Sweet Molly

      When we lived in Montana we rescued a dog from the animal shelter named Molly. She was the sweetest dog. She was gentle and yet very playful. What I loved the absolute most was her love for kids.

 Or maybe She just tolerated them

Regardless I never had to worry because  She was so sweet.

For almost two years Molly was my shadow. She was my girl. I remember sitting with her and crying because I missed my family or just had a bad day and she would snuggle up a little closer to me as if to say its all gonna be ok.

 She was always there up for whatever and life was never dull or boring with her around.

Our plan was to take her with us to Tennessee, but in  the end that didnt quite work out the way we had planned. We ended up giving her to our friends Big J and Cameron Downing. Which was a absolutely perfect home for her since they have 5 kids.

 She hadnt lived with them but a few weeks when  we went over and the kids had already taught Molly to roll over. My heart was sure that we had done the right thing although it was hard I know she was meant to be with them.

I visited in February (2014) and Molly was doing awesome it was so good to see her so happy and full of life.


We received a phone call today that Molly had passed away. Such a sad feeling came over us. Our hearts are broken for the Downing Family. We are hurting for them, for the kids, but we are also mourning the loss of a special someone who was once our shadow, who was once our girl, who was once our dog.  Tonight our hearts are heavy as we remember what a special dog she was. We will never forget our time with sweet Molly.

Needing your prayers

 Hey guys I have a huge prayer request. We will be starting on our Dossier (is a collection of documents that represent your family to the adoption authorities in country)  soon. We need this covered in prayer. I know that this seems like no big deal, but trust me its tough. Everything must be perfect and match perfectly.  As far as financial paperwork all the way down to how we sign our name. Its so crucial that we send these documents right the first time to prevent any time delays and hold ups. Our instinct is to hurry up and finish and although we ask you please pray we can finish in a timely fashion, we also ask that you pray we would take a deep breath and relax and take our time. This is the last HUGE step in our process, This paperwork is how they match you with your child. It will be some of the most important paperwork of our life. Please pray and lift it up in your prayers daily. Also pray for funding.

Thank you for your continued support.

We didnt choose them.....God did.

     When we received our home study packet and let me assure you it was a PACKET!!! I faced it head on. Most of the basic info paperwork I flew through, but when I got to this piece of paper my heart sank.  Legal Guardians.  I know what your thinking whats to think about , right? Either my parents or his parents. After prayer and discussion we didnt feel either was the right decision. Nothing against them or the way either of us were parented. We both had great childhoods and have wonderful parents, but we both knew they were not a fit for legal guardianship of our son. However we had no idea who was a fit. We prayed and prayed and I cried . . . .alot. Its the strangest thing to make plans for where your  baby would end up should something happen to you and your husband. Especially when you have never raised him yourself  and yet your suppose to pick who would raise him should you be gone. We decided to save that until last and in the meantime moved on to other paperwork. Finally the day came that we were almost done with everything else and we could no longer put this off. We prayed and still didnt feel we had any answers. Finally one night I begged God to show me who was a fit? Who could love our son and raise him? Who would treat him like their very own? Who would allow our families to still play a huge part in his life?

         I woke up one morning and I knew. I had a couple that literally just popped into my head ( not really I know that God put them there). I was in the kitchen and I said Jeremiah and Carrie. Jeremy looked at me like I was crazy and after a few moments of silence I said Legal Guardians?? Jeremy immediately said Yes!! Why did we not think of them before?!  

 I mean they were perfect. They love God, they love each other,  they love their baby, they love kids. They are active in their church. They would let our families see our son whenever.

So we dropped the bombshell on them and asked them to pray about it.
We prayed, they prayed, and God answered.

Even though they know our son will have special needs, and even though they have one son already and plan to have a big family in the future. They said yes.

From the day we announced our plan top adopt. Carrie was there cheering us on. She was so excited. Even when everyone else either acted like we were crazy or like they didnt believe us , she was what got me through. Her excitement and encouragement helped me more than I could ever say.  And although I dont wanna think about anyone else being my Babys Mama , Im ok thinking about it as long as its her.

I pray that they never have to step up and raise our son. I pray that we are always around to love and raise him ourselves, but I have peace in knowing that if im not here He will be ok. Because we didnt pick his God Parents.....God did.

Connors God parents :) and God Brother Oliver 

Im pretty sure they already love my baby  :)

Revealing my Sons name :)

      For 6 months Jeremy and I kept a secret. Something just the two of us shared. The name we had chosen for our first son. For months we called him Baby C.  Finally the waiting was over and it was time to reveal the name we had fallen in love with, but first we told our family.

