Got the sweetest email of encouragement

Got this email from our agency....so sweet and thoughtful!

Dear waiting families,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you over the next few days! We wanted to send a few verses of encouragement to you. Our prayer is that while this may in some ways be a difficult time, that God would show Himself to you in mighty ways, and that your hearts would be encouraged!

Psalm 95:1-6
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, evenwhen we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

Blessings,
The Domestic Infant Team

A dear friend  sent this to me.....

Words from Tim Keller:

But how does God exercise this power in our lives? It is through sorrow and trouble. The stones of our life come together to form an altar because they are “cemented with tears.” It is suffering that takes the various parts of our lives and forges them into something that can praise God. Difficulty breaks our lives into pieces, just as a boulder has to be broken if it is to be the material to build a bridge, a wall, or an altar. Trials and troubles show us our insufficiency, reveal to us our weakness and sin and our need for him.

The image of the altar means a heart that is on fire with God’s praise and love. “My heart an altar and thy love the flame,” goes an old hymn. But to have the joy of knowing God’s grace and love requires the tears of a heart broken over the knowledge of its sin. “My sacrifice is…a broken and contrite spirit.” (Psalm 51:17)
The image of the altar also represents a heart dedicated—“sanctified”—offered to God in usefulness and service. But do you see that it is largely through our tears, through our difficulties, that God has shaped us into people that can be useful in his service, in ministry, and in the lives of others? It is suffering that teaches you patience, sympathy, wisdom, and how to rely on God. “We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)

No Matter What sung by Kerri Roberts and some thoughts

This morning i was running some errunds and was just listening to the local christian radio station. Well, lately there have been some sweet hymns of old that have really touch and blessed me but today as i was in the car this praise song came on and i thought about the words as i listen to Kerri Roberts sing it. Here it is:I'm running back to your promises, Lord that's all I can hold on to, I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises you. Before a heartache can ever touched my life, it has to go through Your hands. There's no way I can make it without Your help, I wont even try it. I know You have Your reasons for everything, so I will keep believing, whatever I might be feeling, God you are my hope, and you will be my strength,  Anything I don't have You can give it to me, but it's ok if You don't, I'm not here for those things, the touch of Your love is enough on its own, no matter what I still love You and I'm gonna need You .
No matter what I'm gonna love you, no matter what I'm gonna need you, I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain but if not , I'll trust You, no matter what, no matter what.

  I was BAWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when this song was over...it was encouraging to me.

ALSO, i keep up with some blogs of friends of friends who are adopting and this one couple kinda had our same situation..they have kids But they kept getting calls and were not chosen over and over...well, they got chosen and she blogged that 2 weeks ago she was taking a morning shower and she said Lord, give me patience and peace...there are no possible situations, we have been waiting for several months and no calls in sight and so just help my heart." She got out of the shower and was eating breakfast when she got a call that said " you have been chosen, baby is ready to be picked up at hopsital in 2 days, get a plane ticket to TX, and he will be waiting"I do not know if that would/will happen to us but it was just an enouragement that we do not know the ways of the Lord and we just need to surrender, trust and obey.
Love
Jill :)

Updating

Just checking in and saying " Hello".  We get so many calls, emails and face to face encouragement from you all and we are soo grateful!!! :) We got a letter from our Case Worker just checking in and saying that the Bethany Office prays for us weekly. It was an encouragement to hear from her and to know that they are there for us if we need to talk, cry, or just have quetions while we wait.

September was the last known time that we were looked at and a part of me thinks that was SOOO long ago but really it has not even been 2 months. Tom and I were talking a little over a week ago and we kind of thing we were "spoiled" when we got put on the list back before the summer. Though nothing ever came of them and they did not lead to an adoption for us...we started getting possible situations almost from the start of being put on the list. So this almost 2 months is "different " for us  but  more the "norm" in  the "adoption world" is more like not hearing a peep for 4/5 months after being put on the list.  God has taught us much and is still teaching us.
So Again..thank you for your prayers! During this season of Thanksgiving, Tom and I are thankful for YOU and your prayers and concern.
Love
The Buhays :)

 

Psalm 139:13-17

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them."

