Mary Kay Party

A friend has offered to give a Mary Kay party and give a portion of the proceeds to Doug and I for our adoption fund!  How thoughtful and generous!

**Mary Kay Party**
Bayles Home
12/5/2011
6:30PM
Food and refreshments provided.  Come out and have a good time and check out some wonderful products!

Also, don't forget to check out the Bayles Family coffee shop!
www.justlovecoffee.com/baylesfamily

God is so good!  Hope every is getting excited about Christmas.  I know I am.  I love spending time with family and friends.

Check out our coffee shop!

http://www.justlovecoffee.com/baylesfamily

God's Blessings

Of course God has blessed mine and Doug's lives in so many ways.  But I have really become aware of these blessings recently.  In big ways or small, our Father is working in our lives and showing us how much He loves us.

As you know, adoption is not exactly cheap.  Unfortunately, it's quite expensive.  But the Lord has somehow always provided the money we've needed so far.  And just recently, over the past week we've had two big expenses that have miraculously been avoided.  Not that it's that interesting to anyone reading this, but one was the lighting in our bedrooms.  We thought we were going to have to have an electrician come out and fix them...turns out, it was just the light bulbs we were using.  We tried some different bulbs and they worked!  The other, was a tire pressure sensor in my car.  The light for the sensor has been on for some time in my car and the mechanics had told us we would have to have the sensor replaced and it could be pretty costly.  To my surprise today, I noticed the light was off!  All it needed was air in the tires...the light was on because the tire pressure was low (imagine that)!

Those are just some recent examples.  Another was earlier this spring.  Our roof desperately needed to be replaced.  Not because of any real storm damage, but just because a new one was well over due.  We were really worried our insurance wouldn't cover it, but we decided to try anyway.  The Lord heard our prayers and thankfully, insurance covered the majority.  We had to pay next to nothing for a new roof. 

These are just more examples of how I feel God's love and support for our decision to adopt.  We realize that adoption is not for everyone, but we have no doubt that this is the path he wanted us to take.  He  continues to provide for us financially and continues to work in our lives. 

Just wanted to share...have a great week!  So glad it's fall and we're enjoying the beautiful weather!

Love you all,
Andrea

Patiently Waiting

Nothing to update...just patiently waiting.  It's not quite been a month yet since we officially started the waiting process.  Just continuing to hope and pray.  It's so hard because we have no idea how long we will have to wait.  I always like to be prepared so this is really difficult for me not being able to buy things and get a room ready.  I mean, I know we could start getting things ready, but there's really no use until we find out for sure a birth mother has chosen us and that we will be following through with an adoption plan.

We have a few names picked out, which we won't be telling anyone until that time comes.  And of course depending on the wait, that could change. 

Our life could be changing drastically in the next year, two years, months...who knows.  But I am very excited and finding it very difficult to wait.  I'm going to have to find some projects to keep me busy!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  Pray for our marriage that it continue to grow stronger.  Pray for our family as they prepare to become grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. 

Have a great week!

It's official...Our home study is approved!

We got great news today...Bethany Christian Services official approved our home study!  We passed!  It has taken a little longer than we thought, but I have to say, we have been blessed because there were no major issues or hang-ups throughout the process.  So let the wait begin! 

I know many of you have been praying for us and we can't thank you enough.  We know that God is not only listening to our thoughts and our hearts but also yours as well.  And we would like to ask you to be sure and pray for the birth mother (whoever she may be) and her baby.  She is making some very difficult decisions in the days ahead and is making a huge sacrifice that many of us will never experience.  Please pray that if she doesn't know her heavenly Father that Bethany or Doug and I might be able to minister to her; to let her know that God loves her more than anything, that she is a precious gift, and that He treasures her.  Pray that she make a decision that is right for her and best for her child.

I hope that God will bless us with a child someday soon and that our two person family (three if you count Brinkley) will grow!  We hope that we can raise a beautiful child and experience the joy that children can bring. 

Have a wonderful week!  Will continue to update when there's news to be told! :)

Love,
Andrea

Our Last Home Visit!

We had our last home visit this past Wednesday!  YAY!  Again, I think it went fairly smoothly.  We talked about a lot and really had to open up about our lives.  Doug and I have been through a lot in the time that we've been together and been married.  We have faced some extremely difficult challenges and satan has tried his best to take advantages of those down times but through our prayers, and the prayers of others, the Lord has shown us His love and protection.  I also feel that the Lord has faced us with challenges; of course not because He wants to harm us, but because He wants us to turn to Him so that he can show us the wonderful plan he has for our lives if we will trust in Him and seek His will.

We are really enjoying being members at Post Oak.  I just really feel that God is working in the church.  So many of the people there have such a passion for Christ and showing and teaching others about His love.  I have total confidence that if we EVER needed anything, that ANYONE in that church would do whatever they could to help.  Their outreach is definitely strong.  We're still getting to know people and seeking to get plugged in, but I know that that will come in time (and of course we have to make the effort)

It's amazing because for once in my life, I truly see God's hands at work in mine and Doug's lives.  Of course He's been there all along, but I'm just now paying attention.  This morning, at church, I was thinking...if we had had a child two years ago, when we originally started trying to conceive, I wouldn't have had the relationship with Him and Doug that I do now.  My life and our marriage has changed so much in the past two years...He's been using this time to bring us closer and praise God for that! 

