The Farmer's Wife Tells All Blog "Girls Only" Project

Do you remember how awkward the early years of womanhood are? I know they're burned into my own memory and I can't imagine having to go through that as an orphan, can you?!  Here is a fabulous project for us all to find a way to help with:

http://www.thefarmerswifetellsall.com/2011/07/girls-only-project.html


Please consider taking part!

~Jennifer

Dispelling Myths about Foster Care and Adoption

Two links to share with you today~

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20110707/OPINION/107070302/Don-t-fall-for-the-myths-about-foster-care-adoption

and

http://ezinearticles.com/738641

Anyone else read some good articles this week that you'd like to pass on?

~Jennifer

SO cute! :)

My kiddos loved this one~

The Timeline Post

Since I know that there are some people reading this blog in order to keep track of our adoption process, I wanted to have a permanent post where I will continually edit updates to the timeline.  There isn't a lot to it, yet, but hopefully it will help people to understand our particular process.  Our sincere thanks to all of those who are praying us through it! I'll put the official steps in bold as we complete them.

First discussed adoption as a couple - Fall 1991 (while we were dating)
Finally decided that it was time - November 2010
Agonizing over who, what, when, where and how - November 2010-June 2011
Finally fill out the first piece of paperwork for an adoption agency May 6, 2011 (for domestic infant adoption)
Foster Care/ Adoption Orientation Seminar at our Church - June 11, 2011
Convinced that God has called us to adopt from the Foster Care system instead of domestic infant - July 4, 2011

The Official Process:

Orientation:    June 11, 2011

Application Rec'd: July 29, '11

Application Turned In: August 29, 2011

FIngerprinting/Background Check: October 5, 2011

Homestudy Visit #1: November17, 2011

PRIDE Training #1: February 18, 2012

PRIDE Training #2:February 25, 2012

Learned about a child available for adoption: March 13, 2012
Program-changing decision month: March 2012
Saw his picture for the first time!!: August 31, 2012

Examining Motives

This post is a brilliant treatment of all of the reasons for adopting, right ones, wrong ones, misguided and naive ones.  The further I dig into the contemporary adoption world, the more heartbroken I am for children and how serious the need is.  Adoption should certainly not be entered into lightly, naively, or for any 'trendy' reasons.  Every child who is ever adopted has trauma and grief as a part of their past; even the newest of newborns. 

Please take a few minutes to read this:

http://rachelsblatherings.blogspot.com/2011/06/so-you-want-to-adopt-please-dont.html

Excuses, excuses...

My blogging has all but disappeared.  I keep having ideas and start typing up a post and deleting and typing and deleting, then I move on to something else and don't come back.  It's just sad.  But, I do have a nice little list of excuses:

• I became the Communications Administrator for Project HOPEFUL about a month ago and it has almost completely taken over my computer energies
• I recently organized a giant (for me) yard sale to raise money for three families who are adopting and became re-acquainted with the fact that my skills lie in being an idea person, not an implementer.
• I organized a three hour orientation seminar at our church about foster care and adoption and actually implemented it - the same week in which I implemented the yard sale...simply amazing.
• We went public with the fact that we have officially taken the first steps toward adopting domestically.  We're only in the early 'Papercut Stage' of adoption.  The stress of sharing that information with certain people made me physically ill. I cried off and on for days. We seriously were going to wait until we were further into the process, but we can't get further into the process until we do some fundraising, so.....we just had to do it.
• My kids just started summer vacation and we're trying to get into a good routine (and I've been sharing the computer with 5 other people...even if they only get half an hour per day, that's a lot of time!)
• My parents are moving next week and I've been helping with painting and landscaping.

So, bloggy peeps, I'm sorry, but I just about fell off the map.  Thankfully I grabbed the edge and hopped back on, so let's just get back to it, shall we?  Here is my blog post recommendation for the day:


"Christians Should Put Up of Shut Up"


~Jennifer

Enter a Project HOPEFUL giveaway AND help them win the Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program!

You need to head on over to the Project HOPEFUL blog RIGHT NOW!   There is an awesome t-shirt giveaway going on and you could help them in a big way, too!

Go here!