I Heart Faces: Pet Challenge

So, I need a break from thinking about possible adoption stuff, so here's a non-adoption post (well, except for that sentence.)

This week I Heart Faces is having a photo challenge with the pet theme.  I've been looking through these entries for quite some time and I think it's finally time that I start entering.

This is Roscoe, our big dog, also known as Stinky Fart Man and yes, he does answer to that!  We love him, especially since he is our first doggie child.  When we got him as a puppy, he had this adorable pink nose. Now, he's a grown up dog with a black nose, but if you look closely, the pink is still there, just hidden.

You guys must really be.....

...Praying!

I got a call today from Jenn, the lady who works with the adoptive parents at the agency here in Jax.  She was asking if we could drop by our profiles TODAY, because they wanted to be able to show it TONIGHT! (This means that a mother is making a decision and we are one of the choices!)   Of course, I said YES!!!!!!  The only information I have is that she is in Naples, Fl.

Dave dropped them off and was told they were being shipped FedEx to a maternity home.  Since the office is closed right now and I won't know more information right now, I'm assuming that the mother must be staying at this maternity home.

Can I just say WOW?????

What's New

I've been promising updates, so here goes....Four things that are "new".

1.  Our photo profiles arrived.  Most of your already know this, since you've seen our previous blog post, but we found some mistakes.  It was nothing major, just a few things, but knowing that this is what a mother would be looking at when trying to decide if we should be the parents for her child, we decided to fix the errors and have them reprinted.  We are, however, going to turn in the ones we got until the others come in.  The new ones have been ordered, so it shouldn't take long at all.  :)  So, if all works out, tomorrow Dave will run them by, and our profiles will be at the agency.  That means that we will be active at the agency!  :)  Can't begin to describe how exciting it is.  Yes, I know that I must be realistic and know our wait could be forever, but I'm trying to put faith that God will provide!  I'm praying that God will provide in 2010!  :)

2.  Two weeks ago, I went to my normal annual doctor's appointment.  I brought up some symptoms that I'm having and asked about the possibility of endometriosis, something my mom and I had talked about in previous conversations.  My doctor told me to see our fertility doctor and talk with him about it.  The only way to diagnose it would be a laparoscopy, which I am not looking forward to, but we're willing to try.  Now, we just have to schedule it.  I've tried calling a few times, but it seems that their lunch break falls at the same time as my break at school.

It's funny, because the few people I've told have then proceeded to tell me that maybe this will be the answer to our infertility.  I won't lie-getting pregnant would be awesome, but my heart is so set on this adoption stuff, that it would almost be disappointing at the same time.  I know that sounds horrible, but it's the truth.  Yes, I would love a strawberry blonde, very pale,  Dave/Jennifer running around more than anything, but I also would love a kid that didn't look like me running around as well, knowing that God has been glorified through adding to our family through adoption.  I know this doesn't make much sense, and to some extent, it doesn't make sense to me either, but it's the truth.

3.  The biggest news is probably this:  We turned down another baby.  We got an email about two weeks ago about a possible baby due to be born in July.  Now, don't get carried away: The mother hadn't chosen us or anything, but we got asked if we wanted the mother to see our information along with other couples.  After finding out more information, we said no, but it breaks my heart to do so.  Why did we say no, you might ask?  Well, lots of reasons.  One, our profile wasn't done at the moment and they needed it asap if we wanted to be considered.  Two, the amount of money was out of this world!  Let's just say it's around the $40,000 mark.  Three, the baby was going to be born in Nevada, making the expenses higher, due to travel, and more red tape, due to it being so far away.  So, another baby closer to our VBK baby, right?

4.  Now that our profiles are ready, it's time for the next big step: The money.  We've got to decide on how to go about getting this large sum of money.  Just pray that we'll make smart choices and that God will provide!  He has so far, so I'm not going to doubt Him when it comes to this.  I do know, though, that we have to do our part!  I'm already cooking up ideas on ways to have something like a fundraiser.  If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!  :)

Thanks for praying for us.  It's awesome to know that people, even some who don't know us personally, are praying for Baby VBK!

Picture and Excitement

Still have lots to tell, but since Dave has decided that today is the day to replace our front door, I can't stay on for long.  :)

I am super excited for this family:
http://our-journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com/2009/12/getting-ready-to-go.html  
I've been following their story and they got the call that they can go pick up their daughter and have her home before Christmas!  They've had a crazy journey and it is very encouraging to hear other's stories of adoption.

I was playing around in Picnik and made our picture look a little more festive and thought I'd share.

Look at what came in the mail today......

Our Photo Profile!!!!!  :)

Profiles, Pressure, Printing, and Bad Dreams

Over this past week, Dave and I have really tried to get our photo profile together for the agency here in Jacksonville.  Basically, until they have the profile in their hands, we can't move forward with the process.  With the agency, when a birth mother is ready to select a family for her baby,  the birth mother is shown profiles of couples that meet her criteria.  We needed ours done to even have the chance to be chosen.

Can I just say that it's really hard to "sell yourself" in the profile?  Dave and I are just not the type of people to toot our own horn.  There is so much pressure on you while creating your profile.  You want it to look nice, because obviously, if it doesn't, you may never been chosen.  It needs to include information about yourselves, your life together, your jobs, pets, house, friends, recommendation letters from friends, and your dear birth mother letter (Ours is a 20 page photo profile.)   It needs to include pictures that make you look friendly and loving, but not ones that make you seem like you're overdoing it.  It's a good idea to have some pictures with children, but too many of those and you look like you're trying too hard.  Needless to say, it's not something you can just sit down and accomplish in one hour.  I think all together, I worked on ours for over 15 hours this week (hence the lack of blogging).  I've gone through picture after picture (and if you know me, we have tons of pictures), trying to find the right ones.  We've written and reworded things a million times.  I've changed picture layouts and tried to make the layout pleasing to the eye.

We finally finished last night.  I got a coupon in my email for 25% off our profile books (we needed three for the agency here in Jax) and was determined to get it done by midnight in order to use the coupon.  I think we officially ordered them around 11:20.  Close, but still with time to spare, right?  :-)  I got an email this morning saying that they have been printed and shipped and should arrive sometime before the beginning of next week.  Once we get them in the mail, we can take them to the agency and we have the opportunity to be chosen.  One step closer to our goal.  I went and got in bed last night and felt like a lot of pressure has been removed.  One more thing could be crossed off on my list.

Then...I went to sleep.  I kept having nightmares that our book was messed up, that the birth mothers hated it, or that we had to start all over again.  Needless to say, it as a night of major tossing and turning and the relief that I had felt last night was gone.  Now, panic had taken over.  I'm just having to remind myself that we did the best we could and we aren't perfect people.  If it's not 100% perfect, if there is one misspelling (even though we checked it a million times), that life will go on.  I am just having to trust God that, now that we've done our part, He can do his, more than what he's already done so far.  It's hard and I'm not going to lie and say the panic is gone, but I just can't worry about it too much.

Well, I've got more to share, but it's time for small groups with the girl teens at our church.  I know that I'm leaving you hanging, but I can't be late!!!  :)

Tons of stuff, too little time

I have quite a few things to blog about, but right now at 11:30, sleep is more important.  I'll try my hardest tomorrow.