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Category Archives: General
Let The Countdown Begin!
I just thought I would give everyone a heads up. On October 15th we will find out if we will receive the grant from the Cade Foundation! We are excited to see what will happen, but I suppose we are also a little apprehensive at the same time. We are trying to not get our hopes up, but I have to be honest and say it’s a little (lot) hard not to. I have to say if this is the way to learn patience, I haven’t been the biggest fan! While I have to say this has not always been the easiest path we know this is the one He has laid out for us. I pray that someday, maybe, somehow, these events in our lives will help mold us into what HE wants us to be, and we will be able to be a blessing and help to some other family facing this same difficulty. In the mean time LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!! Hopefully in two weeks I will be sharing a post that says we are Maryland bound. 🙂
Grant Application
Tomorrow, July 1, 2013 marks one month that the grant papers were due. There was so much paper work involved! We worked very hard for several weeks trying to make sure we had everything exactly the way it had to be. We had to fill out all the paper work they required plus all the other information they needed. This list consisted of a copy of our marriage license, copies of the past 3 months pay stubs, a copy of last year’s 1040, a 4×6 photo of us, and copies of our birth certificates. (For this we were a little unsure of what to send for mine. Due to the fact I was born oversees, I have 3 different birth certificates. So… to be sure we did the right thing we sent a copy of all three)! 😉 We also had to have copies of all my medical records from my doctor, and a letter written by my doctor saying basically that we do have infertility problems, and should be counted eligible to receive this grant. All of that had to be in a signed and sealed envelope from the doctor. Included in the paperwork that we had to fill out was two copies for a treatment budget. (This was a list we had to make of how the money would be spent if we did receive the grant.) There were two copies of our monthly household budget, and a personal statement written by each of us stating why we wanted to do IVF, why we felt we would make good parents. etc. (Basically self promoting ourselves… Neither of us were comfortable with this, but had no choice.) These are just some of the things we went through to get these papers ready to be sent in.
As a way of memorializing this special occasion I took this picture of Jonathan on May 27, 2013. We mailed the grant papers on the following day. It was quite a relief to be done with it all, and know that we had gotten it sent in on time. However, at the same time we were very nervous for the next several days while we anxiously waited to receive an email from The Cade Foundation. This was a pretty big deal to us! Some of you may be wondering why. Well… as part of the application process we also had to fill out some information online and pay a donation fee of $50. At that point we found out that if our paper work was in any way in-complete we would not be considered for the grant. It stated that if everything was correct that we would receive an email saying that they had received our paper work. That email came 12 days later on June 10, 2013! I know that is not a long time, but we felt as if we were waiting on pins and needles! We were beyond thrilled when we received that email! It was at that point that we had a small feeling of satisfaction in knowing that everything we had just spent weeks laboring over was in fact what it needed to be. Now though… we have come to another waiting period. We are of course hoping we will receive this grant, but we also know that like us there are so many others who are waiting as well to know what will happen. We are very excited and I have to say that October 15, 2013 can’t get here fast enough! 😉
P.S. I also have to say that while the amount of money that is needed was somewhat overwhelming to us, we’ve always known that The Lord would supply the need for what we were doing. He’s always supplied our needs before and why would He lead us in a way that He would not provide for us now?! I heard a saying many years ago: Where God guides, He provides! I KNOW this to be true.
While we knew that we would receive support from our family and friends, we did not expect the response to be quite like this! To see The Lord work these past few months for us has been amazing! There are no words to describe how overwhelming it has been. In a little over seven months we have received 6,540. dollars.  Our total need is 14,030.00, and the amount we applied for is 6,090.00. We are hoping to be able to save another $1,500.00 between now and January 2014.
Thank you to everyone who has given to us to help with the expenses, and also thank you for all the prayers that are being said, and most of all thank you to Our Lord for His many blessings! God is good… ALL the time!
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
-Becky
They Are All Finished!
Just thought I’d share some progress. All four puzzles are finished. Now comes the part of having each puzzle framed. This could be a lengthy process due to the fact that it is somewhat pricey to have each one done. Below is a picture of each puzzle. As we have them framed I will be sure to also share pictures of each one as well as a completely finished project once all of them are on the wall!
