A sleepover with my favorite baby girl. . . .

 Last week Kinlee had her first sleep over at my house.

 

  I just love spending time with her and loved every second. We even went to the park which was a huge hit   ( I think)

 

 

 

 

Swinging

Of course She mostly liked playing with things that arent even toys

 

'

 

Because Stephs Water bottle is soooo cool

Torturing the dog was fun too

Then it came (past) bedtime can you say delirious, which in Kinlees case means laughter at EVERYTHING

Best laughing picture I could get

 

 

 And then the next morning at 7am She was up and ready for the day

I often wonder what we ever did without this sweet girl. I am thrilled to be apart of her life and am honored that I was trusted to care for her over night. I love her to the moon and back!

Steph and Kinlee 9/24/14

Not according to my plan

  Ok whose anxious and drained while waiting to hear back form this home study?? I know I am. Who thought we would be long past this point right now and would have moved onto the next step?? I know I did. Who has felt 1000 different emotions and is just  plain overwhelmed?? I maybe the only one on that one          ( besides Jeremy). When we announced God had called us to adopt. I was excited and I think for weeks I ran on adrenaline alone. I was floored I was stoked I was so many things. I was ready and I knew it would be hard, I knew I would struggle, I knew all this (Plus so many who had been there had told me). But until its you, you cannot fully comprehend what those feelings actually feel like surging through your body. You dont realize how exhausted you will feel from the waiting , praying, and agonizing over why you havent heard anything yet. You cannot fathom how your arms will ach to hold them and your heart will hurt knowing that your still so far away from that moment. I never realized I would feel all this before I actually had a picture in my hand, before those two little  eyes  were staring back at me, before their was my "boy. "

             To my knowledge on average a home study  would take 4-6 weeks to be completed.  We are on week 11 and still no news. Do not be fooled I have been angry, I have been crushed, I have felt defeated.
 Each time no matter how I felt this verse popped into my mind.
Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
 Joshua 1:9

  God knew when we started this journey that our home study would take longer than we thought. He has a reason, obviously I have no idea what that reason is. All I know is that things are not going  according to plan and since Im only human that makes me unhappy. Mostly because its scary, its unknown and it makes us afraid. then im reminded of this verse......
 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

We have no reason to be afraid because this is all according to Gods plan, and isnt that the plan that will work out for our good?

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. Romans 8:28

God has a plan for our adoption. He always has even long before we realized He was calling us to adopt He knew that was His plan for us. He knew the hurts, He knew the pain, He knew the triumphs, He knew the joy. He knew it all. Nothing is a surprise to Him, He knows the trials we have still yet to face, but He also sees the end of this long journey and he sees this family of two become a family of three. 

I know that things are not going according to my plan, but thats ok because I want my life to go according to HIS plan. After all He sees my family of three, He knows who my son is and His plan will lead us to him. It maybe long with unexpected delays and set backs, but I know were right where were suppose to be because were where He wants us to be and its all according to His greater plan.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

 

Be yourself. . . .

Jeremy wanted to grow his hair for one year. He made it 14 months. Some hated it, Some loved it.  Some loved to hate it, but one day last week when Jeremy decided how he felt about it thats when the hair came off.

Be yourself no matter how unpopular.
Trust your opinion and dont seek approval.

Delays. . . . . .:(

I apologize for being gone for so long I have just been collecting myself. Everythings ok. We just hit a small delay due to some paperwork that had not been sent in ( no ones fault), Delays are hard no matter what the circumstance and maybe im a tad bit bias but I think they are 100 million times worse when they involve you bringing home a missing piece of your family. I wont lie I was sad, mad, and just about  every other emotion there is. I want so badly to hear our home study is approved and move on to the next step.  In these times I am reminded of Exodus 14:14

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Its then that the emotions go away and I am left with the peace only God can give. I know without a doubt that if God didnt want these delays, there would be no delays. Therefore we are waiting for a reason, there is a purpose and none of this is in vain.  

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

Yep, We have hit a small delay, but we have nothing to worry about because this is all apart of His plan  :)

a little more private, a bit more secure

In a effort to keep things more secure  this blog is now private and can only be accessed by those given permission. However I am in no way trying to keep anyone out and if you have a friend or family member who you know enjoys reading please send me their email address and I will add them. I appreciate everyones patience and understanding as time goes on and we become deeper in the adoption process this will just keep everyone safer and I can still share ( some things) with it still being somewhat private.
Please keep praying.......

No stipulations. . . .

 You make me new, you are making me new. You make me new, you are making me new........