My parents finding out Baby Cs name

Baby Cs God parents finding out Baby Cs name

Jeremys parents finding out Baby Cs name

Uncle Joe and Aunt Tiff finding out Baby  Cs name

 Next  we let you guess and everyone had some good guesses and a few of you were right :)

Christian
Caleb
Caden
Carter
Chase
Cullen
Casey
Canyon
Cameron
Christopher
Calvin
Collin
Carson
Colton
Canaan
Carty
Cletus
Ceasar
Corbin
Clay
Charles
Connor

Our Sons name will be Connor!!!!

A life changing sentence

    On November 7th we received a life changing letter. With that first sentence my world changed.....

 Were approved!!! Meaning this is really happening. I know it was always happening and I realized that but this means its officially happening. We are moving onto paperwork that actually goes to Hong Kong and helps them match us with our son. It doesn't get more real or life changing than that. 

Another reason this approval letter is so bitter sweet is we waited 4 long months with no word and no news. Here is a look into our home study.

• April 17, 2014 Received our home study packet ( tons of paperwork)
•  April 28, 2014 Couples interview (answered tons of questions about us, why we chose adoption, our marriage, our home life, etc.) We also turned in  most of our paperwork.
• May 12, 2014 individual interviews ( answered tons of questions about our childhood, about each other, our marriage, etc.)
• June 3 and 4 2014 Doctor appointments ( Physicals for home study)
• July 10, 2014 Home visit ( social worker comes to our house checks to see that there is a room that will be for baby, checks that all medicine, cleaning supplies, sharp objects and guns are locked away out of reach, observes neighborhood,ask about schools, hospitals, etc.)
• November 7, 2014 received our letter that home study is approved!!!

God has carried us  the whole way and He has blessed us beyond belief!! We are so excited to be one step closer.

$10 challenge

  We are kicking off a new fundraiser through the month of November. We are asking that friends and family donate $10 then spread the word to your friends and family and have them do the same. We are praying that God would allow this to take off like a wild fire and grow into something so much bigger than us. We know that this is a huge opportunity to bring in funds. I know everyone cant give and we completely understand but for those that can spare $10 we ask that you please do so in order to help us bring our son home.

You can send donations to our paypal account at jeremymalone@gmail.com or you can mail donations to our mailing address 108 N Clark Street Sweetwater tn 37874

Please pray for the funding of our adoption and if you can please join us in our $10 challenge.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

My world crumbled but God saw the bigger picture and a more beautiful plan

      When  Jeremy and I married (6 1/2 years ago!) we both knew we wanted children. We had talked about it numerous times throughout our relationship and we knew it was something we both wanted.
 It wasn't long after being married that we stopped trying to prevent a baby ( TMI I know im sorry). Still the months went by and then years and no baby. So at one of my yearly appointments I expressed to the doctor my concerns and He ran some test. Turns out I have PCOS  (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition in which a woman has an imbalance of a female sex hormones. This may lead to menstrual cycle changes, cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant, and other health changes. In my case My sugar stays too high and my body does not always ovulate. My doctor prescribed pills to make my body ovulate and assured me he could help us to be pregnant within the year. I was happy to have a diagnosis with a solution, but it broke my heart knowing my body was not working the way it was suppose to. I spent sometime being mad at God, I spent sometime asking why, and to be honest I spent far too much time feeling sorry for myself. 
     I cant explain why, but I finally snapped out of it. I no longer was mad and I no longer felt sorry for myself. I was so convicted that In Gods time He would give us a child that I stopped taking the pills. I told Jeremy that when God decided it was our time we wouldn't need a pill or some doctor making promises. 
Years went by and although I didnt get pregnant I was fine with that because I knew my God had a plan and He was enough. During this time we moved to Montana and we were so busy and happy serving and loving on others children and babies, but still we both longed for a family of our own. 
    Then we announced that God was calling us home and I think lots of friends and family thought we were moving home to start a family. We were fine with that plan if it was Gods plan but that was not on our minds when we moved home. I spent alot of dark times when we first moved home. I couldnt find my purpose, I couldnt see Gods plan.  About 6 months later God revealed his plan. We dont always know why things happen the way they do, we dont always understand his plan in the beginning but He wants to see if we will trust Him and step out in faith without seeing the whole picture.  
     Turns out about 7 months later we realized He did call us home to start a family. Not flesh of my flesh Nor bone of my bone But still miraculously my own. I have no doubt that this is why the holy spirit convicted me about taking the pills, not that God would have allowed us to get pregnant if that wasnt His plan, but He wanted to see if we would put our  trust  in Him and His timing. He wanted us to hold onto His promises and not a doctors. 
 Sometimes its hard to see the big picture, sometimes its hard to wait on His timing, but its always worth it when we do. The waiting makes us grow stronger and it makes the gift so much more worth it when we have longed, prayed, and waited for so long. This is my story, this is How God brought beauty from ashes in my life. With one diagnosis I felt my dreams crashing down , but God saw the bigger picture and He knew that beauty was just around the corner.