We are moving on . . .

David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished." 1 Chronicles 28:20

We got our email today about the next steps to take! SCARY!! Bobby called me on his way home and mentioned that we got an email, I told him that I saw it, and we both made a comment about how scary exciting it is to take this step (truthfully each step). This step is the step we have been waiting on since May once we knew the FBCH had accepted our application. For the last five months we've been able to sort of live in this fantasy world where we knew there would be a baby someday. Because of how slow things were moving, it didn't seem like it would be anytime soon. Our fantasy world sort of deflated a bit more to the reality of wow this is really happening.

So, the next step is to begin the online version of the MAPP classes next month. Apparently, it's 3 different courses totaling about 6 hours in work. We don't know how long it will actually take for us to complete this step either. It may take one weekend or one month. Once we have the courses completed, we send in our certificate and they will be more able to give us a specific time line. HOLY COW!!! A POTENTIAL TIMELINE-DATE!!! Our fantasy world just became a little more real. So the verse at the beginning is to remind us that as terrified scared worried shocked happy as we are to be taking the next steps, this is still God's work and plan for us. He will not fail us even if we are fearful.

Now, you are probably wondering "What have those Fernbaughs been doing the last five months?" Well, we had to halt a bit on the nursery. I ended up transferring schools this year. So years of teaching resources were moved back to the house, and there just happened to be one completely empty room. How convenient? Now that all of my stuff has either been moved to my new school (I'm teach kindergarten), stored away, sold, or thrown out, we have actually begun painting and cleaning up the bedrooms upstairs. Hopefully by January/February we will have the nursery painted and possibly a crib in place.

Thank you to everyone that has continued to pray for us this year.

The Latest . . .

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I know it's been a while, but we haven't had anything new to share. Today, we really don't have much to share, but I thought it was about time to update everyone.

First, the process is slow. We were under the impression that we might be able to start the MAPP classes this summer, but that doesn't look so right now. The estimate is that once you start MAPP classes the average wait time until placement is the length of a pregnancy (give or take a few months). With those first thoughts, that had us thinking placement would be anytime from next May-July. Right now, we don't plan on this happening. Bobby and I have a feeling it will closer to fall of 2013, and we're are completely content with that. Truthfully, we'd be content if it were spring to 2014. Only God knows when our perfect time will be!

Here are some of the things I do know. Currently, there are seven families licensed and waiting for placement. For some reason we had this notion that it was like twenty to thirty families - seven is nothing! There are also families working on their license right now and farther along in the process. So at most, there maybe fifteen families "ahead of us".

The other concerning factor is there have not been any birth moms until recently. Last week apparently, a birth mom came in, went through all the documentation, gave birth, and placement happened all within a week! WOWZERS!! That's fast! My one request is to please say a prayer for any birth mom right now who is struggling with determining what the best decision is for her and her child. It has to be the most difficult decision to make in the world. I am thankful there are strong selfless mothers out there who do choose adoption.

The next MAPP class will start in the fall. Most likely we would be invited to that one. Currently, the FCBH is working on creating an online MAPP course for adoptive families. We're not sure the route that we will be taking these courses, but it will happen.

Other than that, there has been absolutely no headway on the nursery. None! This fall it will be painted, and a crib will be bought. From there we don't know what else to do. We are working on creating a baby registry as well, so our friends and family can help prepare for our little bundle of joy. If she comes as quickly as the baby last week, or a few of other friends we know, we need to be prepared way ahead of time!

That's it for now! Blessings from Florida!!!

Advisers . . .

Plans fail for lack on counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

Previous to Thursday, Bobby and I talked a bit about making the den a nursery, what we wanted to do, and worked really hard on cleaning it out. Through everything we I have decided that we need to figure out what bedding to purchase before we paint or decide between a white or dark brown crib (that's another debate). This leads to me to today's post.

