Win a NEW 32" LCD HDTV!!!

The weather is starting to turn cooler, the leaves will soon be changing...fall is just around the corner. With these changes come an exciting season of football! One might ask, what can make this time of the year better? Well, we have just the thing...a NEW 32" VIZIO LCD HDTV!

High definition entertainment has never been so amazing! This 32" Class LCD HDTV delivers 720p high definition for remarkable detail and striking 100,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for truly deep blacks and brighter whites.

No matter your lighting arrangement, you'll always have the best picture possible thanks to built in ambient light sensing technology that automatically adjusts backlight levels based on its surroundings. The result is a balanced picture that will never appear washed out or too bright.

So, by now you're asking yourself, how can I receive this AWESOME TV?!?!?!? Well, this is how it works...

For every $5 donated until Oct. 17, we'll enter your name into the give-a-way for this 32" VIZIO LCD HDTV. (So, for $20 you will receive 4 entries and so forth.) Give the post a shot out on Facebook or Twitter (pastorkellyb) and we'll enter you in again. On Oct. 18, well do a random selection and someone will be watching the games on this brand new TV!!!!!

HOW YOU CAN DONATE...
You can make your donation by clicking "GIVE" on the GiveForward box on the right side of this page. You will be directed to our personal donation site where you can enter your donation amount. Remember, for every $5 donated, you will receive an entry into the give-a-way.

NOTE: When you give your donation with GiveForward, please be sure to provide your name. If you choose, you can select the box that reads,"I would like to hide the amount given." Also, at the bottom of the donation page, please make sure you check the box that reads, "I would like to share my contact information with the beneficiary." This will ensure that we receive the necessary information to enter your name in the give-a-way! If you would like your donation to be made in private, please feel free to mail us your donation.

You may also mail a check with your donation to our home address. Once we have received your check, we will make the appropriate number of entries into the give-a-way. Please email us at ltbullard@yahoo.com for our mailing address.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GIVE-A-WAY!

After you donate, post something about this on Facebook and we'll add your name again to the list. Just be sure to friend one of us (Kelly or Lindsey Bullard) in your status on Facebook. Just to remind you that this will be up on the blog until Oct. 17th. On Oct. 18th we will do a video of the give-a-way and deliver or ship the TV to you.

If you desire your name to be put on the list for the drawing without donating, just email ltbullard@yahoo.com. Note: GiveForward donations are not tax deductible. If you would like to send a check just email me.

Thank you to a special friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, for their donation of this VIZIO TV. We appreciate your generous gift and support as we go through this adoption.

Formal Application Approved!

Words can't even begin to describe the excitement that we feel right now! We just received word yesterday that our formal application has been approved with Bethany. We can only imagine the excitement we'll feel when we receive placement. WOW! There's still several more steps that must be completed. We will be attending a very important meeting on Oct. 21 in Charlotte with Bethany. From there, we'll have a few home studies to do. We've heard mixed reviews from adoptive parents about these studies, but for the most part, we've heard pleasant reports. After the home studies are completed and we receive our final approval, we'll then begin our journey of waiting for a placement.

God is truly at work in this situation. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Eat More Chicken and Support Our Adoption!

The Chick-fil-A Cow Calendar is both an annual tradition and a new opportunity to see what those renegade cows will do next in their never-ending battle against burgers. These 12-month masterpieces include $30 in coupons for free Chick-fil-A menu items and remain some of the most popular calendars ever produced. The themes may have changed, but the cows’ message has always been the same: eat more chicken!

Thanks to our friends at Chick-fil-A we will be selling the NEW 2012 Cow Calendars to support our adoption. You can get your calendar for an $8 donation to our adoption! Remember, your $8 will get you $30 of FREE food at any Chick-fil-A restaurant. If you would like to get your calendar, please comment below, facebook or email either one of us and we will arrange for you to pick up your calendar!

Also, these calendars make great Christmas gifts! So, start your Christmas shopping early and purchase a Cow Calendar. Your friends and family will love it!!!

Thanks for your support and thanks to our friends at Chick-fil-A!

