Capturing the joy we feel for our Baby "C"

  Our photo shoot is tomorrow and this girl is WAY TOO EXCITED!!!!! Besides our wedding we have never had professional pictures taken, and although I know Ivy would argue that shes no professional I have seen her photos and she takes them as if she is.
   I have thought and thought about wearing my hair curly or straight, what clothes to wear, etc,etc. Then this morning Jeremy said something that made so much sense, " Lets not glam up for these photos, lets just be ourselves, thats what we will like most about them, lets just be Jeremy and Stephanie."  He is so right!! No need to worry about which way to do my hair or what im going to wear. Tomorrow I want it to be about us and the joy that is overflowing in our hearts for our son that we havent yet met. A Child we cried out to God for. A child that is a answered prayer.

 Just like Isaiah 55:8-9 says      Gods ways are not our ways, there so much better!!!!

  Tomorrow we will try our best to show the world the joy we feel in our hearts about the way God has chosen to give us the baby we prayed 6 years for. Tomorrow we celebrate Baby C and our great Gods plan and the  beauty of adoption.

Photo shoot

    We are having a photo shoot very soon and we are SO EXCITED!!!!! We could never thank our sweet friend Ivy enough for agreeing to take our photos!! We will share photos when our home study is approved and Baby Cs name will be shared then also!!!!!!  Keep the prayers coming :)!!!!!!!

What was your first thought/ reaction when you heard we were adopting??

Sheer JOY! My husband texts me on day saying "Have you been on Facebook? Jeremy and Stephanie announced that they are adopting!" I just began to cry thinking of how much joy this child will bring to you! And how loved and cared for this baby will be! And then when Stephanie told me that the baby will be from Hong Kong I was so excited! What a great adventure this will be for your family! I just can't wait to meet that sweet baby boy and tell him all about how loved he is and was before we even knew him!
--Carrie Kersey

 Praised God, to put a baby in your arms, as I watched you here in Montana, and what a mom your going to be.
 God was truely blessing you, and what great parents your going to be.
--Diane Mundell

Steph and Jeremy
I think that God has smiled on you, and I couldn't be more pleased. I know in my heart what this means to you. How very awesome our Lord is, and His blessings. How wonderful it is that you have chosen to adopt a child. What an absolute beautiful thing that is on your part. I know this child will have a wonderful God filled home. Blessings to you both.
--Bev Niffenegger

I was thrilled for you guys. There has been no greater blessing in my life than having a child, and it brings me such joy to know you will experience that soon
--Jennifer Wisz

I am very excited for you both! You two will make great parents!
--Tammy Swafford

 You guys will be great parents plus who wouldn't want to have willie Robertson for a dad lol
--Justin Evans

We were thrilled and so many great emotions. We definitely know what it is to have the calling to adopt. We are very happy for you and pray for you and your son! Cant wait to see Him.
--Doug and Stacy Brown

You two will make the greatest parents ever. So happy for you
--Sarah Quillen

So awesome
--Diana LeVay

  I sit here with my mouth wide open & was speechless ! Glad you called me !
--Mamaw Wilcox

Joe and I were excited about someday having a niece or nephew.
--Uncle Joe and Aunt Tiff

 Awesome, I started praying in agreement right then.
--Boo Bryd-Baker 


how precious
--Renee Bunch


"You're doing WHAT?!" sums it up.
--Dusty Vaughn

 Excited and so happy for ya'll. And i thought how much ya'll deserve to be parents.
--Kalyn Faison

I thought it was great. I was so happy for you all I know you two would be great parents. You have a lot to give to a child and teach him all the values you two have learned.
I was very happy for you two. I felt like you would be a great mom and dad. Blood doesn't always count.
--Jennifer Humphreys 


I said what are gonna call him or her?.... baby crowder??!! Lol
--Jeremy Downing

Happy and Sad. Happy you would have a baby, but sad knowing it would be along process.
-- Lao Lao 

What a wonderful gift from God and what awesome parents you both will be!
--Kellie Yielding