We have also been working on the papers that have to be filled out to send in for the grant. Those as well as the fee are due by June 1, 2013. We are not sure if we will qualify for the grant. We will know the answer to that via email on October 15, 2013. If we get it, of course, it will be wonderful! We would then be required to attend a banquet in Maryland on November 9, 2013 where they will formally acknowledge each of the grant recipients.This is a grant for $10,000 so as you can imagine it will go A LONG way to help pay for the cost of doing in-vitro. However, if we do not get it then that’s ok too. God knows the need and as He has already proven through so many of you, we believe it will be met!
God bless you all and thanks for helping make our dream come true!
-Becky
While We Are Waiting
Meet Cole & Ross Slaven
These two boys are from a family that has been visiting our church some. We decided to take care of these boys for a while due to their family needing some help. We have had them for a week so far, and we will have them for a couple more weeks if things go according to plan. I know that is not a long time, but we are praying that for the time that we do have them we can have some kind of positive impact on their lives. Please help us pray for these precious boys, and please pray for us as well. While we are waiting for God’s timing in our lives for our own children, we want to help these boys as much as we can. Even if it is for a very short time.
Cole (pictured to the right) is the oldest. He turned eight a couple weeks ago. He is the out-going one. I’m pretty sure he would talk to a post and not mind that it won’t talk back! He LOVES basketball, video games (with a passion), and Little Caesars Pepperoni Pizza. It could be that these three are his greatest survival needs. 😉 j/k
Seriously though.. Cole is in first grade. He was not ready to advance to second grade at the beginning of the 2012/2013 school year. He is doing much better now though, and has been on the honor roll for the past 6 weeks and improving in every subject. He cannot pronounce his “R’s” quite yet, but for now that is ok because it is really cute and he will learn given time. I wish I could type out how he says “girls” it makes me smile every time!
He is talkative, very bright, and full of questions. He is (most of the time) very well mannered, but like most boys his age does tend to have a slight case of selective hearing at times. 😉  He has a beautiful smile, a big laugh, bright eyes, and a way about him that will steal your heart in just a second. He gives hugs and kisses constantly, and I am told “I Love You” more times in one day than I could possibly count. I love every one that I receive and he seems to love getting them back. He is precious, and so full of love.
Ross (to the left) is six. He is more quiet and shy, but once given a few seconds to get used to you would gladly give you a hug in a minute!
He LOVES football, and video games as well. While he seems to have a wider range of things he will eat he is still a little on the picky side when it comes to food. I’m pretty sure both of them wouldn’t eat a vegetable if their life depended on it!
He loves wrapping his arms around my leg and holding on for dear life while all I can do is manage to inch my foot along. This of course makes him laugh all the more! He loves to play “Come Catch Me.” and will run until I am about ready to hit the floor, but he is still raring to go. He loves being tickled and has the sweetest giggle.
He is also in first grade, but is a very young first grader. He can read but is a little slow with it. He is learning to count to 120. He gets a little stumped at times and leaves numbers out but given time and maturity will master that before long I’m sure. He tends to get frustrated with himself a little more quickly if he messes up, but with encouragement seems to get a second wind and wants to try again.
He has the biggest smile that makes his eyes disappear. He loves to crawl up in your lap just to snuggle. He will stop whatever he is doing to find you just to say “I love you” then off he is again to whatever he was doing. He too gives an abundance of hugs and kisses everyday, and I love you’s all the time.
We got each of them a new Bible for Valentine’s Day as well as some candy, and little toys. But anyway… These are the first Bibles they have ever had and they LOVE them! They both are always asking questions about what something says, or what something means or sometimes they will even just sit and turn the pages. Earlier today I asked them if they knew what the red words were for? They didn’t know so we told them those were the words that Jesus said. To this Cole said “Man, God sure did have a lot to say!” They seem to enjoy Sunday School and Church, but don’t understand why they have to sit still for so long! It’s sad that its so foreign to them, but I am hoping and praying that in time they will come to understand just how much Jesus loves them, and that they will be saved. I hope and pray that we will be a light to them and our home will always show God’s love!
We have only had them for a week, but just in that amount of time I’ve come to love them so much. They have so much to give and just want someone to show the same back to them. Again I ask that you please help us pray for these precious boys!
Unexpected Blessings
Just thought I’d share an extra special surprise…
A couple weeks ago at church a lady came to me and asked how things were going with the puzzles. I told her we had two put together and working on the third, but it was giving us some problems. We have made some more progress on it but it is slow going.
