Fall Into Family Winner!

Congrats to Megan Poindexter, the winner of our "Fall Into Family" Giveaway. Thanks to everyone who donated. We appreciate you're help! Here's a list of what all is included in Megan's basket...

$25 Gift Card To Be Used At Chilis/Maggiano's/Macaroni Grill/On The Border

$25 Gift Card To Fandango to purchase Movie Tickets

Zookeeper DVD

Phase 10 Twist Board Game

Scene It? Disney Board Game

Chick-Fil-A Calendar With $30 Worth Of Coupons

Chick-Fil-A Memorabilia (Reusable bag, lunch bag, 2 Chick-Fil-A stuffed animals, beach ball, mini football, 2 Chick-Fil-A thermal mugs, Chick-Fil-A Pez Dispenser, and 2 Chick-fil-a Pens)

Box Of Popcorn

Box Of Jolly Rancher Sours

Box of Jolly Rancher Gummies

We'll be posting our December giveaway soon! It's going to be AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! We have several contributors, so you don't want to miss it!

Adoption Update

So, here's a quick update on our journey of faith. Today we had a follow-up meeting with our adoption agency, Bethany. We are so grateful to be a part of the Bethany family. God is using this agency is such a special way. They have been such an encouragement to us through this process. We have learned so much and God continues to lead and guide us every step of the way.

Tomorrow is going to be a BIG day, as we have the first of three home assessments. We have to travel about 2 hours to meet with our case worker. We will meet with her twice over the next 2 weeks and then she will come to our home for the final assessment. After the assessments have been completed, she will make her recommendation to the Bethany State Director. Once we have final approval, we'll begin the process of waiting for a placement.

As we go through this journey we are learning each day to trust and depend upon God. Every day we loose a little more control of all of this and have to rely completely upon Him. One area that we are learning to trust is the area of finances, especially in regards to funding the adoption. We are very appreciative to those of you who have been praying for us and for those of you who have given financially to support our adoption. We are continuing to do various fundraisers on our website. In fact, TOMORROW is the last day to get in on our "FALL INTO FAMILY" giveaway. Just scroll down a few blog postings and you can read all about this fun family giveaway. Any donation you can give will greatly help us in our adoption process. Who knows...you might be the recipient of this wonderful giveaway.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, and love. Our journey is indeed a journey of faith...but, so is yours! Let's all trust in the Faithful One!

Want to encourage you...

Today is Orphan Sunday and I wanted to encourage everyone to take a moment and not only pray for those children out there who are without a home but to pray for those families who long to bring little ones to their home. Take a few extra minutes today and hug your children a little bit tighter. I know children can be stressful at times and no child is perfect but be thankful that you have been able to get pregnant and have children or that you have been able to successfully adopt a child and bring him/her home. I don't say this to criticize in any way but lately I have been hearing more and more parents complain about their children or their pregnancies and it just breaks my heart. I am thrilled that God has chosen for Kelly and I to walk this journey of adoption and I look forward to seeing how God's hand works every detail of this process out. God has chosen a different path for Kelly and I but, as a lot of women do, I will always wonder what it would have been like to get pregnant and go through the miracle of childbirth. However, I am blessed to know that, hopefully, one day we will be able to bring home our child and we will love him/her with unconditional love and provide it with a life and family that it may not have otherwise had. So, today, remember those children who are without a home as well as those families that long to provide home to these children.

Below is a poem that has spoken to my heart in so many ways. I pray that God allows our infertility and adoption journey to be a way to speak to those around us. I pray that our journey will help give strength to those walking through the same struggles that we have been facing and are going through and for them to know they are not alone.

You and I By
Katherine R. Cottle

You talk with other women and complain about your children.

I have just come from the doctor’s office where I have been poked, prodded, and injected trying to find out why I can’t have what is causing your pain.

I know that children are a blessing from God.

You have been blessed with children and not I. Why?

You talk about how easy it is for you to get pregnant. In fact, all your husband has to do is “throw his pants over the bedpost.” You have the birth of your children all planned out.

I have just miscarried again.

You complain about never really wanting children and how inconvenient it has been to deny yourself for someone else.

I have just finished crying myself to sleep because God said “No” again.

You count the days before you go back to work and leave your child with someone else to raise him.

I wake up on an operating table, praying that this time the procedure will work.

You wake up one morning and you are pregnant

I wake up wondering, How far is too far to go with medical science?

You say, “Just adopt.”

I say, “Do you really think it is that easy?”

You say, “Just forget about it. Relax! It will happen when you least expect it.”

I say, “How can I forget about it? I have had to chart and plan lovemaking and take my temperature for the past six years because ‘timing is everything.’”

Fall Into Family

Fall Into Family With Our

November National Adoption Month Basket

The temperatures are beginning to drop and the leaves are starting to fall, so what better time to get together with those you love as you "Fall Into Family" with our November Basket. You can have the perfect Family Night, or a fun night with your friends, with some of the great essentials in this basket. As you enjoy these products, we hope you think about and pray for all of the families across the world that are adopting children. Below is a list of everything included in the "Fall Into Family" Basket. Our goal for this basket is $500.00.

