Colorado Vacation 2013

Michael and I went on our first vacation together in 2 years without worrying about school work or assignments being due.  It was nice to just relax.  Well...not a lot of relaxing going on during this stressful vacation.  HA!

We traveled to Winter Park, Colorado to snow ski and see the country side.  Snow skiing was stressful for me, to say the least.  Michael loved it!  He has snow skied about 11 or 12 years ago.  Even though it was several years since he had skied, he picked it back up like a pro.  SEE...

This vacation was a surprise Christmas present for Michael.  I have been planning this trip for almost a year in advance.  It was horrible trying to keep it a secret, but well worth it in the end!  It was so much fun seeing his face light up.

Even though this trip was ultimately for Michael it was for me too.  We love to travel and see the country side, but have never been able to because of school and lack of time.  I was very excited to see the Rocky Mountains.  Almost my whole family has seen Colorado, but ME!  So I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.  Crazy, I know!  But Colorado really is something to see.  Just look at those mountains!! 

Michael and I spent the night in Nashville, TN Tuesday night because our flight left around 8:30 AM.  We had to be at the airport early for check in and security checks.  The flight was about 2 hours and 30 minutes.  Then we had the honor of riding a bus through Denver and up the mountain to Winter Park.  The bus ride wasn't that bad, just long.  It took us 2 hours to get to our destination.

Finally after we arrived we couldn't check in until 4 PM.  Ugh!!!  Well that didn't stop us.  We went straight to the hotel to drop off our bags and then to get our reserved ski lift tickets.  Our next stop was to rent our skis.  I was getting excited!  Oh, and did I mention that it was snowing!!  (insert scream)  It was SO pretty!  There was snow everywhere!

After we were completely ready for the next 3 days of skiing, we decided to take it easy in our room until day 2! That is when the FUN begins!

Meeting Our Social Worker for the First Time...

Yesterday Michael and I had our first home study interview.  It turned into a 2 hour long joint interview.  It was only suppose to be an hour or so, but time flies when you are having fun!  I have been nervous about this day because it was the first time we met our social worker/adoption specialist and it was our first interview!  Yikes!  Michael and I spent the night at my parent’s house because it is a little closer to Columbus than Corinth.  If you know anything about me, then you know I am not a morning person. Ha! 

Lately we have felt like we are in fast forward with our lives.  Wednesday I came home and started throwing things in bags for our night away from home and trying to make sure our four legged baby was settled in for the night.  We are thankful Michael’s mom and dad love our BIG fury baby as much as we do and keep him company while we are away.  They even turned a fan on to make him feel like he was at home!  Yes, he is spoiled! 

We left our house and headed to Blue Springs.  Although Michael and I missed church due to packing and traveling; we caught my childhood church services dismissing and stopped for a brief visit with my large family before heading to bed.  We woke up semi-early and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  It was delicious!  After a long car ride we finally made it to Columbus.  We were greeted at Bethany Christian Services by a sweet lady who introduced us to our social worker/adoption specialist.  We were so thrilled to meet her for the first time.  Michael and I have been praying for our social worker for a while.  She is amazing!  Before Michael and I felt the call to adopt we had started the process of foster care, but quickly found out it wasn’t what God was calling us to do.  We went through all the classes and paperwork, but stopped right before the home visit. I said that to say this: We have seen the importance of a good social worker!  We have been blessed with a wonderful social worker and are very excited to be working with her. 

We started off by introducing ourselves and everything else that goes along with meeting new people.  Our worker mixed things up to make it feel more like a conversation rather than an interview.  I liked that much better.  I didn’t feel like I was being interrogated.  It was a very pleasant experience.

Bethany has started a new process of paperwork that we completed which is supposed to be easier than before.  So far the paperwork hasn’t been hard.  We have completed our self study that will be used to guide our individual interviews, physicals including a drug screen and TB skin test, financial statement, copies of our birth certificates, tax form information from last year has been sent (we are waiting to file for this year), copy of marriage license, insurance coverage affidavit, and several criminal background checks.  We were informed that this completes our paperwork process, until placement. YAY!!!  This means we are that much closer to being approved!  Yep, you heard right!  We are very close to waiting on “THE CALL!”  Our social worker told us that if all goes well (and she felt like it would), then we would be approved at the end of March. 

