Hi all,
It was 2 weeks ago from yesterday we found out the little girl we thought would be ours, is not. In the process of adoption, you understand the risks involved intellectually, but your heart still gets caught up in the thick of it. Chris and I have grieved differently, as expected, but the encouragement from God, our family, and dear friends helps us. At the Tapestry conference, we met with friends going through similar situations, both in adoption and foster care, and while all of us are hurting in some way, we recognize this is what God has called us to do. And so, we press on.
Chris and I are going to continue to move forward to adopt from Ukraine. Our paperwork is almost complete, and will send what is apostilled to Ukraine within the next week. The last few items needing to be apostilled will hopefully be sent within the next month. Once everything is received and translated, we should have a travel date a couple months out.
I like what Chris said -"Do we fear what could go wrong in adoption or do we continue knowing God is in control and move forward with what's in front of us? We will move forward.
We thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Much love,
Jessica
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tapestry Conference 2010
Hey everyone,
Tomorrow we will attend the Tapestry Conference at IBC. We went last year, and it was so informative. Great speakers, great sessions, and great resources to take away for adoption and foster care.
My emotions are still up and down, but I believe we need to go. We are signed up for the sessions on parenting an adopted child. After the past couple weeks, this may be hard, so I am asking for your prayers.
I will write about the event soon. In the meantime, check out this link. Even if you are not able to make it, there are great resources available and free downloads from previous years.
Much love,
Jessica
Tomorrow we will attend the Tapestry Conference at IBC. We went last year, and it was so informative. Great speakers, great sessions, and great resources to take away for adoption and foster care.
My emotions are still up and down, but I believe we need to go. We are signed up for the sessions on parenting an adopted child. After the past couple weeks, this may be hard, so I am asking for your prayers.
I will write about the event soon. In the meantime, check out this link. Even if you are not able to make it, there are great resources available and free downloads from previous years.
Much love,
Jessica
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sad News
Chris and I have some sad news to share with you. While I was in Austin on Tuesday getting our paperwork apostilled, I received an email from our adoption agency. They stated the owner of the agency needed to speak with us ASAP. My first thought was "this can't be good." I immediately called Chris and forwarded him the message. Thankfully, I had one of my girlfriends with me along for the ride.
I finished getting the paperwork signed, and received a phone call from the owner of our adoption agency at 1:30. She told us that the little girl we thought would be our daughter is no longer available for adoption. Her father had been in prison, was released, and did not want to waive his parental rights. Our hearts ache over losing the child we thought we were going to bring home, and at the same time we know God has a plan. We just can't see it yet.
We know we will continue to move forward with adoption. We just don't know how that looks right now. We are not sure if we continue with Ukraine, another country, or domestic.
Please continue to pray for this sweet precious girl. We do not know much about the circumstances to which she is going back to, but God knows. We believe her father must be showing some kind of love, as he is fighting to keep her. Pray for her protection, for love to be poured over her, and for someone to share Christ with her and her father.
Please pray for us as we grieve this loss - for wisdom, clarity, and timing to move forward with the adoption process. We will be speaking with our agency this week and asking some hard questions. Pray that through this pain we will glorify God.
Much love,
Jessica
I finished getting the paperwork signed, and received a phone call from the owner of our adoption agency at 1:30. She told us that the little girl we thought would be our daughter is no longer available for adoption. Her father had been in prison, was released, and did not want to waive his parental rights. Our hearts ache over losing the child we thought we were going to bring home, and at the same time we know God has a plan. We just can't see it yet.
We know we will continue to move forward with adoption. We just don't know how that looks right now. We are not sure if we continue with Ukraine, another country, or domestic.
Please continue to pray for this sweet precious girl. We do not know much about the circumstances to which she is going back to, but God knows. We believe her father must be showing some kind of love, as he is fighting to keep her. Pray for her protection, for love to be poured over her, and for someone to share Christ with her and her father.
Please pray for us as we grieve this loss - for wisdom, clarity, and timing to move forward with the adoption process. We will be speaking with our agency this week and asking some hard questions. Pray that through this pain we will glorify God.
Much love,
Jessica
Monday, October 11, 2010
I Can't Keep Quiet About the Silent Auction
Hey all,
Well, it has been some time since my last update, and ao many AMAZING things have happened!
We scheduled a silent auction to be held at our dear friends' house this past weekend. Once we started to share about the auction to raise funds for our adoption, God did the rest. Actually, He was completely in control the whole time. He allowed so many people to be a part of this event by using their time, talents, and treasures. He even allowed people we don't even know to contribute.
For instance, let me tell you about our invitations. Our friends offered to print the invitations for us, and took them to Extravaganza here in Flower Mound. When the owner of the store read the invitation, she mentioned they had adopted from Russia. It was so close to her heart, that she offered to print both the invitations and address labels for free. How generous! Then, our friends went back to pick up the invitations that afternoon. The owner asked where we were adopting from and they told her we are adopting from Ukraine. She told them her husband is from Ukraine and to tell us if we need help translating with our daughter, they are right here in Flower Mound to help. Ok, seriously? How many Ukrainians live here in Flower Mound? Maybe more than I realize, but God led us to them.