Sprout Crib Bedding Collection

This is the bedding I absolutely love! However, with a hefty price tag this is not going to happen unless someone wants to purchase this for us . . . anyone . . . anyone . . . Bueller . . .

So the search has continued. It is slightly difficult because whatever bedding we chose needs to work with a boy or a girl, and I am dead set against having any form of animals in my child's bedding - no owls (everyone gasp now), zoos, elephants, arks, Winnie the Poohs, or Mice. So that cuts about 75% of everything out. This had led us to the following three cheap budget friendly affordable options.

1. Sumersault Pop Dot Baby Bedding

2.   Sumersault Geo Brights 10 Piece Crib Set - Multicolor

3. Okie Dokie® Animal Circles Bedding - and yes this one does have animals, but I don't think they are really obvious, and I like that the sheet, skirt, and bumper (which I know won't stay in) are all a different material.

So . . . which one do you like? Is there something that we might not be considering that will annoy us or is missing that we need to consider? Should we start the search all over? Are these options just hideous, and we need to go with the Sprout Collection? Honestly, which one do you like the most? 

An Answer

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 I had this nice long blog update typed this morning. I saved it so I could show Bobby before publishing it, and wouldn't you know it . . . it's gone. Missing. Disapprearred. MIA. This morning I was much more philosophical, so now I can guarantee that what I type will not be any better than what I originally had but here it goes. On Thursday Bobby and I recieved a letter from the FCBH informing us that they had accepted our application! Everything we had been waiting for and starting to prepare for over the last two months was answered. We don't have any additional information. Bobby and I have held on to this for the last few days. We wanted to tell a few people before we announced it to the world. Our neighbor, who is currently adopting her second daughter through them informed us earlier in the week that the next MAPP class should begin in August. That is the next major hurdle that we have to do through the agency. From there, the average wait is that of a pregnancy. All of this is subject to change, but if it goes the way our neighbor Martye explained we could have a baby in our arms the beginning of summer next year! Slightly frightening! Do they know we have no clue about little ones? Does everyone realize we will be asking you a bazillion questions? We ask that you continue to pray for our child, his or her birthmother, and a healthy pregnancy. So many things could happen in the beginning and hopefully the birthmother will be aware and take care of herself and the baby. God continues to show us how great He is! Many blessings to everyone!!!

House Preparations

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

We know it has been forever since our last update. There hasn't been much news to share. Three weeks ago the adoption coordinator emailed us with some financial questions. We answered them. The next week she came back and wanted to know about our relationship with God and how we came to our relationship. And finally, our check for the application fee was deposited this week. Other than that, we know nothing.

In the last few weeks we have spent many hours sorting, rearranging, selling a few items on Craigslist, piling up a bunch of things to sell at next week's community yard sale, and trying not to stress about the random piles around the house. It started with moving the computer and office stuff to the dinning room. We had many grand ideas. Ultimately, it ended up being something very simple but perfect for the space.

 

The next big task we took on was the living room. Again, we had many grand plans, but thanks to some Pinterest inspired ideas we built a faux built-in bookcase. We have spent that last two days working on it. This evening, everything has been placed on the shelves. In the near future I may be hosting an intervention for Bobby and his movie collection. He just has too many!!!

I wish I had some before photos to share, but couldn't find any to show just how dramatic these changes our.

All of this means that after the yard sale next weekend, the office upstairs will be completely empty (well except for us demolishing the desk - anyone want to come help?) and ready to be painted and turned into a nursery.

Application Sent

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

On Tuesday we mailed our official application along with every piece of possible documentation they asked for including a photo. Now we wait to hear if the Florida Baptist Children's Home is willing to partner with us. I'm sure this is not going to be the last time we are stuck waiting for answers or time. We have absolutely no clue how long it will take them to review the application and make a decision. Hopefully we'll know something in the next six weeks. I wish there was something more exciting to share then we're waiting . . .

