Wow! What another wonderful night!! Praise God and glory to Him who is in the highest place, before every name and so holy and magnificent! Our God is mighty and I just want to share with you tonight how we have been so truly blessed.
A few weeks ago our minister at church approached us and said he wanted to do something to help with our adoption fundraising. He wanted to offer for us to get all the proceeds from the weekly "peak of the week" meal that he does for anyone who wants to eat and fellowship before church @ 6pm on Wednesday, considering we make provisions for the dessert. He told us there is usually 100 people there on any given night and that the charge is $4 for anyone 7 or older. So that would be about $400 toward our adoption. Well, I will have you know that there were close to 200 there and we were able to raise a total of $1160! Wow!! What a blessing!
To top it off, the devil has really been attacking me today! Of all things, during lunch my left ear started hurting, I called my PCP and they couldn't get me in, so I decided to go to a walk-in clinic. Well, sure enough, I have an ear infection. Well, I still had errands that needed to be completed (for the desserts) and the devil obviously knew that...but I wasn't going to let him ruin God's plans! Through the help of some prayer warriors the devil was defeated. By 6 (eating time) I was basically down to about 15% of my hearing (now having an infection in both ears!)....I felt deaf! But, praise God, there was no pain involved...that held off till I got home (which explains why I am still up at this hour! Just put some fresh garlic in my ear....hoping it helps and soon! It's a home remedy I have had several people tell me works...I'll let ya know!)
I could go on and on about how wonderful our church family has been in helping us raise $$ and being supportive in every way! Makes me even more excited to get to heaven and see what thats like if this is so good. Sam and I are just overflowing with thankfulness to everyone who has helped us in every facet; financially, spiritually, prayerfully!
As for the steps toward sweet baby....we finally got our taxes completed and should be able to finally turn our final paperwork in to Bethany this week! There is still quite a bit we have to do for this step but basically we are ready for the home study part....(which I would say includes the psych evals and interviews) or as I like to say...the scary part..hehe. Prayerfully in a couple of months we will be considered a "family in waiting.
One other thing...I was looking for a way to "remember" this special evening....a way to know who was there...to show sweet baby how many people wanted him/her/them here! I went to Hobby Lobby to look for a couple stickers to put on a piece of scrapbook paper....not ONE thing on adoption...I thought....there has to be SOMETHING for adopting families...there are so many that adopt....not everyone gets to have the "pregnant" pictures...or maybe they do and this is what it looks like for our family......talk about the longest pregnancy E-V-E-R!!!
Be blessed.
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Lilypie Waiting to Adopt tickers
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The non-update update....
Well, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get on here and let everyone know where we are in all this.
Basically Sam and I have turned our taxes in to be completed and once those are finished we will be able to proceed in turning in the "final" paperwork and go through our psych evaluations and physicals, etcetera. We are excited and anxious for this next step. I guess I am a little more intimidated by the psych eval than anything. I am not an interviewer and my memory certainly isn't the greatest, so needless to say this by far is my least favorite part and I don't much look forward to it....please pray that everything goes smoothly!
In other news....we finally made what I would call a "big" purchase for new sweet baby....we bought a pack n play..now, I know it's not much...but with the 2 newer nephews...they are getting to try it out before we bring sweet baby home (Lord willing)!! We keep it up in case they come over and its good to see it being used.
As ya'll know Sam and I bought a house and are getting settled in nicely. We had a staging lady, come on Tuesday and she was a great help! She told us where everything would look the best and the best way to make the house look cute! She helped us stage our home in Christiana before we sold it and we were very impressed with the way she was able to make it look and wanted that guidance in this home so we could be very happy the whole time we are here. :)
In other news; I think I am looking forward to summer break....I attend 2 ladies bible studies during the year, one on Thursdays with the older ladies in the congregation and one on Friday with the younger ladies. I always hate taking a break because I feel like I am out of the loop, but for some reason I think I am ready for a change of routine and a break from the norm. I am excited to see what this summer holds and I am quite sure it will be a busy one! I'm seeing a yard sale for sweet baby in my near future....hmmm....more on that later, I suppose.
Well, before I bore you to tears....I guess thats pretty much it for now.....oh yeah, one more thing. Please be in prayer about our ladies retreat coming up in September. A friend of mine and myself will be speaking at the retreat and we just want God to use us and speak through us. There is still much to be thought out and planned so just pray that stress and anxiety are not a part of the equation. I appreciate all of you and all of your prayers.
Glory to our God!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Basically Sam and I have turned our taxes in to be completed and once those are finished we will be able to proceed in turning in the "final" paperwork and go through our psych evaluations and physicals, etcetera. We are excited and anxious for this next step. I guess I am a little more intimidated by the psych eval than anything. I am not an interviewer and my memory certainly isn't the greatest, so needless to say this by far is my least favorite part and I don't much look forward to it....please pray that everything goes smoothly!
