Land-Locked in Newnan

I dream of the beach...I hope one day in the near future to be putting my toes in the sand and smelling some salty air.
But in the meantime I thought I would share some pictures of our house.


Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Living Room

Murphy and Bevo

Master Bedroom

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bedroom



Congratulations to Miller Lighting for winning 2nd Place in Flag Football. (Rusty is the 5th from the left on the top row)

Graduated

We have graduated from Adoption Discovery. I am so thankful for these last two months. Rusty and I have met some sweet people and have learned so much good information.
A couple of points:
You CAN adopt for $0.(even through private adoptions)
Special needs does not necessarily mean mental or physical disabilities.
Only 1% of birth parents changed their mind about giving up their child for adoption.
I learned a lot more information but these really stuck out to me.

Since we are beginning this process it has been so important to absorb the information and then pray about what the Lord wants our next step to be. I was tempted many times to step in and start down a certain path without letting Go and letting God. A really funny point is that one of the Adoption Discovery people used this phrase last night. We have been praying daily about what God wants us to do next.

We are planning on "interviewing many agencies" I called our county's family services today and got information about their next orientation. When I called they asked what age we were looking to adopt. Her response to my answer was "we don't have any children that particular age." Because we went through Adoption Discovery this response doesn't discourage me I knew that would be her answer.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Psalm 37:4

Adoption

For the past 3 weeks R and I have been attending a group called Adoption Discovery. You can check it out at adoptiondiscovery.org. It is a non-profit Christian organization that equips you throughout the entire adoption process. We meet with five other couples. We will remain a community group for a life time; I hope. The group is free and has been a total God-send since we just started this process.

Why are we adopting? Our journey for a family started three years ago. R and I had been married for 9 years and WE decided it was finally time to start having kids. Boy were we wrong;it took trying for a year without assistance and one month on clomid before I finally got pregnant. We were so excited but I was overly cautious I only told family and didn't want to go public for awhile. At week 10 I had a miscarriage. It was discovered to be a tubal pregnancy. I questioned why God could let this happen. Why let us be so excited to only be left so devastated with the miscarriage. At first I wished I had never experienced pregnancy. However through time and lots of prayer I am so THANKFUL this is part of my journey. Exactly a year later I was able to minister to a friend that went through a miscarriage. It's hard to talk to other people who haven't been through something this personal. Fast Forward 2 years and we are starting the adoption process. I never considered adoption until two months ago. I have for the first time felt God change the desires of my heart and make them His desires for me. I started a bible study in January by Priscilla Shirer called "Discerning the Voice of God"; what an impact this has had on me. I realized through this study I hadn't been seeking God I had been seeking my own plan and desires. I am a testimony to seeking God; HE will show Up;SO get ready. Also being obedient is worth the cost. If I hadn't gone through our infertility these last 3 years I would have never considered that child that God will grow in our hearts. I would have never realized God's timing and planning is so much better than any plan I had 3 years ago. I would still be wondering why isn't God blessing me with children? I have peace everyday knowing HE wants better for me than I could ever imagine. He is teaching me to be flexible; I'm a bit of a planner and control-freak. It's been so amazing to let go and let God.

Have a great weekend:)

Les

My First Post!

I am starting a blog for a couple of reasons: First I'm excited to announce we have started the adoption process. Second I love everything beachy and I love shell projects. I hope to be an encouragement to others and to share how God has changed my heart through adoption.