No Ornaments for Adoption in 2014

I am sad to say that I will not be doing Ornaments for Adoption this year. It has been one of my favorite things to do on my blog for the past 2 years. I expanded my blog in order to have opportunities to help others. So, I was so excited when the idea for Ornaments for Adoption came to me and even more excited when it was successful.

*Crafting on a Saturday*

I struggled with the decision of whether or not to do it this year with a baby coming in November. My first reaction was no, it'll be too much. Then, I saw the ornaments in Michael's and I remembered how much I loved it and I started thinking about how I could still do OFA this year. I even worked one weekend on updating the website and making some ornament samples. I was going to try doing pre-orders for cheaper to encourage people to get their orders in early. However, after working that weekend, I remembered how much work goes into OFA. Then several weeks flew by when we were very busy. So, I decided that it just wouldn't be a smart decision for me to take on too much.

I would like to give a brief update on past OFA families.

 

The Brocks from 2012 adopted a beautiful baby girl in April of this year.  She's about 6 months old now. I enjoyed attending a shower for the Brocks before the baby arrived and it's so good to see them almost every Sunday in church.

The Thigpens from 2013 are officially on a waiting list and at last update were number 32 on that list. This means there are 31 families ahead of them waiting for referrals. I would imagine this time has to be one of the hardest in the process, so I'm sure they'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

If you missed Ornaments for Adoption over the last 2 years, I'd encourage you to make up for there being no OFA this year by going back and reading the OFA posts from the last 2 years. There are many encouraging stories from adoptive families, people who were adopted, and people who advocate for adoption.

I hope to be back next year with Ornaments for Adoption being bigger and better than ever!

Journey to Motherhood

A little over a year ago, I came across the blog Adoption Love and started following along. In that year, their family has adopted an adorable little girl and I've enjoyed reading their journey.

I even made two adorable ornaments for them last year during Ornaments for Adoption.

Kristen decided to host an Adoption link up so that adoptive families can "meet" and connect with one another.

So, I know adoption is something I've written about on here a lot. However, I thought I'd give a recap or our journey and throughout, I'll link other posts I've written if anyone is interested in reading more details. 

Where did it begin?

I'd say it was early 2012, when God really began to work in my life and show me that there are a lot of hurting people in this world and I have the means to help them. Not only did I want to help them, but I learned that Scripture instructed me to help them. In March of that year, I read a book (Kisses from Katie) that really changed my life. Shortly after that while browsing on Pinterest, I was lead to a blog post about orphans and adoption. (I can't link the blog post because it is now private.) I remember sitting on my couch crying at the thought of all these children without families. God broke my heart and I wanted to do something to help. At the time, I was trying to start an Etsy business and decided to try and sell headbands to help an adoptive family raise money. This was very unsuccessful and I took it kind of hard, but it didn't stop me from wanting to help. I almost became obsessed with reading about adoptive families and orphans. I was donating money left and right to adopting families or buying the items they were selling to raise money.

Did we feel called to adopt?

For a while, I just focused on helping other families who were adopting. I didn't give it too much thought as something we would do. At this time, my husband was a part time youth pastor at a church that was about an hour drive from where we were living. Every Sunday, we did a lot of driving and had a lot of time to talk. I can remember driving to church and just kind of blurting out "I think we should adopt." I think I even surprised myself in saying this. Unknowingly, God had been working in both of our hearts through my new-found passion for adoption to lead us to consider adopting. We decided that we would adopt regardless of whether or not we were able to have biological children. Throughout the next year, God continued to work out this desire in our hearts and I have shared in the past why adoption is important to me and how adoption plays into my testimony.

What is Ornaments for Adoption?

As I mentioned, in early 2012 I had a failed attempt to raise money for an adopting family. Later that year, this idea hit me. I could make ornaments to sell and raise money for an adopting family. I liked this idea because it was a seasonal thing, so it wouldn't be overwhelming to take on. Plus, ornaments are something people are always buying. I first presented the idea in September 2012. I also decided to share an adoption related post every Monday while I was selling ornaments. Overall, the first year was a success. I revamped some things to make it better in 2013 and OFA 2013 was also successful. I'm not sure what will happen this year. I'm still thinking it through. 

When did we begin the adoption process?  

In summer 2013, my husband and I began discussing starting the adoption process ourselves. I admit, it took me a while to get started because I didn't really know where to start. We told our families in September what we were doing and we started the process in October by applying to the Children's Home Society. Our application was approved and we met our social worker within the next month. We had a few more paperwork things we could do, but due to the holidays coming up we wouldn't be able to do much else until early 2014. During that waiting time, we took care of some paperwork things. The CHS requires people adopting from foster care to take about 30 hours worth of classes as well as being CPR/1st aid certified. So, in February we began these classes and they pretty much consumed every Tuesday and Thursday evening as well as a few Saturdays. We were very busy. On top of that, we moved to a new apartment in order to have a second bedroom for our future child (or children). There was also a lot of snow this past winter, so school for me kept getting cancelled and some of our classes had to be cancelled and rescheduled.

Where are we now?

