Well today is a very snowy day here. :( In fact so snowy, that Chris is still home from work (not much carpet cleaning or sign rentals going on with this snowstorm). Anyway, I am in one of my moods again of "get everything done". I made a new list last night that included everything I must finish before this belly babe gets here.
One of those things was finish adoption grant applications. We only had one application to finish, but one other one that we just finally received the last of the paperwork (from our social worker) on late yesterday. So since Chris was here to watch Zoelle, I worked hard and finished all applications. They can be mailed out as soon as we can shovel our way out! :)
It was honestly a huge relief to us to be done. I don't think either of us ever realized the work it would take to fill out all of these applications. On the other hand, it is kind of scary to realize that we have now done our part and God has to do the rest.
Here is a recap of the applications (so again you can be praying):
HelpUsAdopt-Finished today! Grant amounts range from $500-$15,000. We will know by June 15th the amount we receive (notice I say we will receive; I just am trusting God here).
Shaohannah's Hope-Received last of paperwork yesterday. Long story, but be praying that they specifically will accept our paperwork. They apparently encourage you to apply at anytime in the adoption process. However, they only like to give grants once you have been matched with a child (which we obviously have not). Unknown grant amount range. Application process takes 90-120 days. We need lots of prayers here!
National Adoption Fund-Grants range from $500-$2,500. We should know by April 15th the amount we will receive.
Gift of Adoption Fund-Waiting to hear back still; praying it is soon. Grants range from $500 to $7,500. The average grant award is $3,500. Pray! Their policy is very similar to Shaohannah's Hope in that they give first preference to those who have been matched with a child. Please pray we can somehow get our application looked at anyways.
God's Grace Adoption Ministry-They contacted us waiting to hear back from one more reference. They should be able to review our application at the end of this month (which I am guessing got pushed back to the end of this month now). Typical grant amounts range from $1,000 to $4,000 with an average of about $2,000. Pray!
So other than praying for us and these grants, just keep tuning in to our blog. We should have updates on several of these in the next few weeks. Oh, and I am trying to win a Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!! again. I just happened to check back on that blog and they are giving away a different Pettiskirt now. I figure it doesn't hurt to try! :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Keep Believing and Don't Stop
This last weekend I (Vanessa) had the opportunity to attend the woman's retreat at my church. I always have a hard time going (just because I am a home body), but once there, I have a wonderful time. The speaker this year was a woman by the name of Karen Jensen. She was an amazing speaker, and had an incredible message on unforgiveness in our lives.
One of her CD series is called "Keep Believing and Don't Stop". She just briefly touched on what it was about, but instantly I realized that it had everything to do with our adoption. You see, last week, feeling desperately discouraged in our adoption, I told Chris we should just quit, it wasn't worth it, etc. Like the man of God he is, he refused! :) Thank God for Him because he knows we are to keep going.
So, we will continue to hold onto the rope until the answer comes. For on the other side of the rope, is God's promise of a little baby. It may be a longer rope, or a shorter one, we can't see, but we trust that God has fulfilled His promise already on His end. We just need to keep holding on until we get there.
Meanwhile, thought you would enjoy a few pictures my wonderful friend Anahita (hi Ana) took of our family for some maternity pics. I have 9 weeks to go, and while I haven't touched much on this pregnancy (as this is our adoption blog), I would appreciate prayers for the rest of this pregnancy.
Blessings, and keep holding on to your rope! God has the other end!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Greater Than Our Hearts
God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.1 John 3:20
Chris and I have found this to be so true, even more so today. First, let me back up. I have a little bible verse a day thing in my house and a few days ago turned it only to find this verse. I was instantly struck with God telling me that this applies directly to our adoption. At first I didn't think much about it. However, we then found out we would not be able to apply for the Our Creator's Hope adoption grant. We also still have not heard back from other grants. God was reminding me that He is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Today, in a moment of nesting (yes I truly am already nesting at 30 weeks pregnant), I decide to clean out our file cabinet. While going through our adoption file folder, I find another grant application that we could possibly apply for. I go online to check it out, and it is literally the easiest grant application we have ever applied for. It did not take us long at all. We should know by April 15th or so if we qualified. For prayer purposes, this grant is called National Adoption Fund and they have grants ranging from $500-$2,500. We also were able to complete the Shaohannah's Hope grant last night and just need to send in the mail a few copies of paperwork. We do have a specific prayer request in regards to Shaohannah's Hope. We did not realize until last night that they typically have a minimum of 3-4 months of review time in the application process. Our prayer is that God would find favor and somehow, even though it seems impossible, our application would go through sooner.
Thank you for praying for all our grants. Keep praying to hear back soon on many of them. Also, remember that God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Questions
I know, I know! It's been forever since I have posted. I haven't intentionally done that. It's just that we have no news to share, thus I did not feel the need to post anything. Many of you though have been asking me questions, thus I thought I would update a little bit.
