Skip to main content

are you at the top of the mountain, or in the depths of the valley?

I have never written a blog before. I wouldn’t even consider myself a writer.  But I believe we have a story worth sharing. A story that is meant to encourage someone, and maybe that someone is you.  We know what it’s like to be buried in paperwork trying to complete a homestudy (while trying to keep our sanity intact!).  We know the sadness and embarrassment that comes with  having to say no to a prospective adoption opportunity.   And we know how it feels to meet a birth mom for the first time only to have it fall apart and not work out in the very end.   Despite all of the highs and lows, and all the joys and disappointments in-between, we have seen God’s faithfulness through it all.   We’ve experienced  the joy of bringing our son home from the hospital.   We have felt the love and embrace of our family and friends as they welcomed our child into their family. And we can say without a doubt, it’s all been worth it.  I just want to encourage you, whether you’re the top of the mountain right now or in the depths of the valley, do not lose hope, do not lose faith.   I hope you enjoy following our story, and that it brings you a little encouragement along the way as you continue on your adoption journey.

-Kristen

“Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your tribulation, be constant in prayer.”  Romans 12:12

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

what do you need to surrender?

As a young 20 something bride, I never would have guessed that we would build a family through adoption.   I just assumed my life would unfold in the way I had always imagined.  In my head it went something like this: Go to college  Meet a great guy  Finish college  Get married  Get a great job  Have a baby (I mean, that’s how it goes for everyone right?  🤷🏼‍♀️) I was able to check all those things off my list, but having a baby just never happened. Like a lot of couples out there we really struggled to get pregnant.  Suddenly babies were popping up all around us, friends from college, sisters, neighbors and co-workers.  And of course everyone wondered why we weren’t on the baby bandwagon yet!  “It’s about time you guys had a baby right? Do you want kids? Can you even get pregnant?” {insert polite laugh here and immediately change subject} Can anyone else relate?🙋🏼‍♀️  Everybody was having babies excep...
3 comments
Read more

not sure how to give a newborn a bath? thank goodness for YouTube.

I think for many expecting couples there’s a lot of preparation involved for bringing home their newborn.  Whether it’s classes offered through their OB/GYN or training offered at the hospital, expecting parents have the chance to learn some basic caring skills that many adoptive parents miss out on. Our “nesting” months are spent preparing for homestudy interviews and trans-racial seminars. We’re running around town gathering financial documents and getting fingerprinted. Who has time to learn how to swaddle a baby? Or how to sleep train a newborn? Or how to give an infant a bath? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Thank goodness for my sister (a baby-swaddling ninja 🙅🏻‍♀️) who taught me how to swaddle Jack when he came home from the hospital. After about 20 times I got the hang of it.   But when the experience and advice of friends fell short we did what any other cusp-millennial couple would do, we turned to YouTube. Jack couldn’t have been more than a few days old and we thought, “hey, this kid ...
3 comments
Read more

was I ready for God to answer my prayer? the first time we said no to an adoption opportunity...pt. 1

The first time we got a call about a possible adoption opportunity we were not ready. We were right in the middle of our homestudy process, still checking off boxes on a never ending to do list. I think if you had asked me then if I was ready to become a mom I would’ve said absolutely! I was excited for a child to enter our lives and make us a family, ready to hold a baby in my arms, maybe even ready to actually meet a birth mom (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks!).  Then one sunny day in October a call from my sister changed everything.  I wasn’t surprised to get her call, I had planned a trip to see her in Las Vegas  where she lived and had a flight booked for the following week.  But she wasn’t calling to confirm my travel plans, she was calling about a baby. A baby that hadn’t been born yet, a birth mom who wanted to make an adoption plan but didn’t yet have prospective parents in mind.  A baby that was due within the week. I remember standing in my kitchen moving in slow...
2 comments
Read more