No News to report.....

BUT wanted to just continue to say THANK YOU for all your prayers, , scriptures, and cards of support. Some days are easier then others but God is faithful and His mercies are new every morning! :)

Update

Hello!

Just wanted to update you all on what has been going on.  We had been looked at a little over a week ago by a birth mom and found out on Friday that she chose a different couple.  It was not what we had "hoped" to hear but know we serve a God who has our best  His is plan for our lifes and so we continue to seek, trust and obey the one who holds our lives in the palm of His hand.

Thanks for prayers and support!
Tom and Jill

Psalm 27:13-14 and tiny update

Psalm 27:13-14 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Hi all!

        Not much to update you on but I know that people have asked to know  how to pray....we know the agency has birthmoms interested in finding out more about adoption. So during this time we are really trying:)  to " be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."   Again, we are so thankful for your prayers, thoughts, cards, and kind words. :) It is a blessing to know we have a Father who walks with us as well as the body of Christ.

In Him,

Tom and Jill

Our weekend

"For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you." Isaiah 41:13


Hello! I was reminded of this verse today. Tom and I just got back from a mini vaca./ family gathering in the Mount Carmel, Pa area. We went to visit with family coming in from Pittsburg, New England states, Maryland, and New York. Backing up a bit when we got put on the list we were told we could get a call anytime. Well that rang true 8/26. We ended up saying "no" to this situation but here is the story...... Tom, me, my mother in law and Tom's cousin and his daughter went to Knoebels Amusement Park for the day. Well, we are walking around playing some games, riding some rides,ect and I look down and have a message. So in the middle of the park behind a HUGE trash can (because that was the quickest/quietest place i could find) I am writing down info. Turns out it was for Foster care with the possibility of adoption. There was a lot of "maybe",ect. So in the middle of the food court with TONS of people around...Tom and I talk about it and pray...then talk a little more and decide that Foster care is not something we are ready to do right now and just did not feel that this situation was for us. Asking a couple who is trying to adopt to foster rarely happens and this was just a "rare thing" that came up.  Looking back it makes me kind of giggle that all around us families are walking by eating popcorn, licking ice cream cones, running to the next ride,,ect.....and I am behind a trash can trying to write down info. on a possible situation that can change our lives forever.  :)  We are greatful and thankful that " ...the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. " Romans 15:13
Thanks for your prayers...we will keep you posted!

The Web

Hello everyone...
  We are on the website for bethany's adopting families. You can go to http://www.bethany.org/ and click on " I am pregnant" then " family profiles" then go to  "show all arrow:" and then go to PA.We are on the last page. This is just a little something that we wrote about ourselves( for ladies who may be looking for options online....the big profile that shares alot about us and has lots of pictures is at the Bethany Office.

Thanks again for your love prayers and support!

What we are working on..

Hello!
Not too much to report. we have been working on the Family Web Profile. This is a little "mini" profile( this is 1 page about us verses the 9 pager the agency has on us at their office ) about ourselves that ladies who are pregnant can go to Bethany's web page  in and look at people in their state or any state that Bethany has an office and look at a "snap shot" of an adoptive family. If the see a family they are interested in they can contact the office and come in to see that families bigger profile album. So, we have done that and completed it today but we are going to let it sit for 24 hours and make sure we said things how we want and then hopfully email it off tomorrow.
Thanks for your prayers
Tom and Jill

Been a while

Hello! Just wanted to let you all know that we are doing well..we have been on the list for over a month. We had one "almost/maybe" a couple of weeks ago( 11 month old boy) but the birthmom changed her mind. We were disappointed and the week of back and forth phone calls with the caseworker was quite the ROLLER COASTER!! But during that week we prayed for God's best for everyone in the situation and so we felt a sense of peace along with the disappointment. SOO....we continue to wait and seek God's perfect plan in all of this.  During  that week this verse ( and others) was a source of great comfort

 ROMANS 8:27-28

"And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Thank you for your prayers and please continue. I may not have a lot to post in the coming weeks/months...but I will try and at least continue to let you know how we are doing.
Love
Tom and Jill

Happy Happenings

On Saturday June 25th we had two happy happenings! Tom and I celebrated 6 years of marriage

 AND we got a letter in the mail saying " Bethany Christian Service is pleased to inform you that your profile is available to be seen by birthparents as of June 13,2011."



