We are official

As of Monday morning Rhett and I are officially "waiting parents." Our social worker called and all our clearances and paperwork has been processed. Our profile will begin going out to birth mothers. Now the hardest work...waiting. Please pray with us during this time. We are getting more and more excited. Our adoption story is now beginning, Chapter 1...

Fabulously Successful Yard Sale

I don't go to yard sales nor have I ever put one on. Boy are they a lot of work. Although I had wonderful help and tons of donations. By the end of the day we had sold tons of "treasures" and had earned a little over $1800.00 Now that is one successful yard sale! Thanks again Chris and Renee for opening up your home and sharing your weekend with us.

I Find It Interesting...

I find it so interesting that as Rhett and I take this journey, we encounter adoption everywhere we go. While getting my nails done, the lady next to me overheard me talking and shared that she was adopted. She opened up and we began talking.

Rhett and I were selling some of our products at a yard sale and a lady opened up about her family and their fertility challenges. It is amazing to see how this topic just opens doors.

Last night Rhett and I were browsing through Netflix's watch instantly and I found a movie called "Bella." I had never heard of it but it was one of the few choices that were not Nazi/Hitler movies (Rhett's passion right now). What was the movie about...an unwanted pregnancy and her struggle and views of adoption. One character suggested she give her baby up for adoption instead of aborting. Her comment was something like, "Carry a baby for 9 months and then give it to a stranger, that is worse than anything." I really believe many people feel this way, adoption is a strange idea. As the movie unfolded, she did choose adoption and it ended with her getting to meet her daughter many years later. I was sobbing, of course, as Rhett sat there dry eyed!

I am reading a Christian fiction book and what is it about...adoption.

I was in a scrapbook store and the lady had talked to my sister earlier and knew we were adopting. She was so curious and excited for us. She began to share how she and her husband could not have kids either. When I left the store her eyes were moist and she was so thankful for our conversation.

We were at a gathering and two of the people there were brother and sister. The lady made a comment about how she teased her brother telling him he was adopted. Any other time in my life that comment would have gone in one ear and out the other, not this time. Right there in the large group I began to think about that comment that I have heard many times. What does it mean, what is it implying? How will I explain it to my adopted child when they hear it. How many other thoughtless things do I say because I am unaware or ignorant of the issue?

As strange as all of this is, I am so thankful for these experiences and excited to see how the Lord uses them and me!

Black and White Dessert Night

August 7th from 7:00-9:00 PM @ First Baptist Church of Windsor.

Come enjoy an elegant evening of delicious desserts, fellowship, and entertainment while supporting Rhett and Julie Paro's adoption efforts. Tickets cost $10.00 per person. To reserve your spot contact Julie Paro by phone (707-527-8842) or at jparo@srchristian.org.
There will be a silent auction and raffle items available that evening. Black and white dress is requested although formal attire is not required.

Selling My Goods...

My grandma's mobile home park was having a garage sale so we took the opportunity to sell some of our blankets, burp clothes and such. We didn't have too high of hopes considering peope don't want to spend much money at a garage sale. Our goal was $100.00 and we went a bit past. One lady even gave us a donation. It was fun just to watch people read our sign and then look up at us a smile!

Profile Making

Over the weekend I was able to go to my sister's house and work on our profile. I am so thankful for her help. I would never have been able to do this without her help and ideas. We had to choose pictures, print them out, pick page themes and we hadn't even started scrapbooking yet. After having to go many times to print out pictures, we have one book almost done.
Once it is finished, I will mail it to Bethany. They will look over and give me tips. Once the changes are made, I have to, oops, I mean I get to make 7 more books just like the first. I have been going to every scrapbook store I know...Beverlys, Michaels, Joanne's, Helene's and buying the items we used on the first one.

We make the books and trust that the Lord will put our book in the hands of the birthmother/father He has for us. It is so exciting just to think about.

We Passed!

Our home study took place yesterday. Our social worker arrived and we had our individual interviews. It was a good time of sharing about who we are and what our family is like. We put on our tour guide hats and showed her all the babyproofing we had done around the house. The sad part was that during this time Rhett started feeling really sick. Later we found out he had the flu with a 101 degree temperature. Yikes, that put a damper on things.

After that was our Dine and Donate. Unfortunately, I got to host alone, Rhett was too sick to go. We packed out the house. One waiter said to me, "You are the most popular person they have had at Mary's." I felt honored. At one point there was a thirty minute wait for a table. The energy and love in the place was amazing. People were having so much fun socializing with each other. It brought back wedding memories...smiling, talking, and not eating!

Thank you all so much for your support. We are truly blessed.

