Thankful for My Co-workers!

Let me tell you a little bit about where I work.  It is a precious little pharmacy/gift shop/print shop!  For privacy reasons I can't disclose the name, but take my word for it - it is a very unique place that you won't visit just once.  Everyone really cares about the clients and each other.  I enjoy working there.
I haven't been there very long, but my coworkers do know that we are adopting. 
I was taking my lunch break and checking my e mail one afternoon when I saw the email from our agency accepting our application!!!!  I was officially going to be a mommy!!!  Of course, I couldn't keep the news to myself, so after calling Sam,  I went downstairs and told the first person available - Anna!  I then told a few others.
I later heard Anna and Beth giggling in a corner by the print shop.  I asked them what they were doing, but they just laughed and said they were eating cake.
They came over later and presented me with a sweet little present - the first present for our daughter(s)...

I later went home and let Sam open it.  We received two tiny silver keepsake boxes - one for each child!
I am so thankful for their gift, but especially for their kindness, interest in our journey and their listening ears.
THANK YOU!

A Season of Thankfulness

As November approaches, I like to reflect on the many things that my family and I have been blessed with in the past, present and hope for the future.
Over the next few posts, I'd like to take the time to thank some wonderful friends and family members for their support during this adoption journey.  God has blessed us with these special people and their prayers, gifts, listening ears and support.  We will continue to lean on them and thank God that they are a part of our lives.

Stay tuned! ;0)

Thank my God every time I remember you.  In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now...
Philippians 1:3-5

Paper Pregnant!

On September 20th we recieved the confirmation that our application to adopt had been accepted by our agency!  We were officially paper pregnant!!!! 
We wanted to celebrate, but not spend any money (putting it all towards the adoption).  We decided the best way to do that was to go home and eat a dinner of ramen noodles... not very exciting, but ramen noodles never tasted better!
We are celebrating and full of excitement here in the States, but somewhere in China, a little girl (or maybe two), our child, is living a very different life.  We pray for her/them.  We pray for their birthmothers, who chose life.  We pray for their caregivers, that they may show them love when they can.  We pray they have their basic needs met, if not more.  We pray that God will help us to be the best parents we can to this precious child/children.  Won't you join us? :0)

How to pray for us

We want to regularly share our prayer requests along with praises for answered prayer and unexpected blessings.

PRAISES
We had a great meeting last week with the agency that will do our home study.  We feel good about working with them and we were encouraged to learn more about the process.

Our first yard sale was great! We made almost $300 and met several new neighbors.

We have started to chip away at the paperwork!  I have also sketched out all the items needed and it is less daunting when we can see it on one piece of paper.  It is still a lot of work (see below)

PRAYER REQUESTS

Patience is something we are having to learn. The paperwork is complex and hard to navigate at times.  And there is a lot of it.

Discernment.  We are having to make a lot of important decisions and sometimes quicker than we thought. 

Fund raising.  We have a long way to go but we are making progress.  Our friend Emily is donating her commission on Scentsy for the rest of the year.  We will announce another fund raiser soon.  We are also trying to sell a bike and lawn mower on craigslist.

Please pray for our children that have probably already been born and in need of nutrition, healthcare, and love.