The Burning Bush...

Part 1

Many of you know the story of Moses and the burning bush. It is a story that proves that God is around us all the time and that when he wants to be seen he will make himself known, if you are willing to see Him.  Well, the story of Reid coming into our lives was filled with many burning bushes. Some that jumped out in front of us and others that we passed and merely glanced at along the way on our road to becoming Reid’s mommy and daddy. However, each one was significant and yet another example of how God is constantly working in our lives, even when you’re not lookingJ

Reid’s story is a God filled one. He came into our lives because God had a plan much bigger than ours. He came into our lives because God’s timing is perfect, His plan flawless, and His love always evident. He came into our lives because God spoke and we listened. On October 12^th we got the call that forever changed our lives. We got the call about our miracle, our answered prayer, on son, Reid Mallard.

The story is long and detailed, but EACH detail is important because it points to the only one who could have possibly facilitated such a story, our amazing and wonderful God.

It all began with a yard sale. On Sept. 24th we held our first adoption fundraiser yard sale and were blessed beyond our wildest dreams. We raised over $6,000 towards our adoption and then were given the humbling news that a family was offering to MATCH the proceeds of our two yard sales (we had another one planned for Oct. 8th). After the conclusion of our two yard sales God provided us with $7,148.79, which was matched by our first pair of angels in this beautiful story! Now, on the day of our first yard sale something amazing happened. Something we wouldn't know the relevance of until God was ready for His story to unfold. We met two young ladies, who would later become our second pair of angels. We’ll call the first one “W” and the second “E”. We knew “W” through Chad's sister, but had never met the friend she brought with her, “E”. I vividly remember them coming, shopping up a storm, and I remember sharing a few of the details of our adoption journey with them. They shopped and they left, we thought nothing of it, until Oct. 11th when I received a text from my sister-in-law telling me that “W” heard of a baby boy through her friend “E” that was born on October 6th, and the mother wanted to make an adoption plan.  The text detailed a few pieces of information that automatically made me think, this won't happen, Bethany, our agency, won't be able to work with this birthmother. That afternoon, when I got off work I called Chad, told him about the text, called my sister-in-law, and then called our adoption case worker from Bethany. After I told her a little bit about the story she confirmed my original assumptions and said this particular situation could be tricky and to not get our hopes up. She then said something I will never forget, "Remember, when God wants something to happen, He makes it happen despite the obstacles." Well, God sure did prove his point! After I got off the phone with our case worker I called back my sister-in-law and got “W’s” number. I called her, got more information, and then told her to have “E” call me. A few minutes later the phone rang and I heard all about our son! I was instantly in love! The first thing I was told was, "His name is "T", he was born 5lbs 9 oz, and he had red hair. “E” then went on to say, "I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but I couldn't get you and Chad off my mind after hearing about this little boy. God was laying it on my heart to let you know about him. I just know this is your son, so what can we do to make this happen?!" I told her all we could do was to give her Bethany's phone number and if there was a way she could get it to the birthmother that would be great! She said she could do that and we both agreed it was in God's hands from this point on. I hung up the phone and was overcome with a sense of peace. I knew God had something big planned and Chad and I were just along for the ride.

That night Chad and I anxiously discussed the possibilities. We had no idea if this could or would happen for us. So many things had to fall into place before we would know if the birthmother even wanted to consider us as an adoptive family. Then Chad said something that later made God's presence even more evident. He said, "I hate that we have to do it this way because Bethany is going to show this birthmother ALL of the family profiles and what if they don't pick us?" Now looking back on the story, I picture what God must have done upon hearing this statement. I picture the mischievous smile that must have formed on His face. I picture Him shaking His head and chuckling. I picture Him saying, “They obviously don’t know who I am and what I’m capable of!”

The next day, Wednesday, we waited on pins and needles for an email or phone call. We didn't even know if the birthmother had actually called Bethany. For all we knew she decided to parent. On my way home that afternoon I was feeling like this probably wasn't going to happen and was getting ready to make dinner when the phone rang at 4:38 p.m. It listed Bethany Christian services as the caller and my heart almost stopped. I answered and our case worker was on the other line and she said, "Is Chad home with you?" I immediately knew this was "the call"! She went on to tell me that we had been chosen and that we were never going to believe the story surrounding how we were chosen. She said our story will be told for years to come! She then went on to tell the most God filled story I have ever heard....

