tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26607003383123367172024-03-05T05:58:21.214-06:00Gililland's IslandGililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-77297342388418855222014-07-09T12:36:00.002-05:002014-07-09T12:45:39.567-05:00Taylor is 1 year old! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I can't believe we already have a one-year-old… that is completely unbelievable!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor turned one on June 29th. </td></tr>
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Taylor had her 12 month appointment this week.</div>
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Weight - 18.1 lbs {10th percentile}</div>
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Length - 27 inches {10th percentile}</div>
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Head - 17.75 inches {50th percentile}</div>
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She's growing! Her weight and length were in about the 3rd percentile when she came home in April so the doctor was pleased with her progress! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ate lunch with Uncle Chuck, Aunt Mo, and family. For lunch Taye enjoyed a mini cupcake. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saved the smash cake for later that day. Taye wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so she just ate the icing. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Taylor had her first birthday cake in the same high chair that her Mommy had her first birthday cake. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taye feeding Mommy cake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a few friends over to play. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy grilled for us. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The day after her birthday, we found out she had the chicken pox. :( Unfortunately, babies don't get the chicken pox vaccine until they turn 1, but Daddy had shingles about a month ago so T was exposed before she turned one. Sadly the doctor said he will probably still recommend vaccinating her for this a little later. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the 4th of July she had her sweet smile back</td></tr>
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Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-29409956835761147292014-07-09T11:20:00.002-05:002014-07-09T11:35:59.603-05:00Getting the Nursery Ready… Ready or not… here she comes! I have a million blogposts running through my head but I just haven't had time to write one yet. So let's see if I can follow a train of thought here.<br />
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It has been an absolute whirl wind... If you had asked me mid-April, I would have had no idea how drastically our life was about to change. Literally, I thought we had at least a few months to get the nursery ready and truthfully I wasn't ready to start having baby showers and get the room set up only to have to stare at it for who-knows-how-long. I had it all planned out on my "private" Pinterest boards... I had a girl's room and a boy's room carefully designed (because if you know me that's what I love to do). I had purchased one sheet (that's it!) and had it on reserve "just in case." This one sheet was for our "boys room" because this bedding could have been gender neutral if it had to be (although I didn't want it to be - I wanted the room to be super cute and girly if God gave us a girl and very boyish and masculine if God gave us a little boy - so you can imagine I wasn't excited about the possibility of decorating a room without knowing the gender for sure.) To some of you this sounds ridiculous... You're thinking, "why did you care? All I would care about is that sweet babe coming home." And you would be right, that was at the top of my "care" list but, truth-be-told, I love to decorate and I have dreamed of decorating this room for many years so that was also important to me (although, of lesser importance than out sweet baby obviously.)<br />
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The day we got the phone call that a birth mom had picked us (Tuesday, April 22) I worked all day and then after school we went straight to our conference call to hear all the details from the agency. At this point, it still wasn't real to me. I think I was still guarding my heart, not yet ready to trust that this was all going to happen because my heart had been broken so many times before. After that conference call we had dinner with some friends (which helped us to debrief) and then if I remember correctly we barely had time to get home and the get the house picked up for it to be cleaned the next day before we went to bed (praise The Lord that He had worked out this perfect detail already - our house would be cleaned the day before we brought Taylor home. If you have a 75 pound shedding golden retriever, then you understand why this was so important before she came home.)<br />
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The following day, my principal let me leave work a little early and I ran to Target to pick up a few things for the baby. I had a huge meltdown in Target (no one saw me) and in the car as I drove away. My melt down occurred because I was frantically scanning the baby aisles in Target and this very-pregnant-momma was doing her baby registry with her mom (I don't know why she waited until the very end, but she did). It was clear that her baby registry was way more important than anything I could be doing because I clearly wasn't 9 months pregnant. She would not let me look along side her and they refused to have any kind of manners or scoot out of the way so I could walk by. I wanted to yell at her to move out of my way because my baby would be home TOMORROW! (It's all very comical now… but I could write a whole other blogpost on just this 15 minute visit to Target… oh the drama.) It was also very hard for me to see her with her mom as they casually enjoyed this special time, because I knew that my baby would come home tomorrow but my mom wouldn't be there to meet her or help out like moms do (again a blogpost for another day). <br />
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After leaving Target, God took care of me in my weakest moment… he prompted one of my best friends to call just as I hit the "ugly cry." That was a good thing, because I did not have time for the ugly cry since we were meeting our birth mom in 30 minutes. (I don't recover quickly from the ugly cry and it would not have been a good first impression to make… Praise the Lord for best friends!) She listened as I told her my frustrations from Target and she did what best friends do… made me feel better and redirected my thinking to the more important matter at hand. Phew!<br />
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We spent the rest of the evening meeting our birth mom, her friends, and our sweet baby, then going to the foster family's home so that we could have our first visit with Taylor (feeding her, bath time, and bedtime). Finally we ran to our friends' house to pick up some items they were loaning us until we could have a baby shower. This is another amazing friend who had organized everything from loaner clothes, car seat, stroller, pack-n-play, toys etc. She had washed it all and had it ready to come to our house for the new baby! Wow… I can't even describe the incredible blessing. <br />
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By the time we made it home that evening, we did not have energy or time to move all the furniture out of the guest room to prepare the nursery, so instead we set-up the borrowed pack-n-play for her first evening home. <br />
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That weekend our good friends, Ryan and Traci, came to paint and set-up the nursery for us. They did the bulk of the work while we were out of town (we went to the Panhandle for DJ's mother's oncology appointment and also to take Taye to meet the family.) Ryan and Traci were such a blessing, because one of the hardest parts of our "quick" adoption was not having all the "stuff" ready. My dream of spending months getting the nursery just right before bringing the baby home didn't happen, but God had different plans for us and I wouldn't trade it for the world. <br />
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The room is much closer to being done now and I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product soon!Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-74326571471484344062014-06-02T10:34:00.001-05:002014-06-02T10:38:55.675-05:00Adoption timelineWe get asked all the time about the length of the adoption process. I have had emails from perfect strangers and even got to share our story with a sweet girl in the Hallmark store the other day who was interested in adoption. I love that! The biggest reason I share so much about our journey here is to be an encouragement to others... Maybe it's someone considering adoption, or someone struggling with infertility, or maybe it's someone desperately needing to see how faithful Our God is even when we are sometimes lacking in faith... So please, share on! I hope our journey is an encouragement to you and feel free to email me if you have other questions: dagfam212 at gmail dot com<br />
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<b><u>Our adoption timeline</u></b><br />
(please know that every adoption has a different timeline, but this was ours.)<br />
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June 17, 2006 - Got married in San Antonio, TX<br />
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January 2007 - We began trying to start our family. We knew before we married that God was calling us to adopt whether or not we had biological children as well.<br />
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February 2010 - Miscarried our first child<br />
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Dec. 2, 2011 - After much research and prayer, we made the call to our agency, <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/" target="_blank">Christian Homes </a>requesting information to begin the adoption process<br />
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December 7, 2011 - Submitted preliminary application to agency<br />
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January 13-14, 2012 - Attended adoption orientation<br />
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February 2012 - Found out we were pregnant (and had been pregnant at the orientation)<br />
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April 2012 - Miscarried our second child, paused adoption process to grieve<br />
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Feb 2013 - I was walking through the Beth Moore James Bible study (specifically James 1) and DJ was in a men's study - on the same night, God used our individual Bible studies to clearly speak to both of us telling us it was time to trust Him and step out in faith, He did not want us to wait any longer! (This will require its own blogpost later - I wish I had written it right when it happened while it was fresh on my mind because I am afraid I may have forgotten some of the amazing details.)<br />
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June 2013 - We met with a birth mom who was looking for a family to adopt her precious little one - ultimately this birth mom did not choose us but the cool part about this is that from that day forward we commited to faithfully pray daily for our birth mom and our child - little did we know that our daughter would be born later that <b><u>same month</u></b>. This is so unbelievable to me!<br />
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June 29, 2013 - Taylor was born prematurely weighing 3 lbs - she was in the NICU for a month<br />
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July 2013 - working hard to complete all the steps in the application process (you can read about it <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2013/07/adoption-application.html?m=1" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
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July - December 2013 - Began faithfully fundraising for the adoption - this was our biggest fear and what kept us from stepping out in faith sooner, but God continued to show us that He had it in complete control.<br />
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Some of our fundraisers included:<br />
<a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2013/07/get-your-adoption-shirts-now.html" target="_blank">T-shirt sales</a><br />
<a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2013/08/parents-night-out-success.html" target="_blank">Parents night out fundraiser at Beamer's Gymnastics Center</a><br />
Garage sales<br />
<a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2013/11/exciting-fundraising-update.html" target="_blank">Spaghetti Dinner</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youcaring.com/dagfamadoption" target="_blank">You caring website</a><br />
And a Money Tree shower given by our church family<br />
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I will write a more exstensive post soon about the fundraising process, but I just want to say really quickly if you feel God calling you to adopt and your are fearful of the cost... don't be! He will take care of it! He completely amazed us with His faithfulness!!! Through these fundraisers, we were able to raise over $27,000. That is so hard for me to fathom! Please do not hesitate to email me if you have more questions about ideas to help you fundraise for your adoption. God has called us <i><b>all</b></i> to care for the orphans, so He will provide the funds to be able to do this if He is calling you to adopt. <br />
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January 7, 2014 - Submited <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/01/2014-is-year.html" target="_blank">adoption application</a> and all that this entails<br />
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February 3, 2014 - <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/02/checking-things-off-list.html" target="_blank">fingerprinting and FBI clearance</a><br />
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February 20, 2014 - Home Study Part I - adoption interviews<br />
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March 6, 2014 - Home Study Part II - house visit<br />
