Finally-- Something to Update!

Are y'all as shocked as I am to actually have an update?!
I feel like we've been stalled out in the home study process for too long, and we're thankful to be making forward progress again! Monday evening, our social worker, Mrs. S. came to visit and we were beyond NERVOUS!!! (If you've never had a complete stranger come into your home, inspect it, and ask you personal questions which will determine if you are suitable to become a parent-- you have no idea how nervous we were!) Spencer and I were pleasantly surprised to find that Mrs. S. is the sweetest lady ever! We worried over nothing, imagine that! For our fist visit, she just took a quick tour of our home, and asked some general questions. Next week, we get down to the nitty-gritty during our interviews, but at least I'm not nearly as anxious as I had been! We're both super excited to get this step completed and we'll be that much closer to bringing our angel home! :-D

In other news, we have had several special blessings the past month or so! A sweet, sweet young lady baked and sold some beautiful cupcakes and donated the money to our adoption fund! SO sweet!!  One of Spencer's relatives will be gifting us with his frequent flyer miles so we won't have to worry about plane tickets, which would be a huge cost! We've also had quite a bit of money to come in for our adoption fund.  I am AMAZED at how all of this is coming together, the Lord is SO good to take such good care of us! It is seriously humbling to know you have so many people behind you, cheering you on, and helping start your family. Adoption is a very special gift.


Thank you all for reading along and I hope to have a lot of good news to update in the coming days!
                  xoxo,
              Steffani :)

Hurry Up & Wait......

That seems to be the theme these days.

I really don't have a lot to update "adoption-wise", this part of the process is kind of slow and uneventful. We're finished with most of our parts. However, we have one or two more training classes we have to take so we can get our certificate and we're (still) waiting on those last few important documents to come in so we can mail off our home study packet. I'm SOOOOOOOOO ready to get this part OVER with and on to the good stuff!! But, I know these things take time and when you're dealing with government agencies-- you're just at their mercy. I really wanted to have it all ready to mail off by tomorrow- but that doesn't look like it's going to happen! Please, help us pray that we will get it all finished in a timely manner. I can't stand the thought of thinking we're spending more time apart from our little angel. We appreciate you all so much. Just knowing that we have so many people lifting us up in prayer is such a blessing. 

In other news: This week we had a HUGE answer to prayer! We were able to sell my car, which was a great blessing. (I'm commandeering Spencer's and we're looking for him a reasonably priced truck-- if anyone knows of one!)  It's so amazing to watch God work and provide in our lives. We're so thankful! :-D 

I'm also hosting an online Thirty-One Fundraiser Party for an adoption friend! If any of you are interested, it's a GREAT time to get started on Christmas shopping, and it goes to a great cause!! Angie and her husband are also in the process of adopting from Bulgaria- in fact, we even got our home study packets in the mail on the same day! All of the proceeds will go to their adoption fund, and you can find their story here at their blog.  Thirty-One has some seriously cute new styles out and lots of adorable patterns!So, please check it out here!

xoxo,

Steff

A Little Peak From Our Photo Session!

Goodness gracious, y'all!! As you may know, we had our adoption photos taken last night by the talented Mary Evelyn Tucker with J.&M.E. Photography! Can we just say, she is FANTASTIC!! She completely captured the whole feeling we were going for, and her style is just amazing! :) I cannot WAIT to share the rest with all of our faithful followers! For now though, I can only leave you with a little peak! 

xoxo, Steff <3

Добро утро Y'all!

There's really not a lot to update at this point. We're sooo close to having all of our home study paperwork ready to send back to our agency. We're just waiting on a few more "official" documents to roll in an we can mail that packet off!! Then begins our interview process and a whole slew of more paperwork fun. Praise The Lord we have all of the funds needed for our home study and we're well on our way to having everything we need for when we submit our dossier. Isn't it so good to have a Heavenly Father that knows our needs before we ask, and is so able and willing to meet them! For instance: we are still such a long way (it seems) from bringing home our sweet little angel, and yet this past week my {amazing} boss brought me home a toddler bed! 

The prettiest little toddler bed you've ever seen! Now, I honestly hadn't even thought to pray for a toddler bed- but The Lord knew that we would need that!  I never want to take for granted the "little" things He does for me!! 

Thanks for following along on this journey with us. We pray you all have a blessed week! 

Xoxo, Steffani

It's THAT Day Again......

It's Tuesday, y'all! 

Which means, if you'd like to have a little part in helping bring our Bulgarian angel home to us, all you have to do is click this link to make your $10 donation!

