Last Friday morning as I typed my last post I was preparing for Joe's mom and dad to come for a visit. As I wrote about the roller coaster ride of adoption I was so excited for our upcoming house guests. The roller coaster didn't stop but we did take a break from the ups and downs to really relax and enjoy our time together.
Joe's parents came in on Saturday afternoon and stayed until Wednesday morning with us. We had such a great time, we laughed, we talked, we visited, we ate at some great places, we watched movies, we played cards, the boys went to the casino to play some poker and they played golf and us girls went shopping. Most of all we were together, and we were a family!
Brent and Marie are such an amazing example for Joe and I. They are Godly people who love each other, love their family and have a ton of friends. I loved hearing stories about their lives and all their wonderful life experiences. They are such an awesome example for how I want our family to be.
As Joe and I shared our adoption journey with them you could feel their excitement for us.
Joe and I both know that God has a plan and even though we aren't privileged to know that plan yet, we know that all things will work out in His time.
We tell stories all the time about when we were kids and the things we want to share and do with our children. Marie told me something about her childhood that immediately went on the list of amazing things to do with our children. She shared that when she was growing up, if they were studying a place or event in school, her family would try to go and actually see the that place. So one Christmas vacation they had been studying Mexico in school so during break, they drove to Mexico City. What a GREAT way to get a child to really see and experience what they are learning! I told Joe that I wanted to try to do that. What a great example of a true family!
In a little more than a week, my mom is coming to visit and I can't be more excited. How luck can I get, 2 visits from our parents in the same month within a couple of weeks! We know we are loved and are truly blessed!
I know that as Joe and I prepare for family to come visit and for our future family our hearts grow and get bigger with every experience. We love having people come to visit, we love spending time with everyone and sharing our hearts and home with them. We really feel like this is apart of our nesting process. This allows us to really share our roller coaster ride with them, share our thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams and allows us to grow with each visit.
Thank you for our wonderful support system we call family...some of you are family by blood, some are family by choice. We love you all and we know that there isn't anything more important that family!
The one thing that doesn't stop is our need for raising money for our journey....if you could possibly help...every dollar helps us to reach our goal!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Roller Coaster Ride!
If you know anything about the adoption process you know there are a few hard and fast rules:
In our very short time since we were Home Study approved and Family Profile ready we have been presented with several potential situations, some that we have asked to be shown to the birth families and some we have decided not to be shown and no matter if we ask to be shown or not, all I can think about is that baby...and all I can do is pray. I ask God to be with that birth family and that baby as they move forward in their journey just like I pray and ask God to be with Joe and I on our journey.
The roller coaster ride is very odd, no matter how detached I tell myself I'm going to be, no matter how much I tell myself that I am going to stay at arms length, there is always a piece that slips out and starts to wonder and what if. That is why the: I'm sorry, the birth families picked another couple is so hard. We know that is always a possibility, but its that hope that lives inside of me that always makes that so hard. The strange thing is it is such a mixed emotion, sad that Joe and I weren't matched but so happy for the family that was and always following each "ride" I thank God for the opportunity, thank God for the birth mother and her difficult journey, thank God for the baby, and thank God for the family that has been blessed.
Our faith is what has brought us to this place in our life and our journey. Joe and I believe that we are called to be parents and called to adopt. We know that God has already picked our child/children out, that it is only a matter of time before we are brought together. We have great faith knowing that we are following the calling of God in our lives. The one thing I know for sure is that knowing you are following your call from God doesn't always mean the journey is easy but it does mean that we aren't alone. The people that God has put in our life to help us with this journey just amaze me. The blessings that come with knowing that others who have walked this journey before us or who are on this journey at the same time as us gives us the strength to get through the hard and rough parts of this ride.
God is Good!
Peace and Blessings!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
- It is HARD! Hard because of the paperwork & hard because of the extreme emotions that go along with the process.
- It is a ROLLER COASTER RIDE! I like things to be smooth, predictable, and drama free....this is anything but! Its hurry, hurry, hurry, then you hear nothing, then yes or no.....hurry, hurry, hurry....I guess this is preparing me for being a parent!
- You do not adoption accidentally! You must be committed, intentional and very in touch with who you are and what you know you can and can not handle.
- You must have a GREAT FAITH!