Dine and Donate: Mary's Pizza Shack

Last minute reminder... This Monday, May 17th is our Dine and Donate Fundraiser. Bring the flyer to Mary's Pizza Shack on Marlow Rd. in Santa Rosa and support our adoption efforts. Flyers have been passed out all over the place. If you are still in need of one, let me know.

Using Flickr

If you are interested in checking out the blankets and other goodies that I am selling, but do not use Facebook, use the Flickr box to the right. On the botton of the pictures, you will see words in blue that say, "What is this?" Go ahead and click on that. Then click on "propagating the paros." This will take you to the pages of items for sale. There is a price and a general description below each picture. Scan through the pages. If you find something you would like to purchase, go back to our blog and simply leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to purchase. We can work out the details. Hope this helps!

Paperwork...Mailed

We finally finished our paperwork! After 4 or so tries to get Rhett fingerprinted, he was able to go and complete that on Monday. I gathered everything, double checked, and sent it off today. I was not sure how many stamps to put on so I ended up taking it in to the post office just to make sure.

Looks like we will plan our home study for this month. Things are moving right along.

Redeeming Our Time

One thing we want to do as a couple is to redeem the time we have left prior to having a child join our family. We were talking and trying to brainstorm what those things are... what will we not be able to enjoy as easily once our new child comes? Help us by sharing the things you miss being able to do. We will do them for you! :)

Paperwork...Almost Done!

Well, today I had the joy of getting a physical. Rhett needs to be fingerprinted and then we are pretty much ready to mail our paperwork in. Things have gone well and we are looking forward to the next stage. After this, we have our home study. Our social worker comes to our home and checks it for safety issues. We will also have our personal interviews based on our self-study. Then it is profile time. Those of you that love scrapbooking...this would be heaven for you. I have to make multiple books about our lives and families. I am dreading it but maybe many of you can inspire me with your creativity.

Overwhelmed with Encouragement

It seems like every day the Lord provides a blessing or word of encouragement. So many people say they are excited for us, they want to buy blankets, or they are checking the blog to stay connected. Rhett and I are so lucky to have so much support from friends and family. The exciting part hasn't even come yet and we are being loved on, thank you.

Dine and Donate @ Mary's Pizza Shack

Mary's Pizza on Marlow Rd. is hosting a Dine and Donate for us on Monday, May 17th. Bring in our flyer and give it to the server and 20% will go to our adoption fund. Hope to see you there.

10 Blankets sold and still counting...

Fruit of our Labor

Wow, last night was so fun. Thank you to those of you that were able to come help make the blankets. I think we got around 10 made. What a blessing. Thank you for being involved and supportive of our adoption. Thank you just isn't enough.

What a day!

Rhett and I got on the road at 6:00 AM. We did well except for missing two exits and some slow drivers that drove Rhett crazy. We had a wonderful time with our social worker. I think she was surprised at how quiet we were. She said the interview was going fast. We did not know if we were suppose to expand on things or not. At the end she said we were good canidates for birth moms. I guess over the years she learns what birth moms look for. For example some like the fact that we don't have any children, we have never been married before, and that we are young. It was interesting that lots of birth moms like adoptive moms that are teachers! Score for me.... I knew this would pay off some time!

We got our next set of paperwork...all the legal stuff (DMV records, marriage certificates, birth certificates, fingerprinting, CPR certification...). Oh the joys.

Once we were over an hour on the road, we got a call from our social worker. We left all the paperwork in the office. In all of the excitement of taking a picture, I left the paperwork! Ugg! Oh well, the Lord has a plan for even that.

We got stuck in crazy traffic on 580 and sat and crawled for over half an hour...that was not so fun. By then we were both so tired and sick on being in the car. We had to not speak to each other for a little while due to our crankiness. Rhett had an eye apt. @2:00. We were late and I sat in the car for an hour while he had his eyes checked out. What a long, crazy day.

Once we got home, Rhett and I slipped into bed to take a quick power nap. He said something funny... "We are only cranky when we don't get enough sleep." I found that intersting since we are pursuing adoption and we all know you get no sleep with children around. We will have a lot to learn and many ways to depend upon the Lord.

Interview Day

Tomorrow Rhett and I head to Modesto for our intake interviews with Bethany. I guess they do individual interviews with each of us and then an interview together. We have no idea what to expect or what will be asked. We shall see how it goes!

blanket making party

We had our first fundraising meeting this morning at one of my favorite places... Starbucks. I had three friends willing to take on the endeavour with me. Thank you Shaylene, Kari, and mom.

Our first objective... a blanket making party! If you are available on Tuesday, April 6th @ 6:30 we will be pumping out blankets. It will be held at my parent's house. Let me know if you need directions.