Here we go...

Welcome to the Avery family blog!!!  We are so excited to get this blog started and to share some really exciting news with everyone.  WE ARE ADOPTING!!!!!  Yes, you heard right.  ADOPTING!  Let me start from the beginning. A few months ago both Terrance and I felt that God had laid it on our hearts to look into the adoption process.  We started researching and we soon found that the God was making it abundantly clear to us that adoption wasn’t just something to look into for some time in the future. We felt that He was urging us to move forward with the process NOW.

                Fast forward two months and here we are. Terrance and I are totally in awe of how quickly this process has come together for us. Lucas is beyond excited to have a new baby brother or sister as well! We are currently in the home study process and are praying over which adoption agency or facilitator to use.  We truthfully thought the beginning steps would take much longer, but God has been faithful in opening doors for us (and closing them when necessary).  The biggest obstacle we thought we would face was finding an agency or facilitator that would be willing to work with a military family, as many are wary of the deployment schedule for the majority of military families.  We have been so blessed to be in contact with several facilitators and agencies that are more than willing to work with us.  As of right now one has stood out from the rest, but we have chosen to wait until the home study is finished to officially choose who we will work with.  Since we legally cannot move forward with an adoption until the home study is done, we feel that it is the perfect opportunity to pray over our choices before decision time.

                Outside of choosing an agency or facilitator, perhaps one of the most important (and potentially our biggest obstacle) is to obtain the funds we will need to make all this happen.  We are trusting God to provide for our every need and have already been so amazed and blessed with how things have been working out for us.  There are numerous non-profit agencies out there that give grants to adopting parents, and we plan to apply for as many of those as possible.  I have been busy making hair clips and headbands for my Esty shop (www.etsy.com/shop/averydesignboutique).  My mom has also donating her time and talents to the shop by making some jewelry and crocheted items for us to sell.  There is also a link at the top right of this page that you can use to donate directly to the cause if you feel led to do so. We understand that not everyone is called to give financially, but we do feel like we can ask all those near and dear to us to pray.  If you’re here and reading this and will keep us in your prayers it would mean a tremendous amount to both Terrance and myself.  We truly believe God will provide if we remain faithful and diligent throughout this process. 

                 We cannot express to you enough how excited we are to be sharing this journey with you all. We know that God has some very amazing things in store for our family in 2012 and we can’t wait to share it!

Love,

Mandy