan for their child and at about 7 months along in the pregnancy. They will be given the opportunity to choose and meet some potential adoptive parents for their child. If chosen, we would meet with the birthmom or birthparents together and both us and the birthparents would leave that meeting and decide if it was a "match". We would have a couple of months to get to know that birth family before the little one arrives. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">There is also potential for a hospital call from our agency. This would mean that a baby had already been born and the birthmom chose to make an adoption plan and picked our profile from the matchbook. Depending on how many days old the baby is, we would head to the hospital and pick up the baby to bring him/her home. It is a little crazy to be "on call" for such a huge life changing event! We could be parents tonight or it could be 2 years from now!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We know that God's timing is perfect! When we asked in one of our first meetings about the normal "time frame", our caseworker reminded us that God has the child picked out for us, so their is no normal time frame. We have been holding tight to this truth, knowing that God knows the "when" and "who"! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We took a class with about 7 other couples who were all at about the same place in the adoption process. These classes were a prerequisite to adopting through our agency. The classes ended last spring (March or April) and 5 of the couples have babies in their home and one couple has a baby due in March if everything works out! We can't believe how quick it has been for all of them!</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We really aren't sure how to prepare for something that has no exact time frame. I have prepared a weeks worth of copies at work and am working on wrapping some things up, just in case. Kurtis and I spent some time at Babies R Us the other night and started our registry. ;o) That was a pretty overwhelming, but fun time together! I cannot believe how much stuff there is for tiny babies!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We are really excited to share the experience with all of you when God brings a little one into our home! We continually request your prayers for wisdom, direction, and peace as we wait! We are so thankful for all he has provided so far! We also ask that you pray that God will provide for the birthmom and the little baby who may already be conceived! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Love,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Kurtis and Emily</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-44872317556397087962010-01-22T13:59:00.000-08:002010-01-22T14:59:37.246-08:00Trusting, waiting, typing, thanking...Carole, our adoption caseworker, tells us we should be certified through the court system within the next few weeks. Things have been backed-up because of National Adoption Day. As far as we're concerned that's a <strong>GREAT</strong> reason to wait a little longer :)<br /><br />Adoption certification means we can start applying for grants!<br /><br />We trust the Lord to provide for this adoption financially. He's already doing so! ...<br /><br />We wanted to say "thank you" to my sister Kristina, whose love for her brother and sister-in-law, as well as her desire for a baby niece or nephew, drove her to start an online fundraiser as a birthday gift to Emily. She's the reason for that box on the left :) Thank you, Sis!<br /><br />Thank you to everyone who has given! Kristina reports that people we don't even know personally have donated! WOW! ... I'm rarely speechless but I just spent 15 minutes trying to type out a thank you that came close ... Nothing came close!<br /><br /><em>Our hearts are full! Thank you!</em><br /><br />So, to sum-up; 1) A whole bunch of children were adopted in November (Woot!!) 2) We should be certified for adoption soon so we can officially start filling out grant applications. 3) My sis rocks! and 4) We have the best friends, family, and friends <em>of</em> family in the world!<br /><br />Can't wait to introduce our son or daughter to you!! :)<br /><br />-Kurtis & EmilyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-58586877387804146122009-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:002009-12-10T10:03:11.361-08:00Waiting and Trusting<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Sorry it has been so long since our last post! I want to give you a quick update on where we are in the adoption process. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">September/October: We spent many hours making a "Matchbook Letter" to go in the books at all the Crisis Pregnancy Centers. It was quite a challenge to figure out how to best sum-up who we are within a 4 page scrapbook! After many hours of picking photos, designing pages, and writing about our lives, we made 40 copies and sent them off to our agency. Our agency then takes the letters and sends them out to all the CPC's in Arizona.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We also took some time in October to review the total adoption expenses and look at our own finances. We reconfirmed that we will need some financial assistance to make this adoption happen. We are very thankful that there are foundations out there that help fund adoptions through adoption grants. The only problem is that you must be certified to adopt before you can apply for any grants. We are in the process of being certified, but aren't quite there yet. