July 1st: "due any day"

     July 1st......we don't have a "due date", but at least we do have THIS date.
This is the date we will finish our 3 home study evaluations (done by our Bethany Case Worker), and this is the day we will become eligible to be matched with a child (or a pregnant birth mother).
     After July 1st, I guess you could say we are "due any time."  In reality that "any time" is not likely to be July 2nd, and maybe not in July at all.....it may not even be in 2014.
Only the Lord knows when we will meet our new baby....He has never steered us wrong to this point and provided what we need, so I trust Him to bring out baby into our lives at just the right moment.
(Now if I can only keep my eager, antsy self from wanting Him to hurry it up! haha!)

     So, you may wonder (and some of you have asked)..."what exactly will happen after July 1st?"
Well...here's what we know....
     As of July 1st our "family profile" will be made available for birth families to see.  Our profile will be shown only to parents who's circumstances/preferences match ours.
Then we hurry up and wait......our profile will be shown and when a birth mother/birth parents want to talk with us or meet us, we'll set up a time and get to know one another.
     They may pick us....they may not.....some people ride that wave many times before they have a successful "match." I'm not sure how to really prepare for the emotions that will undoubtedly accompany the ups and downs, so I'm praying God will grant great patience and temper my tendency to get super excited....until its time to get SUPER EXCITED :)
    We could be matched with a birth mother who is 5 months pregnant, or we could find that a baby has already been born and is awaiting a family! Again, only God knows.....

    From here on out, it is becoming more and more real that our baby is not some dream baby with no face, no name.....but he or she is very possibly in utero at this moment....and he or she will be coming to our family soon!!!!!
     I can't wait to meet you baby Metz!

Sweet Blessings

     What a wonderful blessing we experienced during our "Faces of Adoption" Event and Bake Sale!
     We were blessed to learn, and be encouraged, from the personal adoption stories of Anne and Matt (two Grace Chapel friends).  Sharing such personal aspects of their lives posed emotional challenges for them, and we are so grateful that they were willing to share!
     We also got to hear more about adoption and foster care from Heather Bert, the Director of Bethany Christian Services.  After the event several people told me how they learned a great deal that they "never knew" about adoption, and were really touched by the personal stories.  Several even mentioned that they might consider adoption or foster car ei nthe future as a result of what they heard! Praise the Lord!
     In the midst of all this, we had many folks join us for some yummy bake sale fun!  We had even more baked goods than we expected and even though we ended up with some leftover, we were graciously allowed to bring them to the AWANA meeting that week, where we were able to sell all the rest.
     We want to give a truly heartfelt THANK YOU to those who baked, bought, came, shared stories, encouraged us, planned, organized, publicized, and helped work the sale.  The proceeds of the sale were a great blessing toward helping us afford our adoption!!!  A very special thanks to Christina Reif who did not hesitate and jumped right into planning this bake sale once she heard of our plans to adopt.  What a wonderful gift from a friend!  Here are a few pics from the event (just in case you missed it!)....
Nif, Dave, and Liam

Thank you for your help Amy, Rachel ,and Rachel!!!

Thoughts from the "first trimester"....

I've thought a lot about how this baby's entrance in to our family is so different, but also so very similar in a lot of ways to when we had our son almost 4 years ago.

As I write this I am staring at a big stack of papers that include things like FBI clearance forms, CPR certifications, pages of information on our beliefs, backgrounds, jobs, financial info.....this has been our first trimester. (We are waiting on the arrival of one last form and we wil lbe submitting it all THIS WEEK!)

No one asked our deepest darkest secrets when we got pregnant with Liam....no one made sure we could perform infant CPR in case of emergencies....no one double and triple checked our references and asked if we would be suitable parents.....no one verified tha we had a support system and a safe home....

As we worked through piles of adoption paperwork for the last 3 months, I occasionally felt a sense of  "is all this really necessary? We didnt do this with Liam..." Then I realized, we SHOULD have done this with Liam.  Our children are special and precious- both of them- and while we did our very best to be prepared for Liam, and with this baby we are scrutinized more officially, it is good and safe to be sure we are ready for this baby....or ANY baby. I'm so thankful that our agency is thorough with this process- for the sake of the children and the parents (adoptive and birth parents).

In the last 3 months, there has also been excitement, joy, eager expectation, and wondering about our new baby....will it be a boy or a girl? What will he or she look like? 

These were all things I wondered about and found excitement in when I was pregnant with Liam.  With Liam we had occasional OB visits and ultrasound pictures to enjoy....with this baby I have to close my eyes and just imagine the baby I have pictured in my heart.

Liam has given up his room and moved on to a new "big boy" room...and as the baby's room comes together with a slightly new look, I'm more and more excited to eventually have a new baby in it! I go in the room sometimes and just look at the few "gender neutral" onesies hanging in the closet.....will they be big enough? too small?

A lot of things are the same....friends and family sharing in our joy, starting the dreadfully difficult process of agreeing on baby names (Liam has chosen the names "Dora the Explorer" and "Liam Jr."), getting the room ready....