          When we started our adoption journey just 4 months ago we had our minds set on a few things. First off I had in my mind that I wanted a healthy baby. Healthy. Yep I was that shallow. We knew without a doubt God was telling us Hong Kong was the country our baby was in. When we realized Hong Kong was a special needs only orphanage  we were confused. After all God wanted us to have a healthy baby. Right??  So we decided we were open to moderate special needs for our baby.  Did you catch that baby part. Ok so a two or three year old is a baby right?? Deep in my heart I wanted a baby and I refused to think that my child was that age.  Then we began to pray not my will but your will Lord and oh how He has changed my heart in only 4 months. Also when you are open to His way and His plan for you, He will reveal so much more about that plan to you. I cannot explain how I knew we would have a boy. Its like God said over and over you will have a son. I felt it when I woke up, I felt it throughout my day, I felt it at night. God revealed that to me. I still do not know my sons age, but when I imagine him, When I dream about the day He is placed in my arm, I no longer see a tiny baby. My mind is drawn to the age two or three. Although I could be completely wrong about that I am now at peace with whatever age my son is. As a human I worry and think about the special needs our son has. I am fearful for many reasons, but I am ready to face them head on because I know that God will equip us for whatever our future holds. We saved our special needs paperwork ( paperwork that states what special needs you are open to, willing to discuss, and are not open to) for the very last piece of paperwork we did for our home study. We did this because we felt unready to complete it. I believe we felt that way because we were both being very convicted. We wanna talk about trusting God, but then we had this wall up and even though God was fulfilling a huge prayer we had prayed for six year we wanted to put  stipulations on what we thought we could handle. The truth is without God we can handle nothing. We need Him to help us through life. He is giving us a gift, and who are we to say we will accept the gift if.......By the time we sat down to complete the special needs paperwork our hearts had done a 180 not from anything we had done, but because we had let God have control, we had surrendered to Him. I cannot tell you what special needs my son has, but I can tell you I will open my heart and life to this precious boy regardless. I cannot tell you that life will be easy or that things wont be hard, but I can tell you that God will never leave us. I cant say that im not fearful, but I can tell you that Gods holding me everyday, every minute. God is using this adoption to change me. He is making me new and   With absolutely no stipulations I open my heart to this gift, the gift of my son. He knows him, He loves him, and He has chosen him for us.  Who are we to question His plan.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Please continue to pray for our adoption, for our son, and for us..

I can't wait to meet our little boy......

I have a better plan. . . .

Did you know that you have to pray with a right heart??

Seriously if we want our prayers answered we need to come before God with a right heart.  Ever heard the saying its all in how you ask...Yep I have found that to be true with God as well.


My prayers for four years sounded the same. I begged to become pregnant. I cannot tell you how many times I sobbed because the words wouldnt come out, but God knew what those sobs meant. I asked, I begged, I sobbed, I whined, but each time I asked the same thing Lord would you please allow me to get pregnant. Would you let this be the month that my dreams come true.

For four years I waited and God didnt answer. I didnt understand I was crushed, I was confused, I was ANGRY. I asked Why??!!! Why Lord are you allowing  single woman to conceive, woman out of wedlock.....

Time went on and I was still praying. We then felt the call to move to Montana. While we were there I began changing. In serving the Lord I became closer to Him. I began to seek His will for my life and not my own. I begin to want to surrender to His plans for my life whatever they maybe.

I wasnt anger anymore. Then I met Mandi ( Alayahs Mom) who some of you may know is a single mom. Oops...Kinda hard to admit that you questioned why God would give single woman babies when your new friend is a single mom. Mandi told me her story one night. I wont share because its her story to tell, but I will never forget when the words come out of her mouth. I have never told her this, but It felt like after so many years God answered my question. "Alayah saved my life".

 All at once I understood. I knew that my God is faithful and who are we to question His ways. He has a plan and purpose for EVERYTHING He does. Even giving single moms babies.


From that point on my prayers began to change. I still asked, I still prayed, I still sobbed, but my heart was different and the words were different. "Lord would you give Jeremy and I a family."   My heart was finally right with Him. After that I didnt pray to get pregnant. I just prayed for a child to love and care for.

Then last year our family received a huge blessing when Kinlee  came into this world. I cannot tell you how She has changed our family.

 I cannot explain to you the way we all perk up when she is carried into the room,  but I can tell you that once again my question was answered and my God reminded me not to question His ways.  I know that I can speak for ALL of us when I say She is loved to the moon and back :) 

 Time went by and Still I prayed and asked for a family. Next thing you know its your turn

  So really all those years when I prayed and thought God hadnt answered He really was saying No thats not my plan for your life,  I have a better plan for you.