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Our paperwork is at the court, but they are backed up with work from "National Adoption Day". Not a bad reason for our paperwork to be held up! As soon as we are certified (our caseworker believes it will happen by the end of December), then we will send out some grant applications and also send out our matchletters. We trust that God will provide for the adoption and we know that it will happen in the right time!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It has been really interesting to have to put the adoption "on-hold" for a short time. It has taken a lot of trust in God's timing and we are seeing that He is so faithful! There have been many babies placed for adoption during the time that we have been waiting, but we know that they were not the ones we were supposed to adopt. God has a very specific little one for us and I am so glad I can trust Him with that. If I had control, this process would be way too overwhelming. I can see how easy it could be to second guess everything! (If we had only...) I cannot believe that it has already been a year since God started us on this journey! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">October 30th: We got to see baby Savannah and her family at our annual Fall Festival! It was so great to see them all doing so well! I got to hold miss Savannah and I was amazed by the peace in that moment. It was so obvious that the right decision was made. We are thankful for the new friends we have in Hayley and Jason and are excited to watch Hayley's daughters grow over the years! I asked Hayley for permission to post a photo of that night for you to see how much Savannah has grown. She is beautiful! She is a little hard to spot... She is in a pumpkin hat sitting with Jason. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410106784272099026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvZ7HKfBy2h7Ok4D6dQUeM6ZoWKXA25_m4_CH07e1aF0RB8L2j7p7mBDsNdYHjKC50RAh7X_HsoRZfjhHaxSOuOM-JM42ne8M38GkdpIqmZ_SRBiRmYRZp85vBrrPMJoIm3OFqP2HKqw/s400/PA310094.JPG" /><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Thank you all for your prayers over these past few months! I will update the blog once we are certified and our letter goes out to the Crisis Pregnancy Centers. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-13294580084336961212009-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:002009-09-13T22:33:51.161-07:00Decision Made<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">After a very long week we sat down with Hayley yesterday to discuss the plan for baby Savannah. As you know, we have been praying that God would give Hayley and us guidance as to what would be the best thing for this precious little one. We really know that God provided that direction for all of us. After many days of questioning, Hayley decided that it would be best for her to keep her baby. We were not surprised by her decision at all. Hayley is in a much different place right now than she was 6 months ago when she found us. She has support around her that wasn't there before. </span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We spent some time with her celebrating what God has done to provide for all of us and celebrating this new life and new friendship we have found! Although I am sure we will have moments of grief over the loss of what might have been, we are really at peace with how it all worked out. We have no regrets about building a relationship with this mom and are planning on staying in touch and being a part of this little baby girl's life as she grows!</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Thank you so much for all your sweet comments, encouraging phone calls, meals, and prayers over the past couple weeks and months! It has been an amazing journey so far and we are really excited to see where God leads us next! The next step is to write a "matchletter" to birthparents that will go in the adoption books at all the local Crisis Pregnancy Centers. From that point we wait to receive a call to either meet a birthmom before she is due or pick up a baby from the hospital. We will keep you informed when things begin to happen. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Until then, please pray for Hayley and baby Savannah as they adjust to life together, pray for wisdom for us as we seek out the next path God will lead us down on this adoption journey, and please pray for protection for whatever little one he is preparing for our family. Thank you!</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Love,</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Emily and Kurtis</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-64122542882814670622009-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:002009-09-06T20:07:36.465-07:00Her Grand Entrance - 9/4/09<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ByNyTmAFJeHoe_8KofTV72p536jRdetEm5P76oTTjwwcANsIyez80-Gj3uXFucrHRc9eVsJ1FXCfVc-n511vqxRpOsVxX7nhsHc3_TxW36dT7q1nnct7yA-MrO31GOUla5AgUU13mSo/s1600-h/IMG_3427small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378516089525061730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ByNyTmAFJeHoe_8KofTV72p536jRdetEm5P76oTTjwwcANsIyez80-Gj3uXFucrHRc9eVsJ1FXCfVc-n511vqxRpOsVxX7nhsHc3_TxW36dT7q1nnct7yA-MrO31GOUla5AgUU13mSo/s400/IMG_3427small.