Lost

We knew it was coming, but I'm not sure it made things any easier. The baby we were matched with has been born - but we didn't get "the call." 

It's a failed match. Mother has decided to parent. I have no hard feelings toward her. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't heartbroken.

Yes, I know that God's timing is perfect. But I have a beautiful nursery that is just waiting for a baby that isn't coming. And a 10 year old that only wants a baby sister for Christmas. And so many other hopes and plans that just aren't going to happen right now. I know He is in control. I have been patient. But right now I am grieving.

Thank you all for everything you've done to help us get this far. I wish I had some answers as far as "what's next." Maybe soon.

❤ Jeanna

In the Eye of the Storm

In the eye of the storm

you remain in control

And in the middle of the war

you guard my soul

You alone are the anchor,

 when my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me 

in the eye of the storm

Ryan Stevenson's "In the Eye of the Storm"

Mid-November Update

I apologize that I haven't posted in a while. Life has been crazy lately. My dad is in the hospital, hubby has started a new adventure in coaching high school basketball, and we're still preparing and praying for baby Jacks.

Those of you that I have spoken with personally already know that we're feeling like our match may be failing. Birth mother seems to want to keep the baby and I can't blame her one bit. It must be an agonizing decision to make and whatever she chooses, we will support her. Although, I have to admit it will be very disappointing if things don't work out this time - I know that God has a plan for us.

In related news, November is National Adoption Month and when FAC (the group we were going with originally) posted this on Facebook yesterday, I really needed to see it...

Scripture Memory #22

Scripture Memory #21

Plans

Tonight I had planned to share a sneak peek of our nursery progress. But life had other plans...

Throughout this whole process, and especially since we've been "matched," I have prayed for the Lord's will to be done. That's all we can do. I can't post any further details at this time.

Prayers appreciated for our family as well as for birth mama.

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

I mentioned in my last post that I'm really going to focus on my family. So I decided to take the little prince on our K4 field trip to the pumpkin patch! We had so much fun spending a much-needed day together. On our way home, he said "mama, next year we'll have a baby with us at the pumpkin patch!" I don't think it has really sunk in for me that we are about to be a family of 4!

in the cotton field

Mid-October Update

I've come to the conclusion that lately I've been too busy, which has left me tired and stressed too much of the time. We are expecting a new addition in just a few weeks and I've decided that now is the time to slow down and focus on my home and family. 

We've been working on the nursery. It's still not finished, but it's starting to come together. We've also started to get a few baby things. I think I'll post a sneak-peek this weekend. :)

We're working on our next (and hopefully last) fee. It's the retainer for our attorney. It looks like we'll have to do another fundraiser. We are so close!

No new updates from birth mama yet, though I'm hoping to hear something this week.

Scripture Memory #20

Scripture Memory #19

Matched!

We've been praying over this announcement for weeks, and now we're happy to say that Baby Jacks is due to arrive in December! We have soooo much still to do but we are overjoyed at the idea of a Christmas baby. Thank you so much to everyone that has helped us reach this point.

Of course, we must keep in mind that there are many variables in play with an adoption. Fingers crossed that all will go according to plan. We are blessed beyond measure by the selfless decision Expectant Mama is making to choose us to parent her baby. Please join us in prayer for her as this must be a difficult process for her.

Scripture Memory #18

Hello September

Hello September! I have a feeling it will be quite an eventful month. 

My mom has a BIG birthday coming up, and to celebrate she's taking the whole family on a cruise to the Bahamas! So exciting! I am so thankful for my precious mama and I don't know what I'd do without her support. 

We're really praying that September will be the month of our official match. Please continue to pray with us for Expectant Mama and her unborn baby. Still hoping to be able to give y'all more info soon!

*As in our Full Disclosure post, we want to remain completely transparent. My generous parents have paid for this cruise for our family and none of our money is spent on vacations during our fundraising efforts. Every extra cent we have goes toward adoption expenses.

Scripture Memory #17

End of August Update

Not much to update, but there are a few things going on around our nest:

• We have painted the nursery and set up the crib. No bedding or decor yet, but hopefully soon.
• I started selling Tupperware to raise money for adoption expenses. Loving it so far. 
• Our social worker is amazing.
• There is a good possibility for a match soon. Praying for expectant mama and the difficult decision she is making. Please join me in prayer for her.

I hope to have more news in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your continued prayers to Bless This Nest!

Also known as the Tupperware lady...

As many of you know, we've had a couple of successful Tupperware fundraisers. I was impressed by the quality and I love anything pretty and colorful so when I had the opportunity to sign up for under $40 I was sold!

