Just Because
Just because you work in a hospital doesnt make you a doctor..
just because you go to church, doesnt make you a pastor (or even a Christian at times)
Just because you drive a truck, doesnt make you a trucker...
Just because you read, doesnt make you a teacher..
Just because you are a waiter/waitress, doesnt make you a cook/chef...
Just because you are woman, doesnt make you a mother...
Just because I have no child, doesnt mean I have no life....
Just because Im done trying... doesnt mean I dont still hurt, still cry, still greive...
Just because I lost you... doesnt mean I will forget you.... i will always love you.
Just because I cant get pregnant... doesnt mean I will never be a parent...
Just because I hurt, I cry, I greive... does NOT mean I cant be happy, healthy, and full of life...
Just think about it.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Dear Baby,
Dear Baby,
We dont know where you are, or how you will even get to us, but we do know that you are coming. God has great and wonderful plans for you-and you dont even know it yet! You are a miracle..... a HUGE gift from God and we will accept you with open arms!!!
We have longed for you, prayed for you, and cried many many tears for you.. You are real. You are coming and we can feel it in our hearts. We are getting so close to meeting you. We can not wait until the day that we hear "congrats, youre going to be parents!" and we cant wait until the day we get to meet you, hug you, and see youre beautiful face!
We are so excited, nervous, overwhelemed and just plain thrilled for you to be coming into our lives, and at this time. We know, soon, we will become parents for the first time.
Until then, we will pray for you, get your room ready, prepare ourselves (and our pets-lol) for you. We will announce to everyone that you are on the way! That you are FINALLY coming, and they will be so happy for us-all of us. You will get showered with gifts and love!
You are in our hearts right now, but soon, you will be in our home, and in our arms.
One day, soon, baby, you will come home to us!
We love you more than you may know,
Your mom and dad.
We dont know where you are, or how you will even get to us, but we do know that you are coming. God has great and wonderful plans for you-and you dont even know it yet! You are a miracle..... a HUGE gift from God and we will accept you with open arms!!!
We have longed for you, prayed for you, and cried many many tears for you.. You are real. You are coming and we can feel it in our hearts. We are getting so close to meeting you. We can not wait until the day that we hear "congrats, youre going to be parents!" and we cant wait until the day we get to meet you, hug you, and see youre beautiful face!
We are so excited, nervous, overwhelemed and just plain thrilled for you to be coming into our lives, and at this time. We know, soon, we will become parents for the first time.
Until then, we will pray for you, get your room ready, prepare ourselves (and our pets-lol) for you. We will announce to everyone that you are on the way! That you are FINALLY coming, and they will be so happy for us-all of us. You will get showered with gifts and love!
You are in our hearts right now, but soon, you will be in our home, and in our arms.
One day, soon, baby, you will come home to us!
We love you more than you may know,
Your mom and dad.
2 days to go...
Well... only 2 more days to go until we start the Foster Care-MAPP-classes!! Im excited, yet nervous at the same time. I just know that God will send us our miracle(s) and we need to be in prayer for the right child to come along.
Ive been feeling a little "down" lately. I guess Im just overwhelmed and stressed about things. I have alot of homework due by Sun and the house needs to be clean, and I just worry about things alot. Just my nature. Lol.
In other news...
I have 3 days left until my last birth control pill, thank God and hopefully the cyst will be gone and my body can restart in hopes for something good. :). Still will be doing the IUI, but I dont know when exactly. (that part will be a surprise for ya-lol). I guess whenever the time is "right" is when we will be doing it?.
Well.. this rainy saturday will consist of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning-blech. So id better get to it.
thanks for keeping us in prayers and I know that God hears them and will bless us in His due time :)
Ive been feeling a little "down" lately. I guess Im just overwhelmed and stressed about things. I have alot of homework due by Sun and the house needs to be clean, and I just worry about things alot. Just my nature. Lol.
In other news...