In other news....we finally made what I would call a "big" purchase for new sweet baby....we bought a pack n play..now, I know it's not much...but with the 2 newer nephews...they are getting to try it out before we bring sweet baby home (Lord willing)!! We keep it up in case they come over and its good to see it being used.
As ya'll know Sam and I bought a house and are getting settled in nicely. We had a staging lady, come on Tuesday and she was a great help! She told us where everything would look the best and the best way to make the house look cute! She helped us stage our home in Christiana before we sold it and we were very impressed with the way she was able to make it look and wanted that guidance in this home so we could be very happy the whole time we are here. :)
In other news; I think I am looking forward to summer break....I attend 2 ladies bible studies during the year, one on Thursdays with the older ladies in the congregation and one on Friday with the younger ladies. I always hate taking a break because I feel like I am out of the loop, but for some reason I think I am ready for a change of routine and a break from the norm. I am excited to see what this summer holds and I am quite sure it will be a busy one! I'm seeing a yard sale for sweet baby in my near future....hmmm....more on that later, I suppose.
Well, before I bore you to tears....I guess thats pretty much it for now.....oh yeah, one more thing. Please be in prayer about our ladies retreat coming up in September. A friend of mine and myself will be speaking at the retreat and we just want God to use us and speak through us. There is still much to be thought out and planned so just pray that stress and anxiety are not a part of the equation. I appreciate all of you and all of your prayers.
Glory to our God!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Soo thankful....ok, overflowing with thankfulness....yada yada
Well, its super late so I will have to post much more later, but I need to give a HUGE shout-out to God for answering our prayers and being so faithful! God is truly amazing and wow, thats all I can say! Another HUGE thank-you go's to all of you! Our Chick-Fil-A Fundraiser went better than any other one they have ever had. That is HUGE and only My God could do that! He is so amazing and it couldn't have happened without all of you and your love and support. I will have to write much more later, but for now, please know you are so appreciated and we "feel" the love from YOU and our Heavenly Father!
God Bless and have a wonderful evening!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
God Bless and have a wonderful evening!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Prayers for fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ....
I am so thankful that the Lord gives us people in this world. You know, it takes all types and boy do I sure know a few doozies!! hehe
My husband is one of these people, he continues to amaze me (yes, I am fully aware I used the word doozie in the sentence just before this one - he is a doozie, and a hoot too!). For those of you not aware, I am extremely proud of my husband; in just under 11 months, he has been able to lose 134 pounds to date! Thats AMAZING!! There is just not enough room to write to you how wonderful this man of God is! He is one of the goofiest and funniest people I know! He continually builds me up and encourages me to be a better woman. I am so glad God chose for us to meet online that one fateful day in March of 2005! Who knew our lives would be forever changed?! I cannot wait to see Sam be the father that he is yearning to be and who God has called him to be! Please stop and say a prayer for sweet husband! He could use some encouragement these days as he has been hard at work, working sometimes 16 hour days! It's a bit much, but I am so grateful that he has a job and that he is able to support me (our family!)
Back to the "people" and "doozies".....I have a sweet friend from High School Youth Group, who is adopting domestically. She is one of these people you see and you smile right away...its always infectious! She is a woman after God's own heart and she has a heart of gold! Her family is in the "waiting" phase of the adoption process. I would have to say that this would by far be the most grueling and anguish-leading part of the process. See, that is because we are both adopting through the same agency, and while we both LOVE the process, it can definitely leave you with a lack of information. By that I simply mean that once you become a family in waiting....you are waiting for a birth mom/family to chose you! They do this by looking at the profile of your family. The birth mom/family will pick out 2 families she feels best fits what she envisions for her adoption plan. They will call her 1st choice and see if it is a match, if they decline the agency will call her 2nd choice. The thing is the 2nd family will never know they were the 2nd family. They will simply think they are the first! All that to say...your profile could be viewed 100 times before someone "chooses" your family, and as the adoptive family...you would never know! (As I said, this is great...but sometimes "no news" is hard! Even if you know thats what you are signing up for!) Please say a prayer for sweet friend and her family! They are currently almost 4 months into the "Waiting!" Pray that they may have peace and remember that God has a plan to bring sweet baby home. I know they are anxiously awaiting baby #2's arrival (as are Sam and I) we can't wait to meet him/her!!