Along with everything else we were doing in February, we also conceived a child. After our classes at CHS were through, I noticed my period was late and took a pregnancy test at the very beginning of March. It was positive and I couldn't believe it. So, we had to put our adoption on hold for now. It is still something we hope to do one day. We also have begun talking about not only adopting, but becoming foster parents as well. For now, we're focusing on the November arrival of our little girl. Until the time is right for us, I will continue to be an advocate for orphans, children in foster care, and adoption. I hope once things settle down, we can go back to doing some volunteer work for a local organization that focuses on foster care adoption. I also want to continue to support adopting families through our own giving and through Ornaments for Adoption.

I'm also linking up here:

My Alternative to the #IceBucketChallenge

Well...it finally happened. I'd kind of hoped it wouldn't so I could just stay quiet about the whole thing. However, since I've been challenged to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge I knew I had 2 options - ignore it or accept it (with a twist) and explain my reasoning for the twist.

I know from reading similar articles and posts that what I'm about to say may make some people angry or upset and I've seen ugly comments people have left on similar posts and articles. I'm not here to argue with anyone. These are my beliefs and I hold firm to them. I'm going to try to state them as gracefully as possible.

I'll admit...I didn't like this Ice Bucket Challenge thing from day one. I'm not a jump on the bandwagon type of person. Please know, I'm not against advocating for a cause or donating to charity. Giving is one of my spiritual gift and I love doing it. One of the missions of my blog is to use it as a way to help others. In the past, I've shared about numerous causes that I support. One of the biggest things I've always advocated for on my blog has been adoption. We even started the adoption process about a year ago. I know I haven't written about many of these things in a while, but I've been lax on the whole blogging thing for most of this year due to a lot of personal factors and finding out we are expecting.

Just because I haven't been sharing about it, doesn't mean I haven't been doing things. We still support 2 children through Compassion International. We support a local missionary who is currently serving in eastern Europe. We also give to families that we hear about who are raising funds for adoption and I'm in the process of trying to figure out if there's any way I can make Ornaments for Adoption work this year considering Baby Hall is due in November. I don't say this to brag on us, but to brag on what the Lord has blessed us with that we are able to give. I'll also admit that this giving is not as abundant as we've done in the past and if nothing else, this challenge has challenged me to fix that (which I'll explain more of later).

Please don't get me wrong here, I don't think there's anything wrong with donating to ALS research. It's a terrible disease that I can't imagine watching a loved one go through. I know many people get passionate about it when people don't want to participate because they have experienced this firsthand. However, there are a lot of terrible diseases in this world that need money for research. Watching a loved one suffer through cancer, Pulmonary Fibrosis, and Alzheimer's isn't easy either, but those are all sicknesses that loves ones of mine have suffered through and passed away from. I don't think it's fair to consider research for one disease more important than another. All diseases are difficult for the one dealing with it as well as the ones caring for them. In a perfect world, scientists and doctors would find cures for all of these things.

So, I said all that to say that there are a lot of worthy causes out there and you can't support them all. I'm all for donating money to help people in need; but I, personally believe you should donate to causes that you feel led to donate to, causes that mean something to you, and causes that you're passionate about. I don't believe you should donate to a cause just because someone "challenged" you to or you feel guilty about it if you don't or you want to do "what everyone else is doing." I'm more likely to listen to a person share about a cause if they have a story to share, a personal connection to it, or are truly passionate about it.

 *Another reason I won't donate to the ALSA is because I don't believe that the way they're conducting research fully lines up with my beliefs. I know there's a lot of gray areas that can be argued and I am wrestling through my thoughts on it all. So, I do encourage you to research a charity or organization before you donate to them to make sure you truly know what you're supporting. I won't go into further details because they can be found here or here.*

So, in light of everything I just shared, I won't be donating to ALS research. Instead, I'm going to share with you what I will donate to and why.

• GI Motility disorders research- My husband suffers from Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome (along with all the sensitivities mentioned in the linked article). Like the article states, this keeps him from working regularly, adds up in medical bills, and affects our quality of life. Not a lot is known about FAPS. I can't tell you how many doctors we visited before we finally found one who put a name to his condition. I also can't tell you how much time and money was wasted on doctors treating his symptoms in a way that actually did more damage than good. There's also not a very definitive treatment for it. Sometimes, I feel like the treatments he is on are helping things and other times I feel like things are just getting worse. I would love for researchers to find a cure or effective treatment for FAPS so that my husband's suffering can end and so that our daughter doesn't have to experience watching a loved one go through this. (You can read more of our experiences here, here, or here.) I'm specifically looking into donating to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders or UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders which works closely with Lee's doctor. 

• Mercy for America's Children- I'm pretty sure at some point, I've mentioned this organization before. When we started our adoption process, this is an organization we were working with. We have also done some volunteer work with them and plan to continue that in the future when our lives are a little more settled. They specifically work to advocate for children in foster care and assist with foster care adoption. We have been meaning to set up monthly donations to them for some time now, but haven't gotten around to it. So, this challenge is challenging me to set that up so that we can support their work.

I'm not going to call out anyone specific and "challenge" them. Instead, I challenge everyone reading this to find a cause or a few causes that really mean something to you and donate to them, advocate for them, and support them. If that cause is ALS, great! If not, find an alternative. 
 
