We are always getting asked by friends, family, strangers, etc. how the adoption is going. People are so kind and so caring, and we love that our journey has become a group effort so to speak. We love how involved our community is in our lives, and it is truly a blessing to us in every way!
Read moreOne Year - Hoping, Learning, & Waiting
Thanksgiving has come and gone. The halls are being decked. The trees have been trimmed. It's the same traditions that make their way into our lives every year, but this Christmas for the Morales family is much different. No, we don't have another stocking to hang from our mantle (except for Swanson's), and we're not shopping for baby clothes, but our hearts have been filled with love for a child we do not yet know, a culture we've never experienced, and the hope of our family to come.
Read moreDecisions We Made Before We Began the Adoption Process: #3 Where In the World?
We get asked pretty often how we chose to adopt from Ethiopia. While I wish the answer were more romantic, our answer to people is that it was logistics.
Read moreDECISIONS WE MADE BEFORE WE BEGAN THE ADOPTION PROCESS: #2 Domestic or International?
Making the decision to adopt internationally was simultaneously extremely difficult and extremely easy. It was a weird stretch, especially for me.
Read moreDecisions We Made Before We Began the Adoption Process: #1 Choosing An Agency
Before we began the adoption process, we had a to make a lot of really difficult and grueling decisions. Recently, I have had several friends from college/home/life reach out to me asking questions about how we got started along this journey just about a year ago. We are definitely not experts by any means, but I just thought it might be helpful for me to share a little bit about how we got started as a reference to anyone else who may be considering adoption. There are a few of these decisions that I have a lot to write about, so I decided to split them up so that it's not an overwhelming amount of writing (you know I tend to ramble).
Read moreWaiting List - an October Update
A little over a week ago, we sent off our dossier! It was a huge step for us, and we are so excited to announce that we are OFFICIALLY on the WAITING LIST!
Read morePatience - an August Update
Weekend at Namesake Lake
As many of you know, our future son's middle name comes from the lake in which Jason's dad has a house. It's his refuge. His "happy place," if you will. This weekend, we were able to get some R & R up in the mountains of North Carolina at Saylor Lake.
Read moreThe Pursuit
The phrase "pursuit of happiness" is all too common in American culture. It's what we strive for. It's chasing after the American Dream that we're so familiar with.
Read moreRaising Money and More
This past Saturday, our church small group put together a yard sale to help us raise money for our adoption fund. If you're on Facebook, you probably saw some of my 1,000 posts about it!
Read moreApril Prayer Requests for Judah
I know we're already a week into April, but I'm just now getting around to posting our April Prayer Request list on the blog. But, I've been a tad bit busy, what with starting a new job, finishing my autobiography, selling Mary Kay, and going on a mini-Spring Break trip home. So, it's better late than never, and we are still in the first half of the month.
Read moreOne day...
One day, I'll have time to blog regularly again.
One day, I'll finish my autobiography for our adoption home study.
One day, I'll think about something to write other than what my childhood was like, and how best to put that into words.
Read moreAltogether Wonderful
Behind the Name
Some of you might be wondering, if it's going to be three years before we're able to bring our child home, why would we name him now? That's a great question, and a question that I really do love answering because it helps our friends and family see a little deeper into our lives and our approach to this whole adoption journey.
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