Last week we packed our bags to go house sit for the week at my parents (as they were going on vacation). We were in charge of taking care of 4 horses, 5 cats, 2 dogs, the house, and ourselves! Phew! Needless to say, I received a text on Sunday saying they were on their way home. They were staying at the same place we did a couple of weeks before, but because of the size of their family, were told they were breaking fire code. What a bummer for them. There was then a week of vacation to use for free being wasted. We thought about it and decided to go ahead and go. Our thought was that if Chris got called for work, he would head back home. Otherwise, we would enjoy our second free vacation as a family. Chris did not get called! We ended up enjoying a week together just relaxing all over again. We ended out the week with a baby doctor appointment which went super well. We are thankful to God that we got another refreshing time to enjoy to ourselves before all three of our lives change drastically.
Onto the questions we have been getting. The main one is, "Have you heard back on grants?". The answer unfortunately is no. :( I wish I could come on here and update you and say that in those two weeks we have heard something, but I can't. We do still have two applications to fill out. After completing a third application last night for a grant, we received an e-mail this morning stating they are not accepting applications at this time. What a bummer! Join with us in prayer that we will hear back soon on the three we are waiting on.
The second question is actually more of a statement than a question. "You guys are still adopting, even though you are pregnant?!?". Yes, call us crazy, but we are. Many people have been shocked when one of us mentions that we are still adopting. We feel the need to share our hearts on this one. Long ago, when Vanessa was just a teen, she felt strongly called by God to adopt. Chris, like most guys his age was not thinking about children, let alone marriage. Once we met, fell in love, and got married, God slowly changed Chris' mind. In fact if you ask Vanessa, she secretly thinks this is harder on Chris than he lets on! :) Our plan all along was to adopt whenever that would be. We are so thankful to God with the blessing of our biological daughter and also another child on the way. However, we feel strongly, that despite all that, we need to adopt. We have been in contact with our social worker and she states that they are extremely desperate for families right now (yes even for infants). She believes that once we are financially set, we will end up with a babe. Talk about amazing! We cannot wait for that day. Please join us in prayer that God will provide the finances so we can get to that day sooner rather than later.
Lastly, we have the opportunity to win this: Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!. All I have to do is link it to this post and I am entered to win. Wouldn't this look beautiful on our baby??? Of course, if we end up adopting and/or birthing a boy, we will just have to either pass it on or save it for a future babe. ;)
Last week we packed our bags to go house sit for the week at my parents (as they were going on vacation). We were in charge of taking care of 4 horses, 5 cats, 2 dogs, the house, and ourselves! Phew! Needless to say, I received a text on Sunday saying they were on their way home. They were staying at the same place we did a couple of weeks before, but because of the size of their family, were told they were breaking fire code. What a bummer for them. There was then a week of vacation to use for free being wasted. We thought about it and decided to go ahead and go. Our thought was that if Chris got called for work, he would head back home. Otherwise, we would enjoy our second free vacation as a family. Chris did not get called! We ended up enjoying a week together just relaxing all over again. We ended out the week with a baby doctor appointment which went super well. We are thankful to God that we got another refreshing time to enjoy to ourselves before all three of our lives change drastically.
Onto the questions we have been getting. The main one is, "Have you heard back on grants?". The answer unfortunately is no. :( I wish I could come on here and update you and say that in those two weeks we have heard something, but I can't. We do still have two applications to fill out. After completing a third application last night for a grant, we received an e-mail this morning stating they are not accepting applications at this time. What a bummer! Join with us in prayer that we will hear back soon on the three we are waiting on.
The second question is actually more of a statement than a question. "You guys are still adopting, even though you are pregnant?!?". Yes, call us crazy, but we are. Many people have been shocked when one of us mentions that we are still adopting. We feel the need to share our hearts on this one. Long ago, when Vanessa was just a teen, she felt strongly called by God to adopt. Chris, like most guys his age was not thinking about children, let alone marriage. Once we met, fell in love, and got married, God slowly changed Chris' mind. In fact if you ask Vanessa, she secretly thinks this is harder on Chris than he lets on! :) Our plan all along was to adopt whenever that would be. We are so thankful to God with the blessing of our biological daughter and also another child on the way. However, we feel strongly, that despite all that, we need to adopt. We have been in contact with our social worker and she states that they are extremely desperate for families right now (yes even for infants). She believes that once we are financially set, we will end up with a babe. Talk about amazing! We cannot wait for that day. Please join us in prayer that God will provide the finances so we can get to that day sooner rather than later.
Lastly, we have the opportunity to win this: Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!. All I have to do is link it to this post and I am entered to win. Wouldn't this look beautiful on our baby??? Of course, if we end up adopting and/or birthing a boy, we will just have to either pass it on or save it for a future babe. ;)
