Truly a MERRY MERRY Christmas

Last I posted, I was 12 weeks pregnant and making the BIG announcement. Today, I am currently 14 weeks and 3 days pregnant. To even say those words is still a bit unreal. But, the belly is growing and I'm excited for our next appointment. We originally scheduled it for Dec. 26th, but one of my sweet, crafty friends got me in before Christmas. So, we are actually going to our gender ultrasound on Dec. 23rd! What a cool Christmas gift! I had my students at school do a poll on whether they thought the baby would be: boy or girl. It was DEAD EVEN!

People ask what our preference is and our answer is always "It doesn't matter, as long as our baby is  healthy and continues to grow strong." While that is truly our main desire, if I HAD to decide, I think we would say girl, just because we KNOW what her name will be. We (I) have known since way before I even met Jason. So, the poor guy really didn't have a say, but luckily he loves the name. We have a boy name too, but it's not as set in stone. But, really, this is a miracle so whatever the gender, we will be PUMPED!

Please continue to pray for us in this journey, as it is never over. Please pray for the pregnancy to continue to go smoothly and for me to continue to feel great. I feel blessed that I have not really experienced any sickness. Pray for us as we start to think about how much time off I can take when the school year starts back. Pray for us as we decide on childcare after I go back to work. While these decisions seem far away, we know planning for these things is so important as many facilities have waiting lists a mile long.

The Christmas season this year is really that much more special to us. The miracle of the virgin Mary carrying God's son takes on a whole new meaning to us. What a wonderful Savior and an amazing God of many wonders who continues to work miracles in lives everyday. Jason and I pray you have the most wonderful Christmas and that you look to the One who CHRISTmas is all about. We love you and thank God for our friends and family daily! Merry Christmas!

Type Tidings Christmas

Create personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Please click on our photo card to view it larger.

Love,
Katie and Jason

Chosen.

Chosen adjective

1. 1.

   having been selected as the best or most appropriate.

When googling the definition of the word chosen, the words "selected as the best" really settled in my soul. Jason and I have been "selected as the best" parents for the child we have been waiting on for so long. What an honor it is to be chosen. Our hearts are overflowing with excitement, gratefulness, humbleness, and love. We will forever cherish this moment in our lives when we got "the call" to be parents.

As many of you know, Jason and I have had a whirlwind of a year. About this time last year, we were doing IVF treatments and preparing for the IVF procedure. A year ago tomorrow, we were going in for egg retrieval. On December 14th , 2012 we found out the IVF procedure did not work and we were not pregnant. Although disappointing, a peace flooded my heart, and I knew God was calling us to adoption.

We started talking with Bethany Christian Agency in January and from there, we were approved as a waiting family in June of this year. In this past year, we raised all the funds necessary for our adoption, got a nursery ready, and have been waiting for "the call" ever since.

We got the call October 12, 2013. However, it wasn't a telephone call. It wasn't an email. God revealed to me that morning (while Jason was at a mud run in Columbia) that I was in fact pregnant. Yes, I said the "P" word. God called us to be biological parents to a little baby growing inside me.

How do I put into words how I felt at that moment? Excited, nervous, apprehensive, worried, scared, disbelief, etc. The list goes on. After trying to have a baby on our own for so long, seeking the best medical help we could find, and applying for adoption, the Lord decided to give us a baby. We never thought in a million years this would be the way He would do this. Some say, "See, you just needed to relax and it would happen." Or "I told you once you start the adoption process, you'll get pregnant." These are all things that people may say to us (with all the best intentions). But that's not it at all. God has known since I was formed in my mother's womb what this life would hold. He didn't just decide to allow us to get pregnant because we did all the right things. He's known since day one. All praise be to God for the miracle that is growing inside my womb. Because this is TRULY a miracle if I've ever seen or experienced one.

