Fundraising: complete.

Care for a good gushing session? Okay. You’ve come to the right place!

There are literally (and I mean that) at least a thousand things I could say I’m thankful for right at this very moment. Never before, outside of salvation, have David and I been the recipients of such overwhelming kindness and generosity. And there were so many amazing, lifelong-memory moments that happened over this weekend… I’m kind of reeling. A few times we have looked at each other and said, “Did that really happen….?” And even more, there were all of these sweet and simple moments that, in and of themselves, on any other weekend, would bring about so much joy. The combination simply has my heart swelling.

I won’t give you a list for fear of making you nauseated, but let me just celebrate one big thing right quick: We have exceeded our fundraising goal!!! We’re done. Done, I tell you! And now, we continue to wait for that phone call – that email that will change our lives forever. (Give me a break, I’m feeling dramatic…. J)

To all of you who gave ---- Thank you. To those of you who gave anonymously ---- THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I wish we could send you a thank you note or hug your neck or something, but we trust that the Lord will bless all of you richly.

Now for a few quick facts: Our YouCaring site will remain on the blog through the end of the year in case you’d still like to give. It doesn’t allow us to manually update the total to include donations by check or cash, so it’s not really accurate. But any additional donations we receive will go into savings for potential Baby Smith #2. (Eeeek!)

Our good, good Father is gracious and faithful. He is great and greatly to be praised. He is a generous provider, lavishing good gifts on His children. And I am, by no stretch of the imagination, talking about money right now. Praise His name. Like, for real.

On Advent and adoption.

It’s late on a Sunday afternoon. The weekend chores are finished. The fire is crackling and glowing. The Christmas tree is lit. And I’ve spent the last 120 minutes curled up on the couch, watching a Christmas movie while brownies for one of the four parties on our schedule this week are cooling in the kitchen and filling our house with the sweet reminder that the season is upon us. Typically, the holidays are a little stressful. But for me, this weekend feels like the first time I’ve taken a real, long, deep breath.

Almost unanimously within our circles, the past few months have been hectic and busy. I’ve found it really difficult to fully process things because it’s literally been one thing after another. So much has happened, and yet, for us in the Smith house, things aren’t really that much different. We are waiting. Like we have been for about two months now. And I praise the Lord that we’ve been so busy – otherwise the waiting might have driven me a little crazy.

The next step for us in the adoption process is getting that phone call or email: “A birth mother would like to meet with you.” And I’ll be completely honest; the thought of that phone call makes my stomach drop. To think that some brave woman is choosing to give her child life and has requested to meet us in consideration of parenting that child….. It’s just so intense to me. And humbling and scary and exciting all at once….

It feels so incredibly appropriate that during this Advent season, we wait. With the hope of a child. With the possibility that this Christmas will be our last as a family of two. With all of the warmth and joy and sparkle that come with the holiday season. Knowing that our hope is only a small shadow. That the eager longing we feel for this child is nothing compared to our desperation for Christ – both in His birth and in His return.   

We believe that He is good. We trust His timing and know that it’s perfect. And so, with hope, we wait.

We're approved!!

Quick Update:

Our agency emailed us today to let us know that we have been officially approved! This means we are included among the families that birth mothers can choose from - which means we are on the Christian Homes website - Eeeeeek!!  Go check it out: http://www.christianhomes.com/adopting-families/

And a big huge thank you thank you thank you to those of you who have donated so far. We really mean it when we say that you have no idea how much it means.

THANK YOU!!!

A little FUNdraising.

We’re getting so much closer to meeting Baby Smith, you guys. We finished our home study a few weeks ago, and now we’re just waiting on final approval. Once we’re approved, they could potentially start showing us to birth mothers…. Holy. Cow…. There are tons of factors involved, and people have been known to wait for over a year before matching, but in the absolute most extreme case ever – we could have a child sometime next month. Holy…… Cow…..!!

Needless to say, we’re working our tails off to get things ready. We know that in all likelihood, we will wait much longer than a month, but better to be over-prepared than under we say. That means we are in full-on fundraiser mode. Which brings me to YOU! If you’d like to join us in bringing home Baby Smith, you can do one of the following:

Quick, easy, online:

Visit our YouCaring site by clicking over there on the side of our blog to make a donation. 

Old Fashioned Snail Mail:

Psh.... Like I was really gonna post our address on a public blog. ;) Send me a private message on facebook or twitter, and I’ll let you know where you can mail a donation.

Fun! Fun! Music! Fun!

We are playing some music at our super awesome local coffee shop on Friday, Oct. 24^th. A portion of all drink sales that evening will go to our little adoption fund. So come out, buy a great cup of coffee, and listen to us play fun songs with our friends.

Friday, Oct. 24th @ 7:30pm

Roots Coffee House

2570 FM 407, Suite 140

Highland Village, TX 75077

http://www.rootscoffeehouse.com/highland-village/home

We’ve got a few other things in the works, but this is how you can help for now. Again, we are beyond grateful for your encouragement and support. And, as always, we thank you for your prayers.

Much love, y’all!

A long and very appropriate day.

Note: This was written yesterday. 

 ***Obligatory statement about having hoped to keep up with the blogging more than I have…***

I’m sitting in the rather spacious lobby of a church in North Richland Hills, and I am straight up exhausted. And somehow, I feel very much at peace. After a little bit of tossing and turning last night, I hit the snooze button more than once when my alarm went off at 5:00am. I slumped out of bed, got myself ready for the day, and rode to the airport with David. Some of our sweetest friends left the country today. They are moving far, far away, and even though it’s for the very best reason, it still makes me very sad.

They spent the last week at our house in preparation for the move. And that means that almost every morning this past week, I’ve woken up to the sound of sweet giggles and little feet slapping against our concrete floors. This little girl can pretty much capture anyone’s heart within minutes of meeting her, and I have been no exception. Remember how I said there are a handful of children in this world that I love so much, it makes my heart ache? She’s one of them for sure. And this week, the noise and the mess and the chaos that comes with a 2 ½ year old reminded me of what David and I are working toward. The chance to love and care for and play with and train and teach a child of our own.

So it’s appropriate that only hours after holding that little one for the last time in a really long while, we’re here at a church, taking the next steps in our adoption. We finally completed our application, and we're here for part one of our home study. I just spent the last 2 ½ hours talking to a near-stranger about the ins and outs of my life and childhood. To be fair, it wasn’t nearly as invasive as I thought. But while David’s in there completing his interview, I’m grateful for the quiet corner of this large building to stop and breathe and reflect.

How grateful I am to the Lord for the way He works. When answering questions about my 32 years of life, it’s difficult not to be thankful. How He’s protected me from so much hardship. How He’s given me a truly wonderful man to be lifelong friends, lovers, teammates with. How He’s surrounded us with friends and family who are remarkably caring and supportive. How He’s walked us through a not-fun trial only to bring us out looking more and more like Him in the process. How at the end of this big, long process, we will hold our child in our arms and call him or her “ours.”

So it’s very appropriate that tonight, I get to stand before men and women of our church and sing of His goodness. I get to praise Him for His faithfulness. I get to lift my hands and shout and dance and sing – and thank Him for all He has done. And good grief, He’s done a lot.