 Happy for you guys!! Wishing you the best on this new and exciting adventure. Proud of you for accepting any child that comes into your future. A child is a blessing no matter where they come from they were meant to be part of this world. That child whoever it is was meant to be yours from the start and how great it is that was always the plan.
 --Ashley Goodale Grinslade

Happy for both of you.
--Lee Swafford

Shocked, excited, and scared.
--Mamaw Harmon

God is so awesome & I am so happy for you both!
--Lennis Everett

 Pure Joy and Elation :)
--Whitney Reynolds

I was so excited. All I could think of is how badly you want to be parents and how extremely awesome you are going to be at it.
 --Mandi Miller Branch


Excited!!! A child is a blessing no matter how they come into your life
--Eliza Pillion

I felt excited, scared, and then I thought I'm gonna be a Grammie! :) :) :)
--Grammie

Good for you guys!!
--Josh Evans

I was absolutely ecstatic for y'all! After having fertility issues I understand what it's like to want a child SO bad!! But to know that y'all didn't have fertility issues and that you guys were just following the calling on your life, it was just that more uplifting!!
--Kayla Clemons


I was excited I wanted to see baby Malone the next day if not sooner!
--Aunt Lisa

Awesome
--Elizabeth Pierce

Love it!
--Becky Calloway

When I think about the miracle of my son I do not think of a Orphan being rescued, I think of all those years I cried out for a child and how faithful my God is. I do not think of myself or my husband as heroes or want us to be praised for adopting. Until my last breath I will praise God for this child and the miracle of how he came to be ours. God is the hero!! 
--Mama ( Steph)

After years of indecisiveness I was finally ready to be a father. I was excited, scared, and uncertain of what the road ahead would hold. The bible says with God all things are possible and it also says we are all children of God, so I felt it was my calling and my duty to take in a orphan and raise Him up in a christian home and take Him in like my God took me in. To be a courageous father and husband to my family.  Oh snap!
--Daddy ( Jeremy)

Jewelry Adoption Fundraiser

 Hey Guys just wanted to update everyone about our next fundraiser for our adoption. I am getting orders together for a Premier Designs (Jewelry) party. If you love jewelry and would like to order please check out the new catalog. I will receive 100% of the proceeds from all sales. If any of my friends and family decide to have their own party I will receive 25% of the proceeds from their party as well.  All orders must be in by August 5th. Lets raise some funds and keep working to bring my baby boy home and get some awesome jewelry in the process. Thanks in advance its a honor to know that my boy is already so loved.

http://whitney.mypremierdesigns.com/   Access code is 1611.

Participation please :)

 Ok Guys I am working on a post for my blog about everyones reaction to our adoption news. A few people commented when I asked on facebook, but other than that I didnt get alot of participation. So I thought I would ask one last time. So please comment and share your thoughts :) (positive ones only please) Be honest if you were scared or had reservations thats ok share those thoughts and fears.  These will also be put into Baby Cs life book so He will always know that everyone was so happy and excited long before He came home.

Thanks in advance :) :) :)

Songs that remind me of Him. . . . .

So most everyone who knows me knows im crazy about music. ( We played 5 songs at our wedding!! haha) Anyway I have alot of songs that remind me of our baby, and our adoption. They come on the radio often and I think its God way of reminding me not to worry that Hes in control and working all things out for our good.

I thought I would share some of the songs with you. Enjoy..


On this journey of Adoption God has been there every step. Through the pain and trials to the joy and truimph He is there and this songs describes that beautifully.

This song is my adoption song. It was in my heart from day one. I want this to be the song playing in the background of our gotcha day video. Each time it says one step closer I  am reminded that one day we will wrap up this adoption journey and a bouncing baby boy will finally be placed into his mommas arms.

Now we wait

              We had our home visit today for our home study, and everything went great. I normally would have been a nervous wreck, and I was nervous but I felt so much peace. I know it was because so many were praying for us. I could feel your prayers.  Now we are waiting for approval this takes about 6-8 weeks          ( could possibly be sooner.) We are so excited that we have completed this first step and are that much closer to our beautiful baby boy. Please continue to pray for us, our child, and our adoption. We cannot thank you enough for all the prayers that already have been lifted up on our behalf. We are overwhelmed by what God has done and is continuing to do for us. 
        Now we wait. . . . . . . . . .