Formal Application Submitted!

After much typing our fomal application has been submitted! We've been told by friend's who've gone through this process before that there is much more paper work to come. Well, bring it on! We're ready! Even though we've submitted the formal, it will not be processed until we submit $550. Imagine that...money! Yep, they'll be alot of that needed over the next few months. Thanks to Kelly's dad we have already begun the fundraising process. Archie works for an auto paint and body supply distributor in South Carolina. He's doing a raffle with his customers and we're almost half way to this first goal.

Over the next few months we'll be doing various fundraising events. Each month we'll be hosting a basket raffle that we know you'll want to get in on. We have set up a link to paypal on our blog (on right side of page), which will allow you to join in the raffles or make any other contributions to our adoption fund, should you feel led. We will also accept contributions in person or by mail. We are working with various businesses, direct sales companies, restaurants, and organizations to create some great gift baskets. Make sure to check back soon for more details. We'll go ahead and give you a hint for the October basket. Well, it won't be a basket, but it will be flat!

Our First Baby Gift!

Last week we received our first baby gift from a dear friend. Laurie Marbrey sent us the book, Baby Bargains. This book looks amazing! It was featured on Oprah and offers secrets to savings for parents. These savings include 20%-50% on items such as baby furniture, gear, baby clothing, maternity clothes (not that we'll need that!), and much, much more.

Thank you so much Laurie for this gift! It's exciting because this is all beginning to feel so real. Alot of people see the adoption process as a "paper pregnancy," which makes it sometimes seem unreal, seeing that there are not physical changes, etc, as with a real pregnancy. But, we know that this IS real and opening your gift was a great reminder of the fact that we WILL be parents. Thanks again!

Preliminary Application Approved

Even though this post is a week late, we wanted to make sure we included every detail of our adoption process on this blog. Last week on Wednesday, August 31st we got the official word that our Preliminary Application had been approved. Words cannot describe the emotions of that moment. Even though we knew that we still had a LONG road ahead of us and that this process could take months or even years, we felt that we finally saw light at the end of a 17 month tunnel.

For 17 months, we have lived on an emotional rollercoaster. For 17 months, we have answered the hardest question that you can possibly be asked when you are so deeply longing for a child and are unable to get pregnant..."when are you going to start having children?" That one question can cause so much pain and heartache that people are not even aware of, because they don't know what is going on personally in someone's life. One thing I have already learned from our journey so far is that words and questions, no matter how innocent they may seem, can hurt someone so deep. Going forward, we have vowed to be more careful with asking that question to other couples, since you never know what they may be struggling with privately. For 17 months, God has challenged us and taught us that He will be strong enough for both of us when we felt that we have been pushed as far as we could go. For 17 months, we have cried, prayed, hoped, dreamed, and wished that this struggle would come to an end and that we could finally add children to our little family.

In that moment when we got the email saying our preliminary application had been approved, we felt relief. We felt that our longing to have children was finally becoming a reality. We felt that finally, we were on a road that will, hopefully, one day end in us adding a sweet, precious baby to our family. We felt God saying "trust me...I have your best interest at heart." We have learned so much over the past 17 months and know that we will learn even more in the journey ahead. We know that we can only get through this with God's help and that ultimately He has our best interest at heart. So now our journey begins...

Telling Our Parents the Exciting News!

This post will have us caught up with everything that has happened in the past 2 weeks. We appologize for the past posts being so long and promise to try and make them shorter in the future.

As soon as we received word that our preliminary application had been approved with Bethany, our minds started thinking about telling our parents. We decided to create small picture books of our journey as husband and wife over the past three years. After flipping through the book, the last page would reveal our annoucement. This page had a picture of baby feet with the words "We're Adopting" over the image. Now that the book was completed, we had to come up with a legitimate reason for meeting up with our parents.

