Wow, what a long weekend. We finished up our garage sale about 4pm on Saturday after moving what we had left back into the garage. We have to thank everyone that helped with the weekend, from those who donated items to sell to our parents who came to help work both days. We had a little rain early on Saturday but were blessed with mainly overcast weather, so it never got unbearably hot.
What was really neat about Saturday was meeting 2 different people that adopted through Generations Adoptions. It was great to hear their stories and feed off of their enthusiasm. We can not wait to get to know them more through functions like adoption reunions.
I bet you are wondering what the total amount raised was. Well we had a good day Saturday but not nearly what Friday was. We sold most of our big items on Friday so Saturday was mainly clothes, CDs, books and nick-knacks. Our 2 day total was over $2,800 which brings us very close to the finish line. By my calculations, we should have the remainder needed within 2-3 weeks. I'll update the totals information tomorrow after we get Saturday's earnings in the bank.
So after church today we spent most of the day resting from the garage sale madness. The garage is still just as we left it when we finished up - stuff everywhere. Tomorrow starts the preparation for the Home Study on Monday, May 4th. Most of what needs to be done is cleaning so if we pick one room to do every night then we should be done by the 4th. Our prayer request is not that we "pass" our home study but rather that it doesn't rain on that day. Rain would mean a muddy yard which would mean muddy dog feet which would mean mud all over the house. So all of our cleaning would go down the drain.
I'm going to end by saying thank you again to all that helped with the garage sale, we could not have done it without you. But most importantly, we thank God because none of this would have been possible without is grace. It definitely is a testament to what can happen when you lift up your desires to God and let him be in control.
Peace in Christ,
Jerry
Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Garage Sale Day 1
This is going ot be short since I have been up since 3:45 this morning. I awaoke to the thought that the tree in our front yard had limbs haning so low that people would not be able to see into our garage sale. So I was in the front yard trimming branches at 4:00am. It is now almost 8pm so I wanted to just write something small before I crash for the night.
It is truly AMAZING HOW GREAT GOD IS! We had so many people donate items for us to sell and also we had many more people show up on a Friday to buy things. We had people bringing breakfast for us (which was unbelievable and I am serious about wanting the recipe) to one lady who came to just see what we had to sell and then went home and brought stuff to donate to our adoption cause. Truly unbelievable since we had never met her before.
I'm sure everyone is waiting for a total of some sort so I will spare the suspense - I went to the bank about 4pm this afternoon and deposited $1536 into our account. We made an additional couple of hundred dollars on top of that for a first day total over $1750. Considering Jenny's goal was $700 and mine was $2000 we should far surpass our wildest dreams by the end of this thing.
Our garage is still packed and we have more people bringing stuff again tonight and in the morning. We both love you all very much and can't believe how blessed we are to be able to call you all our friends. I will most definitely write more tomorrow and a much longer summary on Sunday - we still have to tell you how the training went on Thursday (it was awesome).
May God bless you all,
Jerry
It is truly AMAZING HOW GREAT GOD IS! We had so many people donate items for us to sell and also we had many more people show up on a Friday to buy things. We had people bringing breakfast for us (which was unbelievable and I am serious about wanting the recipe) to one lady who came to just see what we had to sell and then went home and brought stuff to donate to our adoption cause. Truly unbelievable since we had never met her before.
I'm sure everyone is waiting for a total of some sort so I will spare the suspense - I went to the bank about 4pm this afternoon and deposited $1536 into our account. We made an additional couple of hundred dollars on top of that for a first day total over $1750. Considering Jenny's goal was $700 and mine was $2000 we should far surpass our wildest dreams by the end of this thing.
Our garage is still packed and we have more people bringing stuff again tonight and in the morning. We both love you all very much and can't believe how blessed we are to be able to call you all our friends. I will most definitely write more tomorrow and a much longer summary on Sunday - we still have to tell you how the training went on Thursday (it was awesome).
