Even if you are not going to adopt, educate yourself on the facts of HIV!

Since the 80's, the mindset on HIV has hardly changed. Which is preventing thousand of orphans from finding families! We are not planning on adopting a child from this particular special needs category, but I am glad that I read up on it anyways. And you all should too! Even if you don't plan on adopting, check out this short educational video! It makes a bigger impact than my words can. You will learn a lot in just 3 short minutes. And I bet you wont view HIV the same! Spread the word so these kids can find homes!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE9XnX7WRog

 

 

 

 

And don't forget to order up some coffee from our online store! All proceeds go directly to our adoption fund!

 

 

https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/faithlikecoffeebeans/

Adoption is redemption

There will be a day in our future, when we remove a little child from the grasp of a lonely life full of neglect, abuse, illness, hunger, and possibly much more than I can comprehend. A day that my family and I can change a life forever. A day that will break me, and complete me in a moment. A day that we become parents of a child that was brought into this world by someone else, and then couldn't care for them for some, possibly unknown, reason.

 

"A child born to another woman calls me Mom. The depth of that tragedy and the magnitude of that privilege, are not lost on me."-Jody Landers

 

 

Its easy for followers of Jesus to compare redemption and adoption. Because, to us, its the same thing! By definition, redemption means "deliverance" or "rescue" or "salvation". And adoption is "To take up and make one's own". When we bring a child out of such hard circumstances and "rescue" him/her, it gives a chance at a new life. Just as Jesus adopted us into his family, not judging us by our mistakes, but snatching us up and LOVING us! And then leading us into a new life with Him! He makes us His own, despite our blemishes and stains!

 

 

"He predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—"
Ephesians 1:5


http://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/faithlikecoffeebeans/

 

 

 

 



Being a BOY is a special need!

I had an idea in my head for the longest time, that we should adopt a little girl because little girls are not "preferred", and they end up in orphanages. Turns out, most people think that way, and go into the adoption process trying for a girl. Don't get me wrong, its so great that all those little girls get loving families! But wouldn't it be great if little boys did too?? Little boys (and older boys) end up waiting, and waiting, and waiting! Which puts them in the special needs category! Check out this video of some pretty amazing boys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ijggNs2Ask


And don't forget to check out our coffee shop! All proceeds  go directly to our adoption fund!

http://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/faithlikecoffeebeans/

Orphan Population

Around the world, there are an estimated 153 million orphans! To put this in perspective, the population of the United States in 2012 was approximately 313 million. (So HALF of the US population is just about equal to the orphan population across the world!) The amount of orphans worldwide is 8.5 times larger than the population of Shanghai, China! The amount of orphans around the world is 40 times larger than the population of Los Angeles!!!!

I don't know about you, but I find this to be shocking! And it has got to change!!! I know a lot of people think to themselves, "I'm just ONE person, how can I make a difference to SO many orphans??!!" The answer is simple, HELP ONE ORPHAN! If everyone helped just one orphan, just imagine how these numbers would change! You don't have to adopt to help, (I know adoption is not for everyone) but you can support them in some way! Support a couple striving to adopt, ask a missionary how you can help them to help orphans, pray for God to show you how you can help in some way!

If we all tried to make a little difference in the world, we would definitely make a huge difference together!


https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/faithlikecoffeebeans/

A Fundraiser is up and RUNNING!

Another BIG step has been made! An official fund raiser for our adoption!!!! And it fits us perfect! COFFEE!!!!
Just Love Coffee is an amazing company that strives to make adoption costs a little easier to handle! What an awesome company! I am so excited to call them our new friends! Here is the link to our online store!

https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/faithlikecoffeebeans/

 All the proceeds from our store goes directly to our Adoption fund! Here is one of the great things that Just Love Coffee has to say about their products:

"We source only the finest Fair Trade, Direct Trade, organic, and shade-grown coffee beans from the best growing regions around the world. We research the co-ops we work with and are diligent about sustainability. That’s all before the coffee even arrives on the Just Love Coffee doorstep. From there, we inspect the beans and do sample cuppings. Then our master roaster Jason works his magic, taking an artisan approach to create smooth, flavorful, specialty coffees of the highest quality."

