A New Year

As 2012 begins, Andy and I look back on the past year in complete shock.  It flew by and it seems like we went a million miles a minute.  Neither one of us have ever really been big on actually keeping our New Year's resolutions until this past year.  We made several of them, you know the usual, read the Bible more, be better everything, lose weight, get in shape, begin the adoption process, etc.  Everything started great, we read the Bible together, began walking around the neighborhood together every night, and found a great agency to begin our adoption. As January 2011 came to an end, we began to fizzle out on our resolutions.  We fizzled out on everything (sad to admit) except for one.  WE FINISHED OUR ADOPTION PROCESS!!!

We are 110% official!  Kelli, our case worker, who by the way is a blessing, called me with the news last week. Our home study has been signed, sealed, and delivered to the State of Tennessee.  Our profile is now being shown to prospective parents and we are officially on the waiting list.  Reading this post as I type it out is incredible. I find myself almost crying tears of complete joy at the mere thought of being a mommy and Andy being a daddy any day now.  I actually just took a HUGE sigh of relief that the hardest part is behind us. Kelli says that this time, referred to as "the waiting game," will be the hardest part of the process.  Up to this point, Andy and I have set the pace.  We determined when the paperwork was turned in, we determined when to get things done, etc. Not really though.  God has been in total control the whole time and it's pretty crazy how I have recently come to realize that. HE placed some amazing friends in front of us when the time was right who led us to Bethany. HE pushed us to get our paperwork done. HE made 2011 fly by.  HE makes things happen in HIS time, not ours.  I have just figured that out. I know that waiting for a phone call can seem like an eternity, but God has a wonderful plan for me and Andy and He's taken care of us up to this point, so why should we worry about the next phase?

Looking forward to 2012, I hope that this will be the year of great change in the Stites household. I pray that this family of 2 becomes a family of 3.  I pray that the resolutions we have set for ourselves are actually kept. I pray that God prepares us physically, mentally, financially, and every other kind of -ly possible!  A lot of people ask me what are we going to do if we get a call tomorrow.  I'm not going to lie, that thought is absolutely terrifying! Going from Andy and I coming and going as we please and not worrying about anything has been kind of nice.  Knowing that we are responsible for the life of another human being is a tremendous responsibility.  He will not give us more than we can handle. 

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us. Knowing that so many people are in this with us is very comforting.  One of my resolutions is keeping this blog updated so you will know where we are and what's going on, I PROMISE I will keep this resolution! We are very grateful for family and friends that love us and support us.  We love you all!

Hurry up and wait

Andy and I are official!  As of Friday, everything has been tured in and has been approved.  Families can now look at our profile.  We are so excited because this means we are that much closer to bringing home our precious baby!  What a relief.  Your encouraging words, phone calls, texts, emails, and prayers have meant so much to us and please keep them all coming.  I think we will need them now more than ever.  We have no idea how long we will have to wait.  According to Bethany, the average wait time runs from 4 months to 4 years.  The more specific you are, the longer you could wait.  For those of you who don't know already, we are neither gender nor race spcific.  With that decision made, more families will see our profile.  We have prayed and prayed for God to prepare our hearts and minds for what is about to be the next chapter in our lives.  We are extremely excited and cannot wait to see what our future holds. 

Please continue to pray for me and Andy while we wait.  Pray we will continue to fill our days as we always have and not become consumed with wondering when someone will call.  Pray that we continue to enjoy our time alone together as we have no idea when we will become a family of 3!

Praise God we have made it this far!  We are one step closer!

We're almost there

We can finally see an end in sight!  We just had our home study and safety evaluation last week.  This house has never been cleaner.  Kelli came over and we went through the house, no where near as in depth as I thought it was going to be.  She walked into every room, made sure we had outlet covers in all open outlets, locks for our medicine/chemical cabinets, checked the fire extinguisher, and looked at our evacuation plan.  No white glove test, didn't even seem to be interested in whether or not the house was clean...but I can assure you it was spotless.  We sat on the couch and just talked.  Given all the information she has read about us already, we both just assumed she already knew any and everything she would ever need to know about us.  I have to admit, it was nothing like I thought it was going to be.  It was like friends sitting around talking.  We both really like Kelli.  She is about our age and super sweet. 