I have 3 days left until my last birth control pill, thank God and hopefully the cyst will be gone and my body can restart in hopes for something good. :). Still will be doing the IUI, but I dont know when exactly. (that part will be a surprise for ya-lol). I guess whenever the time is "right" is when we will be doing it?.
Well.. this rainy saturday will consist of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning-blech. So id better get to it.
thanks for keeping us in prayers and I know that God hears them and will bless us in His due time :)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
I just cant stop....
.... Thinking. HAHA.
I have found some more adoption fundraising ideas. (even if we dont end up using them, maybe they can help someone else just by me posting these-so I will post away :).
This website is cool bc you can buy lip balm and have it personalized! I thought that was neat :).
http://www.ladybugblessings.com/adoption-fundraiser.html
http://www.amotherslovefundraising.com/fundraisers.html
Cookbook sale. A friend of mine was starting to do this when they were beginging to persue their adoption, but then they found out they were pregnant :). Idk if this was the website they were going to use, but I thought this would be a cool idea.
http://www.morriscookbooks.com/fundraising/fundraising_ideas.asp?ref=fidorg#
Im not too sure how this one works yet, but I think this is so neat and I can just see this out in the yard around the tree out front or for our walkway :)
http://www.leaveyourmark.com/
Chip-In
http://www.chipin.com/overview
This blog offers TONS of info on adoption and adoption fundraising :). I love it!
http://fundraiserdirectory.blogspot.com/
This one is really cool and Im sure lots of people would enjoy it!
https://fridgeframe.com/fundraising.php?fundraising
and here is one that Im really thinking about doing:
http://www.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=fundraiser_us&fv_section_name=home&fv_category_code=shop
*** I was wondering something though. How many fundraisers do people actually do? Haha. I mean, I wonder. Like I know schools do a alot and I buy a lot from people, but I just didnt know how many people actually do. Let me know your thoughts on this-if you have one! Thanks!!***
I have found some more adoption fundraising ideas. (even if we dont end up using them, maybe they can help someone else just by me posting these-so I will post away :).
This website is cool bc you can buy lip balm and have it personalized! I thought that was neat :).
http://www.ladybugblessings.com/adoption-fundraiser.html
http://www.amotherslovefundraising.com/fundraisers.html
Cookbook sale. A friend of mine was starting to do this when they were beginging to persue their adoption, but then they found out they were pregnant :). Idk if this was the website they were going to use, but I thought this would be a cool idea.
http://www.morriscookbooks.com/fundraising/fundraising_ideas.asp?ref=fidorg#
Im not too sure how this one works yet, but I think this is so neat and I can just see this out in the yard around the tree out front or for our walkway :)
http://www.leaveyourmark.com/
Chip-In
http://www.chipin.com/overview
This blog offers TONS of info on adoption and adoption fundraising :). I love it!
http://fundraiserdirectory.blogspot.com/
This one is really cool and Im sure lots of people would enjoy it!
https://fridgeframe.com/fundraising.php?fundraising
and here is one that Im really thinking about doing:
http://www.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=fundraiser_us&fv_section_name=home&fv_category_code=shop
*** I was wondering something though. How many fundraisers do people actually do? Haha. I mean, I wonder. Like I know schools do a alot and I buy a lot from people, but I just didnt know how many people actually do. Let me know your thoughts on this-if you have one! Thanks!!***
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Fundraising... cont..
Okay, so my brain doesn't stop. Lol. I keep thinking about-everything! the IUI, the foster care, the adoption, but most importantly-our child/children! I'm excited!!!
Here are some more ideas I had found for fundraising...
Puzzle Piece fundraiser:
Step 1: buy a piece of the puzzle for $5/$10 (or more whatever you like!) then we'll write your name on the back of the piece. Step 2: once it is completed we will hang it in our child's room in a double sided frame so you can see the back with all the names of the people that helped to bring him/her home!
Baby Bottle Campaign.
