Pictures

Since we are in a "boring" phase of the process right now (filling out paperwork) there isn't a lot to update y'all on...so here's some pictures to tide you over!

I have gotten a lot of compliments on and requests to see more of the pictures from our announcements, thanks! All credit goes to Molly Bailey who has taken our pictures every year for the past three or four years! We love working with her not only because she is a friend and super talented, but because of her heart for adoption. Thank you Molly for the beautiful pictures!

I guess we wont hog them all to ourselves anymore.. here is some more of her beautiful work from our adoption shoot! (I had a little bit too much fun with all the props!)

We can't wait to take our next set of family pictures, hopefully with a couple little ones running around too!

Our House

After the Roller Coaster of Pre-Approval we were so excited to start looking for houses.

But, the very next day after we got pre-approved Aubrey went on a canoe trip for the weekend. So, I researched houses with my dad. We looked online and made a list that eventually ended with 8-10 homes that we wanted to go look at. Aubrey got home Monday from his trip so I showed him the fruits of all our hard house-searching work! That night we were sitting around talking and he called me over to look at a house that was listed on Craiglist, for sale by owner. I hadn't even thought to look for any for sale by owners! We immediately loved it. They were having an open house the next weekend, but that wouldn't work for us to go because I would be gone that weekend. We called that night to see if we could get a private showing and scheduled one for the next day during lunch.

So the next day we all (Aubrey and I, along with my parents) went to look at the house. We loved it. Scott and his sister, the sellers, had bought it to flip it, and they did an amazing job. After the tour Scott informed us that there had been an offer placed on it that morning, so if we wanted to act on it we would need to put an offer on it that day.

We really loved the house, but it was the only house we had looked at and we would need to place an offer on it in a few hours if we wanted it. We decided to each go back to work and pray and think about it and call each other that afternoon to see where we were.

Three hours later Aubrey and I talked. We were still both really in love with the house so we decided to put an offer on it. When Aubrey called Scott, he let us know that there was someone scheduled already to look at the house the next day and that he would let us know if they accepted our offer after that.

That night and the following day was torture! Aubrey called me while I was driving home from work. He had heard from Scott... and that they had accepted our offer!

So, 5 days after we were pre-approved we had an accepted offer on a house! Apparently we don't mess around with this house business!

We closed on November 15th and still can't believe this is our home! We are so excited that we have this amazing house to make a home with our kids!

Here are some pictures!

Us thinking, "Oh my gosh, we just bought this house!"

Kitchen -view from the front door

Dining room - view to the right of the front door

Living Room - view to the left of the front door

Den - view from the living room

(Yes, that's a ceiling fan on the floor. As you may have noticed in the kitchen there is no light fixture... the fan will {eventually} go there....)

Living room - view from the den

Upstairs Landing - view from half way up the stairs

Guest Bedroom - first room on the left upstairs (Ready to receive guests! Come on over!)

Bathroom - Second door on the left upstairs - view from the landing

Bathroom - View standing in tub area

Bathroom Tub area - view standing in front of sink

Master Bedroom - door to the right of the bathroom - view from landing

And finally - two extra bedrooms just waiting to be filled! These are to the right when you come up the stairs. No you cannot see inside of them because they are currently storage rooms for crap we haven't unpacked yet... guess we better get started on that though! 

Yes, we do have a basement, and no you can't see it. It's seriously a disaster zone. It's unfinished for the most part, but there were no shelves or any storage options in there so everything is laying all over the floor. It's frightening. However, as part of the basement there is a second bathroom/laundry room. 

Can I just take a moment here to say that this is the first time in our marriage that we have our own laundry system. Its like a miracle. My life is changed forever. I <3 my washer and dryer. That is all.

I'll show pictures of the basement later... after we put some major hours in down there!

The Pre-Approval Roller Coaster

I took some pictures of our house last week when everything was clean for our meeting, so my post after this one will be house pictures! But, before I share those I wanted to share how we got here. It was quite the journey to get to our house and we always viewed that as part of our journey to our kids. So here you go!

I wrote this post last October:

One of the goals that Aubrey and I had before we started the adoption process was to be in a house. We have loved our apartments, they were great for the two of us, but when we decided we wanted to start the process for kids we both looked around and realized another human being, no matter how small could not fit in our apartment, we have just out grown it!

So, our perfect plan was to get in a house over the winter and start paperwork in the spring. Sounds like a perfect timeline right? If only it was so easy...

We did know the process would be more complicated because we own our own business. It adds some nice loops and twist to the roller coaster that is the pre-approval process. And while I love twists and loops on real roller coasters, these twists and loops made me sick to my stomach.

Our first problem, in retrospect was that we were trying so hard to make our plan work that we were trying to do it all on our own. With no thought or prayer to God about his plan. We both felt so sure about the timeline leading up to kids that we assumed God must think our plan was looking pretty good.

The first bank we sat down with said, No. And not a, "well its a no, but lets look at what we can do to make it work." More like a, "No, and I don't know of anything I can do to help you and your situation." It was crushing. We both were set back. So, it looked like our timeline was going to be pushed back. We had some things we could do to put us in a more appealing spot for banks, but the new timeline would have us starting the house process next April, which meant kids would be pushed back to an unknown time. I was scared and frustrated.

