Ephesians 1:3-13
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
The Journey Begins
Many of you have asked for more details about our adoption. We will have a lot of information to communicate regarding our growing family over the next couple of years, so we started this blog to keep everyone up to date.
First off, why adoption? Wes and I first talked about adoption when we were dating. Not knowing if I would be able to conceive, we planned to grow our family through adoption. We agreed that even if I could conceive, we would have one and then adopt. As most of you know, I had a high risk pregnancy with James. To us, this was the Lord's confirmation that we would grow our family through adoption after James.
The big question was when to start the process, as it can be a lengthy one. We prayed and prayed and waited for peace to move forward. We did a lot of research on agencies before we moved forward with Lutheran Family Services. This agency has three requirements: the couple must be married for two years or greater; the couple must have faith in God (no denomination requirements); and the couple must be okay with open adoption.
We are now #14 on a waiting list with LFS. They do an average of 10-12 placements a year. Generally about half of the waiting list moves forward with LFS when their number comes up. Others have moved forward with another agency or have conceived. Once our number comes up, we will began our home study. Once we complete our home study, we will make a photo book that depicts our family and answers some standard questions. These books are made available to the birth mothers help then pick a family for their baby.
Please pray for us as we attempt to wait patiently through this process. We are so excited but have a long and tumultuous road ahead of us. We will also spend 2015 raising $23,300. You can view the cost break down here. The cost breakdown is for $19,800. We will also need to raise $2,000 in legal fees and $1,500 for the birth mother's care. We will be raising money in multiple ways. To start, we are set up to take direct donations on our YouCaring.com website. Please click here or see the widget on main page of our blog.
Thanks so much for supporting us during this pivotal time.
First off, why adoption? Wes and I first talked about adoption when we were dating. Not knowing if I would be able to conceive, we planned to grow our family through adoption. We agreed that even if I could conceive, we would have one and then adopt. As most of you know, I had a high risk pregnancy with James. To us, this was the Lord's confirmation that we would grow our family through adoption after James.
The big question was when to start the process, as it can be a lengthy one. We prayed and prayed and waited for peace to move forward. We did a lot of research on agencies before we moved forward with Lutheran Family Services. This agency has three requirements: the couple must be married for two years or greater; the couple must have faith in God (no denomination requirements); and the couple must be okay with open adoption.
We are now #14 on a waiting list with LFS. They do an average of 10-12 placements a year. Generally about half of the waiting list moves forward with LFS when their number comes up. Others have moved forward with another agency or have conceived. Once our number comes up, we will began our home study. Once we complete our home study, we will make a photo book that depicts our family and answers some standard questions. These books are made available to the birth mothers help then pick a family for their baby.
Please pray for us as we attempt to wait patiently through this process. We are so excited but have a long and tumultuous road ahead of us. We will also spend 2015 raising $23,300. You can view the cost break down here. The cost breakdown is for $19,800. We will also need to raise $2,000 in legal fees and $1,500 for the birth mother's care. We will be raising money in multiple ways. To start, we are set up to take direct donations on our YouCaring.com website. Please click here or see the widget on main page of our blog.
Thanks so much for supporting us during this pivotal time.
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