I encourage you to seek Gods will and to strive to pray with a right heart and be able to sincerely say not my will but your will be done.

I assure you God is faithful and will answer those prayers  just sometimes his answer is I have a better plan......

I completed the ice bucket challenge!!

  You have probably heard by now about the ALS Ice bucket challenge right??

The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on one's head or donating to the ALS Association in the United States. It went viral throughout social media during the Northern Hemisphere Summer of 2014.^[1][2]

The challenge dares nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads. A common stipulation is that nominated people have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation. 

What is ALS??

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed

You may be saying doing the challenge  is awful why not just donate, but the ice bucket challenge has raised 42 Million so far. All the videos and the challenge have raised so much awareness as well as funding. If your reading this then I challenge you :)

Youcaring

   Hey after more research we have decided to use a new fundraising site called You caring. It works much like go fund me except they do not take 10% of our donations. Here is the link to give on our you caring site.
https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/bringing-home-baby-c-/220667

Sorry for the confusion hopefully now we will not have to change again. We will not take down our go fund me account since we advertised it alot of places so its ok to still donate there also if you would rather. Thanks for your patience as we are just learning ourselves.

Have a happy tuesday!!!

You are our hope. . .

    Dear Baby C,
           I know  people are gonna tell you lots of things, obviously not when your a baby but when your older they will.  They will tell you we tried for "our own" baby but could never have one so we adopted you. Well maybe not that rude, but possibly. They might say we couldnt have "our own" so God sent us you. Even though thats nicer its still not true. Baby C. you are our own. You are our son. You were always meant to be our son. No I didnt give birth to you. I wasnt there for your first cry. I didnt get the privilege of hearing your first laugh or seeing your first smile. I may or maybe not be there cheering you on as you take your first steps. I missed alot of milestones and nothing can change that. However  I will be there for all the important milestones in your future. I will be there ( bawling) when your caregiver places you in my arms. I will be there the day we carry you out of the only place you have ever known as home :/ It will be the best day of mine and your Daddys life but it will hurt knowing it will be terrifying for you. I will be there for the LOOONNNNGGGG plane ride home, holding you, rocking you, playing with you, doing my best to help you understand I am here to protect you and you have nothing to fear. I will be there when we walk into the airport with our family all around. I will be there when you meet your grandparents and all your family and friends. I will be there when you enter our home for the first time. I will be there when you sleep in your room for the first time and for the first time in months ( possibly years) I will breathe a sigh of relief knowing finally we are under the same roof. On down the road  ( good Lord willing)  I will be there ( crying like a baby) on your first day of school. I will be there when you have your first heartbreak. I will be there when you go to prom ( Ill be the one taking 2000 pictures :)  I will be there when you graduate high school.   I will be there for all your future milestones.
     So when people say hurtful things hold your head high and know that You are our son. You are not here by chance or because we couldnt get what we actually wanted, you are here because Gods plan for all three of our lives. You are here because you are OUR SON. You are loved, you are wanted, you are ours. :) We love you Baby C.  We are all waiting for you, we are all excited, we are all praying, We are all in love with you....You are our hope little man :) You are what we want.....You are ours :)

  

A challenge. . . .

   We are challenging all of our friends  and family to give $35 to raise funding for our adoption. If everyone would we could exceed that $5000 and see Jeremy cut his hair and beard!!!!  The hair and beard getting cut is just for fun but  the money is a need. The next step will cost $4650.
 You can donate at this link http://www.gofundme.com/8q2v58
I know $5000 seems unreachable trust me I really do,but $35 doesnt seem that bad?? Cant give the whole $35 no problem, any amount will help us reach this next goal. Cant give at all? We absolutely understand, but please pray for our funding. We know that God has a plan and will supply for this need.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Bye Bye Hair

    If we can raise $5000 Jeremy has agreed to cut his hair and beard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We all know how much needed this is.....

 All the money raised will go towards our adoption. The next step is almost $5000 alone, so yes this fundraiser may be funny but the money is not just for fun its NEEDED.

If you would like to donate and say bye bye hair you can do so a couple different ways.
 To donate online you can use our paypal account jeremymalone@gmail.com

You can also donate online at our go fund me account http://www.gofundme.com/8q2v58.

If you would like to write a check or send cash you can send me a email at stephaniehmalone@gmail.com and I will send you our mailing address.

Please write bye bye hair in the memo.

Thank you for all that you do. Please remember our adoption in your prayers

I want to be His mother.....

