http://www.theaaronwilson.com/9000-people-you-didnt-know-existed/
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P.S. Abel and Belle are doing well and keep us laughing all day/every day!
Here and Back
7 years ago
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2015
9,000 People You Didn't Know Existed (and We're Adopting Again!)
Aaron is the writer/blogger now. Check out his latest post and see what journey the Lord is taking us on again and why!
http://www.theaaronwilson.com/9000-people-you-didnt-know-existed/
P.S. Abel and Belle are doing well and keep us laughing all day/every day!
http://www.theaaronwilson.com/9000-people-you-didnt-know-existed/
P.S. Abel and Belle are doing well and keep us laughing all day/every day!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Last Year, Today, & What We Hope Is in Store for Next Mother's Day
Last Mother's Day was the day before we were given the shocking diagnosis of "infertile." I don't talk about our infertility much anymore on our blog, because I don't want that to define us or our adoption. After being diagnosed as an infertile couple, we prayed for a few weeks for Aaron's healing and he was even supposed to have another test done a few months later to check for any improvement. However, God changed our hearts so quickly that we haven't really prayed for healing since probably June 2009 and we never did have that 2nd test done.... We suddenly became so excited about adoption that our prayers, focus, and energies were quickly spent on our future children rather than ourselves. I remember someone telling us that they asked their Sunday School class to pray for our healing and I replied "Well, we're not even praying for that...Would you please pray for our adoption instead? Our frozen children are whom we are asking for the most prayer."
This is where our hearts are today:
Is infertility sad? Yes, it's part of this fallen world.
Is it the saddest thing in life? No - This past year has caused my heart to grieve over orphans in their affliction rather than focus on our own problems.
Little babies, I pray that next Mother's Day, you'll be in the warmth of my arms, rather than freezing in liquid nitrogen which is no place for children. I love you! - Mommy
This is where our hearts are today:
Is infertility sad? Yes, it's part of this fallen world.
Is it the saddest thing in life? No - This past year has caused my heart to grieve over orphans in their affliction rather than focus on our own problems.
Little babies, I pray that next Mother's Day, you'll be in the warmth of my arms, rather than freezing in liquid nitrogen which is no place for children. I love you! - Mommy
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Our Closed Adoption Process
I realized that I never announced on the blog that we decided to pursue a closed adoption and what that process will look like. Originally, we had been okay with an open or closed adoption, but have always preferred a closed one. Our only reason for considering an open adoption was our concern that embryos who were only available through an open agreement may not be adopted as quickly (We assumed that most adopting parents would prefer a closed adoption). However, there is a need for both, so turns out, it really didn't matter which one we pursued. We made this decision back in early February. For an anonymous/closed adoption with the NEDC, here is how it works...
6-8 weeks prior to our FET (frozen embryo transfer) in July, we will be emailed a really large PDF document with all of the profiles for their embryos who have been given in a closed agreement. All of the couples adopting anonymous embryos in the NEDC's July cycle will receive the email at the same time! Each couple then submits their 1st & 2nd choice (and even a 3rd or 4th if you'd like) and "it's first come, first serve"! In a traditional adoption, you receive a referral for a child(ren) and there really is no "selection" process. An embryo adoption is different in that you choose your children (at least with an anonymous adoption at the NEDC). It is intimidating and daunting having to "choose" our children and "not choose" others, but at the same time, this is how the process works. And, Aaron and I both know that God is ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN over our lives and we can't choose or be given any embryos that God hasn't already determined for us to adopt. Thankfully, we can rest in Him!
So, our profiles should be coming soon - either sometime at the end of May or early June! Yippee!