Let’s go back to Tuesday night… after I spoke with “E” she got the number to the birthmother and the birthmother immediately contacted Bethany.  The next day, Wednesday, October 12th, the pregnancy counselor from Bethany came down to meet with the birthmother and her sister. After meeting, they discussed looking over family profiles and the birthmother said, “I want to know who Chad and Corrisa are. Can you show us their profile?" The counselor explained that she wasn't going to be able to do that, but that she could look through the big profile book and choose her top three families. Now let me explain the big family profile book. It is a 3 ring binder filled with basic profile information on each family in SC hoping to adopt. There is a picture of the couple and a picture of the outside of their house. Each couple is listed as a number NOT a name, so for example we might have been number 5, NOT Chad and Corrisa. Under the picture is basic profile information. For example, female is 31, male is 33, female is a teacher, male is in sales, female has a brother and sister, male has a brother and sister. There is NO identifying information on the sheet and it only gives a BASIC overview of the family. From that book a birthmother will usually choose 3 families, and then they will be given the more detailed photo book that each couple creates, that includes first names and a more personal account of that couple's life. The birthmother sat down with the big family profile book and wrote down her top three families. She then gave the book to her sister who wrote down her top three families. Our counselor told us they both did this independently. When they came back together to discuss the families they chose the pregnancy counselor said, “You two have BOTH chosen the same family as your number one family. Do you still want to know who Chad and Corrisa are?” The birthmother and her sister said that they would still like to know who we were.  Now, this is where God crossed His arms and smiled down on us. The pregnancy counselor said, “Well, you both chose Chad and Corrisa as your number 1 family!!!!!!!” God intervened. This child was our son and He was going to pull out all the stops to make sure we ALL understood.  Then the birthmother said something we still smile about today. She said, “I’m going to need something. I’m a Gamecocks fan, and I would really like for the family I place my son with to be Gamecock fans too.” The pregnancy counselor did not know us, so she had to call our case worker. When she did our case worker confirmed our allegiances to good old USC and the birthmother’s wishes were grated! Now flashback to June when we were working on the final details of our approval through Bethany, we were working on our profile book, our birthparent letter, and agonizing over every word, every picture, every detail, knowing that we had to say just the right thing in order to bring a baby into our lives. Well the irony of it all was seen when we heard the story of how we were chosen. Our birthmom NEVER saw our profile book, she never read our birthparent letter, none of what we considered to be important mattered.  She chose us because we were Reid’s parents and she knew that from a picture and basic profile information. That’s a God thing. That’s divine intervention. That’s an example of how God doesn’t need us to worry about His plan because He’s already got it all figured out and His version of the story is much more interesting than our own. His version is flawless, unspoiled, ideal, textbook, and always JUST RIGHT!

“Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: what shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you.” (Matthew6:31-33)

God wanted to prove his point to us. Why worry? If we set our hearts on Him and trust in His plan then all things would be given to us! We can testify to the truth surrounding this verse!

When we found out we had been chosen we immediately got to work! The first item on the list was a name for our precious gift. At this point Chad and I had been trying to conceive for over 2 ½ years, so names had come and gone because so many of our friends and family had babies and used names we loved. However, one name stuck with us and was always a favorite. It was a name we always came back to: Reid Mallard. We liked the way it looked, we liked to hear it being said aloud, and we knew it was something special. Well, when we got the call about our little boy, we immediately knew what his name would be, Reid Mallard! Mallard is a family name and Reid is just cute! As many of you know I have a uniquely spelled name. A name that is often spelled wrong, so I decided it would probably be a good idea to check out the various spellings of Reid just to be sure we were spelling it correctly. Imagine my complete and utter joy when I clicked on a website to discover the meaning of Reid: Red; red haired! Yes, it is true! The name that had been placed on our hearts was a name that perfectly matched our red haired son. It was a name that was yet another confirmation that this was in fact the child God had handpicked for us! It was just another burning bush on our journey!