Oh...and also...in case you didn't figure it out already...I won't be pouring ice water on myself. Sorry not sorry...I'll eat ice cream instead. #icecreamchallenge

Finding out about Baby Hall

The post I shared on Friday was the last post I wrote about our adoption. Today I want to share what happened after that and how we found out about Baby Hall.

For foster care adoption, we had to attend 30 hours of MAPP classes. So, we basically had classes 3 days a week. Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30-9:30 and some Saturdays from 9:00-4:00. Needless to say, February was VERY busy. We also had several days of snow during February and I missed several days of school. Despite being busy, we still managed to enjoy celebrating both Lee's and my birthday (even though we had MAPP class on my birthday).

 Taking a CPR class

Celebrating Lee's birthday

Enjoying one of the many snow days 

We had class on my birthday and Lee had to arrive after work, so I "enjoyed" a quick (not so healthy) birthday dinner on my own (little did I know I wasn't really on my own)

Shortly after finishing MAPP classes, I noticed my period was late. I didn't think too much of it because that has happened plenty of times before. I decided if it still hadn't started by the first Monday of my track out, I'd take a pregnancy test. I'm tracked out for most of March and that first Monday came and still no period. So, I dug out an old pregnancy test I had and I really didn't expect anything of it. 

Lee was sitting on the couch eating breakfast and I walked in there to him and we were both pretty shocked to see this: 

I had always said I wouldn't be one of those people who took a bunch of pregnancy tests. I thought one would be enough. But I was in disbelief. Plus I'd convinced myself it may be defective since it expired in February and it was now a few days into March. So later that day, I bought two different kinds of tests and took one of each. 

I scheduled a doctor's appointment for later that week and took a test a day until the day of my appointment. Then, of course, they gave me a test too. In all, I took 5 at home pregnancy tests. 

We went ahead and told our parents the night of the doctor's appointment. Since we live far away, we used Facetime and this picture frame to tell them:

(first comes love...then comes marriage...then comes.... not the best thing in the world, but we threw it together last minute)

In mid April, we had our first big doctor's appointment and we got to see the baby and hear its heartbeat.

After that appointment, I told my coworkers, best friend, and extended family. A few weeks later, I announced it to my friends. 

I'm glad to be past the first trimester. I have now heard Baby Hall's heartbeat twice and I look forward to seeing s/he again and finding out if it is a boy or girl. 

Baby Hall's Story:During the Waiting Time....

All this week, I've shared how we were originally pursuing adoption and then we found out we were expecting. Even though we had to stop our adoption, I still want to share our experience.

This was written in January of this year:

After we met our social worker, we came upon the holiday season. So, it put us in our first waiting period. To adopt from foster care or to be foster parents you have to be licensed and one of the things you have to do to get licensed is take MAPP classes. Because of the holidays, there were no MAPP classes coming up until January.

During this waiting time, we tried to get some things done. We both went to get our fingerprints done. We contacted friends about being our references. We had another meeting with our social worker. We sent her photographs of our diplomas. We both began filling out our 30 page autobiography form. We still have a lot of little things to do.

The biggest thing we did during our waiting time was move. We were living in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment owned by the seminary. Because we were in seminary housing, there were certain things we couldn't have or do that we wanted. Plus, our rent would go up once Lee graduates (which we hope will be in May). So, we'd been looking for a new apartment for a while. Unfortunately, an apartment we could afford that had what we wanted and was in a good location was hard to come by.

We actually weren't actively looking when Lee stumbled upon an ad for an apartment. He went to look at it and learn more and liked it a lot. I went to look the next day and loved it. We had some bumps along the way, but we finally got it all worked out and moved.

(last selfie in our old apartment)

Now, this move is also related to our adoption. In our old apartment, the 2nd bedroom was where we stored all of our extra stuff. To prepare for our adoption, we were going to have to find somewhere else to keep that stuff. This probably would have involved renting a storage unit. Our new apartment is about 300 square feet bigger than our old apartment and it has a large storage room! We will be able to get all our stuff in the apartment while keeping the 2nd bedroom open for our future child(ren).

(saying goodbye to our old apartment)

During this time, we got the MAPP class schedule and Lee got it worked out with his boss to be able to attend. The first class was supposed to be the last week of January, but due to snow it was canceled.

To be continued...

Baby Hall's Story: Meeting Our Social Worker

This week, I've been sharing how we were pursuing adoption before we found out we were expecting. Even though the adoption is on pause, I want to share our experience with you.

This was written around November of last year: 

I was so excited when we received a call from our social worker to schedule our first meeting. Due to Lee's busy new work schedule and the fact that we don't want any delays on our end, I took off on a Monday morning for the meeting.

We got there and met our social worker and began by her asking us a few basic questions. Then, she started going through some paperwork, such as certain laws and procedures regarding adoption, that we had to sign.

For the last half of the meeting, she started telling us all the things we'd need to do to get to the point where we can adopt: background checks, child abuse checks, driving record checks, fingerprints, physicals, references, 30 hours of classes, home study, profile book, and on and on. I admit it was both overwhelming and surreal. I have been following adoption blogs and reading about adoption for several years now. I knew all of this, but this wasn't someone else's adoption-it's MINE.