Note: The profiles will tell us the genetic parents' race, physical characteristics and when the embryos were frozen. Profiles will not tell us the embryos' physical traits or gender. Gender will not be known until a normal 20-week ultrasound, hair/eye color and other physical traits won't be known until Lord willing, after their birth. :)
6-8 weeks prior to our FET (frozen embryo transfer) in July, we will be emailed a really large PDF document with all of the profiles for their embryos who have been given in a closed agreement. All of the couples adopting anonymous embryos in the NEDC's July cycle will receive the email at the same time! Each couple then submits their 1st & 2nd choice (and even a 3rd or 4th if you'd like) and "it's first come, first serve"! In a traditional adoption, you receive a referral for a child(ren) and there really is no "selection" process. An embryo adoption is different in that you choose your children (at least with an anonymous adoption at the NEDC). It is intimidating and daunting having to "choose" our children and "not choose" others, but at the same time, this is how the process works. And, Aaron and I both know that God is ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN over our lives and we can't choose or be given any embryos that God hasn't already determined for us to adopt. Thankfully, we can rest in Him!
So, our profiles should be coming soon - either sometime at the end of May or early June! Yippee!
Note: The profiles will tell us the genetic parents' race, physical characteristics and when the embryos were frozen. Profiles will not tell us the embryos' physical traits or gender. Gender will not be known until a normal 20-week ultrasound, hair/eye color and other physical traits won't be known until Lord willing, after their birth. :)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
LIFE
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in our local Pregnancy Care Center's "Walk for Life." As soon as I walked onto the sidewalk across from their campus, I was faced with a group of people (mostly college students) holding posters and shouting the following (the shouts are in italics):
- Abortion is Not Murder
- No Hangers
- My Mother is Pro-Choice
- I am a Choice
- Honk if You Respect Reproductive Rights
- Ignorance is Not Sex Ed
- Pro-Life - It's a Lie - You don't care if women die!
- Anti-Women, Anti-Gay, Hating bigots - go away!
- My Body, My Choice!
- Since when is taking someone's innocent life not murder?
- I was not supporting women harming themselves and killing their children with hangers.
- Aren't they glad that their mother's "choice" was to birth them? If she had aborted them, they wouldn't be here today!
- I respect reproductive rights such as appropriate birth control to prevent conception (only in marriage; abstinence before marriage).
- I am most definitely not ignorant about sex education. I'm all for teaching teens about sex and its consequences (and encouraging no sex before marriage, which is the only context that God allows and smiles upon it).
- Yes, I care if women die, but I also care if baby boys and girls die. (And since when do most pregnancies kill women? God designed women's bodies for pregnancy!)
- Again, I wasn't hating or screaming at anyone. I was loving the sinner, but hating the sin.
- An unborn baby is not part of the mother's body. Yes, he/she is attached to the mother's womb, but has its own body. So, it's the child's body, and since the child cannot speak up for his/her own "choice," we must assume that he/she wants to live. (and I'm not speaking that suicide is okay...that's another issue entirely)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Ludy Adoption Video
Aaron and I have always respected the ministry of Eric and Leslie Ludy. They have 2 biological children and 2 adopted children. Below is their story of how they pursued their first adoption from Korea. God stories like this warm my heart so much!
And yes, we still strongly believe that God has called us to domestic embryo adoption, but our blog is not just about Aaron, Jennifer, and their embryo adoption. We hope that our blog is about God's kingdom and the small role that we hope to play. We get excited about ALL kinds of adoptions - domestic, embryo, international, fostercare - ALL!
And for all my infertile friends out there - I know your pain! While Aaron & I have NO doubts that God has called us to adoption rather than pursuing reproductive technologies, I know the pain continues to sting when another Facebook friend's status announces their pregnancy. But, let me encourage you with what the Lord has been revealing to me throughout our adoption journey... Everytime the pain of infertility stings, think about how much more pain an orphan is feeling that very moment...while you're thinking that you just want a child in your arms - they're scared, hungry, crying and thinking that they just want a mommy and daddy to hold and love them... Let's not let our infertility become self-centered, but may our pain be used to help us identify with orphans - motivating us to speak up and act on their behalf. And I 100% believe that their pain is FAR WORSE than our pain!
Ludy Adoption Video from Lifesong on Vimeo.
And yes, we still strongly believe that God has called us to domestic embryo adoption, but our blog is not just about Aaron, Jennifer, and their embryo adoption. We hope that our blog is about God's kingdom and the small role that we hope to play. We get excited about ALL kinds of adoptions - domestic, embryo, international, fostercare - ALL!
