Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Yard Sale!!!

As you find yourselves doing some spring cleaning keep us in mind! We would love for you to give us your "junk" so we can sell it to raise funds for our adoption! If you have anything you'd like to donate, email or call us and we will arrange for pick-up or drop-off!
Thank you!!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

So where do we go from here?

Happy New Year! Bethany and I are so excited for this new year and can't wait to see how Gods plan unfolds for us! 
Many of you have asked "where we go from here?" so here is a quick explanation of the process:  Now that we have final adoption approval we provide the agency with what is called a match letter. This "match letter" is a profile of Bethany and I and our story. It consists of 4 pages and has letters from us to our potential birthmother as well as pictures of us and our immediate family. This match letter is put in a book at several of the agencies locations and is provided to the birthmother.  
When a birthmother comes to the agency, she works directly with a pregnancy counselor. Once the determination is made that she wants to place her child for adoption she is presented with several match letters from families that meet her situation. (At the beginning of our process we filled out a form that outlined all the different situations that we would be open to considering regarding things such as: sex of the child, age, potential medical complications, medical considerations regarding the birthmother, heritage, etc.) Once the birthmother is presented with these letters she looks through them to find one or two families that she feels would be a good fit for her to place her child with.
After she picks a family or two the agency will call us and let us know that a birthmother would like to meet us and this is called a "match meeting." In this meeting we will get to know each other and talk about all sorts of things in order to learn about each other. After the meeting Bethany and I will talk about the meeting and see if we feel this is a good match for us. After prayerful consideration we will contact the agency again. If we have decided to continue with the match we will have several more meetings with the birthmother. Over these meetings we will determine several things regarding the pregnancy process and the adoption plan. It's important to also point out that the birthmother has the same option to continue with us or to choose another family as well.
The other possibility is what is called a "hospital call." This happens when a mother goes to the hospital, delivers, and makes the determination there that she wishes to place her child for adoption. The hospital  in-turn calls the agency and the agency chooses a family based on the child's situation. The process can happen very quickly and there is far less time to prepare and learn about the birthmother and potential concerns regarding the child. In the past families have received a hospital call and have gone home with their child in a matter of hours! 
So where do we go from here? you ask. We WAIT! We wait patiently and  pray the God will continue to guard our hearts through the process. We pray that God will prepare the heart of our birthmother for the adoption process and we pray for the health and well-being of the birthmother and child that God has chosen for us!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support along our journey!
With Love,
Chris & Bethany

Friday, December 17, 2010

Adoption update!

Ok so we haven't updated our blog for awhile! So here is the latest... Bethany and I have joined a new agency called Christian Family Care. This is a Christian based adoption organization. Part of the requirements for this agency were that we attended 7 weeks worth of adoption related classes, and we loved every single one! We also had to re-do a down scaled version of the home study process, personal interviews, personality assessments and home visits. Just yesterday we received the final approval from the agency which means that at any moment we could receive a call for a possible adoption!
Now we just wait! Bethany and I both trust in God's perfect timing and our prayer at this time is for Him to prepare the heart of the birthmother for the adoption process, for the continued guarding of our hearts through this very dynamic journey, and for Him to protect the child that God has chosen for us. 
Thank you to all our family and friends that continue to support us along the way!
Chris & Bethany

Monday, October 26, 2009

With All Our Love...

Hello,

We are excited at the opportunity to share our lives and ourselves with you through this letter! As we find our hearts full of joy and excitement we can’t even begin to know the feelings and thoughts that you are experiencing. It is said that the greatest gift one person can give to another is to lay down his life for a friend, however in our case the greatest gift one could give us is the gift of life and the blessing of a child to care for and nurture. Although we are unable to have children of our own, we pray that God blesses us with the opportunity to adopt a child.

We first met in our church youth group helping with a summer program for kids. We dated all through high school and then married a couple years later. We were blessed with the financial ability to purchase our own home and can’t wait start our family!

We live in a beautiful town in the mountains and enjoy the seasonal changes. Bethany looks forward to the warm summer months and Chris loves the snow! Our home is in a friendly neighborhood and has plenty of room with a great yard to play in. We have two dogs, Daisy (a chocolate lab who loves going on adventures with us) and Tipsy (a small mixed breed who stays close to home.) In the summer we love mountain biking, camping, fishing, sport climbing and getting the boat on the lake. The winter time is mostly spent snowboarding and tubing.

Family is in no short supply! We both have immediate family close by and enjoy spending time with our nieces and nephews. Every year we look forward to special get-togethers such as birthday parties, holidays, and our annual pumpkin carving contest. Our family is thrilled for us to adopt and can’t wait to help!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letter and getting to know us a little better. We look forward to becoming parents and providing a loving and supportive family for our child. We admire your courage and love as you consider adoption. We would love to get to know you and learn about your dreams!