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQgkALWSWpujY7URvQorsGuPCSwnkHmc5oOgI5vaBOj4rx6n1lIdtsK33dwlNGt6ghdGXsojbPatqchxYePaCMoH760JFtrOeCwebqQ7l_b9d7_ymAlzIuTLWYVd1lbZc2ZbEsgZj58U/s1600-h/IMG_3404small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378515936446775586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQgkALWSWpujY7URvQorsGuPCSwnkHmc5oOgI5vaBOj4rx6n1lIdtsK33dwlNGt6ghdGXsojbPatqchxYePaCMoH760JFtrOeCwebqQ7l_b9d7_ymAlzIuTLWYVd1lbZc2ZbEsgZj58U/s400/IMG_3404small.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlg-UfbG0E-V8daHpx2wuOA0RwLNTaDljji29YrwNoUYz59U5rxjRnuKeBJf5HZg23OtvaHCks5M0SE1HXoEkd2-2y_PXzozoArOh-_bhObTQu1v1uKlSY3sBwT9xfiXPiTalL96_t9I/s1600-h/IMG_3385small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378515819426541554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlg-UfbG0E-V8daHpx2wuOA0RwLNTaDljji29YrwNoUYz59U5rxjRnuKeBJf5HZg23OtvaHCks5M0SE1HXoEkd2-2y_PXzozoArOh-_bhObTQu1v1uKlSY3sBwT9xfiXPiTalL96_t9I/s400/IMG_3385small.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfEH0HpQGPX4_VHbFlfm-uZ4LTLCQRJzlsDApQKb1aWwKx9lG-adkpWx4McSDN4P4agY_S0UhJD08Sab-eLLsGEiFE6IB1oXUhoRB6RDcbtf5dwNCPoy0iSCStYkGNRpTAPN6nuaZD8M/s1600-h/IMG_3372small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378515625024597506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfEH0HpQGPX4_VHbFlfm-uZ4LTLCQRJzlsDApQKb1aWwKx9lG-adkpWx4McSDN4P4agY_S0UhJD08Sab-eLLsGEiFE6IB1oXUhoRB6RDcbtf5dwNCPoy0iSCStYkGNRpTAPN6nuaZD8M/s400/IMG_3372small.jpg" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378515504977937730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MU9Wt7GwHrOkeUHdW8bd7gtRLt2jj5OMaq79mGBfIDjHjGugEKbs8FUEd983I_yM9zVBR4ravteajloXPFfkKW0eJ8hz5yI4Kt2kQndTcClyQjgJWWcqH0AgKQ_MOW4LJkWjwLwqJL0/s400/IMG_3370small.jpg" /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">As most of you know, Hayley went into labor on Thursday night and her little baby was born at 3:29 a.m. on Friday, September 4th! She weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 20 1/2 in. long. Hayley named her Savannah Renee. Hayley was very sick during the delivery and is still in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs. They are doing lots of tests to figure out what is going on with her. Because Hayley has been so sick she has not been able to spend very much time with Savannah. We have been able to go in the nursery and hold her a few times, but we wear masks just in case; since we were exposed to whatever Hayley has. Please pray for this little one that she is getting all the love she needs right now in that nursery. The nurses seem to be really sweet, but I wish we could be there more to hold her!<br /><br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We have only been spending a couple hours a day at the hospital, as we are trying to give Hayley the space she needs during this time. We have gathered from her that she is still very unsure about her decision about adoption. Some complications that have come up are making it even harder for her to choose adoption. As we have said many times, we trust that Hayley will do the best thing for that baby and we trust God for grace and strength when that decision is made. The earliest an official decision can be made is Tuesday after the long holiday weekend. She does not have to make a decision at that point. It is looking like she is going to be in the hospital for awhile and so she may wait until it is time to go home to decide whether or not she is taking the baby with her. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></div></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We ask that you pray for Hayley for healing in her body! She is feeling so sick and really wants to be spending time with her baby. Pray for wisdom for her in her decision making. Pray that this precious baby will be held and cared for even when we can't be there doing it for her. Pray for strength for us. Every time Kurtis and I think that some sort of resolution is coming, it seems to stretch on further. We are pretty worn out. God has been providing for us and we know He will continue. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Thank you for your prayers and encourging words! We feel very blessed! </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></div></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Love,</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Kurt and Em<br /></span></div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-50259961797750156642009-08-22T07:47:00.000-07:002009-08-22T08:02:27.320-07:00Little Miss Chubby Cheeks<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83F9rBBLrXF2MkISop1tEiBtqFEZt4q-r4azbZtBNOUHk5Yyz2yrncjpE9B09lXHiBRVSxiaMYR8GZTjRdJD9kmwfaBVt0P9JZ1v-m-sb7lkEwhTEN9yHYfp8qeg3B0hGSqPi4dXFk88/s1600-h/photo%5B1%5D+(2).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372800149179712322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83F9rBBLrXF2MkISop1tEiBtqFEZt4q-r4azbZtBNOUHk5Yyz2yrncjpE9B09lXHiBRVSxiaMYR8GZTjRdJD9kmwfaBVt0P9JZ1v-m-sb7lkEwhTEN9yHYfp8qeg3B0hGSqPi4dXFk88/s320/photo%5B1%5D+(2).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#ff6666;">We wanted to put a face with the little baby that we have been talking about since March so you all could see how precious she is. With today's amazing technology this is actually possible! At the ultrasound on Thursday we all giggled at her little chubby cheeks and funny expressions!