We're 2 Months In...

Things have been moving so smoothly and quickly with our adoption the past several weeks - but it has left my brain feeling a little mushy and unable to write, or type, everything down! So sorry for the lack of updates, but here's a little recap...

Fundraisers & Donations: I'm talking about this first because it's just beautiful.  More than beautiful, actually! Friends, God is moving in so many hearts and so many of you have chosen to come alongside us and support us on this journey. I'm overwhelmed.  I'm speechless.  I'm in awe of all of this love...some of it from complete strangers! I can't wait to see these awesome t-shirts on everyone as soon as we get them passed out.  Would you do us a favor...please post a picture of you and your family to my facebook page or email it to me at jmalcoleman at gmail dot com...we'd love to see it!!  We still have a ways to go, but oh my goodness - I just can't help but be reminded of this verse..."Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20  God is so very good, my friends...He loves, He calls, He provides....

Paperwork: Yeah, we're still working on it :) But it's moving along!!

We passed!! The FBI has officially declared that we are not on their Ten Most Wanted List...or any list for that matter...and we can adopt a child.  Yay! We also received Louisiana state clearance stating that we're not criminals...so, yay, again! And the State of Tennessee has declared that we were never child abusers, so we passed that clearance, too! Still have to do Louisiana's, but that shouldn't take too long. Seriously, though, it's so awesome because our FBI clearances came back in less than a month...they told us to expect it to take at least 8 - 9 weeks!  Like I said, God is so very, very good...

Psychological Evals: We had our psyc evals a few weeks ago.  This is mainly why my brain is so mushy.  We both had to talk to the psychologist for an hour and then take one of those thousand-question tests.  No, there weren't really 1,000 questions...there were only 567.  Then there were two shorter "quizzes" with brain teasers on them, one of which made me feel like an idiot. Ha!! We will go back in a couple of weeks and she will go over the results with us and show us just what she will send in for our home study.

Timeline: I've had several people ask me lately what kind of timeline we are looking at.  Our social worker said we are on track to have our dossier submitted in late August/early September.  At that point, our dossier will be sent to Colombia where it will be translated, we will most likely be asked for more information on something somewhere in the stack of papers, we'll provide the information, then we'll be approved...probably between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Bring on the holidays!!! Once we're approved, we wait.  For how long...we have no idea.  The average timeframe from adoption application submission to our agency (which we did in January) to stepping off the plane with our little boy (which we can't wait to do) is 18-24 months.  But that can change.  That's the thing with adoption...everything is "on average".  But, really, it's all in God's perfect timing and we really have no idea.

Home Study: Our home study social worker will arrive at our house on Thursday and we will spend the next 3 days with her.  She will interview us together, separately, observe our kids (maybe talk to AB), do a home inspection, and do a little bit of adoption education with us.  Then she'll leave and go write everything up over the next couple of weeks.  We are hoping to be home study approved by late May.  Whoa...just realized that's only 6 weeks away!!  In all seriousness, please, please pray for us for these next few days.  It's already been a tough week.  Pray that we would be fully focused for the next few days, that we would not grow weary, and that we would not be anxious about anything.

That really about sums it up for now. We have a couple of more fundraisers coming up in the next few weeks, one of them being our awesome cookbook my mom's put together with the OVER 400 recipes y'all have submitted! I can't wait to eat cook my way through it!!  Please continue to pray...for our son, his birthmother, our social workers, and our family as we continue on this journey.

