We are on Facebook...and T Shirts!!

We want to let everyone know that we also have a facebook page.  I can't seem to find a thumbnail to add to the page for facebook so here is the link for those who would like to join us on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/adoptingaaron

We also have more exciting news: 

We have the proofs from the t shirt company! We will start out with two shirt designs. They will be Ash Gray with the design on the front. They are each prints of Aaron's artwork that he made in school last year.  The little "Aa" signature on he lower right is a sign that you are wearing artwork made by Aaron.  They come in both adult and child sizes. $15 for adult $12 for child.   Profit from the sale of both of these will go toward Aaron's adoption fund. We have to have at least 10 of each design before we can order them. If you are interested in ordering you can comment on this post or click the paypal link to the right of this blog. If the shirts have to be shipped I am going to ask that you add $3.00 Please comment size, which design, and address in the comments section at Paypal. Here are the designs. The first is called "Handprint". It is an actual print from a handprint that Aaron made with paint. I love it!  The second one is fabric print that I did on canvas of a picture that Aaron drew.  It looked like a picture of earth to me.  This design is called "Go Into the World".   I think they are both going to look fabulous!

 

Here is your chance to Partner with God in Aaron's life!!

Hello Again! We have some exciting news! We have been accepted by America World Adoption Agency for an adoption in Haiti! YAY!

Now the FUN begins. :)

Over the next few weeks we are going to be offering our friends and families an awesome opportunity! You have the chance to partner with us as we journey to bring Aaron home. One of the first ways that you can do this is buy purchasing a puzzle piece! Now, many of you may be wondering what in the world you would do with a single puzzle piece. Let me assure you, you can change the world with just one puzzle piece!

We have purchased a puzzle with a picture of our precious little boy on the front.

The girls and I spent hours some time together last night putting it together. I then spent some time this morning numbering the pieces on the back of the puzzle.

There are 252 pieces in the puzzle. Each person who gives $10 toward Aaron's adoption gets their name put on one piece of the puzzle. (Give $20, get 2, etc). When the puzzle is complete we will put it in a double glass frame to hang in Aaron's room (The front has his picture on it). When he looks on the back, he will always be able to see who God used to help bring him home to us. You can buy a puzzle piece by sending through PayPal. Click the donate button to the right of our blog page. Be sure to comment "puzzle piece" in the comments section at paypal so we will know that is what it is for. That's it!

In order to understand what an incredible opportunity this is, You may want to read more about Aaron's story. You can do that by going to the blog page of the foster home where he lives now. Ms. Dorothy has detailed the first few days of Aaron's life with her. It really is an amazing story! God surely has big plans for this little boy!! And when all is said and done, you can partner with God in those plans by helping to bring the plans that God has for his life to pass (Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 22:16)

Above all else, please pray. We understand that no matter how much $$ is given toward bringing Aaron home, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT prayer. Thank you so much for visiting our page and for considering this great opportunity. We are praying that God will return any seed sown into this journey to you 100 times over!!!!!

And we are off...-again.

Jeremiah 22: 16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.

If you look back over my past blogs, you will notice that the last update was November 2012. Two major things happened in November, which won't excuse my lack of updates, but I hope that it at least explains it.

First of all, we welcomed our newest little girl, MaKenleigh Eliza to the family. She has been our little unexpected miracle. Having her in our family has added so much joy and not a few sleepless nights.



Secondly, Haiti changed their adoption laws. One of the major changes was that they now say that you can not be "child exclusive". Which in a nutshell means that Haiti assigns you a child for adoption, you can't choose your child. Hearing this news mixed with pregnancy post partum BLAH left me feeling that this may not happen for us. I never got to the point of actually saying it out loud but I guess my silence speaks louder than my words could have. It also meant that we could no longer pursue our adoption independently, which was what we were originally doing. Going through an adoption agency means more money and I wasn't even sure if any agencies would be willing to take on our case. Oh ye of little faith....