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March 28, 2014 - Received unofficial word that we were approved, but still had a few details to officially finalize<br />
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April 1, 2014 - Received officially letter we were approved but our <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/03/waiting-on-birth-mom.html" target="_blank">photo album</a> had a few typos so we were working to get it reprinted<br />
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April 2, 2014 - Our birth mom had a friend call the agency to inquire about adoption (we found this out later)<br />
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April 2, 2014 - our <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/adopting-family-profiles-d-j-and-andrea/" target="_blank">profile</a> went live on the Christian Homes website<br />
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April 2, 2014 - (or it might have been April 3) finally got our photo album reprinted typo-free and submitted (I couldn't understand why our case worker was in such a hurry to have it but now I get it!)<br />
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April 3, 2014 - Maternity case worker drove to our birth mom's town to go over process and present stack of adoptive family profiles (including photo albums and birth mom letters)<br />
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April 7, 2014 - Our incredible birth mom made the most selfless decision to relinquish her parental rights. Taylor went into temporary foster care this day with an incredible family who happen to live 2 blocks away from us!<br />
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April 10, 2014 - Paternity registry checked and birth father's rights were terminated<br />
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April 11 - 20, 2014 - The agency and lawyer took care of the legal details before notifying us (the court docket in Abilene had over a month wait, but thankfully our agency also has a location in Fort Worth and they were able to get on the court docket there much more quickly.)<br />
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April 22, 2014<br />
<ul>
<li>{9:30 AM} - Received the phone call that a birth mom had picked us</li>
<li>{4:00 PM} - Conference call with the agency to hear the family history, health history, and other information - the agency asks you to pray about it for 24 hours before making a decision</li>
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April 23, 2014 -<br />
<ul>
<li>{AM} - notified agency that we felt God calling us to adopt Taylor</li>
<li>{3:30 PM} - Signed the paperwork to adopt Taylor </li>
<li>{4:00 PM} - Met our birth mom</li>
<li>{4:30 PM} - Met our daughter for the first time! </li>
<li>{5:30 PM} - 1st supervised visit at the home of our amazing temporary foster family </li>
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April 24, 2014 - </div>
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<ul>
<li>{4:30 PM} - 2nd supervised visit (required by the state)</li>
<li>{5:00 PM} - We brought Taylor <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/04/dont-miss-this-update.html" target="_blank">home</a>! </li>
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It has been an amazing journey so far and we know God has even bigger plans for Taylor's life! If you have not had a chance to read my blogpost "<a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html" target="_blank">The Gift of Taylor</a>" yet, you definitely want to. I have included all the incredible God-sized details there. Thank you for sharing our joy in this incredible journey of adoption! We are truly HUMBLED and AMAZED by God's provision through the gift of sweet Taylor but also the incredible support we have received. It is so COMPLETELY humbling to be on the receiving end of so much love and support, but that is what the body of Christ is all about. I can't imagine trying to go from 0 - 60 (more like 6,000) in 2 seconds flat without all the amazing support. Thank you EVERYONE SO much! We literally have hundreds (if not more) of thank you notes to write, but I promise we have not forgotten you. We hope to have them in the mail before the end of June (is that wishful thinking?), but this is a wonderful problem to have! We love y'all! </div>
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<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-31873951549591176282014-05-08T01:03:00.002-05:002014-05-08T01:21:00.712-05:00The Gift of Taylor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-5Km7_mpbvxDk8o8Z_p5ACuWj1AdnYcMW7GoAmpZmARNNu-2EwveLZ-EEav3Ggm0nuddn-DCfitI5puJgk-qUgz2zRq3HfbAb_OrVxkyZgN5H92oESw-fFQ4T2G0HdHzsyAaKRfF8wPM/s1600/2014-05-01+16.54.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-5Km7_mpbvxDk8o8Z_p5ACuWj1AdnYcMW7GoAmpZmARNNu-2EwveLZ-EEav3Ggm0nuddn-DCfitI5puJgk-qUgz2zRq3HfbAb_OrVxkyZgN5H92oESw-fFQ4T2G0HdHzsyAaKRfF8wPM/s1600/2014-05-01+16.54.40.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So many people have told us that they are waiting on pins and needles to hear the story of Taylor's homecoming, but we have been so busy loving our sweet little girl that I have not had time to write this post. Without further ado, here is the incredible story of how God brought our sweet baby home and made it clear to us that he perfectly planned for her to fit right into our family. It was never an accident, but a miracle that was perfectly ordained by the Lord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On March 28th I <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/03/waiting-on-birth-mom.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> to tell you that we received word from our case worker that we had been approved for our adoption, but I also told you that I had a few small issues with getting our photo album printed and actually in the hands of our agency. On April 1st we received the official letter notifying us of our approval, but we noticed a typo on the 10 copies of our photo album we had just printed. After a few small hiccups and reprints our photo album was finally reprinted and delivered to Christian Homes. At that point I really could not understand why our caseworker needed it so urgently; however, everything is much more clear now that I am looking back. :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On April 2nd our birth mom asked a friend to call Christian Homes to inquire about adoption. The next day the maternity case worker drove to her town to meet with her. During that meeting the case worker also delivered to her the adoptive family profiles from which she would choose. Over the weekend our birth mom spent time with two friends reviewing the profiles and making her choice. Incredibly we were told that these three ladies each reviewed the profiles and ranked their top three choices without sharing their thoughts with each other. All three ladies choose us as their first choice to be Taylor's parents. How incredible is that?! (There is another neat story here as well, but we will save those details to share with you in person. Be sure to ask when we see you!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On April 7th the caseworker once again returned to our birth mom's town because our birth mom was ready to relinquish her rights and choose the forever family for Taylor. I cannot even tell you how incredibly amazing this is to us. She made such a difficult but loving decision to put her own desires aside and choose what was in Taylor's best interest. Wow! What selfless love…it is almost unfathomable to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On this day Taylor went into temporary foster care with a sweet couple who happen to live two streets away from us. Even more incredible is the fact that we knew this couple because they lead a marriage ministry that our dear friends have taken part in at a local church here in Abilene. At one point when we had just begun the adoption process we had the pleasure of meeting Taylor's foster parents while visiting our friend in the hospital. We had a great conversation about adoption and their part in the adoption ministry. So you can imagine how incredibly comforting it was for us to find out that they had been caring for our precious little one with such special care (we found this out on April 22nd). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the situation of a child who has already been born being placed for adoption, the agency takes care of the legal details before notifying the adoptive family. We appreciate this so much because it guards our hearts in case something does not work out. The court docket here in Abilene had over a month wait at that point; however, they were able to get onto the court docket in Tarrant County much more quickly. Since our agency also has an office in Fort Worth, they were able to use their lawyer in Tarrant County to take care of this. Praise the Lord! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On April 22nd, DJ received a phone call from a number he did not recognize while in a meeting. He let the call go to his voicemail and listened to the message a little while later. He had trouble understanding who left the message, but he did understand the woman saying, "When I call you need to answer!!!" LOL! He called her back unsure of who he was actually calling and received the unbelievable news that a birth mom had picked us!!! He actually did not believe her at first, but finally realized that she was in fact serious. At that point she told him that they wanted to have a conference call with us later that afternoon when I got out of school to present family history and other information to us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, I am busy beginning our daily Writer's Workshop with my first graders when our school counselor walks in to tell me that she will watch my class because I am needed in the hall. I was so confused, but walk into the hallway to find my husband there with the most unbelievable news. I go back into my classroom and walk through that day in silent amazement, not yet ready to share our news because we did not know what would happen later that day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At 4:00 that afternoon DJ and I sat in his office anxiously awaiting the phone call from the case workers. When the phone rang, three ladies were on the line (our case worker, the maternity case worker, and the foster care case worker). The ladies walked through all the background information and details, first of the birth parents, then of the reason for choosing adoption, and finally we heard about our sweet Taylor. We could not believe our ears when we found out that she was 9 months old and in foster care with the incredibly family we already knew!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From there, we were told of how the next 48 hours would go. First, they asked us to spend the evening talking and praying about whether God was leading us to this birth mom and baby. The case worker would call in the morning to find out our decision. If we chose to proceed we would meet the birth mom and our baby the next day after school. That night we spent time seeking the Lord's will for our family and felt great peace that this was our baby! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3AdHh6pP0w2uSPy2OCfX490HEC8Y99xzUeQPxwWQvZC8g6GHZ3tmy-nnOEKqKTJYGU-1eDNbxRD_jK0rgPMKLJ6NeQbASoAQ3sZ3lVZTR3Nkoegoq7Wt26yzWXIfQX0bTyew9wifSUyQ/s1600/2014-04-10+14.19.37-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3AdHh6pP0w2uSPy2OCfX490HEC8Y99xzUeQPxwWQvZC8g6GHZ3tmy-nnOEKqKTJYGU-1eDNbxRD_jK0rgPMKLJ6NeQbASoAQ3sZ3lVZTR3Nkoegoq7Wt26yzWXIfQX0bTyew9wifSUyQ/s1600/2014-04-10+14.19.37-2.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></div>
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These are the first pics we saw of our little girl. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaHqaRdfUYvyjuKyodmgy6f9-7qBBUXocTBNpp9-015ChylZGw-xTNLOpKuqUa7ayCEIo1qJaSX-O2lxuYey1V_HZqlZool1S5of8Y4PdHsrBqZjSNI7SeTCd7OBkpE7G67gQVLBK1IsF/s1600/2014-04-20+11.57.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaHqaRdfUYvyjuKyodmgy6f9-7qBBUXocTBNpp9-015ChylZGw-xTNLOpKuqUa7ayCEIo1qJaSX-O2lxuYey1V_HZqlZool1S5of8Y4PdHsrBqZjSNI7SeTCd7OBkpE7G67gQVLBK1IsF/s1600/2014-04-20+11.57.58.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Incredibly, this picture was taken on Easter Sunday (the Sunday before we met her.) Taylor is wearing the dress of one of my student's precious little sisters! (These details are not lost on me… God has shown us every step of the way how He even cares about the little details and making us feel so loved by placing her in a dress of a little girl in a family who is so very special to us - in fact her father is the lawyer doing our adoption!!)</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next day we arrived at the agency right after school. When we arrived we went to our case worker's office to go over some paperwork. We were not expecting to see Taylor's name paired with our last name on the top of the very first paper we signed! Wow, at this point DJ fell to his knees out of the arm chair he was sitting in and I had an incredible joy and peace. We were stunned and completely filled with wonderful amazement! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After about 30 minutes of paper work and talking about the next steps we were taken to meet our birth mom. While we were signing these papers, our birth mom had the chance to see precious Taylor again for the first time since April 7th. Next, we were brought to meet our birth mom, as Shelly, our foster mom took Taylor out for a few minutes so that we could talk before meeting Taylor. After spending some time talking with our birth mom and her friends, Shelly brought Taylor back into the room. We were amazed when we saw this sweet face. It was clear from the very beginning that Taylor has the sweetest little personality. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8mTWZ_ppXzcQF0fsAi6WixRqVoC0rzRwDg28k_Cuhg3BpS-fdb_8pr8kYKAmUFZbc7nqA-CAiQWT8jBdM4pDdkENu7rD0PfP_umC1A8lVT7KL-XjZ1JgWV8COdWQ4iq7Ns0ts-jZAFgr/s1600/2014-04-23+16.41.27-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8mTWZ_ppXzcQF0fsAi6WixRqVoC0rzRwDg28k_Cuhg3BpS-fdb_8pr8kYKAmUFZbc7nqA-CAiQWT8jBdM4pDdkENu7rD0PfP_umC1A8lVT7KL-XjZ1JgWV8COdWQ4iq7Ns0ts-jZAFgr/s1600/2014-04-23+16.41.27-2.