And for all my infertile friends out there - I know your pain! While Aaron & I have NO doubts that God has called us to adoption rather than pursuing reproductive technologies, I know the pain continues to sting when another Facebook friend's status announces their pregnancy. But, let me encourage you with what the Lord has been revealing to me throughout our adoption journey... Everytime the pain of infertility stings, think about how much more pain an orphan is feeling that very moment...while you're thinking that you just want a child in your arms - they're scared, hungry, crying and thinking that they just want a mommy and daddy to hold and love them... Let's not let our infertility become self-centered, but may our pain be used to help us identify with orphans - motivating us to speak up and act on their behalf. And I 100% believe that their pain is FAR WORSE than our pain!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Why Adoption?
Why adoption? Because it's necessary...
One of the things that we regret most about our adoption journey thus far is making the mistake of telling people that we are infertile. Whenever someone hears "infertile," they tend to assume that we are only pursuing adoption because we can't have our "own" children. The mentality becomes sentimental and the focus shifts towards a story of us wanting to become parents instead of a story of a child's life being saved.
What people don't realize is that adoption has always been in our plans. At first we were deterred from having our first child through adoption because of the large financial cost involved. Instead, we decided to try and have children the natural way (which is free) and save up money over the years to finance an adoption (maybe adopting in our mid-30's). As we found out that we were infertile, doctors told us that if we wanted biological children we would have to pay thousands of dollars for reproductive technologies. Well, our decision to adopt was made that very minute. Having biological children would have been amazing, but since we were going to have to spend a considerable amount of money for any option, why not seek to fulfill the Great Commision with a child who's already in need of a family? We decided that adopting was God's plan for us now, rather than later. It just took the doctor's news that day to get us moving towards adoption a little faster! That day we could have scheduled a reproductive procedure for my next cycle, but we left knowing that we would probably wait longer because we were going to pursue adoption instead.
We wish that people understood that...I mean really understood that. We're infertile (conceiving would be difficult) - not sterile (conceiving would be impossible). There's a big difference. We're choosing to bypass reproductive treatments that could potentially give us biological children because there's a HUGE need for rescuing little ones who are already here! Adoption isn't just for the infertile or sterile - it's for many others too who may or may not yet be considering it.
There are millions of orphans across the world...MILLIONS! There are also over 500,000 unborn children living in frozen orphanages in the U.S. alone whose fate at life or death before birth is yet to be determined.
Christians, may I humbly suggest that we stop just saying we're pro-life and be pro-life! Let's stop merely holding signs pleading to "stop abortion" - And let's hold out our hands and say "I will be his/her/their parents!" or help others who are called by God to do so. Let's treat adopting couples as we would missionaries and remember that God's definition for true religion includes "caring for orphans in their affliction" (James 1:27)
"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." - James 2:17
One of the things that we regret most about our adoption journey thus far is making the mistake of telling people that we are infertile. Whenever someone hears "infertile," they tend to assume that we are only pursuing adoption because we can't have our "own" children. The mentality becomes sentimental and the focus shifts towards a story of us wanting to become parents instead of a story of a child's life being saved.
What people don't realize is that adoption has always been in our plans. At first we were deterred from having our first child through adoption because of the large financial cost involved. Instead, we decided to try and have children the natural way (which is free) and save up money over the years to finance an adoption (maybe adopting in our mid-30's). As we found out that we were infertile, doctors told us that if we wanted biological children we would have to pay thousands of dollars for reproductive technologies. Well, our decision to adopt was made that very minute. Having biological children would have been amazing, but since we were going to have to spend a considerable amount of money for any option, why not seek to fulfill the Great Commision with a child who's already in need of a family? We decided that adopting was God's plan for us now, rather than later. It just took the doctor's news that day to get us moving towards adoption a little faster! That day we could have scheduled a reproductive procedure for my next cycle, but we left knowing that we would probably wait longer because we were going to pursue adoption instead.