In the mean time we have had many discussions about what we can do now to prepare. Once we are matched with a birth mother, it could be anywhere from 1-3 months before said baby arrives. We don't want to wait until then to start taking care of things we can do now. Plus, it would drive me insane trying to keep my brain organized for what we need to do, which would then drive Bobby insane as well. So, we have decided to start converting the den into a nursery. This means installing a new custom built desk in the small dinning room alcove. We also plan on figuring out some kind of built in bookcase system for the living room. If you know Bobby he is insane crazy particular about his DVDs being in alphabetical order and has a massive collection. We could probably open up a movie rental business for our friends. With as much media and books as we have, we need to come up with some great solution that helps cut down on the number of large ugly bookcases upstairs. Once that is done, we plan on purchasing a crib and start preparing for said baby. It just seems odd to think about preparing for a child when we have no clue when that will happen. How would you explain that to a store clerk? "Yes, I'm buying a crib because we are adopting, but we don't know when it will fall into place." How creepy! Maybe it won't be quite as weird once the application is accepted and we begin the 30 hours of MAPP classes or the home study. Until then it kind of feels like we're playing the grown-up version on house.

Even through all the creepy feelings and the stress of redoing four of the six non-bathroom rooms in our house, we continue to believe that God is good. He will provide us strength when we aren't sure about what to do next or how to feel about something. This is His calling, and He will make sure that everything happens the way it is meant.

Over/Under . . .

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

The most important part of today's post is to let you know who won the over/under bet on how long last night's meeting would last. Bobby had under an hour and a half, and I had over an hour and a half. The winner got to choose where we went for dinner . . . Stay tuned - results will be announced at the end of today's post.

Last night's meeting was good. I can't really say that we learned anything new or had a great AHA moment, but it was really nice to have the first real face-to-face meeting with someone from Florida's Children's Baptist Home. Here's what we did come away with.

Currently the FCBH is not starting any more families through the process until the families currently there are matched up. What that means for us is yes we can still apply and beg and plead pray and hope they are willing to work with us. From there we may be able to take the 10 week MAPP classes required by the state this spring. If not that would be in the summer. We would not be able to start a home study or move beyond that for at least 6 months. From there the process would continue with them showing our profile book to prospective birth moms, being selected, a bunch of legal stuff, an infant "placed" in our home, and then the adoption being finalized anywhere from 6 months to 1 year later. This time line turned out to be even longer than the slow track we thought we were on. However, we're very okay with that. We're just going to trust in the process and take it SL . . . OW . . L . . . . . Y.  It sounds kind of odd to hear them say they are not starting anymore families through the process, but the more I thought about it I'm okay. This means that when they are ready for us (bless their hearts), their case loads won't be quite as busy as if they were trying to work with their current families and continue to add more. Plus, it's not like I can skip to the front of the line before all of the other families who are already waiting anyways.

Also, we walked away with a clear answer. We had been weighing the pros and cons of whether to do a private adoption or through the Foster Care System. Last night we both walked away confident that we wanted to pursue private infant adoption. Farewell, free college tuition to an instate school. Anyone have some pennies they want to share with us so we can start our unborn child's college fund now?

While we are waiting the next long while, we do get to start one fun project for us which is our profile book. This is the book the FCBH will share with birth mothers when they choose a family. There are several options, but we have chosen to create a scrapbook. With my scrapbooking creativity and Bobby's photos, it will be fun to work on it. We may be asking our family and friends for snippets and such for our book so be aware. Bobby is determined for ours to be the absolute best they have ever seen and to have a birth mother choose us. That truly is an amazing thing for someone to say they will choose us to raise their child. If anyone has suggestions about things we need to add to our book please share. Overall, we definitely felt God leading us to the first of many answers, and we are excited to be "walk(ing) in it"

And what you've all been waiting for THE WINNER IS . . . Bobby - Our whole meeting lasted a measly hour. Really? Information that will change our life in an hour? Anyway, dinner was at Buca Di Beppo's. It's been years since we ate their, but we enjoyed an early Valentine's dinner, and will be having leftovers tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

The Week Flew By

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD - Psalms 27:14

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read our first post, say a word of congratulations or encouragement, and even say a prayer. We feel blessed to have so many people support our decision.