We thank you for your prayers and ask that you keep them coming. Especially since along with the letter of " you are out there" was also papers of  the legal risk of placement before the Final adoption Decree by the courts are finalized. I must say it was hard to read with words like "parental consent", "termination of rights",ect. But God is faithful and He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. We are in the palm of His hands...we do not know WHAT the future holds but we sure know WHO holds the future and we find peace in that! :)
Thanks again for journeying with us,
Love
The Buhay

tiny update

Hello! Our profile copies and check have arrrived at the agency. The lady who process the fees and then gets all profiles organized and ready to be shown to the birth families had  a death in her family at the beginning of the week. This just means that it could be Monday before everything is 100% set up. Thanks again for the support and prayers!
Jill for the both of us!

Little update and thoughts....

Just wanted you all to know that the picture/" about us:" profile as been mailed along with our FINAL pre adoption fee. ( there of couse will be legal fees, placement fees once we have a child).
We continue to be so grateful for your prayers and ask that you continue as we finished the meeting, paperwork, training stage and are now in the waiting stage. 
We are hoping (of coure.!) for a quick match but that "phone" call could come next month or next year...so we ask you to continue to pray for us that God will give us peace, strength and hope as we continue to seek His will in our lives.
Thanks again for your love and support!
The Buhays

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" 2 Cor. 12:9

Just a little something

We are waiting on the okay (Carrie is just looking it over to make sure it "shows" us well) to have our profile printed and to have copies for the agency to have on hand. So thanks for your prayers.....they mean a lot! :)

And we are...............

DONE!!( well, for the most part) We had our last meeting yesterday. we have to finish the scrapebook which should be done by this weekend and we have to renew clearances ( child abuse, criminal background check, finger printing ) by july. But we are readying and will just be waiting. Thanks for prayers and thoughts!:)
The Buhays

OUR 5/12/11 meeting

 HAS TO BE RESCHEDULED!

( due to a training our caseworker is required to attend)

Reflections...

HAPPPY MOTHER'S DAY

On this day I have been reflecting on many things....my own journey and how this day makes me feel, my own sweet mama that I am with in thoughts but can not physically be with her today, those who have lost a mom/child, but i must admit that I am once again thinking of the birth moms on this day. Thinking of their "labor of love" on 2 different levels...and that their selfless love made mother's day possible for so many...what a priceless gift! 

Tom and I are so grateful and blessed for your continued prayers but please remember the birth moms and their families as you pray for us.

Home study meeting

HOME STUDY DATE is scheduled for MAY 12th! Thanks for your prayers! We appreciate them and are blessed by them!
THE BUHAY's

We are still waiting to hear from Carrie. Just thought I would drop in and let you know. Thanks for your prayers!

Postponed

 Carrie had to postpone the meeting for this Thursday. More then likely sometime next week or by end of April for sure. OH well....what i have learned through this is FLEXABLE!!!
Thanks for your prayers and we will keep you posted!!!

Not a white glove....

Carrie said that this thursday ( 4/14) will not be a white glove BUT she will be looking in closets, make sure we have running water, fire alarms, in all the rooms,  rooms, basements, sheds,ect  She said that safety is what she is looking for...she wants to know we have a safety plan for the house.... 

We will be meeting with her apart for a few "how is your marriage?" questions and then together to tie up loose ends!

So, looking forward to having this day checked off the list! !!

4/6/11 meeting

The meeting yesterday was.....to be honest draining and emotional...HARD. AND  was a 3 hour talk about it all. It was good...we are doing good, moving forward, things are great!! We also talked about how we meet, who liked who first, how the relationship progressed...so that was fun to share "our story"...but we did not get to our "one on one talk" with Carrie yet.