In our very short time since we were Home Study approved and Family Profile ready we have been presented with several potential situations, some that we have asked to be shown to the birth families and some we have decided not to be shown and no matter if we ask to be shown or not, all I can think about is that baby...and all I can do is pray. I ask God to be with that birth family and that baby as they move forward in their journey just like I pray and ask God to be with Joe and I on our journey.
The roller coaster ride is very odd, no matter how detached I tell myself I'm going to be, no matter how much I tell myself that I am going to stay at arms length, there is always a piece that slips out and starts to wonder and what if. That is why the: I'm sorry, the birth families picked another couple is so hard. We know that is always a possibility, but its that hope that lives inside of me that always makes that so hard. The strange thing is it is such a mixed emotion, sad that Joe and I weren't matched but so happy for the family that was and always following each "ride" I thank God for the opportunity, thank God for the birth mother and her difficult journey, thank God for the baby, and thank God for the family that has been blessed.
Our faith is what has brought us to this place in our life and our journey. Joe and I believe that we are called to be parents and called to adopt. We know that God has already picked our child/children out, that it is only a matter of time before we are brought together. We have great faith knowing that we are following the calling of God in our lives. The one thing I know for sure is that knowing you are following your call from God doesn't always mean the journey is easy but it does mean that we aren't alone. The people that God has put in our life to help us with this journey just amaze me. The blessings that come with knowing that others who have walked this journey before us or who are on this journey at the same time as us gives us the strength to get through the hard and rough parts of this ride.
God is Good!
Peace and Blessings!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Saturday, June 29, 2013
PROGRESS!!! Moving Forward....
While I have been traveling for the last few weeks for work a lot of things have happened with our adoption journey....
Our Home Study is COMPLETE!
Our Family Profile is COMPLETE!
Applications to agencies are COMPLETE!
On Monday, July 1st (which was my goal, and we all know how I like check lists and goals!) we are mailing off our applications, home studies, and family profiles to the different agencies we have selected!
We are so excited to move forward!
Once we apply with the agencies, we wait....we wait for a situation to present itself, we wait to be matched with a birth mother, and we wait for the birth of our child!
Joe and I continue to pray for the birth mother of our future child/children.
We continue to pray for the child/children.
We pray for ourselves as this journey is not for the faint of heart. It is long, it is hard, and it really makes you examine who you are, what you think and what you want for your future.
We pray for our families as we continue down this adoption journey.
And we pray that God will help us to raise the money that is needed for this journey and his plan for our life!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Our Home Study is COMPLETE!
Our Family Profile is COMPLETE!
Applications to agencies are COMPLETE!
On Monday, July 1st (which was my goal, and we all know how I like check lists and goals!) we are mailing off our applications, home studies, and family profiles to the different agencies we have selected!
We are so excited to move forward!
Once we apply with the agencies, we wait....we wait for a situation to present itself, we wait to be matched with a birth mother, and we wait for the birth of our child!
Joe and I continue to pray for the birth mother of our future child/children.
We continue to pray for the child/children.
We pray for ourselves as this journey is not for the faint of heart. It is long, it is hard, and it really makes you examine who you are, what you think and what you want for your future.
We pray for our families as we continue down this adoption journey.
And we pray that God will help us to raise the money that is needed for this journey and his plan for our life!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Happy Times
Praise God
Difficult Times
Seek God
Quiet Times
Worship God
Hard Times
Trust God
All Times
Thank God!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Moving in the right direction!
To be Home Study ready we have been waiting on our finger prints and back ground check from the Nebraska State Patrol office. I called Wednesday and they had mailed it out to our Home Study agency on 6/17/13 and I got a confirmation email last night that our social worker who is working on our Home Study received it and she should have everything complete and mailed out on Monday. Which means we should have the official stamp that we are Home Study complete very soon! That is a huge step in moving forward in our journey!
Creative Adoption Consultants has been so amazing helping us navigate each step of this journey. They are helping us put together our Family Profile and I hope that we will have that complete very soon as well.
Both the Home Study and the Family Profile are 2 key components to being able to apply to agencies and we are so very close!
Please continue to pray with us as we are moving forward on our journey.
Pray that God is preparing the birth mother's heart and the babies that God has picked out for us!
Pray for Joe and I as we are moving toward having a family.
And pray for our families and friends as they wait with us.
