Patience is a virtue...and not an easy one!

     We know that these updates have gotten to be further and further apart.  Partially, because we do not have a big exciting update, and partially because we hope that by waiting a little longer each time we will finally have big exciting news to share with you all.  Right now, there is no big exciting news.  We have been with the agency for over a year and our profile will have been up a year in May.  Every month our profile continues to go out to roughly 10 new potential birthmoms.  However, apparently the time has not yet come for us to connect with our baby.  (According to Annie's parents, it is because we are going to get twins and they have not come along yet!)  So at this point we continue to wait (mostly patiently) and pray for all the women who are looking at adoption for this child, and praying for the child (or children) that will be welcomed into our family. 
     In January we were contacted with information on a birthmom who was interested in us.  We spoke with her for a few days, but ultimately she decided that adoption was not right for her child.  That week we experienced a lot of emotions, the joy of a potential connection and the sorrow of knowing that this situation was not the one intended for us.  We have persevered with prayer, prayer for our family, and prayer for this young mom and her new baby, that they will be happy and healthy.     
     A year ago when we began this adventure, we never really thought that we would be a year out without a connection.  Truly, we thought this process would move a little quicker.  This year has proven once again that we are not in control, and we need to put our trust in God.  So now, we continue to practice the virtue of patience, as tough as it is.  At this point we need to renew our homestudy for another year and continue to be ready to jump when our phone rings.  Thank you for all of your ongoing prayers and support.  If you would like to contribute financially to our adoption, please visit our youcaring.org site.  

     Advent is a season of waiting for the birth of Christ.  It is also a time of preparing our hearts for the Christ child.  A time of determining what in our life needs to change in order to give ourselves more fully to Christ.  This Advent has had a special meaning to us as we wait for our child to be welcomed into our home.  We know that at the end of the waiting, the reward will be unbelievable!  And this time of waiting is preparing our hearts for the changes that are to come when our baby is in our arms. 
     During this time of Advent, I cannot help but think of Mary and the challenges that she went through being an unwed mother.  2000 years later, many women are facing similar challenges.  Many of our friends and family have inquired about what birthmother support entails.  No, we are not buying a baby or giving a birthmother cash.  But, we are here to help and support her.  We believe that all life is sacred, this includes the life of the birthmother.  The support that we offer the birthmother allows her basic needs to be met.  When the mothers come to the agency, the staff does a wonderful job assessing the needs of the mother.  A birthmother may be in need of a safe place to live, and she may have the means to pay monthly rent.  However, saving up the necessary first and last months rent may prove very difficult and may keep her from obtaining a safe place to live.  Our role is to assist the mother in caring for herself.  This may come in the form of providing the financial means to put down that deposit on the apartment.  Whatever the needs that come forward, we desire to show the birthmother that her life has dignity and she is deserving of support.  A portion of the funds that we are raising is dedicated to supporting the birthmother as needed.  Your generosity gives us the ability to show the birthmother that she is worth the gifts we can share with her.     
     Our profile is has now been sent to a total of 25 potential birthmothers.  We hope and pray that one of these birthmoms decides we are the family for her.  We pray that these (and all) birthmothers find hope and support in the challenges they are facing with their pregnancy.  We continue to pray for all of our supporters, please know of our appreciation and gratitude.  May peace be with you all as we wait in hope for our miracle baby.
Steve & Annie     

     Somehow summer flew by and fall is now upon us.  Over the summer, our adoption profile was viewed more than 200 times online and was given to 12 potential birthmothers.  Unfortunately, we do not get to know if these birthmothers ended up choosing adoption, choosing another agency, or another family.  What we do know is that we are praying for all of these birthmothers, we pray that they will have the grace and strength to make whatever decision is best for their baby.  We still pray multiple times a day for our baby, that God will protect them and bring them into our life quickly! 

     At this point in the process, if a birthmother selects us, our agency will contact us to begin the communication process with the birthmother.  This could happen very early in a pregnancy or as the mother is going into labor.  The birthmother could also be anywhere in the continental US, meaning we will pack up and drive!  Whatever the timing is and wherever we are called to go, we are ready!  We cannot wait to arrive at the hospital and look into the eyes of our little one for the first time. 

     We are holding all of you in prayer as we wait for our baby, please continue to pray for us. 

Steve & Annie



Still Waiting...

Well... We are still in the waiting game.   Our profile has been up for a couple months now and it has been viewed many times.  It has also been sent to some potential birth-moms.  Birth-moms can hold onto profiles for months before making their final decision.

We have slowly started putting a baby room together.  We don't know how long our waiting is going to be, but we are very hopeful that the right birth mom will be guided to us.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers.


Steve and Annie

Angel Adoption Visit

Today we were able to stop by the offices for Angel Adoption. It was wonderful to put faces with all the wonderful staff members. We loved seeing all the pictures of the babies who have been placed into loving families and cannot wait to have our baby placed with us! Thank you for all your support and prayers! If you feel called to support us financially in our adoption, please visit our youcaring page.

Love,

Steve & Annie

Home Study is Complete!

Another big part of our adoption process is complete! We recently completed our home study and it is on its way to our adoption agency.  This report was the last part that we needed to complete before our profile could be shown to perspective birth moms.  For those that are unclear what a home study is, we had to meet with a local adoption agency to have an extensive background check, interviews and have them come to our home to make sure we had a safe home. They send the report our agency and basically say that we are a good fit to adopt a child.
 
We are about to enter what might be the hardest part for us.... another time of waiting.  Our profile will go live on the adoption website in a week or so.  The birth moms will be able to see our profile and hopefully pick us.  Once a birth mom chooses us, our agency will contact us and let us know.

We are so grateful to everyone for your support throughout our adoption process.  Please know of our prayers for all of you.

Update on our progress

Update on our progress...
The contract has been signed and received by the Adoption Agency, our home-study paperwork is complete, our background checks are being processed. Now we wait, wait for the proof of our profile to be ready, wait for our background checks to clear so we can setup our interviews, wait for the baby that is coming into our family.  While we wait, there are a few things that you can help with!  We are so grateful to everyone who has already supported us financially in our adoption process, however we still have a little farther to go. If you are looking for a different way to help, we have a few opportunities...

1. A generous co-worker of mine is going to be hosting an online Thirty-one party April 1-15.  She is going to be donating 25% of her profits to our adoption fund.  So, if you have been eyeing up a certain bag, this is the time to purchase!  Not only will you end up with a great product, you will be helping us fund our adoption as well.  
2. We are going to be hosting an Adoption Garage Sale/Bake Sale on April 30.  Our neighborhood does annual neighborhood wide garage sales the last Saturday in April.  Here is how you can help, we are accepting donations of items to sell at our Garage Sale.  (**Note, unless there is a special circumstance, items that do not sell will be donated following the sale).  We are looking for bigger/specialty items to sell.  If you have something we might be interested in, please contact us!

Thank you again for your support.  Please keep praying for us, the adoption process, all expectant mothers facing difficult decisions and our baby.