Mama is now a Tupperware Lady :)

As always, every cent that I earn from Tupperware sales will go toward adoption expenses. Let me know if you'd like or order or if you'd like to know more about the Tupperware opportunity. I'm so excited about this new adventure!

Scripture Memory #16

Back to School

My poor blog has been severely neglected over the summer. This is the first summer in a while that I have worked and quite honestly I'm doing my best to keep up with everything.

Here's a pic of the little prince on his 1st day of 5th grade. So cute, right?

And here's a collage I made of all his first days of school. My baby is growing up (tears)!

Hubby and I are settling in nicely as well. We've both had big changes this year: I'm teaching a new age group (K4) and he changed schools. It's been an adjustment but so far so good.

Scripture Memory #15

You'll Be in My Heart

The little prince and I are having the BEST time with our local community playhouse. This summer we participated in a children's production of Tarzan (Atticus as a little ape and me as assistant Stage Manager) and had a wonderful experience. It's amazing how God uses everyday experiences to bless us. I'm more of a "Princess" type of girl and wasn't sure I would love doing Tarzan. Low and behold, I realized Tarzan is a story of adoption (obviously) and it has really touched me. We made new friends and gained even more appreciation for what truly makes a family. This song always makes me teary eyed...

Scripture Memory #14

Scripture Memory #13

Scripture Memory #12

What Keeps Me Going

This whole process can be quite discouraging, but I recently came across this image that reminded me that we've got this!

Early June Update

Well, June is starting off with good news and bad news...

The Good News:

• I got a part-time summer job. It's actually at my regular job (I don't normally work during the summer) and I start June 13. Yay for more money to bless this nest! Hubby has been doing odd jobs to earn extra money as well.
• We made $50 from our wreath auction. We've also had a few other donations come in. Thank you to everyone that has helped.
• We have 3 fundraisers planned for this month (a yard sale, a portrait fundraiser, and pampered chef). More about these on facebook.
• We're doing a bit of "nesting" - gathering a few baby items, researching, etc. Hopefully starting on the nursery soon...
• and the BEST news of all.... I can't give any details yet, but we have a ***possible*** match! I need to stress that it is just a possibility and of course nothing is certain. But we are praying hard for the Lord's will over this baby! Would you please pray with us? 

And now for The Bad News:

• We need to make $2000 this month. Yikes.

Scripture Memory #11

Keep Calm It's My Birthday!

Scripture Memory #10

New Pics

We recently had some family photos done for our adoption portfolio.

Photos by White Cotton Photography

Scripture Memory #9

Thankful

I have a praise report! Thanks to some very sweet and generous friends, we reached last week's goal of $500! It's so amazing to me how God works these things out and always provides for our needs. We are blessed beyond measure!

We have a YouCaring Fundraiser

Some of you may have heard of YouCaring - it's "Compassionate Crowdfunding" (similar to the popular GoFundMe links we've all seen lately). YouCaring offers free fundraising pages for various humanitarian efforts - including adoption. It'll be a way for people that don't have paypal to easily give online. And it's also an easy link to share on social media. I'm so excited to add this option.

Visit our YouCaring Adoption Fundraiser HERE

Stepping Out on Faith

My family hasn't taken the decision to adopt lightly. We have felt a deep calling to help children. We began by sponsoring a child through Compassion International and then several years later, we prayerfully decided to adopt a child into our home to become part of our own family. This may sound like an easy decision - but trust me, it wasn't. My husband can tell you that I wasn't so sure at first. We lead busy lives and most days I worry that I'm getting it all done while still trying to balance being a wife and mom. And quite honestly, my biggest hesitation was is that I know how expensive adoption is and that we cannot afford it.

I'd love to be able to write a check and pay for the adoption without batting an eye. Honestly, if that were the case we'd be adopting more that one child! Unfortunately, that just isn't going to happen on a teacher's salary. The good news is that I know my God is AWESOME God and as long as His hands are on this process, things will be fine. We are truly stepping out on faith - because I assure you - we cannot do this on our own. 

The most uncomfortable part of the whole thing for me has been asking for money fundraising. I know there are people who think to themselves that if we don't have the money we shouldn't do it. But it is heartbreaking to me to know that money is the only thing that keeps people (not just us) from adopting. And through our journey so far I have learned that there are so many people who don't necessarily feel called to adopt, but want to help. We are so thankful for these people!