</span></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#ff6666;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#ff6666;">As we are nearing the due date, things are not looking very good as far as the probability of us actually adopting this little one. There are many complications right now. We are writing to ask for prayer. Not that we will get to adopt this baby, but prayer for God's will, for wisdom and strength (for Hayley, the birthfather, for us, and everyone else involved)! We do not know where this little one will end up, but one thing we do know for sure is that she is precious to God! </span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-47550367812309911962009-08-15T07:03:00.001-07:002009-08-15T07:42:14.584-07:00One month to go (or less)...<span style="font-size:130%;">These past couple months have been a roller coaster ride! As of just a week ago we were pretty sure that the adoption would not be going through. We talked with Hayley and she told us that she was having a very hard time with the decision and was considering keeping the baby. She really wants to do the best thing for this little one, and she felt like that might be best because there were some complications with the birthfather. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Then I received a voicemail from Hayley a couple nights ago saying that the birthfather has agreed to sign paperwork and that they have a meeting with the pregnancy counselor on Monday! This is very exciting news for us. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">These next couple days are going to be pretty huge in the whole process. Hayley's friends are throwing her a baby shower today for all the basics in case she ends up keeping the baby or has to have the baby at home for a short time. She has invited us both to attend. At first this seemed too uncomfortable for me (Emily), but we really care about Hayley (no matter what decision she makes) and are excited to go to support her and celebrate this baby! Monday will be a big day with the birthfather and then Thursday we have been invited to attend one last ultrasound with Hayley before the baby is born. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">So, that is where the adoption stands. I am sure the decision will get even harder for Hayley as we get closer to the due date. Please continue to pray for wisdom for all involved and for this baby girl! We are really excited to meet her!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As I was talking with some friends the other day about this whole process I was thinking about all that Jesus has done in my life to get me to the point where I can really say these things with peace and confidence! Until recently, my life has been overrun with anxiety and fear. Even just a year or two ago I would have been an absolute mess over this! I am so thankful that God brought healing in my life and has given me an amazing peace, not just in this adoption process, but in all areas of life! I am not saying that I never worry or never fear, but it no longer controls me and for that I am so thankful! </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We are really excited for what this next month holds! Whether we adopt this baby or not, we know God has cool things in store for both us and all who are involved. Thank you for your prayers!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Emily</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-54357578247150941172009-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:002009-07-16T21:01:19.663-07:00July already?<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">I remember when we first met Hayley in March I felt like the baby's due date was forever away (September 14th), but now that we're nearing the end of July it is just a couple months off! In fact, the doctor told Hayley to expect this little one to come a few weeks early.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Here is a little update on the progress of the adoption:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We finished up our last meeting with our caseworker. She made her way out to the East Valley to meet with us in our home. It was a pretty relaxed visit. We went over some info from past meetings and she asked us a few more questions to finish up the interviews. Then we gave her a tour of our house to show her how we are preparing for a baby. All in all, it was a really good visit and also a relief to know that we are done with our part of the paperwork and interviews for now :o) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Hayley had an ultrasound last Friday. We did not attend the ultrasound with her, but she did let us know that the baby is still a girl :o) I laughed thinking about what a surprise it would have been to hear differently! She is about 3 1/2 pounds already!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We made our first main purchase for the nursery! We bought some really cute baby bedding! We decided to go with a neutral bedding so we're prepared for a baby boy or girl. We are also starting to look at baby furniture. We know that a nursery does not need to be completed by the time we adopt, but we want to purchase some of the bigger things ahead of time and then go from there. We will be having a baby shower once we have the baby and all the paperwork is signed for the adoption.