So, I did something we should have done before sitting down with the first bank, prayed. I asked God what his plan was. I told him that we both felt like he had told us Spring was the time to venture into the kid process, and now we felt confused. But I eventually found rest in Him (of course, why am I always so surprised..?) We found ourselves praying for His will and His plan for our family. We trusted that he would guide us on the right path if we stayed close to his voice.

So, that was our prayer when we decided to sit down with the next bank. While waiting in the lobby I prayed that His plan be made clear to us. If it was a no, that we would have peace about it. Going into the meeting I did have the peace that God was in control.

The meeting felt surreal. From the get-go the guy we talked to (Jeff Sproul at RCU GO SEE HIM! He's great) was positive and excited about helping us get into our first home. Everything that had been an issue with other banks was apparently not a problem at all in his eyes. We looked at each other halfway through the meeting like, "is this really happening?"

The next morning we got an email from him with our Pre-Approval letter! I stopped everything I was doing and prayed. Thank you God for YOUR perfect plan.

It was such a reminder for us that we can do nothing without him, and I'm glad, what an amazing peace that we are afforded knowing that He is the one in control. Why do I waste so much time worrying when I should rest in his promise to take care of me?

So, with our Pre-Approval letter in hand we began house hunting!

First Meeting

We just met our social worker! As I said in the last post, this meeting was just to determine if we were a good fit for the program. She asked us a bunch of questions and let us ask some of our own. She is very nice and we are excited to get to work with her on this journey!

From here she will go to her supervisor and recommend that we be accepted into the program (which she felt would be no problem) and then if we are they will mail us some more paperwork to start on. This paperwork will include extensive background checks and personal references among many other things. After the paperwork is turned in we will start the home study meetings.

We are excited to get this ball rolling and see where it takes us!

Thank you so much for all your kind words of encouragement and prayers, we could feel them during the meeting!

Well that was fast

I just got a call from the person who will be our social worker. She has received our paperwork that we mailed off and we set up a meeting with her for this Friday

Wait... WHAT? Can you break that down for me again? Slower this time??

Sure!

Yes, the paperwork we mailed off on January 24th, the stuff we mentioned in this post, has made its happy way back to Eau Claire and has landed on the desk of our social worker. (We seriously have a social worker now??? I still feel like we should probably say that she might be our social worker...but I guess not...?)

Yes, this happened a LOT faster than we thought it would. Based on conversations with other's timeline of this part of the process, we estimated it would take anywhere from 1 to 3 months. It has been three weeks. Yes, this freaks us out a little, but it is also exciting and we are going to roll with it.

Yes, we are meeting THIS Friday. Two days from this moment we will be sitting on our couch with our social worker. Better get cleaning when I get home tonight!

Apparently, as our social worker told me, in this meeting she will go over what the program looks like and we will go over the paperwork we mailed in. Then she will go back and decide if we are a good fit for the program. If they decide we are then we will get an application to fill out, then the home study process will begin.

So, here we go! (I know I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again a million more times as the process begins to feel more and more real!)

Please pray for us as we meet our social worker on Friday. Pray for timing throughout the process. Continue to pray for our kids and pray that we'll listen closely to the spirit's guidance to stay on the path that will lead us to them.

It is well

When peace like a river, attendeth my soul.
When sorrows like sea billows roll. 
Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. 

My anthem today, this week, this month, this lifetime..

Some days peace does flow like a river and my soul is soothed. Some days sorrows roll in like sea billows. And I focus on the fact that He is the one in control and that in the end it is well with my soul.

I pray that our kid(s) wherever they are, whatever they are going through might have that sense too. Even if they don't know what to call it or who it is providing it, I pray that at their core they would hold onto a hope that passes all understanding.

To Our Family

You might be thinking we are crazy, and that's ok. Some days we think we are crazy too! We hope to be able to answer the questions and concerns you may have. But, please know this is what God has called us to do, and we are stepping forward in obedience. Yes, even though we know it wont be easy, and even though at times we are scared, nervous, excited, and worried all at once, we are never doubtful. We are resting in God's good and perfect plan.

Want to know what this means for you? Well, it means a lot. It means that you are on this journey with us through thick and thin. Our friends get to choose how involved they are, but to an extent you are already involved. We are blessed to have families that are there for us, no matter what. We will rely on this and because of this will ask that you walk with us down this unknown path. We ask that you pray with us, mourn with us, weep with us, celebrate with us and welcome our kids with us.

Want to know how to get involved and stay informed? Check out our post to our friends, because all that and more applies to you! If you are a reader, we would love for you to read Adoption is a Family Affair: What Relatives and Friends must know by Patricia Irwin Johnston. Also check out the resources page for many more!

Most of all we want you to know that this is your story too. These are your nieces/nephews, grand-kids, and cousins. This is the story of how they joined our family. We are so excited and blessed that YOU are part of the family they get to join!