I have another person I would ask you all to pray for. I don't know her personally, but she is a sister in Christ in desperate need of all our prayers. Her story speaks to my heart and soul and beckons me to pray for her and petition on her behalf. Her name is Sara Walker, she is a mother of 3 and is only 33 years old. She has been through a lot and is currently battling stage 4 colon cancer. I will ask you to visit her caring bridge site and leave her a note, let her know you are praying for her and you can read her whole story there! I also encourage you to take a look at the guest list! It's truly powerful to see so many come together in the name of Christ! http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarawalker/
I again just want to praise God for people and how they impact our lives. Please pray for our little sweet baby....born or unborn, that God is nurturing him/her and that God will bring them home soon! (We have to get through the process first! hehe) Pray that the process will move quickly and that we will not have complications! We are so ready for a sweet baby! I just cannot wait to pick that little one up in my arms and squeeze him/her so tight!! I thank God that we are all adopted by him and that Sam and I have this opportunity to see how God see's us through the eyes of adoption!
Be blessed! And don't forget to be a blessing to someone else!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
My husband is one of these people, he continues to amaze me (yes, I am fully aware I used the word doozie in the sentence just before this one - he is a doozie, and a hoot too!). For those of you not aware, I am extremely proud of my husband; in just under 11 months, he has been able to lose 134 pounds to date! Thats AMAZING!! There is just not enough room to write to you how wonderful this man of God is! He is one of the goofiest and funniest people I know! He continually builds me up and encourages me to be a better woman. I am so glad God chose for us to meet online that one fateful day in March of 2005! Who knew our lives would be forever changed?! I cannot wait to see Sam be the father that he is yearning to be and who God has called him to be! Please stop and say a prayer for sweet husband! He could use some encouragement these days as he has been hard at work, working sometimes 16 hour days! It's a bit much, but I am so grateful that he has a job and that he is able to support me (our family!)
Back to the "people" and "doozies".....I have a sweet friend from High School Youth Group, who is adopting domestically. She is one of these people you see and you smile right away...its always infectious! She is a woman after God's own heart and she has a heart of gold! Her family is in the "waiting" phase of the adoption process. I would have to say that this would by far be the most grueling and anguish-leading part of the process. See, that is because we are both adopting through the same agency, and while we both LOVE the process, it can definitely leave you with a lack of information. By that I simply mean that once you become a family in waiting....you are waiting for a birth mom/family to chose you! They do this by looking at the profile of your family. The birth mom/family will pick out 2 families she feels best fits what she envisions for her adoption plan. They will call her 1st choice and see if it is a match, if they decline the agency will call her 2nd choice. The thing is the 2nd family will never know they were the 2nd family. They will simply think they are the first! All that to say...your profile could be viewed 100 times before someone "chooses" your family, and as the adoptive family...you would never know! (As I said, this is great...but sometimes "no news" is hard! Even if you know thats what you are signing up for!) Please say a prayer for sweet friend and her family! They are currently almost 4 months into the "Waiting!" Pray that they may have peace and remember that God has a plan to bring sweet baby home. I know they are anxiously awaiting baby #2's arrival (as are Sam and I) we can't wait to meet him/her!!
I have another person I would ask you all to pray for. I don't know her personally, but she is a sister in Christ in desperate need of all our prayers. Her story speaks to my heart and soul and beckons me to pray for her and petition on her behalf. Her name is Sara Walker, she is a mother of 3 and is only 33 years old. She has been through a lot and is currently battling stage 4 colon cancer. I will ask you to visit her caring bridge site and leave her a note, let her know you are praying for her and you can read her whole story there! I also encourage you to take a look at the guest list! It's truly powerful to see so many come together in the name of Christ! http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarawalker/
I again just want to praise God for people and how they impact our lives. Please pray for our little sweet baby....born or unborn, that God is nurturing him/her and that God will bring them home soon! (We have to get through the process first! hehe) Pray that the process will move quickly and that we will not have complications! We are so ready for a sweet baby! I just cannot wait to pick that little one up in my arms and squeeze him/her so tight!! I thank God that we are all adopted by him and that Sam and I have this opportunity to see how God see's us through the eyes of adoption!
Be blessed! And don't forget to be a blessing to someone else!
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
One month...
So it has been one month since my last post, ok, in all fairness it has been 1 month and 3 days! Whoops!
I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers! We have completed our required adoption training and are so excited to finally get our taxes filed so that we can turn in the paperwork!! We are not as far along as I had hoped to be seeing as how it has been 2 months since our orientation, but the Lord must be up to something!
I have all these thoughts running through my head about the process and the "things" we are about to encounter...by that I mean, the physical exams, the countless interviews, and by far the most intimidating is the psychiatric evaluation (This is a 3 hour evaluation people!) I trust that the Lord will get me through all of these! Then I think of all the things we must have in place to "pass" our home inspection. It's much more than any other "new" parents...for example, you would probably purchase things as you "need" them. You don't really have a need for cabinet locks until you are dealing with a toddler, we have to have these now! Which, it is good to be prepared....it's just a lot to prepare for! (As all you parents know!) And it's scary to think if you don't have these things you may not be able to proceed with the adoption process...ok, yes, I realize I am rambling to an extent...but it's the little things!