Buy bottles in bulk and design a paper flyer to go in each bottle telling about your adoption. Then distribute them to friends, family, businesses, churches, schools, daycares- whoever is willing to put their spare change in the baby bottle. Give them one month to see if they can fill the bottle and then collect them. One crisis pregnancy center that does this averages $20-25 per bottle so this idea can really add up. It's also a great way to get kids involved
Support Letters.
Mail letters to friends and family telling them to about your plans to adopt. Send it out like a birth announcement. Share with them the estimated costs and ask them to consider helping.
Donate your old cell phones and print cartridges.
Every print cartridge is worth $1 and cell phones can be redeemed for a few dollars all the way up to a couple hundred dollars each.
Fundraising Sales.
Do a fundraiser similar to what youth groups or schools do to raise funds for a mission trip, band trip, senior trips (ie. car wash, bake sale, etc).
Yard sales.
Have friends and church family donate items and have a huge yard sale with all the proceeds going to your adoption
T-shirts.
Sometimes you can get these for discounted if you know somebody! Or have a designer friend make up a design! Most adoptive families charge around $20-25 for t-shirts so they can make good profit on shirt sales. You can see a list of t-shirts here. Be creative and don't copy someone else's design!
Sell Old CD's, DVDs, books,etc. to a bookstore that takes them.
Hopefully I can find more stuff later. I am praying for God to open our hearts more if this is in His will. I guess in a couple of months, everything will be made clear. :)
Keep praying...
Here are some more ideas I had found for fundraising...
Puzzle Piece fundraiser:
Step 1: buy a piece of the puzzle for $5/$10 (or more whatever you like!) then we'll write your name on the back of the piece. Step 2: once it is completed we will hang it in our child's room in a double sided frame so you can see the back with all the names of the people that helped to bring him/her home!
Baby Bottle Campaign.
Buy bottles in bulk and design a paper flyer to go in each bottle telling about your adoption. Then distribute them to friends, family, businesses, churches, schools, daycares- whoever is willing to put their spare change in the baby bottle. Give them one month to see if they can fill the bottle and then collect them. One crisis pregnancy center that does this averages $20-25 per bottle so this idea can really add up. It's also a great way to get kids involved
Support Letters.
Mail letters to friends and family telling them to about your plans to adopt. Send it out like a birth announcement. Share with them the estimated costs and ask them to consider helping.
Donate your old cell phones and print cartridges.
Every print cartridge is worth $1 and cell phones can be redeemed for a few dollars all the way up to a couple hundred dollars each.
Fundraising Sales.
Do a fundraiser similar to what youth groups or schools do to raise funds for a mission trip, band trip, senior trips (ie. car wash, bake sale, etc).
Yard sales.
Have friends and church family donate items and have a huge yard sale with all the proceeds going to your adoption
T-shirts.
Sometimes you can get these for discounted if you know somebody! Or have a designer friend make up a design! Most adoptive families charge around $20-25 for t-shirts so they can make good profit on shirt sales. You can see a list of t-shirts here. Be creative and don't copy someone else's design!
Sell Old CD's, DVDs, books,etc. to a bookstore that takes them.
Hopefully I can find more stuff later. I am praying for God to open our hearts more if this is in His will. I guess in a couple of months, everything will be made clear. :)
Keep praying...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Adoption
So, today Travis told me that IF the IUI didn't work (and I have a strong feeling it will though) then we can begin the adoption fundraising process :) That made me very very happy!!! I just don't like to be in "limbo" and not be doing anything. Now we have to decide if we want to do domestic or international adoption. Its a big choice, but one we have to make :)
You may be wondering-what do you do to fund raise for adoption?? Well. I cam across these ideas on someones blog so I thought Id share here.
Adoption Fundraising 101
In addition to grants and loans that are available for couples pursuing adoption, there are many creative ways to raise the large amount of money needed.I always advice my couples this way:
1. Let people know you are planning to adopt. Send out a letter to family and friends, like a birth announcement! Let them know the expense that you are facing and ask them to support you if they can. Share with them your heart for adoption and allow them the joy of partnering with you. There are many people out there who cannot adopt but desire to walk out James 1:27 by giving.
