As you can tell from the title of the blog we are less than a week from going to West Virginia to meet our baby girl. We will be leaving January 2 because our birth mother is supposed to be admitted into the hospital January 3 and induced January 4th in the morning and we don't want to miss anything!! Our birth mother had her last doctor's appointment today but we haven't been able to talk because something is wrong with her phone. She was able to call the attorney's office and let them know that. Hopefully I will be able to talk to her tomorrow!!
I am washing everything and packing it up to get ready to leave. Up until today our housing arrangement was up in the air while we were in West Virginia. We weren't sure if we were going to have to pay for a hotel room or what. God blessed us with a friend here that was able to contact a pastor who is going to let us stay with his family. They have a room above the garage that they are going to let us stay in. Praise the Lord!!!
Hopefully the next time I will post it will be after I am a mommy and I will be able to show everyone the sweet baby you have been praying for!!!
We are still $1700 away from the amount of money the attorney needs. He would really like to have it before we leave but I told him there was no way. If you would like to donate you can use PayPal or mail us a check. We are having checks go to my parents house. !28 Coldspring Drive Spartanburg, SC 29301.
Thank you again for all each of you have done whether by praying or donating or both. God has blessed us immensely in so many ways and we cant begin to express our gratitude to Him and each of you!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Last Fundraiser (I hope!!)
We are gift wrapping again for our final fundraiser. This is how we started our fundraising last year and hopefully this will be how we end it!! :) Here are the prices:
Holiday Gift Wrapping
Pricing Guide
Simple/Kids: Elegant:
Small $1.00 $2.00
Medium $1.50 $3.00
Large $2.00 $4.00
Oversized $3.00+ $5.00
Simply/Kid wrapped gifts include wrapping paper, small
plastic bow, and gift tag.
Elegantly wrapped gifts include wrapping paper, bow
made from tulle and raffia, and gift tag.
Your contribution is going directly to adoption costs!
For more information contact:
cdpoteat@bellsouth.net or
864-431-9944
Thursday, November 29, 2012
She's almost here!!!!!!!
Sorry for the delay in posts, our computer is on the fritz. Our visit to West Virginia went PERFECTLY!! Our plan was just to take out birth mother out to dinner talk for a little bit and take her back home. It went better than that!! She really enjoyed spending time with us and we enjoyed spending time with her. Every time we offered to take her back home she said, "No, I like spending time with you guys." We were able to share of story of where God has brought us to over the last 5 years and tell her how special she is and always will be to us because of the gift she is giving to us.
She has been going to the doctor like she is supposed to. She actually went today and sent me a text about how it went. She said YOUR DAUGHTER'S heart beat is 140. Oh that made this mama's heart so happy to see YOUR daughter. She has another appointment next Thursday with an ultrasound. Sadie is measuring big so the doctor's not sure if she's just big or they have her due date wrong. As it stand rights now, our birth mother will be admitted into the hospital January 3rd and be induced January 4th. So Sadie should make her arrival on January 4th, her daddy's birthday!!!! I think it will be so neat for them to share a birthday.
We are only 5 weeks away from getting the best present of our lives. We are so excited we can't stand it!!!!
We are only $2,150 away from raising all the money we need. I am planning on doing another gift wrap fundraiser like I did last year. Oh and also since the last time I wrote we had another fundraiser at Pizza Inn and raised $1,100!!! I can't believe how tremendously God has blessed us!!
She has been going to the doctor like she is supposed to. She actually went today and sent me a text about how it went. She said YOUR DAUGHTER'S heart beat is 140. Oh that made this mama's heart so happy to see YOUR daughter. She has another appointment next Thursday with an ultrasound. Sadie is measuring big so the doctor's not sure if she's just big or they have her due date wrong. As it stand rights now, our birth mother will be admitted into the hospital January 3rd and be induced January 4th. So Sadie should make her arrival on January 4th, her daddy's birthday!!!! I think it will be so neat for them to share a birthday.
We are only 5 weeks away from getting the best present of our lives. We are so excited we can't stand it!!!!
We are only $2,150 away from raising all the money we need. I am planning on doing another gift wrap fundraiser like I did last year. Oh and also since the last time I wrote we had another fundraiser at Pizza Inn and raised $1,100!!! I can't believe how tremendously God has blessed us!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Things are going good!
Everything has been going very well with our birthmother. I have talked to her about every week and a half. It is starting to get easier for us to talk about things (phew). I hate the akward silence. She is still going to the doctor and everything is checking out well.
We are actually going to visit the birthmother the weekend of October 27th. This will give us an opporunity to hopefully make things a little more comfortable and just continue to get to know each other. Each time I talk to her she reminds me of how ready she is to have this baby and give her to us :) She is a constant reminder to her of how she had been violated and treated with no respect. I also remind her that at the same time she is a blessing to us because she is carrying our FIRST child. She is taking care of her and protecting her while I can not. She will never know what blessing she is and how much love I have for her.
