I think God likes to take the scenic route....

Well, continuing from the previous post, not the child for us, BUT...some things are happening regarding another child that we can only account for as God. Can't go into details yet, but please keep praying specifically for these things.

1. That God's will for our lives will be done

2. We will have Favor will the powers that be. There are real situations that could cause roadblocks for us and we are praying that God's favor will be on us.

3. Wisdom to know when to push and when to let God do the pushing.

So far it is amazing the path we are on...our hopes and dreams are that this is the child for us, but God is in control and we are at peace, amazingly enough.

Love you guys!

Juli & Josh

Again...

Well, it's been about a year since we started this process. We know that God is still in control and he has our best in mind. We have been chosen for another child and are awaiting the files. I'm optimistic but guarded. Remember, roller coaster adversion. LOL.

At any rate, everything we hear makes us think she might be the one but we wait and see. We are about to leave for vacation so it will be after that that we receive the files. We will keep you guys posted, until then....keep praying.

Love you bunches.

Juli

sigh...

So much has happened. We were matched with 2 child groups, then we did respite for a family, which ended up with them not adopting the child, we were asked if we would, we said YES and were 1 week out from getting her when we found out it wasn't to be...and after reading the matched files we knew we weren't the parents for those children either. Have I mentioned I now HATE rollercoasters! Good grief.

It's like, ok God...what am I'm not getting. What am I supposed to be learning? I know he has the child/children for us, I'm just at my end. I suppose that is where He picks up. Sigh.

For those that aren't familiar with the process, once you are matched you read the files which in many cases contain alot more info than you had to start with. It is at this point you have to determine if you want to proceed. In our cases there have items that we didn't feel would be in the childs best interest to have two working parents. It's hard to say no....honestly....you have NO idea how hard it is, but we know it has to be right for our family.

We are back in the process again and waiting for our next matches. Hopefully we will see our child soon. We aren't looking for a perfect child - but we are waiting for our God-given one. Just keep praying. It is very hard, very discouraging but I know in the end it will be very rewarding.

Still Breathing....

It has been awhile since the last blog. In that timeframe we were chosen for children and after reading the files determined we were not the right parents for them; our worker came to the same conclusion. It was so hard to say no, but she said something to us that we've held on to:

We are not called to be our children's savior - just their parents.

So, we just returned from an adoption festival in Houston. We met a child that we really connected with and have asked for our home study to be considered. We feel pretty strongly about this one but we know we are the beginning of the process and keep reminding ourselves that God is in control.

We are also in for three other cases so just keep praying.

Love you guys!

Juli

Breath.....Just Breath

OMG!  Just heard from our case worker that we were selected by CPS for these children.  The process now is we await the case files which could take 7 to 10 days, then we go through them with our case worker.

Sometime after that we meet with CPS, our case worker and others for questions then we decide if we want to continue to pursue.

This must be what it feels like to know you are about to be a parent;  will we be good parents, will we be able to handle whatever comes our way, will we be able to show them the love of Christ that he so wants them to know.   I have so many feelings running through me right now; excitement , anxiety, a little panic, ...I've cried and now I'm kinda numb.   Give me a second, I should be coming up on another emotion any time now....

Too all our friends:   We know many of you are anxious for us.  We appreciate everyone's concern but know this, God has set us on this path and He will see us through.  For I know the plans I have for you.... He knows the plans He has for these children as well.   We go into this eyes wide open and are confident that God has placed this within us.  Every child deserves a home and to be loved unconditionally.  We know God has the children for us already determined.  We are trusting him through this process.    We aren't naive and this isn't everyone's road.  All we ask is that you stand beside us; pray for us and for the children.

Thank you so much!   We love and appreciate you guys more than you could ever know!

Josh and Juli

What does morning sickness feel like?

Ok, so no, I'm not pregnant, but man am I nauseous.  I didn't think you were supposed to get morning sickness when you were adopting. LOL

Here's the scoop.   About 1 1/2 weeks ago we were notified that there were two children in need of a family by our caseworker.  We decided to put our file in for these children.   To recap for those new here, the process goes like this - 

1.  Children identified and our family asked if we would like to send our file.  We will have received a photo and a short bio on the children at this point.

2.  If we say yes, the file gets sent and put together with other families' files that are interested in these children.  

3.  Selection Staffing is where the CPS worker and others go through the files and choose their top 3 families; and put them in order 1 through 3.  Family #1 will be notified and the children's detailed files are sent.

4.  A Presentation Staffing is held with the family to present information and for them to ask questions etc.  The family has 48 hours after this meeting to decide if they would like to continue to pursue the children.   If they say no, CPS then goes to Family #2 and the process starts again.

5.  If you say yes after Presentation Staffing, they schedule the meetings with the children.  They are always done wherever the children live; so if they are in Lubbock, El Paso, Corpus,...we go to them.  Usually there are at least 2 to 3 meetings, sometimes more to help the transition.   

Once they are in our home, the clock starts counting and at 6 months the adoption is finalized.

SO, now that we've gotten through all that - here's the deal -  we know we are in the top 3 families for these children - 8/31 they will decide the order.   Please pray, because we want God's will for this.  If these are the children for us, we want the door thrown open wide, if not we want it shut.  

Thank you everyone for standing with us.  We so appreciate your friendship, encouragement and love.  

Will keep you posted.

Josh and Juli

We are officially licensed!!!

Lots has happened since I last posted; top of the list if we were notified yesterday evening that our agency signed our papers and we have been officially licensed by the State of Texas for adoption and respite care.

Respite care is basically caring for foster children when their foster parents need a sitter. While we wait for our matches we will be able to do this for families in our area.

We are SOOOO excited and nervous and happy and anxious and just about every other emotion you can think of. So, you ask, what now.

At this point they will take our profile and begin the matching process. I'll write more about that later.

Also, God has given me the most fantastic job. I'll write more about that too but I have to run; Josh is calling. Love u guys!