It Would Be Easier to Say No

We have recieved many comments about why we would be going through the adoption process again. Isn't three kids enough? Are you addicted to adopting?  Why would you spend all that money again? Are you rich? How can you afford it again? How are you going to pay for college for all your kids? Why would you risk adding another child that might have problems to your family? Yes, these are all some questions we've received this time. I kinda flinch at most of them. But I know people are just coming from an honest place and really just want to know more. I'm going to attempt to give you a glimpse into our hearts.
It would be easier to say no. It would be easier to have our little family with our three great boys and not change anything. Yes there are risks, but there are risks anytime you have a baby biologically or through adoption. It would be easier not to empty our savings account again and instead take our kids to Disney World again. It would be easier to not start over with a newborn and middle of the night feedings, etc. It would be easier if we didn't have to do some fundraisers and ask for help (I mean really, who likes to ask for help.) It's humbling and HARD.

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We know this is where God wants us. We know that He has another child for our family and we are excited to say YES and continue on this path. When we decided to start the adoption process again I was sitting in church just pouring my heart out to God with all my questions.....mostly how could we afford this again. God whispered "Go and tell", let me be clear- its the hardest part of the process. Asking for help is so hard and humbling and uncomfortable. Domestic adoption is often more expensive than international. The average domestic adoption is between $30,000-35,000. We do not have that kind of money, honestly we had very little. On top of a very small savings account, Brad and I both work for the school district and we actually went on stirke right at the beginning of this process which meant no paycheck for either of us for a month and now doc pay into our paychecks for 3 months. We could be mad and discouraged about this but God truly provides everything we need and somehow we have made it all work and paid for all the expenses so far. We often joke with a friend about the huge expenses and unexpected things that occur when we are following God's plan. Satan will always try to steal your joy. But there are truly so many blessings as we have always been able to make it and have what we need. We know we aren't going to be able to pay for college for our kids, but we will help them any way that we can. We think its so much more important to welcome another child into our family and teach them about Jesus and love them like crazy than be worrying about college payments.
Let me be clear- I do not think that everyone should be adopting just because we are. God calls us each to different things and in different ways. This is just where God has us now and how He is using us.

The song "Oceans" by Hillsong has really spoke to Brad and I over the last 1 1/2 years. We desperately want our faith to be without borders and for God to lead us right where he wants us. And for now we are exactly where we need to be!
                                                 "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

[6x]
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Happy Halloween

My boys love to dress up!! Halloween is a favorite around here!!

Trunk-or-Treat a few days ago

B-Pod Super Teachers

Our pumpkins at school

The Paperwork Never Ends!

It seems that we started filling out papers in July when we started this process and we haven't stopped yet! I think we have submitted everything we need for one agency and just waiting on a reference and pastor letter for a second agency. We just finished and ordered our profile books and we are almost ready to be waiting to be matched with a birthmom. We have applied for all the grants that we have found and we are planning our two big fundraisers- a Trivia Night and Quarter Auction for November 7th and 8th. I'm so thankful that Brad is willing to fill out almost all of the paperwork. It's the exact same information over and over again. But each agency or grant application has their own forms so it needs to be filled out again and again. It's like another full time job! But it's worth it! The kids all think waiting is hard. Everyday Jacob asks if God has decided its time to meet his baby sister yet. When we say "not yet", he always follows with "waiting is so hard". I love going through this process with the kids and getting to share their stories again and again with them too. We get to reassure them that they are loved and wanted and adored and that we had to wait for God's perfect timing to add them to our family too! We were at Old Navy the other day and Jacob filled the cart with things his baby sister "needs". It was so cute, I let him fill the cart, only to put it all back since we don't know if it will be a boy or girl yet. Kaleb doesn't talk about it as much yet but he LOVES when babies are around so he will be more excited when he/she is actually here. Isaiah is excited and ready for him/her to be here too. He also thinks we should be adopting a teen brother along with a baby. :)