A letter from Bethany!

Hello, I'm Bethany. I was born in Indiana and then my parents moved to Arizona to start a mission for the Native American people shortly after i turned one. I have four siblings, three sisters and one brother. We love to celebrate birthday, holidays, and enjy family time with each other. My faith in God and my family are very important to me, the bonds that form between us through our faith are very strong and hold tight during difficult times. My father passed away when i was eleven, the faith my family has in God and each other helped us through that tragic period in our lives. This sad time in my life brought me even closer to my savior Jesus Christ and knowing that he will never put anything before me that he can not help me through. I met my husband Chris through our church yourth group. We dated all thourhg high school and got married two years after I graduated. I played varsity soccer for three years and absolutley LOVED it! I also participated in student council, national honor society, and attended every home football game we had because my #50 was playing. Now I am a HUGE Indianapolis Colts fan! I am no expert on football mind you, but i did learn a lot from all of those games listening to my father-in-law shout at the refs (thanks dad) and love the fact that my husband and i can enjoy watching NFL football together. My other hobbies include: sewing, scrap booking (thanks Charli), reading, long bubble baths, crochetting, sport climbing and mountain biking (thanks to my husband). I worked for a nation wide title company and really enjoyed the comfort and ease I could bring to families making big financial decisions. I loved the work I did along with the women I worked with and made some really wonderful life long friends. I now do reception work for a glass company owned by an amazing couple. It is extremely interesting to learn about the glass business and all of its aspects, it really keeps you on your toes. My husband has the biggest heart in the world and always looks for ways to help others. Which is why there was no surprise when his heart lead him to the career choice of becoming a firefighter. Being a firefighters wife, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the men and women my husband works with on a daily bases. It is also a comforting fact that even though we are not related by blood, the firehouse is a big famliy and can count on one another for comfort, support, and even celebartion whenever it is needed. My heart can't even express the respect and gratitude I have for your courage and the love you have for your baby. Chris and I would love to be apart of your baby's life and start our family. We thank you from the bottom of our hears for taking the time to get to know us a little better. We can't wait to meet your and get to know you a little better as well.

Get to know Chris!

Hi! Chris here, I am so excited to be able to share little bit about myself with you! It has been such a blessing for Bethany and I to go through this process.
My story is one of gratitude and thankfulness. I was born into a family with loving parents and two brothers eagerly awaiting my arrival and one to follow. My father served in the military and growing up it was always exciting to go to work with dad and drive the big army trucks! He has always been there for us and continues to do the same. My mother worked out of home and that allowed her to always be there to care for me. She is a fabulous cook and I always looked forward to fresh cinnamon rolls Sunday morning. My mom is full of compassions and is excited to have another grandbaby!
Growing up I was the "typical" boy. I loved playing sports and getting dirty. I grew up with horses and loved riding and caring for them. As I got older my interest turned to more "horsepower" and I loved riding the four-wheeler with my friends. My sport was always, and will continue to be, football! I played football through high school and then coached junior high football for a few years.
I graduated high school in 2001 and knew my career would involve helping other people in some form. I earned my AAS degree in emergency medical technology and currently work as a career firefighter and paramedic. I love going to work everyday as each day is sure to bring a new challenge. I cant wait to be able to bring my child to work to enjoy the cool fire trucks and hopefully inspire them to be a firefighter like dad! I also work part-time a a flight paramedic and find it rewarding to care for critically ill or injured patients.
On my days off I enjoy doing things outdoors. I enjoy mountain biking with my buddies from work and I have even gotten Bethany involved in riding and she loves it! Recently my friend Brandon introduced me to sport climbing, and I have fallen in love with it. We try to go as often as possible and it will be so exciting to teach our child to climb with us! I also enjoy fishing with my crazy father in-law! And when we need a break from fishing I like to tube behind our boat. In the winter time I enjoy the snow. I grew up skiing and Bethany grew up snowboarding. I am now trying to learn how to snowboard and am starting to get the hang of it.
Bethany and I, along with my brother Josh and his wife Tyla, are youth leaders for the grades 6-12 at our church. Its is such a cool experience to be able to spend time with them and to help spread the word of God to them. I think this compassion to serve God by serving others came from my brother Jeremy.
Religion is a very important aspect of my life. I believe that there is one true God and that he sent his only son to die on a cross for my sins. God is a fundamental building block of both my life and my marriage. To be able to share God's love will be the single most important part of raising our child.
I hope this has given you a small insight to my life. I am so excited to grow our family and can't wait to be a dad! I pray that you will be comforted at this time of your life and I thank you for considering letting Bethany and I, love and care for your baby.
Chris