Recently during one of my prayer times I was telling God how I know that even though I would have gladly taken the baby from California I know that His timing is perfect, even when it doesn't seem like it is. I would have had such disdain for the other birthmother had she actually placed her baby with us that there was probably NO way I could have humanly loved her because of such the hard time she had (and probably would have) given us.
How perfect is MY God that He knew that and He wanted me to have a love for the birthmother of my child. That even when I wanted the other baby so desperately He knew that that was NOT His best for me. Why would I have ever wanted that? I am so thankful for a God that can meet our needs, calm my heart, and love on me the way no one else can do. I can't wait to see what my God has in store for Sadie Grace!!
We are actually going to visit the birthmother the weekend of October 27th. This will give us an opporunity to hopefully make things a little more comfortable and just continue to get to know each other. Each time I talk to her she reminds me of how ready she is to have this baby and give her to us :) She is a constant reminder to her of how she had been violated and treated with no respect. I also remind her that at the same time she is a blessing to us because she is carrying our FIRST child. She is taking care of her and protecting her while I can not. She will never know what blessing she is and how much love I have for her.
Recently during one of my prayer times I was telling God how I know that even though I would have gladly taken the baby from California I know that His timing is perfect, even when it doesn't seem like it is. I would have had such disdain for the other birthmother had she actually placed her baby with us that there was probably NO way I could have humanly loved her because of such the hard time she had (and probably would have) given us.
How perfect is MY God that He knew that and He wanted me to have a love for the birthmother of my child. That even when I wanted the other baby so desperately He knew that that was NOT His best for me. Why would I have ever wanted that? I am so thankful for a God that can meet our needs, calm my heart, and love on me the way no one else can do. I can't wait to see what my God has in store for Sadie Grace!!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Sugar and spice and everything nice...
It's official we are matched with a LITTLE GIRL!!!!!! We received a phone call Thursday, August 30 telling us about this baby, then we had our conference call with the birth mother September 3rd.
Things were very different this time the birth mother was told about us but didn't get our portfolio. She only talked to us. The last time the birth mother was given two portfolios to pick from and then we had a conference call,then we found out the next day that she wanted to use us. This time our conference call lasted 5 minutes whereas lat time it lasted 1 hour, and we found out that night that we were matched. Here is some of. The background on this situation: this is the birth mother's 9 pregnancy. She only has two children living with her AND she has already adopted out one of her children using the same attorney and adoption agency we are using right now. Sadly for her a man forced himself on her and that is how she got pregnant so she is very eager to for someone else to have this baby. She is located in Huntington,West Virginia and Sadie Grace (our chosen name) is due January 7th. The birth mother has been going to the doctor and taking prenatal vitamins. She also not done drugs or alcohol.
If you would like to know how you can pray for us here's how:
1. We still need $4,000 for the adoption and possibly more if we have to do another home study. Pray for guidance on what to do for fundraisers and that God would touch people's heart to give.
2. We would like to find someone to stay with (like we had in California) so to avoid the cost of a hotel room.
3. Pray that there will not be any snow on the ground when we have to leave Togo get her since we will be driving.
4. Pray for our birth mother as she prepares to give her child to us.
Things were very different this time the birth mother was told about us but didn't get our portfolio. She only talked to us. The last time the birth mother was given two portfolios to pick from and then we had a conference call,then we found out the next day that she wanted to use us. This time our conference call lasted 5 minutes whereas lat time it lasted 1 hour, and we found out that night that we were matched. Here is some of. The background on this situation: this is the birth mother's 9 pregnancy. She only has two children living with her AND she has already adopted out one of her children using the same attorney and adoption agency we are using right now. Sadly for her a man forced himself on her and that is how she got pregnant so she is very eager to for someone else to have this baby. She is located in Huntington,West Virginia and Sadie Grace (our chosen name) is due January 7th. The birth mother has been going to the doctor and taking prenatal vitamins. She also not done drugs or alcohol.
If you would like to know how you can pray for us here's how:
1. We still need $4,000 for the adoption and possibly more if we have to do another home study. Pray for guidance on what to do for fundraisers and that God would touch people's heart to give.
2. We would like to find someone to stay with (like we had in California) so to avoid the cost of a hotel room.
3. Pray that there will not be any snow on the ground when we have to leave Togo get her since we will be driving.
4. Pray for our birth mother as she prepares to give her child to us.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Waiting...
I really need to be in bed but I have been wanting to write a post and haven't because I have either been painting OR painting. Yesterday marked a month...well now that I look at the clock and it's technically Monday I guess I should say Saturday marked a month since we found out that our birth mother had backed out on us. When we met with our lawyer in January we had had 5 "offers" for babies before we said yes to the baby in California.
About a week and a half ago I called the attorney's office just to make sure they knew they were supposed to call us when they had a baby and they said they did know but they just hadn't had any situations come up that would be a good match for us!! In my mind I'm thinking really?!?!? We have very few limitations and you're telling me in the last month you've had NOTHING that would match with us?!?!? Can you tell that I am getting very impatient? I know that nothing is going to happen unless it is God's will and His timing but I am sooo weary from waiting. If I could pick the way it would happen, the attorney's office would just call and say we have a baby ready for you to pick up tomorrow!! That way I wouldn't have to wait it would just happen.