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We do have some specific prayer requests:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">*The birth father has recently been notified of the adoption plan and at this moment he has not decided if he will claim his rights to this child (although it sounds like he might want to). He would prefer to wait for a paternity test which will not be preformed until the baby is born. We are in no way upset with him and understand that this is a very big decision! We would appreciate your prayers for God's wisdom for everyone involved; that the best thing will be done for this baby. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">*Please pray for wisdom for Hayley! I am sure this decision gets so much harder at this point in the pregnancy. Our agency told us to expect the birthmom to change her mind many times before the baby is born. We are not quite sure where Hayley is with her decision, but we pray that God will give her wisdom and peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">*Please also pray for us as we try to prepare for the possibility of adopting this baby in September. We are trying to figure out exactly how to balance excitement with caution. It seems to be especially difficult for me (Emily) to face that we may or may not have a baby in September. It is such a big life change and I don't know how to prepare for both possibilities at the same time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">*As always, please pray for the precious baby growing inside Hayley!</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We really appreciate your prayers!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We know that God has a plan through all of this and know that if this is not the baby we are to adopt, then He has another one out there for us. For now, we just feel blessed to have met Hayley and formed a new friendship!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">A verse I rely on often is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">I am so thankful that God has a plan!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">~Em</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-34827958871354937102009-05-31T21:28:00.000-07:002009-05-31T23:03:38.029-07:00A whole month?!<span style="font-size:130%;">I cannot believe that it has been over a month since we last updated our blog! How time flies! I don't have a lot of time to write tonight, but wanted to give you all a quick update on how things are going with the adoption.<br /><br />Last week we finished our last of seven adoption classes. They were amazing and we learned so much about the heart behind adoption and how to raise a child who is adopted. We went to class in downtown Phoenix every Tuesday night and would leave after 2 1/2 hours inspired, excited, and exhausted!<br /><br />After a few meetings with our caseworker, we were presented to the agency board for acceptance into their adoption program. From what our caseworker told us, there should be no reason for us not to make it into the program.<br /><br />We have one more meeting with our caseworker, where she actually comes to our home for more interviews and to make sure our home is safe for a child. Kurtis and his parents have been working very hard to prepare our house for a baby. I would go to work on Mondays and come home at the end of the day to a different house. I am so thankful for all the work they did! They moved our office to a different room and we are still working on preparing the room that we would like to use for the nursery.<br /><br />Overall things are going really well with Hayley. We keep in contact weekly and we are really enjoying getting to know her as a friend. We got to meet her 6 year old daughter last week and that was a huge blessing. Her daughter is a little "mini me" of her mom and is so much fun! I am hoping to spend some time with them in my free time this summer.<br /><br />Although September seems pretty far away, I know that it will be here before we know it (especially with how crazy our summers always are)! We would really appreciate your prayers as we continue to work out the details of the adoption and the financial side of it all. We trust that God has it in His hands and love watching Him unwrap his plan for us moment by moment!<br /><br />We are so thankful for the prayers, encouraging words, and support we receive from our friends and family and we feel so blessed to have people in our lives to share this journey with! We will do our best to keep you updated over these 3 1/2 months.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-73327592760480947822009-04-21T22:03:00.000-07:002009-04-22T22:39:16.639-07:00Our hearts...<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As we have been announcing events we realize we have the "luxury" of thinking through the adoption process every day :) and many of our friends and family get left behind on the journey. We know that there are many concerns about this process and so we wanted to take a moment to process with you.<br /><br />As we have mentioned, we are not adopting for the sole purpose of "getting a baby". We are convinced of God's calling upon our lives to the <em>journey </em>of adoption. For now, that journey is just as much about the friendship we've found with Hayley as it is about the baby she carries.<br /><br />Hayley is a remarkably selfless girl! She cares deeply for people! Hayley cares <em>so</em> deeply for this baby girl that she wants to make sure she is raised in the most loving environment possible. Hayley cares so deeply for <em>us</em> that she wants to give us a gift nobody else could!