1 Choice, 2 Families

  I'll go ahead and tell you that this post will not do justice to the amazing work that God has done.  Sometimes the things that God does really can't be described in all of it's beauty.  But here's my humble attempt at sharing something amazing...
  Over 50 years ago, there was a woman.  I do not know her.  I only recently learned her name.  I don't know what color hair she had, if it was curly or straight, if she liked to read or swim or sing.  I don't know her circumstances or situation.  I just know she had a choice to make.  And the choice that she made was life for her son.  She chose to give him life when she might not have had to...like I said, I'm not sure of the circumstances.  In choosing to give him life, she also chose to place him for adoption.  She was so very brave - even though I don't know her, I know she's brave because she chose life for him and chose to place him for adoption.  She made one choice...one very hard choice that I cannot imagine making.
   Yet, I'm thankful that she did. When she made that choice, she probably thought it ended there.  But it didn't.  Little did she know that by making that one choice, she was giving life and family to two little boys.  The one she carried in her belly and one who was over 50 years away from even being conceived.  A little boy who one day will call me "Mommy".
   When she made this one choice, she put a love for adoption in that baby boy's life that continued to grow and spread through the family he has now.  The choice put a desire in his heart to help other adoptive families in their journey.  That choice led that baby boy - now a husband, father, and grandfather - to establish an adoption fund in memory of his birth mother, to help provide financial assistance to adoptive families.  And that choice she made so many years ago, that gave life to that baby boy, also helped to give life and family to our son, through this adoption fund.  Her one choice came full circle.
   This woman had no idea how much life and love would be given because of that one choice she made so many years ago.  She had no idea that she was giving life to 2 baby boys.  She just made the choice, the decision, and love grew and continued to grow.
   My prayer is that as Jacob and I have chosen to be obedient to God and follow His will and His plan for us to adopt a precious little boy, that God will use that and plant a love and desire for adoption in each of our children, in the hearts of family and friends, that will grow and grow and that someday, they can choose to give life to a little boy or girl, who wouldn't have one without them.

Final Count

Y'all...I'm blown away.  We're are so amazed - and EXCITED - at how many t-shirts will be worn in honor of bringing our son home!!  We even have t-shirts going to Mexico...and then on to Colombia!!!!  How cool is that?!?! (sure wish I was going with those t-shirts!)

So, why are we blown away? Because the total number of t-shirts that our friends and family...and strangers!...ordered is

Picture Source

Over 100 t-shirts for our son!!  Thank you so very, very much to all of you who pre-ordered one.  We did order a few extras, so if you missed out on the pre-order, it's not too late!  Can't wait to see all of these blue t-shirts out and about!

One More Home, One T-Shirt At A Time

We are so excited about this t-shirt!!!

This is our first big fundraiser for our adoption and we are very excited about it.  It's a great way you can be a part of our adoption and help bring our son home! 

I shared the "One More Home" phrase in a previous post, but here it is again...

" "One More Home" is kind of our theme/mission/etc...There are millions upon millions of orphans around the world.  I'd like to believe that I could be a mother to them all, but I can't.  But I can be a mother to the one that God has chosen for us.  I can bring him home.  And you can, too.  And when he comes home, there will be one more child home with his forever family.  One more home to be tucked into bed by his very own mommy and daddy.  One more home to receive the love and nurturing that he so desperately needs.  One more home to hear about the unconditional and sacrificial love that Jesus has for him."

The center of the "O" in one is an outline of Colombia - the country from where we are adopting our little boy.  And we chose blue for our t-shirts because...well, blue for boys, right?  

We'll be taking pre-orders until Friday, March 14.  We'll also order extras, but pre-ordering is a way to guarantee we have your size available just for you!

The cost is $20 per t-shirt and every single penny of the profits goes directly into our adoption fund.  If you missed my post on the breakdown of our adoption expenses, you can find it here. 

The t-shirts are pre-shrunk and true to size.   

Available sizes include Youth S - XL and Adult S - XXL 

Here's how to order:

1. Click on our "Donate" button at the top and enter your size - and your address if it needs to be mailed - in the "comments" section. 

2. Leave me a comment on this post with your size and a way to contact you about payment and where to mail it, if needed.