Well, enough of my rambling....I just really had a few praises that I wanted to let everyone know about! I will be sure and keep everyone up to date as we finish up the "easy" part of our journey!  Once the home study is approved and we turn in our birth mother profile (which I am working on now....just taking a break)  we will officially begin the wait (the" hard" part).  There probably won't be many updates after that unless we get a call.  I know I always say this, but I am sooo excited!  I can't wait to meet our baby! 

Have a great week! Thanks to whoever is still following!  :)  I know it's been pretty uneventful, but it's extremely exciting to us so thanks for the support! 

2nd Meeting

We had our second meeting with the adoption counselor on Friday.  It went well.  We had to meet individually for about an hour a piece and talk about our childhood and our families.  It's weird because I am an extremely open person but it was kind of difficult to tell your life story to a somewhat stranger.  And it's hard to sum up your life in about 20 min.  But, we made it through, and I think both of us did fine.  We will meet again on June 1st at our home.  This will most likely be our final visit of the home study process unless there are some things he feels he needs to follow up on. 

Doug is currently reading "Dear Birthmother" and I am reading "Twenty Things Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew".  I can't speak for Doug, but I love the book I'm reading.  I hope it continues to give me insight into what our child may be feeling at some time or other.  I never really realized that not only are Doug and I going through a "loss" with infertility, but our child will also experience a loss through the loss of his/her birthparents.  I hope that I can try to understand this pain and loss that my child will experience but also show them that they will always be my child and that not only will we always love him/her, but that they have a heavenly Father that will never leave their side and will always treasure them. 

I know many of you have been praying for us and we can't thank you enough.  But we need your prayers so please continue to pray for us and pray for our child. 

Successful First Home Visit!

We had our first home visit on Friday (May 13th) and everything went well!  Our social worker just sat down with us and asked a few questions (mostly ones we had already answered) and then did a quick tour of the house.  The only thing we lacked was a first aid kit which we got the next day!  It really wasn't bad at all and Brinkley did behave himself :)  We will meet with him again this Friday and then in two weeks after that.  So we will be all done in June!!  I have to admit that the time has gone by fast (I know to some of you, it may seem like it's taking forever) but I am grateful that Bethany has such a detailed process to select families for babies.  It's evident that they really do care about children and want to make sure that adoptive families are prepared for a child. 

God continues to bless our lives and continues to carry us through this journey to becoming parents.  I don't praise him enough for all the great things he has done for us and continues to do.  He is preparing our hearts for a beautiful child...his child, and I only hope that we can show our child God's amazing love. 

Have a wonderful week!  Hopefully it will be warming up again!

First Home Visit Scheduled!

We received an e-mail from our adoption counselor yesterday letting us know it was time to schedule our first home visit!!!  We are super excited.  So glad we've made it to this part of the process.  Our adoption counselor is extremely nice and super helpful.  I feel so blessed to have someone we are so comfortable with.  And he seems like he has a really good heart. 

The visit is scheduled for May 13th so please keep us in your prayers.  I'm sure we will be fine, but still a little anxious.  We're going to have to have a little talk with Brinkley (our dog) and tell him he needs to be on his best behavior!  But I have a feeling I already know how he'll act.  Hope our counselor likes dogs!

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy the sunshine...we haven't seen it for a while!

It's in the mail!

Just a small update:  We mailed in all of our home study paperwork today!  It was quite a large stack of paperwork too!  So glad to have that finished and out of the way.  One small step but such a huge relief.  We should be scheduling our home visit soon! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We're done (with training)

We're done with our training!!  We finished last week and it feels so good to be done!  Though we did have some trouble on correspondence (with one person only) we really learned so much the past two months.  We will be turning in our paperwork this week and once they receive the paperwork they will be calling to schedule our appointments for the one-on-one interviews and the home study. 

We did find out that Bethany is using a new method for their home studies called SAFE.  It may cause the home study process to take a bit longer but only weeks, not months like I was imagining!  This method is supposed to be more effective/efficient and helps to ensure that they are placing the child in a stable home and to help us prepare for a child.  I hate that it may take longer, but if it helps them to do a better job and helps prepare us, then I am all for it. 

It's so nice to have everyone's love a support.  I can't tell you how much it means to hear words of encouragement and to hear the sincerity in people's voices when they ask about how the process is coming along.  Our child will be surrounded by people who love him/her dearly.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday.  Hope this week goes by fast for everyone.

Love,
Andrea

March 20, 2011

Well, we only have two more weeks of sessions online and we'll be all done with the training classes.  I'm working on my "self study" now which is about ten pages of questions about yourself.  I'm sure that sounds pretty easy, but it's kind of been hard.  Doug hand-wrote his answers out...he's going to make them work to read his ;)  I'm typing mine just because I make a lot of mistakes and change my mind so much that it'll be easier to type. 