We are trying to be as open as possible to the child(ren) we would consider. This is for 2 reason: It makes the process easier and quicker and we want to be open to the child(ren) God would have for our family. So, we are open to a sibling group of up to 2 children (only because that's the maximum number of children we have room for). We found out that in order to be approved for 2 children, we have to have a room set up complete with beds for 2 children. So, I'll be trying to figure out how to create an inexpensive, gender neutral room.

To be continued...

Baby Hall's Story: Adoption Application Approved

Yesterday, I shared how we were pursuing adoption before we found out we were expecting. I still want to share these experiences with you.

This was written around November of last year:

Last time, I shared how we came to make the decision to start an adoption as well as where we started. When we left off, I had sent in our application and other paperwork and we were just waiting to hear back.

The first Saturday in November (about a week and a half after sending in the paperwork), I checked our mail and we had something from the Children's Home Society.

It was a letter telling us the name of our Program Specialist. It said that we would be contacted soon and that in the meantime, we could get together some more paperwork. We needed to fill out another form. This one giving permission for a background check to be ran (costing $40). Because we've lived in NC less than 5 years, we also have to get one from our previous states of residence (Alabama for me, Florida for him). We also needed to get a certified copy of our marriage license.

I was so excited (first of all that we hadn't been rejected and second of all because we were moving forward). Of course, I sat down right away to start on the paperwork. However, since it was Saturday, I couldn't do much about the other state's background checks and the marriage license.

During the week, I made a few calls to find out how to obtain a certified marriage license (very simply by sending a SAS envelope and a $3 money order). When Lee was off, he picked up the money orders we needed to get our background check and marriage license. As soon as we had those, I mailed off for our NC background check and marriage license.

In the middle of November, we received a call from our social worker wanting to set up our initial meeting. We set up a meeting with her for the following Monday. That same week, our marriage license came in the mail. We were going to wait and find out from our social worker how to apply for background checks from other states.

During this time, I also attending an adoption support group meeting with Mercy for America's Children.

To be continued...

Baby Hall's Story: Adoption Information Session

So, yesterday I shared our exciting news with the blog world. I am officially through my first trimester.

This is why I just kind of disappeared from the blogging world. I think this is because of the extreme exhaustion that comes with the first trimester, but I became very apathetic at the beginning of my pregnancy. I didn't care about blogging. I didn't care about reading. I didn't care about cleaning. I didn't care about doing anything creative. I just wanted to sit on the couch and watch TV. Now that I'm through the first trimester, I'm not as tired and I feel a little more like myself. 

In order to share Baby Hall's story, I have to back up and tell you where we were at almost a year ago. Lee and I had decided to pursue adoption. Our family and close friends knew and I had planned to share with the blogging world in March. So throughout the process, I wrote some blog drafts so that I would remember the process and be able to share it. Even though our adoption process is on pause (for now), I would still like to share our experience. 

This was written around October of last year:

We decided to officially begin pursuing adoption at the end of the summer. I began to do some research and had planned to do more while I was tracked out in September, but some unforeseen circumstances prevented me from doing too much.

I have read a lot of adoption blogs, done a lot of research on adoption, and I feel like I know a good bit about adoption. However, I didn't know where to START. I actually got a little overwhelmed just trying to figure out where to begin. So, I did what you have to do in situations like this-I asked for help. There happened to be a teacher's assistant at the school where I work who was in the adoption process until she got pregnant. She lead me to Mercy for America's Children which was actually an organization I had already heard of and was already following on Facebook. I'm so glad she reminded me of this organization. It is amazing!

I stalked their website and Facebook page for a while and then decided to use their contact page to let them know we were interested in starting an adoption. Pam Taylor, founder of MAC, messaged me back shortly after I sent my message. She let me know that there were a couple of information sessions coming up. One of them happened to be a day that Lee was off, so I told her to sign us up for that one.

I was excited because we were actually starting the process. The day finally came and we headed off to the meeting. Pam and her husband walked us through some hard statistics about the state of foster children in America. They also gave us information about the different types of adoption: international, private domestic, domestic through foster care. She shared how her organization has support groups for both parents and children. I think this was my favorite part. It's scary to think of adopting because that's not the "normal" way peoples start a family. I love the idea that that support is there to let you know you're not alone. We really liked what we learned at the information session and I felt my heart stirring towards foster care adoption which is not previously what I'd planned on pursuing.

On our way home, Lee and I discussed our thoughts. We shared our desires and our fears. We also decided together that we were ready to pursue this. We were going to begin an adoption with the Children's Home Society of North Carolina using Mercy for America's Children as a support system.

I got busy within a few days filling out the application. It was just basic information you'd see on any other application. We also had to fill out a brief medical survey and a form that allows them to check with social services to make sure we've never been accused of abusing a child. Within a week, our first set of paperwork was in the mail.

Then, it was the start of the hard part...the waiting. In the back of my mind, I was nervous that we would be rejected. I knew we had no reason to be rejected, but I was worried anyway. I tried to just push those thoughts out of my mind and go on with our lives as normal.

To be continued...