Also for anyone that reads our blog if you know of anyone considering adoption would you please share our story with them. I know that some people may be weary of saying anything but PLEASE let us know if you know of someone looking for a forever home for their sweet baby!!!
In the meantime just continue to pray. Pray that:
* God would grant me more patience
*God would protect my heart and mind during this waiting time, the enemy is really making me sad thinking about the fact that we were so close and now we are back at square one
*The time between now and when we get our baby would be short
*Our baby is healthy and the birth mother is taking care of her body
About a week and a half ago I called the attorney's office just to make sure they knew they were supposed to call us when they had a baby and they said they did know but they just hadn't had any situations come up that would be a good match for us!! In my mind I'm thinking really?!?!? We have very few limitations and you're telling me in the last month you've had NOTHING that would match with us?!?!? Can you tell that I am getting very impatient? I know that nothing is going to happen unless it is God's will and His timing but I am sooo weary from waiting. If I could pick the way it would happen, the attorney's office would just call and say we have a baby ready for you to pick up tomorrow!! That way I wouldn't have to wait it would just happen.
Also for anyone that reads our blog if you know of anyone considering adoption would you please share our story with them. I know that some people may be weary of saying anything but PLEASE let us know if you know of someone looking for a forever home for their sweet baby!!!
In the meantime just continue to pray. Pray that:
* God would grant me more patience
*God would protect my heart and mind during this waiting time, the enemy is really making me sad thinking about the fact that we were so close and now we are back at square one
*The time between now and when we get our baby would be short
*Our baby is healthy and the birth mother is taking care of her body
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Mother's Day Retreat
After our sad news we had Monday Chris decided that it would be good for us to go out of town, to the beach in particular. Well you never have to twist my arm to go to the beach so I said LET'S GO!! Since I thought this was going to be my first Mother's Day as a mother, with a child in my arms, and it didn't work out that way, Chris thought this would help take my mind off of it. Until we were gone I didn't realize how much we needed that get away. We were able to be gone for 3 wonderful days to Charleston. Being away allowed me to focus on Chris and our relationship. I wasn't doing laundry, cooking dinner, or cleaning. I was just spending time with the man God brought into my life 14 years ago, whom I have had the privilege of being married to for almost 8 years!! It really can't be that long can it?!?!?! I am so thankful that God allowed us the opportunity to get away. You see we had just the right amount of money at this time to be able to go somewhere. That doesn't just happen. God planned it that way.
I have done a lot of thinking over this past week. I know that even though I can not understand why we were so close to having a baby, God knew that this was not the baby He had chosen for our family. Before the unthinkable happened I asked Chris, "If this doesn't work out, why do you think God would have opened so many doors for us to adopt this baby?" His answer was simple, "God wants to know if we are willing to follow Him no matter what." Are we in it for the long haul? Do we continue to honor Him even though we didn't have the result we were hoping for? The answer is YES! Are there times when we get weary? Oh yes!! But God is there to carry us during those times. Just tonight Chris and I were talking about how we know that God is using us to reach others during this time but we are tired of being used. At the same time we agreed that God will give us the strength to make it. One of the verses I have said to myself a lot here lately is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God is not a God who sits in Heaven and says, "I wonder how much they can endure?" Even though He knew what was going to happen He has cried tears with us because He doesn't want us to hurt." In Matthew 11:28-30 He says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” At those moments when I'm not sure I can endure one more heartache or take one more step He says, "You don't have to because I am capable of carrying you through." I am so thankful to serve a God who is willing to carry me when I can not take another step!
I have done a lot of thinking over this past week. I know that even though I can not understand why we were so close to having a baby, God knew that this was not the baby He had chosen for our family. Before the unthinkable happened I asked Chris, "If this doesn't work out, why do you think God would have opened so many doors for us to adopt this baby?" His answer was simple, "God wants to know if we are willing to follow Him no matter what." Are we in it for the long haul? Do we continue to honor Him even though we didn't have the result we were hoping for? The answer is YES! Are there times when we get weary? Oh yes!! But God is there to carry us during those times. Just tonight Chris and I were talking about how we know that God is using us to reach others during this time but we are tired of being used. At the same time we agreed that God will give us the strength to make it. One of the verses I have said to myself a lot here lately is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God is not a God who sits in Heaven and says, "I wonder how much they can endure?" Even though He knew what was going to happen He has cried tears with us because He doesn't want us to hurt." In Matthew 11:28-30 He says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” At those moments when I'm not sure I can endure one more heartache or take one more step He says, "You don't have to because I am capable of carrying you through." I am so thankful to serve a God who is willing to carry me when I can not take another step!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Heavy Hearts
Well we got the unthinkable news today... our birth mother has decided to keep the baby. We are very sad but we know that God is not surprised and He has a purpose in all this. This probably began when back in March she announced that she wanted to nurse the baby for two weeks. We all tried to talk her out of this and told her that she was going to bond with the baby and if her true desire was for us to adopt the baby then that was not a good idea. She promised that she knew she couldn't keep the baby and that "God" had told her to do this. Then last week we were given 4 more demands, one was more money, another was that we keep the name she had given him because "God" said he was to be given that name, another was that we would circumcise him (since she couldn't afford it) and another was that we have an open adoption. We agreed to all and even compromised on the name, by saying we would choose the middle name and we would keep the first name that she wanted. She obviously doesn't understand what God is telling her but that is between Him and her.When we given the list of demands we began praying that if God did not want this baby for our family, then He would close the door because we were willing to go until the door closed. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will never look back on this and wonder "what if", God was very clear. We just pray that He would bring the right baby into our family and that it would not involve months more of waiting. Part of us want to say, "God haven't we been through enough already?!?!" But we know that He will use this for His glory and when He does bring OUR baby home it will be more perfect than we could have ever imagined.
