Networking... Help?

So we have been a part of the pool of waiting families at our agency for a good 16 months now... not that we're counting or anything. I talked to our counselor last week, and she suggested we find more ways to network. So right now I'm doing my research and finding it incredibly overwhelming trying to figure out the best websites to post on and to come up with other ideas. So far we have made a youtube slideshow (which I am in the process of updating), have our Cradle short profile online on their website, told every friend and acquaintance about our hopes to adopt, made a facebook page, and most recently my parents have gotten some help from their pastor (and we plan to talk to ours soon as well).

So here is where I need help. Does anyone know of some successful networking plans for adoptive families? Have you heard of any reputable websites to post profiles that aren't insanely expensive? Any suggestions would be amazing!

To start to take that next step I have created an adoption email so that no personal information is exchanged immediately (to protect ourselves a bit here). We will use this email if and when we choose to advertise more online: danandlisaadopt@gmail.com

Any suggestions would be amazing! You can comment here or send an email to the adoption email account.

Prayers are always amazing too! Thanks for your support!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year a week late! Here is to hoping for a year filled with blessings, growth in faith, and fun. Last year I was saying 2012 would be the year we'd become parents. Here is to hoping for a baby in 2013! And if that is not the case, I can only ask for peace and patience.

We rang in the new year with some of our most wonderful friends. Here are some pictures from our Dance Central dance party. Enjoy :)

Hope

We got another call from the Cradle a little over a week ago with a request for our profile. I was finally content with the idea of not having a baby by Christmas, or really this year for that matter. And then the phone goes off. Of course, I immediately jump to planning as if this child is already mine (not even close) and could hardly contain my excitement. Fortunately, we were told we'd most likely find out if we were chosen by Christmas Eve. Perfect! We'd have our Christmas miracle! Well, you see, unfortunately this little one just wasn't ours. We got the call early Christmas Eve morning with those dreaded words, "I wish I had better news..."  That never ends well. We've heard that phrase a few too many times this year. I'm pretty sure those counselors have a script they read from with a choice of phrases to use to let us down easy.

I have mixed feelings about this particular situation. Part of me is incredibly frustrated. You can't help but wonder "What's wrong with us?", especially when our profile has been passed on twice in the past 4 months. At the same time, I try to think on the positive end of things. Our profile has been presented twice in the past 4 months AND on the very first time our profile was presented last spring, we were chosen! So these let downs, though frustrating, also bring a bit of hope. These requests for our profile also seem to give me that extra push to pray like crazy. I can't remember the last time I prayed so hard in the course of just a couple days. My prayer life was pretty pathetic there for a while. Funny how God knows how to give me that jump start. Present hope for a baby, and my knees hit the floor! Now the key is to keep it up.... I'm already guilty of falling back into my unmotivated ways.

In related news, our close friends that we met through the Cradle welcomed home their son this week! It's so exciting to see an adoption work out. Talk about hope! We get to meet him next week, and I can't wait!  I just hope we are welcoming home our little one soon. Pray for us!

I have to put in the shameless plug to pass on our information. Please contact us if you know someone with an unplanned pregnancy who is considering adoption. Our agency does not have to find a match for us. We can find someone ourselves as well. More information on us can be found in the following places:

Cradle website: Our Online Profile
Our Facebook page (go to the page and "like" it please): Dan and Lisa Adoption Page
YouTube video: Dan and Lisa Video

Family Prayer

One of those daydreams that I have when I think of us with our kids is how we are going to help to form their faith. Teaching religious education this year has solidified my views on the importance of faith formation beginning at home. If we aren't showing our kids how to pray or being examples of how to participate at mass, how are our kids going to learn these things? Yes, school (if a Catholic school) or religious education can help to reinforce what we have already taught, but it is truly up to us to begin and continue to be a driving force in that process. I was blessed to grow up in a family who prayed before meals each night and spent every Sunday morning at mass. I knelt next to my bed each night to say my prayers, and I always loved setting up our nativity scene for Christmas. I have my parents to thank for leading me in the right direction to growing closer to God. And they continue to be that great example for me by praying for Dan and me and our (hopefully) growing family, through their selfless actions for those they love, and by playing active roles in their parish for years.

Before Dan and I got married, I remember being reminded that an important part of being married is that you are working to get one another to Heaven. Now I truly have a greater understanding of that. I am seeing God's work in action through the conversations we have and the desire to learn together. Dan pushes me to be a better person and to strive to have a better prayer life. I have realized that I still have so much to learn and I have this genius living in the same house as me. Wanna learn more about our faith? Pick my husband's brain. He is so incredibly knowledgeable and just loves sharing that knowledge! He makes me a better person by being an example day in and day out of living the faith. Our kids are going to be so lucky to have such a strong faithful man to guide them.

