Guess What? I'm Okay If I Never Get Pregnant!

I’ve wanted to write this blog for a while now, but bitterness and hurt feelings caused me to take a step back and wait. I knew I needed to talk to God about my hurt feelings before addressing this issue on the blog. However, I think it’s important to address this issue because it’s truly something that I have been struggling with and I know that other adoptive families have probably dealt with the same stuff.


It’s almost as if there’s a myth in the adoption world that once you start the adoption process you’re guaranteed to get pregnant. I don’t know how many times people have said “Now that you have started the process you know you’re going to end up pregnant.” Yes, it does happen. I know of two families that it has happened to recently but it doesn't ALWAYS happen.


There are certain people in my life who constantly bring up me becoming pregnant or having “my own” children. Hearing these remarks is like a big slap on the face. First of all it hurts my feelings. When people make comments like this, what I hear is “Adoption isn’t as good as having a biological child.”


Becoming a mother through adoption is already hard enough without people making comments that make you feel like they would be happier if you were having a baby the old-fashioned way.


God has made it very clear to John and me that we will have a family through adoption. I can honestly say that even if I could conceive a child, God has changed my heart and my desire is to adopt children. I have no desire to become pregnant. I know that is very hard for some people to understand, but it is where God has me and I have a complete peace about it. I spent many months grieving the fact that I would probably never carry a baby for 9 months. I have grieved, I have prayed and God has brought me to the place I am now. And I am super happy and at peace with the place that He has me.


I can hear many of you saying that God performs miracles and I could end up pregnant some day – you’re right I could. He CAN do anything, but He has taken away my desire to become pregnant and replaced that desire with the desire to become a mom through adoption. I could have easily gotten pregnant the good old-fashioned way, or spent a ton of money on fertility treatments, but God had another plan.


Following His plan will mean that I become a mother, but it’s also about so much more. God has completely changed me. This adoption has an eternal purpose that I can’t even grasp. I have already fallen in love with my children, although I have never seen their faces. I have witnessed God’s miracles and experienced His love for me in ways that I never have before.

To get pregnant right now would, in all honesty, be devestating. It would mean that we would have to put this adoption on hold and the thought of that breaks my heart. I would trust God and His plan if that were to happen, but I would still be sad because I can't even imagine our family without Ethiopian babes.

I understand that not everyone agrees with adoption, that not everyone grasps a woman who is okay with never experiencing pregnancy. You don’t have to agree with my choice or understand the path God has me on. But please consider how hurtful it can be when you make comments that make me feel as if you’re anything but excited about the adoption, because in your eyes it’s not the “right” way to become a mother.

A Sneak Peak At Our Silent Auction...

The Hearts for Adoption Dinner and Silent Auction is fast approaching and we have had some amazing stuff donated for the silent auction. God has provided in a BIG way for this event! We are trusting and praying that ticket sales will come pouring in over the next 2 weeks.
John and I, along with the Ellis' and Habudas', are super excited about this event. Our prayer is that God will be glorified.
Remember that tickets must be purchased by April 8th so that we can turn in the order to the caterer. You can purchase the tickets through our blog or the Ellis' and Habudas.
Here is a sneak peak of the stuff we have for the silent auction. You know you don't want to miss out on all this great stuff, especially since there could be a few surprises thrown in.


Picnic for Two
Picnic basket with plates, tablecloth, etc.
3 bottles of wine
Wine glasses
Subway Gift Card


Handmade Necklace from Juhree


Handmade Necklace from Juhree


Golf Package
Wilson Golf Clubs
Golf Balls
Golf Tees


For The Guys Basket
Cigars
Golf Balls
Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Card
Round of Golf for 4 people and 2 free cart rentals


Italian Night Basket
$50 to Johnny Carinos
$10 Il Dolce Gelato
Wine and wineglasses


Texas Weekend Getaway
2 Night Stay at Hotel in Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas
$50 gift card to PF Changs
Gas Card


Date Night Basket
$40 to Charleston’s
Warren Tickets
2 coupons for free sundaes at Freddy’s Frozen Custard