Several months ago, someone gave me the name of America World Adoption Agency and I began emailing Michelle Reid, who is over the Haitian adoptions for this agency. She and I spoke over the phone and she was such a bright spot to me. She had reviewed our "pre application" and felt that we should move forward, trusting God, to move the mountains in our way. She explained the financial aspects of the adoption and was very honest with me about all of the unknowns. She is a Christian as well, and always reminded me to believe God for miracles while keeping one eye opened to the realities. Using a Christian agency is such an incredible blessing in so many ways, but because it is also a non profit agency, it means that anyone who wants to have tax deductions from their donations toward our adoption can send the money directly to them in our name and have it be tax exempt! YAY!

Even after talking with Michelle, the financial obstacles that stand between forever families and their children seemed so huge in front of us. We had a trip to Haiti planned for my daughter, Maranda (age 17) and my husband Lester, for July. We had to focus our finances on getting them there so beginning the process of applying with the adoption agency took a back burner. Once they made contact with Aaron and I was able to hear his voice again (Maranda sent pictures and videos) I knew that it was time to get this baby home. Other major changes are happening right now in Haiti as God is doing some transitional things at the Foster Home where he has lived for most of his life, and it all just confirms that the time to move forward and speak "GRACE" to those mountains is NOW. (Maranda with Aaron- Hait, July 2013)

So, we have submitted our application to America World along with our non refundable application fee. The next steps are up to God. We will have a home study and all of the lovely things that surround that and will begin compiling our America Dossier. Every part of this process will require the financial backing to make things happen but we are believing that God will make provision for the promise.

This past Sunday Morning, while we were worshipping in preparation for Sunday School, I closed my eyes and saw the most beautiful sight. I could see Aaron running through the back doors of the sanctuary where we have the adult class. He ran over to me and held out his little hand for offering for Sunday School and then ran back out of the sanctuary. Just after that, I saw him as a teenage boy coming in through the other set of double doors. He came up behind me, put his arms around my shoulders as I was seated in prayer and whispered in my ear, "I love you Mama." I wept uncontrollably as I saw these two visions in my spirit and even now am dripping on my keyboard as I type. I believe that God gave me those two visions as confirmation that "now is the time, now is our due season."

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So that is our update. We are off to a great adventure. Please pray for Aaron as he faces the new changes in his Foster Home situation and pray for us as we pursue the plans that God has for our family. I am standing on the scripture that I started this blog with. It promises that if we defend the cause of the poor and needy, then it will go well with us. Do it Lord. We need you to do it.

(Lester and Aaron being silly- Haiti July 2013)

Happy Thanksgiving 2012 and update

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!

Let me start by apologizing for being such a slacker when it comes to updating this blog. As I stated several months ago, there hasn't been much change in the adoption process so I guess I just didn't want to acknowledge that we were at a stand still by typing it all out in black and white. As some of you know we are expecting a little girl on Nov 21 and I have been on bedrest for the last 6 weeks. Seeing drs twice per week and all that the pregnancy has involved has only slowed us down even further but we know that God's timing is perfect so I have tried not to stress over it too much.