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent the next 30 or so minutes in this room while we got to know Taylor. For me this part was very overwhelming because there were so many people watching our first interactions with our sweet baby girl, but what I now understand is how important this step is to the process. By allowing our birth mom time to see our first interactions with Taylor, she was able to receive peace knowing that she had made the rich decision for her baby. At the end of it all, we talked about our plans for open adoption and came to an agreement about what that would look like as we discussed what we all felt would benefit Taylor most. We chose to stay in contact with our birth mom by sending pictures for the next 6 months and then by having at least yearly contact after that. The goodbyes that day were so hard, but when we left we went to our foster parents home to have our first supervised visit with Taylor (the state of Texas requires that children in foster care have two supervised visits with adoptive parents before placement.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That night we had such precious time with Taylor feeding her dinner, giving her first bath as her parents, reading, and putting her to bed. In addition, we felt a deep connection with our foster parents, CV and Shelly, and I know that this relationship will continue for Taylor's lifetime. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next day, Thursday, April 24th I spent my last day of teaching for this school year. It was a bittersweet day with many tears as I thought about what was about to begin and as I said goodbye to my class sooner than I had expected. In addition, I frantically readied my room for my long-term substitute teacher to take over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday after school I literally left school in a sprint to make it to CV and Shelly's house, while DJ met the foster care case worker at our home. CV and Shelly helped me to load Taylor in the car and I drove her the 2 short blocks home with CV and Shelly following. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we pulled into our driveway I wept as I saw a banner hanging across our house that said, "Welcome Home Taylor Nichole!" </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhy_Y0WZdL48jNQBUaU_2n7nUKbmHchqcrikhZ4JVnTBwXygmWfi1x3hyphenhyphen835H3YR_V4FwXR6omcMWRNVWUKllTtbskxc7skBhtgIc6oczXqat_uFbSU__QttqPcCrlsWQCu03AxOZxZIa/s1600/2014-04-24+16.41.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhy_Y0WZdL48jNQBUaU_2n7nUKbmHchqcrikhZ4JVnTBwXygmWfi1x3hyphenhyphen835H3YR_V4FwXR6omcMWRNVWUKllTtbskxc7skBhtgIc6oczXqat_uFbSU__QttqPcCrlsWQCu03AxOZxZIa/s1600/2014-04-24+16.41.14.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our sweet neighbors stood in our driveway with DJ and the foster care case worker, all with joyous smiles. These neighbors played a big part in why we immediately loved Taylor's name and knew we would not change it. You see their granddaughter, Taylor, had passed away a few years back in a skiing accident, but her life saved six others through organ donation. Her mother and father have now started a foundation called "Taylor's Gift" in honor of their precious Taylor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://taylorsgift.org/" target="_blank">Taylor’s Gift Foundation</a> was founded in 2010 with a mission to </span><strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: 22px;">Regift Life, Renew Health and Restore Families</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22px;">. In its first year they were named Foundation of the year and appeared on shows such as "Good Morning America." </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hope that our sweet Taylor will inspire many others to continue the legacy of <a href="http://taylorsgift.org/taylorsplace/taylors-story/" target="_blank">Taylor Storch</a> and sign up to be an organ donor. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">When we told our neighbors, Bernie and Joan, of our daughter's name you can imagine their joy as they welcomed a surrogate granddaughter to their family. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22px;">In addition to this special story for our Taylor's first name, she also has my middle name! </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22px;">That night, we had our last supervised visit before Taylor got to spend the night for the first time with her forever family!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">The days after this were filled with bliss as we literally spent every second we could loving on our sweet baby girl. We were also completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we received as our friends and church family poured out support to our new family of three! We</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 20px;"> had friends who did our registries (I mean how incr</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; line-height: 20px;">edible is that?!?), planned our first shower, showed up with dinner, diapers, formula, organized the gifts... Oh man, someone would say "what do you need?" And I would say I have no idea... And poof it was just taken care of... </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">W</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #37404e;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">e were also blessed by people who mowed the lawn, painted the nursery, organized baby clothes, did the laundry, went grocery shopping for us, stopped by with Starbucks and cried with me, brought dinner AND breakfast for the next day, made freezer meals… set up dinners to be delivered for a month, and the list goes on and on. It is completely humbling and overwhelming u</span></span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; line-height: 20px;">s with joy. We are truly blessed. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 20px;">Our God is so good. Seeing this unfold shows me that the 7 year wait was exactly what he intended for a purpose to bring Taylor home just when he planned. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These sweet little cheeks are asleep in the other room. I still cannot believe it! Thank you for sharing our joy! Our thank you note list is getting longer by the minute. Once we settle in we will start writing a personal note to tell each of you how thankful we are for your incredible love and support!!! </span></div>
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Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-84160665169286251962014-04-23T23:43:00.002-05:002014-04-23T23:43:28.689-05:00Don't Miss This Update!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSfYkb2KBfoGb64pYldQbLUqhNvzml7uLPneWz7Dstj77Fw7EkeZuvsUSXZivOiUcx16MRWjqwpZQ-6H1Bssccsu_kjslbXDPqnpRJH0xvofll6a1UGZdRSAzEU0OVimKsSi3mE1R3Tbr/s1600/DAG-FAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSfYkb2KBfoGb64pYldQbLUqhNvzml7uLPneWz7Dstj77Fw7EkeZuvsUSXZivOiUcx16MRWjqwpZQ-6H1Bssccsu_kjslbXDPqnpRJH0xvofll6a1UGZdRSAzEU0OVimKsSi3mE1R3Tbr/s1600/DAG-FAM.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Howdy!!! Update on our Adoption... On April
1, 2014 we received our approval letter! So now we begin our final push
to reach and complete our fundraising goal. </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We know that God doesn't call everyone to adopt but he does call
us all to care for the orphans. We want to give you the opportunity to
take part in caring for orphans even if you are not called to physically adopt
a child yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One way you can do this is by praying
for us as we walk through this process. We need to be lifted up in prayer for
wisdom in our decisions, and for God to make our paths clear. We know
that this is not an easy road, but we are so humbled by the opportunity only
God can provide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In addition, we need support with our
fundraising efforts. We are $12,760 short of our final fundraising goal. So if
you feel led to support our adoption through fundraising here are a few of some
of the fundraisers you might consider supporting:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Donate money on this <a href="http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/gililland-family-adoption-/67487" target="_blank">website</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Purchase a Gililland family adoption
t-shirt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Purchase a worship CD of our dear
friend Katie Cruddas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">However there is one small
detail I have left out....Yesterday (April 22, 2014) we received word that a
birthmother had chosen us!!!! Today at 4:00 PM we met our daughter!!!
She is the most precious baby ever and we are so amazed at God's loving
kindness!!! Taylor is 9 months old and will join our family forever on
Friday April 25, 2014!!!! WHOOP!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When we started this
journey we were told it might take up to 2 years for a birth mother to choose
our family. Little did we know what God had in store for us. Here
we were thinking we had plenty of time to complete the baby’s room, put
together a few more fundraisers and have everything perfect for when we would
be chosen... oops! God's plan is always bigger! We are excited,
joyful, amazed, and humbled by His precious gift. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-91263686940617641612014-04-02T21:31:00.000-05:002014-04-02T21:31:07.176-05:00Live Profile <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Our adoption profile is live on the Christian Homes </span><a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/adopting-family-profiles-d-j-and-andrea/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">website</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">!</span></div>
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<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-74692380252450891312014-04-02T21:07:00.004-05:002014-04-02T21:07:56.353-05:00Grief... it kinda creeps up on youWe all know that trials are a part of life, but they are such a challenge as you walk through them. James 1 reminds us to "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have is perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." <br />
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One of the darkest times in my life also produced some of my deepest times of reliance on the Lord. It was seven years ago when my mom's renal failure and mental illness collided into the hardest year of my life. She eventually passed away in November 2007 and I was left with so many conflicting emotions... from immense grief, to relief, and guilt, as well as joy in remembering the many great memories and a mom who taught me what it means to selflessly serve others. <br />
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After seven years, the grief does not consume me the way it once did, but grief has a funny way of creeping up on you when you least expect it. It has been normal to occasionally experience the sting of sadness when something reminds me how much I miss her or laugh a little when we bump into a funny memory. Although, I did not realize how much the adoption process would stir up this grief. <br />
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This process has so many highs and lows. I have really struggled with wishing she was here as we are walk through this. I wish she was here to share in the joys and excitement. I wish she was here to listen when days are hard. I wish she was here to help me put the baby's room together and to sew our baby bedding like we sewed so many other pieces in our home. Most of all I wish she was here to be the Grandy our children will only know through pictures. <br />
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Christmas circa 2004 </div>
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Nana, Mom, and Me </div>
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Bridal shower at Coker Elementary</div>
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Spring 2006</div>
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June 17, 2006 </div>
Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-63766442234043701452014-03-28T21:05:00.000-05:002014-03-28T21:36:14.828-05:00We are Paper Pregnant!Well it's official... we are {just} waiting on a birth mom! Paper pregnant is what they call it when your paperwork is approved and you are just waiting to be picked by a birth mother. <br />
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I say {just} because this might be the hardest part of the wait yet... or it might be fast and easy (haha). Realistically we are preparing our hearts for the possibility of a long, hard wait because honestly even a few months feels like a long time when you are waiting (and we know we may be waiting much longer than that). <br />
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We received word of our approval from our caseworker today! Now we wait for a birth mother to choose us to be the forever family for her child. I wrote about this process recently...if you didn't get a chance to hear the details you can check it out <a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2014/03/homestudy-is-complete-whats-next.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Originally, our case worker had told us it would probably be April before we received approval. When we learned of our approval today we were ecstatic, but we knew we still needed to print our final copies of our birth mother letter and photo album to take by the <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/" target="_blank">agency</a>. We submitted these a few weeks ago when we did our home study, but we had some edits to make based on our case worker's feedback. We have been working hard on these edits for the last few weeks. <br />
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After school today, I left as soon as I could to take care of getting these printed and dropped by the agency. However, after printing the photo album I still wasn't happy with the way it looked because the printer had left streaks through some of the pictures. I ran by the agency to get our case worker's opinion. She agreed I should probably have it printed professionally instead of printing it ourselves. I went ahead and gave her 10 copies of our birth mother letter and told her I would get the photo album printed this weekend and dropped off Monday morning. <br />
