Moldy Cheese and Buzzfeed

Did you know that October 9th was National Moldy Cheese Day? I hope you didn't miss your opportunity to celebrate with a nice baked camembert or maybe a blue cheese burger. Who would have thought that there would be a day specifically for moldy cheeses. I mean I enjoy a beautiful blue vein cheese as much as the next guy, but does a cheese really deserve its own day of recognition?

This got me thinking. Is there a day that recognizes and brings attention to adoption? There should be, especially if moldy cheese has its own day. When I investigated I learned two things, November is Adoption Awareness Month, and more specifically November 9th is the first ever World Adoption Day. Awesome! I was so excited to learn about this great day! My mind instantly began to race. What can I do to raise awareness about World Adoption Day? The organizers have asked people to post a pic of themselves with a smiley face drawn on the palm of their hand and to use the hashtag #WorldAdoptionDay, but what could I personally do? I had to do something, and I had to do it quick. Ice bucket challenge? Nah thats been done. Creative hashtag? Maybe but they have a hashtag already. So, I did what you do when you don't know what to do. I Googled "how to raise awareness". That didn't produce much, but while scrolling through Facebook I came across a Buzzfeed link for 25 reason to eat more cheese. Ironic huh.

If you have been on Facebook anytime in the past six months, then you know what Buzzfeed is. My news feed is nothing but 33 ways you know you were a youth group kid or the 100 best cat pics. You get the picture. So after reading about why I should eat more cheese, my wheels started turning. I came up with the genius idea (Lauren helped a lot) to make my own Buzzfeed style list to try to raise awareness for World Adoption Day. So, here you go, in honor of the first ever World Adoption Day on November 9th:

THE TOP 9 THINGS THAT I CAN'T WAIT TO DO WITH MY KIDS

9. SPORTING EVENTS 

        
What dad doesn't want to take their kids to their first baseball game, football game, NASCAR race, or bowling match?  Wait... is it called a bowling match or bowling game? ok maybe not bowling

8. SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS

         










I'll be honest, I don't even know if this is a thing anymore. What I do know is that there are a lot of stupid cartoons out now, and kids need direction. I vow to show my kids what real cartoons are. Ninja Turtles, Looney Toons, Scooby Doo, etc. Plus it is a great excuse to eat Lucky Charms.

7. HOBBIES



I can't wait to pass all of my knowledge on to moldable young minds. I pray that my children have some of the same interests as me. Specifically cars and cooking, but I also hope that we can find new hobbies to learn about together.



6. THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE

The largest fireworks display in North America, and second largest in the world. Words can't really describe the experience, but I can tell you that it is AWESOME! Check out this video

5. CAMPING AND ALL THINGS FALL



Pumpkin carving, halloween costumes, picking apples, eating apple pie, bonfires, s'mores, driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. Oh and apple cider doughnuts. Need I say more?

4. EKIDZ AND THIS >>>>>>

Our Church is very important to us and we can not wait for our kids to be involved with the childrens ministry which we call eKidz. The picture may need some explaining. When I first saw this on the wall, they had not put the little feet on the ground, so my thought was "I wonder why they didn't put the I up. Maybe its on backorder or something." After a few weeks I really began to get agitated with it. Our church is very intentional with making sure we do everything with excellence, and leaving the "I" out of eKidz is not operating with excellence. When I told Lauren about my frustration, she politely showed me the error of my ways. "Your kid is suppose to be the I, you big dummy" - Lauren          Ever since then I have wanted to take this picture with my kids because I think it is such a cool idea.

3. BUILDING A SNOWMAN AND PLAYING IN THE SNOW

One thing that we have been told about adopting internationally is that our children will have lots of firsts. Some have never seen grass, or a car, or an airplane. Imagine what their reaction will be the first time they see snow.

2. CHRISTMAS MORNING

This kid's reaction says it all!









1. BAPTISM 

This makes me the most excited and emotional, and for those of you who have been supporting us, you have a part in this as well. To see my children publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ will be the absolute greatest day of my life. One quote that I have repeated over and over through this process so far is "We can't change the world, but for the children we bring home, we will change their world forever" There is no greater investment than the Kingdom of God, and when you help us bring our children home, that is where you are investing your money. Your money goes to so much more than covering legal fees and home study fees. It helps to bring a child into a loving home where they will be introduced to their Savior, and that my friend is priceless.


BONUS!!!!                            
DISNEY WORLD   

Because no list like this would be complete without Disney World.




What traditions do you have with your kids? Leave some suggestions for us in the comments.

Please share with your friends and help us get the word out!!

Love you all,

Brian

PS Lauren had a big hand in helping me come up with this list. So, I may have stolen her idea for this blog post. SHHHH don't tell her.

Faith Too Small

In the last 12 months, we've had over 25 friends either have babies or become pregnant.  25!

Every time someone has told me they were pregnant, I'd be thrilled for them and pray that it would be me soon.  From the time Brian and I started dating, we had hoped we could get pregnant as soon as we got married.  We wanted a honeymoon baby.  We thought that by the time we were celebrating our fifth anniversary we'd have at least two kids or be pregnant with the second one. 

Well, here we are less than a month away from our sixth anniversary and no babies.  

The last five years have been filled with medications, shots, infertility treatments, multiple weekly doctor appointments, nights where I'd lay in bed crying and just praying for a baby, people asking insensitive questions about why we didn't have kids yet.  We prayed for children all the time.  I saw my husband interacting with our friends kids and felt so much guilt that I hadn't been able to provide him with kids yet (he NEVER made me feel that way, just myself).  

We have the privilege of leading an eGroup at our church.  It's made up of couples and we get to do Bible studies and life together.  Over the last two years our group, family and friends have prayed with us for kids. Sometimes I felt like they were praying about it more than I was because I'd just get too sad about it.  I even prayed that God would take the desire out of my heart to want children.  That was the hardest thing because I knew that I wanted them more than anything, but maybe there was a reason we weren't blessed with them yet.  Through those prayers, He only made my desires stronger.  

When we started our adoption journey, Brian was that catalyst for it.  His faith was the strongest and I'm so grateful for that because he truly is the spiritual leader of our household.   I was scared that we wouldn't come up with the money, get approved to be parents or even be ready to be mom and dad. Thoughts were racing through my head like "What if this doesn't work too?", "How will we ever raise this money?", " How will we know what to do?".  

The home study is one of the first parts of the adoption process.  It's where they come to your house and examine it, interview both parents, check on references, it's pretty intense!  It costs $5500 to complete that portion of the adoption.  Both Brian and I were believing it'd take us 4-5 months to come up with the money.  We were planning on sharing our story on Facebook and Instagram and doing some fundraisers in November and December.  We thought we'd get through the holidays, maybe family would give us Christmas gifts that we could use for the home study.  

We really never thought it'd get started in 2014. 

God had some other plans for us.  

In less than two weeks, friends, family and strangers have donated over $6,000!  Brian and I got a call last week from some of our best friends who wanted to donate and huge amount.  It was the exact right amount to finish paying for the home study.  When I found out, all I could do was cry and thank God.  We still need to raise about $35,000 more, but how can we doubt God now after these last two weeks?!

He knew all along that this would be our path to starting our family.  He knew that i needed stronger faith in Him.  I feel as though God kind heartedly laughed at me last week as this money was coming through.  I felt Him asking me why I didn't have more faith in Him because He already has this planned out.  He knows the names, gender and ages of the children we will be bringing him.  He knows the desires of our hearts and is answering them.  

I felt Him saying I am going to be a mom.  I believed for the first time in my life that I will actually get to be a mom.  And I cannot wait!

Lauren 

                                                                       My mom & I