What is up God's Sleeve?

So I received an interesting phone call from Yvonne today.

She said that 5 short days after I called her (to share our adoption plan back in early September) she received a call from friends/business partners saying their 18-year-old daughter was pregnant.

She has been diligently praying the last couple of months and has waited to share this news with me. She invited me to come to Tennessee to talk and meet with this young girl and simply share my positive adoption experience.

Over the years, I have willingly shared my story with young girls that find themselves in a similar situation that I was in at the age of 16. I merely spend a few hours sharing what was right for me and why I chose the path of adoption. At the very least, I am able to sit down with girls and say, "I know from experience what you are going through. I know what kind of decisions you are facing. I know...and now I will be praying for you."

Even though this is something I am quite comfortable doing and sharing, I have never hopped on a plane, traveled to a different state and met someone...just to share my story.

OK God what are you up to?

Profile Complete!

I don't know how else to say this but YIPPEE!! We just finished putting together our profile and I have to admit it looks pretty good (thanks to a really talented designer friend of ours!).

We have prayed over the binders and are believing God for the perfect adoption situation.

Two profiles will be sent to Mercy (that is what they require).

One profile will be sent to our friend Yvonne.

We will be praying about who else should receive the profile.

Well, that's the only update for now.

Update

We have made great progress these last couple of months. We have completed our home study (which is no small feat!) and have most of the application filled out for Mercy Ministries. The next task is the profile and this will be how the birthparents get to know me and Sam - through personal letters (we both write one) and lots of pictures!

My friend Yvonne

Let me introduce you to my friend Yvonne. This woman is an amazing prayer warrior and dear friend.

I first met Yvonne years and years ago. She was (and still is) a very important person to my grandmother. They were prayer partners for years.

When I found out I was pregnant (check out first blog post for this story), my grandmother confided in her prayer partner and Yvonne went to work immediately praying for me and my situation.

Through her spirit-led prayers, Yvonne helped make a connection that will last a lifetime. She introduced me to Rocke and Dee, my son Michael's adoptive parents (sidenote: Yvonne and Dee are cousins).

Fast-forward to present day.

Sam recently suggested we call Yvonne and share with her the adoption plan. I think it is interesting God put her on his heart since he has never met Yvonne, only heard about her.

Sam has felt from the beginning of this process that word-of-mouth could be exactly how this story unfolds. We are earnestly seeking the Lord and asking Him for the right people to tell.

So to-date here is what we've got:

1. We have downloaded the application for Mercy and are moving forward.

2. We shared our adoption plan with Yvonne and her husband Art.

3. We decided to share our adoption plan with Rocke and Dee.

That is it for now! I am excited to see how God is going to work!!

Paperwork Anyone?

So no one said this was going to be easy, but I now have a new kind of respect for others that have adopted. It is no easy task to get all the paperwork in order.  

From forms to fingerprints to meetings -  this has practically become my full-time job!  

Thank you Lord that I have a flexible schedule!

And thank you Lord that you have protected me and Sam throughout the years. There are lots of hoops we need to jump through, and we are passing with flying colors.

OK, back to work. We still have a ways to go!!

God's Mercy

Over the past few years, I have kept my eyes and ears in tune to really cool adoption stories. Every time I hear a great story, I do a little bit of research.  I track down a blog that was written or a Web site of an organization. I have filed it in my "favorites" folder so I could go back to it someday.

Well, that someday is now!  I have been praying through each Web site "favorite" asking the Lord to prompt my heart to where He wants us to fill out an application.  What does He have in mind for our family right now? International? Domestic?  Obviously, there is a lot to consider.

One place that has had my heart from the beginning is Mercy Ministries (mercyministries.org).  They are headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee and help girls through all walks of life.  From eating disorders to addiction to unplanned pregnancy.  These girls WANT to be at Mercy and are on the road to restoration, healing and wholeness.  It is awesome what this ministry is doing to help young women.  

I showed the Web site to Sam and he was excited.  We both feel that this is the place we are supposed to put in our application.  It is an understatement to say that we were moved, genuinely touched, by this ministry.  

So here is where we are at. They only do 2, maybe 3, adoptions a year. Not good odds by the world's standards.  But, we feel this is an opportunity for God to do a miracle and provide us with the perfect birthmom and baby.  We are already praying for a perfect fit!

Is It Time?

So I am no stranger to open adoption.  Obviously, I have lived it as a birthmom. It has been an amazing experience. One I would never trade.

I have always felt the desire to adopt. Over the years, it is something Sam and I have talked about from time to time. When we first got married and started dreaming about our future, I told him about my dream to adopt. My dream became his dream. It is something we have always wanted to do, something we have felt called to do.  

In all honestly, our timing was that we would have biological children first and then continue growing our family through adoption. As some of you may have experienced in life our timing isn't always God's timing (big sigh here!).

As I mentioned in a previous post Sam and I just went through another miscarriage. Each time this has happened in the past few years, I automatically have asked Sam, "Is it time to adopt?" And each time his response has been "Give it four weeks. I don't want this decision to be out of a reaction." 

The first two times the four weeks came and went. We discussed it briefly and just felt that the Lord was asking us to wait on His timing. (is it OK to sigh again here?)

This time is different. It is the beginning of July 2007. The beginning of a new journey for us! Sam and I feel a different sense of urgency this time. We feel an excitement for what God has for us. We feel strongly that He is pointing us in the direction to adopt.

So what do I do next?