May God bless you all,
Jerry
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Big Week Ahead....
Hello,
Things are busy, busy. But it feels great! I like progress so I can't complain too much. We completed our profile Sunday night. That entails a full page letter written to the birthmom with a picture of us at the top of the letter. (that is the letter you will see when you read the Generations website under adoptive parents.) On the back of the letter we can have the whole 8 1/2 X 11 sheet to fill with pictures. The adoption profile is the FIRST thing the birth mom will see when she goes into the agency to view potential adoptive parents. That alone is very intimidating. We have to totally convince her that we are fit to be her baby's parents in one page! So, that is complete and we will take all 10 copies of that to the agency Thursday when we do our training.
As stated in the previous blog we have been asked to put our profile out for viewing next week. That is super exciting but we are trying to hold it together and be patient all the while reminding ourselves that this is the 1st viewing. It is all in God's hands and He is in control. That has been our motto this week.
This Weekend: The garage sale/adoption fundraiser Friday and Saturday
Boy it is a lot of work! But it is totally worth it. We still have people donating things. It is AMAZING how generous people are. We are so thankful and appreciative. Many people are praying for us and that is amazing also.
We love you guys so much and I say we have a big party when we get that sweet baby and everyone that is praying for us and keeping up with this journey is invited.
take care and God bless,
Jenny
Things are busy, busy. But it feels great! I like progress so I can't complain too much. We completed our profile Sunday night. That entails a full page letter written to the birthmom with a picture of us at the top of the letter. (that is the letter you will see when you read the Generations website under adoptive parents.) On the back of the letter we can have the whole 8 1/2 X 11 sheet to fill with pictures. The adoption profile is the FIRST thing the birth mom will see when she goes into the agency to view potential adoptive parents. That alone is very intimidating. We have to totally convince her that we are fit to be her baby's parents in one page! So, that is complete and we will take all 10 copies of that to the agency Thursday when we do our training.
As stated in the previous blog we have been asked to put our profile out for viewing next week. That is super exciting but we are trying to hold it together and be patient all the while reminding ourselves that this is the 1st viewing. It is all in God's hands and He is in control. That has been our motto this week.
This Weekend: The garage sale/adoption fundraiser Friday and Saturday
Boy it is a lot of work! But it is totally worth it. We still have people donating things. It is AMAZING how generous people are. We are so thankful and appreciative. Many people are praying for us and that is amazing also.
We love you guys so much and I say we have a big party when we get that sweet baby and everyone that is praying for us and keeping up with this journey is invited.
take care and God bless,
Jenny
Friday, April 17, 2009
Excitement - Prayers needed
Today we received an email from Generations Adoption that there could be another Fast Forward in our adoption process. They have a birthmother who has not been able to match with any of the currently approved families and they want to know if we would be interested in showing our profile to her. This could happen as soon as next week, yes just a few days away and before we are even "approved" for adoption. You may be asking - what is a profile. Let me go through the steps really quickly for what a typical adoption should look like if the steps are taken in order.
Step 1 - Application, interview, orientation
Step 2 - 8 hour training class
Step 3 - Home study
Step 4 - Approved by agency, profile can be shown to birthmothers
Step 5 - Birthmother picks family and they meet
Step 6 - Baby born, placement of baby with family
I've combined some of the steps to condense them, there are actually 10 steps but you can easily see that we could be attending our 8 hour training class on the same day that our profile is being shown to this birthmother, skipping the home study and final approval by agency steps. This is HUGE!!!
Now - a profile is a one page information sheet about us. We describe ourselves together, some of our history, each of us individually and why we are pursuing adoption to start our family. The back of the page can be filled with pictures that show some of our hobbies and extended family. It is hard to put our whole lives down into one page of text but it is the only fair way to show several different families at one time to a birthmother. Once she decides which family she wants her baby to go to, a meeting is arranged so that we can meet the birthmother face-to-face.