Would you like another example of God's provision? I work for a gourmet food company, and part of my job is selling at the Dallas Market. I love it and have made some very sweet friends by having the opportunity to work at various shows across the country. At the September market, my sweet friends did something that blew us away. I mentioned the auction, and they took it from there. We had items donated to go in 18 (that's right - 18) HUGE and BEAUTIFUL gift baskets valued between $100-$200 each. Ladies, if you are reading this, we can't thank you enough for what you did. Our hearts are so full of gratitude.
Some other great items donated included a painting by talented artist and friend Brice McCasland (visit http://bricemccasland.com/), lower-level tickets to the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks, NASCAR tickets with pit access, a week's vacation at a lake house, a week's vacation at mountain home in Colorado, chiropractic consultations, a haircut and color, candles, home decor, more gift baskets, and so much more. All together, we had 44 items donated.
On Friday,it was time to get everything set up. Our friends who hosted the event at their home made gumbo, brisket sandwiches, brie, bread pudding, chocolate sheet cake, and so many other incredible foods. We had other friends make cheese rings, fruit trays, and meatballs with a pepper brandy sauce. The decorations and center pieces were put together by a very dear friend. They were beautiful and I can't wait to share pictures with you.
Saturday was a busy, busy, day with a lot of last minute things to be done. After helping to prepare all day, Chris and I left at 3:30 to get ready, and when we returned at 5:20, everything had come together and looked incredible. God provided perfect weather for the outdoor event. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship and love. Dinner started at 6:00 and the auction soon after. Another sweet friend did such a great job organizing the auction, and made everything so smooth. We had another friend taking pictures, so we will share as soon as she is able to get them uploaded.
With all the help, donations, and planning of so many people, we were able to raise $3,400.00 towards our next $4,000.00 fee. Even as I write this, I am in tears. We are so overwhelmed by what God has done and continues to do by blessing us with the people in our lives. Even the people we don't know. Everyone gets to be a part of our daughter's homecoming. We see the generosity.We see the love of Christ.
Tomorrow, I drive to Austin with a dear sister in Christ to get our paperwork apostilled. Then, we will send it off to our agency later this week. They will forward all the paperwork to Ukraine to start the translation process. Please continue to pray over the process and over the orphans.
With so much love and gratitude,
Jessica
Well, it has been some time since my last update, and ao many AMAZING things have happened!
We scheduled a silent auction to be held at our dear friends' house this past weekend. Once we started to share about the auction to raise funds for our adoption, God did the rest. Actually, He was completely in control the whole time. He allowed so many people to be a part of this event by using their time, talents, and treasures. He even allowed people we don't even know to contribute.
For instance, let me tell you about our invitations. Our friends offered to print the invitations for us, and took them to Extravaganza here in Flower Mound. When the owner of the store read the invitation, she mentioned they had adopted from Russia. It was so close to her heart, that she offered to print both the invitations and address labels for free. How generous! Then, our friends went back to pick up the invitations that afternoon. The owner asked where we were adopting from and they told her we are adopting from Ukraine. She told them her husband is from Ukraine and to tell us if we need help translating with our daughter, they are right here in Flower Mound to help. Ok, seriously? How many Ukrainians live here in Flower Mound? Maybe more than I realize, but God led us to them.
Would you like another example of God's provision? I work for a gourmet food company, and part of my job is selling at the Dallas Market. I love it and have made some very sweet friends by having the opportunity to work at various shows across the country. At the September market, my sweet friends did something that blew us away. I mentioned the auction, and they took it from there. We had items donated to go in 18 (that's right - 18) HUGE and BEAUTIFUL gift baskets valued between $100-$200 each. Ladies, if you are reading this, we can't thank you enough for what you did. Our hearts are so full of gratitude.
Some other great items donated included a painting by talented artist and friend Brice McCasland (visit http://bricemccasland.com/), lower-level tickets to the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks, NASCAR tickets with pit access, a week's vacation at a lake house, a week's vacation at mountain home in Colorado, chiropractic consultations, a haircut and color, candles, home decor, more gift baskets, and so much more. All together, we had 44 items donated.
On Friday,it was time to get everything set up. Our friends who hosted the event at their home made gumbo, brisket sandwiches, brie, bread pudding, chocolate sheet cake, and so many other incredible foods. We had other friends make cheese rings, fruit trays, and meatballs with a pepper brandy sauce. The decorations and center pieces were put together by a very dear friend. They were beautiful and I can't wait to share pictures with you.
Saturday was a busy, busy, day with a lot of last minute things to be done. After helping to prepare all day, Chris and I left at 3:30 to get ready, and when we returned at 5:20, everything had come together and looked incredible. God provided perfect weather for the outdoor event. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship and love. Dinner started at 6:00 and the auction soon after. Another sweet friend did such a great job organizing the auction, and made everything so smooth. We had another friend taking pictures, so we will share as soon as she is able to get them uploaded.
With all the help, donations, and planning of so many people, we were able to raise $3,400.00 towards our next $4,000.00 fee. Even as I write this, I am in tears. We are so overwhelmed by what God has done and continues to do by blessing us with the people in our lives. Even the people we don't know. Everyone gets to be a part of our daughter's homecoming. We see the generosity.We see the love of Christ.
Tomorrow, I drive to Austin with a dear sister in Christ to get our paperwork apostilled. Then, we will send it off to our agency later this week. They will forward all the paperwork to Ukraine to start the translation process. Please continue to pray over the process and over the orphans.
With so much love and gratitude,
Jessica
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