Wednesday, Andy and I went to Nashville for our individual counseling.  He volunteered me to go first so he headed downstairs to hang out with my uncle (he works in the office right next to the Bethany office).  Again, pretty much the same questions.  Describe Mom, Dad, Matthew, their parenting style, our relationships both when I was younger and now, discipline style, favorite memories, how Andy and I met, our relationship, how I think a child will affect us and our relationship with one another, just to give you an idea.  Before we knew it, we had been talking for nearly 2.5 hours.  The sessions usually only last about 1-1.5 hours.  So maybe I'm a talker!  I come by it honest what can I say?  Andy and I switched so I got to spend a little time with my uncle before he had to leave.

Kelli said we are "nearly there"...just hearing those words make us so excited!  We actually thought we would be done after that meeting.  She will write our home study which she will submit to the State, but we get to look at it and approve it first.  So, of course we have to go back for that, but we will also review our service plan 1 more time, turn in our profile books, and THAT'S IT!  Done! Finished!  We will officially be "Waiting!"

I do have to say, I feel like we have the hardest job in front of us though.  We have to write our birthmother letters.  This letter can be the one thing that draws her to us.  I know that God already knows who our birthmother is and He already has our meeting planned out, but every time I sit down to begin my letter, it's like I don't know what to say.  I mean, what do you say to a complete stranger who is about to give you the MOST incredible, selfless gift anyone could give?  Nothing I write seems to sound good enough so I delete it and stare at a blank white Microsoft Word screen.  I keep hoping for an ah-ha moment and that the words just begin flowing through me but so far nothing.  Good news is, we have about 2 weeks to write our letters(that's when Kelli should be done writing our home study) so hopefully we can get it together by then.

Please pray for Andy and I as we try and get these last few things done.  Also be praying that our baby is already on his or her way!

Going to Daycare

Wow!  Who knew choosing a daycare was so crazy.  There is a LOT to consider.  Today Andy and I went to 2 centers and really liked them both.  One is right next-door to my office and one is on the other side of town.  They each have their pros and cons, but I think we really like one over the other.  It felt really weird writing a check to LLA today.  Yes, I wrote my first daycare check.  We have to be on a waiting list since there are only 2 centers that take children as young as 6 weeks, that really limits your options.  It was fun getting in there and looking at everything and meeting the teachers.  Everyone is super nice and the kids all seemed to be happy and enjoyed being there.  I felt really good leaving.  I have to admit, writing a daycare check was strange!  Guess we should get used to it.  I think I am going through a nesting phase now.  Daycare, check.  I am now on to car seats, cribs, pack 'n plays, strollers...the necessities.  Bless his heart Andy just looked at me and started laughing.  I think we have a little time to get all that stuff together.  I must admit, there is so much stuff and it's all so cute and tiny!  I just want one of everything I see.  I am ready to get a nursery together.  I want to start buying all these cute clothes I see.  I want to have everything ready so that when we get the call that we have been chosen that we don't have to do a thing. Not knowing if we will have a boy or girl is kind of keeping me from doing all this. I don't like unisex stuff.  I want all girl or all boy.  This is probably a good thing to be honest, it keeps me from going crazy too soon.  I am the planner and organizer and the one making sure we have a list.  Andy is the laid back voice of reason.  He knows I change my mind like I change clothes.  He keeps me in check.  We are both so excited!  This wait just might be the death of me.  I know God has the perfect child in mind solely for us and we cannot wait to meet him or her!  Hopefully we won't have to wait too awful long.

Sweet Success

Well, as many of you know already, Saturday was a HUGE success!  Andy and I had an amazing group of friends working together to make our 5k special for us...and it was.  Brooke, Kristen, Matthew, and so many others made Saturday the success it was.  We were blessed far beyond what we had hoped for and God is continuing to pour out His blessing on us.  I know I've already said this once, but there truly are not words good enough to say how thankful we are. 