Michael and I still have our individual interviews, which is scheduled for February 14^th at 10 AM.  The interview will be on the same day, but one will wait in the lobby or ride around Columbus while the other is being interviewed and vise versa.  Sounds fun, huh?!  After the interviews are complete, we will set a date and time for our social worker to come to our house for the home visit.  I am nervous about this because I am a little OCD!!  Michael thinks I go overboard cleaning the house when family comes over, so I am sure he is worried about my reaction to a total stranger coming to inspect our house!  He is laid back and I am Mrs. Spastic!  It is okay, we will get through it, I know. 

The last step to our process is an all day mandatory meeting that will be held in March.  After this meeting, we will officially be approved! 

Then we just wait.  We wait on God’s timing!  

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.  Habakkuk 2:3

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;).  Hebrews 10:23

The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.  Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.  Psalm 145:15,16

This is a faith walk with God!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers!  Please help us pray for our adoption journey, for the birthmother as God guides her through this difficult process, for the safety and health of Baby Shook, and for our patience as we wait on God’s perfect timing. 

I would like to send out a very special thank you for everyone that has purchased a t-shirt already.  You are a large part in our adoption journey!  A simple thank you is not enough!  We are overwhelmed with gratitude towards you and your family.  May God bless each and every one of you in a very special way!  As I said before in an earlier post; the t-shirts are not just for raising money, but to join us in prayer.  Every time you wear our shirt or toss them in the washing machine let it be a reminder to pray for our journey!  We love you all so much and if you have any questions about our journey feel free to contact us by phone, facebook, or e-mail.  We will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about our journey. 

The t-shirts are still for sell and we are hoping to place another order next week if all goes as planned!  There is a store in Corinth that has agreed to sell our t-shirts for us which will be announced when we are ready for you to purchase/pick up from that very generous store!  More information on that later… 

I apologize for not posting the amount of the t-shirts in my earlier post.  The long sleeve is 20.00 and short sleeve is 18.00, for those of you who were wondering. 

Michael and Ginger

T-Shirts...Fundraiser #1

As I said in our announcement post, adoption can be extremely expensive.  We are trying to watch our finances so that we are able to care for our baby when he/she arrives.  In order to do that, we are going to try to raise money throughout our wait to cover some of the cost of adoption.  Our next BIG expense will be at the end of our home study which is coming very soon!  The first fundraiser that we have planned is to sell t-shirts.  The t-shirts are not just to help us earn money for the cost, but also to help us bathe Baby Shook and our adoption process in prayer.  We are asking for you to say a quick prayer for our baby every time you wear our shirt or toss it in the washing machine.  It is overwhelming to think of how many prayers Baby Shook will receive through just one t-shirt!  

The talented Catherine Ann Herrington Davis took our scrap paper and made it into a very cute design.  Michael and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and the wonderful design that you helped us with.

Introducing our T-shirts (insert drum roll) HA!

Front left pocket

 

 

Back

 

 

Front left pocket

 

 

Back

 

 

We have two colors: Black and Sports Grey.  The sports grey is more of our man color and the black is more of a girly t-shirt.  (In my opinion)  But the grey and black looks great for either gender.  Both turned out very CUTE! I will be sporting both colors at some point in time. HA!  Thank you to everyone who has already requested one or more of our shirts.  You are a large part of bringing home our baby!  If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself, for a family member, or for a friend, simply contact me or leave a comment.  I will be happy to get you the shirt of your choice.  You may also contact any of our family members and they will lead you to the right place.  I just volunteered our family for that so I hope they don’t mind! HA! 

We believe prayer works!!       

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.  Matthew 21:22

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  Mark 11:24

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.  Jeremiah 33:3

These are God’s Promises!

This is the reason we are asking for prayer support with your purchase of a t-shirt.  Please join us through our journey to bring Baby Shook home.  Send us a picture of you and your family in your t-shirt to show your prayer support for Baby Shook.  Michael and I are working on a baby book and would love to place your photo in the book.  We will tell Baby Shook how much he/she was prayed for before we even knew them.  It will be amazing to show the power of prayer through a baby book of photos to our child with your help.  Thank you in advance!  We can’t wait to finish this book! 

