321 pieces down! Praise the Lord!

The Lord has truly been doing amazing things in our lives, and just when I begin to feel overwhelmed and stressed that we won't be able to do this, the Lord gently reminds me that He has it all in His hands!

Our birth mother's name is Dana, and we have been in touch a few times since she chose us. We informed her that we were also expecting a baby, and told her we would also love to have her son as our own. She said she is delighted with the fact that he will have a sibling, and things are moving forward! We then had to mail down $5,000.00 to retain her lawyer in Virgina, and $3,500.00 to retain our lawyer here in Maine. We are not sure where we will get money for the remaining expenses, but are trusting the Lord in this. We have already spent almost $20,000.00 on this process. It's all worth it, but money is stressful! Angel Adoption was not too impressed that we were still wanting to adopt even though we are pregnant... it's their own personal opinion and thank the Lord that Dana still chose us! If she hadn't then they would have put us on hold until after we had our baby... crazy if you ask me!

We have also picked out a name for the baby - Benjamin Tyshawn Dayfield - Dana asked if we could fit the name Tyshawn in his name, and so to show respect we made it his middle name. Benjamin means "son of my right hand", and she was very happy his name was going to be Biblical.

Our second born (due August 3rd) is doing well! We heard the heartbeat last week and are so thrilled that the baby is healthy and doing well.

It also looks as if we will be closing on our new house very soon, which is another stresser, but a good one! The Lord is truly our Provider! We are very excited to close soon and get settled before April. Benjamin will arrive sometime around April 28th, she is going to have a c-section, which works out great because then we know exactly when we have to be there for the birth. We will travel down by car and they say it could take up to 10 business days to get the paperwork cleared for us to travel over state lines with him. Justin will have to fly back for work, and I'm talking my mother into flying down to travel back with me and Benjamin (it won't take much convincing, she is very excited :).

Much prayer is needed! Pray for Dana during this time, pray for her heart and emotional state. Pray for both babies that they remain healthy and growing the way they should! Also, Dana can back out at any time, even up to 2 months after we have Benjamin (or until we appear before the judge to make him legally ours) - pray she does not recant - that would be unbelievably hard. Pray for money, that it would come when needed for this process and that there would be no question that the Lord is in this! And lastly please pray for us... that we would remain clinging to the Lord and each other during this time! Thank you so much for your love, support and prayers!

Here is our puzzle so far:

261 Pieces Sold, & POISSIBLE ADOPTION!

Hello everyone! I hope and pray this finds you all doing well and that you had a great Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Exciting things have been happening in every aspect of our lives... Justin got a new job which will enable me to stay at home when we have kids, we are most likely going to be signing on our new house this month, AND..... We are pregnant! The baby is due August 3rd! After two years of praying and trying to be patient, the Lord has provided... And so far (keep praying) the baby is healthy. We will head in on January 19th to hear the heart beat.

Another wonderful blessing is that today we were chosen by a birthmother! Isn't it crazy how the Lord works? The baby is full African American and is a boy due April 28th! Please pray fervently that all goes well. We will tell her that we are pregnant as well after we hear the heartbeat, but please pray she does not change her mind when she hears that... Because we have not changed ours!

All that being said, we have another prayer request, as well as a plea.... We are lacking money for the adoption, although we know the Lord will provide, we also are asking for others help. We probably need about $5,000.00 more. We are saving as much as we can, but do need help. If that is not possible then please just pray that everything would work and fall into place.

Thank you so much for your love and support along this journey... It seems so surreal right now, but we know if this is meant to be, then the Lord will provide a way. The Lord is good!

Will keep you posted on the process, thanks for your prayers.

God's Continued Blessing - 241 pieces sold!

This week has been such a blessing! Just as I was feeling discouraged, some money was given for our puzzle from a few different families, which brought our count up to 241! Wow were we reminded of God's providence and His grace in our lives! Our adoption profile was sent out about 14 times in November, so that is encouraging, we are just waiting on the Lord's timing and we know it will happen with His help. 