Handmade Cards Fundraiser Update

We are so thankful so many people bought sets of cards!!!!! We have sold 63 sets of cards so far. WOW!!! THANK YOU!!!I have been busy stamping in any extra time I have and we have 3 variety sets, 4 birthday sets, and 3 thank you sets available to ship today. If you have any special requests I can usually get them ready in a couple of days. Each set is 10 cards for $15 (please add $3 if I need to ship them). Please see previous post for more information and pictures of some of our cards. Every purchase helps!!! We have about $1, 500 we need to raise before we can send in our payment to CAC and get our profile started and be ready to be matched with a birthmom!!!!
We are still waiting for our background checks to come in so we can have our homestudy completed. We found out last week that Isaiah needs a background check too. His paperwork was sent in last week. Hopefully our background checks come in very soon and we can move on to the next step!
People often ask how this domestic adoption compares to our international adoptions and so far its about the same :) This homestudy had a few less restrictions but we are still waiting for approval from the state of IL and we did that with our international adoption too! After our homestudy is completed I think the process will be very different.
The night before preschool started Jacob was so excited and kept saying "I can't wait to go to school and to have a baby!!!" Kaleb still thinks he wants a sister and Jacob thinks he needs another brother now. My boys always make me laugh!!!

1st Fundraiser- Hand Stamped Cards

It's time for our 1st Fundraiser!!! 

We were so blessed by so many people who bought cards to help with our first adoption, we decided to do it again. I have been busy stamping and we have 20 sets of these exact cards to sell!! Each pack has 10 cards and is $15 (plus $3 shipping if needed).
This set includes 4 birthday, 2 thank you, 2 thinking of you, 1 sympathy, and 1 feel better. You can order this set or place a custom order (10 birthdays or 10 sympathy, etc.) You can send a check or pay through paypal, mowen2@hotmail.com

Growing Our Family!!!!!!

We are so excited to share that we are adding a baby to our family through domestic adoption!!!

The domestic process is so different than our international adoptions so we are taking this step by step and praying for God to lead us to all the right places. Our boys are soooooo excited to have a baby brother or sister, but they are all hoping for a baby sister. :) Jacob wants to name her Maggie, like our cat Maggie (that we gave away 2 years ago). Isaiah thinks she should be named Linda (from a movie he just watched). Kaleb thinks she should be named Sister.

We met with our social worker a few times in July and beginning of August and she almost has our homestudy complete. We are just waiting for our background checks to come in and then we will have our finished homestudy. Next we will apply with Christian Adoption Consultants and they will help us make a profile book that will be shared with birthmoms. We looked at many different agencies and really felt peace about using CAC. It can be overwhelming when picking an agency because there are so many out there. But just like when we signed with AWAA for our international adoptions, after prayer and research we are so excited to work with CAC to help us add to our family!

After we are homestudy and profile ready we will pick which placing agencies that we will use with CAC. They work with 8 different placing agencies all over the US. When we adopted from Ethiopia we got on a waiting list and when we were at the top of the list we were matched with the next baby. In domestic adoption the birthmom chooses an adoptive family as she is making her adoption plan for her child. There is no timeline guarantee because each birthmom picks who she thinks is the best fit for her child. CAC says the average time to be matched with an infant is about 6-8 months. We are hoping to meet our baby in the spring some time!!!!

We would love your prayers for our baby, his/her birthmom, and finances (domestic adoption is more expensive than international adoption). Thank you for walking this journey with us!!!

2nd Annual Camping with AWAA friends

We have been blessed with some of the BEST adoption friends!!! We all spent time together in Ethiopia in early April 2011. We missed several other friends from our travel group, but we were so glad the Murray's, Buckinghams's, and Snyder's could make it!! Our weekend started a day earlier this year and it was a fun filled weekend with so many new memories made with these sweet friends! Our days were filled with swimming, golf cart rides, laser tag in the dark, capture the flag, a scavenger hunt, a food fight, an outdoor movie, singing around the campfire, s'mores, boat rides, kayaking, and more! We are so thankful our families all set time aside to reconnect each summer!!!