A way to help...

Many of our friends and family have asked about ways they could help through this process.

Number one, of course, is to pray for grace and patience to completely fill our days. Waiting on a little one is hard, and we've felt those prayers that are already being spoken on our behalf...THANK YOU!
This next option has been a tough one for us throughout this adoption journey: asking for help financially.
A friend who has been through the adoption process before mentioned to us that often times people would like to give financially, but are shy about it or don't feel comfortable 'just handing a check over'. We have now added a 'Donate' button on our blog that is linked to an account thats sole purpose is for adoption money. We have done so through Paypal, so rest easy that your information is kept secure and confidential. This has been an area that has been uncomfortable for us: this 'asking' of money. But, we know that probably more people than we know would like to help in whatever way they can. This process has proved time and time again for us that the cliche' phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" is truer than true. In our case, it takes a village to bring a child home.

Thank you for being a part of our village. It's a crazy-cool one. :)

Just don't call him late for dinner!

So, we've been discussing names in the Budd house lately. More specifically boy names. To be honest, we haven't felt real clear on a name, although we like to tease our Brother-in-law, who is a black man, and say that we are going to give our future black son the 'whitest' name possible. :)

Liv and Sam have definitely shared their opinions on names that we have come up with and even have come up with a few keepers of their own.
Sam is adamant about the fact that the baby will be called 'Emily Elizabeth'. Yes, she knows she is getting a baby brother. That doesn't seem to matter to her.
Liv- smart, 6-year-old Liv- suggested the name 'Cosmo'. *ahem* John agreed to go with the name as long as we could call him 'Cosmo Kramer Budd'.

Yep, these 2 girls are most definitely going to give their brother a run for his money...

Too much??

In March, John and I attended an informational meeting at a highly recommended adoption agency here in Portland, you know, to just 'get more information'. Once we drove up, we were so excited/nervous. In total Abbie fashion, I thought we should document every.single.step. of the process, you know, 'just in case' we decided to take the step towards adopting. Here's that picture:

Geez, tone it down, guys. It's just a meeting.

Gettin' this journey started!

Here is a letter we sent out to our family and friend via Facebook and email:

In case you haven't heard through the grapevine or via Facebook, we have begun the process of adoption! This has been something that has personally been on my (Abbie's) heart for years, but in recent months began to seriously think about as a family. Last month we attended an informational meeting at a wonderful adoption agency here in Portland, and after leaving immediately knew this is what God has laid on our hearts to do. We have known for a few years that our family just hasn't felt complete, but there was no desire on my (again, Abbie's) part to revisit my horrible pregnancies and all that those entailed. We are currently going through a specific program in this agency called the African American Infant program. This program works with agencies in the South (Texas, Florida and Georgia) to match Birth Mothers with families. So, we will be bringing a newborn baby boy in to our family, if all goes as planned, by the end of the year! We are nervous, but so incredibly excited about the idea that WE could have a son! We have been in awe the way God has completely guided this process so far. He truly has made it clear to us that he is walking along side us. 

So far, we have turned in our application (which has been accepted), been fingerprinted and background checked (all clear whew! haha), and now we patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for God to guide us through our first financial hurdle that we need to jump before we can begin our Home Study.

This is where you come in! :)

-We are asking if each of you would commit to really be praying for our family. That we will be filled with patience and a peace of mind through this process. We know that if God has called us to do this, that he WILL provide the money part of it. 

-For those of you that live locally, we are having an adoption fundraising garage sale this Saturday at our house! If you have things laying around that you think may sell well at a garage sale that are currently sitting in your Goodwill pile, we would love to take them off of your hands! Also, come SHOP! So far we have bunches of clothes (kids and adult), toys, household items, excellent condition washer and dryer, and much more. And if you feel like dropping a couple of dollars in the donation can, we certainly won't hold you back. :)

-Last but not least, on Sunday May 22nd, we will be having a spaghetti feed/silent auction at the Newberg Friends Center Gym starting at 12:00pm. We will give you more details closer to the time, but for now if you have any services or new items that you would like to donate for the silent auction, or if you would like to be involved by donating spaghetti noodles or sauce, that would be so cool. Any donation, monetary or otherwise gets us one step closer to being matched with a birth mom and bringing our sweet son home. We have been amazed at the ways people have blessed us so far. 

John and I have said, it is not just us and the girls that are adopting a son/brother, it is our entire community of friends and family who will be adopting him as well! It truly takes a village to raise a child, and we couldn't be more proud of our village. :)

Thanks for all your prayers and hugs and excitement as we continue on this journey! We love you all.