So, what do we know. She is 19 years old and both she and her mother are wanting the adoption to happen. She is due in July and it is a boy. I don't want to get to excited, but Jenny and I have both been saying several times over the past few weeks that we think we are going to get a boy some time in July. We just continue to give everything up to God and know that he is in control. This is under his timetable and if it is his will for us to get this baby then it will happen.
We can't thank you enough for your continued prayers. We are in Pipe Creek, Texas this weekend picking up items from Jenny's parents that we can sell in our garage sale. I just pray that it doesn't rain next weekend or we are going to have a house full of stuff and legally can't have another garage sale for 30 days.
I'm sure we will write much more over this next week as it appears it will be very eventful.
Gig 'Em,
Jerry
Step 1 - Application, interview, orientation
Step 2 - 8 hour training class
Step 3 - Home study
Step 4 - Approved by agency, profile can be shown to birthmothers
Step 5 - Birthmother picks family and they meet
Step 6 - Baby born, placement of baby with family
I've combined some of the steps to condense them, there are actually 10 steps but you can easily see that we could be attending our 8 hour training class on the same day that our profile is being shown to this birthmother, skipping the home study and final approval by agency steps. This is HUGE!!!
Now - a profile is a one page information sheet about us. We describe ourselves together, some of our history, each of us individually and why we are pursuing adoption to start our family. The back of the page can be filled with pictures that show some of our hobbies and extended family. It is hard to put our whole lives down into one page of text but it is the only fair way to show several different families at one time to a birthmother. Once she decides which family she wants her baby to go to, a meeting is arranged so that we can meet the birthmother face-to-face.
So, what do we know. She is 19 years old and both she and her mother are wanting the adoption to happen. She is due in July and it is a boy. I don't want to get to excited, but Jenny and I have both been saying several times over the past few weeks that we think we are going to get a boy some time in July. We just continue to give everything up to God and know that he is in control. This is under his timetable and if it is his will for us to get this baby then it will happen.
We can't thank you enough for your continued prayers. We are in Pipe Creek, Texas this weekend picking up items from Jenny's parents that we can sell in our garage sale. I just pray that it doesn't rain next weekend or we are going to have a house full of stuff and legally can't have another garage sale for 30 days.
I'm sure we will write much more over this next week as it appears it will be very eventful.
Gig 'Em,
Jerry
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
One step closer!
Hello and happy Wednesday!
So we have to get fingerprinted as part of our checklist........ I completed mine today and Jerry will complete his Friday. The fingerprints will be reviewed by the FBI! Pretty scary, huh? I was glad to get it over with. It always feels good to get one more thing checked off the list....hence one step closer to baby.
The garage sale prep is coming along. I have priced a bunch of stuff and several people have donated items. The newspaper ad has been placed and the flyers are ready to hand out. Now we just need to pray for good weather so we can sell the items. We are hoping to make at least the amount needed for our home study...$700. That would be great! But any amount would be more than appreciated.
I have had several offers for a baby shower. That is so exciting! I can't wait to start all that fun stuff. After we are approved........I can go nuts looking at baby stuff.
WE are so BLESSED! Our family and friends are wonderful and I can't thank you enough for all of this. We definitely wouldn' t be this far along in the process without all of you!
love,
Jenny
p.s.... my sweet Baylie girl turned 8 years old today. She got a trip to Petsmart with "momma and daddy" to pick out a toy! :)
So we have to get fingerprinted as part of our checklist........ I completed mine today and Jerry will complete his Friday. The fingerprints will be reviewed by the FBI! Pretty scary, huh? I was glad to get it over with. It always feels good to get one more thing checked off the list....hence one step closer to baby.
The garage sale prep is coming along. I have priced a bunch of stuff and several people have donated items. The newspaper ad has been placed and the flyers are ready to hand out. Now we just need to pray for good weather so we can sell the items. We are hoping to make at least the amount needed for our home study...$700. That would be great! But any amount would be more than appreciated.