Ornaments for Adoption: Ornament for the Thigpens

Another successful year of Ornaments for Adoption has passed. I'm working on planning to get together with the Thigpens to give them the money raised. Then, I'll be able to let you know how it went and give you an update on their adoption. You can also keep up with their adoption on their new blog.

For now, I want to share with you the ornament I made for them. Each year, I like to make a special ornament for the family to help them remember Ornaments for Adoption. Since the Thigpens are adopting from Ethiopia, I decided to incorporate that into the ornament. Then, my husband had a WONDERFUL idea. He said I should print out the names of all the people who bought ornaments and put that inside the Thigpens' ornament. I thought that was a great way to remind them of all the people who supported them. One day, they can show it to their child and it can be a part of their adoption story.

Printing out the names of all the families who bought ornaments or helped me make them:

Then I cut out each family's name, curled it, and put it in the ornament. There were SO many names. They barely fit. 

The front of the ornament says LOVE with Africa as the O.

The back says Ornaments for Adoption 2013.

I was so happy to give it to them and they loved it. I'm glad my husband apparently has a crafty side!

December Edition of Literary Junkies

First of all, I hope you'll head over to my friend, Erin's blog where I'm guest posting for her Testimony Tuesday. I'm sharing how God is working in my life through adoption.

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1. If you could write a book, what would it be about?
If I were to ever write a book, I'd want it to be a historical fiction. That is one of my favorite genres. Of course, the problem with writing historical fiction is that you'd have to do a lot of research so that your facts are correct. I'd want it to take place in either ancient Roman times because that time fascinates me or on the Titanic because I'm slightly obsessed. It would definitely be a romance.


2. If you had to read one book or trilogy for the rest of your life, what would it be?
My answer for these types of questions are always the same-Harry Potter (which is neither a single book or trilogy, but it's still my answer). I read that series about every year and a half to every other year. I always get swept up in the story even though I've read it many times. I still laugh out loud at certain parts or cry uncontrollably in others. It never gets old. 




3. Who is your current favorite book character and why?
I loved the character Auggie Pullman in Wonder. He was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to school until middle school. We all know how "fun" middle school is. He faces bullying and difficulty fitting in and people treating him differently. All he wants is to be treated like everyone else. I loved his bravery and how he rose above his circumstances. It was a very inspiring story and it's one I think every preteen/teenager and adult should read.


4. Is there a book you read every year during the holiday season? If so, what is it and why?
Um...no. Unless you count How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love that story!

5. Do you have any books on your Christmas list? Name a few.
I don't. As much as I love reading, I don't buy a lot of books. There's a perfectly good library where I can get them for free! Free is my favorite. I only buy my favorite books or books I think I'll read again. I think I may have asked for an Amazon gift card which I may use for future ebook purchases.

6. What is a book you read and loved that you didn't expect to?
Um...I really don't read books if I don't expect to like them. I have read a few books that I thought would be cheesy and just fun, but ended up enjoying them more than I thought. One that I read this year and enjoyed more than expected was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I really don't know why I enjoyed this one as much as I did. I also read a book called Warrior by Joanne Wadsworth that I didn't expect to like as much because I hadn't really enjoyed the first book in the series.

**I hope you'll come back tomorrow when I share my top 5 favorite books that I read this year.** 

How would you answer these questions? Are you linking up?

Ornaments for Adoption: A Message from the Thigpens

Ornaments for Adoption 2013 will officially end after today. 

I am so pleased with how this year turned out. Last year, this was just a dream of mine that I might could actually help a family and raise awareness of this issue. Last year was a success and I dreamed of this year being bigger and better. I knew some things I wanted to do differently to make things go smoother and I already have ideas for improvements next year.

I have to say thank you so much to each of you who bought an ornament, spread the word, commented, and prayed for the Thigpen family. I sincerely appreciate it. I can't wait to run some final numbers and come back in January to tell you how many ornaments were sold and how much money was raised towards the Thigpen's adoption.

I also have to thank my friends who came to help me make ornaments when the orders just kept rolling in. Please be sure to also support the small businesses that donated prizes for the weekly drawings. You can find a list of those people here.

Today is THE LAST DAY to place an order. Unfortunately, I will not accept any orders after today.  Later this week, I will have one final drawing for a gift card. Everyone who bought an ornament's name will be in the drawing-even if you've already won a prize. It will be one final thank you to you for your support.

Today, I have a message to you from the Thigpens.

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 I would first like to begin by saying THANK YOU to Megan!! This precious lady has worked so hard and diligently these last 10 weeks, and the blessing that we are receiving from her labor wouldn't be possible without her humble obedience to the call Christ has placed on her heart. So Megan, thank you so much for being an obedient servant to our Lord, for sacrificing your time and money, for using your gifts and talents in service, for ministering to us through this ministry, and for helping us bring our little one home! We are eternally grateful!

To all of you have purchased an ornament, THANK YOU! I hope in the days and years to come, the ornament that decorates your tree each year will be a reminder of how you helped an orphan find a forever family and be taught the beauty and wonder of the Gospel. I hope your ornament will also remind you of the promise Christ made, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18). And I pray that you will continue to find ways to minister to the orphan as you have generously ministered an Ethiopian orphan in need this Christmas season.