Fiesta Night Basket
$20 On the Border
$20 to Pablono Grill
Salsa/chips


Family Fun Night Basket
Board Games
Pizza Gift Card
Chili’s Free Kids Meal coupons
Sonic value cards
Free sundaes from Freddy’s frozen custard
Video coupons
$20 video rental coupon
Gift certificate for bowling
Hey Day gift package- free mini golf and laser tag, $10 gift card


Photography Session from Art and Soul Photography ($150 Value)


Steak Night Basket
$25 to Outback
$25 to Longhorn Steakhouse and a free appetizer coupon
$20 to Logan’s Steakhouse


Body and Soul Boot camp Gift Certificate


Dinner for a Week
$30 Red Lobster
$25 Cheesecake Factory
$20 Interurban
$25 Outback
$30 Hideaway
$25 Logan’s Steakhouse
$25 to Swadley’s BBQ


Lunch for a Week
Louie’s Coupons
Earl’s Gift card
BJ’s Gift card
$20 Cafe 7 Gift Card
Sonic value cards
$20 Logan’s Steakhouse
Free Bowel at Genghis Grill


Lindsey Lou Creations Basket and Gift Card (handmade items)


Signed OSU Football


Signed OSU Basketball


Africa Basket
Ethiopian scarf
3 Ugandan necklaces
1 adult Africa t-shirt
1 children’s Africa shirt
Bracelet from Lesotho


Customized Ceramic Pumpkins


Dessert for a Year


Cupcake Basket
½ dozen cupcakes
Gift Card to Gigi’s cupcakes
Cupcake stand
Cupcake magazine
Cupcake liners (several packages)


Scentsy Basket


Thunder Basketball signed by the entire team (we have 2 of these!)


2 autographed Thunder jerseys – Durant and Westbrook


Area rug


Custom Cake

It's Beginning to Feel So Real....

Today was a big day for John and I. We went to the local Department of Homeland Security and had our biometric fingerprints taken. It was the last thing we needed to do so that our Dossier can be completed and sent to Washington D.C. Once our Dossier is sent to Washington, we will be put on the wait list.
I woke up this morning with giddy anticipation. Each time I close my eyes I picture Ethiopian babes in our family but for some reason this morning it all started to feel so much more real.
Of course we still have a long wait ahead of us, but we have hit a major milestone in this adoption journey. We are a few short weeks away from being put on the official wait list. We also found out some amazing news from our adoption agency today that could mean we won’t be waiting as long for a referral as we thought.
I sat in the fingerprint office and just thanked God for His sovereignty. His hand has been in every detail of our adoption and the news we received from our agency today was a HUGE answer to many weeks of prayer.
I seriously feel like I could shout from the rooftops I am so happy! Here are a few photos from our visit to Homeland Security (we got a lot of crazy stares but I’m used to that!)

Carry Each Other's Burdens

“Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ~Galatians 6:12

After a long talk with Sarah on Tuesday about the season of waiting we’re experiencing, I decided to send her and Kathleen a card for encouragement (I totally could be spoiling the surprise if they haven’t received the card yet). The card I sent to each of them had Galatians 6:12 on it. As I read the verse I realized just how much Sarah, Kathleen and I are living out its words on a daily basis. We are all in a season of waiting – waiting to become mother’s, waiting for a referral, waiting to board a plane to go get our babies – and this season is sometimes really hard, really lonely and can seem never-ending. But the good news is we are all helping to carry one anothers burdens. Some days I am the strong one and help carry the heavy burdens that weigh Sarah and Kathleen down. Other times I feel like I’m drowning and Kathleen and Sarah are there to keep my head above the water.


As I pondered this verse I started to think about prayer. Praying for others is a way that we can help carry their burdens. Over the past six months I have had the opportunity (through prayer) to carry the burdens of several people. Some of these people I know personally, some of them I only know through Facebook and one I never had the chance to meet.


Of course there’s Sarah and Kathleen. Two of my closest friends, we met because we were all going to adopt from Ethiopia, but now our friendship is built on the solid foundation of Christ. I pray for these girls each day. For their adoption processes and for God to equip them for the wait.

Then there’s Erica Shubin. I only know Erica through Facebook and the blog world, but I consider her a friend. I have had the privilege to pray for her family as they traveled the long adoption journey to their sweet daughter Zahra. I have witnessed firsthand the amazing miracles that God performed so that Erica and her family could make Zahra a part of their forever family. Just this week they passed court in Ethiopia and met Zahra for the first time. When I saw the first photos of Erica and her husband with Zahra my heart swelled with emotion and tears flooded my eyes. God gave me a chance to be a part of this amazing journey through prayer.

