Where to start?

One of my biggest joys is getting to talk to adoptive mommas who are just starting the process.  

They are so expectant.  so excited for what God is going to do.  they have no idea that where they are now, will soon end with something similar to the image above.  beautiful, sent from god child(ren)!

one thing about these mommas is they are a sponge for information.

I remember when we decided to adopt, we didn't have any real life friends who had adopted, and didn't know the first thing to do!  It did seem scary & foreign and totally new. 

So I love getting to talk to moms, answer their questions, connect them with people/agencies/resources because when I didn't know anyone and I was calling random people I found online and friends of friends of friends & I loved it when people helped me.  and my general philosophy in life is to pay it forward!  people helped me - so I want to help people. 

So really there are about a dozen posts I have in my head to write, and I will get there.
they include: fundraising, choosing a country, fundraising, people raising, ha.

but I do have these nifty little pages on my blog that if you are reading from reader or bloglovin' you might not know about.  I have one called "adoption" and there you can find a little bit about our story, our timeline, a few videos, and some resources for you & your journey.

Here's just a little clip of the resource section (at the bottom)


Together for Adoption - amazing adoption conference, and outstanding resources
Noonday Collection - consider becoming an ambassador to raise funds for your adoption or simply host a trunk show!
Give1Save1 - features a different family each week to raise money for their adoption
147 million orphans - fundraising program & awesome adoption gear
Project Hopeful - education on adopting HIV+/AIDS orphans
Generations Adoptions - another amazing agency, specializing in Ugandan adoptions
Reece's Rainbow - information on adopting children with special needs
Show Hope - offers grants to adoptive families
Abba Fund - financial solutions for adoptions
Rainbow Kids - guidelines for each country, waiting children's lists

Stephen & I are conference junkies and our whole story from when we said YES started when we went to a Together for Adoption conference.  Something about worshiping, being taught from and meeting 900 other people who all had a heart for adoption that sparked something inside of us.  It connected us with several key organizations that have sense become a huge part of our story (noonday collection, Visiting Orphans).

But after that, we started researching agencies.  Every country has it's own requirements, and we quickly learned that out of all the African countries, we met the qualifications of Ethiopia.

If you are unfamiliar, these qualifications include things such as: your age, how long you've been married, how many kids you have at home, etc.  Ethiopia requirements are you have to be 25 years old & married for 1 (or is it 2?) years.

in the resources section, rainbow kids is a great place to get a good look at all countries agencies.  So if you are not sure where you want to adopt from, or what countries you qualify for - that is a good place to start.

so...that's really all for today.  just a quick glimpse into how our story started & some resources to hopefully help answer some of your questions.

Once I get my blog all re-organized + designed I hope to make it easier for you to find older posts that might be able to help you.  but until then....hope this helped!

feel free to ask questions & if I know the answer I'd be glad to help! 

ps - right now actually I'm at an amazing adoptive mommas retreat called Created for Care. so, you should look it up & look into it for march or next year!

*have a good weekend friends, I'm signing off through the weekend to be present at the retreat!  I'll answer all questions/comments next week when I get home!