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Here are the final copies of our photo album and birth mother letter. I can't even fully describe to you how much love, tears, and prayer went into creating these. Thank you so much to those of you who have been such an encouragement to us as we have walked through this process. I really cannot put into words what an emotional process this has been for us, but we are so thankful for so many people demonstrating how much they care. <br />
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Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we do our best to trust God's perfect timing in this process. </div>
<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-67387213235012777502014-03-09T19:14:00.004-05:002014-03-09T19:26:45.805-05:00Homestudy is complete... what's next? We have officially finished the home study process. Praise the Lord! I'll have to write a post devoted to the emotions and difficulty associated with that later, but I wanted to update everyone on the next steps because I know that is what everyone is interested in hearing about. <br />
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Our case worker said that we should hopefully receive our approval within a month or so. After that we officially become available to be picked by a birth mom. At this point there is really no time line for how long or short it might be - our case worker said it might be 2 months or 18 months. The longest anyone has waited (at our agency) is 3 years.<br />
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The way the process works is when a birth mom is ready to pick her family, she is given the profiles of all the families. (We had to prayerfully decide what we felt the Lord was calling us to consider and mark it in our application. This consisted of health conditions and family backgrounds, starting with cancer and ranging all the way from HIV to mental illness. It also included things the baby might be exposed to like drugs and alcohol.) As the birth mom or birth parents look through our profiles, they will rank their top 3 choices. If we are picked as the first choice then we will receive a phone call from our case worker giving us the all the background information that they know and then we will again prayerfully consider whether we want to meet the birth mom. <br />
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The next step is meeting her to see if we (both us and her) feel it is a match. Since we have chosen open adoption we really have to decide if we feel it is a good match because she will most likely be a part of our lives for a very long time. After that we must give it 24-48 hours and then let the agency know if we would like to match with her (she does the same thing). Our case worker also said that they typically like to wait to match birth moms with families when she has only 3 months or less left in her pregnancy. The reason for this is because they want to be fully certain (as much as possible) that she is ready to choose adoption versus keeping her baby. She has the option of changing her mind up until the end, but they try to guard our hearts as much as possible by not matching us until they feel she is ready. <br />
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If we do happen to match with a birth mom that has a few months left in her pregnancy the next step is making a plan about what this will look like. Will we go with her to doctor's appointments? Will we be there when she gives birth? We did find out that one of the hospitals here in town (if she happens to give birth here) is very good about giving the adoptive families a room at the hospital of their own. That makes me super thankful for hospitals that understand and support adoption. <br />
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After the baby is born, the birth mom must wait 48 hours before she can legally sign the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights form (and we will wait the 48 hours to take our baby home). If the birth father is not there to sign the relinquishment form then the birth is listed at the courthouse and the birth father has 31 days to sign the paternity registry. If he does not sign the registry indicating that he wishes to preserve his rights as a parent then a court date will be set to terminate rights. I tell you all of this just to help you understand the many unknown factors associated with adoption so that you can know how to better support adoptive families through the challenges of the process. <br />
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Naturally people constantly ask us, "Are you so excited?!?" The answer is we are very hopeful, but this process is very intense and emotionally draining. There are so many unknowns and we just have to be really careful to guard our hearts. After 7+ years of infertility and 2+ years of walking down the road to adoption, the road does not seem as exciting as you might think. Yes, we know that there is joy coming and we fully trust that God is in control, but it's actually really hard. Thank you for praying for our family, our birth mother, birth father, their families, and our sweet baby while we wait. <br />
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Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-79076744769489976482014-02-02T12:01:00.001-06:002014-02-02T19:52:24.635-06:00Checking Things Off the List <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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{the very long list}</h2>
Naturally the question we get asked the most is, "How's the adoption process going?" This is such a hard question to answer because there are so many details going on behind the scenes. We try so hard to give people a true picture of how it's going, but honestly it is hard to put into words. Most of you know that we submitted our massive amount of paperwork back in early January. After that the agency sends you a checklist of the next steps in the process:<br />
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Since then we have been working to get all these details finished up. In the last month we have:</div>
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<li>Completed our 6 hour parenting class</li>
<li>Andrea completed CPR/First Aid training (DJ already had this due to his job)</li>
<li>Submitted our marriage license and birth certificates</li>
<li>Submitted paperwork for criminal history check, child abuse history, and FBI clearance (we get fingerprinted tomorrow)</li>
<li>Completed physicals for the medical report required</li>
<li>Completed our photo album for the birth mother (we will submit this to the agency tomorrow to get feedback)</li>
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Now we just have these few details left to submit:</div>
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Then the next step is the interviews and home study. Slowly but surely we are getting there... </div>
<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-34257536039037884862014-01-11T13:02:00.000-06:002014-01-11T13:02:37.250-06:00Domestic Adoption? Why? We get asked all the time why we chose domestic versus international adoption. I have to be honest, I feel a little like we have to defend our decision at times. <br />
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So I thought I would try to put my thoughts into words here for anyone who is interested. First, let me say that we believe in international adoption and at some point we may take that route, but for now this is where the Lord has led us. <br />
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But let me also say that we believe there is a huge need for domestic adoption. I read an article recently talking about the need for domestic adoption if we are to be proponents of a pro-life movement. This article put into words what I had been thinking but hadn't been able to put into words myself. <br />
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For us domestic adoption is as much about the ministry to the birth mom as it is about impacting the life of a child. Domestic adoption is about providing an alternative to abortion. Domestic adoption is about telling pregnant women that there are great families out there who would provide a great home to their baby. Birth moms who choose adoption are not selfish. In fact, choosing adoption is one of the most selfless decisions she could ever make. <br />
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For us, we choose domestic adoption because we feel that God has called us to this decision. We know that there are many great reasons to choose other forms of adoption and even less expensive forms, but we also know that God has called us to this path for a purpose and we are excited about the plans He has for our forever family. For all these reasons and more we choose domestic adoption. Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-75766869632550008812014-01-11T12:59:00.001-06:002014-01-11T12:59:51.661-06:00Looking Forward to a new ChapterMany of you know that DJ is about to finish his doctorate and with this new degree our goal was for him to move back to the classroom so that he wouldn't have to travel so much when our new little one arrives. <br />
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The spring was filled with job applications, interviews, and major decisions. We really thought that we would be leaving Abilene for another job, but instead we are happy to announce that we get to stay!<br />
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DJ has accepted another position at Hardin-Simmons that will begin in August of 2014. This worked out perfectly for him because it gives him a full year of closure and time to get everything even more organized to hand over to the new Head Athletic Trainer that will take his place. <br />
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DJ's new job will be in the school of Education as an Associate Professor of Fitness and Sports Science, in addition he will also be the Clinical Coordinator for the Athletic Training Education Program. Essentially what this means is that he will mostly teach classes in the Athletic Training Education Program and he will also organize/supervise his college students in their clinical sites. <br />
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Through the ATEP at HSU students learn to be athletic trainers, while receiving hands-on training in clinical sites. He currently supervises the students that work in his Sports Medicine Clinic at Football and Men's Basketball. Other clinical sites include the other sports medicine clinics at HSU for each of the athletic teams. In addition, his students also receive hands-on training in doctor's offices/surgery rotations, as well as the sports medicine clinics at the local high schools. <br />
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I am so thankful that this will be our last year of 7-days-a-week during football season. In just the past few days, he has spent 3 days with his student-athletes at the hospital for many hours late into the evening. I am so excited to have my husband back, but know that he is a little sad that he won't have these opportunities to invest in his athletes like he does now. <br />
<br />
We are very excited for this opportunity to stay in Abilene and for DJ to continue doing what he loves... working with college students. Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-12816503779798483902014-01-05T16:59:00.001-06:002014-01-05T17:19:13.858-06:002014 is the year! <h4>
We are hopeful as we pray that 2014 will be the year that our little one comes home! </h4>
It has been 2 years since we sat in our adoption orientation. It took us that long to turn in our adoption paperwork. <br />
<br />
It has been a hard two years because we started the process by being very open about God's call on our lives to adopt. With that openness comes lots of questions of those wanting updates on our adoption process. But then the process came to an abrupt hault. We knew it was just a pause as we grieved the loss of our second miscarried child. We are so thankful to have so many people that care enough to ask, but it was definitely hard to answer people wanting to know how the process was going. <br />
<br />
<h4>
It was February almost a year ago that God made it very clear to us that we needed to step out in <i><b>faith</b></i> and trust Him. </h4>
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<h3>
It is with great joy that I can say we have officially submitted our adoption paperwork!!!! </h3>
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<h4>
We have also officially raised <b>$20,000</b> of the about $35,000 - $40,000 needed! </h4>
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The next step is for our agency, <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/" target="_blank">Christian Homes</a>, to review our paperwork and send us a checklist of anything left to complete. We are currently working on our birthmother letter and photo album. This is what the birth moms will use to pick the family for their baby. <br />
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We are also preparing our home for the home study. Previous owners of our home took out the bath tub to make it handicap accessible, so we need to redo the bathroom to make it "baby accessible" by creating a working bathtub. In addition, we had a water leak under our foundation earlier this year. Thankfully the plumbers did not have to drill into the foundation, but instead redirected the water lines through the wall. However, this left 3 holes in the sheet rock that also need to be fixed before the home study. We will be working on these projects soon and hope to have our home study complete in the next month or so. <br />
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Once we have our interviews and home study complete we will be approved (hopefully!) and ready for a birth mom to pick us!<br />
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We are so grateful to so many for all your love and support! Thank you as well for your prayers as we continue on this journey. Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-89678811595181277242013-11-20T19:11:00.001-06:002013-11-20T19:11:42.233-06:00Exciting Fundraising Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NPf1ly__oBSGtmq67VxWI386andg6fLr3VStnMkV6eAsGAI-HxR1gY6G8eDE_HdwDzUccTgv3O8StYrsNjByRNjqbmfQ51X_L1MdwYaAC1cwhgjBjeRMtG83ZomSLe2woTMlFuvAFdBx/s1600/1426155_10153428156400080_949080897_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NPf1ly__oBSGtmq67VxWI386andg6fLr3VStnMkV6eAsGAI-HxR1gY6G8eDE_HdwDzUccTgv3O8StYrsNjByRNjqbmfQ51X_L1MdwYaAC1cwhgjBjeRMtG83ZomSLe2woTMlFuvAFdBx/s320/1426155_10153428156400080_949080897_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We are overwhelmed with humility and gratitude for our friends and church family. The spaghetti dinner benefit was a HUGE SUCCESS! We made more than $5000, which means we are getting so much closer to bringing our little one home! Words cannot express how thankful we are to our God! He is amazing. Thank you Oh-so-much to all the volunteers who put this together!<br />