Peace and Blessings to you all!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Creative Adoption Consultants has been so amazing helping us navigate each step of this journey. They are helping us put together our Family Profile and I hope that we will have that complete very soon as well.
Both the Home Study and the Family Profile are 2 key components to being able to apply to agencies and we are so very close!
Please continue to pray with us as we are moving forward on our journey.
Pray that God is preparing the birth mother's heart and the babies that God has picked out for us!
Pray for Joe and I as we are moving toward having a family.
And pray for our families and friends as they wait with us.
Peace and Blessings to you all!
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/karen-joe-s-adoption-journey/62934
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Father's Day...
Having lost my father almost 20 years ago Father's Day is bitter sweet.
His smile, his laugh (like Underdog), his kindness, but mostly his love for us are still with me today.
His physical presence is missed tremendously but his memory is alive in my heart every day.
I don't know how many times most each and every day when something happens or someone says something that I think of my daddy. He taught me so many things and I really attribute a lot of my personality and drive to him. His primary goal was for me to be able to stand on my own two feet....
Thanks daddy, I have conquered that blessing and curse!
I know he would be so proud of the woman I have become. He would have questioned some of my choices along the way but he would have loved me through all the good and the bad.
Joe's dad is an amazing man and amazing role model for Joe. Brent has worked hard, loved his family and given them everything they needed and wanted. What he gave without even knowing, he gave Joe a desire to be a good father and role model to our children. Like me, Joe hasn't always made the best decisions in life, but he has been loved through the good and bad.
As Joe and I prepare for being parents, we have a lot of conversations about what we want for our family, how we want to parent, and how life will be in the future. The one thing that we both know is that we, just like our father's (and mother's)....we will love our children through the good and bad.
Happy Father's Day to our dad's on this day...we celebrate you.
Hopefully next year we will be celebrating Father's Day with our new family!
Peace, blessings and prayers to you all! K
His smile, his laugh (like Underdog), his kindness, but mostly his love for us are still with me today.
His physical presence is missed tremendously but his memory is alive in my heart every day.
I don't know how many times most each and every day when something happens or someone says something that I think of my daddy. He taught me so many things and I really attribute a lot of my personality and drive to him. His primary goal was for me to be able to stand on my own two feet....
Thanks daddy, I have conquered that blessing and curse!
I know he would be so proud of the woman I have become. He would have questioned some of my choices along the way but he would have loved me through all the good and the bad.
Joe's dad is an amazing man and amazing role model for Joe. Brent has worked hard, loved his family and given them everything they needed and wanted. What he gave without even knowing, he gave Joe a desire to be a good father and role model to our children. Like me, Joe hasn't always made the best decisions in life, but he has been loved through the good and bad.
As Joe and I prepare for being parents, we have a lot of conversations about what we want for our family, how we want to parent, and how life will be in the future. The one thing that we both know is that we, just like our father's (and mother's)....we will love our children through the good and bad.
Happy Father's Day to our dad's on this day...we celebrate you.
Hopefully next year we will be celebrating Father's Day with our new family!
Peace, blessings and prayers to you all! K
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Hard to wait....
Those of you who know me, know I'm not the most patient person. I like check lists, process flows, order and control. Waiting on things that are outside of my control are not my strong suit. That is where we are now.
We have filled out all of our paper work, we have been finger printed and local background checked, we have provided references and tons and tons of information and paperwork.....and now we wait!
I called the State office that does the Federal Background Checks to make sure they got the paperwork, I called this past week (week 4 that they have had the paperwork) to see where they were in the process...and she told me to call back this week....so we wait!
We have taken all of our pictures, we have uploaded our information and pictures, now we wait for our family profile...don't get me wrong...we are blessed to be working with CAC and they know exactly what to do with profiles..so we gladly wait on our profile! But we wait!
So, what is left for us at this point...PRAYING!
Please pray along with us!
Pray that God will wrap Joe and me with His comfort and blessings to know that what we feel called to do, adopt, is a blessing to Him and that He will give us PEACE when things don't necessarily happen in MY time but that all things will happen in HIS time!
We pray for our future family. Joe and I are so ready to have children!
We pray for our child/children who are out there that God has picked for us to parent.
We believe that through God, all things are possible and He knows who will be our children.
We pray for the birth mother/family who is having to make an extremely hard decision.
