Home Study Visit

We had our first home study visit last Thursday morning! Of course I was nervous and Dan wasn't at all. This visit included an interview of the two of us together as well as a home tour/inspection. It went really well! Our caseworker was great and I can tell we are going to get along just fine! She was very sweet and not at all intimidating like I had originally pictured in my mind (not really sure why I had that impression because she was very kind over the phone). Her questions basically just expounded on our initial application. She answered all our questions and told us what paperwork items needed to be tackled next. The only negative we received, if you can even really call it that, is that we need to install a smoke detector in the basement (I'll take it).

Overall I was very encouraged by our visit. Before we began this process I pictured our caseworker coming in and grilling us to see whether or not we are "good" enough to adopt a child. That couldn't be farther from the truth. While Lifeline does have many checks and balances in place to make sure we can provide adequate care, they really seem to want to equip an enable you to adopt not judge every aspect of your life.

Next up on the agenda for us is to complete a VERY extensive autobiography and then we will have our second home study visit which includes individual interviews for both Dan and myself.

Some of our best friends just got home from Ethiopia for their first visit! They got to meet their little boy and spend some quality time with him. They also got to venture out in the country and learn more about the culture. I can't wait to hear all their stories knowing in a couple of years we will be having similar experiences! We are so blessed to have friends who have gone through this process before us and can help us along our journey.

And just for your viewing pleasure, here are some semi-recent pictures of the fam...

WAR EAGLE!!!!!

We made the trip this weekend to Auburn for the A-day game and more importantly the last rolling of  Toomer's! We are sad to see the trees go but so glad the girls got to be a part of a tradition that we hold dear!  It is great to be an Auburn Tiger! War Eagle!!! Here are a few of our pictures....

Shop at Amazon and support our adoption!

We had our orientation interview via phone last week with our Ethiopia caseworker! It lasted about an hour or so. During that time we were given an overview of what our process will look like. We also answered a few basic questions about our marriage and our family. It went very well and I can tell we are really going to get along great with our caseworker. She gave us the go ahead to begin any fundraising we planned to do.

 So.....I have become an "Amazon Associate". Basically, from what I gather, we have  a unique link to Amazon that we can post here on the blog, our Facebook accounts, send it via email, etc. What we are asking of our friends and family is that you clink our link before shopping at Amazon. It takes you directly to their site, but as a result, we get a percentage of what you spend for advertising for them. They don't charge you extra or anything like that. So basically you shop as usual, but support our adoption at the same time! Pretty easy! If you choose, you can also bookmark our link so you won't forget to use it when shopping. We will also keep this link under our fundraising tab for easy access. (Also under that tab is a link to donate to our adoption through paypal.) Thanks in advance to all of you who participate! Here is the link: 

Shop at Amazon and Support our Adoption

And so it begins...

We have BIG news....we are officially beginning the adoption process!! We have sent in our initial application to Lifeline, which is the agency we have decided to adopt through. (Side note: They are an amazing christian agency that is completely gospel centered and I would highly recommend them for anyone thinking of adopting or doing foster care or just looking for a great cause to support!) We have a long journey ahead of us but we are so excited to begin! We are planning to adopt a baby boy anywhere between 0-2 years old from Ethiopia. I plan to update the blog in the near future with more details on our decision to adopt, why we chose Ethiopia, and specific information on Ethiopia. We also plan to sell t-shirts on our blog and maybe do a few other fundraisers to help with the cost.

We are so blessed to have dear friends who are in the final stages of adopting their sweet little boy, Jeremiah, from Ethiopia and other friends who are beginning the process at the same time as us! God is so good! It is crazy how he works everything out. 

