Where we're headed...

It's been a while since we posted here. If fact our last post was October of last year. When we announced our plans to adopt, we did a few small fundraisers and then we didn't say much more. That doesn't mean we don't want to adopt. Holidays can be hard. Especially hard when you've lost a child (or two) and in our case four days before Christmas. Last year was a hard one for me emotionally and we needed to take a step back. Grief is an ugly monster. It rears its ugly head in places you would least expect it and with no notice. 

We recently were approached about a situation-- an expectant mother who is 17-years-old. The possibility kindled a fire in us and reminded us why we want to adopt. That mother has decided to parent her child. We want to be prepared though because ultimately we plan to adopt. 

So what does that mean? We are back at it with fundraising and trying to find creative ways to save money.  We are saving, getting crafty, offering to do odd jobs, selling items laying around our house (that we forgot we even had), and who knows what else. We have also been trying to determine which method we plan to use for adoption. There are SO many options -- agencies, attorneys, private, open or closed and then options inside each of those options. After talking we decided to submit an application with DSS. We called DSS back in June regarding applying with them and were shocked when they said they were not taking applications. It seems like we see stories on the news all the time of children being abandoned or needing care. I couldn't imagine DSS saying they were not accepting applications and to be honest it was discouraging. I texted Matt and told him I was so unsure. What did this mean? God has a plan. That's what he reminded me. When I called DSS again in August, they are again taking applications. We feel DSS will provide the structure we will need throughout this process. If you have ever felt the call to adopt and/or foster or simply want more information, please visit the SC DSS website. 

You'll see more posts in the next few weeks and months on how you can pray and help if you feel led to do so. We appreciate your prayers. We have learned already that the adoption process brings a multitude of emotions -- joy, anticipation, fear, sadness, excitement. Please pray that God prepares our hearts for this journey.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and support. 

Here we go....

Thanks for following along in our adoption journey!

We are so excited to open our hearts to adoption and cannot wait to see what God has in store for our family.

A little background: we met at North Greenville College in 2000. I (Crystal) knew right away that Matt was the man with whom I wanted to grow old. We married in December 2007 in Flat Rock, NC. It was the Christmas wedding of which I had dreamed. We decided to start a family right away. Over the next seven years we experienced three miscarriages, a set of stillborn twin boys, and one amazing little miracle, Bella, who will be four in November of this year. Infertility has been hard for both of us and we have had to trust that God knows what is best for our family. This year we began to talk about growing our family and over and over adoption came to the forefront of our minds. We have prayed and both feel like God has placed the call to adopt on our lives and trust that God has great things in store for us.

We have chosen to adopt through Bethany Christian Services. You can check our their website for more information. They have been around for since 1944 and place more than 100,000 children annually! One of the mean reasons we chose Bethany is because of their support system, not only for adoptive parents but also for the birth parents offering counseling and support 24 hours a day. At this time we are working on our formal application which means lots and lots and lots of paper. When we submit our formal application, we'll also pay a $2,000 application fee. After that we'll complete training in Columbia. Our home study is next as well as a $2,000 home study fee. Once our home study is approved, we wait! We have friends who have gone through this process and we know the waiting is hard but will be worth it in the end.

Some of you have already contacted us to ask how you can contribute. We are grateful that you want to help. We know that without our friends and family adoption would not be possible. We need your love and support. We have set up a YouCaring page. Most people are familiar with GoFundMe pages. We did our research and have decided to use YouCaring. While GoFundMe charges a percentage of each dollar contributed, YouCaring does not which means more money goes to the cause you have chosen to support. If you would like to donate, you can follow this link. Thank you in advance!

Thank you for checking in and we ask that you pray for our family as we prepare our hearts for the child God has chosen for us. Also, please pray for the mothers who love their children enough to make the difficult decision to place them for adoption.

We'll do our best to keep you updated on the process as well as our fundraising goals.