The hardest thing about this whole process is I am a PLANNER!! I LOVE to plan ahead and know what's coming! Well, we certainly know a baby, but will he/she be a newborn, or 2-3 months old? Will it be a boy or girl. Will it be twins?!!? (We would LOVE for that to happen!) The unknowns are truly endless! I am sure as the journey continues this quirk of mine (planning) will surely be put to the test as there is so much we simply cannot know at this point...but I suppose that's kind of the fun in all of this (or so I tell myself!)
In the meantime, Sam and I have a contract on a house and are scheduled to close on the 15th of February (Lord willing!) We are so excited to think and know this may very well be the house we bring a baby home to!! We cannot wait! We are also leading a marriage class on Wednesday nights at Smyrna Church of Christ called Fireproof your Marriage! It's based on the movie Fireproof! Our prayer is that the class will help strengthen marriages and help some that may be in danger! You all are invited to come and be a part of this class if you so desire! We would love to have you all there!
That's pretty much it for now......May God's blessings continue to fall on you all!
God bless,
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers! We have completed our required adoption training and are so excited to finally get our taxes filed so that we can turn in the paperwork!! We are not as far along as I had hoped to be seeing as how it has been 2 months since our orientation, but the Lord must be up to something!
I have all these thoughts running through my head about the process and the "things" we are about to encounter...by that I mean, the physical exams, the countless interviews, and by far the most intimidating is the psychiatric evaluation (This is a 3 hour evaluation people!) I trust that the Lord will get me through all of these! Then I think of all the things we must have in place to "pass" our home inspection. It's much more than any other "new" parents...for example, you would probably purchase things as you "need" them. You don't really have a need for cabinet locks until you are dealing with a toddler, we have to have these now! Which, it is good to be prepared....it's just a lot to prepare for! (As all you parents know!) And it's scary to think if you don't have these things you may not be able to proceed with the adoption process...ok, yes, I realize I am rambling to an extent...but it's the little things!
The hardest thing about this whole process is I am a PLANNER!! I LOVE to plan ahead and know what's coming! Well, we certainly know a baby, but will he/she be a newborn, or 2-3 months old? Will it be a boy or girl. Will it be twins?!!? (We would LOVE for that to happen!) The unknowns are truly endless! I am sure as the journey continues this quirk of mine (planning) will surely be put to the test as there is so much we simply cannot know at this point...but I suppose that's kind of the fun in all of this (or so I tell myself!)
In the meantime, Sam and I have a contract on a house and are scheduled to close on the 15th of February (Lord willing!) We are so excited to think and know this may very well be the house we bring a baby home to!! We cannot wait! We are also leading a marriage class on Wednesday nights at Smyrna Church of Christ called Fireproof your Marriage! It's based on the movie Fireproof! Our prayer is that the class will help strengthen marriages and help some that may be in danger! You all are invited to come and be a part of this class if you so desire! We would love to have you all there!
That's pretty much it for now......May God's blessings continue to fall on you all!
God bless,
A Daughter of the King,
Candace :)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Busy holidays
Wow...I just cannot believe how unbelievably busy I am without working. These 2 (1-sister Crystal's baby Landon and 2-BFF Jess' baby Braylon) new nephews of mine are consuming a lot of my time, willingly of course!!! These 2 little dudes are the cutest and sweetest! I can't wait to have ours to throw into the mix. So a funny story about Landon; I was changing his diaper today and just thought he was "wet" turns out it was "both!" Well, in my attempt to get him all cleaned up, he started peeing all over me, all over his clothes, all over the changing table. All I could do was laugh. He wasn't the least bit concerned! Got out a 2nd new diaper and he starts peeing all over again!! 3rd times the charm, I guess! Finally after the REAL dirty diaper and the other 2 we finally got it figured out. I have never seen an infant pee so much in my life!! hehe
On the adoption front, not a ton going on, we have yet to submit our formal application, still working on it all. However, we are in training and it is amazing all the information we are learning. I feel so prepared already!! (Not to mention the practice with the nephews!)
God is good and we will continue to bring you funny stories courtesy of Landon and Braylon!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
and then there were three...
Sister, husband and baby make three! Praise God after complications from a c-section and all sister is finally doing better and baby is as perfect as anyone could of prayed for. Little baby makes the cutest noises, I have never heard an infant sound the way he does...so lite and sweet...most babies have some lungs...apparently not him. hehe!!!
Makes me ready for my own even more, on the adoption front, not too much going on, just still in training classes. Other than that, just trying to get ready for the holiday and being out of town at the in-laws.
God bless,
A Daughter of the King
Candace :)
Makes me ready for my own even more, on the adoption front, not too much going on, just still in training classes. Other than that, just trying to get ready for the holiday and being out of town at the in-laws.
God bless,
A Daughter of the King
Candace :)
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