He listens when I pray

It's update time :)

So a lot has happened since the last update. We have finished ALL of our home study paperwork and let me tell you, if you are not familiar with the paperwork that goes into adopting, that is no small feat. I am now a professional paperwork filler outer. Ok so that is completely a made up thing and I'm pretty sure I broke at least a half dozen grammar rules but oh well.

Where was I...Oh yea we completed all of the paperwork and have now completed our first home visit. I can NOT even begin to tell you how excited we are to be moving through this process. We have three more visits then it's on to immigration approval :)

We could seriously be matched in a few more months if not sooner. EEEEKKK!!! I am beyond ready to put a face with my prayers. It is so hard to explain to people, who haven't been there, just how much we already love this little girl. I mean, we find ourselves telling people we have four children instead of the obvious three. She already holds a place in our hearts and at our table (our daughter has already designated a spot just for Lorelei). We have already made arrangements for where she will sleep when she comes home. HOME...that is such an amazing word. That word holds so much power for someone who has never had one. I am completely humbled that we have been chosen to give this precious little girl a HOME, a place where she belongs and where she will be loved unconditionally. 

This process has been hard. It has had it's ups and downs but I can assure you I would do it all over again in an instant. 

My pregnancies with my three biological children were very hard. I was hospitalized numerous times and spent most of them on bed rest, but even though they were extremely hard I would never not go through it again. I was blessed with three beautiful children at the end of it all. So I am paper pregnant. Has this "pregnancy" been hard and at times daunting?...yes but I am holding out for my blessing in the end.

God did not promise us this would be easy. He never said we wouldn't face opposition or feel at times that we were in way over our heads but what He did promise was that we would NEVER AT ANY TIME be doing this alone. He would always be with us. Through all of the difficulties we have been through, He has ALWAYS been there. He is kind and loving. He has kept us going when we found ourselves asking if we were really called to this. He has been quick to assure us that YES we most definitely have been called to this. 

I have to tell you it is such an amazing feeling knowing that the Lord of all creation listens when I pray. He listens...and I am completely humbled by that.

So be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you or abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Gonna Have to Work for It

I have been doing a lot of praying about our adoption. I was finding myself getting discouraged by the lack of forward movement. I have been begging the Lord to please somehow make this $1800 appear in our account. Well instead of just sitting back and expecting God to do all of the work I think I need to do some, too. So....

I am excited to announce my new children's boutique, Cotton Cutie Boutique. I have always loved to sew and create new things, so it kind of made sense to use this to help raise money for our adoption. You can find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cottoncutieboutique) and Instagram. All of the items are handmade by myself and all of the money made goes directly to our adoption fund. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses this. Feel free to go check it out :)

Where the Journey Began and Where it's Headed

I realize that I don't know if I have ever really told the whole story of how this whole journey really began. So here it is...
My name is Kayla and my husband Brent and I are in the process of adopting a little girl from China. To be honest adoption was never even on our radar, until our daughter was on a cheer team with a girl who's family had adopted a little girl from China and was about to go back for a little boy. After speaking with this mama and seeing her heart for orphans we began talking about the possibility of us adopting, but things happened in our lives and we pushed adoption to the back of our minds. In March of 2012 the need to adopt was weighing heavily on our hearts. We contacted this same sweet mama, who happened to head up adoptions from China for an adoption agency, and started asking the questions of how to start the process. Unfortunately I was not old enough yet, you have to be at least 30, so we were told we would have to wait almost 2 years. I was devastated. I didn't understand why God had put adoption so heavily on my heart knowing we would have to wait. I am curious though to see, once we are matched, what significance March 2012 had in our sweet girls life because even though we couldn't officially start the process to adopt, we could start praying for Gods protection over our little girl.
In August of 2013 we were finally able to officially start the process by sending in an application to an agency. We were so excited to be accepted into the China program. It has been a slow process as we have had to fundraise for a lot of our fees but the time has given us plenty of oppurtunities to pray for our little girl. We absolutely can't wait to be able to go bring our girl home and we would love for you to be able to have a part in making a huge difference in this little girls life.
If you feel that the Lord is nudging you to donate we would greatly appreciate it. 
We currently have a couple of fundraisers going. The first is a t-shirt fundraiser at www.booster.com/adoptinglorelei
The second one is at www.gofundme.com/53833s Donate at least $25 to our fund and you will be entered to win a $100 gift card to either Target or Publix.

