I have not spoken about our adoption for quite some time now. Originally, my husband and I had decided to adopt from China. Last fall, as the waiting times for China were growing ever longer and the approaching Olympics were forcasted to slow the process even more, we began tossing around ideas for other countries to consider. We strongly considered Ukraine. But then my dear hubby began thinking about the increased expense, the fact that he is a student and loans would come due next summer, and considering that we plan for me to me a stay-at-home-mom…well, he started to get anxious about the money factor. So we discussed it some more. He pointed out that there are children here at home, as well as abroad, who are in need of families. It would also put a lot less financial pressure on us to adopt domestically. We prayed about it and decided to pursue a domestic infant adoption. We researched local agencies, since we no longer needed the expensive international agency. (Hint: US adoption and China adoption costs were virtually the same.) We found a local agency we were comfortable with, met with our social worker, and began the and paperwork process…although we were slow in doing it. We were fingerprinted and completed most of our required training.

We were both excited that we would be adopting an infant, rather than a toddler. I had accepted the fact that we would not have a biological child, and I was okay with that. I did not think it was at all likely, and I had ceased even to think about it.

Then the surprise happened: I recently found out that I am pregnant!!!!!

Nobody was more amazed than me, except perhaps my husband. After I told him, he surprised me with a dozen gorgeous red and gold roses. We are putting the adoption on hold for now. We do still plan to adopt in the future, but it is rather hard right now to be picked by an expectant mother when I myself and expecting.

I would appreciate prayers, however, because I have been put on bed rest by my doctor. I hope it is not a repeat of the last time I was pregnant (six weeks of bed rest, and I lost the baby), and I am trying to be optimistic. I am awaiting test results, and praying that everything is alright. More than anything, my husband and I want this to be a healthy full-term baby. I know that it is in God’s hands, and his sovereign plan will prevail.

Check it out    ———————————————->

My awesome, wonderful, super-smart husband made it for me.

Okay, so it is the little things in life that thrill me.

My husband is not so sure if he is thrilled. He says it looks like a memorial. But he was so kind and patient as I kept giving directions. He was kind and patient as he implemented said changes. He was even kind and patient while putting up with my temperamental template. When I offered to look for a new template that would be more conducive to implementing other changes I wanted, he saw the work stacking up and said that my current template was fine – really. Lol. I love my husband.

Ok, I know I promised an announcement quite a while ago, so here goes:

for lily, my new Etsy shop, is now open!!!!

The purpose of this shop is to help raise money for the adoption, hence the name “for lily.” I plan to list more items tomorrow when the lighting is better for taking pictures. The first items I am offering are my box bags that are such a convenient carrier for knitting projects. They also work well as cosmetic bags.

My husband works in IT. A few months ago he found out that his department was going to be outsourced to another company. He was told that his options were to either transfer to the new company, find another position with his current employer, or resign. He decided to see what his options were, and began applying for jobs, both within his current employer and with other companies. He applied for several that he was more than qualified for, and for one that interested him but that he was underqualified for. He did not even expect a call about that one. Time went by and he did not get called for any interviews. Then the call came requesting an interview for the job that he had thought would never call…they wanted him to interview that same afternoon. So he went to the interview. They asked questions. He did not know the answers. He was honest with them and told them this was an area he was interested in getting into, but that he did not know a lot about it, and what he did know was self-taught. The told him that the questions they asked were about information he needed to know to perform the job. They offered him an opportunity: If they gave him two weeks to study, could he come back in and answer their questions? His first instinct was to say no, but he reminded himself that this was an interview and he should be positive. So he said yes. After work that day he went to Borders and purchased a book. He studied for two weeks. They called and requested another interview. Benjamin said he thought the interview went well. He was able to answer many of their questions, although not all of them. Others interviewed for the position as well, some with experience. We waited. My husband’s boss called the group that had interviewed him because she wanted to put in a good word for him. She found out that he was one of the final two contenders for the position. They were considering Benjamin and someone else who had experience. She was told that they were impressed with how much he had learned in a short time, so now they were looking at capacity vs. experience.

A couple of weeks went by. Those in my husband’s department were told to contact HR to determine what their options were. My husband called HR and was told that he did not need to look at other options because they were going to make him an offer on the position he had interviewed for. The new position would normally pay about double what my husband currently makes, but nowhere else would he have a chance at the job without experience. The company’s policy is that the maximum pay increase in a job transfer is 15%. HR had submitted pay increase paperwork to the head North American office and was waiting for approval before they could offer him the job. So we waited some more…and we waited…and we waited. Finally we got the news: He got the job!!!! I am so proud of my husband and all of the effort he put forth. He will get a 21.5% pay increase and a sign on bonus!!!! And, instead of just a performance review in the spring, he will also get a salary review.

It is amazing how God provides. We have been sitting on our adoption application during this time. We wanted to know where we stood financially and with his job before submitting our paperwork. Now our application submission is going to coincide with his quarterly bonus for the job he currently holds, which will pay the application fee. His sign on bonus, after taxes, will be what we need to cover the homestudy fee. God has provided amazingly already, and we are only just beginning our adoption journey.

Also, during this waiting time, we have talked, researched, and prayed about the adoption. We have decided not to adopt an infant. I have struggled with the fact that there are so many waiting children that are being passed over for adoption because they are not babies. My husband, from the start, was talking about older children. After praying about it and discussing it, we decided to request a child aged 2-7.

Today we officially begin our “paperwork pregnancy.” We had received approval of our pre-application a couple of weeks ago and we have been eagerly waiting for our formal application package. The agency’s satellite office in our area is just opening, and we had to wait until they were officially through with all of the licensing/red tape, etc. before they could issue our application. Well, today it came in the mail! There is a whole mountain of paperwork just waiting for us to dive in. There are some basic questions like you would find on any application for a job, loan, mortgage, etc…but most of the packet seems to be essay questions. Questions about how my husband and I met, our personalities, our marriage, our childhood, our families…you get the idea. I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment because I know that each answer will be carefully analyzed, but I am also excited because this brings us another step closer to brining our daughter home.