Some would call our story luck, coincidence, stars aligning, or wishes granted, we would say otherwise. We know what really happened. God had a plan, a perfect plan. He performed a miracle and wanted to remind us of His glorious and capable ways. He wanted us to realize that he takes care of ALL of the details, even the ones that go unnoticed. He wanted to remind us that He is in control, and when he is behind the wheel amazing and perfect things happen.  

There are so many more amazing details to this story. Things that would make you laugh, cry, and fall to your knees in thanksgiving. However, as with every adoption story there needs to be some gaps, some personal details, some things kept private for the child to someday tell himself. Reid has quite a story to tell. He will be a witness to many. His testimony will change lives. Reid is truly a miracle, a blessing, a gift from above, and the other day we were reminded, yet again, of how God’s plan works. I had a failed IUI at the beginning of January 2011. Reid was born on October 6^th, 2011. You do the math!

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 2 Peter 3: 8

"Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14

The day we brought little man home!

Our bundle of joy!

1 month old!

Mr. Personality

Reid's first Thanksgiving. We have SO much to be thankful for!

Always smiling!

Such a big boy!

So sweet!

2 months old

A handsome little fellow!

"The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

Walking in Obedience...

The Lord is amazing, perfect, and faithful in all He does. He deserves the honor, the glory, and the never ending adoration of the nations. He deserves it ALL and we don't deserve a thing. Yet, He loves us, He forgives us, and He blesses us. He trusts we will then use our blessings to glorify HIM! Chad and I have been loved, we have been forgiven, we have been blessed! By His GRACE we have learned to walk by faith. We have learned obedience to Him far outweighs obedience to ourselves. We have been given a perfect, selfless gift, one that we do not deserve. One God has trusted us with...Our son Reid Mallard!

My hand and Reid's birthmother's hand:) A perfect kind of love!

My sleeping angel!

My two boys!

Reid was born 5lb 9oz 18 in. on Oct. 6th. We are still spending time in the hospital with him because he was born early and is having some minor hiccups with a few things:) He has great nurses and parents who can't put him down, so he is a happy little man. We love him more than words can say! We hope to take him home VERY soon and will keep you updated on his discharge.

Also, keep posted on the STORY behind how God brought us our little man. It is a God filled testimony!

Isaiah 25

Praise to the LORD

LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.



A God Thing....

On September 24th Chad and I were schooled in God's provisions and His faithfulness. We held an Adoption Fundraiser Yard Sale. For 6 weeks we gathered (some would call it hoarded), priced, labored, and were blessed by the generosity of family, friends, and complete strangers. We made piles upon piles in our garage, our bonus room, our entire downstairs, and eventually in our sweet neighbor's garage. We anticipated. We prayed. We discovered: God provides and He is faithful!

Our adoption will cost $20,000. That's a lot of money! We save. We are not big spenders. Chad and I both have good jobs. We can pay our bills. However, we do not have $20,000 sitting around. Initially this was a concern when we first decided to embark on this journey. After all, we had already been through costly fertility tests and treatments. Something told us not to worry about all of that, it was just money, and if we believed this was God's plan for growing our family He would figure it all out for us. So we dove in head first, and since that faithful day we have been provided with the cushion we needed to never land directly on our heads:) Once again our eyes have been opened and we have been brought to our knees in thankful surrender.

For some reason I have been struggling with writing this post. I think it's because I don't feel there are words that can truly describe what we experienced the day of our fundraiser. All I know is that on September 24th  God walked by our side. We felt His presence in a way we have never felt before. He TOLD us that this is the path He has chosen for us and that He will not leave us stranded. He reminded us that He asks us to love our neighbor, and He wanted us to be the ones that were receiving that love.

So what happened that has brought me to a point of complete wordlessness?

God provided family and friends to help us fill 2 garages and our house.

God provided family and friends to help us organize the chaos.

God provided us with an amazing friend who fed us on Friday night and Saturday morning.

