Pregnancy Help Center Walk for Life

Amy (my favorite sister in law) and I have something in common - previously unknown to me until this last week. We are both participating in a walk for a Pregnancy Help Center.

Mine is this weekend. I have been on the board of the local Pregnancy Help Center for about the last year. Women who find themselves in a position of an unplanned pregnancy is an issue that is close to my heart. I admire anyone who makes the right decision in a time of crisis. It is my opinion that they right decision for these women to either parent their children or place them for adoption with another loving family. I am thankful that in my community there is a place that is equipped to help women work through those decisions.

If you would like to help me out by making a donation, please let me know. The rules are the same as the one Amy is walking in. You don't have to send me money, the Pregnancy Help Center will send you a bill.

I agree with Amy, thank goodness it is a flat donation and not per mile. Unlike Amy, I would never make any money for my distance.

If you or someone you know is facing an unplanned pregnancy, you are not alone! Please contact this website for help.

Adoption Education

There is not a whole lot to update. We are in a waiting phase. We expect our wait to be anywhere from 5 months to 11 months. I know that is a big range, but that is what we have been told. We are hoping to have the baby home by Christmas.

Right now we are focusing on educating ourselves on parenting and adopting issues. I have been taking internet courses, which have been surprisingly interesting. Nathan is responsible for the required book reading (including a small book report).

So far I have taken a class on attachment and a class on being a "conspicuous family." I wasn't very familiar with either of these concepts prior to our adoption process. Sure, I knew it was important for babies to bond with their parents, but I didn't think a lot about attachment issues. It is just one of those things that you assume that if you love and nurture a baby it will happen automatically. Well, that is not necessarily the case. We will have to work hard to build a trust relationship and make sure the baby knows we are its parents.

A "conspicuous family" is one in which it is obvious that the baby is adopted. How do you handle comments? What do you do to make sure the baby sees other families like yours or sees people of his/her race? I am glad we have had the opportunity to think about theses issues prior to being handed a little bundle of joy. One thing this class has made me think twice about are comments I make both to conspicuous families and to people who ask questions. My answers to people tend to fall on the sarcastic side - not always an appropiate option, but it makes me laugh. I am not sarcastic because I am offended by the question, the sarcastic answer just makes me laugh. For example if someone were to say to us "He must look like his Dad," I would be tempeted to say "I don't know, I never met his Dad." If someone were to say "Are you going to tell her she is adopted?" I would say "No, we think she will never know." You get the point, the sarcastic answer is just more fun for me.

This weekend we are attending a parenting class that our adoption agency is hosting. It is in Tulsa and we are looking forward to a little get away. Along with other things, we will actually learn how to change a diaper! Don't laugh, but I actually am not confident in this area. Nathan bursts out in laughter at the three or four times he has seen me complete this task.

Have a great week!

Storms of Life

The last year has been a rough one for us. We have both had major job changes, I have had health issues, we have started the adoption process and have had family illnesses just to name the "biggies."

This last week, we experienced a literal storm. Our home and both our cars took hits from hail the size of tennis balls. We are in the process of dealing with insurance, repair companies and trying to stay calm. Frankly right now, we are both so tired, it is hard to focus on one more thing.

All that to say that through it all God has been faithful. During tough times in life, I have tried to look back God's faithfulness to me. Everywhere I look, I see His faithfulness. Two Sunday's ago our choir sang a song that said something like "When darkness hides His face, faithful He remains." That one line stood out to me and I had no idea how much I would need it the very next week.

First and foremost, we are safe. No physical harm came to us, our family or our friends during this recent storm. Our home is standing and we are able to live in it.

I have learned lots of lessons along the way. What it boils down to in each of these situations is my reaction. Do I blame God or do I seek Him, His care and His guidance? Do I trust that He loves me has my best interest at heart? Am I as patient with others as He is with me?

God does love me and want what is best for me. He knows that we will have storms in our life and He is ready and waiting to help us through them. Remember when He was in the boat with His disciples and a storm came up? Jesus was calmly sleeping in the boat while everyone else started to panic. At the right time, He stood and said "Peace be still!" and the waves were forced to obey. It is like that with us too. He is not surprised, He does not panic and He is in charge. I am thankful that our God is like that, it is just what I need.

Small Update

For those of you who are wondering how quickly Immigration processing is going in our area, we received our I600A approval in the mail today. I thought that was remarkably quick. We had our fingerprinting appointment just last Wednesday.

One More Check Mark on the List!

There is not a lot to report. We did however get one more item checked off our list today. We had our fingerprints taken at Immigration. It was very CSI. I thought I would be covered in ink by the time we were finished, but it was digital. Nathan sailed right through his, you would have thought he was a pro! Me on the other hand, I couldn't seem to "relax" enough for the poor girl to get a good print. It is just weird to me to have someone in your personal space like that, makes me tense up.

I guess all these "little" things make it seem real - this is really going to happen, we are really going to get a baby, I am really going to be a Mom and Nathan is really going to be a Dad. There is no growing belly, baby inside your belly hiccups, baby inside your belly doing flip flops or any of that to remind me every day that this is real. My friend at work, Barbie said that each little step for us, like fingerprints, is like when someone who is pregnant goes to the doctor...they may only check your blood pressure and send you on your way, but it is still exciting. Oh! And that non growing belly...my friend, Jessica offered to get me one of those fake pregnancy bellies. I think I will have to decline that request!

I have added several blogs of families who are joining us on this adoption journey. For those of you from church, you may remember Eric and Nicole, they met their new daughter Emma on April 1. You can read all about it in their blog here. You may also know Meredith and Matt. They are adopting from Vietnam. You can read all about their adoption and their dog, Dolly here. There are many other touching adoption stories on my side bar, people at all different stages of their journey. I love to read their stories - especially when they are traveling.

Finally, I want to mention Craig (Nathan's brother in law). He is currently serving in Afghanistan. His blog is here. His wife Amy's blog (one of the funniest people I know) is here.

I know that is a lot of blogs, but you should check them out. I think you will like them. They are all thoughtfully written and no one will try to sell you anything.

Have a wonderful week.