Dan and I firmly believe that Christians are called to care for the orphans. I don't mean to say that every Christian is to adopt, but we can all commit to some form of orphan care. Whether it be praying for the fatherless, supporting others who are adopting, doing foster care, adopting, or taking part in other orphan ministries. We have no doubt that adoption is something God wants for us and we are thrilled! We by no means think it will be an easy road and we know our family will be forever changed. However, we also know that we serve a great God and we are trusting Him to be by our side through it all! Here are two scriptures that we cling to: 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.     James 1:27

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.       Romans 8:14-16

Favorite Things

Just wanted to share a few of my favorite things, in no particular order....
My husband Dan. He is the love of my life, a wonderful father to our children, and a godly man who is constantly striving to bring glory to God every day.

My three girls, Mary Claire, Lilly Jane, and Elsie. They bring so much joy and laughter to our home.

Photography. I am blessed to be second shooter to an amazing photographer, not to mention one of my best friends, Alyson Clemons with Eternal Reflections Photography. This picture is from the most recent wedding we shot.

Coffee. I am absolutely obsessed with coffee. I'm sure my teeth don't appreciate my coffee drinking habit.

Listening to my girls pray. There is something so pure and inocent about listening to a child pray. Childlike faith is such a beautiful thing.

Watching my girls play. Mary Claire and Lilly have become so independent. I love to watch and listen in on their play time. It is amazing the things they come up with! I also love watching Elsie develop; I am enjoying each stage of her life so much!

My journaling Bible. Spending time in God's word is one of the most important parts of my day. I am in love with my journaling Bible since I am a huge advocate of writing in Bibles and it gives me plenty of room to do so!

Music. It has always been and will always be a huge part of my life! I attribute this to my Dad. I particularly enjoy listening to vinyls.

Plants. I have to admit that these are fake plants, but they photographed better. I actually do have several live plants that I love as well.

Books, books, books. It is my opinion that you can never have too many books. Once again, I attribute my opinion on books to my Dad.

Cooking with the girls. They love to help in the kitchen!

Orphans. By this I don't meant to imply that I love that children are orphans, but that I have a heart for the orphans of the world. I believe as a Christian, God has made it clear throughout scripture that we are to care for the orphans. God has placed it on our hearts that for our family the way to do that is through adoption. We plan to begin the process of adopting a little boy, most likely from Ethiopia, in the near future.

Most of all, my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Without Him I am nothing. It is impossible for me to articulate what my faith in Christ means to me. I pray every day that God will enable me to take up my cross and follow Him and to be a light in this dark world. I believe my sole purpose in this life is to bring glory to God by multiplying the gospel of Christ. I make many mistakes along the way, but praise God for his mercy and forgiveness!

Follow Me by David Platt

I am currently reading David Platt's new book entitled Follow Me.

Here is the book description from Amazon:

What did Jesus really mean when he said, “Follow Me”?

In this new book, David Platt, author of the New York Times bestselling book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, contends that multitudes of people around the world culturally think they are Christians yet biblically are not followers of Christ.

Scores of men, women, and children have been told that becoming a follower of Jesus simply involves believing certain truths or saying certain words. As a result, churches today are filled with people who believe they are Christians . . . but aren’t. We want to be disciples as long as doing so does not intrude on our lifestyles, our preferences, our comforts, and even our religion.

Revealing a biblical picture of what it means to truly be a Christian, Follow Me explores the gravity of what we must forsake in this world, as well as the indescribable joy and deep satisfaction to be found when we live for Christ.

The call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it’s a summons to lose your life—and to find new life in him. This book will show you what such life actually looks like.

So far I am really enjoying it. I have also read Platt's book Radical, which I highly recommend!

Elsie Kate

I have decided to give this whole blogging thing another try. It has been almost three years since I last posted, which is a little ridiculous I know. I figured what better way to get back into the swing of things than to post about our newest addition to the family....Elsie Katherine Culpepper. She was born October 5, 2013 at Huntsville Hospital. She weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and was 18 inches long. She is absolutely precious and I can't even remember what life was like before her arrival. 

God has blessed us with three beautiful girls and we couldn't be happier! Here is a glimpse of Elsie's nursery....

Here is a more recent picture of our sweet Elsie.....

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

I plan to be posting much more frequently in the future so stay tuned....