After several messages and phone calls we received a hefty well-informed email and an attachment filled with plenty of information. It was overwhelming and scary wonderful to read everything, but then I started worrying. Finally, Bobby told me that I can worry about stuff when we reach that part of the journey but that we weren't there yet. So here are the three things we know at this point

1) We have a lengthy nice application we need to fill out and submit to the Florida Children's Baptist Home. They have a committee who will review it before the FCBH will even agree to partner with us. I mean truthfully, they could look at our application, say no, and then we're back at square one. Bobby isn't too worried about this happening, but they could still say no, and I feel that I need to plan for all possibilities even this . . .

2) On February 13th we have an orientation meeting to go to in Orlando. After that we should have a lot more information to share and most likely a lot more questions as well. We could have gone to the orientation meeting in Lakeland, but it is not scheduled until the end of March. We don't want to be on the fast track to adoption, but we also know it is too easy to put it off and continue to find a reason to put it off. This is a priority, and we have to attend the orientation before we can submit our application. Why wait any longer?

3) The Florida Children's Baptist Home provides several different types of adoption. There are two major types. First, they match birth mothers with adoptive families and help facilitate private adoptions. They also partner with DCF and facilitate adoptions through that system as well. We were leaning one way, and then after talking about it, we are starting to lean the other way. Both types of adoptions have a number of pros and cons. At this point, we are hoping to get more information on the 13th to help make this decision and be able to sit down face to face with someone from FCBH to make this decision more clear.

Until then, we continue to wait and pray.

It Begins . . .

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you" Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Ninevah - Jonah 3:1-3

The journey that Bobby and I are about to begin is our modern-day version of Jonah. For those of you who may not know the whole story of Jonah, God asked him to go to Ninevah to proclaim His message. Instead of doing what was asked of him, Jonah ran in the opposite direction, paid money to get on a ship set to sail across the Mediterranean to what is now present day Spain. The Lord sent a great storm, and the sailors set out to find out who caused the storm. When the sailors realized Jonah was running away from the Lord, they threw him off the boat where he was swallowed by the whale. Ultimately, the whale vomited Jonah on dry land, God again told Jonah to arise and go to Ninevah, Jonah complied, and the city of Ninevah turned from evil and saw the greatest revival of a city in history. The best part of this story is that God held steadfast to His plan for Jonah and continued to tell him until Jonah got the message.

So Bobby and I are not Jonah, and we have not been swallowed by a whale. If you consider a whitewater rafting trip accident as a violent storm, then we're good on that, but we have been trying to hide from God's plan for us. The topic of adoption has been brought up several times the last five years. Each time we'd discuss it for a while, but decide to set the idea aside ultimately trying to ignore it. Eventually the topic continued to come back again and again. Bobby and I heard the word of the Lord, but chose to ignore it just as Jonah. We weren't running away from a city though, we were running away from adoption. The great thing about God is that He does have a plan for our life, and He continued to tell us what that plan was over and over and over again. He did not give up on us or change His plan even when we tried to intervene and take over. He was steadfast that we were to adopt.

This decision is not something that we took lightly. Like I said, the topic of adoption has been rolling around for years. Today we took the first steps by contacting one of the local adoption agencies. The woman who we need to talk to was away from her desk so we left a message (isn't this typical on something so important and life changing). By no means are we experts on adoption, and truthfully I know there is so much more information that we probably need to have. We are excited, scared, nervous, and truly have no clue, but we know that God is calling us for this task. I don't think we are people that can look out and see the whole process. Instead we see things as very small steps. We will continue to pray and hope you will as well for us as we find strength in each step and the waiting, for the birth mother who will be giving a child the most selfless gift through adoption, and for God to continue showing His presence. With this first step, we are obeying the word of the Lord.