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We have recently had quite a few people reach out to say they wanted to lead forward with another fundraiser of their own to benefit out adoption. So in no particular order, here are some other ways for you to support our adoption process and help impact the life of a child:<br />
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Click on the name of each fundraiser and it will take you directly to our friends' secure websites. <br />
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<a href="http://www.marykay.com/cassandra_bond" target="_blank">Mary Kay</a><br />
Order your Mary Kay products from my sweet sister-in-law, Cassi and 100% of the proceeds in November will go to our adoption! Free shipping and 25% off all orders over $100!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYRATE9e_kzoI3loLBgFjrljo7f4fZbdNPIEFolw0ETgeSKmO8rvIYyxRJHPbwMbfnMF6rvBzCKr8xRTvQHnGjtZ9hspW-Bwb20oNzWRvATrPn913sv_B496B4gX9Erx0i-85aQT8zoRm/s1600/1456520_173449826188582_1705547859_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicYRATE9e_kzoI3loLBgFjrljo7f4fZbdNPIEFolw0ETgeSKmO8rvIYyxRJHPbwMbfnMF6rvBzCKr8xRTvQHnGjtZ9hspW-Bwb20oNzWRvATrPn913sv_B496B4gX9Erx0i-85aQT8zoRm/s320/1456520_173449826188582_1705547859_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/annblairecreations?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share" target="_blank">Custom Christmas Cards</a><br />
Order your custom Christmas cards from one of my best friends, Blaire and a portion of her proceeds will benefit our adoption!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqWA-8opu8coOaQ-2fS05OwO6vqRxu40jGJBlC50Klg_OP_dRe3yLVVzQ9hQOZMgJjxPyEVt-xtdnjeb7yLImz82KIT4qAtSe2k6GX3kfnpSRkL8EgQSkYnPzOnj70VE4jAl0tDFCwPp8/s1600/1426298_10151666747056780_238987665_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqWA-8opu8coOaQ-2fS05OwO6vqRxu40jGJBlC50Klg_OP_dRe3yLVVzQ9hQOZMgJjxPyEVt-xtdnjeb7yLImz82KIT4qAtSe2k6GX3kfnpSRkL8EgQSkYnPzOnj70VE4jAl0tDFCwPp8/s320/1426298_10151666747056780_238987665_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.mythirtyone.com/candice31" target="_blank">31 Personalized Gifts </a></div>
Get organized or get some super cute personalized Christmas gifts from my friend, Candace and all of her November sales will benefit our adoption!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Fvx568Yf0LpSsWedA1LRpCmubGRDFjvEAepUYKeIIoqBli5NYADFrWs_nM0lurAkYVk9h3vQeiFTelswos31p5LCsMNcCtxFjMuD8Y4OEVqDZD9HYK-TiiwF97ZVIGixQLLegKuQ1s2W/s1600/31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Fvx568Yf0LpSsWedA1LRpCmubGRDFjvEAepUYKeIIoqBli5NYADFrWs_nM0lurAkYVk9h3vQeiFTelswos31p5LCsMNcCtxFjMuD8Y4OEVqDZD9HYK-TiiwF97ZVIGixQLLegKuQ1s2W/s320/31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>Worship CD</u> </h3>
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Finally, our very talented friend, Katie Cruddas has come out with an amazing worship CD. She is shipping 200 to us to sell for $10 each. 100% of the profit goes straight to bringing Baby G home! These will be available beginning November 24 on a first-come-first-serve basis. Reserve yours now by commenting here or sending us an email/facebook message. Hurry because I think they will be gone in a flash! </div>
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We have a big goal of being 100% funded by the end of November! We know that is a lofty goal, but with your help we can do it! Feel free to share our fundraisers with your friends. <br />
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We can't thank you enough for your support! We are planning to turn in our paperwork next week and we couldn't have done it without the prayers and support of our wonderful friends and family. God is so good! We love y'all!<br />
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Blessings,<br />
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DJ and Andrea<br />
<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-36819419761106108112013-08-18T18:24:00.001-05:002013-08-18T18:32:19.733-05:00Parents' Night Out Success!A few months ago, my friend, Traci, came to me with a fundraiser idea. She works at a local gymnastics center and she wanted to offer a parents' night out as a fundraiser for our adoption. Parents were able to come drop off their kiddos for 2 hours of fun at the gym. On Friday night, 42 kids showed up at the gym. She divided the kids into groups and rotated them through stations, as well as pizza, and a craft. <br />
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I helped by manning the craft. I found this <a href="http://www.sweethappylife.com/2012/activities/preschool-activities/painting-with-watercolors-glue-and-salt/">idea</a> on Pinterest and we ran with it. All of the kids were able to create a watercolor picture and the older kids also added clear glue and salt to the pics. It didn't turn out quite as neat as the way the blogger describes the original idea, but overall it was fun (especially since it worked for a huge range of ages - from 2 - 12!) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxCp2VUDitgr0sk_20_m0CYog3jme8Ua48HcTqAAFfDocl3MnDQrdm9dAuzCvZLm1ntAflW2o6GUBX28lH9ELzJnOUJ-o64zHEGgzZBMASre4iJHxPbNV93k3ZqE21AiXnPbkVvvzH08q/s1600/preschool-watercolor-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxCp2VUDitgr0sk_20_m0CYog3jme8Ua48HcTqAAFfDocl3MnDQrdm9dAuzCvZLm1ntAflW2o6GUBX28lH9ELzJnOUJ-o64zHEGgzZBMASre4iJHxPbNV93k3ZqE21AiXnPbkVvvzH08q/s320/preschool-watercolor-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The fundraiser, on the other hand, was a huge success! We were able to raise $533 for our adoption! Wow! We were amazed! More than that I was just amazed at everyone's willingness to come out to help us. Traci organized volunteers that helped with each age group. Many of these volunteers didn't even know us, but they were still willing to come out and help. Amazing! Traci's sister and husband also both came out to help. Another one of the volunteers was a sweet college student (now graduated) that I had in class and I even received an email yesterday from another one of my college students saying that if we ever do another fundraiser requiring child care again, she would love to help. Wow! That's all I can say... wow... walking through the adoption process has been nothing but a blessing and I know the biggest blessing is yet to come!<br />
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Thank you so much to Traci and Ryan Kana, Ashley Mensik, Emily Sudtelgte, and all the other volunteers! Also a big thank you to <a href="http://www.beamersgym.com/">Beamers Gymnastics and Cheerleading</a>!Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-43306998132665365982013-08-11T19:36:00.002-05:002013-08-11T19:41:56.070-05:00Parents' Night Out Adoption FundraiserWe are so excited to announce our next adoption fundraiser! We are having a parents' night out this Friday and Beamer's Gymnastics and Cheerleading Gym. My good friend, Traci, has generously offered the gym and her time (as well as recruiting volunteers). Parents can drop off their little ones (as long as they are potty trained) for 2 hours of gymnastics fun, as well as pizza and crafts! We are doing a suggested donation of $10 per child. <br />
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When: Friday night, August 16, 6:00-8:00 pm<br />
Where: Beamer's Gym<br />
133 Tannehill Dr.<br />
Abilene, TX 79602<br />
Who: Kids ages 2.5 - 12 years (little ones must be potty trained)<br />
Cost: Suggested donation of $10/child<br />
You can pay online at our adoption fundraiser <a href="https://www.youcaring.com/dagfamadoption">website</a> or cash when you arrive.<br />
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We are so excited to see you Friday night, but be sure to <a href="http://dagfamadoption.wufoo.com/forms/z7x4m1/">sign up</a> because space is limited.<br />
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Thanks so much!!!<br />
<br />Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-86823280612084022052013-07-31T09:38:00.000-05:002013-07-31T09:40:03.974-05:00Get your Adoption Shirts Now! Our adoption t-shirts are designed and ready to sell! As we were trying to think about what we would like our t-shirt to look like I thought about other adoption shirts I had seen. Many shirts for international adoptions had an outline of the country where the baby was born. Since our adoption is domestic, I started thinking about how could we design it with the shape of our country or since we are from Texas, our state. This made me think of the popular shirts that have the state outline with the simple word "home." And our design was born...<br />
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The front of the shirt says:</div>
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I helped a child come home.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50WswVSprqvEb6OzVhziP9xT2yb1vZM_lv4V_Odg4SRu8h4bISrBTzPV0tjM-ysbqLjg4hV0KH8tYMFh5Z1RSKOkj9ZPqGi0OJa-l9ZcZ2CdT3CWo8MVXcYwVv6RChJr8U3YRpYmUFBak/s1600/navy+front.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50WswVSprqvEb6OzVhziP9xT2yb1vZM_lv4V_Odg4SRu8h4bISrBTzPV0tjM-ysbqLjg4hV0KH8tYMFh5Z1RSKOkj9ZPqGi0OJa-l9ZcZ2CdT3CWo8MVXcYwVv6RChJr8U3YRpYmUFBak/s1600/navy+front.png" /></a></div>
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The back says:</div>
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Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me.</div>
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-Jesus (Matt.18:5) </div>
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Choose life ... support adoption.</div>
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www.christianhomes.com </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QMh2aN4ExyplinkwW9SvUpxDK1czIiT-jowzDgsuM8z61ONFM-pYPvakKKIzZBgzXtOE5wLyKeOxnHlD4pEn8IPzmZV_3yOdKV3V4Ann7fyajd7cRpdA57r3Cx3W1hwQ1oNnq8LvT_hc/s1600/navy+back.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QMh2aN4ExyplinkwW9SvUpxDK1czIiT-jowzDgsuM8z61ONFM-pYPvakKKIzZBgzXtOE5wLyKeOxnHlD4pEn8IPzmZV_3yOdKV3V4Ann7fyajd7cRpdA57r3Cx3W1hwQ1oNnq8LvT_hc/s1600/navy+back.png" /></a></div>
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Your color choices are navy, maroon, and gray (and we are thinking of adding a purple option). If you have a color request, please let us know! We can also order youth sizes. If you need youth sizes, just add it to the comment section. </div>
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<a href="https://www.wepay.com/stores/gililland-adoption-fundraiser-t-shirts">Here is the link for you to order your shirt</a>. </div>
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Thank y'all so much for supporting our adoption and more importantly, impacting the life of a child! </div>
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Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-72045501501155545162013-07-23T11:09:00.002-05:002013-07-23T11:22:30.288-05:00Adoption Application For months we have been working on all of the details involved in our adoption process. As I was working on some of the paperwork today, I thought it might be helpful to give you a glimpse into this process. I found a checklist that I thought might be helpful in helping y'all to understand all that this process entails. <br />
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My goal for the summer is to get all of the paperwork complete and we are getting very close. We have most of the forms complete, now we are working on steps #2-21. <br />
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This may be more information than you want, but for those of you that are into details you may be interested. So without further ado, here is a list of all the forms and items we must complete:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">1. All forms received with
orientation materials which require completion or signatures: </span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-205 (his&hers) Personal Spiritual History &
Plan for Spiritual Development for You and Your Children</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-034 – Working Agreement
Between Christian Homes and Prospective Adoptive Parents</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-008 – Application to Adopt a
Child</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-012</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">- Family Background Form</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-153 – Financial Information</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-015 (his&hers) Affidavit
of Affirmations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-010 – Birth family
background Checklist</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-009(i) – Infant Physical
Challenge Checklist</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-013-1 (his&hers)
Statement of Good Health</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF0-13-2 (his&hers) Health
History of Applicant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-058 – Adoptive Parent
Consent to Use Photographs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-119 – American Indian
Descent Form</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-100 – Authorization to Share
your Study</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-027 – Statement regarding
Firearms and Firearm Safety</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-016 (his&hers) 10 Page
Autobiography Form and Outline</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-023 – Profile of Adoptive
Parents</span></li>
<li>AF-151 – Health Insurance Statement of Coverage</li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-152 – Adoptive Parents'
Acknowledgement of Discipline Policies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-500 - Interstate Compact
Agreement</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-204 - Discretionary Drug
Testing Policy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-142 - </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">FAST Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas Application</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-116 - </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Adoption Fees Policy and Explanation TX and OK Residents</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-160 - Statement of Legal