Please pray for me particularly this weekend. I actually thought that I would be a mommy this weekend and I was excited about celebrating Mother's Day this year. It will be hard to think of how close I was to being a mommy on this holiday.
So where does this put us?? God really protected our money in all of this. We could have lost thousands of dollars but we only loose $650. Both her attorney and the director or the adoption center did not want to take our money until she signed the papers due to her lack of consistency. We will talk with our attorney tomorrow to get a more in-depth plan on moving forward.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Humbled
God has humbled us in many ways through this journey. I think the first way is that He chose us!!! Why would He choose us? I was the one who was mad at God for at least 9 months after our last failed in vitro cycle. Why would He use me? The only answer I have is that I was willing to be used (we were willing). I have heard the saying "God will get His" meaning that even if the person that God chose to use is not willing to be used He will find another way to reach people. That person just misses out on the blessing.
I am so thankful that we have been apart of this blessing. Not just the blessing of becoming a parent but the blessing of seeing God work in the lives of other people. I know that there have been people who have thought there is NO WAY that you can raise $20,700 by the time the baby comes and as we are closing in on our amount they have realized that GOD has provided the money and that He is involved in the little things in our lives and that He cares so much about His children.
As I type this we have raised to date $17,350. That has been through donations, yard sales, and Pizza Inn fundraisers. There is not a doubt in my mind that God has brought this baby to us because He has provided a way for us to bring him home. My wonderful attorney has even given us an extension of 2 months to get the rest of our money in so that we will not have to borrow any from the bank. God is so good.
There was a point that I wondered if I would ever be a mommy, something I have dreamed of for a very long time. God saw and heard the desires of my heart but He said in MY timing I will give you this great gift you have been wanting. I think He wanted me understand that this baby is a child He has entrusted to me and Chris but the child is really His. He needed Chris and I to grow in our faith so that we would instill an unwavering faith in this little boy so that when he grows up he will have a passion for God. Which is something I prayed for 4 years ago. I wanted our children to know beyond a shadow of a doubt who their parents served, I didn't want an auto-pilot faith, I wanted an on-fire faith. God knew that and He had to allow me to endure the last 4 years to get me there. While I would have never asked for these trials I would not trade them because I know I wouldn't be here now.
Please join me in praying for Elijah over these next 10 days. Please pray that the time would go quickly for us and that we would soon be able to hold our precious sweet blessing.
The baby is born!!
We found out Friday morning around 8:20ish that our baby had been born April 26th!!! It was a healthy baby BOY!!!! His name is Elijah Christopher. We think he was 22 inches but that is not officially confirmed and he was 6 pounds 8 ounces.
The worst part of this news is that we have to wait 2 weeks before we can go get him. We knew about this so we were prepared but you just want to there right away. We know God has a plan in all of this, we just don't know exactly what it is. My personal thought is that it is just going to bring Him more glory in the end which I have no doubt it will. Hopefully we will be on a plane by May 10 to go get our sweet baby boy!!!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Jehovah Jireh
I titled this entry as such because of what all those two words mean. I read the following on bible.org:
the Lord Who will see to it that my every need is met. One Who knows my need because He sees. One Who is able to meet my need in just the right time as He did for Abraham, and One Who can meet it fully. For Abraham, it was the ram caught in the thicket that was offered in Isaac's place. For us it is whatever we need.
When doing the bible study The God Who Sees Me, God spoke to me beyond what I could have expected through the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Issac. When I first began this study I thought that it was for people who felt like God never "saw" them or heard their prayers, little did I know how much meaning it would have for me.
When Chris and I agreed to move forward with this adoption we had no idea where the money for this baby was going to come from. I mean who has $20,700 just laying around? And due to our in vitro expense we could not get a loan for that amount much less afford the monthly payments when a baby was about to come into our house. We believed that our God would provide for us and we had no idea how or what time frame we just knew He was capable and would do it.
The first amount we needed to pay the lawyer was $8600 the week we needed to pay it we were over $500 short of what we needed to pay it. The following Sunday when we left church we had all the money we needed because people were constantly coming up to us handing us money.