You may send your picture to my e-mail address: ginshook25@aol.com   



Promises

Sometimes it's hard to keep believing
In what you can't see
That everything happens for a reason
Even the worst life brings
If you're reaching for an answer
And you don't know what to pray
Just open up the pages
Let His word be your strength

And hold on to the promises
Hold on to the promises
Jesus is alive so hold tight
Hold on to the promises

All things work for the good
Of those who love God
He holds back nothing that will heal you
Not even His own Son
His love is everlasting
His faithfulness unending
Oh, if God is for us who can be against us
So if you feel weak

And hold on to the promises
Hold on to the promises
Jesus is alive so hold tight
Hold on to the promises

Neither life, nor death
Could separate us
From the eternal love
Of our God who saves us

Rewind Part 2

May 2011 we went for our second test of infertility.  If you don’t know, this is the male test.  After they test the basics on the female they look at the male.  You can imagine how Michael was NOT enjoying that at all, but he did it without complaining.  The results were abnormal.  Both, Michael and I have medical backgrounds and knew that Michael was infertile according to the test results.  We were praying for a miracle at this point.  We had hope! 

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.  Psalm 71:14   

I called my OBGYN doctor who immediately referred us to Urology Associates in Tupelo for the first available appointment in July 2011.  After a physical and more lab work, (which confirmed the first lab results and showed another abnormal value) we were sent to UAB in Birmingham, AL.  In the middle of this news we were concerned that it might be cancer or something that could be a lot worse than just infertility.  We already knew the infertile part, but now other issues were more important.  Michael and I still hoped that the infertile issue could be fixed.  We only had two (almost all day) appointments at UAB that ended in the early fall of 2011 (around September) with the following news: “Michael you are infertile, but everything is normal; we don’t know why you are infertile!”

Okay everybody, the next part is real emotions that I felt, don’t judge me!  

Well it didn’t take a genius to know Michael was infertile after the first test!!  (That was my first thought and to be honest I was not happy when we left that day.)  I was mad at the results.  I was mad because of the money spent to find out something I felt like we already knew.  I was mad because of the dancing around the subject that ultimately ended in the above statement.  The doctor did not come out and say that statement; we had to drag that part out of him, to say the least.  I know everybody is different, some people like for things to be sugar coated and some don’t.  I don’t!  I want to know the results and I want to know the options.  That simple! 

I was angry, confused, relieved, devastated, nauseated, tired, and depressed.  All the while I am trying to hold it in to myself and be strong for Michael.  I wanted him to know I loved him no matter what the outcome.  I didn’t want him to worry about our relationship due to the news that was given to us.  I made a vow to Michael and I am a God fearing woman who knows that He is bigger than my problems.

I was angry because (see above statement).  I was confused because I didn’t know what God’s plan was for our life.  I was relieved to know that Michael was healthy.  I was nauseated because it felt like someone soccer kicked me in the stomach after hearing that news out loud.  I was tired because it had been a long journey.  I was tired of having to wear my BIG GIRL panties all the time.  It was just exhausting!  I was depressed because I was fearful that I may never be a mother, I would never be pregnant, and WE would never have a biological child. 

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. Psalm 18:32   

The next couple of months were kind of hard for us, but we were already dealing with the infertility issue since May 2011.  After the initial shock of having to deal with actually hearing the results out loud, I was numb.  I was just going through the motions once again.

 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

We still have faith in God.  We know He performs miracles.  We trust Him completely.  We have not and will never give up on God.  Now, let me say that we are only human.  This was my prayer: Lord, I praise You in the midst of this situation.  I confess I’m afraid that my prayers may never be answered the way that I desire.  I’m weary and discouraged from the waiting, and I feel I’m losing the strength to fight.  Forgive me, Lord, for not trusting You more.  Help me to hear Your voice and follow Your lead.  Thank You that You are in full control.

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.  Psalm 9:9-10

My prayer changed from please fix the problem and heal Michael, to I want Your will for our life.  Lord, please guide us in the way You want us to go.  I want to be in Your will.

One night Michael and I had a heart to heart talk about how we both felt.  I don’t think we have ever seen each other that emotional.  But oh how great it felt to let it OUT!!!  I think we were both relieved to finally say what we felt without walking on egg shells around each other.  We were free from the power of silence!  We had both already released our emotions to the Lord in private, but not yet out loud and to each other.  We had a wound that needed to be cleaned out in order to allow for healing.  We were starting our new year in 2012 with a new prayer together.  We were praying for God’s will!

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1 Peter 4:13

Rewind

Me and Michael

 

I thought I would back up a few years and tell you a little bit about us.  Michael and I met June 25, 2004 on a blind date through a mutual friend which we both only knew for a short time.  I know CRAZY, right?!  We dated for 6 months.  We were engaged for 6 months.  And we got married on the date that we met one year later, June 25, 2005.  Some of you may say WOW that was quick; well I know a couple that was married faster than us, but who’s counting.  All the same I think you just know!  And we knew!  We had all the famous talks about likes and dislikes, favorite things, family, values, church, salvation experiences, religion, what we believe, what we don’t believe, number of kids we wanted, favorite foods, friends, ideas of fun, marriage, and many more.  It boils down to one thing, WE WERE IN LOVE!!  And we fit together very well! 

