Puzzle Update

26 pieces down, 974 to go!

Yes, it is sideways, and yes there's keystone from the angled shot, and barrel distortion...argh! Can you tell who's writing this post?

New Year, New Hope

We are very excited about the New Year as we have been invited to orientation from TBH in January!  We are hopeful about actually starting the process and have been busy reading books and brainstorming ways to get ready for the adventure to begin.  Hopefully, our posts from now on will be more informative about the adoption process. 

Having a good support group is very important to us as we start this process.  We are looking into different groups in the area to get advice from people who have been in our shoes and then pass down the advice once we become "experts."  Here are some groups or churches we have found with support groups either for infertility and/or adoption:

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association

Tapestry: Adoption & Foster Care Ministry at Irving Bible Church

DFW Alliance of Adoption & Orphan Care Ministries

This website has a list of the churches in the area with Adoption/Foster Care Ministries.

Shiloh Infertility Ministry at Watermark

Tapestry at Watermark

There is also a Foster-Adoption Expo on Saturday, February 4th starting at 9am.  Follow the link for more information.

Here's to a New Year filled with New Hopes, Adventures and Beginnings! 

Puzzle Fundraiser

As some of you know either through talking to us or our Christmas letter, we are doing a puzzle fundraiser to help bring Baby Jackson home.  For more information about it, either click the "Puzzle" tab above or click here.  We thank everyone for their love, support and prayers.  Your encouragement really means a lot! 

 MERRY CHRISTMAS and GOD BLESS!

           

2011 Tapestry Conference

You can get the Adoption & Foster Care Conference materials by clicking this link.


The sessions we went to were:

Adoption: Myths and Realities

Keys to Success for Healthy Adoptive & Foster Families - Slideshow & Notes

Opening Up About Open Adoption - Slideshow, Benefits, Identity & Openness and Openness & Development

Making Sense of the Cost of Adoption

We definitely enjoyed and learned a lot from this conference. We are also glad our friends Darren and Jamie came with us! Hopefully we can stay connected to this ministry as we will be needing advice from those who have walked this path before ue!

Blog Post

Blog post from a woman who struggled with IF. Always good to know you are not alone!
http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/10/motherhood-mondays-what-if-you-cant.html#more

Brick walls...

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people! - Randy Pausch

So, the agency we have been on the waiting list to go to orientation for the last 5 months is moving back its enrollment until January. This means even more waiting, or a change of game plan. We have decided to keep them in our back pocket, but to attack this adventure more head on. So, we created a website and are going to look into Private Party Adoption - where you try it without an agency. If you know of anyone, please pass on our webpage:
https://sites.google.com/site/jamjacksonfamily

We are also opening up to international adoption if we can find one that is not too expensive and doesn't require too much time off; we've got to keep our jobs to pay for the adoption, right?

So, we are asking for prayers and support through this time. I know God can see the end and it is for His glory!

For those who wait

Another day, another waiting game
A little different but it's still the same
I am here, but where's the one I'm longing for?
I'm having trouble feeling all alone
Will my heart ever find a home?
I want to hope but sometimes I just don't know
I know I'm not the only one

So we sing a lullaby to the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set your heart on fire, let it set you free
When you're fighting to believe
In a love that you can't see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

I want to open up my eyes
I know that all I need is time
I'm growing stronger every single day
God, I'm going to lean into You now
Letting go of all my fear and doubt
I can't do this on my own so I'll give You control
I know I’m not the only one

The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
And the difference makes it worth it

~Fireflight