We've got some pretty great news!

We are so excited to officially announce that our family will soon be growing!! (WE GOT PLACED!)

I’m going to be updating the site as we go to reflect where we are on the whole “we’re getting twins” thing, but leaving things in place until I get it all done. And maybe just in place as a record of everything. But thanks for being here!

Since Keith and I first started talking about having a family, we have both known that our hearts were longing to adopt locally. About two years ago Keith and I went on a beach weekend with the sole purpose of praying for our future child and reaching out to different adoption agencies to try and figure out our next steps. We ended up connecting with Bethany Christian Services and have been walking with them in preparation for the past year and a half. We have spent countless hours filling our stacks of paperwork, saving up money, praying for our future little one, and going through training to help us be as prepared as possible for what is to come.

After all this work we are excited to say that our home study was finally approved!!

If you would like to follow along on our adoption journey, feel called to help financially, or are looking for specific ways you can pray for us during this time please look at our website for any and all information! We have some really neat things that we are selling in order to raise some funds and will keep people up to date via this site as our adoption case evolves. Thank you so much for being part of our adoption story!

Adoption Updates

Follow along here for any updates to our adoption journey! We'll try to actually keep this updated!

You’ve got questions, we maybe have some answers.

So what's next?

We are officially in the waiting stage now, anticipating what is to come. We have sent in a profile book that gives birth mothers a look into who we are and the type of home life we hope to promote. Our agency will give our book to birth mothers to look over to help them decide if we are the parents they will trust with their little one’s upbringing.

How can we pray for you?

 We need tons and tons of prayer. Like, take the amount of prayer you are thinking and times that by a billion more prayers!

Adoption is beautiful but it can also be messy. When you have kids biologically there is a pretty hard and fast deadline (for the most part), but with adoption– everything is up in the air. We could get called tomorrow saying a child has been born and is ready for us to take home, or we could get called 2 years from now saying a pregnant mother who is due in 3 months has chosen us. There really is no way to tell when things will happen and certainly no guarantee for the amount of time we will have to prepare once we know we have been matched.

What are some specific ways to pray for you?

  • Patience. We would love to be matched tomorrow but the chances of that are low so for now, we wait. 
  • That God continues to prepare our hearts. Keith and I are so ready to be parents, but we also recognize that our lives will be totally turned upside down when our kid arrives. Late nights, early mornings, possible bonding struggles, all of the craziness that comes with being parents with a few extra challenges. We are continually praying that God is preparing us for the unknown and would deeply appreciate those prayers from you as well.  **cue music for Into the Unknown**
  • Pray that God provides in the financial department. We are applying for as many grants as possible and praying that God is going to provide exactly what we need to cover the costs.

Do you need financial support?

I’m just going to say it. Adoption is crazy-expensive. We have been able to save up over the past few years, but we still have a way to go. If you feel called in any way to help us we will be so grateful. 

We have a matching grant through Lifesong, and a system to donate with them as well. Right now there are two ways to do that:

  • Donate online* through our page here: LINK
  • Send a check payable to “Lifesong for Orphans.”
    • In the memo line please write “Winter 10092”, to ensure it is credited to our account.
    • Please mail to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 9, Gridley, IL 61744

*Just a head’s up – STRIPE charges an online processing fee (2.2% +.30 USD per transaction). Your donations will be decreased by this amount.

When will you get your baby?

This process could take weeks or even years depending on a handful of factors including how many birthmothers are partnered with our agency, and if we are a good match for the children. That is my long way of saying “we have no idea”. For now, we spend our time finishing some classes, reading MANY books, and trusting that God has it all figured out!

Why is adoption so expensive!?

This is a great question! There are so many factors that contribute to the cost of adoption. Between paying social workers, counselors, lawyers, adoption specialists, and doctors, plus the cost of caring for our baby’s birth mother during pre-natal and birth– it adds up fast. All in all, it adds up to around $35,000.

Are you infertile?

I’m just going to go ahead and answer this here. No. We have never attempted to have children biologically, and at this stage of our lives, we aren’t sure if we ever will. Right now, our hearts are 100% in on adoption.

Over The Years

Thanks for your prayers and support!