As we have only just begun our journey through adoption, I know there will be long days and months ahead of waiting. The Lord has been faithful to us all along through a miscarriage and the unknown of infertility, and I know that He will provide the patience and peace we need to endure. We can't wait to bring our little one to his or her forever home, to be called "Mommy" and "Daddy" for the first time, to teach him or her about Jesus and listen to sweet bedtime prayers, to hear little squeals and giggles in a playroom, to kiss away tears and make boo-boos better, and to hopefully one day watch our little one place his or her trust in the One who offers an invitation into a family and an inheritance far better than we can ever imagine, in Christ Jesus!

Until then, we sincerely appreciate all of your prayers as we dive in head-first into the piles of paperwork, begin meeting with a social worker, and eventually just wait... The support we have received from you all so far has been such an encouragement that will keep us afloat in the days to come! Megan, Ornaments for Adoption, and all of you are a beautiful part of our adoption story!! Thank you all again, so very much! We praise the Lord and give Him the thanks for the work He has done to make this possible! Merry Christmas!!

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Since part of my mission behind Ornaments for Adoption is raising awareness, please make sure you didn't miss any of the OFA posts from this year:

Meet the Thigpens
Update from the Brocks
Thoughts from Someone Who Was Adopted
Using Positive Adoption Language
Adoption is Love
Hosting Orphans
Transracial Adoption
Resource List
5 Ways to Help Orphans This Holiday Season

Ornaments for Adoption: 5 Ways to Help Orphans THIS Holiday Season

Ornaments for Adoption is winding down for the second year and I can't wait to share the numbers with you.

This week's ornament orders will get you in the drawing to win an organizing utility tote from Megan with Thirty-One. I love these things and have one for myself. It's very useful!

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With Christmas approaching, many people like to give back at this time of year. Today, I want to share with you 5 ways that you can give this holiday season by helping orphans.

1. Order an ornament

I say this not to promote myself (I'm not making money from these ornament sales), but to help the orphan in Ethiopia that will one day join the Thigpen family. International adoptions are expensive and often aren't possible without the help of others.

2. Donate Gifts to Children in Foster Care

Christmas is considered the most wonderful time of the year, but that's probably not so if you don't have a family to share it with and a family to shower you with love and gifts. Help make a child's Christmas a little brighter by showing them that there are people who love and care for them. If you don't know of a way to do this locally, Mercy for America's Children in North Carolina is hosting a toy drive to benefit foster children in Wake County (Raleigh). You don't have to be local to donate.

3. Host a Christmas Party for Giving Back

If you love to host Christmas parties or maybe you already host one every year, would you consider giving instead of gifting? Instead of having everyone bring a gift to exchange, have everyone bring something to give. Find a local family that is adopting or fostering and make them a gift basket. Make a gift basket for a child in foster care or an at risk child in your community (although children considered "at risk" are not technically orphans, they often are just as in need of love and care). I can't take credit for this idea. I was invited to a party like this by the wonderful Erin and Allison. I can't wait! We're helping this family whose adopting from Eastern Europe.

4. Shop for a Cause

 

When buying Christmas gifts, purchase them from organizations that give back. A simple Google search can help you find many companies that give portions of their profits to benefit others. There are also shops set up with items made by women overseas in order to give them sustainable income and keep them out of poverty. Poverty creates orphans.

5. Host a Toy/Clothing/Bag Drive

Christmas time is the perfect time to clean out your home. As many people are about to bring more toys and clothes into their home, why not clean out the old ones that are no longer played with or worn? Spread the word to your friends, family, coworkers, etc that you will be collecting toys, clothing, and bags (many children in foster care have to carry their few belongings in trash bags and would love a nice bag to carry instead) to donate to orphans in your area.

Ornaments for Adoption: Resource List

Ornament orders have been keeping me busy this year. Thank you to everyone who has ordered!

This week, ornament orders will get you entered for a chance to win an Minion hat. Who doesn't love those adorable yellow guys?!? Be sure to head over and like my friend, Lynne's new page Crocheting for a Cure. She's selling her creations to help raise money for breast cancer research in memory of her aunt.

If you win, you get to pick the size you want. She can make one for anyone from a newborn to an adult. 

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This week, I wanted to keep it simple by sharing with you a list of resources I've come across in my quest to learn more about adoption and orphan care. I'd encourage you to check some of them out to educate yourself on the orphan crisis and learn more about what you can do to help.

I know there are so many other resources out there that could be added to this list. These are just organizations that I am familiar with, blogs that I actually follow and read, books that I have read, and a documentary that I have watched. If you know of other resources, please share and I'd be happy to add them to the list.

