Katherine's Story

Today marks one year since Katherine's brain injury. I encourage you to take a moment today and pray for her and read her blog update. There is also a link to her updates on the right side of this blog.

If you have read the beginning of our adoption journey you know that Katherine's story was a major factor that began the change in our hearts. As Raleigh and I interceded for Katherine, God began to place the needs of others, especially orphans, on our hearts. Katherine's story transformed our prayer lives.

Why Korea?

Let us hold unservingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:23-24

"Why did you choose Korea?" is a question a lot of friends and family ask when they learn of our adoption plans. I thought I would do my best to explain how Korea chose us. God put adoption on our hearts in April 2008. Before this time we had never considered adoption and we knew nothing about the logistics. As we began to research our options, several countries were not a possibility due to their requirements.

I traveled to Haiti several times in high school and have a special place in my heart for the people of that beautiful country. However, you must be 30 years old to start the process to adopt from Haiti. I am 26 and Raleigh is 28. There are many, many beautiful children waiting for families in China, but again, you must be 30 to start the process.

We also prayerfully considered adopting a little treasure from Columbia. However, both parents need to stay in the country for at least 2 weeks and then at least one parent must stay for an additional 8 weeks. At this point in our lives, this did not seem like a possibility.

As we continued to research adoption, attend an informational meeting at Bethany Christian Services, and most importantly pray about our decision, we felt peace about pursuing adoption from South Korea. We know that this is God's journey and our best plans do not even compare to his. As it says in Hebrews 10, God is faithful. He began this journey and he will fulfill his promises to us.

Happy Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. As a little girl, all of my cousins would get together the night before Easter at Mamaw's house (my grandmother) and dye Easter eggs. We each got to color at least one dozen eggs. The following day, we would all gather at Mamaw's after church for a big lunch. After lunch, the adults would hide the eggs for the egg hunt. It was always a lot of fun. Another part of the tradition was homemade cocunut cake. My great grandmother, Mother Lucille, would always make a coconut cake from scratch.

This year my mom and I tried to honor Mamaw and Mother Lucille by having a big meal with family and making a homemade cake. Things have definitely changed since Mother Lucille made the cake, because we had to watch a YouTube video about how to crack the coconut. Once the cake was complete, it made us appreciate even more all the hours Mother Lucille spent over the years making cakes for Easter.

Two of the cousins, Brittany and Courtney, were not able to make it this year because Brittany is expecting her second little girl, Madelyn, any day.

Hidden Treasures...just watch :)

Pollen

This is the table on our patio. 5 minutes before taking this picture I thoroughly cleaned the table. It was shiny, clean, and pollen free. I went inside the house to get a coke. When I returned to the patio to make a grocery list, this is what I saw! There is just so much pollen in the air, it is impossible to keep the table clean right now.

Bring on the Paperwork!!

We had our initial meeting yesterday at Bethany. We met with our social worker and she explained the Home Study process. We received a packet of information to complete and a checklist of tasks to accomplish. The first step is for us to each complete a self study. This is basically a long questionnaire about our life from childhood to the present. Our next meeting is April 24th. Raleigh and I will have individual meetings on this day. If you are curious about the home study process, I've listed a few of the items on our to do list below. We are totally excited!

Abbreviated To Do List:

• Receive clearance from Child Protective Services.
• Get fingerprinted.
• Complete a Last Will.
• Complete 10 hours of adoption training.
• Get physicals.
• Get updated passports.
• Get a letter from the insurance company verifying that our child will be covered.
• Pray for God's continued wisdom and provision as we move forward in this process!