Just a update and a word of appreciation

    First off I would like to say that I am so thankful for second chances. Sometimes we make choices only to later realize they might not have exactly been for the best. With that being said I am excited to announce that my last day at Kmart will be July 19th and I will be starting back at Polar Freeze tomorrow. I am thankful for the opportunity to go back and am so grateful for another chance.

   I know that this has been part of my downer mood lately. I just felt off and like I didnt belong where I was. The truth is I am just too tender hearted for retail and cashiering. I am thankful however for the opportunity I was given and the awesome people I met in the process. However I am excited to get back to where I belong :)

    Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me. I can literally feel your prayers. I feel calm and relaxed although our home visit is this week. ( I know I still have time for the craziness, freaking out to begin). I ask that you continue to cover us in prayer as we have our home visit on thursday ( July 10th) and for our home study to be approved.

     I truly appreciate everyone who is being so awesome and positive about our baby and decision to follow Gods call on our lives to adopt. I feel I am constantly having to defend our decision and its exhausting. I am blessed to have friends and family who are here for us and honestly excited and happy for us. Continue to pray as we hold our heads high and deal with negativity ( Im not always good at that).

Good Bless,
Stephanie

Timeline :)

  I realize I have really been a downer lately with my sad and droopy post and I apologize so lets focus on the positives. Lets take a look at our adoption timeline what we have completed and whats to come.. . .

• April 3 (2014) submitted Preliminary Application.
• April 6             Submitted formal Application
• April 7             announced on facebook so that friends and family could cover us in prayer.
• April 10           Talked to  International Intake  Coordinator about our Country options.
• April 17           Got the call our Formal Application had been approved.
• April 17            Attended information meeting at Agency. Received homestudy paperwork.
• April 28            Couples interview for home study.
• May 12             individual interviews for home study.

 I have completed 20 training hours and Jeremy has completed 10. Only 10 hours are required before home study can be completed.

  July 10th we have scheduled our home visit for our home study which is the last step. Usually the home study would not taken this long to complete but we moved and I changed jobs not to mention gathering enough funds to pay for the Application and home study which combined cost  $2950.  Our God is good and He has provided every step of the way.

   Whats next??

After our home visit we wait to find out if our home study was approved. (WE ask that you please cover this in prayer!!)

Next we start on our   dossier which is paperwork  that will be sent to Hong Kong. The country fee is also due which is $4650. ( Pray for funding) At this point we can apply for grants please pray for God will and His plan for our funding.

After the dossier we wait for a referral which can take time. During this time we need to focus on the rest of our training and building our funds for the remainder of our adoption journey.

After we receive and accept a referral we wait to find out when we can travel. Meanwhile we complete 10 more training hours. We get all our things together for travel ( passports, etc.) and get house ready for baby.

We will travel to Hong Kong and stay  for 4-6 days.  While there we will meet our son and go to court where if all goes well He will be pronounced a Malone. We will bring him home forever :)

After this we have post placement reports where we meet with our social worker and talk about how everything is going, any problems or hard transitions we are having.



We are so excited that God has led us down this road and has chosen adoption to grow our family. We cant wait to find our boy and bring Him home.

"Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"        LUKE 1:45

I wanna teach my son

   Yesterday I had a coworker make a very racist comment to me about my child specifically. Her statement started out " Don't take me wrong i'm not racist" It all went down hill from there as she said you know your baby will look like this as she made a gesture with her hands. I did not get mad. I did not get upset. I just turned away and headed back to my work, when she said hey and made another awful comment. I seriously did not get upset however I want people to understand the depth of this problem. Had I went to her and said things of the same nature about her child I have no doubt that she would have fought me right there. So why is it ok? Why do people have the nerve to say awful things to others? What happen to treating others the way we want to be treated?  Somewhere in life respect went away. There are so many fights and arguments because people do not realize its ok to keep your opinions to yourself.
       I want to teach my son that there is so much more to life than skin color. We all have a purpose and if we are busy kicking each other while were down we are not fulfilling that purpose. I want him to know the importance of helping those in need. I want Him to know that there is a time to stand up for yourself, but there is also a time to let things go. I let her comments go yesterday, not because they were ok and not because they didnt affect me, but because it was ignorance. No I am not calling her a name, I simply mean she is uneducated about the subject. We need to keep others feelings in mind however before we speak. We need to be kind and respectful I want my son to know that.
    I want to teach him that we are all different, we should rejoice in those differences and our individualiities not put each other down for them. I want him to know that love doesnt know race. Love doesnt care. I want him to understand that there are mean people in the world but he can't let those people define him.

  I want him to know that I cried out for a baby and God heard my  prayers. I want him to know that we love him for him. We do not wish that he is different. We love him for everything he is. 

       So when you say mean and hurtful things I want you to realize your talking about my baby. I do not talk negatively about your baby so why do you talk negatively about mine??

Our Gods timing is not our own, Its better!

   Everyone was so right when they told us right in time the funds would arrive. God doesnt always provide them when we want Him too. I got a email saying our home study money was a month overdue, and we still only had about half of it and had no clue where the other half would come from. We prayed and prayed and I wouldnt say we gave up hope or our faith in God and His timing, but we got discouraged. We got stressed, we worried, we were overwhelmed.
          
                         Then a childhood friend of ours decided to help. Here is what She wrote



Welcome to Cupcakes for a Cause! My friends Jeremy and Stephanie Malone are adopting a baby. Some of you may know them others may not. They are currently raising funds for their home study, a vital process that will put them one step closer to meeting the child God has chosen for them. Cupcakes for a Cause is a secret fundraiser that I am starting through my bakery Sugar Branch Bakery to help them reach their goal of $1,200 so they can get their home study.I will be taking orders for the cupcakes between now and June 25th. Since I will be in Athens June 27th through June 29th anyone who lives in or around Athens will be able to get their cupcakes then. The cupcakes are $14 a dozen and 75% of the profits will be given to Jeremy and Stephanie. The other 25% will cover the cost of making the cupcakes and delivering them. I have known Jeremy and Stephanie since we were little. They are wonderful and loving people. They have dedicated their lives to God and have served as missionaries in Montana and are now active members in their home church in Sweetwater, TN. They are one of the most deserving couples I know. Jeremy and Stephanie DO NOT know about this fundraiser. Help me bless them and help them being Baby Malone home.

    I accidentally found the event on facebook and I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed as I scrolled down the page and saw so many orders within hours of the event being created. In 12hours 26orders had already been placed!! It was amazing to watch God work. It was amazing to have someone take it upon themself to help us and to watch as we literally did nothing and God provide day after day. 
    As the weeks went on and it was almost time for Cupcakes for a Cause to end we had some friends and family donate and I still cant understand how because I can never get it to add up but God provided the 1100 more we needed for our homestudy. 

The total of cupcakes that were sold were 53 DOZEN!!!!!!! 

   Mandi who lives in West Virginia brought most of those cupcakes to Tennessee to deliver. I am still so thankful and amazed at all the work She did for us. I wanna tell you the grand total not to brag on us, but to brag on our God and how He provided $717!!!!!!

    So yesterday we paid for our home study and we still have the cupcake money to go towards the next cost of our adoption .My question is why do we doubt our God?? Why do we become anxious when He doesnt provide the second we want Him to, when we know the funds will come right on time! Why do we questions His goodness when He has proven Himself over and over throughout our lives. 


Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!  Luke 1:45

I know God will continue to provide throughout our adoption. If you feel God is calling you to help provide you can send me a email at stephaniehmalone@gmail.com.

Or we have a gofundme account where you can give.

http://www.gofundme.com/8q2v58

  We cannot wait until our little man is old enough to understand how friends, family, and even strangers came together to help bring Him home. Please continue to pray for us and our adoption.

 God is so good!!