I have had several offers for a baby shower. That is so exciting! I can't wait to start all that fun stuff. After we are approved........I can go nuts looking at baby stuff.
WE are so BLESSED! Our family and friends are wonderful and I can't thank you enough for all of this. We definitely wouldn' t be this far along in the process without all of you!
love,
Jenny
p.s.... my sweet Baylie girl turned 8 years old today. She got a trip to Petsmart with "momma and daddy" to pick out a toy! :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter
We hope that everyone has a safe and happy Easter. On this great day, I can't help but think how blessed Jenny and I are. The support that we have been given from everyone is amazing. It is so awesome to be able to see God working in us and in our family and friends.
It is hard not to get too excited about having a baby soon, but we know that it will all happen according to God's timetable. He is in control and we have to keep our selfish desires from trying to take over the situation. All we can do is continue to prepare our hearts and our home because we know it will happen some day.
Speaking of preparing our home, you should see the checklists we have for Fire Prevention and Environmental Health. Over 25 items on each checklist, ranging from "Trash is burned in an area away from children" to "Soap and toilet paper are available in the bathroom at all times". You can see that some of these are going to be very easy to pass, in fact most of them are. Espcially since we typically only burn our trash every other week - just kidding, we live in the city. Do you really think we could burn our trash? You better not either - You better be recycling!
There are a few things though that I will need to repair before we pass. Small stuff like a window sill that has broken and is splintered. But for the most part I think we will pass quite easily.
The next few weeks are going to be very busy. Going to Jenny's parents next weekend to pick up items for the garage sale. Then the garage sale the following weekend and the home study the week after that. Not too mention all the time it is going to take to get things ready for the garage sale. Add in work and I'm glad we got rid of our cable last month. Otherwise we would just be wasting it because we won't have time to watch anything.
Enjoy your Easter Sunday. My prayer for you is that you will be able to put your trust in Jesus Christ, for He is Risen!
Jerry
It is hard not to get too excited about having a baby soon, but we know that it will all happen according to God's timetable. He is in control and we have to keep our selfish desires from trying to take over the situation. All we can do is continue to prepare our hearts and our home because we know it will happen some day.
Speaking of preparing our home, you should see the checklists we have for Fire Prevention and Environmental Health. Over 25 items on each checklist, ranging from "Trash is burned in an area away from children" to "Soap and toilet paper are available in the bathroom at all times". You can see that some of these are going to be very easy to pass, in fact most of them are. Espcially since we typically only burn our trash every other week - just kidding, we live in the city. Do you really think we could burn our trash? You better not either - You better be recycling!
There are a few things though that I will need to repair before we pass. Small stuff like a window sill that has broken and is splintered. But for the most part I think we will pass quite easily.
The next few weeks are going to be very busy. Going to Jenny's parents next weekend to pick up items for the garage sale. Then the garage sale the following weekend and the home study the week after that. Not too mention all the time it is going to take to get things ready for the garage sale. Add in work and I'm glad we got rid of our cable last month. Otherwise we would just be wasting it because we won't have time to watch anything.
Enjoy your Easter Sunday. My prayer for you is that you will be able to put your trust in Jesus Christ, for He is Risen!
Jerry
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Oh My!
We have had an awesome response to our garage sale contribution requests. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed items and we can't wait to SELL them. :) No really, we sincerely appreciate all of you so much. Your comments, your prayers, your support......all of it. We are diligently preparing for the garage sale and we (I am) are pricing items right and left. Next week we go to Boerne to pick up some more stuff! Now all we need are people to come to the sale and buy buy buy. We will put the announcement in the paper and are planning on handing out flyers to some friends to hand out to their friends..etc... It is all exciting but busy busy.
It has been especially hard to concentrate on anything other than the adoption paperwork etc....much less work a full time job. We decided yesterday that we need to not talk about adoption stuff during "work hours" because we were falling a little behind in our jobs. Oops! :) So, adoption plans are limited to after work hours.