2. Plan a fund raising event. Be creative.- Choose a theme (Be unique: I just attended a Valentine themed dinner, Ours was a crazy 80's night theme, one of my couples is planning a Mexican Fiesta)- Decide what you will serve (I've seen everything from dessert and coffee to a sit down catered dinner and everything in between.)- Find a location (community centers, churches, restaurants, etc)-Get HELP! There are always friends out there who love doing this kind of thing. Get help so you don't burn yourself out. You can even see if you can get a party planner to give you a good deal and take the whole thing for you!-Always make your fundraiser a ticketed event. My suggestion is that you give people options for their ticket prices. For our 80's night music themed fund raiser, we had different ticket prices like this: Vinyl- $25, Silver- $50, Platinum- $100, Gold $250. Friends of ours had a flower themed event and their tickets were Carnation, Daisy, Rose, and Orchid (I think).-Other things you can add to your dinner:-A silent auction (get local businesses to donate gift certificates, gift baskets, products or services, get local artists to donate photography and artwork)-A live auction is fun too!
3. Raffles or Online Auctions. You can get people to donate good and services and have an online auction through eBay or even on your blog with a deadline. In the blogs people can leave their bids in the comment section and have a limited number of days until the auction closes.Other ideas:1. One of the couples that I am working with set up an account with http://www.onecause.com/OneCause is a nontraditional fundraising program that will help us earn the funds we need through everyday opportunities, such as shopping on-line, in stores and catalogs, purchasing gift certificates, by using the OneCause credit card, or through a variety of other easy programs.2. If you like to write and especially if you have a lot of family and friends out of town, set up a blog to journal your process and allow people to stay connected and feel part of your journey. You can even set up a DONATE link on your side bar for people wanting to give to your adoption fund.3. Non-profit Fundraising Sales: Gather a group of eager helpers, maybe even kids from your youth group at church and do a fund raiser similar to what some schools do to raise funds for band, senior trips, etc. Here's a link to check out.
4. Here's another option A Child's Desire.
(there are hundreds of other adoption fundraising ideas with just a quick google search!)
You may be wondering-what do you do to fund raise for adoption?? Well. I cam across these ideas on someones blog so I thought Id share here.
Adoption Fundraising 101
In addition to grants and loans that are available for couples pursuing adoption, there are many creative ways to raise the large amount of money needed.I always advice my couples this way:
1. Let people know you are planning to adopt. Send out a letter to family and friends, like a birth announcement! Let them know the expense that you are facing and ask them to support you if they can. Share with them your heart for adoption and allow them the joy of partnering with you. There are many people out there who cannot adopt but desire to walk out James 1:27 by giving.
2. Plan a fund raising event. Be creative.- Choose a theme (Be unique: I just attended a Valentine themed dinner, Ours was a crazy 80's night theme, one of my couples is planning a Mexican Fiesta)- Decide what you will serve (I've seen everything from dessert and coffee to a sit down catered dinner and everything in between.)- Find a location (community centers, churches, restaurants, etc)-Get HELP! There are always friends out there who love doing this kind of thing. Get help so you don't burn yourself out. You can even see if you can get a party planner to give you a good deal and take the whole thing for you!-Always make your fundraiser a ticketed event. My suggestion is that you give people options for their ticket prices. For our 80's night music themed fund raiser, we had different ticket prices like this: Vinyl- $25, Silver- $50, Platinum- $100, Gold $250. Friends of ours had a flower themed event and their tickets were Carnation, Daisy, Rose, and Orchid (I think).-Other things you can add to your dinner:-A silent auction (get local businesses to donate gift certificates, gift baskets, products or services, get local artists to donate photography and artwork)-A live auction is fun too!