We heard in October that Haiti reopened the IBSR for adoption applications but because we had not begun putting our US Dossier together, there wasn't anything to submit. I have to admit that with all of the activity in the last few weeks with the pregnancy I have not been diligent at pursueing the info that we need to get going again. We purposely did not begin the US Dossier because there are time limits on those documents and didn't want to waste the money having them done only to have them expire before Haiti reopened for adoption. We also need to locate a Hague approved agency that can do our homestudy and so far I have not been able to secure one in the state of Georgia. I will not stop looking though. A wonderful relative of Lester's has since stepped forward after talking to one of Lester's sisters about our adoption and says that she feels that God has led her to help with securing the funds for the adoption. I won't deny it. That is one of the MAJOR obstacles that we have right now. (BUT GOD is our waymaker). Donna has advised me that we need to secure a non profit 301C status for our ministry so that businesses and those that do not know us will feel more comfortable giving toward our mission. That is the where the first monies that are donated will go. We have the paperwork in place and now just need the money to complete it. Here is some info that Donna sent to me about the first efforts that she has begun: We will be having a craft/bake & yard sale Saturday, December 1st, from 9-4 in Brunswick. (exact location will be decided Tuesday). We need donations of any craft items, back goods, or anything else you have to sell in the yard sale. We will also have extra tables for any crafters wishing to sell their own goods. We will charge $10 and the donation of one of your craft items for a table. Any volunteers to help with the sale will be greatly welcomed. You can contact Donna Wilson to arrange pick up of any donations, to volunteer, or to rent a table. Contact @ msdmarie@hotmail.com or 912-230-7954. Please open your hearts and be generous. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this would be Aaron’s last year without a home and his own family to celebrate Christmas with. Love and Blessings to everyone. She also contacted The Brunswick News about our story. Bethany Leggett interviewed us last Thursday and our story was featured in the weekend edition yesterday.

The baby is due in 10 days and after we get settled I hope to be more diligent in seeking the Hague approved agency we need to begin the homestudy. We would love to have the money in hand to get that going as soon as we find one. Those run approximately $2500.00. We also need to find out about the new guidelines that were put into place for Haitian adoptions as of November 1. We have heard conflicting things about what the changes are. I hope to find something solid out about that soon. In the meantime, Emory is in Haiti doing some scouting for a new location for ministry for him and Mary. While there, he is going to try to get death certificates for Aaron's parents for us. Having him do some of the legwork for us is such a blessing as we can not afford to travel to do these things right now and of course, I can't due to being pregnant. Well, there that is. If you are not familiar with our story, please take the time to browse back through the archives of posts and read about our sweet little man. If God lays it on your heart to help, please do. We know that God will provide for what he has called our family to do but we don't want you to miss out on the blessing of getting to partner with us in it! God's richest blessings to you and yours! Shelby and Lester

We are praying for you Aaron!!

Dear Aaron, We have NOT forgotten you! You are prayed for daily and missed SOOOOOO much! I hear that you got a visit from "Papa Emory" receently. I am so glad that he got to visit with you.

Mama Shelby didn't sleep much last night because I was praying for you, Mama Dorothy, the nannies, and all of your other brothers and sisters, as well as the people in Haiti. There is a storm called Isaac that is threatening to come to Haiti. We are all praying that it will go away or not do any damage to Haiti. We know that Jesus is with you and will keep you all safe! I pray that you know that too! God is doing some great things in our lives. We have some new info about adoption and things that we need to get busy doing. We know that God is going to guide and provide with each new step we take. Changes are happening in Haiti. They have stopped adoptions temporarily but we hear that this should be over soon and new changes may be in place. We are praying that the new changes that are coming will mean having you here with us SOON! Until then, I hope that you enjoy school! Marleigh has started to school already. She had a hard time at first being away from Mama, but now she likes it alot. I remember when we took you out for a little while when we were with you. You did not like riding in the "Machine" or going to the restaurant. My heart breaks to think that you may cry when you go to school and I can't be there with you. I am praying that you will be brave and enjoy your school! You are getting to be such a big boy! I am so proud of you!!! Hug Mama Dorothy for us, okay?

I can't wait to see you again. Until then...Remember!!!!We!!!!!! Love!!! you!!!! more!!!! than!!! words!!!!! can say!!!!!, Mama Shelby