Risk</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-150 - Internet Profile
Information</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AF-214 - Personal Outreach</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">2. Photograph of applicant/s
and any children in the home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">3. Photographs of your home,
surrounding grounds, outbuildings, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">4. Photograph/s of your pets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">5. Copy of current vaccination
record for all pets for which vaccinations are necessary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">6. Sketch of your home’s floor
plan, noting dimensions and purpose of each room (See example floor plan
attached with proper dimensions and room purpose noted.). Also please note fire
escape route/s on the floor plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">7. Copy of home ownership, if
applicable, i.e., Deed of Trust, Home Owner's Title Policy, etc. Statement from
landlord, if renting, to verify rent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">8. Copy of driver’s license for
each applicant if not returned with preliminary application. Copy of driver’s
license for any other household member, or Social Security card if individual
has no driver’s license. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">9. Medical exams within the
past six months for the adoptive applicants and any children or other persons
in the home. (Items AF013-1 and AF014a listed in item 1 above) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">10. Statement and proof of
income. (Please supply a copy of the past year’s tax return.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">11. Copy of marriage license. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">12. Certified copy of divorce
decree, if applicable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">13. Certified copy of death
certificate of spouse, if applicable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">14. Copy of birth certificate
of each applicant and each child in applicants' home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">15. Copy of savings passbook or
statement, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, retirement accounts,
IRA’s, etc.Page 2 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">16.
Proof of life and health insurance coverage (attach a copy of the face sheet of
each life insurance policy showing the amount of the insurance and copy of
health insurance policy or a copy of health insurance card showing date of
eligibility). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">17. Infant Parent Training
Class verification (at least 6 hours). (<b>Note: </b>This is not a requirement
for those who are parenting children currently.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">18. Infant, Child, and Adult
CPR Certification. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">19. First Aid Certification,
with rescue breathing and choking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">20. Birth Mother Letter</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">21. Photo Album </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span>
Even though this may seem really overwhelming, I have to say that we have really been blessed by this process. It is so encouraging to see all the people interested in helping us to achieve this goal.<br />
<br />
And for all that may be interested... we have finished designing our adoption t-shirts and just got the proof back from the t-shirt company. We will be posting all the details soon! They turned out really cute!</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-23677041938331527982013-07-09T11:38:00.001-05:002013-07-09T11:46:59.319-05:00What's the Next Step?<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Many have asked, "What's the next step?" At this point we have not heard from the birth mom we met with in June so we are operating under the </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">assumption that she has chosen a different family, which is completely fine. We continue to pray for her daily and whichever family the Lord has for that precious baby girl, knowing that our babe has already been hand-picked as well. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">So what's next... well, at this point we are focusing our efforts on fundraising. As soon as we have raised the amount for the Home Study we will submit our paperwork and get that ball rolling. About a month ago we had a fantastic garage sale and we were so blessed when a couple we met at our adoption orientation showed up with a check... wow, talk about humbling and encouraging! We raised around $850 that day and still had a garage full of items that did not sell. So we basically left it all set up in the garage and decided to have another sale this past weekend. We sold almost EVERYTHING! At the end we had about 3 oxen of stuff that we panned to donate and a man drove up and asked if he could buy all of it and haul it off for us! Sure you can! In addition, we had another sweet family show up and hand us a card, which we later found out had a $500 check in it! Wow! We are completely amazed at the Lord's faithfulness! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Our next plan is to get the t-shirts designed asap so that we may begin selling those and we are also working on our dinner fundraiser plans. We will keep you posted as soon as all of the details are worked out. Thanks so much for loving our family and enough to read this! You are each a blessing to us! </span></span>Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-73055972447874189142013-06-22T08:00:00.000-05:002013-06-25T01:35:27.941-05:00Why Does Adoption Cost So Much?One of the questions we get asked all the time is, "Why does adoption cost so much?!?" Many people have even asked us why we chose our agency instead of adopting through the State or even a cheaper agency. These are tough questions, but we want to answer them in hopes that people can understand that this was not just a decision we came to overnight. This was a decision that we put much research and prayer into making and I hope that this post may be helpful for understanding our journey and adoption as a whole.<br />
<br />
<b>Why We Chose Domestic Adoption:</b><br />
We have a heart for both domestic and international adoption and plan to adopt internationally at some point; however, as we began the overwhelming task of researching adoption we found that domestic adoption offers clear guidelines and parameters (as much as possible) and we were able to find an amazing agency within miles of our home. We decided that for our first child we would walk through domestic adoption of an infant, and then see where God leads us in the future in regards to choosing a country or age for future international or domestic adoptions. <br />
<br />
<b>How and Why We Chose Christian Homes and Family Services for our Agency:</b><br />
Back in the fall of 2011, we received an invitation in the mail to attend an event benefiting <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/" target="_blank">Christian Homes and Family Services</a>. David L. Cook, the author of the book <i><a href="http://gilillandsisland.blogspot.com/2011/10/fun-randomness.html" target="_blank">Seven Days in Utopia</a> </i>was scheduled to be the keynote speaker. We had recently seen the movie based on the book and really enjoyed it, so we were excited about the possibility of hearing the author speak. In addition, God had begun tugging on our heart about adoption, so we were also naturally interested in the event. God used the event to speak to us in many ways and as a vehicle for nudging us to begin our adoption journey. <br />
<br />
It was at this point we began to research the MANY different avenues for adoption. This process can be extremely overwhelming, but if you are considering this process I would encourage to just begin searching the Internet and reading all that you can. In addition, talk to people you know and spend lots of time in prayer over this decision. <br />
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We had already heard great things about the agency and were very impressed from the event we attended, but we didn't just stop there. We spent hours and hours reading all that we could about all the different ways to adopt. In the end, we chose Christian Homes. <br />
<br />
We believe the history of the Agency speaks for itself. I have included the history below (from their website - I have bolded some points that were important to us). In addition, one of the things we loved about the agency was their incredible ministry to the birth mothers. Yes, we could have chosen to go through the state (which is very needed form of adoption) but for us the birth mother is paramount and we believe shining Christ to her through this agency is another way we can indirectly impact her. <br />
<br />
At our orientation, they were very upfront with us in saying that they are not the cheapest agency out there but they are also not the most expensive (they right in the middle). They helped us to understand the costs involved and why they believed these costs were necessary and important to both the birth mother, us, and the baby. To us excellence in ministry is very important and we believe Christian Homes and Family Services does that well. Their history is listed below and then I have included the approximate cost of the adoption below that.<br />
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Our History</h1>
<div class="entry-content" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: 'Wrapper Font'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<a href="http://christianhomesandfamilyservices.townsquareinteractive.com/files/2013/03/history.png" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-223" height="337" src="http://christianhomesandfamilyservices.townsquareinteractive.com/files/2013/03/history.png" style="background-color: transparent; border: none; display: block; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 18px 20px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="history" width="220" /></a>For decades Christian Homes & Family Services has been known as two agencies: Christian Homes of Abilene, a ministry originally conceived by the Highland Church of Christ in 1962 to provide foster care for young needy children; and Christian Services of East Texas, a ministry given life in 1975 by the Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler also to provide foster care for children rescued from neglect and abuse.</div>
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In 1999, the two independent agencies, both recognized as 501(c) 3 organizations by the Internal Revenue Service, merged and in 2006, the agency began operating under the same assumed name, Christian Homes & Family Services.</div>
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Almost as soon as Christian Homes began operating, it discovered and began responding to a desperate need for maternity care for young women with unplanned pregnancies. <b>For more than 50 years, Christian Homes has provided residential and community-based care for young women with unplanned pregnancies.</b> Most often, the care culminates in the agency finding loving parents to adopt their precious babies.</div>
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<b>When a young woman with an unplanned pregnancy reaches out to Christian Homes for maternity care, our goal is that through the ministry, her life, as well as the life of her child, will be transformed. </b>We may arrange for her housing, either in our comfortable apartments in Abilene or in her hometown, and we may also <b>provide her food, clothing, medical care, legal services, moral support, counseling, and if needed, foster care for her newborn.</b></div>
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<b>Our Abilene foster parents stand in the gap for birth mothers and adoptive parents.</b> Foster parents love and care for newborn babies who must leave the hospital before all the legal hurdles have been jumped and they are cleared for adoption by their new and forever family. Infant foster care is provided according to the same strict standards as is required by the State for all foster care provided for minor children.</div>
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For young children who have been removed by the State from the home they likely shared with biological parents or relatives but where they were abused or neglected, our goal is that a Christian Homes’ foster family will be the last foster home they ever need. Our ministry is to identify, train, and prepare loving, Christian couples to welcome young foster children into their home and to ultimately make them a forever member of their family through adoption.</div>
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<b>Christian Homes & Family Services is governed by a 23-member Board of Trustees who for more than three decades has operated independently of its founding church congregations. The agency is served by a 21-member team of dedicated employees; five of whom have worked for the agency more than 25 years. All trustees and employees are faithful and committed Christians. The agency is licensed by the State of Texas to provide maternity care and foster care, and in both Texas and Oklahoma to provide adoption services.</b></div>
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<b>Approximately 40% of the agency’s $2 million budget is funded by adoption fees. </b>For the balance, the agency relies on the generosity of individuals, churches, sympathetic businesses, foundations, and sound investing of the dollars donated to the agency’s endowment fund.</div>
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<b>Since 1962 Christian Homes & Family Services has placed more than 1850 precious babies and children into loving adoptive homes, provided maternity care for more than 2500 women, and cared for more than 1570 foster children.</b></div>
</div>
<b>Christian Homes Fee Schedule:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Pre-application - $95</li>
<li>Orientation - $250</li>
<li>Application - $750</li>
<li>Home Study - $1500</li>
<li>Social Services - $4,800</li>
<li>Marketing - $6,000</li>