3. Leave me a comment on my Facebook post and I'll message you to get payment and mailing info.

4. E-mail me at jmalcoleman@gmail.com with your size and I'll reply to get your payment and mailing info.

5. You can also let me know if you see me at church, work, or around town!

T-Shirts will be available around Easter.  You can either go ahead and pay with your order or wait and pay when they come in - whichever is easier for you!

Our family cannot thank you enough for the overwhelming amount of love we've already been shown.  We will never be able to fully express the joy that we have in seeing so many people come behind and help us along on this journey.  And please feel free to share this post via your Facebook or Twitter account to help us spread the word.  Thank you so much for!

Putting Together the Pieces

Our family has been absolutely amazed at the outpouring of love, encouragement, and support that we have already received so early in this journey.  It truly has been amazing.  And we truly have seen God in action in big ways.  I've always wanted to honor each and every person who plays a role in our son's adoption, but I've never figured out a way to do it in a way that truly exemplifies how grateful we are for you.

I also want our son to be able to look back one day and see just how many people loved him before they even knew him.  And see just how many people prayed for him and worked to help bring him home.  I remember sitting in mine and Jacob's new home after we got married, looking at our floor that was completely covered in wedding gifts.  And I remember thinking, "Wow, I had no idea this many people loved us!"  And after the baby showers of each of our children, looking at the stacks of diapers, piles of teeny-tiny baby clothes, and the stash of toys ready to be played with and thinking, "Wow, so many people already love our child! And us!"

I'd seen a few ideas on Pinterest involving a globe and having everyone involved in the adoption - like social workers, nearby friends and family - sign the globe between the location of the parents and the location/home country of the child to be adopted.  I loved that idea, but it wouldn't get everyone on there who was far away.  And I just knew we'd need a ginormous globe and we're a little limited on space!

Then I saw a couple of adoptive families doing this neat puzzle fundraiser, where you could buy a different piece of the puzzle and have your name written on it and then the puzzle was framed for the child.  That's was pretty, cool, too, I thought.  But then, I asked myself, "What about those people who encourage us with words of Scripture and who commit to praying us through this journey?"  I want those people honored, too.

So, here's what I've come up with...

"One More Home" is kind of our theme/mission/etc...There are millions upon millions of orphans around the world.  I'd like to believe that I could be a mother to them all, but I can't.  But I can be a mother to the one that God has chosen for us.  I can bring him home.  And you can, too.  And when he comes home, there will be one more child home with his forever family.  One more home to be tucked into bed by his very own mommy and daddy.  One more home to receive the love and nurturing that he so desperately needs.  One more home to hear about the unconditional and sacrificial love that Jesus has for him.

I designed this little picture and my sister, Maley (who's a graphic designer), put it together for us.  We're going to have it made into a puzzle and each and every person who plays a role in our adoption will have their name put on it.  And by "plays a role", I mean if you share a verse or word of encouragement with us, commit to praying for us through this journey, give us a hug on the hard days, participate in any of our fundraisers, make a donation of any amount...your name is permanently going on his puzzle for him to see just how many people love him and helped to bring him home.  When it's all put together, we'll secure it and frame and it will forever be in our home, a part of our family...because you will forever be a part of the story of our family.  Thank you for helping us bring one more home.

Adoption Orientation...check!

  I think my brain is still tired and still trying to process everything from our orientation we had with our social worker this past Thursday.  It's one of the beginning steps to this adoption process, I can place a checkmark beside, and mark it as one step closer to having our son home!!  I think this post will help me to finish processing everything, as well as (hopefully) give you a little heads up on the first stages of adoption!

  When our application was first accepted, we were emailed a 116 page (single-sided, PTL!!) manual full of Colombia information, the process, forms we would need, payment sheets, questionnaires, adoption education requirements...you name it, it's in there.  The page that I went to first was the "Adoption Process" page.  I had a pretty good idea about the order of events, but I wanted to read through it again.