Then I realized what she was meaning was how much had we raised so far. I told her that we had just made another deposit and that had put us up to $460. She inquired as to giving through the website that you can only buy 10 pieces. To make a long story short we found out that some money had been given through our blog that we were not aware of. When Jonathan set up the Paypal account he had it set to send us both an email when something was given and who gave it just the same as we receive emails when a comment is made on a post we’ve done. Anyway though… To our surprise we had $270 dollars in our Paypal account that we knew nothing about. This makes us have a new total of $780. What a special blessing! Thanks SO much to everyone who is giving and most of all for your constant prayers.
-Becky
Puzzle Progress
I just wanted to give everyone an update on the progress we are making on putting the puzzles together. We have two completed, and are working on the third one.
The first one we completed was this mountain snow scene. We chose it first because of the snow in it, which goes with our name of course, and the name of the blog. We also simply enjoy this type of scenery the most. We live out in the country, and we love it. So it was fitting that this would be the first one we completed. It wasn’t terribly difficult, but it was challenging enough to keep us interested. Keep in mind, we’ve never worked a puzzle this big in our lives, so the thought of it in the first place was a little daunting to say the least!
The next one we chose was this one of the hot air balloons. We chose it because of its simplicity (It really was a breeze compared to the first one!), and because Becky has always liked them. On a trip up to Ohio to see my sister once, we passed by a community college that was having some sort of hot air balloon festival. It was pretty cool to see dozens of those balloons fully inflated! I can’t remember if any were flying, but either way it was certainly a cool sight to see!
The puzzle we’re currently working on is kicking our tails. It’s a beautiful scene with a path (driveway?) going through some trees. The problem is that there are no patterns to try to match up. We’re trying to find pieces that have tree trunks in them and work our way out, but even that is proving difficult.
I’d also like to take this chance to say a huge “Thank you!” to those who have bought puzzle pieces so far. I’ve added a counter to the right that will track how much we’ve raised based on what you have bought.
Again, thank you so much for helping us through finances, and especially through prayer!
-Jonathan
4,000 Pieces!
Operation put the puzzles together is under way!
Purchase Date: November 29, 2012.
Our original plan was to purchase one 5,000 piece puzzle to use. We wanted something that was gonna be practical. Because the puzzles will be given to our child, we wanted something that would match any decor so that someday when they have a home of their own it can go with them. We quickly found out that was not gonna work out as well as we thought. We did find a puzzle that we liked, but it was going to cost approximately $50.00! This was quite a shock because that was quite a lot more than we had imagined we’d have to pay. We also discovered that a 5,000 piece puzzle is not small. Dimensions listed were a little over 5 feet long by about 3-4 feet tall! At that point I was beginning to think even if we did get that we’d have to put it together in sections and then where would we hang something that big? After all… the plan is to hang the puzzle in our baby’s room.
Needless to say because of this we chose to go with something a little smaller. 😉 We bought a box containing four 1,000 piece puzzles. As was stated in the “Our Story” section we plan to put them together, and have them framed. We will number each of the puzzle pieces on the back. As money is given, we will fill out a computer spreadsheet that tells the names, dates, and amounts given, and correlate those to the numbers on the puzzle so that it will always be a reminder of how God provided. Our child will always know that through God’s goodness, and because of all of you who gave, they could have life!
I plan to occasionally make post to keep y’all up-to-date on the progress of the puzzles and the finished results. Here are a couple other pictures we have taken of the work in progress.
Just Outta The Box!
The Edge Is Always The Easy Part. 😉
The Real Work Starts Now.
Slow But Sure. 🙂
-Becky
A Promise To Stand On
 You may be wondering why I chose this verse to put on our picture… the Lord put this verse on my heart a few months ago. One day as I way doing my daily Bible reading I read this verse and it has stuck with me ever since. Now yes, of course I have read this verse several times in the past, but this particular time it seemed to stand out to me even more.
 As I was reading I began to see things in this story I had never seen before. In verse 7 it says year by year, so even though there is no account given for how many years this was, I know each one must have been more difficult for Hannah than the one before. Honestly… If I were her I would have been tempted to stay home rather than go knowing what I was gonna be up against. To me, for her to feel this way was totally normal. Any woman who is not a mother and wants to be so bad can fully relate to Hannah here. I have faced similar feelings and thoughts on more than one occasion. For example.. I’ve wanted more than once to stay home on Mother’s Day rather than face a day filled with things geared totally towards “Mom’s”. I go though because I believe to miss such a day would be wrong and selfish on my part. Wrong because I would be forsaking going to God’s house. Selfish because I would only be thinking of myself rather than thanking those who deserve it for the blessings they are in my life.