This is a hard journey, but a good one... it has really taught me reliance on the Lord and not on my own power. Please continue to pray for the process - our hearts, and our future family. Thanks for all your prayers and support! We feel so loved! 

172 pieces sold and update.

We are up to 172 pieces this week! Thanks to all who have given towards our adoption.

We had some unfortunate news this week. About 2 weeks ago, Angel Adoption contacted us and we were actually assigned to a birth mother. We sent $500 to her attorney so they could meet for the first time. After that meeting, no one has heard from the birth mother. The lawyer and Angel Adoption attempted to contact her, and there is still no word. I heard on Thursday that they are closing the file on her and we are moving on. I was crushed... having already given my heart to that little unborn baby. We also lost that $500, because it went to pay for the first meeting. Its been hard, but it actually reaffirmed our commitment to adopt.

Please continue to pray for us and our hearts... we need to live out the verse "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jer. 29:11

We trust the Lord in all things, but some days it is harder to live out then other days. Please pray for patience and trust, as well as our relationship with each other as we prepare our hearts and home for the little bundle that will hopefully soon bless our lives.

162 sold!

Thanks to all who have been praying as well as donating towards our adoption. We are truly blessed each week, to see Gods grace and provision. The amount so far is $1,600.00 through this puzzle fundraiser!

I was truly blessed and encouraged this past week. I attended a teacher conference for two days, with my staff from OVCS, and it was truly amazing! Not only were the sessions encouraging and energizing, I also saw two old PBU classmates and got to catch up with them. The blessing was that one of them is also adopting and it was just an encouragement to speak with her about their process and learn that they have had some hurtful things said to them that is similar to some things said to us. Its a shame those things have been said, but its encouraging to know we are not alone.

Please continue to pray for us, for our hearts, our journey as well as the process of raising the money for the little life to hopefully bless our lives someday soon!

Here is the pic of the puzzle so far:

138 pieces sold!

Today we have reached 138 total pieces sold, that is $1,380.00 donated towards our adoption... Praise the Lord! But we still have quite a ways to go. Please pray that God would provide as well as open doors and close doors when needed.

We also heard that the house we put an offer on (way back in March) is finally moving a little bit forward. It is a short sale and they are waiting for the appraisal and title, then we will see what happens next. So that is a blessing, and we are praying they not only accept our offer, but that we can close on it before the snow hits! What a blessing it would be to in our house prior to adopting, but we know the Lord has everything under His control, and that is truly our only comfort during these times.

A little glimpse from my heart this week: I had a rough week because we are not pregnant... again... (yes we still want to adopt even if the Lord blesses us with one of our own.) Then I hear people complain about their children and say things like "Kelly, you're lucky you don't have to deal with that"... I wish we were dealing with those things! I know people don't think about such things and I pray constantly that I would not be so sensitive about comments. It just stings a little bit more each month. It is a comfort to know that the Lord has it all under control, but sometimes it's harder then other times.

October 4th marks our 3 year anniversary! I am so happy that the Lord saw fit for us to get married... Justin has been such a blessing in my life and really keeps me grounded :) He bought me a beautiful sterling silver charm necklace with the August birthstone in it (that would have been our baby's birth month) and we can just add more birthstones to it when we have kids (Lord willing).

Thank you for all your prayers and support during this waiting period in our lives. Please continue to pray for our hearts and that the Lord would provide!

129 sold!

We are now up to 129 pieces sold! We are continuing to pray that the Lord would bless us with the money as well as the newborn that He has chosen for us! We are easily discouraged, and do envy your prayers during this time of waiting and leaning on the Lord. We are quite often reminded that being a part of the Lords family is the perfect example of what adoption looks like. Thank the Lord we were chosen and adopted by His family, and we are praying that He chooses one for us to adopt into our family and then ultimately they will be a part of His family. There is no greater gift for which we can pray.

Cant wait to see it finished!!