And a lot of things are different....no morning sickness (hallelujah!)....feeling more mentally prepared in general in the absence of difficult pregnancy related symptoms.....having no idea about a "due date".....no chances to share ultrasound pics or know that our baby is "the size of a kumquat this week".....

I am labelling the completion of our home study paperwork the "end of our first trimester" and as I look back on this process so far, I'm just overwhelmingly thankful for the blessings God has given us in that time.  I'm thankful to God for His great plan for us.  I'm thankful for my husband who allowed God to open his heart up to this baby.  I'm thankful for the family and friends- and folks we barely know- who have shared in our joy and encouraged us.

And I am thankful for the birthmom who will choose life for our baby.

I can't wait to meet you, baby Metz.....soon...soon....

Mommy loves you!

A Sweet Treat...

The "Faces of Adoption" 

Community Adoption Event and Bake Sale

Sunday, May 4th, 2014 @ 'The Rock' 

(19 E. Eagle Rd, Havertown)

Parking at Grace Chapel (1 W. Eagle Rd, Havertown)

Bake Sale begins at 12:30, Adoption Event begins at 1pm

All proceeds from the bake sale will benefit our family's adoption.

Calling all bakers of homemade yummy deliciousness....we need your help!

Treats that are simple, fancy, unique, big, small....we love them all!

Thank you for using your gifts to help us!

To sign up to donate baked goods, click here.

Join us for the free adoption event where you will

learn about adoption, and hear personal stories from people

in our community who are touched by adoption.

Please share this event with friends, coworkers, neighbors- it's open to all!

The "Faces of Adoption" Bake Sale Fundraiser

          We are excited to announce the "Faces of Adoption" Bake Sale!!

Liam and his cousin love cupcakes!!!!

Mark your calendar for Sunday May 4th (time TBA) to hear personal stories of friends touched by adoption, learn more about adoption, hear an update on our family's journey and.....shop a delicious bake sale!!!!! 
(all proceeds will help us defer adoption costs).

We need BAKERS who are willing to donate yumminess!
(Contact Nifer or Christina Reif if you want to help by donating baked goods.)
Thanks to all who have worked hard to help make this happen!
More info to come......

--------------------------------------------------
A Thirty-One update: THANK YOU to Chrissie Stulak and all those who shopped the sale. We hope you enjoy your purchases, and we are thankful that you chose to help us in the process!  We were able to raise almost $300 toward our adoption costs! What a great blessing!

A Puzzle update: Our puzzle is together and we've been adding lots of names! THANK YOU for sharing in our joy! We have many pieces left for those of you who still want to be part of it!

and most importantly.....
An Adoption Update: we are still in the paperwork phase of the Home Study. We are nearing the end and have set a goal of turning in all paperwork by April 23rd. At that point we will move on to our three Home Study Inteviews.  
Once those are completed we will make a Family Profile (that will be viewed by prospective birth parents) and be an official "Waiting Family".
Our prayer at this point is that we will be diligent in completing our paperwork and continuing to trust God to provide for us. We need God's guidance as we move into applying for scholarships, grants, and loans to help us with financing.
Thank you to those who continue to ask us how we are doing with the process, and have kept us in prayer! God is doing great things!

The Thirty-One sale is on!

Need super cute and stylish organizational ideas? 

Need to buy a gift for a birthday or Mother's Day (it will be here before you know it!)?

Looking for an adorable alternative to those cheap Easter baskets for kids?

Many thanks to my friend Chrissie who offered to donate a portion of this month's proceeds to defer our adoption expenses! You only have until March 25th to shop to benefit our adoption!

Please feel free to share this with friends, coworkers, family, and anyone who loves Thirty-One products or has a heart for adoption!

Happy Shopping and Thank you all!

Nifer and Dave

Will you "Do Something"?

    Right about the time we started our adoption application (and launched ourselves into a whole new world!), i began listening to KLove radio and heard this song for the first time. On my first listen, tears came down as i felt the lyrics so perfectly described my heart and WHY i always felt God wanted me to adopt (among other things ive done in life). Although i am not always "doing something", i do feel the great pull of God on my heart to Do Something when injustice, or hurt, or sin threatens others.  I want to give His love through me.
  A friend of mine saw this video today and so kindly emailed me to let me know it reminded her of us- and reminded her to pray for us in our journey.  I enjoyed the video, but i would suggest listening to this with your eyes closed FIRST- if you've never heard it before. (Go ahead- no one is looking- give it a try!) The lyrics are even more impactful when there are no visual distractions.
   Thank Matthew West, for a song that i feel could have come from my heart (if i had his musical skillz).
   Thank you, Akesha for praying for us and sending this to me- how perfect that God would encourage you to send me this song when it has already been a huge encouragement, inspiration, and validation to me in the past two months.  God is so cool :)
    For us, right now, our "doing something" is a loving family for one child....but for you...what are you doing? Fighting an injustice, considering adoption, shoveling a neighbors driveway, or simply giving a hug?
We are the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth...so lets DO SOMETHING about it! :)