$25 Gift Card To Be Used At Chilis/Maggiano's/Macaroni Grill/On The Border

$25 Gift Card To Fandango to purchase Movie Tickets

Zookeeper DVD

Phase 10 Twist Board Game

Scene It? Disney Board Game

Chick-Fil-A Calendar With $30 Worth Of Coupons

Chick-Fil-A Memorabilia (Reusable bag, lunch bag, 2 Chick-Fil-A stuffed animals, beach ball, mini football, 2 Chick-Fil-A thermal mugs, Chick-Fil-A Pez Dispenser, and 2 Chick-fil-a Pens)

Box Of Popcorn

Box Of Jolly Rancher Sours

Box of Jolly Rancher Gummies

If you don't have a need for every item in the basket, think about who you could give it to as a Christmas or Birthday gift. For just a $5 minimum donation, you could receive all of this and take care of some of your shopping list. Don't miss out on your chance to win!!!

For every $5 donated until Nov. 15th, we'll enter your name into the give-a-way for our "Fall Into Family" Basket. (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 Nov. 16, we will do a random selection and someone will be taking home this great Family Night Basket.

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 Nov. 15th. On Nov. 16th we will do a video of the give-a-way and deliver or ship the basket 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.

Mailing in our last set of paperwork

I can't believe we have FINALLY finished the last set of paperwork necessary for our adoption process. We have filled out about 20 pages of personal information, education, papers to sign, financial statements, etc. We also had to individually fill out approximately 100 personal questions about our life and our points of view. We have had to get physicals done, copies of birth certificates, our marriage certificate, background checks, and so much more. We do this with joy and happiness in our hearts because we know with every step we take and every question we answer we are getting closer and closer to our child that we long to meet and finally bring home.

On Friday, October 20th, we had our 1st informational meeting with Bethany Christian Services in Charlotte, NC from 9 AM to 4 PM. What a special day it was filled with laughter and tears. We felt that for the first time this was really happening as we finally got to see the face of Bethany and meet our Social Worker. We were able to hear powerful testimonies from adoptive parents as well as a birthmother. God touched our heart in so many ways and opened our eyes in new ways. The picture below was taken right after we got done with our informational meeting. This picture cannot even begin to express the joy we felt at that moment knowing that we ARE going to be parents one day.

What is next for our adoption process?!?!

Well, once our Social Worker receives all of our paperwork, she will contact us to schedule our 1st out of 3 meetings. Two of the meetings will be at her home and then the last meeting will be at our home. This will be a time for her to get to know us better and go over everything discussed in our paperwork as well as prepare us for the last few steps of our adoption process. While these 3 meetings are going on, we will work on putting together a photobook created for the perspective birthmother as well as create a web profile for Bethany's site. Once all of this is complete, we will wait for our Social Worker to finalize her recommendation for us for adoption and then we will wait until a birthmother selects us for the adoption.

There are still a few more steps to go until we are officially ready to start waiting for our official referral but we know that in God's timing everything will happen and we will be blessed with our little one. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers! We love you all!

Update on all of our fundraisers

Thank you to everyone who have taken part in our most recent fundraising events! We have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity as well as love, support, and prayers. Keep checking in with our blog because we will be announcing our next fundraising event soon. So here is an update on all of our fundraising events so far....

Auto Paint Giveaway:

Kelly's dad's employer donated a $250 gift certificate for paint products at their store. People could purchase a ticket and the winner had the choice oftaking the $250 gift certificate or getting $200 in cash. Kelly and I met up with Kelly's parents to do the drawingand then we called the winner. Congratulations to Rob Woodcox of Red Springs!Mr. Woodcox decide to take the $250 gift certificate for auto paint supplies. We were able to raiseover $800 with this fundraiser.

Thanks to our lovely assistant, Shawna Cox, that was willing to draw the name for us so we could not be accused of rigging the drawing. :)

Yard Sale:

On Saturday, October 15th, Kelly and I held a yard sale to raise money for ouradoption. We arrived at 5:30 AM to set up, started the yard sale at 7 AM, and ended the yard sale at 11 AM. We were blown away by success of ouryard sale. We raised$910 towards our adoption. Here are a few pictures from the yard sale:

Thank you to everyone that donated items!

Some of our wonderful volunteers! Thank you to Connie Britt, LeAnna McKeithan, Helen Snipes, Staci Jackson, Susan Bullard, and Archie Bullard for your help!

We were blown away by the success of the yard sale! God is so good and continues to meet our needs for our adoption!

TV Giveaway:

As many of you saw, we did the drawing for the 32" Vizio LCD TV on Tuesday, October 19th and Darrel Davis of Garner, NC was the winner. Congratulations Darrel! Kelly delivered the TV to Darrel this past Sunday. We hope you enjoy the new TV! We were able to raise over $900 through our TV giveaway.

Chic-fil-a Calendars:

Many of you have purchased a Chick-fil-a calendar and we still have plenty left for purchase in case any of you are still interested. We have sold approximately 50 calendars so far and raise approximately $200 from this event.

And the winner is....

Lindsey and I would like to express our appreciation for your support and donations to our TV giveaway. We had 224 entries into the giveaway. Thank you for each of your donations. We are overwhelmed by your support.

We are pleased to announce that the recipient of this new 32" VIZIO LCD HDTV is DARREL DAVIS of Garner, NC. Congratulations Darrel! Thank you for your support and for encouraging others to support our adoption as well.

We hope you all will continue this journey with us. Please keep checking our blog for more adoption updates and special fundraisers. Don't forget that we still have 2012 Chick-fil-A Calendars available for $8 each. These calendars contain over $30 in free coupons! Also, in just a week or so we will be posting our next giveaway. So, visit our blog real soon!