I realize now, more than ever, the importance of our kids' faith formation starting at home. It begins day one. Kids are born to absorb information like a sponge. And we are the ones they will be looking to most. I have also realized that I need to start practicing this better prayer life now. I'm guilty of letting my day pass by without any true quiet time to really pray. I was good for a while, praying the chaplet, but I haven't even been great about that lately. I have found myself getting jaded with the adoption process.  Unfortunately, in turn, that has been part of the reason that I let my prayer life go a little bit. It can be hard praying for the same thing day in and day out and not feeling like you've received a direct answer besides "not right now". While talking with Dan yesterday, I was reminded of how incredible our faith and our God is. I have so much to learn AND so much to be thankful for. God deserves more of my day than the two minutes I spend begging for a child. He deserves a thank you and some prayers of praise and also penance. 

So yesterday, Dan sent me a link to a blog on how to start a family prayer altar in your home.  We actually have the perfect place to do it on a small table in our front room. Right now, it has our beautiful nativity scene. I think we are going to give this prayer altar a try. Hopefully it will lead to many more discussions and nights of family prayer. While looking at the site he sent, I came across this blog post on praying a family rosary and loved it! I thought I'd add the link here: Tips for Praying a Family Rosary (I particularly like tip #8).  

It's funny. I hate this whole waiting thing when it comes to having a child of our own, but I have seen God move mountains in my life. Little by little, he is molding me into a better mother each day. So despite my frustrations, I can see how He is working constantly preparing this loving home for our children.

Waiting for Something Special

I spend a lot of time in the car driving to and from work each day, which leaves a lot of time to listen to the radio. I feel like I am constantly hearing the same songs over and over again, but there is one that has yet to get old for me, I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons. I absolutely love this song! I'm not sure of the meaning behind the lyrics, but to me the song is a pick me up and has a bit of a spiritual aspect to it. I love singing along. I feel like it's my little prayer, telling my little one that I'm waiting and telling God that I will wait to see His beautiful plan for my life. I know he has a great plan in store for us. Can't wait until then :) Here's a video of the song!

Blessed

I have had myself so focused on the adoption and the fact that we don't have a baby yet, that I haven't been as grateful for the good I already have in my life. I have found that it's so easy to look past all the things that I do have and yearn for those I don't. Today I was reminded of all the blessings in my life and all the answered prayers I have already received. I was off today, so I decided to take the opportunity to pray the Divine Chaplet at 3:00 with the Relevant Radio broadcast. I always get so focused on my own prayers that I thought praying for other people's intentions in addition to my own would be a good change. Many of the callers today were praying for their relationships, for those that have ended in divorce or those headed that way. Others were praying for a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to financial hardship and unemployment. That was most certainly a moment when I had a bit of a wake up call. I was reminded then of the many blessings I already have in my life. I have a loving family who I love spending time with (especially game nights) and I know will always be there for me and bring me happiness. I have a strong group of friends who listen to me, make me laugh, and bring joy into my life. I have a job that I love and that is flexible enough for me to be home more once a little one joins our family. I have a home in a neighborhood I love and that I look forward to filling with children one day.

And of course, I didn't forget my greatest blessing and answered prayer... 

I prayed for years to meet someone. Then one summer, I went on a retreat and spotted this guy...

Turns out he was a pretty good catch...

And has made me happy since the day we met...

And so we started our family.

I am blessed to have found my husband so early in life. I am married to a man with incredible faith, who lives his calling to bring me (and himself) closer to God. He makes sacrifices for me constantly and smiles despite many moments when I guarantee I test his patience. He makes me laugh every day, whether it's from him dancing around the room or telling cheesy and "punny" jokes. He calms me down when I make the world way more complicated than it really is. He is one in a million- blessing me with a marriage filled with this incredible unconditional love. So when I'm crying out to God asking for a baby to join our family, I need to start reminding myself I already have a pretty awesome family. I am blessed :)

Love Has No Boundaries

I found this quote on Pinterest today and immediately loved it because it is so true. It's amazing how much love you can have for this little person that has yet to make an appearance.  Whoever God places in our arms will have never made me nauseous, kicked in my belly, or given me labor pains (I have a feeling I'll be somewhat grateful for missing out on a couple of those). Yet, our love for that little one will be just as strong as if we had experienced all those things. I have realized a mother's love is immediate. And I'm not talking about the moment you hold that baby. I mean that my love for our children began the day that we started our family... the day that we got married. Our vows meant more than just placing a ring on our fingers and becoming a Mr. and Mrs. It meant that we were starting a life together (a wonderful one, I must say!). I still remember how much I loved the blessings we received during that mass, especially the ones that talked about being blessed with children. I can still remember the joy and excitement I had at that moment, not only because I was starting my life with the love of my life, but also because it was at that moment that my love for our children began to grow. And since then, that love has multiplied time and time again. I see it each time I make a mental note of "I need to do that with our kids someday!" and each time I pass by our nursery (and say to myself "soon"). I feel it each time I pray, asking God to bless us with a child (maybe begging would be the more accurate description). And my favorite, I see it when I look at Dan and imagine how incredible he will be as a father and how much our kids are going to absolutely adore him. So I guess one advantage to this wait is that the love just keeps on growing, both for this child but also for one another. This baby is going to be surrounded by so much love, it's insane. We love you little one! I can't wait until the day we find each other!