I am having a little trouble not looking for cute baby room stuff. We made room in the future baby room this past weekend by moving the queen size guest bed into the "other room". So now the future baby room is empty (except for garage sale stuff) and it is begging me to fill it with baby stuff. But i must stay focused on the paperwork and upcoming home study. Then once we are approved I can start thinking of decorating. One step at a time, Jen, I know...i know.
That is all for now. Thanks again for keeping up with us. We love you guys and wish you a very Happy Easter!
love,
Jenny
It has been especially hard to concentrate on anything other than the adoption paperwork etc....much less work a full time job. We decided yesterday that we need to not talk about adoption stuff during "work hours" because we were falling a little behind in our jobs. Oops! :) So, adoption plans are limited to after work hours.
I am having a little trouble not looking for cute baby room stuff. We made room in the future baby room this past weekend by moving the queen size guest bed into the "other room". So now the future baby room is empty (except for garage sale stuff) and it is begging me to fill it with baby stuff. But i must stay focused on the paperwork and upcoming home study. Then once we are approved I can start thinking of decorating. One step at a time, Jen, I know...i know.
That is all for now. Thanks again for keeping up with us. We love you guys and wish you a very Happy Easter!
love,
Jenny
Friday, April 3, 2009
Timeline Update
We have several updates this week. Jenny already wrote about the date for the 8 hour training class, April 23rd. We turned in our application/paperwork on Wednesday and were able to set the date for the Home Study, May 4th. The Home Study is under Step 5 of the 10 Step Process, so we are half way through the process. We are hoping that we will be put into the approved and waiting category by June 1st. See the timeline on the right for future updates.
What prayers do we have besides the obvious? Well, Jenny is not the best at the "hurry up and wait" situations. The adoption process is the epitome of hurry up and wait. You have to get everything paperwork wise done as quickly as possible so you can be approved, then you sit and wait to be chosen by a birthmother. Then you typically have to wait some more until the baby is born. I pray that she can relax, not stress about it and continue to give the controls up to God.
I'm the procrastinator which makes waiting a really easy thing for me (at least that is what I tell myself). I'm also the one that handles the finances on a daily basis so I know that waiting a little bit will help complete our adoption fund. I don't want to wait forever, but waiting until July would be ideal for our funding situation.
Speaking of funding, one of the tasks that we can start on now is applying for adoption grants. There are several organizations that give out small grants to help families with adoption costs. So more applications - Yippee.
I've opened up the opportunity to add comments if you would like. Being that this is our first experience with blogging I was a little nervous about someone who doesn't know us finding our blog and inputting a comment that we would not approve of. But I've researched it and found a way to approve all comments before they are posted to the public blog. So feel free to comment on any of the postings.
In Christ,
Jerry
What prayers do we have besides the obvious? Well, Jenny is not the best at the "hurry up and wait" situations. The adoption process is the epitome of hurry up and wait. You have to get everything paperwork wise done as quickly as possible so you can be approved, then you sit and wait to be chosen by a birthmother. Then you typically have to wait some more until the baby is born. I pray that she can relax, not stress about it and continue to give the controls up to God.
I'm the procrastinator which makes waiting a really easy thing for me (at least that is what I tell myself). I'm also the one that handles the finances on a daily basis so I know that waiting a little bit will help complete our adoption fund. I don't want to wait forever, but waiting until July would be ideal for our funding situation.
Speaking of funding, one of the tasks that we can start on now is applying for adoption grants. There are several organizations that give out small grants to help families with adoption costs. So more applications - Yippee.
I've opened up the opportunity to add comments if you would like. Being that this is our first experience with blogging I was a little nervous about someone who doesn't know us finding our blog and inputting a comment that we would not approve of. But I've researched it and found a way to approve all comments before they are posted to the public blog. So feel free to comment on any of the postings.
In Christ,
Jerry
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