Wow…can one phone call change your life in an instant and send it in to a whirlwind of activity.
Since Monday afternoon and my last post we have been going a “mile a minute” with preparations and details that need to be completed.
- Booking plane tickets to Tennessee – looks like we will be leaving on Saturday and coming home (with our baby girl!) on Tuesday
- Finding places to stay in Nashville & Memphis (thank you Amanda, Kim and Jan – who helped us find housing and are offering their hospitality!)
- Talking with the adoption agencies both in Tennessee & California
- Faxing forms and completing paperwork (it never ends!)
- Arranging meals, transportation & supervision for the rest of the family while we are away (thank you Sallee, Rachel, Kelly, Rachael, Leslie & Sarah)
- Raising the funds to pay for the remaining adoption fees and post adoption fees for both agencies. (we are currently half way to having the money – and God is doing a miracle! I have heard from some that the original link to make a donation did not work. Here is one that should – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5373935 ) The vast majority of these donations have been $10 – $20. God can take a little and multiply it abundantly! Thank you to all who have been a part of bringing sweet baby girl home – from the beginning in October 2007 – those who have bought Christmas wreaths, donated to yard sales, helped with our “barn raising” (adding that new much needed space to enlarge the family), encouraged us, prayed for us, cheered us on and now those contributing for this last leg. You are ALL a part of the miracle!
On top of all that, life around here just doesn’t stop – still working on multiple things for JECHS, chauffeuring kids to appointments, lessons & practices, homeschooling (life is school!), wrapping up my National Scrapbook Day event from last Saturday along with upcoming CM events that have begun registrations, preparing to speak at a women’s retreat at the months end and of course taking time to snuggle that cute little blond boy. (oh and did I mention a major plumbing problem that needed attention immediatly – thank you Mr Plumber – Roy Hale – once again you were my hero!)
In the midst of the whirlwind…I got an eye infection – which ultimately paralyzes me with pain and makes it hard to do much computer work, driving or being out in the sun. In fact laying there with both eyes closed is the best therapy. At first I screamed (in my mind of course) – “Lord I don’t have time for this!” and then as I laid in my bed with a warm wet wash cloth over my eye I realized that about all I could do at that point was spend time in prayer. There’s a thought! That is what we should always do first during “crazy” times of life anyway – but I am such a “doer” that sometimes God has to go to extreme measures to get me to STOP & pray. My eye is getting better today – but I will still be stopping to pray for all the details of this adoption – for the birth mother & father, for the adoption agencies and their staff, for a smooth transition, for the financial need, for traveling mercies, for the sweet baby girl, for her “cradle care” family (temporary family) as they say goodbye and for our family as we transition to this new exciting path for our life.
In the midst of your “crazy” whirlwind life – don’t forget to STOP & pray!
Inspire Ministries 
I’m so excited about the BABY!!!!!
Its going to be super!!!!! FUN
Congratulations. I am the adoptive mother of 3 blessings. We did an out of state adoption of twin boys in Dec 07/Jan 08. Not to rain on your beautiful news, but not wanting to happen to you what happened to me. We were TRAPPED in Evansville IN from Dec 29 to Jan 16 waiting for back ground checks to come thru that were required by interstate compact. We did not know we would need these because we were not planning on an out of state adoption. The babies came a month early and I went up to IN blindly and excitedly with mom, 4 year old daughter and dog in tow thinking that once the babies were released from the NICU I would get to take them home. Instead I got to bring my sweet precious babies home to a dirty hotel at the hight of RSV season! Well, the law said I could not leave until both states (my home state and IN the state the babies were coming from would allow me to cross state lines with them). It was a VERY expensive nightmare I was trapped in. When it was all said and done I was out over $2000 for hotel and food expenses and other misc. expenses. Let me just say we stayed in a cheap slummy hotel. No Hilton for us! I don’t want to sound like I am not grateful. My three adopted children and my husband are the greatest blessings I have ever been given and wouldn’t change a thing, I just went to IN thinking I would be able to bring my babies home and that wasn’t the case. Also, me running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get all of these back ground checks taken care of stole some of my joy of the babies not to mention I had to leave the hospital to take care of requesting these back ground checks and that took me away from them. I just don’t want anyone to experience what I went thru. I know all circumstances are different and hopefully yours are. Our adoption agency was wonderful, but the agency the babies came thru just didn’t have the foresight to see that all of these things would be required for interstate compact. It also didn’t help that the babies came early.
I am looooong time friends with Dawn Barge and also a CM consultant. I signed up under Dawn which I think she was in your down line. If you have any questions that you think I could help you with please feel free to call me 352-378-8424. What a wonderful blessing! I wish you ALL the best and I will be praying for you in this wonderful journey you are about to embark on! I have been following your story on your blog. As you know the adoption process can be time consuming and tedious, but it is soooooo worth it! Best of Luck and God Bless you and your BEAUTIFUL Family, Kelly
Kelly…thanks for the heads up. We do have our interstate compact already approved. The agency in Tennessee does adoptions to Californians on a regular basis – so I think we are good. I bet your twin boys are darling toddlers! I would love to see pictures!
Wonderful! Sounds like you are in good shape! Then enjoy that precious baby! As you know being a mommy of 8, they grow up way toooooo fast! God Bless your beautiful and amazing family! Kelly
I am always amazed, a bit distraught and a bit fired up that it is so difficult for good people to adopt, and so expensive. There has got to be some balance between protecting those innocent children to make sure they get to a good, loving home with family who will cherish them and the people who want to “graft” them into their families. Once again, though, God continues to show his unfailing grace and his good purpose is accomplished…how do people do it who do not express faith in our Almighty God?