God provided us with 4 big strong men and 1 petite, but VERY strong and energetic, soon to be sister-in-law at 5:30 in the morning to help us haul ALL that stuff out of those 2 garages and our house.

God provided family and friends to help us collect money, sell donation drawing tickets, organize, and sell, sell, sell!

God provided the perfect weather...SUN...when the weather forecast predicted rain on Saturday for the entire week before! We even had huge thunder clouds surrounding our house all morning, and when people would come by they would tell us about the rain in the surrounding areas!

God provided people, more people than I have ever seen in my life, to come out and shop, bring over donations, and stop by to purchase a ticket or two for our donation drawing.

God provided us with the opportunity to give our testimony and chat with so many that have adopted, want to adopt, or were adopted.

By the end of the afternoon God provided $6,207.76! We had been told a typical fundraiser yard sale yields about $3,000. We raised over double that amount. God is so good!

Then God did something beyond words. He did something we are still in shock about. He gave us a family, who can only be described as our angels, that offered to MATCH our yard sale proceeds! We are humbled, we are blessed, we are thankful. Once again God provides!

We thank God for every penny because each one was a gift from Him and a reminder that He is faithful in all He does.

We are finishing up our fundraising yard sale tomorrow Oct. 8th. We will also be finishing up the donation drawing, so if you bought tickets come by my blog tomorrow to see who the winners are of the Kindle, 2 massages, gift cards, jewelry, and Justin Bieber.

Thank you again and again for everyone's love and support throughout this whole process. Each of you helped make our yard sale a success! We are overwhelmed by your generous hearts!!!!

***Be on the lookout for more exciting fundraising news...we have had even more people offer to help us fundraise!! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Verses we are thankful for:

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25

Off to a great start!

Chad and I are overwhelmed, blessed, and so very thankful. So many friends, family, and complete strangers have shown us their love over the past few weeks. Our Adoption Yard Sale is on its way to becoming a GREAT success! We have received countless emails, Facebook messages, and drop-offs. We have been doing pick ups on a daily basis. The garage is filling up, the bonus room is a mess, and we are so very thankful for this little 'problem'. We can SEE God working in our lives through each and every one of you. We trusted and He provided! Thank you for trusting too, thank you for your generosity, thank you for helping us!  Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”

This is what trust looks like!

I'm learning to LOVE piles!

This was a donation from some sweet kids in our neighborhood who wanted to help us bring baby Thompson home!

How cool is this??? People have been so generous!

We are still taking donations, so let me know if there is anything we can take off your hands! Then come see us September 24th!!!!! We can't wait to see what God has in store for our fundraiser!

More to come....

Blessed...

Precious Little One,
You are already so loved! We recently announced that we are doing a fundraising yard sale to help us bring you home. You would not believe the response we received! Friends, family, and a whole lot of people who have never met us want to help us, all because they are SO excited to meet you! Your Dad and I have never felt so loved and so blessed. We can feel God's hands all over this fundraiser. He is SO amazing. He has introduced us to people who we might not have met if it wasn't for our adoption. He has shown us people's amazing generosity and their huge hearts. He has blessed us more than we deserve!
I find comfort in knowing you are safe in His hands as we prepare for your arrival. We love you to the moon and back and can't wait to see your beautiful little face. Our first order of business will be to parade you around to show everyone an example of God's perfect love! We're counting the days until you are ours!
Love,
Mom and Dad

We're Adopting...

