Two Family Fundraiser Coming March 14th!!!

We are so grateful to the Galbraith family for including us in their adoption fundraiser sale!

We are currently taking donation of gently used children's clothing/ toys/ items, homemade crafts, and other gently used household items to sell.  We are willing to pick up donations from nearby friends- all donations must be recevied by Sunday March 8th.

Looking for Bakers too! All baked good sales will benefit the Galbraith family, and sellable donations can be given to the Galbraith family as well.

Please spread the word and come on out and shop!!!!!!

All the pieces are coming together!

Our adoption puzzle is filling with names of wonderful people who have generously given their dollars, the support, and their prayers to us in our journey.  We are thankful and honored to be so loved!
(to become a piece of our puzzle, we are asking for a $5 per piece donation to acheive our fundraising goal. a paypal link is available here on our blog if this is something you would like to participate in!)
Thank you for blessing us and our baby-to -be.  This baby is so loved by so many people already!!!

He holds the world, my life, my future, my family, and our baby, gently in His hands...

Our baby is just "our baby"

Happy New Year! 2015.....the year of our new baby.
Maybe?
We hope!
     With a new baby on the horizon, and many friends having babies of their own recently, it occurs to me that even though our baby will come to us in a different way than the "bio babies" being born around us, they will still be simply..... a baby.
...and we will simply be parents of a new baby.
...and Liam will simply be a big brother.
     We will not refer to the baby as "the adopted baby" and we dont want to be referred to as "the adoptive parents"....we are just "the parents." Our children do not need special prefixes and don't need to be referred to in ways that distinguish them from each other. They are simply "our children."  Having a newborn in the house again will likely be much the same as it was 4 years ago (but hopefully with less hours of crying!)
     This week, a friend asked how they can help us when our baby to be arrives....(what a great joy to know others care and are there to support you!)...and I imagine we'll need the same kind of help that any parents of a new baby will need. Once our baby is home, they- and we- are just like any other newborn, any other parents, any other family with the same struggles of sleepless newborn nights and crying fits and endless dirty diapers.
     With these thoughts in mind, I found a blog called "Joy Comes in the Morning".
http://www.joycomesinthemorning.net/2014/07/22/5-ways-to-support-adoptive-families/
    In this post, Angela gives some great ideas for how to help waiting families, and how to help once the baby has arrived. Many of these ways to help are great for not only waiting families but for biological families awaiting the birth of their baby.
     This encouraged me to think more about being the hands and feet of Jesus to other families when a new baby joins them....I hope it will encourage you too!!

Adoption's roots

I love history...reading about it, visiting historical places, and learning what life was like in different times and for different people. Since we began our home study process last year, I've become more and more curious about the history of adoption in the US.  I found this link that gives a brief overview of the history of domestic adoption in the US. 

http://childfound.org/domestic-adoption/

There is intense sadness in the way so many children were treated during this history....history may have started out with 'good intentions' but the way of carrying out those intentions often had insensitive and sad results. One of those historical moments that both fascinated the history buff in me, and brought tears to the mother in me, is the Orphan Trains.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_Train

All this talk about history makes me wonder what kind of culture our family will embrace and become part of when our baby arrives....maybe our baby will be of south american descent, maybe asian, maybe a combination of several.  I'm excited about teaching Liam to know (and love) his history, his family history, and his heritage as he grows (he already has his own junior bagpipe!!)
I wonder what culture, heritage, and history we will absorb into our newly blended family once baby comes...I hope we have some details to share with baby so they can appreciate their roots as well. It will be fun to learn about another kind of heritage and celebrate all the histories in our blended family!

notes from another waiting family...

http://livinglifewithopenarms.blogspot.ca/

It's good to be in good company :)
This blog is written by a friend of mine who is also "waiting for baby"....in times when i feel like no one understands the emotions, anxieties, and occasional turmoil of the adoption process (so far), i have often turned to blogs of strangers for companionship and help. Its sweet to know I now have a friend who feels the same things!!
I understand wanting to celebrate in big ways, and friend- we are celebrating with you as you wait!!