Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Application is Complete

Finally... we have completed the application to adopt through Riverside County!! Only 17 days after I wanted it to be in the mail... oops. However, we have now completed the physicals, TB tests, and both the State and County applications.

Here is a brief summary of how the application process works, to my understanding. When applying to adopt through Riverside County, the process actually starts with both the State of California and Riverside County, concurrently. The state, Community Care Licensing (CCL), will review our application and request live scan fingerprints, at the same time, the county will review our application and request their own set of live scan fingerprints. Once both agencies run background checks on us, CCL will schedule a home licensing inspection. We are well on our way to equipping our new home to be up to CCL standards. Once our home meets all licensing standards and we have passed the criminal record clearance, a license will be issued. Whew! Now the real work begins.

It is my understanding, after we have been licensed, the county will contact us to assign us a social worker and start the home study. The home study is to educate and prepare us, evaluate if we are fit to adopt, and gather information so they can properly match us to a child. From everything I have heard and read, they will ask us every personal question you can think of and dive into every aspect of our lives. Bring it on ;-)

If all of this information is making your head spin, I completely relate! I am so thankful for those that have made themselves available to talk through this process with us, without them I would be scared and lost! I am also thankful for the way the Lord has infiltrated our lives with the topic of adoption. Literally, every where we turn adoption comes us in some for or another. It is prevalent in scriptures, in sermon topics, and in the lives of those around us.

God is working on my heart in some amazing ways, I am learning to trust more fully, I am becoming more compassionate, and I am convinced of His purpose and plan for our lives. How blessed we are to be adopted into Christ home, how fortunate we are to be called His children, how undeserving we are to receive His blessings, and how obligated we are to follow in His footsteps.

Please join us in prayer as our application is being reviewed and please be praying for the little heart that will one day join our family, not only the Gilbert family, but the family of believers who declare Christ Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and adopted Father in Heaven.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Our Decision to Adopt

Our decision has been made public, we have decided to adopt! Now the real work begins!!

As an adoptive parent there are many options, you can go through an adoption agency, the County/State, or you can adopt from another country. We personally know people who have done each of these, we love and respect them all and see each as an excellent option. Furthermore, unlike naturally conceiving a child, we have the option of age, gender, ethnicity and "problems." Someone please tell me how in the world we are supposed to make this decision!! At this point, we have at least decide on two things, we would like to adopt here in California, and we are not able to spend thousands on the adoption process. This narrows down our options to a low cost adoption agency or the County. We have decided to pursue both for the time being. For fostering to adopt through the County you are required to attend a half day orientation to receive the initial application. We attended the orientation last month and have been working on the application. The county requires a physical, TB test and CPR certification prior to submitting the application. Hopefully we will be able to complete all of these and submit the application by the end of the month!

We recently informed our families that our intent is to adopt (prior to posting it on the blog ;-). We were not ignorant to the possibility of this news being difficult for our families to receive. However, to their credit, they all received the information with not only grace and encouragement, but excitement! We are so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive friends and family. I can not tell you how much joy you bring us.

Emotionally, I have been all over the place. I must admit that each month I still struggle with the prospect of not being pregnant or nursing a child again. But, as our fertility doctor said, Landon may have just been our little miracle! And yet, adoption is a miracle in itself, it is a reflection of the love Christ demonstrated to us by adopting us into His household! My prayer for us is that we would value and trust in the Lord and that our actions, in obedience, would demonstrate our faith.


Thursday, October 2, 2014

Fertility Journey Part 2

After the last few months of clomid, we have made the decision to stop fertility drugs. We made this decision for a couple reasons, primarily because of the way clomid made me feel. Here are the side effects of clomid: Stomach upset, bloating, abdominal/pelvic fullness, flushing ("hot flashes"), breast tenderness, headache, or dizziness. I have experienced all of these, with varying degrees of severity. Not to mention the emotional sensitivity... I'm done with it, plus, I am already ovulating without the drug, my eggs are just rotten ;-)

Due to the negative side effects of clomid, and the costs involved with more aggressive fertility treatments, we have decided to stop fertility treatment altogether. 

Although our chances of conceiving are dramatically low, I strongly believe nothing is beyond the power of God. We are putting our absolute trust and faith in His plan and His timing. 

Now for the big news, for the length of our marriage adoption has been a topic of discussion. We had talked of having two kids of our own and possibly adopting a third child. Over the course of the last year we have discussed adoption with more seriousness and more imminently. At the same time, people and events have been placed in our lives that have led us to believe adoption is the route God would have us pursue at this time. 

