A Quilt for Baby

I finished another baby quilt tonight.  Funny thing is though, this one is going to be given to an actual baby!  A baby that I know is going to be born in June.  I don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl, but I know that the baby is coming.   The expectant mother is a dear dear friend who is thinking of doing up the nursery in teal, grey, and maybe some pops of yellow... and a few elephants.  Sounds very sweet :)  And, I suppose, now she knows what her gift is going to be, lol.

Anyhow, I couldn't help but think as I finished piecing this quilt together tonight, about why I make these baby quilts and give them away.  I already love this baby who is coming.  And I picture the baby's mother wrapping this quilt around her baby to keep it warm and cozy.  

Tonight, while I was sewing, I couldn't help but wonder; is someone pregnant with our baby right now?  It is so hard to imagine, but at any moment we could get that call saying that our baby is coming!  

Though, don't get your hopes up, we have only been waiting officially for a year, and many families wait much longer. 

Sometimes, the time just seems to drag on and on, and it feels like nothing is actually happening.  Like we aren't actually waiting for anything.  We are just living, as a family of three and nothing else is going on.  

I have a feeling that it is going to come as a major shock if we ever actually get chosen. During these quiet adoption wait times it is easy to feel like it isn't going to happen.

I don't want to say that we aren't hopeful.  We know that the Lord can do anything, and that He is so right in His timing.  We want the adoption to take place when He has ordained it, and when the child is born that He has set aside for us to parent.

It was interesting for me though, making this quilt for a dear baby that is going to be born to our friends near an expected time.  This child can be planned for, expected, and loved by it's parents even before birth.  

I made a quilt for our baby a year ago, and it sits in a folded pile in the crib.  We don't know when or if it will be used.  I loved making that quilt, and for some reason, I thought maybe that "if you built it, they will come" would apply to our own dreams too.   

If there is anything that we need prayer for lately, it is definitely patience.  Pray that we can live fully and not live like we are waiting.  Pray that we take joy out of the many ways that God has blessed our family as it is today.  

We are so thankful, but it is hard not to focus on what seems to be missing.

Merry Christmas!

I wasn't expecting to write a blog post on Christmas Day, but there is a short lull in the activity this afternoon.  Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family!

Big News?  Nope.
Sorry, there hasn't been any exciting adoption news as of late, but things have been very quiet.  We are getting a lot of practice in waiting on the Lord and trusting in his perfect timing for our family.  

Workin' Girl (one or two days per week)
I decided this Fall that I had better dip my feet into teaching again for a while.  I have started substituting with the public school district and the Catholic school district.  I have only had two days of work so far, and apparently, it can only get better from here.  They were two tough days, one taught without a sub plan.  My thought on returning to work was that I should teach again before we get a placement so that I don't totally lose touch with the profession.  I plan to be at home with our children, so once we get a placement I will be home for another 4-5 years at least.  I am hoping to really enjoy the subbing!

Christmas Fun
It has been a great Christmas season with lots of activity going on.   We've hosted our community group for a Christmas party, been skating on Cold Lake, had appetizers with our awesome neighbours, sang carols at our church Christmas Eve service, and are soon expecting friends to come over for appetizers and games with the kids!  We've opened our gifts to each other and feel incredibly blessed and spoiled. 

I really feel loved by my husband after receiving so many thoughtful gifts from him this year. He topped it off with a very special gift in my stocking: ANTI-CELLULITE body wash! Bahahahahaha! He swears that he didn't notice the anti-cellulite part written in huge letters on the top of the box.  Sure.  Not subtle, Ben.  Lol.

Just think of the cellulite you can dissolve with all 20 uses of this body wash filled sponge scrubber! 

We're heading to my mom and dad's place for Christmas celebrations with my extended family this weekend and I am guessing that less insulting gifts are in my future :)  I will be receiving the 'favourite things' of each of my sisters and mom, and they will all be given my 'favourite thing.'  This is a new gifting plan that we started last year and has been great so far!  I am guessing that anti-cellulite body wash won't be the favourite thing of any of those fine ladies.

Secretly, I can't wait to use it.  It sounds easier than exercising and dieting, haha.

Thank you
I also wanted to say thank you to a couple of dear friends who donated something towards our adoption agency silent auction fundraiser happening in March!  It really helps Ben and I to feel supported in this adoption endeavour and we are so grateful!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  We wish you the Lord's richest blessings in 2015!

Want to Help?

Recently, I joined a committee that is putting on a fundraiser for our adoption agency, Christian Adoption Services.  Why would our agency need a fundraiser, isn't it government funded?  Well, actually, our agency is a non-profit organization.  The costs of their programs/adoptions are covered by fees charged to adoptive families, fundraising, and donations.

The agency provides pre-adoption counselling to expectant mothers, often having several meetings over many months.  The social workers at the agency spend a lot of time helping to facilitate relationship building between expectant families and adoptive families, and they continue with counselling for birth mothers after placement.  

CAS is a registered charity.  Financial donations allow them to keep their costs to adoptive families as low as possible.  Donations also allow CAS to run extra programs such as training seminars, support groups, and special events.  Ben and I have already taken part in two training seminars and a dinner for adoptive families.

While less expensive than adopting internationally (mostly because of the additional travel), the cost of adopting domestically is quite a significant expense for most families.  The costs will be different in each case depending on the amount of counselling necessary, distances traveled, and accommodations, etc., but will range between 12,000 and 15,000 or so by the time the adoption is finalized.  This high cost makes adoption out of reach or financially straining for many families.  After spending a day last month at an adoption training seminar with other waiting families from CAS, the idea of helping with this fundraiser became more important and personal to me.  We met a family who had recently adopted twice.  When asked about how they came up with the funding (I was a little surprised when someone asked them that!), they said that they had taken out a line of credit on their home and borrowed from an uncle!  Another couple we spoke to had held fundraisers within their church.  Point is, people don't have this kind of money just sitting around.  If there is any chance that I can be a part of making adoption more affordable for families, I want to be a part of it! 

Check out the link below to see how the costs break down for adoptive families (there are no costs to birth families):
domestic adoption fees

So, the fundraiser!!!  

It is going to be a silent auction and will be held in Calgary in March 2015.  If any of my readers are from Calgary, you should go (info to follow in the new year)!  The reality for me is that we don't live close enough to Calgary to make it to the auction.  What we are planning to do for our contribution to the fundraiser is to collect as many item donations as possible.

If any of you feel called to help us raise money for the agency (and in turn help keep costs down for adoptive families), please consider donating something!  I think that gift cards for popular restaurants, clothing stores, grocery stores, itunes, or other stores would be easy to send and would garner lots of bids.  Or, if you have a home based business or crafting ability, donations of those items would be much appreciated as well!

Here is a peek at what I made for the auction.  I went through my fabric stash and made a few minky blankets.  I'm guessing that there will be a few expectant parents or grandparents at this auction :)

In James 1 verse 27, the Lord calls us to look after the needs of the widows and the orphans.  This act of caring for orphans looks different for all of us, but the call remains the same.  Some are meant to adopt, others are meant to foster, others are meant to sponsor children.  Are you able to help?  Throw something extra in with your Christmas shopping?

Please contact me if you would like to contribute.  Or, if you already have my address, send me your item by mail.  Thank you in advance to all who help!  Your support will help bring children home to their forever families.  We are so thankful for CAS and are excited to see how God will bless them through this event!  

I plan to give anything collected to the agency for the auction by January sometime.

             -Ali