<li>Match/Placement - $10,000 - $25,000 (sliding scale based on income of adoptive family)</li>
<li>Parental Termination - $1,500</li>
<li>Consummation - varies</li>
</ul>
<br />
Approximate Total Costs - $25,895 - $40, 895<br />
<br />
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of why adoption costs so much and helps you have a little insight into this huge process. We believe it is important to be transparent with people, as much as possible, about the process of adoption because that helps you to better understand how you can love and support us through this journey, but hopefully it will also give you a heart for caring for the orphans in some way as well. <br />
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We are all called to care for the orphans, but we are not all called to adopt. You might consider helping to care for the orphans by supporting our family through prayer, donating your time or services, or <a href="http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/dag-fam-adoption-/67487" target="_blank">donating</a> financial resources to help provide a home for a child. Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-9972948334282607202013-06-20T01:10:00.001-05:002013-06-21T11:25:21.127-05:00Crazy Roller Coaster Ride A few weeks ago we experienced our craziest day yet walking through the adoption process... we met with a birth mother. <br />
<br />
We haven't shared this publicly until now because ultimately it is up to her (really the Lord) to choose us and at this point she has <b>not</b> chosen us. <br />
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But WOW, this is one crazy roller coaster ride so far. I describe it as a roller coaster ride because I am not sure people can truly understand the range of emotions experienced unless you have also walked through this process. <br />
<i><br /></i>
It is similar to thinking you might be pregnant, but don't know for sure... except this baby <i>might</i> come much sooner than 9 months from now (this particular birth mom is due in October). <br />
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It was similar to a job interview, except it was the most important job interview we will ever attend because it is interviewing for <i>parenthood </i>(except most people never have to "interview" to become a parent).<i> </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
At this point, I cannot imagine how my heart will hold up if we have to do this again and again. <br />
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Don't get me wrong, we are doing well... this is such an exciting journey. We know for a FACT that the Lord is in complete control and he has hand picked each of our children way before we ever had the ability to even consider adoption. But I just have to be real and say this is an unbelievably hard journey, which requires us to walk in complete reliance on the Lord - which is the sweetest place to be. <br />
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So now for the details (which is why you are here in the first place, right?) ...<br />
<br />
Towards the end of May we received a message from some friends indicating that they had learned of a birth mom who is looking for a good family and they wondered if we were interested in meeting with her. We agreed to meet with her to see if this was a possibility. <br />
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On a Saturday a few weeks ago, we drove to the Metroplex, where she lives, to meet with this sweet girl. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we sat outside on the patio underneath a umbrella and waited for her to arrive. I can't even begin to put words to the emotions we felt as we sat there waiting for her to arrive. But soon they arrived (she and her mom) and the conversation flowed fairly easily. <br />
<br />
Kate (not her real name) is 18 and her mom is only 3 years older than me and younger than DJ. Her mom (I'll call her Missy) had Kate at 18 and she was really encouraging Kate to give the baby up for adoption because she wants her granddaughter to be able to have the life she was not able to provide for Kate. Kate was also very much on board with the plan of adoption, although we did sense how difficult this decision is for her. <br />
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Kate and Missy asked us some very difficult questions and at times it seemed that they were looking for very specific answers in return. They were so warm and friendly in response to our answers, but we really don't know exactly how our answers matched up with what they are looking for. <br />
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Kate was very interested in Open Adoption (which is what we are choosing to do) and wanted to know how "open" we are to open adoption. We shared how important she is to us as the birth mom and that our baby would know from the beginning that he/she is adopted. DJ did a great job of explaining to her that our adoption counselor with Christian Homes would be able to help us set up the expectations and parameters for our open adoption and that this would be something that we would all come to a written agreement about. (Side note: Open adoption has become the most common form of adoption today and I will write another post later about how this works and why it is the method we have chosen for our family.)<br />
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They asked us if the baby would go to private school or if we would choose to homeschool. I shared with them my heart for public school and some simple reasons why we had chosen that path for our family. We told them that our children would either attend the school where I teach or the great school in our neighborhood. <br />
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They also asked if I would be staying home with the baby or what our plans were for childcare if I continued to work.<br />
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We shared with them many, many details about our life... our jobs, family, church, home etc. <br />
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Faith was very important to them and we were able to share the up most importance that Christ holds in our lives. They also asked specific questions about our church and denomination. <br />
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Before we left DJ asked if could pray for us. We prayed and then told Kate that we would continue to pray for her regardless of whether or not she chose us for her baby. We also told her that the ball is in her court. We are very open to meeting with her again or talking on the phone if she has more questions, but we are not going to contact her again unless she chooses to make contact. We gave her the contact information for our adoption agency, in case she was interested. <br />
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We walked away feeling hopeful, but also guarded. From the beginning we were so excited about the opportunity to meet her, but we also tried to guard our hearts knowing that she may not choose us. At this point, it has been 3 weeks and we have not heard from her. We are OK with that because we know God is sovereign, but we would definitely ask you to pray for us as walk this exciting but difficult journey. We wouldn't have it any other way and we are so excited for the testimony God is unfolding for our precious babes even before they are ever born.Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-70398788078433561922013-02-14T22:59:00.001-06:002013-02-15T00:50:06.356-06:00Faith in the Details I walked into my classroom this morning to find a gift on my desk. Since it is Valentine's day I assumed that one of my students had brought it in before I arrived.<br />
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I glanced at the gift quickly, but decided to wait to open it until the giver made their arrival in a few minutes. It sat amongst other smaller gifts that I had already received this week from my little ones. <br />
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"Wow," I thought, "someone really put a lot of thought into this." <br />
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I quickly began to get ready for my day because my first graders would be arriving soon. As the kids arrived I expected someone to proudly tell me that they had brought the beautiful gift on my desk. No one did. So a few minutes later I asked them who had given it to me. They did not know. <br />
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At this point, I began to look at the gift a little more carefully. I noticed the photograph collage with the word "<b><i>faith</i></b>," the jar of pink tulips (my favorite), a Sonic drink, and a Snickers (also my favorite). It was all tucked neatly inside a wooden crate. I tasted the Sonic drink and realized it was cream Dr. Pepper, a new favorite that a friend I work with had introduced to me in the past year. <br />
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"Oh! This is a gift from a friend who works with me! But which friend?"<br />
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There were a couple who knew the struggles of our past year... taking the scary step of faith to begin the adoption process, pregnancy, miscarriage, pause in the process...<br />
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I am now mentally trying to decide which friend had been so thoughtful to put this together. Maybe a few of them? <br />
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You may be wondering, why I did not automatically assume this was from my husband... <br />
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It completely has his name written all over it, but he was out of town on a basketball trip for work and the few days before he left were filled with busyness, so I knew he did not have time to orchestrate this gift. <br />
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But then I saw it... tied neatly in the bow around the mouth of the mason jar was a <b>jump drive</b>. <br />
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Oh my! I covered my mouth and gasped... the tears began to flow. Who had done this?! I'm mentally trying to think who knew that I had carefully put away our adoption jump drive after the miscarriage? I put it in a very safe place, a place so safe that we still have no recollection of the location!<br />
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I left my students with my student teacher and quickly ran (i.e which translates to quick walking feet in an elementary school) to my friends' classrooms. <br />
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"Did you do it?"<br />
<br />
Looks of confusion...<br />
<br />
"Do what?" <br />
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Finally I found Libby. "Did you do it?! How did you do it?" <br />
<br />
She gives me a little grin. <br />
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"It wasn't me. It was your husband." <br />
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Now I am so confused, but also thinking, "How ridiculous could I be?! Of course it was him... but how?!" <br />
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She says, "I put it in your room, but you need to call him. I don't want to give it away. Let him tell you the details." <br />
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At this point, I am so overwhelmed with emotion and excitement. I run to the phone and call him at his hotel in New Braunfels. I wake him up... but he is happy to explain.<br />
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He tells me he thought of the idea the day before and had called the agency to explain our story. He calls Margaret at <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/" target="_blank">Christian Homes and Family Services</a> (our amazing adoption agency). He spills the whole story about why we had misplaced the jump drive. He tells how the Lord has been clearly telling us in the last few weeks that we need to <b><i>step out in faith</i></b> and trust Him in this. Finally he asks if it would be possible to get a new jump drive. <br />
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Margaret says, "Of course! But my assistant is out today and she is the one who loads all of the application files onto the jump drive."<br />
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DJ tells her not to worry about it today and says, he can just get it next week. No problem.<br />
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But Margaret insists that she will see what she can do. <br />
<br />
15 minutes later, Margaret calls back and tells him that she explained the whole story to her assistant and she said, "I love the Gilillands! I want to take care of this today!"<br />
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Margaret tells him that he can come by after 2:00, so he runs across town to take care of this before he needs to leave with the team at 3:00. Next he calls Libby's husband and asks for the favor. He takes the jump drive to Ryan and then calls Libby to ask her to help him get the rest. <br />
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He explains he wants to recreate this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5vhMIxPpOU" target="_blank">song</a> that we love called "Wal-Mart Flowers," but he needs a few things. Libby selflessly goes to pick out the items and texts him pictures of the items she finds to get his final decision. <br />
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He decides on the <i>faith</i> collage since the Lord is clearly calling us to step out in <b><i>faith</i></b>. <br />
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As he speaks, I am in complete awe! I am so in love with this sweet man the Lord has chosen for me, and also so excited that God is orchestrating our adoption story with each perfect detail. <br />
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I cannot wait to share these details one day with the precious one He has <i>already</i> chosen for us!Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-78073235295766038092013-02-09T11:59:00.000-06:002013-02-09T11:59:59.225-06:00Stepping out in Faith Wow... it has been a full year since I have been able to blog.<br />
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It has been a challenging year. After our second miscarriage, I struggled for at least a few months to feel like myself again. I think my husband was really worried. I didn't know how much I struggled until now when I can look back upon the whole thing. <br />