We are excited to announce that we’re adopting!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” Declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.” Jeremiah 29:11 This verse has rug true for Chad and me many times on our journey, and I know it will continue to as we head down the adoption path.  As many of you know Chad and I started trying for a family over 2 years ago. Like most people we planned, dreamed, and knew we would be pregnant instantly. After all isn’t that how it happens for everyone? Well, not for us. After a year of trying on our own we consulted with a fertility specialist and they declared, “You have unexplained infertility, there is nothing wrong with you!” Yeah for us! We took our diagnoses and ran with it. We thought, we’re fine, it will happen, we just need to relax. Another year later, and still no baby caused us to head back the fertility clinic for a more drastic approach.  We decided to try IUI. Basically, after pills, injections, and other fun things you probably don’t want to know about, my follicles (the cave the eggs are in) are supposed to be plump and ready to produce beautiful eggs and in turn beautiful babies.  After a text book IUI, and lots of prayers for twins, we got the devastating news that it didn’t work. The amazing part was, I didn’t cry, I didn’t throw things, I was at peace and so was Chad. That night we sat on the couch and discussed our options. We both felt we needed to move forward with adoption. We felt God was calling us in this direction, and it was our job to listen. However, the next morning, I woke up and got that feeling. The feeling you get when you want to do things your way, and I told Chad I wanted to try one more time. I felt I needed it for my sanity. Well, long story short, we tried, it was text book again, and we failed. Once again God blessed us both with a kind of peace that we would not have had if it wasn’t by His grace. That next day we dove headfirst into the world of adoption and haven’t looked back since!

God was tugging on our hearts all along! We started the process of domestic adoption back in November of 2010, before we started fertility. We decided on an agency, Bethany Christian Services, after hearing wonderful things about the program through many who had previously adopted.  We filled out the preliminary application and sent it off. We were quickly approved to receive the formal application. This included a lengthy online application, and after submitting that you sent in a fee and they sent you a mound of paperwork to complete. At this time we decided to put the adoption on hold and try fertility. After our 3 month hiatus, we got back on the horse and dug into the paperwork. On April 20, 2011 we submitted our formal application, on April 29, 2011 we went to our training day in Columbia, then we had 3 home studies in May and June, and on June 29, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. we got the call that we were APPROVED! This means we are officially waiting for a baby! This means we could get a call in a week or in 2 years. You never know. It’s all in God’s timing.

It’s hard to explain, the joy Chad and I are currently experiencing. We’re not pregnant. We don’t know when our family will turn from a family of 2 to a family of 3, but someone out there is pregnant, and she is confused and scared, and we are praying for her to be our miracle. Someone out there is going to make a choice that makes her our hero. She is going to choose adoption over abortion. She is going to choose life. She is going to choose us to receive her miracle, and she is going to give us the most perfect gift someone could offer.

Adoption started as a solution to our problem and ended as an answer to our prayers. It has been a long and bumpy road getting here, but I know God’s got our back, and we will be just fine!

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone
but still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute
You did not grow under my heart
but in it.

by
Fleur Conkling Heyliger

Stay tuned…

Special in God's eyes...

I always believed I was special, meaning: better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.   I really thought someday I would invent something really cool, be discovered for something while walking through the mall or discover some sort of hidden talent. It’s okay to let out a big belly laugh right nowJ Basically, I thought it was in the cards for me to become rich and famous. This is true. I really thought someday something would fall into my lap that would cause me to be able to coast through life. It’s kind of funny I felt this way because generally I am a shy person who needs a little persuading to get moving. I am NOT athletic, although I have always tried to be. I’m NOT theatrical; however, I was the lead in my senior play…we can all laugh about that! I am not a leader, or one who stands up to declare their opinions and who needs control over situations.  I need time to process and think through something before giving my opinion or thoughts on a topic. I get nervous when doing ANYTHING, especially when I feel like I am going to fail. I tend to be the kind of person who looks up the word gullible in the dictionary to see if my picture really is there. Don’t all of these attributes make you think…of course she was destine to be famous!!! I mean really, what was I thinking? However, as I mature and grow I think I have finally discovered my “specialness”. I am a writer!  I am good at it. I wake up thinking about it. I enjoy it. Now, am I going to be the next Shakespeare, Dickens or Twain? Not so much! However, I will write for an audience and hope to appeal to that audience, whoever that audience may beJ I’ve come to realize God blessed me with the talent He wanted me to have, the one he knew I could best use for His good. I teach children to write and hope to inspire them to have the same love for writing I have. I write in this blog, which I can only hope helps someone with the struggles they may be dealing with that parallel mine. I write because God gave me the ability to use words in a way that glorify Him.

Thank you God for making me so very special in your eyes!