Adopt(ed) Shirts Update

Our Adopt(ed) T-Shirt sale has ended! We sold just over 30 shirts! Just wanted to say THANK YOU to all who purchased a shirt to help support us! If you missed the chance to order, we may possibly do another sale at a latter date if there is enough interest. We are also still taking orders for the necklaces and accepting donations though Paypal and GoFundMe.

T-Shirt Sale Ends Today!

Just a friendly reminder... our Adopt(ed) T-Shirt sale ends TODAY! If you'd like to help us out and show your support, please place your orders before the end of the day (Friday, May 20th). Orders will be sent out on Monday and should be available for pickup or delivery by the first week of June. If you have questions, please let us know! Thanks so much for your support!

Completed Paperwork Mailed Today!

So exciting! Last night, Rachael and I FINALLY completed all of our paperwork needed before we can begin the Home Study! It was a lot of work, involving multiple background checks, drug screenings, blood work and doctor visits, insurance checks, our wills taken care of, questionnaires, and a host of other papers needing signatures requiring a witness or notary! Phew! So glad that is done!! It's now in the mail and on its way to Bethany in Winter Garden! After they've had a chance to go through it all, they'll contact us to schedule for our first of 3-4 home study visits. We're probably looking at mid-summer before all of that is complete, but once it is, we'll be a "waiting family!"

This Year Is Different!

Mother’s Day. It’s not always easy for us to celebrate this day. It comes with a number of mixed emotions. Certainly, Rachael and I can rejoice and be thankful for the women in our lives who birthed us, cared for us, helped us to grow and to learn, and to become the adults that we are today. They’ve been by our side guiding us along the way, year after precious year, nurturing us in only the way a mother can. We’ve laughed together, cried together, had a number of good times, and a few not so good. There have been times where we’ve argued and we were not the most obedient. But through it all, we had our mother’s love. 

I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything. It’s because of our parents and their love for us, that Rachael and I have come to desire so much to be parents ourselves. But after seven years of being married and praying for God’s blessing in our lives to become parents, we are still childless. 

This day, Mother’s Day, has not always been easy for us to be happy about or to look forward to. There is recognition and celebration everywhere for the mothers who are, the mothers that are not with us anymore, and even the expectant mothers who are pregnant. But this holiday rarely recognizes the women who haven’t crossed that line - the women who want to be a “mom” so badly, but haven’t had that opportunity yet for whatever reason. 

With this holiday comes cards that are given, special church services, and commercials on TV that talk all about how great being a mom is and how it’s all worth it. (Father’s Day can have a similar effect, even if not quite as intense.) But every little part of this day that stands to serve as a celebration of motherhood, is also reminder to my wife and I that we are not a part of “the club” - that we don’t know what it’s like to experience parenthood and there is a fear that we never will.

Yesterday, Rachael found a card in the mail. It was the first Mother’s Day card she’s ever gotten that actually referred to her as a “mom!” She loved it and it brought a joyful tear to her eye! It was so thoughtful, and I am so grateful that she was given this card in recognition of our status as soon to be parents! Here’s what Rachael had to say about it: 

Mother's Day is one of those days that is hard for me to express how I feel. I love celebrating my own mother, and honoring her for all she is to me, but it's always a reminder that so many have what I desperately want. But this year is different. This year, we have a hope that we will soon have a child of our own. And today, when I went out to the mailbox, I found my very first Mother's Day card, sent to me from my sweet brother and sister-in-love. Thank you, Nathan Hamler and Nicole Hamler! You have made my weekend! 

It’s not been an easy journey for us. But this year, we don’t have to fear! We just have to trust! We know God is working His plan for us, even if we didn’t always see it! Adoption was always the plan He was working for us to build and grow our family! It’s because of that, that we have hope that we’ll soon be parents! We are SO looking forward to it, and can’t wait to meet our child! We pray and hope that next Mother’s Day, we’ll be spending the day with our son or daughter!