God is Good-Answered Prayers

”I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.“ Psalms 9:1 

As we reflect on the last week, this is the verse that came to mind. God has been so good and we have seen many answers to our prayers. Our prayer is that this adoption journey will once again display the glory of God and be a story that shows His faithfulness. 

A week ago our profile books came in the mail, so we are ready to present, as soon as our homestudy is complete. This process has been much longer than we anticipated and has been a test to our patience, especially mine (Adrianne). My baby fever is real and I am so excited for the chance to experience the sweet newborn days again! 

This past Friday we had our first of 2 home visits with our social worker. I’m not going to lie, I was very anxious about this whole process. Before we could complete this step we submitted physicals, bank statements, references, bloodwork, police clearances, and completed a packet of preliminary questions. So many fears crept into my mind — Will they think we have enough money? Will they think we are healthy enough? Will they think we are great parents? Well, let me tell you (and myself!), I don’t know why I was so worried. God was so gracious to us and He was clearly in the details on Friday during our home visit. Our social worker was the sweetest Christian woman! She made us feel comfortable from the moment she walked into our home and we spent 5 hours sharing about our life, our relationship with Jesus, and Genesis made a new best friend! We have one more visit this Friday to finish our interviews and this time I will not mop my floors and I will enjoy my morning coffee before she gets here! 

Another way we saw God answer our prayers is through the generosity of His people. We had 38 puzzle pieces “adopted” over the past two weeks. It is so encouraging to write names on each puzzle piece and see how God uses each person to help us along this journey. A special blessing was the NINE children that adopted a puzzle piece. This is why we love the puzzle fundraiser so much — it allows even the youngest hearts to be a part of this journey. We are grateful for every dollar and every person that has generously given. 

We still have 236 pieces left if you feel led to be a part of our puzzle. 

The last update I want to share for this week is that we have once again launched a Shoe Drive with funds2orgs. This organization is awesome! They allow people like us to collect gently used or new shoes and raise funds for our adoption and then in turn, they provide individuals in places like Honduras, Guatemala, and Cambodia with the shoes to start their own businesses. Our goal is to collect 300 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. That’s 7,500 pairs of shoes! We hope you will consider partnering with us and help us reach this goal! This fundraiser works best when communities come together, so feel free to ask your friends, families, and neighbors if they have any shoes they no longer need. 

Thank you to each and every one of you that is praying for us through this journey! We feel the prayers and have seen God work in so many ways already! We are getting excited as we get closer to beginning to present our profile book and can’t wait to share of God’s faithfulness as this journey continues. We continue to ask for your prayers as we work towards these next steps. At this point we have raised about 20% of the funds needed for this adoption. If you feel inclined to give you can do so through our tax deductible giving site adopttogether or through Venmo (agehull29) 

One Step Closer

Hello Friends and Family,

Last week was a big week in our adoption journey. Jules and I were able to complete our physicals, get our bloodwork done, and also go for our FBI fingerprinting. These are all required to show that we are fit to raise another child. We were also able to submit all our documents for our home study and should be moving on to the next step which is interviews and our home inspection. These are the last steps before our home study is officially approved. 

Bloodwork 😝

Another big step we completed this past week is our profile book! Libby from Christian Adoption Consultants designed our book and now it will be sent to the printer. This book is the most important piece to our adoption journey. This book will provide each expectant family that we present to a small glimpse into our life and will share our hearts for adoption and our admiration and care for them as the navigate the difficult decision of choosing adoption for their child. 

Our profile book cover

We continue to watch God provide through our many family and friends as we write names on each puzzle piece that is “adopted.” Our excitement continues to grow as we get closer to being able to present to expectant families. We continue to pray for the expectant family and for the baby that very likely could already be conceived. Genesis continues to pray for a new brother and sister (yes she is hoping for twins) and both kids think anytime we go to the doctor that we are picking up the new baby. 

Will you continue to pray through this journey with us? Will you pray that our home study will soon be complete and that we will soon be able to start presenting to expectant families? Will you pray that we will be able to continue to save and raise the finances that we need for this adoption? Would you consider supporting us financially through this journey. 26 puzzle pieces have been adopted and we have 274 more that we would love to have adopted. This table shows which pieces are still left and each number corresponds with the dollar amount the piece is worth. 

If you would like to support us financially you can give through venmo or tax deductible gifts can be given through adopttogether, both are inked on our donate page. We have also had several people ask to send money directly to us if that’s your preferred way of giving we can provide our mailing address and we can put the money directly into our adoption account. 

We will continue to update you on our journey and are hopeful each step is getting us closer to meeting the child God has planned for our family. 

Our Adoption Journey- An Update

Hello Friends,

It’s been 2 months since we announced our desire and plan to adopt again! Since our announcement we have had lots of questions and some confusion as well as people wondering what this journey looks like. While I sometimes wish adoption would be an easier journey to walk I also fully support the process because it ensures things are done ethically and each person in the triad is well cared for.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions we have received:

How old is the child we are adopting and when will they be placed in our care?

We are going to adopt a newborn domestically (in the USA) and we have not been matched yet with an expectant family and baby.

How long does this process take?

From the time our home study is approved till match the consultants estimate 7-12 months.

Are we hoping for a specific gender?

We are open to a boy or girl. We are also open to a single baby and twins. (Last year 96% of the consultants matches were single births and they matched 6 families with a set of twins.) 

And then the most asked question: 

Why does adoption cost so much and is it worth it? 

Adoption is costly. According to Lifelong for Orphans 38% of practicing Christians have seriously considered adoption. However only 5% of practicing Christians have actually adopted. The number one reason is the cost. 

However, when we consider what the cost covers we have come to conclude it’s worth it! The average adoption is around $60,000.

This cost includes:

• Our consultants, which work with a variety of agencies allowing us too present to many different agencies around the United States. 
• Our home study, which is necessary in their determination of whether or not we are fit to adopt. 
• Our family’s book for presenting to expectant mom’s 
• All necessary prenatal care, food, housing and counseling for the expectant mom. 
• Hospital fees and care for baby once he/she has arrived. 
• Lawyer fees 

Would you consider joining us on this adoption journey? We are currently working on our “Adopt a Puzzle Piece” fundraiser. We love this fundraiser because symbolizes what an important “piece” each person in our journey is and it allows everyone to be a part of it! Whether you feel led to give $1 or $300 or anything in between there is a piece for you! The dollar amount of the puzzle piece corresponds with what piece it is in the puzzle. 

Example: 

Piece #1=$1 

Piece #300=$300 

We can’t wait to complete this puzzle and tell our next little blessing all about the people that helped us along the journey to bring them home! 

Lastly, we would love your prayers through this journey. We are still working on our home study and would love your prayers as we work through the paperwork, go for bloodwork, prepare for our home inspection and meet with our caseworker for interviews. 

We have currently raised $1,600 of our $50,000 goal. If you feel led to support us financially click on the donate page to find out how.