Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Adoption Day and Dedication Day
Just a few days late, but the last week has been a whirlwind of events. It started last Monday, the 15th with Abby starting Preschool, then Adoption Day on the 17th, then Dedication Day on the 21st, then Brandon started PreK on the 22nd and today is our wedding anniversary! Whew, I am worn out just typing it all out. But, here are a few pictures to show:
Our first "official" family picture with the judge!
Proudly holding their certificates!
Dedication Day!
I love both of these pictures because they were looking at the pastor so intently and Abby was batting her eyes at him!
I will write more later, I have a lot on my heart to share, just need the time to sit and write!
Monday, August 1, 2011
16 days and counting...
It is hard to believe that in just over 2 weeks (16 days to be exact), we will walk out of a courthouse with two sweet children that a judge will declare as "forever ours". Two children that we have believed to be ours since the day we met them (since the day I first heard about them, at least for me). For those who haven't heard, August 17th is our schedule adoption hearing. We are so excited! We have been busy making plans, buying outfits for the children (okay, so I have been busy buying the outfits, let's be honest, Robert hasn't done that), creating adoption announcements to send out, etc.
In 16 days I will finally be able to share with everyone, my sweet babies' names and pictures. So many of you have been blessed to know the sweet children known to the online world only as B and A. Those who haven't been blessed will meet them soon enough.
So many of you have been such precious blessings to us during this process. The prayers, the support and the listening ears, you all have been so helpful and we are grateful. I wish I could thank each and everyone of you individually, but it is not possible to do so. We have been blessed with wonderful DFCS caseworkers, who truly had the children's best interest at heart. We thank them also. Thank you to our family, who has been so understanding and loving during this process. You loved them as family before they were "officially" family.
Our sweet church family at Cartersville FBC has been such a blessing to us also. Never in my life have I been to a church with so many families who have adopted or are adopting. It is such a unique community of believers who are obedient to God's calling to care for the orphans! Thank you CFBC family and my prayer is that you will continue to support adoption! We will be sharing our adoption joy with our CFBC church family through a "baby" dedication the Sunday after the adoption.
We have been so blessed (the world would say lucky) to have gone through the process as quickly as we have. We pray and ask you to continue to pray as we head to the final stages. I also ask that you pray for other families who are adopting, many of my friends are in this group, who are having struggles, difficulties and roadblocks. Pray that God will keep them strong and faithful to see it through to the end. It is so worth the wait and such a blessing. So many people tell me, "those kids are lucky to have you," but honestly, we are the lucky (or blessed) ones. So many times I think, these are two wonderful kids (I am not biased...), how did we get so lucky for God to have chosen us to be their parents, we don't deserve them. I don't have an answer to that question, all I know is for some reason, He chose us and we were obedient to His calling to be their parents.
In 16 days I will finally be able to share with everyone, my sweet babies' names and pictures. So many of you have been blessed to know the sweet children known to the online world only as B and A. Those who haven't been blessed will meet them soon enough.
So many of you have been such precious blessings to us during this process. The prayers, the support and the listening ears, you all have been so helpful and we are grateful. I wish I could thank each and everyone of you individually, but it is not possible to do so. We have been blessed with wonderful DFCS caseworkers, who truly had the children's best interest at heart. We thank them also. Thank you to our family, who has been so understanding and loving during this process. You loved them as family before they were "officially" family.
Our sweet church family at Cartersville FBC has been such a blessing to us also. Never in my life have I been to a church with so many families who have adopted or are adopting. It is such a unique community of believers who are obedient to God's calling to care for the orphans! Thank you CFBC family and my prayer is that you will continue to support adoption! We will be sharing our adoption joy with our CFBC church family through a "baby" dedication the Sunday after the adoption.