Sunday morning we went to Church as usual, but this Sunday was different. After the run on Saturday, other than being extremely sore from being so out of shape, I felt great and very uplifted by the kind words we received from so many people.  Jay Walker, a longtime friend, said a special prayer.  It should be a prayer that we all say daily.  He was talking about how precious life is, and how so many children are out there without loving homes, and he went on to tell the church how Andy and I were adopting and that God had great plans in store for us and had the perfect child in mind for us.  He said the sweetest prayer and Andy and I both were fighting back tears.  This might sound a little strange, but during that prayer I had a feeling of peace and reassurance that God is in total control of everything we do, and that He has an incredible plan in store for us.  The anxiety of the wait was gone, the not-knowing was gone, just total peace about everything.  God is good and He hears our prayers and He takes care of us. 

So right now we are playing the waiting game.  We are "waiting" for a birth family to choose us.  We are neither gender specific not race specific.  Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long.  We are just trusting that the Lord brings us to the child He has created for us.  Please continue to pray for us and the child He has coming.  Pray that we are good parents and that we can raise our child in His ways. 

Again, thank you.  You have blessed us beyond measure! 

Excitement Building

Well, as of right now we are waiting to hear when our Home Study and Safety Evaluation will be.  This will be the last thing we have to do before we are officially "Waiting."  I have to admit, not knowing when they will call to say they are coming to Cookeville has been great for our house.  I don't think it has ever been cleaner!  Each night we are making sure everything is in place and clean so that when we get the call we aren't running around like crazy.  So other than becoming professional Merry Maids, we are doing pretty good. 

Most everyone on FB knows about the 5K coming up.  We are so excited!  So many people have messaged us about coming, or that they can't come but have made donations...we are just so humbled.  Some of you we have known our whole lives, some of you we have only recently met, and some of you are total strangers.  God has definitely blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.  I feel like I am a complete emotional train wreck each time I look at the event page, or read someones wall post about the 5k, or read the messages and letters we have been getting.  I'm laughing... I'm crying... Andy thinks I've lost my mind.  I am not sure how to express our gratitude.  Who knows when this child will come to us, but man will he or she be lucky!  To have so many people praying over them already is so amazing.

We hope to hear something from our adoption worker this week about when the home study will be so we can get that checked off the list. 

Hope to see everyone at JCS bright and early on Saturday morning!!!

It's been a while

I know it's been a while since I updated, we've had a lot going on it seems like.  We finally got all our paperwork submitted, all our doctors appointments done, and sent everything off.  Now,we are waiting to find out when our home study will be.  This is where everything is going to get a little tougher.  Up to this point, everything has been on our time table.  We controlled when we finished our paperwork, we controlled when to schedule appointments, we called the shots.  Now, Bethany will tell us when they will come and do our home study and home safety inspection.  But, this is also where some fun begins. 

As many of you are probably already aware, Running for Baby Stites, a 5K fundraiser, is scheduled for August 26th.  To say that Andy and I are excited would be a huge understatement.  We are so grateful and humbled by what our friends are doing for us that neither one of us can find any words that seem to be good enough. I don't want to name any names specifically because I am afraid that I would leave someone out. They know who they are and they will forever hold a very special place in my heart.  I get on FB every day and look at the comments that are posted, I have messages nearly every day, some from dear friends and some from total strangers, encouraging us and reaffirming our decision to adopt.  We are so thankful to have family and friends who support us. 

Right now, we need prayers.  Prayers for a successful fundraiser.  Prayers for a quick process.  Prayers for patience.  Someone told me once  that God doesn't give us patience, He gives us opportunities to exercise patience.  I like things done now and done my way so this will definitely be an opportunity for me.  Please be praying for our birthmother also.  We don't know who she is or where she is.  Pray that she gets the medical attention and the emotional care she needs during this time.  Pray for us as this will be a scary, emotional, overwhelming, exciting, and somewhat trying time for us all. 

Again, HUGE "THANK YOU" to those who have worked, and are still working, so hard to get this 5K going!  Again, we are grateful and excited about it.  We cannot wait!