3. Raffles or Online Auctions. You can get people to donate good and services and have an online auction through eBay or even on your blog with a deadline. In the blogs people can leave their bids in the comment section and have a limited number of days until the auction closes.Other ideas:1. One of the couples that I am working with set up an account with http://www.onecause.com/OneCause is a nontraditional fundraising program that will help us earn the funds we need through everyday opportunities, such as shopping on-line, in stores and catalogs, purchasing gift certificates, by using the OneCause credit card, or through a variety of other easy programs.2. If you like to write and especially if you have a lot of family and friends out of town, set up a blog to journal your process and allow people to stay connected and feel part of your journey. You can even set up a DONATE link on your side bar for people wanting to give to your adoption fund.3. Non-profit Fundraising Sales: Gather a group of eager helpers, maybe even kids from your youth group at church and do a fund raiser similar to what some schools do to raise funds for band, senior trips, etc. Here's a link to check out.
4. Here's another option A Child's Desire.
(there are hundreds of other adoption fundraising ideas with just a quick google search!)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
TTC update...
I thought Id update a little about us TTC (trying to conceive) in another post.
There is really nothing to report. I am on bc pills and will be until the end of March. I hate them, I never ever want to see them again. We do still plan to do the final IUI, I just don't know when yet. I have a feeling-a very good feeling-that this IUI will be the last and final-and most importantly-the one. I feel that this one will be the one that finally gets us our child/children.
Most of you probably wonder why I'm still doing the IUI and the foster classes/adoption, and the answer is because we feel that that is where God is leading us. We have always talked about being foster parents(or adopting) from the the start of finding out that we have infertility issues. its just something that has been on our hearts and we feel that we will be able to care for a child for the time him/ her needs us.
If we happen to get pregnant (and I think i will) and we have a foster child as well, then great! we will make it work, God will make it work and we will just be double blessed!
We are very excited to be starting on this journey and ending another. :)
There is really nothing to report. I am on bc pills and will be until the end of March. I hate them, I never ever want to see them again. We do still plan to do the final IUI, I just don't know when yet. I have a feeling-a very good feeling-that this IUI will be the last and final-and most importantly-the one. I feel that this one will be the one that finally gets us our child/children.
Most of you probably wonder why I'm still doing the IUI and the foster classes/adoption, and the answer is because we feel that that is where God is leading us. We have always talked about being foster parents(or adopting) from the the start of finding out that we have infertility issues. its just something that has been on our hearts and we feel that we will be able to care for a child for the time him/ her needs us.
If we happen to get pregnant (and I think i will) and we have a foster child as well, then great! we will make it work, God will make it work and we will just be double blessed!
We are very excited to be starting on this journey and ending another. :)
cribs, car seats, stroller.... oh my!!!
I am just so excited to be starting the foster care classes that I'm getting everything prepared before we even start them! HA! I'm such a planner. I guess God made me this way, so you have to love me :).
I did get an offer for a free stroller, that I'm going to go pick up tomorrow. The other day I also got an offer for a crib (a white crib, Ive been wanting white) for only $25!!! I'm happy about that!! We are going to ask my in laws if they have a twin bed that we can also put in that room, bc we don't know the age of the child that we will be taking in. We do know we want under the age of 5, but other than that-idk. Gods plan :)
I'm so excited and mostly blessed. I am just happy that God is putting these people in our lives that we can be blessed and be a blessing to a child in need. I know the classes are still a couple weeks away and my husband thinks I'm beyond nuts, but I just have to get everything together before we even get started, just how I am. I have also been looking at stuff online..
I'm ready!!! Now its all God's turn.
I did get an offer for a free stroller, that I'm going to go pick up tomorrow. The other day I also got an offer for a crib (a white crib, Ive been wanting white) for only $25!!! I'm happy about that!! We are going to ask my in laws if they have a twin bed that we can also put in that room, bc we don't know the age of the child that we will be taking in. We do know we want under the age of 5, but other than that-idk. Gods plan :)
I'm so excited and mostly blessed. I am just happy that God is putting these people in our lives that we can be blessed and be a blessing to a child in need. I know the classes are still a couple weeks away and my husband thinks I'm beyond nuts, but I just have to get everything together before we even get started, just how I am. I have also been looking at stuff online..
