A Testimony...and A Song

August 30, 2006
We just read that our adoption agency is sponsoring the Christian artist, Mark Schultz's new music video about adoption! You can preview Mark's new videos here: Everything To Me. (Just a warning- it's really slow with "dial-up" internet!) We are excited to see what God will do with Mark's testimony. Take a few minutes to watch it! Here is a quote from the agency's website:

You may have heard of him from the beautiful stories in his songs, but Christian contemporary musician Mark Schultz has now written a new song about his story. Mark was adopted into a Christian family 35+ years ago and his new song, "Everything To Me" is part of his adoption story. Bethany Christian Services is a proud sponsor of Mark's new music video which portrays the challenging and beautiful choice a woman makes to place her baby in an adoption plan.

New Homework

August 26, 2006
Today in the mail, we received a packet of papers and neat letter from Angela. She sent us all the information we had requested. (She's definitely "on top" of things!)

We have some work to do again, now. We need to do a new financial statement to update our files with Michele's job change. (Time to take a look at our budget again!) Angela also informed us that they need 2 more of our profile books for their office, so we will need to work on getting those printed off. (This is also a good chance to update some of our "outdated" pages.)

Another exciting step included in the packet, were the instructions for creating our profile webpage on the agency website! We will need to send in some photos, and write a "Dear Birthparent" letter describing ourselves.

Rendezvous at Denny's

August 24, 2006
Thursday evening we met our new caseworker, Angela, for the first time. To spare her the drive all the way to our house from Portland, we met her "halfway" in Salem at a Denny's restaurant. The place seemed older and staler than I remembered from the last time I was there. I think it's because last time I was with our insurance agent who was a guy with a healthy appetite for pancakes. This time we were meeting a professional who might be a little above a stale Denny's. Where's a Starbuck's when you need one?

As it turns out, Angela was completely ok with the arrangement. So over milkshakes and iced tea, we told her of our experiences the past year with Betty and Roxanne and what our needs were at this stage of the journey. She had taken the time to really familiarize herself with our file, which was so refreshing. We left feeling we were listened to and taken seriously. We also told her about ourselves and what we spend our time doing, and she in turn told us about herself. It was interesting to learn that she worked for Holt Adoption Services before coming to Bethany. Before Michele and I chose Bethany, we had considered Holt, but felt God wanted us with Bethany. I suppose you can say it was a rendezvous with Angela in a different sense; God bringing us together at a particular time.

I'm excited to see what happens during our time with Angela. Sometimes it feels as if the end is just around the corner. Other times it feels as if the horizon is the only thing in sight.

His timing, only His timing.

Yet Another Caseworker

I wonder if we're eligible for the Guinness Book of Records for "number of caseworkers for a single adoption". We received an e-mail yesterday from our third caseworker, introducing herself and saying she wants to meet us in person soon. Her name is Angela, and she's brand-spanking new to Bethany. Maybe it'll be good to work with some new blood.

Meanwhile, Sheli and I (mostly Sheli) have been shopping for baby. We discovered the $1.19 bin at Goodwill. We also bought the all-important diaper pail last weekend. I was thinking of bolting a little basketball hoop above the pail and practicing my free throws after I change the baby. You'd definitely want nothing but net. Hee hee. Anyway, Sheli found some really cute clothes for the kid. I'm wondering if we'll someday hit the jackpot and find a baby in one of these outfits we're buying. But so far, they're all empty.

We love you, Kid, wherever you are!

A Full Weekend

August 7, 2006
Before we left for an extended weekend with family last week, we called our caseworker, Roxanne, to see if she had heard anything further about the baby in Pennsylvania, and to let her know our contact number for the weekend. She hadn't heard anything, so she called over there to find out. She was told the birthmom had chosen to parent her baby boy. At this point, we were thankful for the foster parents, who had cared for this precious child, and allowed his mother to take her time making a thought-filled decision.

In addition, Roxanne was told about a birthmom, also in Pennsylvania, who is expecting in October. She asked if we would consider having our book shown to her. She explained the situation, and also told us about the Pennsylvania adoption laws. We spent the weekend mulling over the decision we were suddenly faced with. We came to the point where we realized that although we were comfortable with the baby/mom's life situation, the Pennsylvania requirements would not be feasible for us. So, we will be informing Roxanne of our decision not to be shown. (She was out of the office today.) Our hearts ache for this baby, but know that we need to stay within the parameters God has set for our journey, in His perfect plan.

Over the weekend, we were blessed to meet our nephew, 2-months-old, Timothy Asher for the first time. It was incredible to finally hold him, in his 11 pounds of squirmy joy! His coos, drools, smiles, and cries were amazing! We were able to give him a bath in our little baby bathtub, and hold him as he fell asleep afterward, smelling of lavender. This was great practice for us! We also had hands-on experience using our carseat, and chauffered him around as he squeeked and snored the drive away. Thanks, God!