A little update.

We found out only a little over a month ago that we were chosen by a birth mom, a little over 2 weeks ago we found out it was a girl, and today we found out we are going to Florida for a few days so we can go to an ultrasound with our birth mom. Life is really exciting right now. 

In March, we will go to Florida for a few days and hopefully spend some time with our birth mom. We have talked to her several times on the phone and she is SO sweet and kind. Adoption is really awesome. I never really knew how I would feel about a relationship with my daughter's birth mom. I had hopes but I didn't really know. The second we spoke to her the first time, all my worries seemed to be comforted. We are in this together and it is a beautiful thing. There is a whole lot of peace in knowing that God has our baby exactly where she needs to be. 

Our puzzle fundraiser has been incredible! So many of you have donated pieces. It has been an incredible reminder for John and I to see all the peoples names written down who have and are continuing to bless our life so much. THANK YOU! We have 191 pieces left. How awesome is that? 

John got to chose the name this time. It was kind of exciting for me to see what he would chose. I was also a little worried :) He finally chose the name Thea. It's pronounced "Thee-uh." I was so pleasantly surprised and it feels perfectly sweet for our baby girl. We don't have a middle name yet but I am hoping to pressure J enough to decide soon. 

BIG BIG news!!

We have BIG news. 

On New Year's Day, we received the news that we were chosen by a birth mom whose baby will arrive around June 11th! We are feeling so many emotions but mostly excitement for ANOTHER June baby. Adoption is an incredible journey. How awesome is it that we got the news on New Year's Day? What a perfect start to 2015 not to mention we were with John's family and got to share the news in person!

Even though we have a little under 5 months, so much has to be done and so much has to fall into place and we need your help. Here is a quick update of all that has been given toward our adoption so far:

Auction: $3,600

Jar Fundraiser: $386

MudLove: $510

Blaze Pizza Fundraiser: $105

John's Hot Sauce Fundraiser: $80

Kelsey's Etsy Shop: $624

TOTAL: $5,305

With all that was given, the help of a loan, and my overly generous parents, we paid our agency the $22,500 in fees that were due a few days after our match. We will still owe $2,000 each month (and then 6 weeks after the baby is born) for birth mom expenses. That also does not include any consultant and home study fees we already paid which were around $4,000 or the post-placement fees. Are you overwhelmed just reading that because I sure am ;)

We have a long way to go. God is totally in control. Thankfully! He continually amazes us at how everything just seems to come together. He provides. It is hard to ask for help in our a self-sufficient society! Very hard. However, we know that God is continually asking us to make ourselves vulnerable in this way. He is asking us to acknowledge that this is not just our journey.

Puzzle Fundraisers are quickly becoming a popular adoption fundraiser and we understand why! How fun is it is to "be a piece of the puzzle" in giving a baby a forever home?? We need your piece to help us with getting this little one back to Ohio! We cannot even express how grateful and humbled we are with how much love this baby has already been shown.

So, here is how it works:

1. Sponsor one (or more) pieces of our puzzle by clicking on the PayPal tab (at the bottom of this blog) and donating $10 per piece. 

2. We will write your name on the back of the puzzle piece so be sure to let us know what name to write! We will be updating with pictures of the puzzle as it gradually comes together. 

3. When baby comes home, the puzzle will be hung right above his/her crib filled with the names of all the people who have helped bring them into our family!  

We picked this tree of life puzzle because it just seemed fitting. As I was looking at it, I couldn't help thinking about how our baby will soon fall asleep looking at this puzzle, probably trying to decide which animal is his/her favorite like I am right now. So so exciting! Can't wait to see this puzzle come together.

We are beyond thankful for everyone who has done so much to help us already. We could not be going through with this adoption without you. Thank you! As you know, when putting together a puzzle, every single piece matters!

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