 

We had BIG plans!  I was currently in nursing school and he was working for his dad as a carpenter.  We knew that it was going to be hard, but we stuck it out.  Finally after several semesters of nothing but studying, I graduated May 2007 with my Associate’s Degree in Nursing.  Michael decided that he wanted to go back to school to be a Paramedic and I enrolled at UNA for my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing June 2007.  He graduated with an Associate’s Degree and I graduated with my Bachelor’s December 2009.  But the education doesn’t stop there…  I then started filling out applications for my Master’s Degree in the spring and was accepted to the nurse practitioner program at Union University August 2010.  What a blessing!!  My husband was a trooper and worked two jobs and was nice enough to let me stay home and be a full time student once again.  After a long road of education, I completed my degree December 2011!  YAY!!  We were both very happy about this accomplishment for several reasons.  If you were reading any of the above you will know why we were sooo happy when this journey was OVER!

(Michael's graduation)

(my graduation)

But what most of you didn’t know was our struggle with not just school, but also infertility.  We didn’t go around telling everybody about our issues, mainly because, well… how do you start that conversation. During my UNA schooling in 2007/2008 we decided that we would try the “natural” way to have children.  We just figured after several stories that we had heard in the past and no prior scares it would take a while to have a child, so why not start early.  We were not in a big rush.  Our motto, if it happens, it happens and if not, ok.  We waited and waited and waited and waited…NOTHING. 

 

So we begin to count days, check temp, and everything else you could possibly imagine to do it the “natural” way.  I remember the days I was slightly late and I would think, Oh My…this is the lucky month!  And then, the disappointment would come.  So then I would say well maybe next month.  Finally, when I went for my yearly check up in the fall of 2009 I spoke to the doctor about trying with no success and he wanted to check and see what he could find and every year the same thing…everything looks normal.  So we thought we were stressing too much and decided to relax because I still had school ahead of me.  So we opted out of going to the doctor to pursue further testing due to time, money, and school. 

 

Due to the length of this story I will divide it into 2 posts.

Too be continued… 

 



Our Journey!

We would like to introduce you to our journey of adoption.  Some of you may or may not know that Michael and I struggled with infertility for several years, but have recently accepted the call to adopt.  And yes, we believe adoption is a call from God.

When we were going through our infertility struggles we prayed for healing.  We wanted the imperfection to be fixed to perfection.  Wouldn't we all like to be perfect!  Well...we are not and will not be until we all get to heaven and what a day that will be!  But until then, we are to live for Christ and that is just what we plan to do.

During this time we also prayed for peace, comfort, and finally God's will!  We didn't know what else to pray.  We had expressed all words.  We wanted what God wanted for our lives.  We want His will.  He has the perfect plan for us.  His plan is better than any plans that I could ever imagine for our little family.  We chose to trust in the Lord with all our heart.  Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I am speaking for myself on this one, but I noticed as I prayed for His will my heart's desire started to change.  It was not instant, but over time the desire to become pregnant was no longer as important as it once was.  Psalm 37:4, Delight thyself also in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  He was changing our hearts to fit His perfect plan.

Michael and I did not feel the call to adopt at the same time or the same way, but God led us to adoption together through His time.  We are adopting because God called us to show the love of Christ.  Through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, we have been adopted into the family of God.  I know that because I am human, I cannot show love like Christ has shown me, but as a Christian, I must strive to love others to the very best of my ability.  We believe that through adoption, not only can we share the love of Christ with a beautiful child, but others will be able to see a picture of that love in this adoption.

We are asking you to PRAY!  We would like for you to pray for the birthmother as God guides her through a very difficult process, pray for the health of the child that God has in store for our little family, and pray for our patience as we wait on God's perfect timing.  The most important thing that we are asking of you is to pray.  But, as some of you know, the financial burden that adoption can have is very real.  Insurance does not cover anything.  We are planning several fundraisers that will be announced at a later time.  Any support that you are willing to give will be greatly appreciated.  If you cannot give financially we understand, but you can pray for us!  This is just an introduction to our journey.  We have so much more to share with you!  Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!