Trusting Him

Why is it that EVERY.SINGLE.TIME I sit down to update our blog with how hard this has been, God urges me not to??? Why?  I'll tell you why, because this is not about me and it's not about being easy. God says we are to count it all joy. He didn't say only count the good as joy but to count it ALL as joy. That's right, we are to be joyful even when things aren't going our way and let me tell you, this adoption has not been going my way. I am not by nature a very patient person, so the whole waiting on His timing is REALLY hard for me. I just really want Him to hurry. 

Right now we have this $1800 wall that seems insurmountable. For whatever reason the money just has not been there to pay this one fee. We have been able to pay for everything else, training, fingerprints, physicals etc. with the money we have raised through our last fundraiser but this $1800 seems impossible. I find myself getting frustrated but then the Lord reminds me that all of this happens in His timing. The $1800 will come when He is ready. He knows when we need to complete everything so we get matched with our daughter, the daughter He has picked out just for us. 

I may not be a patient person but I am a trusting person and right now I trust Him completely. I am trusting Him to provide what is needed to complete this adoption and bring our sweet Lorelei home.

 It's not easy but she's worth it.

If you feel led to donate to our adoption fund you can do so at www.gofundme.com/53833s

He is there

I started typing this blog with the intent of complaining about how slow the process is going; funding, paperwork etc. But as I was about half way through, the Lord prompted to me to stop and start over. This process has been hard but we have seen the Lord work in ways that, had we not taken that step out, we would have never experienced. We have witnessed Him change peoples hearts towards adoption. People who in the beginning were dead set against it and have now been some of our biggest supporters.

 I know this is not going to be easy but I also know that I serve a God who is there when things get hard. He is there when people say or do things that hurt. He is there when I desperately want to just give up. When I try to convince myself that this isn't really what I am supposed to be doing, He quietly reminds me that it is. He places this little girl, whom I have never laid eyes on, on my heart. He knows just what I need and when I need it. So yes the process is long and hard but the reward...oh the reward will be well worth it.

HELP...please :)

We are working to raise the funds needed to complete our home study. We are so close to finishing up this part of our adoption. We have done physicals and fingerprints and we are waiting on background checks to come back. We need $1800 to pay for our home study. To help off set some of this expense we are hosting a t-shirt fundraiser. We are really excited about these shirts. We teamed up with booster.com for this fundraiser. The shirts are great quality and really cute. By purchasing one you will not only be helping bring our little girl home from China but you will help advocate for adoption every time you wear it. Help bring Lorelei home by clicking the link below and buy one of these awesome shirts!

www.booster.com/adoptingloreleimarieluckie

We have to sell at least 20 for them to print so please help us out and buy one :)

It's not all about ME

UPDATE

We have had a lot of people asking for an update on where we are in the process of our adoption so here it is. We went to Texas for training in March and had a blast. It was so nice being around other couples who are in the same boat. Some were much farther along in the process and some were just beginning but we all had the same goal, to travel to our propspective countries and bring our little ones home. After completing what we thought was all of our training (turns out what we went to doesn't count as our 12 hours of Hague training so we get to do that online) we kind of slowed down in the process. We were going to have to wait till our youngest, who was only about 6 months old at the time, turned 1 to be able to move forward with our home study. I am not a patient person by nature so knowing I was going to have to wait another 6 months to start our home study wasn't what I wanted to hear. We got busy with life and before I knew it our youngest was 9 months old and we were being told by our agency that we could go ahead with our home study...YAY FINALLY!!!! And that my friends is where we are now. Frantically trying to fundraise the remaining money needed to complete our home study. So if you feel that the Lord is prompting you to help us out financially we are hosting an ongoing fundraiser called "A Piece of the Puzzle". For more info on how it works or to participate clink the link below. https://www.youcaring.com/Prayingloreleihome

A piece of the puzzle

I have taken the last month off from fundraising. I wanted our next fundraiser to be special and something that when it was finished would leave us with a physical representation of the donations and the generous people who gave them. So I bought a puzzle. One with 150 pieces to be exact :)

I am "selling" puzzle pieces for $10 each. When you "buy" a piece you get your name written on the back. When all 150 pieces are sold the puzzle will be assembled and framed with the back of the puzzle showing. This will hang in Lorelei's room as a constant reminder of everyone who helped bring her home.

If you would like to be a part of this puzzle please go to the link below. Every $10 donated gets you one puzzle piece and helps bring our missing piece home. If you are unable to donate please share our fundraiser on facebook or any other social media site you participate in. Please help us bring our daughter home.


https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/praying-lorelei-home/122186