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If I am honest, I haven't blogged this past year because I haven't known how to answer the questions about the pause in our adoption process. I kept thinking we would get back to it soon. We wanted to get back to it. I think we both believed we would get back in the grove much sooner than this, but we both felt so much <i>fear</i> in the process. <br />
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Most of fear came from the fact that we had no idea how to pay the enormous expenses of adoption. We know that most people fundraise to at least <i>help</i> pay for their adoption, and that has always been our plan... but somehow we have still held onto this almost unspeakable fear of asking people to help. <br />
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When I step outside of myself, it sounds silly even to me. I am person who naturally trusts that God provides (this is not a compliment to me at all, but just part of my natural, God-given personality). However, somehow stepping out in faith in <i>this </i>has felt really scary and awkward. <br />
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Where do we begin? We still aren't completely sure...<br />
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I think we have some good ideas, but we still need to nail everything down. <br />
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But I can say that the Lord is doing a huge work in our hearts and it is really <b>incredible</b> to know He is working... and also a lot of fun. I am excited about the anticipation of it all. I can't wait to see how His plan unfolds. <br />
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At this point, there are still a lot of unknowns but I just wanted to share a little bit of how you can pray for us right now. We are planning to begin the fundraising process in the near future. Right now we are researching and making some decisions about where to begin. <br />
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There are so <b>MANY</b> options! Pray that God would guide us through these scary and humbling decisions. Pray that we would be <i>willing to step out in faith wherever He leads</i>. <br />
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There are so many reasons to wait... but we desire to be obedient. So please pray that we would not wait any longer than He wants us to and that <i>fear</i> would not be an issue. <br />
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My hope is that we will have some fundraising news soon. <br />
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We know that God doesn't call everyone to adopt but <b><i>he does call us all to care for the orphans</i></b>. One way you can do this is by praying for us as we begin this process (again). <br />
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This morning my Bible study just happened to be over this verse (don't believe for one second that I thought this was a coincidence):<br />
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<i>Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.</i> James 1:27<br />
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He is doing BIG things and I can't wait to share more of it with you later. Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-79574418283213138742012-02-17T18:33:00.001-06:002013-02-09T12:00:16.675-06:00Update: Some Highs and Lows<div>The past month has held some of our highest highs and lowest lows; Although, I can say that the Lord is faithful through the good and the bad. </div><div><br />
</div><div>As many of you know, we started the adoption process in January. I can't even describe the excitment we felt. Then a few days later we found out that we were pregnant. I was amazed. My blood work came back with glowing reports from our doctor, which was really exciting since I had a miscarriage about 2 years ago. I felt beyond blessed. </div><div><br />
</div><div>One month ago, we found out about this precious little life growing inside me. Later that same week we began to have complications with the pregnancy. My super-great hormone levels dropped about 20 points. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Our doctor explained that when your levels decline -even a little- it means the baby is not thriving. However, my doctor was not ready to give up or believe the pregnancy was ending, so he wanted to check my levels again on Monday. That was one of the longest, most desperate weekends of my life. Our levels should have been doubling, not declining. But we were hopeful, we began to pray fervently for a miracle. At first I felt pretty hopeless, but then God began to restore my hope. By Monday I believed that our baby would live. I began to let myself think again about how our life would change sometime in September. Monday I received some amazing news. My levels had almost tripled! It was a miracle! My doctor could attribute it to nothing less. We knew the power of prayer had made the difference. </div><div><br />
</div><div>On Wednesday, my doctor had me come back in to check my levels again. This time my levels did not double. They went from about 520 to 720. My doctor said it wasn't enough. He said we were having a miscarriage. I was not ready to hear this. My doctor was ready to do a D&C because he was a concerned that my pregnancy was ectopic, which could obviously be dangerous for me. I was not ready to do the D&C because my levels were still rising a little However, my comfort lied in the fact that my doctor is also a believer, so I knew that he would save my baby at all costs. We soon learned that just wasn't possible. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The following day we arrived at his office to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that there was no sac growing in my uterus. It was still a little to early to actually see the baby, but my doctor said we would be able to see the sac if the baby were developing properly. There was no sac. We discussed our options and risks. We decided to do one more blood test the following morning and if my levels had stopped rising, then I would have the D&C on Friday. We went home Thursday night and prayed that our numbers would be conclusive in the morning. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Later that night, we went out to eat and I began to have cramps. As we arrived home my pain became much worse, so DJ called the dr. He sent us to the ER (Still concerned with the possibility of a tubal pregnancy).</div><div><br />
</div><div> That night my doctor decided it would be best if I checked into the hospital. They did another ultrasound revealing again that the baby was not growing properly. In the morning, we found out that my pregnancy hormone levels had stopped rising. These were the conclusive results we needed to help us make our decision. Later that day, I underwent anesthesia and had the D&C. The last time we went through this, I cane out of anesthesia easily and went home only a few hours after the surgery; however this time, when I awoke I had some trouble coming out of the anesthesia. They required me to hold down some food before I would be allowed to go home and that just wasn't happening. Finally at 9 pm I was able to finish my meal, prove that I could walk without dizziness, and we were allowed to go home. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I spent the next few days in bed recovering both emotionally and physically, although the emotional healing will take much longer. Finally on Tuesday, I knew that I needed to make my way back to work and attempt a "normal" day. I do did not want to get out of bed that day, but I forced myself to head to school because I knew I needed it. I was so right. That day when I got home, my sweet husband had relief on his face. He said that I had my coloring back and also my smile. There is something about 22 eight year olds that can remind me that God still has a purpose for my life. </div><br />
At this moment, we are just taking it day by day. We know that we will continue the adoption process (probably soon) but at this moment we just aren't ready to work on the paperwork. I know that God is mending our hearts and we are just trusting Him through this. I knew that I needed to post this because so many people are asking about how the process is going and I never really know how to respond. A few times I have just said that we haven't finished the paperwork yet, and other times I share our story, but that can be a little awkward for the person who doesn't know what to say. People often look like a deer in the headlights when I tell them what happened. I'm not intending to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but I also want to be real and transparent about what the Lord is doing in our lives. When people ask how I'm doing I really don't know what to say. Somedays I say "good" and other days I say "ok." But if I'm honest, I would say this is really hard and we are grieving; although that is not to say that we aren't ok. We are completely blessed and we know that God has big plans for our lives. Thanks for praying for us as we grieve, rejoice, and heal. He will bring us through. I will keep you posted when we get back to truckloads of adoption paperwork. <br />
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Blessings,<br />
AndreaGililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660700338312336717.post-85109465710097384712012-01-16T19:19:00.000-06:002013-02-09T12:00:31.186-06:00Our Exciting New Adventure!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUoNXTuFJRoH_6wdD7wsB4xObJl8WyzzsAj3r3mQZfHj5wMysFT6BEGz8fq_KRliD5SYgZ8uXZvFttv_YHNXlbWciCWsCVzoBGLpSg71uIBLoluj0zT4VJ63lxtbAI6xEUutTzXqwdxKn/s1600/baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUoNXTuFJRoH_6wdD7wsB4xObJl8WyzzsAj3r3mQZfHj5wMysFT6BEGz8fq_KRliD5SYgZ8uXZvFttv_YHNXlbWciCWsCVzoBGLpSg71uIBLoluj0zT4VJ63lxtbAI6xEUutTzXqwdxKn/s320/baby.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, <sup style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 10px; left: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.4em; vertical-align: text-top;">4</sup>even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love <sup style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 10px; left: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.4em; vertical-align: text-top;">5</sup>he predestined usfor adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, <sup style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 10px; left: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.4em; vertical-align: text-top;">6</sup>to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">We have begun an exciting journey and I can't wait to share it with you! This weekend we attended our adoption orientation with <a href="http://www.christianhomes.com/">Christian Homes</a>. I cannot even describe what an incredible experience this was. The weekend was spent learning all the details of adoption (and wow! There are a lot of details!). We went home after day number 1 a little overwhelmed by the details and especially the cost, but also so excited. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">I was fascinated to learn about a newer trend in open adoption. They told us that many people may offer us many opinions about why they don't think open adoption is good idea. However, we learned how open adoption is actually the best possible scenario. Through open adoption the birth mother actually <i>chooses</i> us. She chooses us because she loves her baby so much that she wants to give him what she knows she cannot and because she chose us she would never consider trying to steal her baby back (as some might think would be a risk of open adoption). We learned that open adoption is now the most "normal" and common practice within adoption. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">On day 2 we were able to participate in a question and answer time with adoptees, birth moms, and adoptive parents. The time spent with the adoptive parents gave us such a peace and allowed us to walk away knowing the Lord would provide. The couples were so open and honest and shared their fears during the whole process. This spoke so much to our hearts because we shared so many of the same fears. The best part was as one couple shared about the financial aspect of adoption. They told us how they wondered how they could ever adopt after they learned of the huge costs involved (which is one of our huge fears). But then they shared how their friends and family were more than excited to support them through this process. They said that in the end, they had to say, "we have enough, we don't need any more." How incredible is that?! I shared this with my father and I think he was overwhelmed by the whole cost. I'm not sure that he is confident that fundraising portion will work out well, but I have such a peace about it and I cannot wait to share with him about the Lord's faithfulness. I am confident that he will provide. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">I felt so much peace when they shared how it's in our human nature to think we must "pay" for our baby by ourselves, but then he told us how allowing others to walk along side of us through this process is a blessing to them. We heard time and time again how we need to allow others to give and how this is what they want to do. This calmed my heart so much. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #231f20; font-family: 'Open Sans', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">We are now working on our 100 page application on the iadopt jump drive. We each have to write our own autobiographies and then together we will create our birth mother letter, and finally our photo album for the birthmothers to use as they make their choices. Tomorrow is my first class as a college instructor and I have a few things to finish for my first class, but all I want to do is work on our application! We are so excited! The most exciting part was when they told us that the average family is able to meet their baby in LESS THAN A YEAR!!! That is wild! This time next year life could be very different! We will keep you updated on the process. Thanks for joining us in prayer as we walk this exciting journey! <span id="goog_104207594"></span><span id="goog_104207595"></span></span><br />
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</span>Gililland's Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17376814390848998706noreply@blogger.com2