 Soo....things coming up:)
1.) 4/14/11- we will have our one to one talk with Carrie, she will look at the house, go over a form with us(?),ect
2.) We will send her the powerpoint and she will look over it and suggest changes or adding things, or say " WOW Jill and Tom your powerpoint is perfect!!"
3.) and then tie up any lose ends with paperwork,ect.

More later on what she said about the home inspection

*****Timechange****

Carrie needed to change our meeting so we are now meeting at 2 today. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts!

More later......
Tom and Jill

Somedays you just need to be reminded....

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest;
Sun , moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see
and All I have needed thy hands hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Lord unto me..

Just a short update

Our April 6th meeting is coming up! The "main" topic that meeting is  our                              ****RELATIONSHIP***

We will meet together some and maybe tell our story together and then they will "separate" us and ask us questions.  So this meeting is said to be a longer one.

The family profile is coming along and we are pleased with how it going...so I am happy to say that Powerpoint and the Buhay's have been working real well together :)

Busy weekend to start off a busy 3 weeks...

This weekend was very productive for us. We got some things organized a little better ( still a little more to go!), wrote a letter to the birthmom,  got some pictures looked through/together for our profile, and is getting to know powerpoint a little better since that is what our profile will be shown on. It is going well...I personally hope power point will like us and want to be our good friend in the days to come! :)  :)
Just a special note of thanks for praying for our writing of the birthparent letter...I will not go as far to say it was "easy" ...but the words came and we are thankful to God for His guidance!

Yesterdays meeting

Thanks everyone for the prayers...to be honest we were nervous but really had a sense of calm and peace throughout our meeting. So in one word our meeting went ...GOOD. 
 Here is a little how the meeting went...
 Our meeting yesterday focus on our infertility....what was the cause, our steps to seek treatment and the process, how we felt, how we feel now ect.  Not "fun" conversation but the agency needs to know that we are doing "okay" personally and in our marriage over the topic. 
  We then went on into talking about our Adoption Service Plan...the form that tells what we are looking for in a child, level of comfortable contact with birthparents, what we want to know about the birthparents, what we are okay not knowing,ect.
Our next meeting is on April 6th down at the Bethany Office and the last visit of our homestudy ( and this one is in our HOME) is on April 14th!!!!

More another day on will be happening at the last 2 meetings and prayer request.
Thanks!!

*****Time Change*****

Not that it is a big deal but know some of you wanted to pray while we were at the meeting tomorrow..the time has changed from 10 to 10:30. Carrie said the meeting is about an hour and 30 minutes roughly...so we should be done around noon she said.
Thanks! :)

Praying for...

Just wanted to drop in and say "Thanks " for your prayers for our upcoming meeting on wednesday the 23rd. We are excited to see "what is next" and get more info. but also nervous of the unknown. So thank for your prayers!
Also, our hearts have been drawn to the birth mom(s). Tom and I have been really been praying for them. What is an emotional up and down process for us,sometimes exciting, nervous time for us/adoptive parents...there is also someone else/ another family who is going through a hard and emotional decision...adoptive parents celebrate the very baby that birth moms grieves and so we ask you to join us in praying for the birth mothers/fathers and their families. This music clip I added is a song by Mark Schultz who was adopted many years ago.

Prayer Request for the 3/23 meeting

Wanted to give a little information about our meeting coming up.We will be going over our "Service plan". We will be talking about :

1.What kind of child we would be open to adopting-are we open to medical conditions, impairments,ect

2. Social/medical history of birthparents are we open to-Mental illnes, mental impairment, drugs/alcohol during pregancy,ect

3. Our Openess plan-how comfortable/open w/ birth family contact.( example: sending pictures, written updates,videos or meeting them at a neutral location,ect)

We would appreciate your prayers as we talk with Carrie and share with her our "answers"/thoughts and move forward with our Service Plan.

