Thursday, January 31, 2008
Still just waiting...
I think that knowing that we are closer to getting a referral makes waiting that much harder. Though we have no real timeline or deadline, it is the not knowing that's driving me crazy. It is nearly impossible to have a balanced life in the midst of waiting for something so big. I feel like I have allowed myself to get lost in my work more because it makes the days go by so fast. If there weren't a writer's strike going on, I would be camped out with my DVR much more often. Although I greatly appreciate all of the encouragement about how we should enjoy this time to ourselves, Troy and I have had nearly five years of sleeping in, eating out, enjoying the freedom of travelling whenever we choose, and date nights without worrying about finding a sitter. But with that five years also comes the comfort of routine and the constant longing for something more...We are ready for our world to be flipped upside down. We are ready (so to speak) for diapers and feedings and getting less sleep (in all fairness Baxter wakes us up at 3:30 AM every morning--when he is awake, everyone else should be too). We are ready for our house to be filled to the brim with kids and dogs. I look forward to having toys everywhere and little kids clothes to wash. I look forward to going to the park and cooking meals for five. I know that our becoming parents will in no way complete us or make us whole, but it will catapult us into the next phase of life that we have been preparing for since we took our vows. So, for all of the nay-sayers who think we are crazy to bring three children into our home all at once, please keep in mind that this is what we were created for.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
With one big leap of faith...
...we are "officially" kicking off of our fundraising efforts. This is an extremely scary process. Troy and I are very self-reliant and would much rather pay for everything ourselves than have to ask anyone for anything. The reality of our adoption, however, is that we simply can't afford the entire cost on our own. It is a very humbling situation to be in for two particular reasons: 1) it is a true test of our faith in God's provision and 2) we are put in the awkward position of having to ask our family and friends to help us "pay" for our children (so to speak).
Skeptics may ask why we are attempting to adopt without having the entire cost already saved up. Our answer is simple, we believe that we are doing what we are meant to do at the exact moment we are meant to do it. When we made the switch from pursuing our children medically to pursuing our children through adoption, we did so with A LOT of prayer. There is no doubt in our hearts or minds that we have been specifically called to adopt...three siblings...from Colombia...right now.
Over the next few days, some of you will receive packets in the mail that contain a letter and some other information. We ask that you prayerfully consider what your role - if any - in our adoption may be. Some of you who are able may want to donate a monetary gift. Some of you who are true prayer warriors may know how and what to pray for us. Please know that however you feel you can help is truly of great help to us. The most important thing we hope you will get out of this post is that we don't want you to feel obligated. We also want to assure our faithful readers that the posts from here on out will not be solely about fundraising (thought updates will be given!)
If anyone is interested in receiving a packet of information on our fundraising efforts or if you have any questions, please send one of us an email. I am working on how to get all of the information up on our blog. And though this is a scary time for us, it is also extremly exciting. We have been waiting months to start this process and are so joyful to be entering this phase of the adoption.
Love,
Andrea (andrealwe@yahoo.com) and
Troy (taeisenberger@yahoo.com)
Skeptics may ask why we are attempting to adopt without having the entire cost already saved up. Our answer is simple, we believe that we are doing what we are meant to do at the exact moment we are meant to do it. When we made the switch from pursuing our children medically to pursuing our children through adoption, we did so with A LOT of prayer. There is no doubt in our hearts or minds that we have been specifically called to adopt...three siblings...from Colombia...right now.
Over the next few days, some of you will receive packets in the mail that contain a letter and some other information. We ask that you prayerfully consider what your role - if any - in our adoption may be. Some of you who are able may want to donate a monetary gift. Some of you who are true prayer warriors may know how and what to pray for us. Please know that however you feel you can help is truly of great help to us. The most important thing we hope you will get out of this post is that we don't want you to feel obligated. We also want to assure our faithful readers that the posts from here on out will not be solely about fundraising (thought updates will be given!)
If anyone is interested in receiving a packet of information on our fundraising efforts or if you have any questions, please send one of us an email. I am working on how to get all of the information up on our blog. And though this is a scary time for us, it is also extremly exciting. We have been waiting months to start this process and are so joyful to be entering this phase of the adoption.
Love,
Andrea (andrealwe@yahoo.com) and
Troy (taeisenberger@yahoo.com)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Yeah, in the end it's all Life Changing
It's Troy here....for those of you who were worried that Andrea had me locked in the garage, that simply was not true (although your concern is appreciated). A nice run on the greenway helped me find something to write about. Also, Andrea is quite sick. I came back from Harris Teeter with enough cold medicine that I'm sure I'm now on some watchlist in North Carolina for starting a meth lab. Which depending how the fundraising goes is something we may look into (I'm of course kidding..... Really...just kidding...can't say that enough).