Every little bit helps! Even if you can't give today, please keep us in your PRAYERS! Those are the most important thing, and we can NEVER have enough! We are so amazed, thankful, and humbled as we watch the Lord send in the funds for our sweet baby!  We only need about $3,000 more for our next step! Which is AMAZING! In about 7 weeks time, we've watched God provide over $7,000 which is AMAZING to me!! I've had quite a few people write and tell me they had no idea adoption was so expensive. It certainly is!! The financial package from our agency estimated our total costs at around $32,000.00 (Depending on travel expenses, that could be a little more or less expensive!) Although that is a rather large number, it's going to be worth every dime and more when we finally have our sweetheart home and in our arms!! THANK YOU for giving to make that possible!! 

We are blessed with the best friends and family in the world! :-D 

xoxo, Steffani 

$10 Tuesday (and other FUNdraising news!)

We are so super thankful for all of the money that rolled in yesterday on $10 Tuesday!! :) I really had no idea how it would go, and wasn't really expecting much to be honest! We had a grand total of ........$1,110 come in yesterday! Granted, a huge chunk of that came from a donation by Spencer's work, but we are amazed to watch it all come in and that brings our grand total so far to over $6,000! Which leaves us needing only around $26,000 more!! That still sounds like a lot, I know, BUT, at least it sounds better than $32,000. And although we don't know exactly where it will come from, we know it's going to come in just like the first $6,000 has! I sure do love watching God work! 

This sweet little girl that has been making and selling bracelets brought us over $100 this past weekend! Well, she must be one busy girl, because she's sold over 100 more since then!!
The money she's raised so far completely paid for our FBI fingerprints and background checks!
I love the fact that our God can use ANYONE. Big, small, young or old! He can do ANYTHING. He loves to work through his people, and all you have to do is be a willing vessel!  Hope you all have a blessed Wednesday!

Again, we are so grateful to each and every person who has prayed for us, offered encouraging words, or given a donation! We don't take you all for granted!
xoxo, 
Steffani

Am I Making God Famous?

What a question. That was the message preached last night by a visiting preacher at church. It was way up there my list of best sermons I've ever heard. Bro. Skelton defined "giving God glory", as enhancing God's reputation in the world, and making him famous. He stated (what I've always known) that the whole reason for our existence, is for GOD's GLORY. Period, the end. "What are you doing to give God glory?" he asked, and went on about how EVERY situation in our life is an opportunity to either enhance or tear down God's reputation among those in the world. That makes sense, right? People are watching every move we make, the way we deal with things that are thrown into, and even what we do with our blessings. People are watching our reaction and actions based on circumstances in our lives. 

Every circumstance in life is an opportunity to bring glory to God. 

 Then he asked the question, "Is God fair?".  

(WARNING: Completely honest and transparent post ahead.)

I sat there stunned and soaked up every word.  As much as I'd like to portray myself as the perfect Christian who never questions God, or wonders what on earth He is up to, or gets angry when things don't go the way I feel like they should-- I can't. Because, in fact, I do. I have been guilty of those things even this past week. 

Flashback to Thursday afternoon:  In about the span of 3 hours,  a "quick trip" to the vet (a visit required for our adoption paperwork) ended up costing us $200- "Well, Lord, that's a bummer, are you sure you know what you're up to?" I questioned in my heart. A little later, I finally pull into my driveway at the end of a long day, and billows of grey smoke start pouring out of my exhaust pipe. Our faithful mechanic extraordinaire (aka Papa) came to investigate and discovered that my poor car had more than likely blown a head gasket (which is NOT an easy-or cheap fix). Now, as much as I would love to say, my first reaction was "Praise the Lord- I'm gonna give you the glory through this"-- it really went more like this-- "Lord, this really isn't fair. We're doing everything we can to do right- I don't understand why things like this KEEP happening!"  

Needless to say- when the preacher started I knew it was for me. It really encouraged me to examine my life and to improve on the way I react to things. From now on, I'm going to try and ask myself, "Am I making God famous, or giving him a bad name?" and  keep in mind that when things happen- it is not at all because God isn't fair- it's only because he can be glorified through it. And after all, that's what I'm here for anyway. I want God to use my life and the things I go through, to show other people that he can bring them through the same things. It's all for our good and HIS glory! :)  

In adoption news-- Saturday evening we were able to meet the precious little girl who has started making and selling bracelets to help our adoption fund! As of yesterday she's raised over $100 for Baby Jones and she is still taking orders! We are so blessed by her generosity and sweet spirit! :)  We had our FBI fingerprints done today, and we're making so much progress on our mountain of paperwork! We've got appointments tomorrow for our physicals and once we have a clean bill of health- we'll just be waiting on a couple of little things! So exciting! Thank you all for the prayers and support!! 

xoxo, 

Steffani