I am getting ready to mail another check for $6600 to the lawyer because that is what we have collected at this time. That puts us ONLY $5500 away from our total amount needed!!!! Isn't that amazing?!?!?! Who is able to raise $15,200 in a matter of 4 months? I know that if God had not blessed it and we could not have. We raised $5500 alone just from 3 yard sales!!
God has most definitely affirmed the fact that He intended us for us to adopt. I am reminded of the old song God Will Make a Way by Don Moen. For those of you who may not know the lyrics they are:
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
As we are quickly approaching our deadline that ALL our money is due (it is due before we are able to go to California) I have no idea how we are going to get the final $5500 we need but I know my God is in control and He knows and has EVERYTHING under control!!
the Lord Who will see to it that my every need is met. One Who knows my need because He sees. One Who is able to meet my need in just the right time as He did for Abraham, and One Who can meet it fully. For Abraham, it was the ram caught in the thicket that was offered in Isaac's place. For us it is whatever we need.
When doing the bible study The God Who Sees Me, God spoke to me beyond what I could have expected through the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Issac. When I first began this study I thought that it was for people who felt like God never "saw" them or heard their prayers, little did I know how much meaning it would have for me.
When Chris and I agreed to move forward with this adoption we had no idea where the money for this baby was going to come from. I mean who has $20,700 just laying around? And due to our in vitro expense we could not get a loan for that amount much less afford the monthly payments when a baby was about to come into our house. We believed that our God would provide for us and we had no idea how or what time frame we just knew He was capable and would do it.
The first amount we needed to pay the lawyer was $8600 the week we needed to pay it we were over $500 short of what we needed to pay it. The following Sunday when we left church we had all the money we needed because people were constantly coming up to us handing us money.
I am getting ready to mail another check for $6600 to the lawyer because that is what we have collected at this time. That puts us ONLY $5500 away from our total amount needed!!!! Isn't that amazing?!?!?! Who is able to raise $15,200 in a matter of 4 months? I know that if God had not blessed it and we could not have. We raised $5500 alone just from 3 yard sales!!
God has most definitely affirmed the fact that He intended us for us to adopt. I am reminded of the old song God Will Make a Way by Don Moen. For those of you who may not know the lyrics they are:
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
As we are quickly approaching our deadline that ALL our money is due (it is due before we are able to go to California) I have no idea how we are going to get the final $5500 we need but I know my God is in control and He knows and has EVERYTHING under control!!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Closer to April!!
I just have to say that those of you who have babies the regular way; I don't know how you wait 9 months to see that precious baby!!! I am only having to wait 2 months, max, and it's killing me!!!
I talked with the birth mother this past Monday. I did not find out anything earth shattering but we just talked. We ended up talking 30-45 minutes about Spring break plans, life in general and missions. Who talks to their birth mother about missions?!?!?!
We also talked the director of the adoption center who is handling our case and she told us that the birth mother has signed up for Medicaid and that there would be a 7 day wait period before they would call her back but she is certain she will get it. Keep praying the birth mother will go to the doctor so that we can have a better idea of when we will actually being going to California.
Once again I just have to share how God's hand is in this. First of all I want to thank all of you who have donated because we needed to mail a check to the lawyers office tomorrow for $8,600 and guess what? We have $8,500 and we are adding the extra $100 and so we have officially met our first deadline!!! Today alone we were given $460 at church!!!
One of our big concerns was lodging in California. For those of you that don't know we have to stay a minimum of 10 days with the possibility of up to 14 days in California while we wait for interstate paperwork to go through. We had a friend whose college roommate's family lives in...you guessed it, San Diego!!!! One of her roommates family members has offered to let us stay in their house and have told us not to worry about a car while we are there, yet another concern of ours. God is so good!!
During Spring break, Chris and I were supposed to go to Providence, Rhode Island with our church on a mission trip. We had already paid our deposit when we found out that we were matched with a birth mother. We decided that since we didn't know when exactly the baby was due it would probably be best that we not go, just in case, but our plane tickets had already been bought. Our missions pastor found out for us that we can still use our plane tickets we just have to pay $150 to have them changed to go to San Diego and whatever the difference in the price is. Again another huge answer to prayer.
Over the past 4 years my faith in God has wavered. When we went through failed IVF I thought, why would you do this to us?? I thought the same thing when we had our miscarriage. I was in such a dark place at that time, I couldn't sing songs of praise to God because I didn't really believe he was so wonderful. I remember one Sunday we were singing, How Great is Our God, and had to sit back down in the pew because I was crying to much because I didn't believe He was so great.
As I am on this side of 4 years I can see that God answered a prayer that I prayed probably about 5 years ago. I knew that Chris and I were getting close to wanting to start a family and I began praying that God would transform us. You see we weren't bad people at the time. We had both been Christians for quite some time but I felt as though our lives were on auto-pilot when it came to God. We went to church, we were as involved as two people could be but there was no depth. I knew that when we had children I didn't want to be that way. I wanted our children to see a passion for God that would transfer into their lives. I knew that I wanted our children to be 100% sold out for Christ and not be ordinary Christians who just went through the motions from week to week.