Over the past six months or so I have also had the privilege of praying for a man I never had the chance to meet. Mike was the brother of one of my old editors and had to have a stem cell transplant. He literally went through hell on earth trying to recover from the stem cell transplant. I was heartbroken to learn that he passed away yesterday. I never met Mike, but from what Bob has told me he was an incredible man. I am thankful that I got to be a part of Team Doucette.

You may know someone who is going through some difficult stuff and you have no idea how to help. Prayer is a simple way that you can help carry their burdens. You're not only doing something that will change the life of the person you are praying for - but something that will change your life as well.

Praying with an Expectant Heart!

God answered a big prayer today regarding all that's going on with Ethiopian adoptions. Our adoption agency sent out an e-mail to let us know that the Ethiopian government is processing 40 adoption cases each day. Praise Jesus! That is such great news! There for a while we thought they were going to cut back and only hear 5 cases a day.
This week I'm preparing a devotion that I have to give at work on Friday morning. The key verse of the devotion is Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

The devotion talks about how the church prayed around the clock for Peter when he was imprisoned. Their prayers worked and Peter was released from prison. However when the angel of the Lord came and delivered Peter to the door of where the group was praying they didn't believe it was really him.

The devotion says, "they were praying, but not believing. They were locked into a posture of asking, but not expecting. Maybe that's where you are, expecting little or nothing."

The devotion goes on to say that we should pray with an expectant heart. "When praise fills your mouth, expectation will fill your heart, and God will move on your behalf. When God gives you a word, act on it! Start praising Him now for what He is about to do."

When we started praying about the adoption situation in Ethiopia, we expected God to move on behalf of the 5 million orphans who are in need of hope and love - He has moved! When God put adoption on our hearts in January 2010 we began to pray knowing that God would someday bless us with children from Ethiopia. I pray for my future babies expecting that God will move...knowing that He will fulfill His plan for our family in His perfect time. I may not be able to get on that plane to Ethiopia as soon as I would like to, but God has made it clear to us that we are supposed to adopt from Ethiopia and I am praying with an expectant heart. Just waiting for the day I see those babies faces.

Has God given you a word or pointed you down a certain path? Are you praying for a specific situation or person and not seeing any results? Don't give up! Pray and expect God to move. He will!

Thunder Up!!!

We received some AMAZING items for our silent auction this weekend...check this out! Two Thunder basketballs signed by the entire team and an autographed Durant and Westbrook jersey. If you are an OKC Thunder Fan you DO NOT want to miss out on your chance to win these great Thunder items!

Please join us April 16th and enjoy great food and live music. All the proceeds will help us and our dear friends the Habuda's and Ellis' help cover the high costs of our adoption expenses.

Hearts for Adoption Dinner and Silent Auction

When: Saturday, April 16th from 6 to 9 p.m.

Where: Christian Life Fellowship Church

1400 NW 12th Street

Moore, Oklahoma

Dinner will be catered by Primos D'Italia.

Cost is $15 for adults and teens and $6 for kids 6-12. Children 5 and under eat free.

Tickets are on sale NOW*

You can buy them through Paypal on my home page, buy them in person, or by mail.

*In order to give Primos a correct count, please purchase your tickets before April 8th!

Would you please help us spread the word about this event? Post it to your Facebook, blog about it, and invite all of your friends!

Wanna Get Away???

How about a free 2 night stay in the beautiful Blackstone Courtyard Marriot located in Sundance Square, downtown Ft. Worth, TX?

Our amazing friend Matt stays at this hotel A LOT! It's his home away from home on his frequent Dallas business trips. He's such a great guest that the hotel decided to donate a 2 night stay for our dinner and silent auction!
I'm a Texas girl and Sundance Square is a fun place to spend the weekend. Twenty blocks of amazing shopping, restaurants, theater, bars, live music, museums, fun architecture, etc. mixed in with just enough Texas twang! Folks, Texas isn't all Cowboys and Rodeos.



Come to our Dinner/Silent Auction and you might just win a fun weekend in Texas. Better dust off your cowboy boots!!