Update as of 5/22/2012

It's been a while since I have updated our blog simply because there has not been much change in things concerning the adoption of Aaron. Let me start by saying that Aaron is doing well. I've seen several pictures of him over the last few weeks and have spoken via facebook to sevearl people who have made visits to Ms. Dorothy's home in the past couple of months. He is looking great and each picture or story makes me want to hop a plane and fly to Haiti... like...NOW! We had a wonderful visit with Ms. Dorothy at Emory and Mary's home while she was taking a much needed break in the states during the month of April. We always enjoy our visits with her. It is so comforting to know that Aaron is in such wonderful hands. So, let's get the not so good new out of the way first. I received an email from Cathy Fitzsimmons (missionary to Haiti) on May 18th stating that Haiti has temporarily suspended all adoptions from Haiti until further notice. Apparently they have a backlog of adoptions and will be processing all dossiers submitted before May 7th before reopening for adoptions again. The good news is...THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY! I keep saying those 4 words to myself over and over again as a reminder. Finding this out really confirms to me how MUCH God is guiding us in this process!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad that he knows things that I don't. :) If you have been keeping up with our journey you know that we have not pursued doing our homestudy because we were trying to locate Aaron's father. We had been told that he was alive and knowing that meant that he could stop the adoption at any time. There was no sense doing anything until we knew for sure that he would be on board with the adoption. If we had gone ahead with the homestudy etc we may have risked losing that money as these things all have expiration dates. IF Haiti doesn't begin the adoption process again quickly those things could have expired and we would have had to begin the process all over again. Can anyone see the hand of God in this with me?? Now the good news. Lester's brother, Emory, visited Aaron's family in Jubilee last week. He found out that, unfortunately, Aaron's father passed away before his mother did. I am not sure of the circumstances concerning his death but Emory says that obtaining death certificates for both of his parents should not be a problem. He spoke with Aaron's family at length including Aaron's grandfather and they are in favor of us adopting Aaron. While my heart breaks for Aaron in that he will never know his biological father and mother, I am so relieved to know that his family supports the idea of his becoming a part of our family!!!! I look forward to the day that we can meet them for ourselves and thank them for this wonderful gift! For now, we ask that you pray with us for Haiti to work quickly to move through the adoptions that they have in their hands. Not only so that we can move forward but also so that the families that have waited for so long to have their little ones with them will finally have their dreams realized!!! Believing in God's promise, Lester and Shelby

Surprise!!

Well..SURPRISE! Aaron may not be the only little boy in our family! We are pregnant! Yes..I said PREGNANT! Shocked??? SO ARE WE!!

While on a Spiritual Retreat in 2001, God birthed a desire in our hearts for another baby. At the time, my tubes were tied and we were not sure how God was going to make this happen. In 2005, he provided a way to have a tubal reversal. I had my Tubal Reveral 11/24/2005. After a year of trying to conceive with no success, we had an HSG to check to see if the tubal reversal was successful. That testshowed both tubes wide open. We tried a fertility medicine called clomid with my GYN for 3 months and then moved on to an Infertility specialist. Dr Blohm (the Specialist) found that my husbands sperm count was extremely low and I had late ovulations which made conceiving IMPOSSIBLE. We tried 3 IUI's (Intrauterine inseminations) with clomid and then moved on to the final option which was In Vitro Fertilization. After one failed Ivf, miscarriage on our 2nd (thawed) cycle, our infertility specialist said there was no hope and urged us to quit trying given our "advanced age" and bleak odds. We talked him into doing one more round of IVF. He finally said "ok" but assured us one more and that was it. He was shocked when we got Marleigh from that final IVF in 2007!!

When I left the hospital after giving birth to her in 2008, the discharging dr said that there was no need for birth control. I saw another dr in the group at my 6 wk appt that said the same and yet another dr in the group at my yearly exam that said no need for bc given my age and infertility history. 4 yrs later and surprise!!! I thought I was beginning menopause because I turned 40 this year. We did nothing different this month and were not trying at all to get pregnant(haven't tried since having Marleigh 4 years ago). God is amazing. So for you who are believing for what looks impossible, hold on!!!!!! God is faithful and what looks impossible to man is very much possible to God!!!

So, that being said, our hearts are still set to adopt Aaron. God knew that this baby was going to be a part of our story when he put Aaron in our hearts to adopt and as surprised as we are...this certainly has not surprised God! Gonna have my hands full? yes probably so...but God's grace is sufficient!!