It seems in the adoption process it is this hurry up, now wait, hurry up, oh now wait, hurry up, wait process.

We are in the midst of one of those seasons of hurry up and wait.  We are almost done with our homestudy (yea!!) and then we will work on completing all the other documents we will need for our dossier (all our paperwork that will be translated and send to China).  The homestudy is milestone and the next one will be mailing off our dossier.

The photos are going great! I have had so much fun getting to know people and sharing in their stories.  If you haven’t booked yours yet, don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me.

Goat Soap fundraiser, take 2! started today and we are excited to be offering these amazing soaps again.  If you haven’t tried them yet, you won’t be disappointed.  You can learn more about the family here.

Thanks again for your support, prayers and encouragement!

We made our first payment back in December which allowed us to continue moving forward in the process.  Thank you everyone who supported us with soap and financial gifts!  The Lord provided, as He always does.

We have started our home study, which is where you meet with a social worker 3 times, gather various forms and paperwork, read books, complete online training, 2 sets of fingerprints, physicals, child abuse clearances from every state we have lived, septic tank inspection  and complete more paperwork.

We have had our first meeting and will meet with our social worker again at the end of this month. Whoo- progress!!!  After the second meeting, we must complete all of our required documents/training and turn everything in before we meet for the last meeting.  Once our third and final meeting is scheduled, our next big payment is due.  All of this paperwork and the report of our home study will go into our Dossier  (which are the forms and such that will be sent to China asking us permission to adopt a child from their country) along with other forms and paperwork that we will collect after our home study report is done.  We are hoping to be done with the home study by the end of February, Lord willing, and the funds are there. Yea!!!

Things to pray for:

• Our fundraising.  That we will be faithful to what the Lord has called us to do, in regards to how raise the funds.
• The Mini-Session Photography fundraiser- I have 4 people who are interested- YEA!! I would LOVE more!
• Our diligence to complete our reading and online training and that we will have the time to complete them.
• Our child and their parents- I can’t imagine having to give up my child and we just pray that the Lord will grant them peace and that He will protect our son/daughter, that they will get the medical attention that they need and that even now they would know the Father’s voice.
• Clarity and direction on some family decisions we need to make.

I have never really studied about Chinese New Year until this year, but if you want to learn more you can read here.

It’s hard to think about China without wondering about the child the Lord has for us.  We are hoping that before next New Year we will have you home with us. Happy Chinese New Year Little one!

This idea come from a conversation with a friend about photographing her son’s birthday party.  She wanted to do something for me as a “pay back” and I told her that she could make a donation to our adoption fund.  That got me thinking that others might want to do the same and here we are.

I have always wanted to start a hobby business taking pictures of couples and families and I thought this is a great way to get things rolling.

Click here for the details

We are very thankful this season for all the gifts that the Lord has given to us. We are thankful for the gift of Jesus and the promise of life. Thank you Lord for sending your precious son here to earth so that we could live with you. What an amazing sacrifice you gave! We hope that in the hustle and bustle this Christmas season, that you will find a quiet moment to sit with the Lord and rest in his presence. Merry Christmas~

Adoption Update: We finished our Goat Soap fundraiser earlier this month and raised almost $500! A big THANK YOU to everyone who purchased soap and we hope you are enjoying it! We have also received some other gifts and I am happy to say that we have the money to start the next phase of the process! Thank you Lord for always providing for us and We are so thankful to everyone who has supported us! The Lord is so gracious and we are never surprised how in His time everything will happen.

We hope everyone has a very blessed Holiday season and we look forward to what 2012 has in store for us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

The Walkers

Through the stress we won’t be shaken. Every time that we have ever stepped out in faith we have encountered attack, and through God’s grace have prevailed. We choose to trust in the Lord, to know that He has our back, and we will rest in His authority alone. We believe that the same promise God made to Judah applies to us in this situation as well:

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
2 Chronicles 20:15 (ESV)

We are trying to raise money to complete our home study and with every order we are getting closer. Everything really hinges on the Home Study being complete so it is important that we get it done as soon as we can.

We need to sell 833 bars of soap to raise the funds to do that.  I know it seems like a HUGE number, but we serve a HUGE God and know that it is possible.

Those who choose to support this fundraiser by buying soap will help get us closer to 833 and closer to being able to complete our home study!  THANK YOU!!

Now about the soap:

I can personally say that my whole family  has been using the soap and it is wonderful.  I can’t imagine going back to a “regular” bar of soap.  They are all handmade and the scents are lovely.   You will really enjoy them.  If  you would like to read some testimonials, or the process click here.   Also, they were featured on the Today Show and you can meet the family and see how the operation works here.

Thank you again for your support and prayers as we journey down this road called adoption.  Anytime the Lord has asked us to do something hard, we have stepped out in faith and He has always provided for our needs.  This time is no different, we know the Lord will provide the funds for this adoption, we are just trying to be faithful to do what He has called us to do.

Thanks for reading and your support!

Jessica

I’m also so thankful for friends and family that are already joining is in this journey, it will be a long road, but so worth it.

We realize that our lives are going to change during this process. Things that have often seemed important in the past will fade, and new things, distant things, will begin to show and become clear. We are counting the cost, not the financial cost so much (God has that) but the personal cost, the cost of giving our lives away to children, our children, by birth and by adoption. And in counting that cost we recognize that this is what Jesus asked of us (James 1:27), and that it is worth it.

This is hard, no two ways about it. But, it is good. Every time in the past that God has asked us to jump, we have, and this is no different. We are jumping, in faith, into the arms of Jesus whom we believe and trust has the ability to care for us through this process. To Him will be the Glory in this.