​I truly believe that one of the good things to come out of having to wait longer and work harder for something is the true, genuine appreciation you have for the finale. I had a older gentleman come over to our yard sale fundraiser who adopted his first 3 children and later in life had a few biological. He told me with absolute certainty that he never once loved his biological children any more than he loves those he adopted. They were all his children, genetics or not. He assured me that all the hard work and sacrifice we have made would be worth it. He left me with chills as he was telling his stories.
We have so many dreams and plans in store for our child. Until then we will continue working on our lives, marriage, and goals. Once we have our babies in our arms our lives and goals will change. We are ready for that to happen today, tomorrow, or a year from now (pray it’s not a year though!)

This weekend we had our yard sale fundraiser and it was a success!  I went into it praying we could raise $1000 and we more than doubled that! Between the yard/bake sale and our T-Shirts we raised enough to pay our first fee when we are finally chosen to become parents. Such a huge deal! 

About a month ago we started asking for donations. My sister accepted them at her house and then we rounded some up as well. We had a large enclosed trailer full of stuff. Nate had to work on Saturday so he wasn't able to haul the trailer for us, but of course my Dad came to the rescue and drove 4 hours round trip to come get the trailer for us. My sister kept telling me that she was getting a lot of stuff dropped off at her house, but I was not prepared for what I saw when I pulled up to her house. Her large garage was stuffed full! Yard sales are scary because you never know what items you're going to get but we had some awesome stuff. Clothes with new tags, some nice furniture, super cute home decor, and lots more. Guys, I was blown away by all the donations. 

We started the sale at 8am and when I arrived at my sisters around 7:30 there was already someone there. It was a steady stream of people until about 3:30 PM.  I didn't even have time to pee until 4 because I was running around crazy all day! My sisters were rock stars, my nieces and nephews helped (and tried to steal a few toys), and my dad helped and supported like he always does. My mom couldn't be there because my Great Aunt was in the hospital but she still made time to make delicious cupcakes to sale and my oldest sister wasn't there but did hustle some tshirt sales from home. My family is the absolute best. 

The day before the yard sale we were presented a situation for a baby due in the next week. We had all our paperwork filled out but did not end up applying for the situation because the $43,000 was too far out of our budget. I'm not going to lie and say we didn't feel a bit discouraged. The fundraiser has helped raise our spirits a lot. We know that situation was not right for us and we know that all the support we got this weekend will help us get to our baby. 

I drove home last night very humbled and thankful for my life. The support we've been shown by family, friends, and complete strangers has been nothing short of amazing. It's taught me that service to others can go a long ways. This is honestly something that will always stay with me. This weekend was a life changer for me, in more ways than one. 

Not much new is going on with our adoption right now. We are a waiting family with our agency, but we haven’t had any luck with a match yet. Every day we are hoping that it’s the day we get good news! We are holding our first fundraiser this weekend. We will be holding a yard sale in my hometown and I’m really excited for it! I think the hardest thing about being a waiting family is “waiting”. To become a waiting family, it takes months of preparation to get all your paperwork ready and submitted. Once your paperwork is done, the home study can take a bit of time because you’re waiting on the social worker to get the report done. So even though you are not officially ready to adopt, you are keeping busy and moving forward in the right direction.

When you are home study approved and a waiting family, you kind of just have to relax and wait. It’s hard knowing that you have a life changing experience on the verge of happening but you don’t know when. I think that is one of the reasons I’m most excited for the fundraiser, because I know I’m doing something to help me get to the life changing moment. I’m not just sitting around waiting for it to happen. We have been accepting donations for the yard sale and I’m blown away by the generosity of people. It has really opened my eyes to the act of service and the blessing that people are in my life. To those who have donated so far, thank you. I can’t explain how much it means to me.

Not only are fundraisers a great way to help take your mind off the waiting process, but it’s also a stress reliever knowing you are helping financially. Private adoptions are expensive. Most families who adopt have also already gone through some sort of infertility treatments that are never cheap, so fundraisers are very helpful if you decide to adopt privately. On average, an adoption through an agency ranges from $24,000 to $60,000 in the state of Utah. We have already spent an estimated $30,000 on fertility treatments, so we could potentially be spending close to $100,000 to get our miracle baby. Is it Stressful? Yes.  Will it be worth it, absolutely!

​I’ve had a few people give me their opinions and have asked me why we don’t go through the foster care system. Believe me, we have thought about it and we have spoken to a few different people connected to the foster care system and it is just not the right fit for us right now. It’s one of those things that it 100% a personal decision and we have made ours. Here’s my stance on adoption…. There is never a wrong way to do it. Whether you adopt through an agency, privately through an attorney, or through the foster care system you are still giving a child a chance at a life in a stable home full of love <3