<br /><br />We feel blessed that Hayley has been so open with us and is allowing us to walk this road with her! It was amazing to be present at the ultrasound and see this miraculous little life that is only 11 oz but already has quite the story!<br /><br />The decision to place her child in our care is still Hayley's to make (and the decision will remain hers until papers are signed 3-10 days after the baby is born). But what we know about Hayley is that she wants what is best for this child more than we do! That is seriously comforting!<br /><br />So, what it comes down to for us is that Hayley is a very significant new friend - whether she chooses ultimately to place her baby in our home. We love Hayley either way and so, for right now, this is about a new friendship, following God's lead, and trusting that all things will work together for the good of us all!<br /><br />Heartache is inevitable in this process, (especially for Hayley), but we trust that God will provide for every need. Some day we will be the right parents for a precious child. We do hope this little girl is the one. We are especially thankful for the opportunity we have been given to know Hayley, and we choose with her, to trust the One who holds the future.<br /></span><br /><br /><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-247678481350825752009-04-20T22:04:00.000-07:002009-04-20T22:24:19.300-07:00Big Day!<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We went to the ultrasound with Hayley today and IT'S A GIRL! </span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="center"><br /></div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="center"><br /></div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327010761688159746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjR0WdicUmVKgQup2ySz1YtwtTOqTRjhOjLfLXFhIH21THBtxtdlLavJLQMOubQYekp59ciLG9NJhmrrUrub9KEprQyTLbjN1Y7c_3EbjYtuxaNqqawtQV8QI8rqkQwq-TPR7H3ooFX8/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /><br /></span><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The baby is due September 14. There is still a lot that needs to happen in the process but we continue to see the Lord's leading and trust this is all for Him either way!</span></div><p align="center"><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span></div><p align="center"><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Kurt & M</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-23768220557626417802009-04-01T21:26:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:40:18.698-07:00What a Week!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-qJY3v9yB0wtqItRvnLhCLV-lrNqVPhJntKzSl4O0HLPU22CDxGr9f5tEoo-5VGyD5ZSm0q_lRg6YOIuxnTpjvPyrxlP2nyHigVxHPbqPlvVjC-jU0zbXuNSWbTwdvV7BPoMgW8W8ic/s1600-h/IMG_2561C.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319947019343335202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-qJY3v9yB0wtqItRvnLhCLV-lrNqVPhJntKzSl4O0HLPU22CDxGr9f5tEoo-5VGyD5ZSm0q_lRg6YOIuxnTpjvPyrxlP2nyHigVxHPbqPlvVjC-jU0zbXuNSWbTwdvV7BPoMgW8W8ic/s320/IMG_2561C.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After more than a month with not much to update, the past 9 days have been very eventful! On Saturday, March 28 we drove over to Phoenix to drop off our paperwork at our agency! Pretty much our whole lives condensed down to 52 pages! Our agency isn't open on Saturdays, but I was so anxious to get it out of my hands and turn in. I brought along my tripod and camera for the event :o) We dropped our paperwork in the mail slot and spent a few minutes reflecting on this step completed. We spent some time praying together, thanking God for this amazing process and asking for direction as we take the next steps. To explain why this prayer was especially on our hearts, we will have to back up a few days...</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">On Wednesday last week, I was on my way to pick up students for church when I got a call from our friend, Jina. I answered, and the first words I heard out of her mouth were "I found a baby for you!!!" She kept explaining, but I think it took me a few minutes to catch all that was happening.<br /><br />In short, Jina knows a “friend of a friend” who is pregnant and planning on putting her child up for adoption. She told this woman about us, and she decided that she was interested in meeting with us. Just a couple days later we went to lunch with Hayley and we were just amazed by how God orchestrated the meeting.<br /><br />For the sake of your time we’ll just say that Hayley asked us to be the adoptive parents for her child. Wow! We feel so blessed that a person would consider us to raise their child! Whether we end up adopting her baby or not, we feel blessed to know Hayley! She is a beautiful person who has been through a lot in her life, but is making every effort to do the right things for this new baby. We pray for Hayley, that she will find healing in her life and truly know how much God loves her! She is one of the most selfless people we have ever met. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">We are praying that the best thing will happen for Hayley and this baby growing inside her. We do not know if it is best for the child to stay with her, be raised by us, or by someone else. We know that God will make that more clear as the months go on. The baby is due in September, so we have time to figure it all out. Right now we have decided to pursue the possible adoption of this child. We really appreciate your prayers as we go through the process! We will keep you updated.