So, I know you're shocked. So were we. We're still blown away. So, here's a bit of info! We are exactly 12 weeks pregnant today (the baby is actually measuring 12 weeks 2 days). I haven't had any morning sickness (praise the Lord). I still get up and go to the gym with Jason each morning. We went to the doctor at 8 weeks and heard the heartbeat for the first time (172 bpm). I definitely shed a tear or two. We went back for our 12 week appointment today and heard the heartbeat again (160 bpm). Because I haven't had any symptoms, I REALLY wanted to hear that heartbeat. Not having a big belly yet, not really feeling pregnant (no symptoms), and not being able to feel the baby move made me question how everything was going in there. But, I was relieved to see our sweet baby today just moving all around, turning upside down, and moving it's arms, hands, legs, and feet. We will go back for our 16 week appointment the day after Christmas, and at that time will find out the sex of our baby. What a Christmas gift! It's truly all I want!

For all of you who are reading this and have continually prayed for us, THANK YOU. Those two simple words cannot convey the love we have for you. We know God heard your prayers for us. Prayer is so powerful, and we know all your prayers have had an impact on where we find ourselves today. We truly thank you all for all the love and support during this whirlwind of a year.

So, what about the adoption? Good question. We wanted to wait until our 12 week appointment to call and let Bethany know. So, we will do that this week. Basically, we will be put on hold until we want to continue. And trust me, we still feel the call to adopt. And we will adopt. We know the Lord will reveal to us the right time and way for this to happen in the future.

Please keep praying for us and our baby. We have always coveted your prayers and we ask that you continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy and for our baby to grow big and strong. Here's a few pictures we've taken so far in documentation of the pregnancy:

This is how I told Jason. He came home from the mud run and this picture was the first thing he saw when he opened his iPad.

This is the first photo of our baby at 8 weeks. We were able to see the heartbeat and 4 limbs.

 This is another photo at 8 weeks. This shows the baby was 1.72 cm long.

 Here is our baby today at 12 weeks. What a difference. Great photo of the legs.

 Here's the heart rate today at 160bpm.

Here you can see the cute little profile. 

What a blessing this is to share this news with all our friends and family. Since the blog has been where everything has been shared, we thought it was appropriate to share our great news with you in this way too!

With love,

Katie and Jason

Forgive my Absence

It's been almost 3 months since my last blog. For all my friends who aren't Facebook "friends" with me, you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth. I promise I haven't. I have just been more busy than I could have ever imagined. Let me give you a brief summary since my last update:

Since mid July, we have been patiently waiting for "the call." Our family was approved to adopt at the beginning of July and have been waiting ever since. The waiting part actually hasn't been so bad (yet) because of how busy I have been. I truly believe the Lord knew what He was doing when he slowed my Krafts by Katie business down in the summer time. After our big fundraiser, the orders slowed down tremendously. At that time, we were about $3,000 away from our goal and I wanted to hurry and meet that goal. I couldn't understand why I was so busy from December to June and now, all of a sudden, I wasn't. But God knew.

He placed a very special opportunity in my path. I was contacted by an acquaintance I went to high school with to do some vinyl monogramming for her mom's online business. This girl knew my story and thought I could be of help to her mom, so she got me in touch and the rest is history. Dana Halliday owns an online business called www.canvastravelbags.com. She sells monogrammed totes, insulated lunch boxes, bags, etc. Her newest item though, was this cute little plastic, go anywhere, set of four wine glasses that she thought would be super cute if monogrammed. What's even cooler is that she was contacted by Southern Living and asked if she could send them some samples for the August edition. Once the magazine hit stands and mailboxes, the orders FLEW in!

At this time, I was 2 weeks from going back to work. I was literally sitting at the computer, cutting vinyl monograms, and sticking them on cups all day every day. The orders came so quickly that I felt like I could not catch up. They finally slowed a little bit around week 4 or 5 and now I still receive about 20-30 orders a week. This probably goes without saying, but we hit our goal after only a few weeks of monogramming these glasses for Dana. In the midst of the hectic days of monogramming like crazy, I was just go, go, go, but when I look back, I can see God knew much more than I did. There was no way I could have handled all the krafts I was doing before AND this new venture. His plans are much higher than our plans, and His ways are so much better than our ways.