Little did I know that God begin to transform my life, our lives, from that little prayer but I am so grateful for it. I have always been self sufficient. I haven't ever had to FULLY rely on God for anything. I could always make things work out on MY own. God has taught me through this painful journey that I have to give EVERYTHING to Him. He never intended for me to take everything on myself. My relationship with Him has grown so much while I have been on the threshing floor of life. While I may not have wanted to endure the last 4 years I am thankful for it. I would never be where I am right now had I not.
My prayer through this entire journey is that God will be glorified and lifted up. I pray that through each blog entry you will see what I mighty God He is.
We still need 403 people to donate $30 or more to make it to our total of $20,700. We are having a yard sale this Saturday. This will be our second one. At the first one we raised $2400. Please be in prayer that God will again multiply our profits and provide beyond our expectations.
If you would like to mail a check you can mail it to:
Hope Poteat
253 Mystic Ct
Chesnee,SC 29323
I talked with the birth mother this past Monday. I did not find out anything earth shattering but we just talked. We ended up talking 30-45 minutes about Spring break plans, life in general and missions. Who talks to their birth mother about missions?!?!?!
We also talked the director of the adoption center who is handling our case and she told us that the birth mother has signed up for Medicaid and that there would be a 7 day wait period before they would call her back but she is certain she will get it. Keep praying the birth mother will go to the doctor so that we can have a better idea of when we will actually being going to California.
Once again I just have to share how God's hand is in this. First of all I want to thank all of you who have donated because we needed to mail a check to the lawyers office tomorrow for $8,600 and guess what? We have $8,500 and we are adding the extra $100 and so we have officially met our first deadline!!! Today alone we were given $460 at church!!!
One of our big concerns was lodging in California. For those of you that don't know we have to stay a minimum of 10 days with the possibility of up to 14 days in California while we wait for interstate paperwork to go through. We had a friend whose college roommate's family lives in...you guessed it, San Diego!!!! One of her roommates family members has offered to let us stay in their house and have told us not to worry about a car while we are there, yet another concern of ours. God is so good!!
During Spring break, Chris and I were supposed to go to Providence, Rhode Island with our church on a mission trip. We had already paid our deposit when we found out that we were matched with a birth mother. We decided that since we didn't know when exactly the baby was due it would probably be best that we not go, just in case, but our plane tickets had already been bought. Our missions pastor found out for us that we can still use our plane tickets we just have to pay $150 to have them changed to go to San Diego and whatever the difference in the price is. Again another huge answer to prayer.
Over the past 4 years my faith in God has wavered. When we went through failed IVF I thought, why would you do this to us?? I thought the same thing when we had our miscarriage. I was in such a dark place at that time, I couldn't sing songs of praise to God because I didn't really believe he was so wonderful. I remember one Sunday we were singing, How Great is Our God, and had to sit back down in the pew because I was crying to much because I didn't believe He was so great.
As I am on this side of 4 years I can see that God answered a prayer that I prayed probably about 5 years ago. I knew that Chris and I were getting close to wanting to start a family and I began praying that God would transform us. You see we weren't bad people at the time. We had both been Christians for quite some time but I felt as though our lives were on auto-pilot when it came to God. We went to church, we were as involved as two people could be but there was no depth. I knew that when we had children I didn't want to be that way. I wanted our children to see a passion for God that would transfer into their lives. I knew that I wanted our children to be 100% sold out for Christ and not be ordinary Christians who just went through the motions from week to week.
Little did I know that God begin to transform my life, our lives, from that little prayer but I am so grateful for it. I have always been self sufficient. I haven't ever had to FULLY rely on God for anything. I could always make things work out on MY own. God has taught me through this painful journey that I have to give EVERYTHING to Him. He never intended for me to take everything on myself. My relationship with Him has grown so much while I have been on the threshing floor of life. While I may not have wanted to endure the last 4 years I am thankful for it. I would never be where I am right now had I not.
My prayer through this entire journey is that God will be glorified and lifted up. I pray that through each blog entry you will see what I mighty God He is.
We still need 403 people to donate $30 or more to make it to our total of $20,700. We are having a yard sale this Saturday. This will be our second one. At the first one we raised $2400. Please be in prayer that God will again multiply our profits and provide beyond our expectations.
If you would like to mail a check you can mail it to:
Hope Poteat
253 Mystic Ct
Chesnee,SC 29323
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Journey Begins
We have finally been matched with a birth mother!!!!! We don't know whether the baby is a boy or girl yet (since the mother has not had prenatal care, which is common in an adoption scenario) but he/she is due sometime in April. She is supposed to be going to the doctor soon so that we can narrow that down and make sure the baby is healthy. We will be traveling to San Diego, California to bring our baby home in less than 2 months!!! I can not contain my excitement!!
For anyone reading this that doesn't know our story let me fill you in:
When you decide to have a family you never think, oh that might be hard to do, you just think you'll be like everyone else and be able to get pregnant very easily. Well, that wasn't (isn't) the case for us. This March marks 4 years of trying to begin a family for us. A road that has been filled with surprise, tears, heartache, and now joy.