We also ordered two more books to read.  One is called, "Talking with Young Children about Adoption" and the other is "Dear Birthmother."  We're hoping that each of these will help us more in prepping for the years to come.  We already love our child and know how to take care of their physical needs like feeding, changing diapers, etc.  We just want to be sure we understand things from their point of view because neither one of us was adopted so we have no idea as to what kind of feelings he/she may have.  We know that we will provide them with as much love, understanding, and guidance as we can.  But we want to make sure we can be prepared emotionally as to what topics and questions that may come up throughout their lives.  We have faith in God that he will help us in all this if we ask for it, but reading these books can only help us even more. 

Most of you reading this will be a part of our child's lives so we encourage you to learn more about adoption if you don't already know.  There are some great books out there to read.  And please ask us questions along the way.  And you can ask anything...cost, the process, emotions, thoughts, etc.  We love sharing :)  We are by no means social workers or adoption counselors, but who better to ask questions than those who are going through the process.  We may not have all the answers but will try!  And if you have any information to give to us...PLEASE do!!  The more info. the better! 

Oh and I forgot to mention that we joined Post Oak Baptist Church here in Russellville last Sunday and are very excited about being a part of such a great church.  We have met some wonderful people and look forward to getting to know them.

That's pretty much all the updates we have for now.  Two more weeks of training, turning in our paperwork, and waiting to schedule the home study...that's where we are :)  Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the warm temperatures! 

The Beginning

March 13, 2011

I started this blog a little late, but to keep you up to date, we have already submitted our preliminary and formal applications to Bethany Christian Services.  We chose Bethany for a few reasons: 
-The first being simply that they were the first adoption agency that came up when I googled/yahooed agencies.  Their website was very easy to follow and almost anything you wanted to know about them was easily accessible on the site. 
-The second reason being that I liked that it was a Christian agency.  I know you can't go by first impressions alone, but they really seemed to be Christ centered and seemed to have a strong ministry going. 
-The third reason was that after inquiring about adoption, we immediately received information via mail and e-mail.  All the steps we would be taking through the next months were clearly explained and laid out for us.
Although we are early in the process, I have to say that so far, I do not regret our decision in choosing Bethany.  They have been extremely helpful and friendly.  Though it has at times, seemed like a chore, the training classes they require are wonderful.  They have helped us immensely in preparing our hearts and minds for becoming adoptive parents.  They may not be the cheapest agency but seem to have the best of intentions for the child and the birthmother as well.  If anything, adoptive parents are the last priority at Bethany which may sound weird, but I think is great.  After all, the child and what is best for that child is the most important, whether that be staying with his/her birthparents, or joining our family.  "Bethany doesn't find babies for families; they find families for babies." 
   The first Tuesday in February, we began our training sessions to help us prepare to become adoptive parents.  It has been a wonderful experience hearing adoptive parents stories, being with other couples who are adopting, learning ways to deal with any circumstances we may face with our child, and learning ways we can minister about adoption and how great it is.  We've also been required to read at least three books on Adoption.  One book, "The Connected Child" is required and has been part of our training.  It came to me while I was reading this book that I wish every parent, whether biological or adoptive, could read this book.  It has so many parenting tips/ideas/philosophies that I think are great for any parent and child.  Anyway, training will go through the end of March so we're over halfway done. 
   Along with our training during that past couple of months, we have also been tackling the task of paperwork.  I thought there was a lot of paperwork when we bought our house, but that was nothing!  Again, I sometimes feel like all parents should be required to fill out some of this stuff before they have kids :)  We've had physicals, drug testing, psychiatric evaluations, marriage evaluations, along with discussions about our infertility, criminal background checks, credit checks, family history, self-studies, and not to mention I (we) had to take two vacation days to be able to get some of this stuff done.  BUT, whenever we feel overwhelmed and like this is all pointless, we remind each other why we're doing all this.  And of course that's for our child.  Anything that can help us be better parents and better spouses is well worth it. 
  And it's been amazing how much God (and the devil for that matter) has been working with Doug and I.  I can't lie and say that everything has been peachy since we found out we were infertile because it certainly hasn't.  We have had some very intense fights, some very emotionally draining discussions, and many temptations to give up.  But of course, our time of trials has only brought us closer to Him, closer to each other, and closer to our friends and family.  It has made me see what a gracious heavenly Father I have, what a wonderful earthly father and mother I have, and what a loving and committed father Doug will be, AND how blessed I am to have all of them.
  So now, we are waiting to hear back from all of our doctors, finishing our paperwork, finishing the last few trainings, and then once all that is complete we will do that last part of our home study which will be a home visit.  I'm thinking by June (hopefully earlier) we will have all of that done and officially beginning the waiting process.  Lots of waiting but no doubt that what we receive in the end will be WELL worth the wait :) 
  **Also, we are trying to think of ways to raise money.  If anyone has any suggestions, we would love to hear them!  Every little bit helps, so we're open to anything! **