An overdue update.....

It's finally Spring!!  With the changing of seasons we are continuing to make progress in our adventure.  All of our pre-home study paperwork is finished and turned in and now we wait for them to schedule our first interview.  It was quite interesting to sit down and have to write an autobiography.  You don't want to be too long or too short either in telling your story to this point.  I thought some of the questions we had to answer were pretty in depth.  I wonder what it would be like if all parents had to answer these questions before they even considered conceiving?

On the home front we are re-organizing and moving rooms around.  Our good friend Jami helped us score another set of bunk beds so we now have beds for all the new additions to the family :)  This will keep us busy as we move through May.  Our twin daughters have a birthday coming up very soon, and I can't believe they are going to be 8!!  Where has the time gone???  One of the children we are adopting had a birthday recently so we had a little party here.  Even though they are not with us physically we  already consider them part of the family.  Only distance separates us now, soon we will be together!!

The girls had a big dance recital recently and were awesome!!  They worked really hard throughout the year and it showed.  They have a music performance this week and they are really hoping Grandma and Grandpa can make it!  This summer is starting to fill up with summer camps, VBS, and a reunion of adoptive families that we are really looking forward to. 

As for fundraising we are running the food booth at our home school used book sale this month, we have our community garage sale in early June and of course we are continuing to sale these gorgeous hand made bracelets:

If you are interested in ordering one of these bracelets please email us at kimdavid2@att.net.  The bracelets are $15 +SH.  We can do almost any color combination.

Until next time.....

Something exciting is happening!

I apologize for the delay in updating the blog.  We have been busy doing the great "paper chase" that is apart of the home study process.  Things have been moving pretty well in that direction, and we are pleased with our progress to date.

We are people of faith.  I state that because we believe our call to adopt is part of God's larger plan for us.  We are not doing this because it is trendy or makes us cool (we are already pretty awesome!), we are doing it because we believe that to whom much is given, much is expected.  Sometimes though we get a picture in our mind of how things are going to go and you start to expect the pieces to fall into place, and THEN WHAP!!  God pulls out His divine 2x4 and hits you right upside the old noggin.  That doesn't happen to you??  Must just be me, LOL.

I write that because we have identified and committed to the sibling group we will be adopting!!  It wasn't how we thought it would go, but we know it His plan that we adopt these kids.  We are so excited to have them be apart of our family and we know that their presence will be a blessing in ways we can't even begin to imagine.  It will not be easy, but nothing ever worth having is. 

In the coming months we will finish up our HS and start to build our dossier.  Once we have HS approval we will begin to share a little more about the kids and the process.  In the meantime we are continuing to fund raise by selling the bracelets Kim makes - Mother's Day is May 12th!! - and look for other ways to help raise funds.

We look forward to sharing more in the future.

Until next time....

The ball is officially rolling.....

It has been a few weeks since our last post and we have been busy praying and discussing what are next steps would be.  We are happy to report that we have signed with an adoption agency and found a local home study organization to work with!  It has been a stressful couple of weeks to say the least.  I am not a patient person by nature so the waiting has been tough.  But, this is what I get since I pray for patience!!  God has the best sense of humor :)

So, we are doing the "paper chase" now and getting all of our required documents together for the agency and the home study.  I sure hope that one thing from college doesn't show up, lol.  No, really its just a joke (for anybody from the government who may be monitoring us).  It is quite impressive how thorough the vetting is for people who want to adopt.

Thank you again to everyone for their thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement, suggestions, etc.  Hopefully we will have a few more updates coming soon.  We are really looking forward to the Bulgarian Adoption Reunion we will be attending this summer!

Tune in next time for the next installment of our adventure....

Same bat channel, same bat time ;)

Daddy/Daughter Fun

This past Monday I had the privilege of escorting my two beautiful daughters to their Valentines party with their American Heritage Girls Troop.  We were able to spend time with our friends the Murray's, do the Waltz (we so rocked it!!), do some crafts and the best part (according to them) was to have dessert for dinner!  Here are some pictures of our special night:

It was great to see so many fathers there with their daughters.  I hope and pray that there is a movement in society where we as fathers are raising our daughters to have integrity and honor themselves as Daughters of God.  We all know there are too many absentee fathers in the world to their children.  It all starts with us.  We have been given a great gift as parents, but also a great responsibility.  It is one that we can only do with the help of our Heavenly Father!