We pray that God will move mountains for the children that He has picked out for us...we pray that His hand will move paperwork through the process, that He will speed up or slow down what needs to be done so we will be ready for our children in HIS time!
God is Good...all the time!
But most of all...I will gladly wait on God rather than God having to wait on me!
God's timing is a lot better than me! :)
We have filled out all of our paper work, we have been finger printed and local background checked, we have provided references and tons and tons of information and paperwork.....and now we wait!
I called the State office that does the Federal Background Checks to make sure they got the paperwork, I called this past week (week 4 that they have had the paperwork) to see where they were in the process...and she told me to call back this week....so we wait!
We have taken all of our pictures, we have uploaded our information and pictures, now we wait for our family profile...don't get me wrong...we are blessed to be working with CAC and they know exactly what to do with profiles..so we gladly wait on our profile! But we wait!
So, what is left for us at this point...PRAYING!
Please pray along with us!
Pray that God will wrap Joe and me with His comfort and blessings to know that what we feel called to do, adopt, is a blessing to Him and that He will give us PEACE when things don't necessarily happen in MY time but that all things will happen in HIS time!
We pray for our future family. Joe and I are so ready to have children!
We pray for our child/children who are out there that God has picked for us to parent.
We believe that through God, all things are possible and He knows who will be our children.
We pray for the birth mother/family who is having to make an extremely hard decision.
We pray that God will move mountains for the children that He has picked out for us...we pray that His hand will move paperwork through the process, that He will speed up or slow down what needs to be done so we will be ready for our children in HIS time!
God is Good...all the time!
But most of all...I will gladly wait on God rather than God having to wait on me!
God's timing is a lot better than me! :)
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Family Profile...
As apart of our adoption journey, we have to create a family profile book. It is a scrapbook of our family and our story that will be seen by the potential birth mothers and hopefully our story and profile will connect with one of the birth mothers and we will be a match.
The hardest part for me has been gathering the pictures that are needed. I never realized how many pictures I do take, but more importantly I didn't realize how many events it looks like I have missed out on because I am not in any of the pictures.
Today we had the absolute best morning, even though it was rainy and cloudy here in Omaha! A friend from work told me about his niece that was a part time photographer who could take some pictures for us.
We put together a plan to take some pictures of Joe and I together and doing fun things like golf, tennis, playing games at a place like Dave & Buster's plus she took some portrait pictures of us too.
I can't wait to actually see Hannah's work. She was so awesome and just allowed us to be us! There weren't any of the tilt your head just a little to the right or any of that...we were just us!
Once we get the pictures back (hopefully she will add some color to my pasty white legs!) and get them sorted, we can upload them and Cheri can begin working on our profile! This will hopefully be done about the same time our Home Study will be completed and we will be able to start applying to agencies!
As things are getting checked off the list and we are getting closer to applying, my heart becomes more full and hopeful everyday. God is good and has called us to adopt. Following what you feel like God wants for you and your life is an amazing feeling. Knowing that God's timing is perfect and my timing isn't is the hardest part for me! I know that things will happen when they are supposed to happen...we just have to believe in God!
Peace and Blessing!
The hardest part for me has been gathering the pictures that are needed. I never realized how many pictures I do take, but more importantly I didn't realize how many events it looks like I have missed out on because I am not in any of the pictures.
Today we had the absolute best morning, even though it was rainy and cloudy here in Omaha! A friend from work told me about his niece that was a part time photographer who could take some pictures for us.
We put together a plan to take some pictures of Joe and I together and doing fun things like golf, tennis, playing games at a place like Dave & Buster's plus she took some portrait pictures of us too.
I can't wait to actually see Hannah's work. She was so awesome and just allowed us to be us! There weren't any of the tilt your head just a little to the right or any of that...we were just us!
Once we get the pictures back (hopefully she will add some color to my pasty white legs!) and get them sorted, we can upload them and Cheri can begin working on our profile! This will hopefully be done about the same time our Home Study will be completed and we will be able to start applying to agencies!
As things are getting checked off the list and we are getting closer to applying, my heart becomes more full and hopeful everyday. God is good and has called us to adopt. Following what you feel like God wants for you and your life is an amazing feeling. Knowing that God's timing is perfect and my timing isn't is the hardest part for me! I know that things will happen when they are supposed to happen...we just have to believe in God!
Peace and Blessing!
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