Our Matchbook Letter

This is what birth families will look at when considering placing their child for adoption.  As of July 25th we are officially a "waiting family"!

Thanks goes out to Jill Hathaway for designing our  matchbook layout!  You rock!

Our Last Fundraiser!

We are excited to announce our last fundraiser: Gold Canyon Candles!  I don't know about the rest of the world, but I can't get enough of these yummy smelling things!  I have Gold Canyon Candles & Pod Warmers throughout my home! 

The good news is by purchasing a candle from us you can help us bring our baby home!  We are only holding this fundraiser for a limited time, so if you want to support us ORDER NOW!  Our fundraiser ends August 6th!  We have 3 sizes available for purchase:

26 oz: $25

16 oz: $22

8 oz: $17

You can choose from the following scents:

Apple Spice

Cozy Christmas

Moroccan Amber Vanilla

Sugar Cookie

Autumn Walk

Cranberry Orange

Mulled Cider

Sweet Pea

Cinnamon Vanilla

Days of Christmas

Pomegranate

Warm Welcome

Clean Sheets

Holiday Wreath

Pumpkin Pie

You can send us a check for your candle or pay via our pay pal account (just click on the "donate" button).  Our goal is to sell 100 candles in order to make $1000 for our Adoption Fund.

Thanks for your support everyone! 

From Beginning to End, God Knows!

This summer, while on break from BSF, I am studying the books of Esther and Ruth.  I just finished studying my first lesson (I'm using a study called Precept Upon Precept) that covered chapters 1 and 2 of Esther.  This bible study has me look into the historical aspects of the story, which I have never done before.  Mordecai, Esther's Uncle, was one of the many Jews who was exiled from Judah by the King of Babylon.  Later once the Persians and Medes took over and released the Jews from exile, they were allowed to rebuild God's temple.  It's interesting to note who God chose to utilize in the rebuilding of his temple: King Cyrus, a man who did not acknowledge him as God!  My study also pointed me to the Isaiah 44:24-45:7.  Isaiah actually prophesied that Cyrus would be an instrument in rebuilding God's temple, more than 100 years before he was even born!

God is sovereign and uses who he wants to accomplish his purposes.  It is God, not man who is strong.  These verses in Isaiah and in Esther really spoke to me in where I am in life right now.  God knows when and how our baby will arrive and become a part of our family.  He has perfect timing, I don't.  Just as he planned how to use Cyrus years before he was born, he also planned for Esther to be Queen at this point in time as well.  God knows about our situation too!  This has really brought comfort to my soul, and although I know I will still struggle with worry at future points in time, I serve a God who has things planned out from beginning to end!!

Open Not Closed

Many of your following our blog know that our goal is to have an open adoption.  An open adoption looks different from family to family.  Some open adoptions only share pictures, letters and e-mails.  Other open adoptions have face to face meetings.

It is our hope that we have an open and close relationship with our child's birth family.  They will have the answers to so many questions that we don't about the child's heritage.  It will also help our child as they form their identity.  They'll be able to know who they look like and what traits they inherited. 

I recently subscribed to Adoptive Families Magazine and in the June Issue (I'm just now catching up on my reading) had an article called "The Other Mother".  In the article a birth mom and adoptive mom talk openly about open adoption.  They answered questions like:

Were you ever jealous of your child's other mother?

How different might your child be had he grown up in his birth family?

What challenges has open adoption posed for you?

How would your adoption be different if it were not open?

I was really struck by the birth mother's answer to the last question.  She said, and I quote,

"I chose open adoption for my child to give our relationship a beginning, not an end--to say, I cannot raise you, but I will never leave you".

I love that!  Open adoption is the start to a beautiful story...not the end!  A birth mother loves her child enough to say I want something better or (not to sound arrogant) more stable.

If you are in the process of adopting, or already have adopted children, I highly suggest you subscribe to this magazine!  This article was only one of many that hit home.