Until next time....

Midwest weather!!

What a week we have had weather wise.  We were basking in the low 50's and lots of sunshine, then heavy rains, and in a matter of days we were experiencing below zero wind chills and white out conditions due to very high winds.  Where we live some of the wind gusts were reported at 60+ mph.  The old saying about the weather in Indiana is true, "If you don't like it, stick around a minute and it will change!"

We have been looking at profiles of children that are on the waiting list.  Most of these children are above a certain age and absolutely precious.  I find myself saying a prayer for each of them as I read about them.  We may not be able to bring them all home, but at least there is one more person in the world who is praying for them.  If you find yourself with a spare moment, please say a prayer for all orphans!

I know God has already chosen what children He has for us.  We look at this journey as one where we need to build our trust and faith in the Lord.  So many folks who have been through the process have shared tremendous stories of how their faith was tested, but that the Lord provided for them when it was needed.  As humans I think we have a very difficult time not being in control, I know I do!!  I pray that I will let go of the anxiety and worries attached with this journey and just follow the path laid out before us.  God Bless you all!!

Until next time..... 

A Time of Transition and Decisions

Where has the time gone??  Since our last post it has seemed as if time has just been slipping through our fingers.

I promised this blog would not only be about our adoption journey, but our lives as well.  I start with sad news.  Last Friday, my father passed away.  He was 66 years old and I know that he is in heaven with my Mom and no longer has to worry about his health issues.  I know, trust, and believe that God has taken care of him.  During this difficult time, Kim and I were touched by how many people reached out to us with kind words, support and help.  We are truly blessed by knowing all of you!

A hard transition but onto our adoption.  We have narrowed our choices for an agency down to three.  Everyone we have spoken to has been friendly, knowledgeable and professional.  What separates agencies for us has been the references of other adoptive families.  Some agency references never got back with us, some were so-so, and other sang their agency's praises from the roof tops.  We try to take all of this in stride and look through the negatives and positives to see how they would effect us.  For those of you we have reached out to, we are grateful for you for having taken the time to respond to our inquires and questions.

Our goal now is to have an agency by the end of February and start the next steps.  Fundraising has gone fairly well with the bracelets Kim has made.  So far we have sold 20+ and she continues to make new designs.  They would make great Valentines Day gifts guys, hint, hint lol.  Let us know if you are interested.

The girls are in full swing with homeschooling, dance class and American Heritage Girls!  We are so proud of them and the God loving hearts they have.  I can't wait to see what He has in store for them.  Until next time....

A New Year!

2012 was a good year for our family.  We were blessed to make some amazing new friends, travel, spend time together as a family, spend time with very dear friends and their families and heard the call to expand our family through the gift of adoption.  We truly look at this as if we are the ones being blessed!

New Years Eve got a little rowdy here, lol.  It was a fun filled night of pigs in the blanket, sweet potato fries and laughter!

Our beloved puppy Charlie turned a year old on NYE!

He is cute, mischievous, and a bundle of pure, raw energy!

New Years Day we just relaxed and enjoyed being together as a family.  There was no rush to get anywhere, which we love.  I do miss the days when New Years Day was dedicated to college football.  I am not a fan of spreading out all of the games over two to three weeks.

Later in the week, our awesome friends the Murray's brought me back a little treat from Kentucky!  ALE81 brings back childhood memories of riding down to Brownie's Market in Lebanon, IN on my bike during the summer and enjoying this sweet drink!

The response to our bracelets has been awesome and humbling!!  I want to thank everyone who has ordered them.  We have a couple being delivered this week to Bulgaria!  We can't wait to take some ourselves!  Below are some of the new designs Kim has done.  If you are interested please contact us at our email:  kimdavid2@att.net.

 

We hope and pray that all of you have a blessed and prosperous 2013!!

Love,

The Nicely's