 I know its hard to understand when your not in our shoes hearing God whisper adoption and point us in that direction day after day. Thats ok its our calling to answer we know everyone wont agree with it. I want people to know that I want to be his mother.  I know you think im talking crazy and you think what I mean is I want to get pregnant, but nope I want to be "His" mother. God has changed my heart in so many ways that sometimes I feel like im a different person, and I now understand so many things that never made sense before. Others will say that we adopted because we had tried so long to have our own to no avail. I however 100% believe we never got pregnant because  we were suppose to adopt. Im not saying that no one adopts who has biological children we have several friends who have, and oh what a blessing ALL of their children are. I know this is how God has chosen to grow our family. Will we have biological children in the future?? Only God knows the answer to that, I know that if we do others will say that we gave up to soon. Nope wrong again. Baby C was meant to be our first child I believe that with all thats within me. Seriously I am meant to be His mother. And I love Him. How do you love someone you have never met and know nothing about?? I dont know ya'll I cant explain it. I dont know why all I wanna do is protect him and keep him safe. I cant tell you how I long to read him bedtime stories and tuck him in each night. I cant understand myself the feeling that its time for me  to grow up and put myself second. I dont comprehend the way my heart flutters when I simply open the door to the room that will one day be his. All I know is God has placed a desire in my heart to be " His" mother. Not a mother like before, but "His" mother.


I can remember while leaving in Montana feeling God speak to me about adoption. I remember around the same time everytime I turned around someone was preaching about psalm 37:4  (Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.) I thought to myself God is gonna allow me to be a mother I just knew it. Of course at the time I assumed that would mean conceiving . All along I had it all wrong. God wants us to desire what He desires. He wants us to surrender our lives and desire his will for us. Then He will give us those wonderful blessings that end up being exactly the desires of our heart even if we didnt always realize it. He has placed a desire in my heart to love, protect, and care for a little boy in Hong Kong, China. I dont know his age, I dont know his birth given name, I dont know his medical needs, but I know one thing for absolute certain......I want to be His mother.

A update and some answered questions.

           Hey guys just a little update to let you know all is well. We are still waiting to hear back from our home study so no new news there.  We had an amazing photo shoot and cannot wait to share the pictures with you!!! Ivy did a fantastic job and She absolutely captured the joy we feel in  knowing that God chose us to  be our little mans parents. The joy in knowing that our prayers have been answered and although the process will be long and we will have struggles and hurts and in no way will it be easy at the end of this journey is a precious baby boy.  Our precious baby boy. How overwhelming is that?!?!?

         We also have some name reveal photos that we are so excited about. We love the name we have chosen for our son. Some are confused in how we have a name or even know its a boy when we do not yet know our son so here are the answers to those important questions :)

            Obviously Jeremy always wanted a son. I absolutely did not care either way. We were asked by our social worker if we wanted to specify the gender and we both sit there silent not knowing the answer. We had always thought we would just leave it open and be surprised. Obviously knowing that we had no definite answer She told us we didnt have to tell her right then we could talk about it and let her know later. I prayed and prayed because I was dead set on not specifying that was our plan that was always the plan, but I could feel God speaking to me about a son. I dont know why , but I knew in my heart that I would have a son. We decided to specify the gender. That is how we know " its a boy" :) !!!!

   We always wanted to pick a name. When we moved into the house we are renting in Sweetwater (that is a " God story" all in itself ) We moved the refrigerator and found one alphabet magnet. The letter "C" We had already been brain storming names and at the moment we both knew. So we looked at baby names and books and talked and discussed and after many weeks we picked a name.  The decision to not share the name was just something we wanted to do. We wanted that one special secret that just the two of us shared. It has been so special for us to share that with only each other. Making it that much more special when we do share his name with family and friends.

 Why change his name??
Its not because we "wont like His birth given name"  Its just what we have chosen to do. So much will be up in the air until we know Him. Know his name, his age. Then we will be able to make actual decisions, but for now I will let you in on the plan. It all depends on so many things, but we do plan to keep his name. Will it be his first name or his middle name we cant answer that because we dont know. The name we have chosen will be in there somewhere first name, middle name  we will know in time.

He will always have his birth given name in his name, I never ever wanna take that away from him. His past will always be apart of him, we never wanna hide or cover up any of it. We want to celebrate who he is and would never want to change him.I feel  strongly about this and pray that I will always do my best to help him understand the beauty of adoption and the story of how God brought Him to us.

We plan to reveal his name ( the one we have chosen) sometime after we hear back from the home study.    

So keep those prayers coming. Pray that all paperwork will be acceptable and that all is there and accounted for.  Pray that if it be Gods will we would hear "Your home study has been approved "

Thank you for your continued prayer and support.
    

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