Organizations

Give 1 Save 1

Amazima

Gospel for Asia

Mercy House Kenya

Adoption Bug

Owls for Orphans

Love One More

Once was Lost

All Girls Allowed

One Simple Wish

Help One Now

Project 143

Mercy for America's Children

Children's Home Society

Bethany Christian Services

Created for Care

Together for Adoption

Lifesong for Orphans

127 Worldwide

Blogs

Light Breaks Forth

Rage Against the Minivan

Say Yes to Adoption

Living Out His Love

Our Adoption Journey

The Anderson Way of Life

Waltzing in Galoshes

Adoption Love

Chairein {Joy to You}

Satisfaction Through Christ

The Little O'Brien Family

Tiny Green Elephants

Tiny Little Footprints

Waiting on a Word

White Sugar, Brown Sugar

Books

Orphanology


Adopted for Life

Orphan Justice

Documentaries

Stuck

Ornaments for Adoption: Transracial Adoption

Wow! Have I been busy lately! Work is consuming my life! I have been going nonstop. I haven't had time for my blog. I haven't had time to read blogs. I haven't had time to just sit and relax. I'm not a go-go-go person. I need down time. I need "me" time. So, I've been a little stressed and overwhelmed lately. I have 3 weeks until I track out, though, so I just have to keep pushing through.

On top of all my work and personal life stuff, ornaments orders have been rolling in. Of course, this is great and I'm thrilled to be raising more money for the Thigpen's adoption, but please be patient as I'm a little backed up on orders right now.

This week's prize giveaway is coming from me. One lucky ornament purchaser will win this adorable "Santa" door hanger and a smaller snowman door hanger-just in time for putting up that Christmas decor. 

Today, I'm excited to have a guest post from Elizabeth from Waltzing in Galoshes. I stumbled upon her blog and agree with her that her son is ADORABLE. I hope you enjoy what she has to share about adoption.

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I'm Elizabeth and I'm so honored that Megan asked me to share a bit of our adoption story! My husband, David, and I adopted our 18 month old son and were blessed to have brought him home from the hospital with us when he was just 2 days old.  He is a constant joy and we are eternally grateful for the gift that he is to us even when we are sleep deprived and exhausted. :-) If you want to read more about our story, what led us to adoption and his birth and adoption stories, please head over to my blog, Waltzing in Galoshes. 

Megan also asked that I write about our experience with transracial adoption. You see, both my husband and I are white and our son is mixed race. He is mostly African American, but also part Arabic and part Caucasian. The blending of his ancestries gives him the most gorgeous skin and hair and we’re convinced that he’s best looking child there ever was (although I guess we might be kind of partial). 

From the time we started the adoption process we were very open to being a transracial family. We knew the sad truth that children with dark skin are often harder to place in adoptive families. Not only did this break our hearts, but it confirmed for us that we would welcome a child into our family no matter what the color of his/her skin color. But, with it there was a lot of fear. Not fear that I would love my child any less or that our family pictures would look different than others’, but fear for our son. I often wonder, “Will he be glad he grew up in our family? With parents that look so different from him?”.

At 18 months we don’t know the answer to this and won’t for a long time. We know he’s glad to be in our family right now because he gives us lots of hugs and kisses! He’s very well attached to both of us as his parents and to his grandparents, aunts and uncles too. But, I think these fears and concerns are real, and in order to be open to a transracial adoption we had to be open to these new realities it would bring into our life.

We knew we would have to be open about talking about race and creating a family environment where differences are celebrated. Recent research shows that being “color blind” actually creates more stereotypes and racism than openly discussing race with honesty and love. So, we already talk with our sweet son about his beautiful skin and that it’s different than ours because he grew in his birthmother’s tummy and not in mommy’s. We know he doesn’t understand this all now, but we’re building a foundation, as we never want to have “THE” conversation about his race or adoption story. Instead we want there to be an on-going conversation about our differences, similarities and our love and appreciation for all of it.

I also fear that as my son grows people will make assumptions about him. Especially following the Trayvon Martin case I began to fear if people would assume my son was “up to no good” just based on his skin color. How can I teach him to be confident in his skin when many in our society make horrible judgments when they see a black man? Right now everyone we meet tells us how adorable and sweet he is, but I wonder when there might come a day when people will look at us with more questions and watch him more carefully when he’s in a store to be sure he doesn’t shoplift. You may think I’m just sounding negative, but unfortunately, racism is still very common, and although I may have lived the first 28 years of my life in (mostly) blissful ignorance, these are the realities that our son will face as he grows up.

As parents we all have the responsibility to teach our children that they are special, loved, wanted, beautiful and created by God for a specific purpose! But, in addition we now have the added responsibility to make our son aware of stereotypes or judgments people may have of him and that he must believe he is who GOD tells him he is and not what the world tells him he may be. We also need to be sure there are people in his life that look like him and that give him these same messages. We are blessed to have several members of his birthfamily who are a part of his life and are able to instill these beliefs in him as well.

Right now our current struggle is living in a very white community. We love our neighbors and friends, but we don’t want him to feel different in his family and when he goes to school and church. We know we definitely want to adopt transracially again not only because we want more children, but also because we want our son to have a sibling that looks a little more like him than we do. We also want to raise him in a community where differences are common and celebrated! Finding this community may be quite a difficult task, but we are up to the challenge for the sake of our son and future children! We may not be putting our house on the market this winter, but this idea is certainly in the back of our minds as he grows up.

Even though adoption is a gift, we can’t forget that it can only be a picture of redemption because it starts with grief and loss. In a perfect world everyone who wants to have children does and all children stay in birthfamilies that are happy and healthy. But unfortunately, in this world there is brokenness, sadness, grief and loss. Our son bears the loss of not being raised by the parents that gave him life, and we struggled through the losses of infertility. His birthparents have the grief of not raising their son.