It's snowing in Charlotte as I write this. This is nice after the drought, as our brown yard is now white. Green is likely at least a year away. I just got back from running 11 miles, which in 37 degree and raining weather, gave me time to clear my head, while the rest of me was freezing. The thought that stayed in my head throughout the run as I thought about the adoption, was "are we ready for this"?
The phrase we continually hear is that "this will change your life." While my first reaction is to be flip (as comedian Louis CK said..."Of course my life is changing...now I have a BABY"), we of course recognize this as a life-changing event. Getting a dog changed our lives, getting a second dog changed our lives (the merit of this decision is still being debated), getting a Trader Joe's down the street from us changed our lives -and yes, this will be the biggest change of all. When the words "this will change your life" are spoken as a soft warning, I tend to appreciate and value it. It comes across from parents saying, enjoy your free time now, and truly providing constructive and thoughtful advice.
When those words come across with a touch of disbelief, they are frequently coupled with phrases like "do you know what you're getting yourself into?" & "are you sure you're ready for this?". I'm always caught slightly off guard by these questions. Do I say that we think that most parents are martyrs and we expect this to be pretty easy and wait for a reaction? We of course do and don't know what we are getting ourselves into. Are we doing our best to fundraise, work extra jobs, get our house as bebe ready as possible? Of course. Are we going to be surprised, challenged, caught off guard, amazed and a myriad of others things we don't know about? We expect and welcome this.
Being 100% ready for kids would mean buying cold medicine the day before they get sick; placing a pile of pillows down on the deck right before they fall and break their arm. All this to say, we truly trust in God's provision and believe that we will be as ready as we need to be. We probably weren't "ready" to be married, but the last almost 5 years have been amazing and I wouldn't change a thing (maybe the Seahawks/Packers game, but that's likely out of my power).
We are currently working on many phases of the process at all times, and it seems more and more real ever day. Reading others blogs, especially those traveling right now (like the Armstrong's wonderful blog), have become addicting - as we share the excitment of those traveling, and can't help put ourselves in the experiences that await us.
We look forward to being ready and being not ready. After years and years of waiting to bring home our bebes, we would certainly have it no other way.
Much Love,
Troy and Andi
It's snowing in Charlotte as I write this. This is nice after the drought, as our brown yard is now white. Green is likely at least a year away. I just got back from running 11 miles, which in 37 degree and raining weather, gave me time to clear my head, while the rest of me was freezing. The thought that stayed in my head throughout the run as I thought about the adoption, was "are we ready for this"?
The phrase we continually hear is that "this will change your life." While my first reaction is to be flip (as comedian Louis CK said..."Of course my life is changing...now I have a BABY"), we of course recognize this as a life-changing event. Getting a dog changed our lives, getting a second dog changed our lives (the merit of this decision is still being debated), getting a Trader Joe's down the street from us changed our lives -and yes, this will be the biggest change of all. When the words "this will change your life" are spoken as a soft warning, I tend to appreciate and value it. It comes across from parents saying, enjoy your free time now, and truly providing constructive and thoughtful advice.
When those words come across with a touch of disbelief, they are frequently coupled with phrases like "do you know what you're getting yourself into?" & "are you sure you're ready for this?". I'm always caught slightly off guard by these questions. Do I say that we think that most parents are martyrs and we expect this to be pretty easy and wait for a reaction? We of course do and don't know what we are getting ourselves into. Are we doing our best to fundraise, work extra jobs, get our house as bebe ready as possible? Of course. Are we going to be surprised, challenged, caught off guard, amazed and a myriad of others things we don't know about? We expect and welcome this.
Being 100% ready for kids would mean buying cold medicine the day before they get sick; placing a pile of pillows down on the deck right before they fall and break their arm. All this to say, we truly trust in God's provision and believe that we will be as ready as we need to be. We probably weren't "ready" to be married, but the last almost 5 years have been amazing and I wouldn't change a thing (maybe the Seahawks/Packers game, but that's likely out of my power).
We are currently working on many phases of the process at all times, and it seems more and more real ever day. Reading others blogs, especially those traveling right now (like the Armstrong's wonderful blog), have become addicting - as we share the excitment of those traveling, and can't help put ourselves in the experiences that await us.
We look forward to being ready and being not ready. After years and years of waiting to bring home our bebes, we would certainly have it no other way.
Much Love,
Troy and Andi
Friday, January 11, 2008
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life." ~Proverbs 13:12
For those of you who do not know, I work for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. The "C" in YMCA actually stands for Christian which means that I get to freely live out my faith on a daily basis at work. Having worked in non-Christian environments before, I cannot even begin to express how meaningful it is to work at a place where we have devotions and prayer at the beginning of most meetings. This verse about hope came from the devotion in a meeting I had this morning. Needless to say, it bowled me over.