  So, back to this orientation.  This was officially our "first step" in our homestudy process.  Yes, there are "processes" within the "process" of adoption.  Anyway, there are 5 steps to our homestudy, which is the phase (oh, I like that word better!) we are in right now.  For the next few weeks, we'll gather up all of our important documents - marriage license, birth certificates, passports, social security cards, monthly bills/statements, bank records, tax returns, insurance cards, etc - and make copies for our homestudy social worker (she's different from our adoption social worker because we are not in the same state as our agency).  I'll write more about the home study in another post.

  The orientation...basically, our adoption social worker wanted to know what our motivations for adoption were and how we chose the country of Colombia.  I pretty much just summed up these  posts .  I wasn't really sure if she was looking for that in depth of answer, but that's what I gave her! We also talked about AB, Lynns, and Creek - how much had we told them about our adoption, what were their feelings on it, how well did they seem to understand, etc.  Our kids really do have a good grasp on what's going on, for their age, I think.  The whole timing thing is a little confusing to them...when I told them we were talking with the "lady who's going to help bring our baby boy home", they thought we were fixing to all hop in the car, go for a drive, and go get him.  If only it were that simple, girls...

   She also wanted to know what kind of support we were getting from our parents, extended family, church, and friends.  It made my heart very happy to tell her how much love, encouragement, and support we've been giving by everyone - but especially by our family members.  We know that our families already love this little guy and can't wait for him to be home, too.  Family support is huge in this whole thing and we are truly blessed to have it from everyone.

  Let's see....oh, she asked how we responded to or were impacted by negative responses from people.  We really haven't gotten any negative responses, so far - for which I am very thankful.  The tiny bit we have gotten...well, it was a tiny bit and really didn't impact us at all.  And we've just told them that we're following God's direction.  She did laugh at Jacob's answer, though.  He said, "When people look at me like I'm crazy and ask why, I ask them why not." She loved it.  So do I!

   She walked us through, bit by bit, the entire process...allowing us to ask questions along the way to clarify or just because we were curious.  The biggest question I had was the wait time and it's kind of hard to judge.

 Basically, it's going to take us about 6 - 9 months to complete all of the paperwork and be approved by both the American and Colombian governments to adopt.  We don't have a "wait list" like many other countries do.  As children are made available for adoption, the files of potential adoptive parents are researched to see who would be the absolute best match for that child - considering all of the needs and situation of the child and compared to the parameters set by the adoptive parents.  So, we could be matched within a couple of months of approval or it could take several months to be matched with a child.  I'll write more about it all later, though.

   Most of the orientation was completed with Jacob and I together, but the last little bit was completed separately.  She asked us about our marriage, our driving record, any past abuse issues...stuff like that.

   Before we hung up, I told her I'd been taking notes and made a "To Do" list...mom, you would be so proud.  So, here's our "to-do" list for now...
    1. Finish gathering documents for our home study social worker
    2. Schedule and complete our psychological evaluations
    3. Get state and FBI fingerprints
    4. Continue with our adoption education and complete by the end of the home study

Insta-Friday...x 2??

  I totally forgot to do my Insta Friday post last week, so you get a double dose of cuteness today!! I hope you enjoy it.  Happy Friday, y'all!!

I. Heart. This. Kid. Totally. And. Completely.

Check out my Jamberry Nails tab at the top to get the scoop on these fun nails

and how you can have them, too!  All proceeds benefit our adoption and help

bring our son home!!

Melt my heart...

I made this.  Did you hear that? I MADE THIS!!

And it FIT!

I made AB's, too!!

Hers took a little bit of adjusting after she tried it on.

Actually, I had to take it apart and resew it 4 times. 

I'm learning, people, I'm learning!

He makes enjoying my morning coffee difficult sometimes,

but it's totally worth it...

Valentine's Sundae!

She was in sweet tooth heaven...

I so wish I could've caught his eyes when this

ginormous brownie was first placed in

front of him!

Hope you had a great week!!