Another Step...

With each passing day the reality that we are going to be parents sinks in a little more. Sometimes it is overwhelming, but it is exciting. This evening we had our first meeting with a lady from the agency that will do our home study. It got a little overwhelming as the pile of papers she handed us grew larger and larger. As much as I typically enjoy paperwork I think this will give me a run for me money. After being given a stack of papers and forms and then two very large binders full of what I'm sure is useful information I was holding a pile of stuff nearly a foot tall. There are so many forms to fill out and everything has to be done in a certain span of time, so after the meeting we went to Target to buy a dry erase board to keep track of things and it will be a good place to write down questions that we want to ask so we don't forget them. We also made our second trip to the post office tonight. We mailed in our adoption agreement and a few other papers and the first of many checks that we'll be writing. We thought that buying a house involved a lot of paperwork...we had no idea!

I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. John 14:18

After 2 months of driving around with the adoption application in my car.......we finally decided that Father's day would be a great day to send it off. Those 2 months were filled with fear of the unknown, anxiety, and wondering if we were really ready to be parents. It took us 2 months from actually filling out the application to mailing it.....but we are READY! We can't wait to bring our sweet baby home. Here are some pictures of us mailing the application. June 20, 2010.

Our Adoption Journey

As we go through this journey we want to document as much as we can. We have been taking pictures through the process and wanted to share them.

These first ones are the day we actually filled out the application. April 18, 2010.

A New Journey Begins

June 20, 2010 - Father's Day, that is the day we will remember as the beginning of this journey. For many years, spanning back to before we even knew each other, we both had this desire within us. Through God's perfect plan and timing we finally made it to the starting point. On June 20th we walked into the post office and dropped off our application to adopt a child from Ethiopia! In approximately 12 - 18 months we will have a new member of our family. As we stand here at the starting line I don't know what all our future entails. I imagine there will be moments of frustration, moments of discouragement, and moments when the journey seems tough. There will also be ah-ha moments when we learn something new, moments of dreaming as we think of our future, and moments of joy as we take steps toward beginning life with our child. Our child - it makes me a little weak in the knees, I get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, and my heart skips a beat as this really sinks in - OUR child. We are excited to begin this journey and are so expectant and what the end of this journey holds.

Molly Garber

We welcomed the newest member of the Garber family today. Our 3 year old westie, Molly! She is adorable and loves watching the KU Jayhawks! She is sitting next to us on the couch as we watch march madness basketball. Ben loves her! We are thrilled to share our new house with her!

Happy House Buying EVE!

Tomorrow is the big day! This morning Ben said, "It's house buying eve! Almost more exciting than Christmas Eve!" I laughed....but it really is. This is going to be OUR house, where we raise, OUR family. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone but Ben. We are so excited to start this new adventure together. WOOOOHOOOOO!

My Valentine!

I love being married! I never did really like Valentines Day...untill I got married. I have the greatest husband, who makes sure that I feel loved and cherished.

Ben wrote me new wedding vows and framed them so I could put them next to our bed and see them every morning when I wake up. They were amazing. He is amazing. I don't deserve it!

He also got me flowers, and chocolate. Then we headed to the Hotel Phillips downtown KC and spent a nice evening together. We went to our favorite downtown grocery store, Constantinos and picked up fruit, crackers, and wine. It was yummy! I was also treated to an hour and a half massage. WOW! I love being pampered, and I love you Ben!

Closing Time

This is our new house!!! We are closing on it in less then 20 days. We are getting very excited, and can't wait to be home owners. This weekend we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and picked out our new bed, couch, love seat, chair, and fridge. Something about buying our own fridge makes this whole process real. We are really adults! We OWN a fridge.....and a house. We feel so blessed to have been able to buy this house. The moment we walked into it I knew it was ours. We are excited to see what God has in store for us, and how he wants us to use this house. It's way to big for just the two us.....

We have decided to take foster parent classes. We start the class at the end of the month and it goes for 10 weeks for 3 hours a week. We are going to be busy! We have also been looking into adoption and know that it's something that we want to do....we just aren't sure when.

Busy Busy Busy....that's us for the new couple months. BRING IT ON!

More Haiti

I am glad that the two of us have open hearts. Honestly, it would be much easier to have calloused hearts because then seeing and hearing what is going on in Haiti would not hurt. If our hearts weren't invested then we would be free of the pain we feel. Instead our hearts ache with and for the people of Haiti. For probably the first time in my life I found myself admiring Bill Clinton (I know crazy, right!). He is the US Special envoy to Haiti. He actually really cares about Haiti. I caught him on CNN today talking about this disaster. He was saying the Haitians are people just like us. They are fellow humans on this planet not so different than us and they need our help. He was saying if you don't know who to send money to then send it to his foundation because he is using all of the money to immediately buy supplies that are needed. And he is right and he seems to genuinely care.

For our part we are trying to get the word out about what Northwest Haiti Christian Mission is doing. They are sending all of the medical supplies and medical staff they can down to PAP to help. They are using all of the money they raise to buy food and additional medical supplies. I have been impressed with my coworkers today who gave me over $100 so far to help after I sent out a mass email detailing why we care and what the need is.

Please continue to pray for Haiti.

Pray for Haiti

I am no Haiti expert...I've only been in the country for 8 days of my life. And although I have only physically been there a few days a piece of my heart has been there every since. And that must be the reason that this earthquake literally makes me feel sick. We have heard many reports mostly via Facebook from our friends in Haiti. For awhile the husband of one of the ladies who lives at the mission could not be reached - he was in PAP yesterday for the arrival of a sea container. Thankfully he is ok and was able to contact his wife last night - though he described the scene in PAP as one of the worst things he had ever seen. Though the earthquake was centered in PAP many people who live in Saint Louis de Nord where the mission is have family there and are fearful because they cannot reach them. I certainly have a heavy heart for Haiti today. I am scared to see what daylight will reveal. This poor (spiritually and physically) country has suffered catastrophic damage, but I also know our God is a mighty God. The devastation is widespread and as of now they have reported 18 aftershocks so I am sure people are nervous. Though it is terrible my prayer is that this would lead the Haitian people to turn to the one true God.