Operation Christmas Child...

I know it has been a little bit since I posted but I am just so excited for us to do this again this year and wanted to share this with everyone. This is just such a cool thing and we have so much fun doing it. Abbe even added it to her site. Here is what she wrote it was just so sweet:

The Power of a simple gift, isn't just any power, It helps alot of kids around the world. Every year we (my family) do at least one box each and this year our goal is to do 10 boxes. I Hope my gift goes to someone in Haiti. I wish I could see the smile on their face when they get their operation Christmas Child gift!

Certified!!!

So, Hannah just called today and we are officially Certified with the State to Adopt! YAY! We are so excited...our site is live.

https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24628056/ourMessage.jsf

Almost set!

So it looks like we will be able to submit all our stuff for certification to the state really soon. Wow! We never would have thought we would have gotten all things done by now...since there is alot we had to do for this...but after all if it were me entrusting another with the most precious thing to me I would want to know that they are who they say they are and that they are the best possible choice.

Today I had gone to an adoption training and we had a chance to hear from a birth-mother and some adoptive couples. It was really great and the people who spoke were so genuine. I have to say I am so amazed with the amount of courage that a birth-mother has. I am truly thankful for them. Some may say that they are weak because they chose to place a child with another but it is SO the opposite. They are SO STRONG and no one can understand the selfless sacrifice they make or have made for this tiny spirit unless they are or were in their shoes.

I am so excited for this journey and know that the Lord has a plan for everything.

We have decided to Adopt!

Well, It's true.  We have decided to adopt...It's official...well an official decision that is.  After promptings, prayers and waiting, we know that this is what Heavenly Father wants for us and our family.  We are excited for this process to begin and to see where it brings us and our family.  

I know some of you may take this as a total surprise since we haven't talked about this to many people yet...not even most of our family (with exception of Mom's and Dad's)...we just wanted to be sure we were sure...and we wanted to make sure we told Abbe in a special way before letting everyone know...It's been a long 4 yrs of trying and to no avail (not even a pregnancy) to grow our family...which I know only some even know that. 

It had been hard for us to talk about it at times...especially with everyone we knew was either pregnant/ getting pregnant/ or better yet they were on baby 2 or 3...not to mention all the showers...but we have believed that Heavenly Father always knows why we must be challenged and tried and that our "Greatest Trials often bring our Greatest Triumphs."  We have just been being prepared.

We have already met with LDS Family Services so that we can get the ball rolling and get certified.  Our case worker Hannah has been really helpful.  We are really excited and can't wait to meet the little one that will come to us!