So friends and family, once again I'm asking for prayers. We are currently at a standstill until we can pay the next fee of $3500. It is so important that we get this fee paid asap because we cannot apply for adoption grants and loans until then. And sadly, until that financial aid is processed, if we were to get a match we would have to turn that baby down. I cannot even write that sentence without getting teary! Please understand that it isn't so much an issue of patience (although I admit I sometimes struggle with that too). We know that a perfect match will come with His timing and not ours. However, it IS an issue of our own convictions to DO SOMETHING.

Thank you for you continued prayers.

Scripture Memory #8

Home Study Update

All home study paperwork has been turned in and we awaiting finalization!

2nd Home Study Visit

We had a 2nd home study visit yesterday. We met our social worker for coffee and she walked us through the last few steps to get this thing finalized. We have a small amount of paper work to turn in this week and it will be complete! So exciting!

A completed home study means that we are eligible to be matched. So now all we have to do is pay the initial application fee of $3500 (that's what our current fundraisers are for) and then we can apply for adoption grants and loans to help cover the rest (which can be up to $40k) while we wait for our new baby!

Keep those prayers coming!

Overwhelmed

Feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. Our 2nd (and hopefully final) home study visit is on Sunday morning. We still have a few loose ends to tie up (I can't seem to locate our birth certificates!) but we are really working hard to get the home study finalized...

...which would be much easier if we could "pause" everything else going on right now in our lives. The world doesn't stop for our adoption process. This is a busy season for us, and to be honest, I'm struggling to fit it all in.

Not to mention the worries I have about finances. Adoption is so expensive and we still have a long way to go.

Prayers appreciated.

What's Happening This Week

A few updates:

• We made $355 from our Tupperware fundraiser
• The Perfectly Posh fundraiser has begun.
• Puzzle Piece fundraiser is on-going.
• We're planning another Yard Sale fundraiser.
• I started a Bless This Nest facebook group.
• Our 2nd Home Study meeting will be this Sunday!
• We still have quite a way to go to reach our next fundraising goal. This fee will help us to become "active." We can't move forward without this.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Newboys

My mom and sister gave the little prince tickets to a Newsboys concert for his birthday. The concert was last night and it was awesome! We got to hear some great Christian bands (Ryan Stevenson, OBB, Audio Adrenaline, and Newsboys) and we even got to meet Newsboys and get autographs after the show. Pretty great birthday gift! Thanks RhaRha and Aunt Jess!

Scripture Memory #7

New York

Our family spent most of spring break in New York with a great group of middle schoolers and their parents. Warning: Pic overload!

Day 1

Atticus' 1st plane ride, NYC subway, Trump Tower, 5th Avenue, Grand Central Terminal, Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, and the Empire State building.

Grand Central Terminal

Anniversary in NYC

Snowing at the top of the Empire State Building

Day 2

Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Battery Park, Wall Street, Saint Paul's Cathedral, 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, dinner at Mangia, and Phantom of the Opera

The Statue of Liberty

Phantom of the Opera. LOVED IT!

Day 3
Yankee Stadium, George Washington Bridge, Fort Tryon Park, Riverside Church, lunch in Harlem, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, dinner at Schnippers, and Times Square

Yankee Stadium

Lunch in Harlem

Central Park

Day 4
Strawberry Fields and John Lennon Memorial, Museum of Natural History, Subway, China Town, lunch in Little Italy, and HOME

Museum of Natural History

Museum of Natural History

Lunch in Little Italy

You can read our full disclosure on how/why we took a trip while trying to raise money for adoption here.

Happy Easter from our Little Nest

Anniversary

Happy 12th Anniversary to my dear husband!

3-20-2004

3-20-2016

Scripture Memory #6

Mid-March Update

So much going on around our nest!

• We made almost $400 at our Yard Sale. We had quite a bit of stuff left over so we're thinking about having a 2nd yard sale this Saturday. We are still accepting donations.
• The Mary Kay fundraiser has begun. We get to keep 40% of sales to go towards our adoption expenses.
• The Tupperware fundraiser event begins 3/20, but you can order now. We get to keep 40% of those sales as well.
• The Perfectly Posh fundraiser and a couple of others are coming soon.
• We will continue the puzzle piece fundraiser throughout the whole process.
• We have our next meeting with our social worker on April 7. At this meeting we will need to turn in all of our "homework" (which we are on track to complete next week! yay!)
• Once the home study is complete (or at least being finalized) we can go ahead and become "active" - which means we are eligible to be matched with a baby!!! So exciting! More about the matching process soon...
• We're still working on our next goal of $3500. This is our fee to become "active." All money that we make from puzzle pieces, yard sales, and online fundraisers is going toward this goal.