The first call was made to Kelly's parents. Dinner was scheduled at Buffalo Wild Wings in Fayetteville. After placing our order, we told Kelly's parents that we had a gift for them. We explained that we had made a picture book for our anniversary, sharing our journey over the past three years. We told them that we thought they might like a copy and this one was theirs. Kelly's dad flipped through the book first. When Kelly's dad flipped to the last page, his eyes got big and he couldn't stop smiling. He wanted Kelly's mom to be surprised. So, he passed the book off to her and said, "Here, go ahead and look at it!" She slowly flipped through the pages. We watched closely as she neared the end of the book. When she flipped the last page, she screamed in the restaurant. After a brief moment of embarrasment and looking around to see if anyone was looking, we all laughed and exchanged hugs! Telling Kelly's parents couldn't have gone any better. One family down...two to go!

Lindsey's mom and step-dad were going to be driving through Fayetteville the next afternoon, headed to the beach. So, Lindsey called her mom and asked if she wanted to meet up at McDonald's and chat a bit on their way down. No, McDonald's wasn't our favorite choice of location, but given our circumstances and the logistics of meeting up, this was our best option. So, the next afternoon, we met up at McDonald's, just off of I-95. We explained the picture book, just as we had with Kelly's parents. As Lindsey's mom began looking through the book, our hearts began to race a little. We knew that in a matter of seconds she would find out that she was going to be a grandmother! As she turned the last page, her face glowed with excitement and great joy! She said she felt something was up, but didn't know what was going on. She and Steve were both very excited and anxious to hear all about Bethany and the adoption process.

Last, but not least was Lindsey's dad and step-mom. Coordinating a time to tell them our news was a little challenging. After numerous text messages, we determined it would be impossible to get together and tell them our news over the weekend, espcially since we wanted to announce it to our church family on Sunday. We decided to call them and tell them over the phone. We told them about the book and that their copy was waiting for the next time we saw them. They were so excited to hear of our news and are looking forward to being grandparents. We'll have a picture soon of Lindsey's dad and step mom with their picture book.

It's wonderful to know how excited all of our parents are and we can't wait to see them with their grandchild.

The Journey Begins...

Three years ago we stood at the altar and shared our wedding vows. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. Everyone says those words, but at the time, we don't realize the significance of them. Life is a journey. For some, it's like a roller coaster filled with ups and downs, high climbs and sudden drops. We never know what is around the bend, but we keep on going.

Our story definitely has it's moments of joy and excitement, but we have also experienced the "sudden drops." For years, even prior to being married, we have had a special love for children. From the day we said "I do" we knew that God had called us to be parents, but we could have never imagined the road that we would travel to get to that end. For months we had tried to start a family, but nothing was happening. After months and months of trying, after months and months of doctor's visits, after months and months of tears, we were left with questions that seemed to have no answers. What was wrong? Why could we not get pregnant? When will it happen to us? Through this time there has been many emotions that we have experienced. We've experienced moments of joy. pain, resentment, anger, frustration, hope, excitement, and disappointment. For us, these emotions have been ongoing and reoccurring. However, the grace of God has sustained us through it all.

Well, here we are 17 months later. Not much has changed, but we have learned a lot through this process. After being diagnosed with infertility, for no apparent reason, we are learning to trust in the sovereignty of God. We are learning patience and how to wait on Him. We are learning how deep our love and commitment is for each other. Yes, this journey has allowed us to grow closer in our relationship with God, but it has also allowed us to grow closer in our relationship with each other. It's true that difficult times in a marriage will either draw you closer together or drive you farther apart. We are grateful to God that this journey has brought us together!!!

While our story hasn't played out the way we had intended, we have learned that God's plans are not always our plans and His ways are not always our ways. Even though we cannot physically have children, it does not change the calling to be parents that we feel our hearts. Understanding this truth and calling from God, we have decided to begin the process of adoption through Bethany Christian Services.

Words can not even begin to describe the excitement that we feel! We know that this process will not be easy and that it could possibly be a long process, but we are ready! We know that in God's perfect timing He will bring our family together. Until that time, we will keep hoping, trusting, and praying! We ask that you, our family and friends, keep us in your prayers. We will use this blog to keep you updated on all the exciting news. In the near future, we will begin various private fundraising initiatives. Most of these will be done through this blog, so please subscribe to our blog to stay updated.