After we had tried for a year unsuccessfully we went to the doctor to find out why we weren't getting pregnant. She sent us to an infertility doctor who said the only way to get pregnant was through in vitro,a process that costs $15,000. Who has that much money just laying around for a rainy day? When I called my insurance company to find out how much they covered and found out is was nothing, I was devastated!! I cried my heart out because for me having a family full of children was not just some whim I had come up with one day, it was a dream I had dreamed ever since I was a little girl. I had found my prince charming but there were no children in my sight.
Through a God ordained turn of events, the infertility doctor called to say that if I would change my insurance I would get 70% coverage for the in vitro so that's what we did. That was in October of 2009. We began the in vitro process in March of 2010. God began to open so many doors that I just knew that we were going to get pregnant and have a baby through in vitro, but I was wrong. We ended up with 5 embryos and in our first transfer we transferred 2 but neither implanted and nothing happened. A few weeks later we transferred the last 3 and got a positive pregnancy test only to loose the baby 3 days later.
Devastated was not even the word to describe our emotions. I was so hurt I took a week out of school and really didn't want to go back and work with children but I knew I didn't have a choice, which was a good thing.
I mourned for a good 9 months for the loss of the baby I thought would be in our home right now. Some dear, dear friends of mine encouraged me to attend a bible study on Ruth that our church was offering, I reluctantly did. You see I attended church during this time of mourning, but that was it. My heart was not there because I was still so infuriated at God for what He had taken away. He used that bible study and the teacher to break down that very tall wall I had built and began to gently talk to my heart about adoption.
I heard Him remind me that He did not want our baby to die but because we live in a fallen, sinful world it happened. He told me that He missed His fellowship with me and that He had a plan bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed up. So in the summer of 2011 Chris and I began to talk about adoption. He showed me that to a mommy doesn't mean that the baby has to come from my womb, lets face it there are plenty of people who are MOTHERS and not mommies. It's about the times you spend with your child, reading stories before bed, building forts in the den, pushing them in the swing, and kissing their boo boos when they get hurt. I can do all those things with MY child whether I give birth or not.
We figured that the only way we could afford to do that was through DSS because we had taken out a rather large loan for in vitro (let's just say in the end they didn't really cover 70%) and I couldn't imagine going into debt for adoption too. So we went to the DSS adoption meeting in September and we realized that that was not where God was leading us to adopt from. He was leading us to a private adoption but we had no idea how that was going to work.
In October 2011 we got a phone call from the lawyers office that we had called to get some information about asked us if we wanted to send a portfolio to a birth mom in Texas. I told them we didn't have a portfolio or money but we could send pictures so we did. We didn't get chosen and that was TOTALLY OK, because I didn't have a peace about it. God used that to get us going on the adoption road because you see OUR baby had already been conceived to a mother who knew she couldn't keep him/her and didn't know what to do.
We attended a couple of adoption seminars where our attorney that we are using spoke and it just confirmed our desire to use him. In November of 2011 we went public with the fact that we were going to adopt and began a Christmas gift wrapping fundraiser. Our goal was to raise the $1,000 it took to retain our lawyer. Through donations and that fundraiser we were able to schedule a meeting with our lawyer January 26, 2012. We had our home study on the following Sunday January 29.
After that we began fundraising galore. We had a fundraiser at Pizza Inn were we raised $1400, the biggest they had ever had. We had a yard sale where 95% of the items were donated to us and we raise almost $2400. We sold jewelry where we raised $350. All together we have raised $5,000 in just a matter of 1 short month.
In the meantime we had been getting phone calls asked if we wanted to send our portfolio to birth mothers. For one reason or another we said no to the first 4 birth mothers our attorney had called us about and then we got a phone call on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
This birth mother was in California and wanted an evangelical Christian family to adopt her baby and this baby was $8,000 less than the other babies we had been called about putting it in our range. They were going to mail portfolios Saturday evening but there were some questions we needed answered before we were OK to send ours. It just so happened that they weren't able to mail any portfolios Saturday night and were able to call the California lawyer and ask the questions we needed answered so we said go ahead and mail our portfolio Monday.
We got the phone call Wednesday, March 7 that we had been chosen and we set up our three way call with the birth mother for the next day at 8:00. Our phone call lasted an hour which was unheard of and it could not have gone any better. We felt like she was a kindred spirit. God orchestrated the whole thing. Even though the facilitator wanted us to both pray about the birth mother said, "I know I want them, they are perfect." We got the phone call March 9th that we did want to move forward and now we are expecting our sweet, precious baby in April.
Since things happened so fast we have not been able to raise all of our money yet. We still need to get $15,000 by the time the baby is born in April and we do not qualify to get that large of a loan due to our in vitro loan. We have been praying that God would lay it on people's heart to donate to help us bring our little miracle home in April. IF we can get 500 people to donate at least $30 we will be able to do it.