But, Jesus is the Great Redeemer! He brings redemption and grace from all of our stories of loss and breathes life into them. We are parents to an amazing son, he is being raised by parents who smother him with love, and his birthparents are able to stay in communication with him through the gift of an open adoption. We love this sweet boy more than we ever imagined we would love a child we conceived ourselves. We are reminded every day that he truly fits in our family when we spend an evening together and he “plays” the piano while singing along just like his dad. Or when he throws back his head and giggles uncontrollably just like I do.

Life brings with it a lot of loss, but adoption is a picture of God’s redemption. And no matter what obstacles raising a child of another race brings we are grateful for them because we have been given these obstacles as part of the greater blessing of being his parents! Even though we will have challenges due to the fact that we are a transracial family, it doesn’t make him any less our son just as we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Praise God that through his Holy Spirit WE have received our own adoption to sonship in Christ (Romans 8:15) and that he has allowed us to see just small picture of that through the adoption of our precious son.

 

Ornaments for Adoption: Hosting Orphans

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It's week 6 of Ornaments for Adoption which means we're in the second half of this fundraiser. Things have really picked up. Thank you all for your orders and helping spread the word. 

On a side note, please keep last year's OFA family in your thoughts and prayers. They are going through a rough time.  

A few weeks ago, I was browsing on Pinterest and came across a family's adoption blog. As I was reading some of the posts on this blog, I read the story of some friends of theirs who had hosted an orphan from Ukraine. I had never heard of hosting orphans before, so I messaged Ally about writing a guest post for OFA. I hope you are as touched by their story as I was.

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This past summer we were provided with an unexpected and last minute (3 weeks before he arrived) opportunity from God to host a 15 year old orphan from the Ukraine for 5 weeks over the summer.  This program allows orphans to come and spend time with a family in America and provide them with hope and inspiration to what they can have one day as well.  In the Ukraine children age out of the orphanage usually by the time they are 16 and are sent out on their own, with the majority of them turning to drugs, gangs, and prostitution.  The children that participate in programs such as these are much more likely to go on to attend school, find a job, and have a family one day of their own.   

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Our family was in the middle of the adoption process for the DRC and we did not think we would be able to participate in this amazing program because cost and our growing costs for our current adoption, however the child we wanted to host obtained a sponsor from here in San Diego that helped a great deal with the funding, making us able to provide him with a family to stay with. 

 

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I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed by the mental preparation of having a 15 year old orphan from the Ukraine coming.   I was nervous, apprehensive, and questioning what I had signed up for agreeing to host a 15-year-old orphan form Ukraine.  But when we truly trust in God and do what he asks of us (against our better/selfish own opinions) the amazing blessings and life altering events that take place. 

 

 
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To say that we are blessed to have been able to host Vlad is an understatement.  He has become a part of our family in every way possible.  Both of our children adore him to pieces and he is amazing with them, playing with them, helping to carry them, exhibiting patience with them when I am at my wits end, and above all loving them back. We did not expect to bond and form the connection that we did with Vlad.  We fell in love with a 15 year old boy who had not been loved for most of his life.  He is a remarkable young man that was put into a life situation that he never asked for nor did he deserve to be in. He is incredibly smart, funny, athletic, kind hearted, and is a normal smart mouthed witty boy when he feels challenged. We love that being in an orphanage has not broken his will and belief to stand up for what he thinks is right. Not only has he embraced our children but us as well.  We became a family.  

 

 
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Our daughter Lainy has truly grown from this entire experience, though it has been very difficult with him gone.  I feel like she has matured beyond the maturity she already had (if you know her then you know she was already 4 going on 14).  She has taken on more responsibility at home, shares her emotions openly about missing Vlad and things she does (like sleeping with his picture) so that she won’t miss him as much.

When he returned home to Ukraine we were all devastated and heartbroken.  We felt that God had put this child in our life for a reason (as we were not planning on adopting from Ukraine let alone a teenage boy), and that we needed to do everything that we could to give him the family he deserves.  Which led us to file a petition in Ukraine to find out his adoption eligibility and begin the longest 6 weeks of waiting ever.  But God has continued to guide us and prove that this is the path and plan he has for our family, and Vlad is eligible and we are in the process of doing what needs to be done to adopt him and give him a forever family.  

 

 
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Thank God for the Internet, which I now believe is the most amazing invention ever!  It allows us as a family to continue to show our love, support, and guidance to a child that would not receive it otherwise.  We are able to hear about Vlad’s day at school, playing soccer with friends and the number of goals he scored, and still strengthen the bond that was formed in the short amount of time we had him.  We send pictures almost daily of things we have been up to, he especially loves seeing pictures of Lainy and Gavin.  We are able to share our adventures with him, even though he is not here.

 

Before this will be finalized we will host him again this Christmas (thanks to some awesome fundraisers), and be able to hold him in our arms and just love him and show him God’s love.  I encourage everyone that has the means and even those who would need to fundraise to participate in a host program at some point.  Even those who do not want to adopt, it is a life changing experience that you will only be blessed by.  To truly witness and see God’s grace and love for the fatherless is the most humbling experience you will ever have.

 

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