<br /><br />-M</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-30372049922783934442009-02-11T15:01:00.001-08:002009-02-11T15:29:52.267-08:00Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork<span style="font-size:130%;">I am taking a quick break from adoption paperwork to give you an update on the paperwork... 29 pages of paperwork to be exact! Kurtis and I have set aside Tuesday nights so that we can get through it. Last night Kurtis stayed up till about 2 a.m. working on his portion and I think he is almost done. Since I am home sick today, I decided I better try to get caught up. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As crazy as it sounds, we are actually thankful for all this paperwork! As we were answering questions last night like, "Please describe your current support system – family, friends, church members, etc." and "What morals/values do you hope to instill in your child?" I was thinking about what a blessing it is to be evaluating these things before we have a child. I am not sure that we would have spent much time thinking about these things otherwise.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We are also very thankful for the support system we have around us! (That's you, just <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">in case</span> you didn't know!) You all have been so encouraging to us! Thank you for your support and love. We are so richly blessed!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">~Emily</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-63226043079428325292009-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:002009-01-26T21:02:49.588-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;">One thing close to our hearts in this whole adoption process is the high rate of abortions around the world. We feel that one thing we can do is be willing to take in a baby that might otherwise be aborted. We picked our adoption agency with that in mind. We have decided to work with Christian Family Care Agency for our adoption. One of the main reasons we picked them is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">because</span> the Crisis Pregnancy Center refers to them. We really appreciate the work that both of these organizations do!<br /><br />Today we had our first meeting with our adoption agent! It was a little overwhelming because there was so much info to take in, but at the same time, it was amazing to feel like the process is really starting! We will meet with our agent, Carol, about 4 times over the next couple months. During that time we will have lots of paperwork, a home study, and adoption classes to complete. We are hoping to be certified to adopt by this summer. At that point the waiting game begins. We will write a letter to prospective birth parents and then they look through a book of these letters and pick the family they want to place thier baby with. Carol reminded us today that God already has the child picked out for us and His timing will be perfect.<br /><br />We would appreciate prayers for protection for our child no matter what it is exposed to in the womb. We are also in prayer for the birth family as we are beginning to understand what a selfless thing it is to give a child up for adoption.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081969251747827017.post-45789098853651482692009-01-25T14:20:00.000-08:002009-01-25T14:58:37.912-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;">It was a normal Sunday afternoon in early November 2008. Kurtis and I were laying around relaxing and reading. I take that back, maybe it wasn't such a normal Sunday afternoon... :O)</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Kurtis looked over at me while I was flipping through the pages of my REAL SIMPLE magazine and he said "So, I have been thinking about adoption lately". It took a minute for those words to process in my mind. I had to go back over them a few times... Were those words actually coming out of <em>my</em> husband's mouth? Adoption had never really been a topic of conversation for us. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Kurtis has never felt super excited about bringing a child into this world, and me having some medical issues had made the probability of having children of our own a little less likely. We had decided together a while ago that if God wanted us to have children, it would happen, and if not that would be alright. We were satisfied with the life God had given us and children would just be an extra blessing some day. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">When Kurtis brought up adoption that day, I felt the tears immediately welling up in my eyes. What Kurtis didn't know was that for about 2 weeks I had been thinking about how I would like to adopt, but had not brought it up to Kurtis. Turns out, he had been thinking about it also for a couple weeks, but was hoping that I might bring it up if it was the right thing. We sat there and cried and thanked God for this journey He was taking us on. We spent the next few hours discussing our hopes, dreams, and fears about adoption. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I don't remember the events of the rest of the evening, but I do remember leaving that afternoon so excited to begin this adventure that God had born in our hearts...</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">-Emily</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1