Almost Ready!

September 20, 2005
I guess you could say we are about 99% done with our process. Our friend is still working on printing our albums. But when they are done, we will take them up to the agency office. Then we will be officially waiting! Once the albums are in the offices, potential birthfamilies will be able to view our albums, and choose a family. But we have no idea how long we will need to wait before we are chosen. It could be days, weeks, or months. With the typical wait in mind, we will most likely have a baby by the coming year! (Wow, that's a really overwhelming thought!)

The financial aspect is always in the back of our minds. God has faithfully provided each step of the way, and we are waiting to see what miracles he has in store for the rest of it. Once we are chosen by the birthmom, we will need to pay the final thousands of dollars to the agency for the process to continue, which will help make sure our birthfamily gets lots of counseling, healthcare for mom, etc. Once the baby is in our family, we will need to pay hospital/birth expenses, and legal fees for the adoption finalization. We have been working on applications for adoption grants, just in case God will provide through this avenue. These grants are available nationally, though, so there is a large pool of applicants. I was encouraged recently by a verse I found in The Message version of Lamentations 3:29-31:

"Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear...

the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return."

Preparing the Nest

September 17, 2005
We were chaperones for our church's youth group trip this weekend. It was a lot of work, but really fun too. (The hardest part was keeping on top of "attitude checks," "hand checks," etc!) While we were on the trip, we met a youth worker from another church, and were excited to discover that she and her husband are beginning to consider adoption. It was neat to be able to talk with her and give her a bit of information.

When we returned, we opened a package that had arrived! Inside was the Pack and Play we had ordered! (See Photo) As you can see in the photo, there is a "bassinet" type bed on top for baby to sleep in when it comes home. After the baby gets bigger, the bassinet is removed, and it turns into a play pen/travel bed. (The mattress will be moved to the bottom.) We had fun practicing setting it up, taking it down, and wheeling it around the house!

We're almost ready! We're required to have the basic necessities for a new baby, such as a place to sleep, a carseat, and a pediatrician. We now have 2 out of the 3; I have an appointment to meet with a doctor at the end of the month, and then we will have it all in place!

Letter-Writing

September 14, 2005
We spent the past few days working on writing & re-writing our letters to the birthparents, which will be included in our albums. Now, they're finally done! I've been scanning them into the computer, and printing them off.

Today, I stopped by Staples to pick up a box of page protectors for our albums, and guess what- they had a box of 100 on clearance! They were about the same price as a package of 25! It was fun to see God working in the small details.

I scanned all of our album pages, and burned them onto a CD so that our friend can start printing the albums for us. He's planning on probably attempting the printing process on Saturday. Hopefully, it all works out!


September 13, 2005
Tonight I (Calvin) went to a newborn class at Albany General Hospital. Since Michele was obligated to be at our church's board meeting, I sat with a room full of pregnant couples feeling a little out of place. A pediatrician came in and described the birthing process and what the newborn looks like at birth. Then an RN went over how to make your house "baby-safe" and drilled into our heads the fact that you never turn your back on a baby on the changing table.

It was all very interesting information, but I was slightly disappointed that we didn't learn how to clean an umbilical cord stump and other newborn stuff like that. So when I met Michele at home, she walked me through how to swaddle a baby, change a diaper without getting sprayed, and other need-to-know stuff. She's so cool!

Photo Copy Blessings

September 8, 2005
People at our church are so excited about our adoption process, and keep asking us for the latest news. A couple of ladies came in yesterday, and I told them we're still working on the photo album/letter stuff.

One of the ladies then called me today with surprising news. She had talked to her husband, who works locally for a prominent computer company, and he offered to print copies of our albums for us- for free! He said they typically need to print large volumes on the printers they are testing, so he could print our albums. This is such an amazing blessing. We were planning on having to spend hundreds of dollars at an office supply store for color copies!

It is so neat to see God's hand in this process, and to see our church family getting involved.