I'm ready!!! Now its all God's turn.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Month 3 of Birth Control...
*HUGE SIGH*
I called my nurse this morn to let her know Im on day 1, and well... she is out of town
*ANOTHER HUGE SIGH*
so now I am on bc pills for another 3 weeks. I guess this is all in Gods plan still and we just need to go w/ the flow :)
I called my nurse this morn to let her know Im on day 1, and well... she is out of town
*ANOTHER HUGE SIGH*
so now I am on bc pills for another 3 weeks. I guess this is all in Gods plan still and we just need to go w/ the flow :)
We are going to be parents....
...... Foster Parents :-D
Travis & I are so excited to be doing something towards our future child/children. The classes will start on March 28th and we are just thrilled. I, more than him, are very nervous but very very excited.
I have heard that foster care is pretty hard, bc you may never know how long you will have a child in your home. I am very nervous and very anxious. I feel that God will bless us beyond our imagination w/ us doing this. I don't know if God will send us our forever baby, but I don't know that he wont. We also decided if I get pregnant while we are doing foster care, that we will just continue the classes and be doubly blessed :).
I realize that this will be hard, but we need to realize that no matter what or how long we will have the child, whether it be a day, a week, a month or forever-that we were important in that child's life, at that time. We have so much love in our hearts, that we might just explode!!! Lol. I just need to love a child, and a child love me for now.
Yes, Id LOVE to experience pregnancy and birth, and I really feel in my heart that one day I will but right now, I need this-we need this.
I filled out the papers and will mail them off tomorrow, I'm so thrilled!!! Travis & I have decided that we'd like to accept a child under the age of 5. We don't care about the gender or race, but age is a factor to us. That might sound rude to some, but we just aren't comfortable w/ a child older than that-right now
So, for now we will clean out the "nursery" and get a twin sized bed and get things ready for the child's room. eick!!! We need to get an armoire (idk if i even spelled that right) so our child will have a place for his/her clothes, a car seat (I found one at babies r us that is awesome! it goes from 5lbs-50lbs.), and other things a child might need. I have a few clothes, but mostly for younger children. and 2/3 for boys.
God will provide.
In the meantime, we pray for the child that God will place in our house :)
Travis & I are so excited to be doing something towards our future child/children. The classes will start on March 28th and we are just thrilled. I, more than him, are very nervous but very very excited.
I have heard that foster care is pretty hard, bc you may never know how long you will have a child in your home. I am very nervous and very anxious. I feel that God will bless us beyond our imagination w/ us doing this. I don't know if God will send us our forever baby, but I don't know that he wont. We also decided if I get pregnant while we are doing foster care, that we will just continue the classes and be doubly blessed :).
I realize that this will be hard, but we need to realize that no matter what or how long we will have the child, whether it be a day, a week, a month or forever-that we were important in that child's life, at that time. We have so much love in our hearts, that we might just explode!!! Lol. I just need to love a child, and a child love me for now.
Yes, Id LOVE to experience pregnancy and birth, and I really feel in my heart that one day I will but right now, I need this-we need this.
I filled out the papers and will mail them off tomorrow, I'm so thrilled!!! Travis & I have decided that we'd like to accept a child under the age of 5. We don't care about the gender or race, but age is a factor to us. That might sound rude to some, but we just aren't comfortable w/ a child older than that-right now
So, for now we will clean out the "nursery" and get a twin sized bed and get things ready for the child's room. eick!!! We need to get an armoire (idk if i even spelled that right) so our child will have a place for his/her clothes, a car seat (I found one at babies r us that is awesome! it goes from 5lbs-50lbs.), and other things a child might need. I have a few clothes, but mostly for younger children. and 2/3 for boys.
God will provide.
In the meantime, we pray for the child that God will place in our house :)
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