In all of these of years of waiting and longing for parenthood, I had not heard this verse before. I am not sure I can accurately describe the instant rush of emotion that I felt when I first read it. It is just truly beautiful. I think that the best way to describe it is that I felt like God was saying "I understand what you feel." I know on the most basic level of my faith that He, of course, knows what we feel--after all we are created in His image. But this verse felt personal. I can't remember a time when I have ever waited for something for so long, and for there to be a verse in the Bible that describes what long periods of waiting does to your heart is just...so comforting. I don't know why I am so surprised that such comfort and empathy exists in the Word, but I am glad I was reminded of it today.
On a side note, and going back meetings and the Y, the joke at our branch is that the "M" stands for "Meetings" since all we seem to do is go from meeting to meeting.
Hope you all are doing well!
For those of you who do not know, I work for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. The "C" in YMCA actually stands for Christian which means that I get to freely live out my faith on a daily basis at work. Having worked in non-Christian environments before, I cannot even begin to express how meaningful it is to work at a place where we have devotions and prayer at the beginning of most meetings. This verse about hope came from the devotion in a meeting I had this morning. Needless to say, it bowled me over.
In all of these of years of waiting and longing for parenthood, I had not heard this verse before. I am not sure I can accurately describe the instant rush of emotion that I felt when I first read it. It is just truly beautiful. I think that the best way to describe it is that I felt like God was saying "I understand what you feel." I know on the most basic level of my faith that He, of course, knows what we feel--after all we are created in His image. But this verse felt personal. I can't remember a time when I have ever waited for something for so long, and for there to be a verse in the Bible that describes what long periods of waiting does to your heart is just...so comforting. I don't know why I am so surprised that such comfort and empathy exists in the Word, but I am glad I was reminded of it today.
On a side note, and going back meetings and the Y, the joke at our branch is that the "M" stands for "Meetings" since all we seem to do is go from meeting to meeting.
Hope you all are doing well!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The Year of the Bebes?
I woke up this morning feeling extremely hopeful and optimistic. I cannot tell you how long it has been since I started a new year on a high note. Honestly, I think it is the first January 1 that I can remember in which I feel more focused on what I have to be thankful for and look forward to than what I have to be disappointed about. My new outlook is mostly due to this being what we have dubbed "The Year of the Bebés".
There is no guarantee that we will travel to pick up our kids this year, but there is also no reason to think that we won't. Right now we are trying to figure out how to prepare (the best we can) for the addition of three Eisenbergers. We know there is no real way to mentally and emotionally prepare for such a huge life-change, so we are focusing on the things we can do. For starters, we are organizing the attic and garage to give us more storage space with hopes of turning the "Room of Doom" into a nursery. We need to paint and fix some of the things that need fixed in our house. It is also time to unpack the boxes that have sat for over two years (remember my elephant collection?). In short, it is time to turn our house into a real home.
The biggest challenge facing us as we prepare is coming up with the rest of the money we need to complete the adoption. We have spent nearly $14,000 just on the first half of the adoption. This is aside from the approximately $10,000+ we spent on infertility treatments. The second half of the adoption is going to cost us around $18,000 for a grand total of $32,000 when it is all said and done. In addition to working overtime and second jobs to help save, we will be starting our fundraising campaign this month. If you would like to help us, please let us know. We are working on putting a packet together that breaks down the adotpion expenses and offers options on how anyone who feels led can help us reach our goal. We are aiming to raise $12,000 which is a large sum, but I am confident that God will provide what we need. He has made sure that we got this far, I know He will see this through to completion.
I hope this post finds you enjoying the first day of the new year. I also hope that you woke up with the same hope and optimism as me. 2008 is going to be GREAT!!!
Happy New Year!
-Andrea
There is no guarantee that we will travel to pick up our kids this year, but there is also no reason to think that we won't. Right now we are trying to figure out how to prepare (the best we can) for the addition of three Eisenbergers. We know there is no real way to mentally and emotionally prepare for such a huge life-change, so we are focusing on the things we can do. For starters, we are organizing the attic and garage to give us more storage space with hopes of turning the "Room of Doom" into a nursery. We need to paint and fix some of the things that need fixed in our house. It is also time to unpack the boxes that have sat for over two years (remember my elephant collection?). In short, it is time to turn our house into a real home.
The biggest challenge facing us as we prepare is coming up with the rest of the money we need to complete the adoption. We have spent nearly $14,000 just on the first half of the adoption. This is aside from the approximately $10,000+ we spent on infertility treatments. The second half of the adoption is going to cost us around $18,000 for a grand total of $32,000 when it is all said and done. In addition to working overtime and second jobs to help save, we will be starting our fundraising campaign this month. If you would like to help us, please let us know. We are working on putting a packet together that breaks down the adotpion expenses and offers options on how anyone who feels led can help us reach our goal. We are aiming to raise $12,000 which is a large sum, but I am confident that God will provide what we need. He has made sure that we got this far, I know He will see this through to completion.
I hope this post finds you enjoying the first day of the new year. I also hope that you woke up with the same hope and optimism as me. 2008 is going to be GREAT!!!
Happy New Year!
-Andrea
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