Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Baby 2...here we come!

Wow!  It's been over a year and we are still on cloud 9 with our little one!  So much so that Billy and I desperately want to find her a sibling!  We're working on paperwork and raising money!  We know from the last one that God's got this.  I've heard rumors that the second adoption is easier.  I believe this is only true because of faith in God.  We look back on our last adoption road and what we considered road blocks, were just speed bumps to slow us down.  Little See is perfect for us and we are perfect for her.  If we had grabbed the reins and taken over, we may have missed her.


So where are we in the process?  The VVVEEEERRRRYYYY beginning.  Paperwork 101 and fundraising!  Keep us in your prayers!  Don't know what to pray for?  Here are some ideas: birth parents who don't even know that this is in the works for them, financial means to adopt, peace of mind for LittleSee as she goes on this journey with us, and a good relationship for us w/ the birth family.   If you've kept up with us then you know the last one is very important to us.  We have such an easy relationship with See's birth mom and fell in love with her and her family from the get go!  We pray for our next little one, the same with his/her birth family.

We have two fundraisers going on right now - tupperware and coffee!!  You have until the 24th of October to order tupperware!  Click here!  Great deals and we get 40% of sales!  That's amazing!

Since adopting LittleSee, I have fallen in LOVE with coffee!  She has even asked for some - the answer is no way kid!  :)  She has tons of energy and I drink it to keep up!  HA!  If you're a coffee lover, you're going to love Just Love Coffee.  It's so yummy and rich!

If you have any questions, you know how to find me!  Thank you so much and we love every one of you!



Tuesday, February 12, 2013

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Friday, January 25, 2013

God is So Good!

The song Your Love is Amazing continuously runs through my head these days.  God has blessed us tremendously with the funds to adopt  (without debt) and with the SWEETEST baby in the ENTIRE world!  I am a little biased but I know that it’s true.

God gave us a sweet little girl on December 19th.  He allowed us to be a part of her birth story and spend time with her birthmother.  It was a time that my husband and I will never forget and will be eternally grateful that we were able to experience it.  She came home to her FOREVER home on December 21st.  Thank you to EVERYONE who has prayed for us and/or contributed to our family.  You have made a huge impact on our sweet baby’s life and we will always consider you as a part of our family.  We love you!

 

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We are so in love with her!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Adoption Pregnancy and Openness

While we've been going through our pregnancy story of the endless mounds of paperwork, our little one has been busy growing!  Thankfully the mother who chose us has decided she'd like a semi-open relationship with us.  We've shared emails and asked and answered a lot of questions.  We've also been fortunate enough to have been given ultra sound pictures.  Little SEE loves to smile for the camera.
Our birth-mom also invited us to the last Dr.'s appointment.  She introduced us to the Dr. as the adoptive parents and asked the nurse to let us hear the heart beat a little bit longer than normal.  It was AMAZING!  I cried and Billy got nervous!  That's a real little person in there!  We were able to ask the Dr. questions and  find out more information about the hospital where she is planning on giving birth.  We were also invited to be at the hospital, as well as our families!
When we first began this journey, we selfishly prayed for a closed adoption.  It's always amazing to me to see God's hands in our lives.  If we had received what we had prayed for - we would have missed out on this beautiful journey of our baby's life and getting to know her birth-mom's story.  
We continue to pray that if this is our baby, then God will lead us through this journey.  We are overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and prayers!  Thank you!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Reaching Hands Adoption Celebration & Auction Benefit!


If you live in the Augusta/CSRA - you don't want to miss this!



6:00 PM | Simmons Hall
Tickets: $10 available in the Warren church office or at the door


Reaching Hands, Warren's adoption ministry, will host its 5th Annual Benefit Auction. All funds raised at this benefit will be used to provide financial assistance to families in the CSRA who are adopting. Auction items typically include golf carts, jewelry, hunting equipment, furniture, vacations and thousands of dollars in gift certificates. 

If you would like to donate items for the auction, please contact 
Billy Cristofanelli | 770.314.1793 | william_cristofanelli@merck.com
David Bullington | bullingtond@gmail.com | 706.399.1330
Missions Office | Teresa Pritchett | 706.922.7038

We've applied for a grant at Warren Baptist and can't wait to be a part of this event.  Billy & I are volunteering so if you decide to go, look for us!

Love,
Marcie

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Have you ever heard that babies are expensive?

You have to buy travel systems, cribs, changing tables, clothes, and bedding.  Not to mention, you have to buy diapers and food!  A baby will definitely change your budget.  Thankfully when a traditional family has a baby, insurance covers most of the medical bills (HOPEFULLY!).  When someone adopts, the medical bills are not traditional medical bills...they have counseling fees, lawyer fees, and misc paperwork fees.  After 3 1/2 years of praying for a baby, we will gladly pay these bills.

Several people have asked us about the cost of adopting.  This seems to be our number one question.  It varies greatly depending upon how you adopt.  We chose a private adoption agency based out of Atlanta.  Their costs range anywhere from $12,000 - $20,000.  Our magic number was $16,000.  This does not include lawyer costs or birth mother support.  

Through the help and support of family and friends, we were able to easily raise $4000 with yard sales to pay for the home study fees.  We are now in the process of raising the remaining $12,000 that will be due right around Christmas.  We are off to a great start.  We already have $3500 raised and saved! 

If you feel led to help us, please use one of the links to the right.  Thankfully, we have several great fundraisers going on at the moment.  If you have any other great fundraising ideas, please leave a comment below.  We could definitely use them!  Thank you for reading and we appreciate your support!




Monday, October 22, 2012

Our Story...



I'm Marcie and this is a blog dedicated to the building of our family.  Our story began when my hubs, Billy, and I married in 2008.  We knew my biological clocks was ticking and I had a feeling that once we started trying to have a family, that it would be difficult.  I think God gives us feelings and intuitions to prepare us for what is ahead.  Being a teacher and seeing how some families live, I've always had a heart for adoption.  I talked to Billy about it and he said let's wait and see what happens.

Not even a year after we were married, we were headed to an adoption information meeting.  We explored fertility options and found that God was not leading us in that direction.  We completed our home study and we were approved in 2009.  We just knew it would be ANY day that we would receive a call.  We decorated a neutral baby room and had everything ready...JUST IN CASE!

Well, a move to a new house and three years later, we FINALLY received a call!  Talk about a glorious, exciting, and nerve wrecking day!  I don't know how I could feel all of those emotions.  A birth mom had looked through a TREMENDOUS stack of profiles and somehow God led her to ours!  A baby girl!!  She asked to meet with us and we readily agreed.  We were bundles of nerves on the way to meet her.  What if she didn't like us in person?  What if we offend her?  What if, what if, what if??!!  We expressed our concerns to our adoption specialist and she reassured us that our feelings were normal.  That helped, but not much...

We took a moment to pray and peace settled over us.  We met with her and instantly fell in love with her!  She felt the same way.  We talked for two hours as if we were family.  We answered her questions, she answered ours.  We now email regularly and are planning another meeting. She keeps us up to date on Dr. visits and baby girl (S.E.E.) is doing well.

We are constantly praying that if this child is ours, everything works out perfectly.  We are trusting God to help us raise the money we need and to hold our hands throughout this journey.  It's been a long hard road with a lot of tears, laughter, and support.