Happy Monday!

This sums up our emotions for today...

We got to meet our Social Worker, Michele for the 1st time today! It was a good meeting with a TON of information about the home study process and learning about what to expect once we bring an adopted child into our family. We discussed with Michele about how we felt led to adopt an older child or children, ages 4-8 and would love to have a sibling set. She shared with us that typically they do not recommend older children to younger couples that do not already have children, but instead would recommend an infant through 4 yrs. old. This info took us by surprise and set me in all sorts of emotions. My first thought was, "An orphan is an orphan, why does age matter?" We have felt this whole time that God has guided our hearts toward older children and this news was not following that calling. Now don't get me wrong, I will gladly take any child that God has for us, but it was as if a little piece of my Faith was chipped away. We have used our faith in every decision so far in this process and now this age factor situation could really test it. We have to pray and decide whether to keep our orginal age range that we felt God told us to pursue, or to rethink it and consider the infant-4 yr. old range. It is SO hard to know what to do in this crazy walk of faith because you do not have this big voice from heaven telling you exactly what to do.

 Guess We Will...

Productive Week!

This week has been very busy, but we have gotten more papers completed for our Dossier! It can be very overwhelming trying to get organized and plan how you are going to get all of the paperwork done. At first I thought, "Oh this should be easy, we will just work on it every night!" HAH! Apparently I forgot about work, activities, chores, and Life! So as hard as it is...building our dossier is taking time and we have learned it cannot be rushed. Off our checklist this week, we have completed our employment verification letters, scheduled our meeting with our Home Study social worker, had our doctor complete our physical exam forms, and received our birth & marriage certificates! Sure that sounds like pretty simple stuff, but when you have to schedule doctors appointments, meet with human resource people at work, coordinate with UPS, and arrange for everything to be notarized....it is so NOT simple! BUT, I am not complaining one bit because God was so present this week allowing all appointments, phone calls, emails, and work schedules to go perfect! I was so happy because several things could have went wrong or been delayed and they weren't!

Now it's Friday, Sunny, and time for FUN! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

A Happy Heart

Wow! This experience so far has been awesome and exciting. For one thing, after finally letting our family, friends, co-workers, and the rest of the facebook world in on our exciting news, we have definitely "FELT THE LOVE"! I am so amazed at how wonderful everyone has been to us with so many encouraging and positive comments. Thank you to all who have shown us support! It really lifts our spirits on days when the paper work and the stress overtakes us. Which brings me to my next update...we have begun working on our dossier (ENORMOUS packet of paperwork, forms, appointments, and screenings that are required to adopt). It is very overwhelming and so much to keep track of, but we keep organized with our increased usage of "post-it" notes! :) So far, everything has been pretty easy...physical exams have been scheduled, passports ordered, and we get to meet with our Home Study social worker this coming Friday!

Please continue to pray for us and that we don't spill tea on any important documents or lose our minds in the piles of papers and fees! We still have complete faith and trust in Him!

Thanks again for all the <3 

P.S. Check out our 1st gifts for our future boys.....Adoption Keepsake Books. These are the equivalent to a "Baby Book," but for older children. It has pages for "Before We Knew You, The Adoption Process, Growing With You, and Our Family After You." They are even customized with our name! These books will be a great way for our future children to feel special and know they are a part of our family. These books can be found at www.cravenhaven.com. Thanks Aunt Steffie & Uncle Jeffie! :)