Homestudy and other things

Just to clarify, Home study is a series of 3 meetings with the caseworker and the adoptive parents. Though the word “home” is in home study... the caseworker actually only comes to the home once in the 3 part home study visit process. So, our first visit is at the Bethany office and believe me when i find out when they are coming to look at the house I will let you know. :)

Also, I know some friends and family may not be used to the "blog" world so if you would like to leave a comment and do not have a username just use the anonymous  button [and just comment who you are  : ) ]and that "should" work. I hope...I am also one of those people who is in the process of getting use to the blog world.

Adoptive Family Testimony - Domestic Infant Adoption

This is a video that i watched way back and thought i would share.

First homestudy visit date

Tom and I will be meeting at the Bethany office in Elkins Park on March 23rd @ 10am!

Semi Vs. Open Adoption

OPEN ADOPTION

• The expectant parents meet potential adoptive families before making their selection.
• The birth and adoptive families fully disclose identifying information (names and addresses) at the appropriate time.
• There may be ongoing contact, such as: attending the birth of the child, attending physician visits together, visiting the home, gathering as extended family members during special occasions, etc.
• There is direct correspondence between the families.
• The families contact each other directly by telephone.
• There are face-to-face meetings during the child's lifetime.

SEMI-OPEN ADOPTION

• The expectant parents choose a family from written, non-identifying profiles.
• An adoption agency or third party mediates the contact between the parties before and after the birth.
• Birthparents and adoptive parents know each other only by their first names.
• Adoptive parents may be present at the birth and may have met the birthparents before the birth.
• All correspondence is sent through the adoption agency or third party.
• Post-placement meetings are arranged and supervised by the mediator.
• Adoptive parents often share the child's pictures and letters with the birthparents, but may also include gifts, videotapes, etc.

( In some cases there isconfidential adoption but those cases are very rare present day..most birth families want to know at least something about the adoptive family or how there birth child is doing)

Hello All...some friends had some questions about the different levels of adoption contact between adoptive parents and birth parents so i got some descriptions off of some sites to help with that question. This is also a prayer request...we are not too far from having to "kind of" commit to what route we want to take before we start meeting birth families. We have the right to decide how comfortable we feel with contact...but so does the birth family and there are no set rules for you have to follow this exact plan. SOOO....we could use your prayers....we have really been praying about it but still hard to make a plan for something "unkown" and do not not know the situation yet,ect. Any other questions let us know!

Bethany Christian Service

Here is a history about Bethany Christian Service:

"Bethany Christian Services began in 1944 as the fulfillment of a dream shared by two young women, Marguerite Bonnema and Mary DeBoer, who wanted to establish a Christian residence for homeless children. With the assistance of businessman Andrew VanderVeer, they established the Bethany Home. Their humble ministry has grown into an international team of nearly 1,000 dedicated staff actively ministering to children and families.

Bethany Christian Services is the nation’s largest adoption agency, and we provide care for orphans and vulnerable children living on five continents. We are called to care for children of all ages and in all stages of life. We serve children at conception by counseling women with unplanned pregnancies and by providing frozen embryos a chance for life through our embryo adoption program. Our commitment extends to children and teens who are living in foster care or in orphanages.We are committed to finding the best families for children in need around the world.

With over 75 locations nationwide and international ministries in more than a dozen other countries, Bethany touches the lives of more than 40,000 people each year. Our mission calls us to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. "
( From Bethany Christian Service website)

Thank you!! and vision

      
We just wanted to start the blog off by saving THANK YOU for your thoughts, love, and prayers for us as we go through this adoption process. God has blessed us with such a wonderful support group and we are so blessed!
Our vision for this blog is to keep people informed, post status updates on what is going on, and most important prayer request.
The first status is we are waiting to hear back to get a date to meet with our caseworker ( Carrie). We need to meet with her a total of 3 times for the homestudy part( one of those times will be in our home). I am also working on a scrapebook of our lives for our agency to show birth families a little about us. So once we finish our homestudy we will be ready to be put on "THE LIST" :)