If you are not sure which coffee to try, just look up the "Find the perfect blend" tab and check out the delicious details! I can not wait to order some for Jeremy and I! If you don't feel like trying to coffee, they also have cocoa, mugs, and apparel!

Thank you for the support! Please keep us in your prayers for our upcoming excitement!

Moving Forward!

I am so excited! I know we have only taken a few baby steps to prepare for out upcoming journey, but I still feel like a HUGE leap was taken today! An agency that I really like called me, and we talked for about 45 minutes! She was so patient while I hounded her with question after question. And we even shared a few laughs. I am pretty confident that we have found our agency!
We also have a fund raiser being planned! Looks like Natanya's bake sale will be in the spring of 2014! I really wanted to make a big deal about the bake sale since it was all Natanya's idea. She has such a big heart! And I really believe having her do this will also teach her a great lesson about hard work! We decided the bake sale will be a wide assortment of goodies, and we are not going to label them with prices. It will be by donation. Let's just see what God does with this! I will post more details as we figure them out!
Prayers are appreciated at all times!

Educating myself on special needs

Special needs sounds so intimidating! I didn't consider special needs children at first. But I thought it was a good idea to see what kind of needs are out there, and get some information on them. I am so glad I decided to do that! Because now I am open to special needs children! And lets face it, MOST kids in orphanages will have some sort of SN. Whether its mental, physical, permanent or repairable with surgery, or treatable with meds. Chances are, something will be affecting them.
I will be honest though. There are some SN that I am not comfortable with and would not consider bringing into my home. I felt so guilty, so heartless, and mean!!!!!! But I realized (thanks to a new friend) that God made everyone to be able to handle different types of children. Just because I cant handle one need, does not mean that the child with that need, will not find a home. I cant beat myself up if I can not "rescue" all of the orphans in this world. God made us to be one body, with many parts! We all have to work together to find homes for SN children!

Im not a patient person....

I have been researching agencies, and countries for months now! I REALLY don't want to take a wrong turn when we start paperwork. I have discovered how "messy" international adoption can be, with the research I have done. There are so many unethical actions being taken by agencies. I don't want to be caught up in that. So we have to prayerfully consider every step, and every decision. But its so hard on my patience! I am the kind of person that gets an idea, and I go for it! I always think things through. But I like to get things done. (You should see me make a quilt.... it doesn't matter how big a project it is. I will hide away at home and get that sucker sewed together!)  I know that's NOT how its going to be for adoption. And my mind is already thinking so far ahead. I have to back myself up, and slow down! But I really wish I could start right now!
With the help of a couple of new friends, I have gathered a ton of information that helps me stay busy, and helps me feel like I am at least doing something to work toward our goal, of bringing home a new kiddo <3 Besides dissecting agency after agency, I need to get our adoption fund going! So far so good! I have some great ideas that I am working on! My sewing machine is going to get a lot of exercise over the next year! I need to stay busy, because this long wait will not be easy for me

Our Leap of Faith!

Since I was a little girl, I had a dream of adopting. Now that I am an adult, I realize, that dream grew with me. The idea of it was always there, and would occasionally pop up in my head; it would make me smile, and make me day dream a little bit. (ok...ALOT!) What does God have planned for me? That was always a question I would ask myself. The answer is.... God made me a Mother. And I LOVE it!
I don't know what stoked "the fire" in my heart to start talking to my husband, Jeremy, about adoption. He was a little bit shocked. We are a family of 5, living on one income. How can we adopt??? Its expensive! The answer is, God. That's how this is going to happen. I feel the prodding to bring an orphan into our home. I am scared, and I am excited! And I cannot wait to see the miracles God puts together to make our family a little bigger!