 But anyway, In order to learn a little more of this story I have not only talked with Jonathan about it, but I decided to find out what Matthew Henry’s take was on this account.
 Some thoughts from him and my husband:
 Peninnah despised Hannah because she was barren. Elkanah loved Hannah even though she was barren and Peninnah knew this. If ya ask me Peninnah had issues of her own. Because of her own insecurities and jealousy she did her absolute best to make Hannah miserable. As if that was not bad enough she did it most when they went to the house of the Lord. One maybe because they were together more but maybe also because this was when Elkanah showed his affection most to her. Peninnah wanted him all to herself. Poor Hannah! Can you really blame her for being devastated? Something else I read in Matthew Henry’s commentary is that Peninnah also knew that it was wrong to provoke her at this time not only because they were in the presence of people and others would take notice, but also Hannah desired to be calm and composed, to be free from disturbance so that she could have a clean heart before the Lord as she worshiped Him there.
 It even said that she would not eat because she was hurting so much. She had lost her appetite. She was uneasy with herself and unfit for company. Sometimes I feel like I can relate to Hannah here. I have had many days when I wanted nothing and just to think of food made me feel terrible. The problem here is that of course since we are humans our body does require food, and the lack of it ends up making you feel even more awful. It seems to be a snowball effect in more ways than one. I’m sure you’ve heard the term I can’t even stand myself. I’ve felt this way before and I was definitely unfit for company!
Have you ever prayed, but no words seem to come? Have you experienced sleepless nights and tear stained pillows? Have you read your Bible, but for some reason found no comfort at all in its words? Have you begged for peace and still felt hopelessly lost? It’s such a horrible feeling of being all alone. You ARE completely helpless and that is when you begin to realize you have to be totally relying on God. For me… I discovered at this point that every day I have to seek Him. It’s not pray one prayer, gain some victory, and then it’s all better. It’s an emotional roller coaster ride that sometimes leaves you hanging in the balance. A friend told me one time that learning to walk by faith really is the hardest part because some days are easy and some are overwhelmingly terrible. I have felt this way at times and still do on occasion, but I can know from His Word that He is NEVER gonna leave me. He is always there ready and willing to hear as soon as I call.  I know that I must continually seek Him for peace and His strength, and give Him the praise for the days that are easier.
 Anyway though, Eli accused Hannah of being drunk! He even confronted her about it. Now… The wrong side of me would have wanted to say “Of all the nerve, I have lived with this pain for years, I’ve been made fun of, my husband thinks he’s not good enough, all these things…and now, I’m being accused of being drunk?!” I suppose this is where me and Hannah are different because she simply replies, “No, my Lord.” She saw him as he was and showed due respect for a man of God. It still makes me wonder though if she might have been thinking, What now? Where am I supposed to go from here?
 Verse 11 says that she made a vow to God that if He would give her a child she would give him back. Part of me has always thought WOW! What kind of woman does something like that? Especially knowing that she would only get to see her little boy once a year? The only answer I can see is… a woman with a bucket load of faith! Eli told Hannah “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. It also says that she went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. She prayed, she trusted, and believed what she had been told. She had peace in her heart. In my opinion, that is some GREAT faith!
 I know there are many other stories where there were Heroes of the Faith. I know God did many other miracles for other people. It even says in John that if they were all written down that all the books of the world couldn’t contain them! This story though… Well, It hits very close to home. As I read this very tried and true story that day, the thought occurred to me that if the Lord could do this great miracle for Hannah thousands of years ago then He could do it for us as well. After all… He has not changed and never will!
 So… even though we do not have children yet, for me, this is a cherished promise I can take to heart and trust just like Hannah did that some day, Lord willing, I too will be called Mommy!
-Becky
Will You Help Us Pray?
We are so excited about how God has been working in our lives and leading us in the direction He wants us to go! Of course… we don’t have all the answers yet and we don’t know all that the future still holds, but we have a dream to have children of our own. Through the love we have for each other, and most importantly our faith and trust in our Savior, we believe that as long as we place Him first in our lives He will hear our hearts’ cry, and if it is His will, allow us to become a Mommy and Daddy. But… if not, we WILL still love Him and serve Him anyway!
Thank you for all who visit our site and for your prayers and support as we begin this part of our journey.
-Becky