…we don’t know if or when we will, but right now, God has called us to adopt! He has filled our days with conversation and prayer over this for MONTHS. He has filled our hearts with peace and comfort to know this is the path He has chosen for us and we couldn’t be more excited about starting the domestic adoption process!
Throughout my life I have been surrounded by several close family friends that have adopted, and adoption has always had a special place in my heart since I was a kid, but I never knew it would one day be a part of my story. Since the day we said “I DO”, Casey and I have talked about having children, but we didn’t talk about having children through adoption. Until October of 2017, after two long years of trying to conceive, we sat in the woods in the mountains around a campfire, and started the conversation. We didn’t know if it was where God would ultimately lead us but knew that it was something we had to talk about. There was no reason not to. Five months later, here we are! And it’s all we’ve been talking about for the last several months, weeks, days, seconds… This has become our current reality and we are so excited to share this news with you!
The Lord has constantly confirmed this decision in countless ways, especially over the past several weeks. He has turned the “what if” into “we are really doing this” and it has been incredible. We have already seen Him at work and have been completely humbled to our core. He has made it clear to us and reminded us, this is not about me and Casey. Everything about this adoption is about Him.
And y’all, to see Casey get excited about adopting is making me fall in love with him even more. You would think with how he’s been talking, that he has had adoption on his heart for many years too! Just a few weeks ago he came to me and said we need to get a nursery together. So, during a day trip we took to Raleigh, NC we drove to Southpoint in Durham and bought a crib at Pottery Barn kids! We don’t waste any time. 🙂
We’ve been reading blogs, listening to podcasts and talking to families that have adopted. Even though we know our experience will be unique in it’s own, we want to learn as much as we can. Not one story we have heard is the same and we know this is not going to be an easy process. It will be difficult at times and while I won’t give labor to our child, it will be a labor of love. I can already imagine holding our precious boy or girl in my arms. What a day that will be when we bring our baby home to be with us. I imagine it’s a picture of what God must feel when we come home to Him. When we say aloud that He is our Savior. We will not be our child’s savior. There is only One. But I love the picture of the gospel that adopting will be to us. To experience the love for our child that is not biologically ours but that is ours and all together God’s. We can’t wait to see the family that the Lord has planned for us and we pray that He prepares our hearts for what’s to come and builds us into the godly parents that our child(ren) will need. We are humbled that God would choose us to be parents and that He would give us that opportunity.
It takes a community…
Prayer, more than anything, will bring us through this journey. Will you join us in praying over our adoption process? Please pray for our child and also for our child’s birthmother and birthfather as they too, need as much prayer, if not more, than us.
A big reality is that we cannot do this alone. Even if we wanted to, we know you wouldn’t let us. We know that we have you, wonderful family and friends that have already come alongside us and have been praying for us. You are a part of this story too.
What’s Next?
Lots of saving & fundraising! Our goal is $20,000. This ^ is our adoption envelope we made that we’ve started filling!
We are personally cutting our monthly expenses, selling household items & items we’ve made. Check out our Etsy account (don’t fret, we are still working to add lots more!) : www.etsy.com/shop/saltwoodnc – each purchase will go towards our adoption.
A few ways you can help:
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- Please pray. It was prayer that lead us to this decision and it will be prayer that leads us through it. Pray for the birth mother that has either already conceived this child, or not yet conceived this child. Pray for the health and protection of her and the baby. Pray that she and we will have clarity in knowing when we are a right “match” for each other. Please pray we have discernment when the time comes to make a decision. The Lord has brought us through several life altering situations in our young marriage and we know it has been in preparation for this moment. Pray against any spiritual attacks and that we will lean on and support each other as The Lord directs our path. Pray especially for the birth day of our baby and that it is a safe delivery for our baby and birth mother. Pray especially for the 7-10 days after we have brought our baby home from the hospital. North Carolina has the law that the birth mother is allowed to change her mind about the adoption 7 business days after the baby’s birth. Also, if there is a holiday during this period, that is taken into account, so it could be a total of 10 days that the baby is home with us, not knowing if the birth mother will change her mind at any point during that time. We have been told this can happen and have heard stories of it happening. All we can do is trust in The Lord through each step of the process. Once the 7 (or 10) days have passed, we will then work towards finalizing the adoption!
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- Donate directly to the agency for our adoption : The agency that we are going through is a 501(c)(3), so you are able to make a donation to them directly and it’s tax deductible! Please contact us if you would like this information.
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- Donate to us directly, whether cash or check.
- Buy a t-shirt we designed! The website link is: bonfire.com/bringbabythompsonhome. There are five different styles (including a youth size!) and many colors to choose from. For every t-shirt purchased, 92% goes towards our adoption fund. Please feel free to share this link with any of your family and friends that love to support a good cause! Wear your tee and take a selfie, use the hashtag: #bringbabythompsonhome and we will all be able to see just how big this community is when we come together!
Our plan is to continue to share our story through this blog so that you can follow along with us in our journey. We are so very thankful for your love and support!
Jen
Isn’t that the cutest lil chair you’ve ever seen?!
