Just Us

Nathan and I get this question fairly regularly, so I thought I'd write an updated post. We are actually still in the early pre-adoption stage, as we have not yet even applied to an agency to begin our home study. Currently we are working on saving and raising money. Just a heads up, some fundraising will begin this summer including a garage sale (which anyone in close proximity is welcome to donate items towards), an online private auction, among other small things here and there. More will come on those later. Something to pray about is our finances. I have been told that the U.S. government looks at our amazing work benefits (housing and more) as strictly benefits and doesn't take that into consideration when looking at our annual income. So, our annual income looks somewhat low for a family of going on 6. I of course think this is utterly ridiculous and unfair, but "the world is not fair, honey," and I'm sure there will be many other situations come up throu...

These blog tutorials can be found all over the internet, but I was excited that I pinned a diy project on Pinterest and actually did it! There are also several different methods you can use to make these, but here I will share with you how I did it. Supplies you will need: Oatmeal container Paper or fabric Glue gun (and glue sticks :) Modge Podge Paintbrush Decorations as desired Wooden pieces for stand (optional) Spray paint (optional) Here is what I used: If you are the make-tons-of-crafts type of person (and you like oatmeal) this project would cost you almost nothing. Most craft people would have most of these items on hand and could use leftover decoration pieces from other projects. I am not so much that type of person, so I had to buy everything for this project except for the oatmeal container, Modge Podge, and paintbrush. It still cost less than buying one from Etsy or some similar site, and I found everything I needed at Hobby Lobby. *A piece of advice I...

Frankly, I love to give my kids gifts, so pretty much any excuse to do so is good enough for me. This year I am especially excited about the Easter gifts we will be giving them. Much more so than they probably will be actually, at least the younger two. This year we got each of them some sort of book about adoption. This was actually spurred on by my oldest, Ariana. I was reading some thick "Complete Adoption Guide" book, and she was sure she wanted to read it too. Of course, the reading level was a bit above her, and it was filled with many details she wouldn't want to read. So, I decided to search on Amazon, and these are the books I decided on. I'm sure there are many adoption books out there that I didn't even happen upon, but I am happy with what I chose. All About Adoption is for Ariana. It was so perfect for her; I couldn't believe I actually found a book that was exactly what she wanted. I asked her what she wanted to know about adoption and ...

So, ever since we've started this adoption journey, I've read a lot about adoption support groups and how they are usually very helpful for adoptive parents, and also for the children once the adoption is complete. The problem is, I live in a very rural area, so actually attending a real-life support group is not really an option for us. I've also looked a Yahoo groups without much success. I think that's old news. Facebook is where it's at when it comes to online groups. I have searched a little on Facebook, but I'm not sure I want to join some random group of people and start sharing my heart and the joys and struggles that come with adoption. I've been thinking for a few months that maybe someday after we have adopted I will start my own adoption support group. Maybe there will be more people in my church wanting to adopt or in their own process that would like some help, support, and encouragement. And, hopefully someday I will do that, but just last w...

I realize this photo may not be nearly as exciting to most of you as it is to me, but I just had to share. I received my passport in the mail last week. It only took two weeks! That seemed very fast to me. I was expecting 6-8 weeks. Since there are not too many things that we can do until we start our home study, this beautiful booklet is even more special to me. It is something I can tangibly hold and touch and feel that will get me one step closer to bringing our child home (one who is probably not yet born). And, since it's good for 10 years, it's one thing I won't have to think about later on. Now to get one for my husband. One other thing that we are working on to get us a little closer to bringing our child home is fundraising. We have not started any fundraising "campaigns" or large endeavors, we are currently just collecting funds as we can to add to our adoption fund. Don't you worry, larger events will come in the future, such as a garage sa...

We just finished our annual Missions Conference at our church, and I still feel like I am in conference mode. I love this conference and other similar times throughout the year. Doesn't it make you exhausted you ask? Yes, absolutely; completely and utterly exhausted (thus you may encounter thoughts that aren't quite complete or incorrect spellings, sorry for that). But, it is all worth it. It is so wonderful to see old friends, meet new friends, learn new things, and be in the presence of God together. There also happened to be a wedding smashed in the middle of this conference, so I got to see even more friends this year (shout out to my awesome friend Ashley from Ohio). I especially loved seeing these friends. Okay, so they're my brothers and sister, and I happen to live near 2 of them, but my oldest brother lives far away, and I always love being with them all. Plus, we hadn't taken a photo of just us together for years. Okay, now back to the conference. On th...

If you couldn't already tell from the picture, Nathan and I have decided to pursue adoption through South Korea! Of course this is not a 100% guarantee as we have not completed a home study, or even applied to an agency at this point. So, why Korea? Of course it would seem obvious since my husband is a Korean adoptee, but we have actually looked into many countries. We have spent the last 2-3 months looking online at all the regulations for adopting from each country (including the US), what ages are usually adopted from each country, and talked to a few friends who have adopted or are currently in the process. We ultimately chose Korea because yes, this is the homeland of my husband, and that did seem important to us, but we chose it for many other reasons as well. Our family seems to fit the criteria for adopting from the country, most children that are adopted are babies or toddlers and we want this child to be younger than our youngest (who is currently 14 months ...