For anyone reading this that doesn't know our story let me fill you in:
When you decide to have a family you never think, oh that might be hard to do, you just think you'll be like everyone else and be able to get pregnant very easily. Well, that wasn't (isn't) the case for us. This March marks 4 years of trying to begin a family for us. A road that has been filled with surprise, tears, heartache, and now joy.
After we had tried for a year unsuccessfully we went to the doctor to find out why we weren't getting pregnant. She sent us to an infertility doctor who said the only way to get pregnant was through in vitro,a process that costs $15,000. Who has that much money just laying around for a rainy day? When I called my insurance company to find out how much they covered and found out is was nothing, I was devastated!! I cried my heart out because for me having a family full of children was not just some whim I had come up with one day, it was a dream I had dreamed ever since I was a little girl. I had found my prince charming but there were no children in my sight.
Through a God ordained turn of events, the infertility doctor called to say that if I would change my insurance I would get 70% coverage for the in vitro so that's what we did. That was in October of 2009. We began the in vitro process in March of 2010. God began to open so many doors that I just knew that we were going to get pregnant and have a baby through in vitro, but I was wrong. We ended up with 5 embryos and in our first transfer we transferred 2 but neither implanted and nothing happened. A few weeks later we transferred the last 3 and got a positive pregnancy test only to loose the baby 3 days later.
Devastated was not even the word to describe our emotions. I was so hurt I took a week out of school and really didn't want to go back and work with children but I knew I didn't have a choice, which was a good thing.
I mourned for a good 9 months for the loss of the baby I thought would be in our home right now. Some dear, dear friends of mine encouraged me to attend a bible study on Ruth that our church was offering, I reluctantly did. You see I attended church during this time of mourning, but that was it. My heart was not there because I was still so infuriated at God for what He had taken away. He used that bible study and the teacher to break down that very tall wall I had built and began to gently talk to my heart about adoption.
I heard Him remind me that He did not want our baby to die but because we live in a fallen, sinful world it happened. He told me that He missed His fellowship with me and that He had a plan bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed up. So in the summer of 2011 Chris and I began to talk about adoption. He showed me that to a mommy doesn't mean that the baby has to come from my womb, lets face it there are plenty of people who are MOTHERS and not mommies. It's about the times you spend with your child, reading stories before bed, building forts in the den, pushing them in the swing, and kissing their boo boos when they get hurt. I can do all those things with MY child whether I give birth or not.
We figured that the only way we could afford to do that was through DSS because we had taken out a rather large loan for in vitro (let's just say in the end they didn't really cover 70%) and I couldn't imagine going into debt for adoption too. So we went to the DSS adoption meeting in September and we realized that that was not where God was leading us to adopt from. He was leading us to a private adoption but we had no idea how that was going to work.
In October 2011 we got a phone call from the lawyers office that we had called to get some information about asked us if we wanted to send a portfolio to a birth mom in Texas. I told them we didn't have a portfolio or money but we could send pictures so we did. We didn't get chosen and that was TOTALLY OK, because I didn't have a peace about it. God used that to get us going on the adoption road because you see OUR baby had already been conceived to a mother who knew she couldn't keep him/her and didn't know what to do.
We attended a couple of adoption seminars where our attorney that we are using spoke and it just confirmed our desire to use him. In November of 2011 we went public with the fact that we were going to adopt and began a Christmas gift wrapping fundraiser. Our goal was to raise the $1,000 it took to retain our lawyer. Through donations and that fundraiser we were able to schedule a meeting with our lawyer January 26, 2012. We had our home study on the following Sunday January 29.
After that we began fundraising galore. We had a fundraiser at Pizza Inn were we raised $1400, the biggest they had ever had. We had a yard sale where 95% of the items were donated to us and we raise almost $2400. We sold jewelry where we raised $350. All together we have raised $5,000 in just a matter of 1 short month.
In the meantime we had been getting phone calls asked if we wanted to send our portfolio to birth mothers. For one reason or another we said no to the first 4 birth mothers our attorney had called us about and then we got a phone call on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
This birth mother was in California and wanted an evangelical Christian family to adopt her baby and this baby was $8,000 less than the other babies we had been called about putting it in our range. They were going to mail portfolios Saturday evening but there were some questions we needed answered before we were OK to send ours. It just so happened that they weren't able to mail any portfolios Saturday night and were able to call the California lawyer and ask the questions we needed answered so we said go ahead and mail our portfolio Monday.
We got the phone call Wednesday, March 7 that we had been chosen and we set up our three way call with the birth mother for the next day at 8:00. Our phone call lasted an hour which was unheard of and it could not have gone any better. We felt like she was a kindred spirit. God orchestrated the whole thing. Even though the facilitator wanted us to both pray about the birth mother said, "I know I want them, they are perfect." We got the phone call March 9th that we did want to move forward and now we are expecting our sweet, precious baby in April.
Since things happened so fast we have not been able to raise all of our money yet. We still need to get $15,000 by the time the baby is born in April and we do not qualify to get that large of a loan due to our in vitro loan. We have been praying that God would lay it on people's heart to donate to help us bring our little miracle home in April. IF we can get 500 people to donate at least $30 we will be able to do it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)