We have been so blessed (the world would say lucky) to have gone through the process as quickly as we have. We pray and ask you to continue to pray as we head to the final stages. I also ask that you pray for other families who are adopting, many of my friends are in this group, who are having struggles, difficulties and roadblocks. Pray that God will keep them strong and faithful to see it through to the end. It is so worth the wait and such a blessing. So many people tell me, "those kids are lucky to have you," but honestly, we are the lucky (or blessed) ones. So many times I think, these are two wonderful kids (I am not biased...), how did we get so lucky for God to have chosen us to be their parents, we don't deserve them. I don't have an answer to that question, all I know is for some reason, He chose us and we were obedient to His calling to be their parents.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Settling in
We finally moved about 3 weeks ago to Valdosta to begin our new journey. It seemed like we had been moving FOREVER! I signed my contract for my new job early in January and we didn't move until May. We have unpacked most (maybe even all) the boxes, the pictures are hung and we are settling in. I started working almost 2 weeks ago and Robert is adjusting to being a stay-at-home dad (I am not sure how long that will last!).
We have started the daunting task of finding a new church. It is something neither Robert nor I enjoy doing, but we know it is a priority. I feel for the kids, they don't understand, so each Sunday it is another heartwrenching episode of taking them to yet another nursery. They both do fine once they are there, but it rips my heart out each time to hear them cry. I pray that we find the right church for our family soon! Robert and I are quickly learning that there in no church quite like home. Cartersville FBC was our first church together as a couple so it is definitely home. We miss it dearly! I am learning that CFBC is a truly unique church and there truly isn't a church just like it (not just because it is home either)! But, there are some good churches here in Valdosta and I am certain that God will lead us to the right church for us!
Nothing much new to report as far as the adoption goes. We are currently in the 30 day waiting period after the judge terminated parental rights. That ends on June 23. We are scheduled to come to Cartersville on July 5 to sign the papers from DFCS allowing us to proceed with the adoption. The caseworker said that it usually is about 30 days after that for the adoption hearing with the judge. That will be the day when they will be officially declared as Madons and will be OURS FOREVER!!!! I cannot wait to be able to post pictures so you all can see my beautiful children!
Hard to believe that it was just a year ago that we were first learning about these sweet precious children! I knew the day our caseworker told us about them that they would be ours, that they were the ones that God had chosen for us! That day He told me, "Here are your kids you have been so desperately praying for. Here they are." That day that He showed me that He was in complete control and that I needed to sit back and let Him. It was the weekend before that Robert and I, broken hearted, sat down and prayed to Him to give us direction and show us what to do. It was then that I prayed and begged God for rest because I was tired. He gave me rest, He reminded me where I could find my rest, in HIM ALONE!!!!
"Find rest my soul,
In Christ alone.
Know His power,
In quietness and trust.
When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with you above the storm.
Father, you are king over the flood,
I will be still and know that you are God."
We have started the daunting task of finding a new church. It is something neither Robert nor I enjoy doing, but we know it is a priority. I feel for the kids, they don't understand, so each Sunday it is another heartwrenching episode of taking them to yet another nursery. They both do fine once they are there, but it rips my heart out each time to hear them cry. I pray that we find the right church for our family soon! Robert and I are quickly learning that there in no church quite like home. Cartersville FBC was our first church together as a couple so it is definitely home. We miss it dearly! I am learning that CFBC is a truly unique church and there truly isn't a church just like it (not just because it is home either)! But, there are some good churches here in Valdosta and I am certain that God will lead us to the right church for us!
Nothing much new to report as far as the adoption goes. We are currently in the 30 day waiting period after the judge terminated parental rights. That ends on June 23. We are scheduled to come to Cartersville on July 5 to sign the papers from DFCS allowing us to proceed with the adoption. The caseworker said that it usually is about 30 days after that for the adoption hearing with the judge. That will be the day when they will be officially declared as Madons and will be OURS FOREVER!!!! I cannot wait to be able to post pictures so you all can see my beautiful children!
Hard to believe that it was just a year ago that we were first learning about these sweet precious children! I knew the day our caseworker told us about them that they would be ours, that they were the ones that God had chosen for us! That day He told me, "Here are your kids you have been so desperately praying for. Here they are." That day that He showed me that He was in complete control and that I needed to sit back and let Him. It was the weekend before that Robert and I, broken hearted, sat down and prayed to Him to give us direction and show us what to do. It was then that I prayed and begged God for rest because I was tired. He gave me rest, He reminded me where I could find my rest, in HIM ALONE!!!!
"Find rest my soul,
In Christ alone.
Know His power,
In quietness and trust.
When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with you above the storm.
Father, you are king over the flood,
I will be still and know that you are God."
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