Yes, we have many concerns, yes, we are terrified, and yes, we realize how many hurdles we are going to have to jump. But when God says go, you go. Because if we truly believe God is sovereign and that He is good, then we submit to His will and plan for our lives. God has been stretching and growing our faith, I have learned to rely on Him more heavily and to trust my heart and emotions to an eternally good creator. Please join us in praying for the adoption process and, more specifically, for the child that is to become our adopted son or daughter.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

2 Years Old

A month from today Landon will be 2.5 year old! The time has gone by so quickly. As we get ready to take 2.5 year pictures here is a look back at his 2 year photo shoot, complements of 
Anthony Mascari (it is nice having a photographer in the family). 


My silly boy :-) 



This is such a Travis face!!



Click here to see more of Anthony's work. 


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

$200 Bathroom Vanity Makeover

A few months ago, before we moved, I decided that our master bathroom needed a makeover. We really needed to replace the vanity but purchasing a new one was out of the question. So I began to research other options when I came across a product called Giani, granite paint for countertops 
(click here to see their website). After researching the product and reviews I decided to give the 
White Diamond kit a try, the cost for the kit was $79.00

Here are a couple before pictures (sorry they are so dark):




I also decided to paint the cabinets using Annie Sloan Paris Grey, 
the picture below is after two coats of paint and one coat of both dark and clear wax. 



Now I was ready to start on the countertops. 
The first step is to clean the surface and paint the black base coat. 
All materials needed are included in the kit, making my job really easy :-) 


Next, you use the included sponges to dab on the mineral colors. 
Again, pretty easy. I even was brave enough to attempt veining (for this I purchased a small paint brush and applied a little of the lightest mineral color to create a vein like look). 



After letting the paint dry, I decided I wanted less of the brown and more of the white. 
The nice thing about this product is that you can change the look until you apply the top coat. 
Applying another layer of mineral colors helped the veining blend-in better. 



Finally, I applied 3 coats of the topcoat, waited the suggested curing time, 
and my countertops were ready to use! 

We purchased new faucets, for $40 each on Amazon, and framed out the existing mirror using base boards and crown molding, and just like that, we had a new looking vanity and mirror!



Here is a final before and after. 



Overall, I was happy with the way it turned out and I would use Giani Granite paint again! 


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Fertility Journey Part 1

Warning, this is a lot of information, some of it may be TMI ;-)

For the past few years we have been on a roller-coaster fertility journey. It all started back in 2010 when we decided it was time to start trying for our first baby! It was such an exciting step in our marriage, we were thrilled at the prospect of becoming parents. The first few months of trying was slightly disappointing but not too worrisome. After all, 80% of couples are pregnant within the first six months (yes, I look at the statistics regularly). But as each month passed, we became more and more anxious. Were we going to have to fight the fertility battle? Were we ever going to have a baby? After almost a year of trying for a baby we decided to see our primary care physician. He was able to order a few preliminary tests to see if we should seek fertility treatment. Blood work was ordered, and an ultrasound done. One week later, I was late for my period. I took a pregnancy test, it was positive!! I was shocked!! Could it be true, was I truly pregnant? Flash forward nine months, we had the privilege of welcoming Landon into this world. What a blessing he has been and I am so grateful for him and the joy he brings to our lives!

Knowing that conceiving again may take us a while, and knowing that we wanted our kids close in age, we decided to start trying for another baby when Landon was just 6 months old. Flash forward again two years to present day. We have been to see a fertility doctor and had additional blood workup done. The consensus is that I have something called secondary infertility, diminished ovarian reserve to be specific. Basically, we have discovered that my eggs are rotten, ha! The quality of my eggs is poor making conceiving again difficult, about a 2% chance difficult. I just turned 28 last month and my eggs are the quality of a 35+ year old... Furthermore, the doctor also believes I may have something call endometriosis (occurs when cells from the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other areas of the body). The doctor has prescribed 6 months of a common fertility drug called Clomid, I am about ready to start my third month on the medication. There are other treatments we could try but they are more costly and our chances of conceiving are not much improved with treatment.

My tendency is to be private and keep my problems out of sight with the intension of not burdening those around me. But I realize, those that are truly interested in our journey are those that will join us in prayer, are those that will support, encourage and love us through these hard times. I am so thankful for the friends, family and church community that have surrounded us and encouraged us along the way. Please do not pity us, be excited for us, we are being refined, our faith is growing, and God is on our side!!! Paul called us to rejoice in the trials for they are opportunities for God to work in our lives. Do not pity us, pray for us to grow, pray for our trust in the Lord, to be strengthened, pray for us to have an opportunity to reach others that are enduring the same struggle.

Last note, I realize that 2 years of waiting to become pregnant, when we already have a son, is trivial in the shadows of what some have endured. My intension is to simply share where we are in our journey with the hope it might bring encouragement to others. Life can not be done alone!