We wish that people understood that...I mean really understood that. We're infertile (conceiving would be difficult) - not sterile (conceiving would be impossible). There's a big difference. We're choosing to bypass reproductive treatments that could potentially give us biological children because there's a HUGE need for rescuing little ones who are already here! Adoption isn't just for the infertile or sterile - it's for many others too who may or may not yet be considering it.
There are millions of orphans across the world...MILLIONS! There are also over 500,000 unborn children living in frozen orphanages in the U.S. alone whose fate at life or death before birth is yet to be determined.
Christians, may I humbly suggest that we stop just saying we're pro-life and be pro-life! Let's stop merely holding signs pleading to "stop abortion" - And let's hold out our hands and say "I will be his/her/their parents!" or help others who are called by God to do so. Let's treat adopting couples as we would missionaries and remember that God's definition for true religion includes "caring for orphans in their affliction" (James 1:27)
"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." - James 2:17
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Interview, Seminar, and Spiritual Warfare
Our 2nd interview also went well on Tuesday. We were each interviewed separately for an hour each. The seminar yesterday was wonderful! We were only 1 of 2 embryo adoption couples there out of 20+ couples in NC. We were able to learn more about other kinds of adoption - both domestic and international. We thoroughly enjoyed learning and meeting other couples and seeing their passion for the way God has called them to build their families. I cried during videos and was just overwhelmed with the thought that God would ask us to be a part of rescuing little ones who need a Christian family. Last October was our first month that we began to TTC - and God knew that exactly a year later, we'd be in the heart of our adoption process. We didn't know - But, He did. As we aggressively tried to build a family our way - He was smiling knowing that He had a better plan in store for our family! God also knew back in 2006, when I first read about embryo adoption on Baptist Press and thought it sounded wonderful that He would call us to pursue it in 2009. The amazing thing about it was that I told Aaron "Maybe we can pursue this after we have biological children." God chose to have us struggle with infertility though, knowing that the NEDC only accepts couples who have been declared infertile by a doctor. Oh how I love God's sweet sovereignty!!!
We also were blessed to listen to a panel of parents who had adopted and birthmothers who had chosen to give their baby a life they couldn't. These birthmothers are truly heroic! They are faced with a decision that I could not even imagine and yet they are unselfish enough to choose what is best for their children! My respect for Bethany Christian Services continues to grow - They really love Jesus and I'm so thankful that we chose them to conduct our home assessment for the NEDC. They love and counsel these birthmothers while pointing them to the Cross of Christ - such a ministry!
This journey also presents difficult aspects as well - spiritual warfare. Aaron and I definitely feel a very real fight against demonic oppression. Satan hates babies - He loves abortion, embryonic stem cell research, babies who grow up in orphanges overseas never hearing the Gospel, children who are abused...He loathes Christians who have a heart for adoption. I won't go into detail, but if you are a also a believer, please pray for spiritual protection during this adoption process for us.
For the sake of the Gospel,
Jennifer :)
We also were blessed to listen to a panel of parents who had adopted and birthmothers who had chosen to give their baby a life they couldn't. These birthmothers are truly heroic! They are faced with a decision that I could not even imagine and yet they are unselfish enough to choose what is best for their children! My respect for Bethany Christian Services continues to grow - They really love Jesus and I'm so thankful that we chose them to conduct our home assessment for the NEDC. They love and counsel these birthmothers while pointing them to the Cross of Christ - such a ministry!
This journey also presents difficult aspects as well - spiritual warfare. Aaron and I definitely feel a very real fight against demonic oppression. Satan hates babies - He loves abortion, embryonic stem cell research, babies who grow up in orphanges overseas never hearing the Gospel, children who are abused...He loathes Christians who have a heart for adoption. I won't go into detail, but if you are a also a believer, please pray for spiritual protection during this adoption process for us.
For the sake of the Gospel,
Jennifer :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Help the Ladd's Bring Their Baby Home!
This button will take you to the blog of another adopting couple whose blog we've been following. If you click on the "Bringing Our Baby Home" button (the second one down) you will see an opportunity to help them in a really creative way raise money to help bring their little girl home from Ethiopia.
-Aaron
-Aaron
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