So, I'm just a girl with 2 jobs, a sweet and patient with me husband, and loving dog to keep me company until a baby changes our world. I think I mentioned in my last blog that I was starting the nursery. It's pretty much almost done now. Here's a pic:

The only things not done are the bed skirts and the rocker cushions. The collage will be filled with photos of our sweet little one. I'm in love with this room. Sometimes, I'll go lay in there and picture the moments I'll share with our baby when he/she comes. I think of how things will change forever. For the good. The sleepless nights. The coos. The feedings. The jealous dog. The changing of diapers. There are so many things I've got to learn! 

Anyway, forgive me again for waiting so long to blog. We are still here and still waiting. We know God has great plans. We can't wait to see them unfold. 

Love,

Katie

UPDATE on weekly updates

Hi sweet friends and family!

We just returned from a lovely beach vacation and it was much needed! However, I counted, and a month from yesterday I go back to work. WHERE HAS THE SUMMER GONE? I'm going to make every attempt to make each day count before heading back to work!

So, I have decided to hold off on the weekly updates for now. Because krafting has been down this summer, I have found my weekly updates to be a bit boring for you faithful readers! I will update you guys on mile marker events, but it won't be weekly anymore.

Right now, our journey is actually a little slow. This is the part where there is not a whole lot we can do, except WAIT! So, in the meantime, I guess now is better than ever to start working on the nursery! Wow, that sounded weird to type that! Me...making a nursery come together...I CAN'T WAIT! If you know me at all, I am super in love with decorating and have a pretty good eye for cuteness! So, I'm excited to start this process! I found the curtain fabric I want today, so it is ordered! Once it's here, mom and I will construct them! They are so me, and SO gender neutral! I tried my best to find a fabric that is super cute, but could be paired with other fabrics to meet a baby girl's needs OR a baby boy's needs! I'll have to give you a sneak peek and keep you on edge until they are finished!

I also have been on the search for an antique dresser to serve the purpose of a changing table AND storage. AND, probably the most important...something they can use as they grow and not think "this is too babyish for my big girl or big boy room." It will be a piece they will have forever (I hope)! So, I scoured Craigslist and found a few I loved, BUT, they were already sold. I went to a few placed today to look and still...nothing! I got on Craigslist again toady and found a GORGEOUS dresser a guy from Greenville is selling and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow! I can't wait to sand it down and paint it! Until then, here's a zoomed in view of my items so I don't give it away!

When everything is finished, I'll post a pic of the nursery progress!

Week 25 FUNdraising Friday Update

25 weeks just seems so long...It truly seems like yesterday that we started this journey, and now we are OFFICIALLY waiting. We could literally get a call tomorrow, next week, in a month, a year, etc. The unknown is scary, but exciting! I keep wondering in my little head if I should start looking for nursery stuff, clothes, diapers, bottles, formula...AHH...that is so out of my league right now! But I know it's important to start thinking about it, because it WILL happen. The question is WHEN..

The nursery (gah that sounds weird) will be my current craft room. So, I will have to move all my craft stuff somewhere else to even start getting it ready for a baby. I'll make it happen..no worries. I'm good under pressure!

Crafts have definitely been down this summer so far. And that's ok. We just aren't getting to our goal as quickly as we were, but nevertheless, we're getting there. Here's the totals:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4886.52 -- ALL 1000 pieces are SOLD!!!! Thank you!

Krafts by Katie: $9866.16

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

Paul's Burgers/Silent Auction Fundraiser: $2904.94

Other donations: $820.64

GRAND TOTAL: $19,265.18.............only $2,734.82 left until we meet our goal!

We have completed 87.5% of the goal! Not much more to go! Thank you for continuing to spread the word! I would LOVE to reach our goal by the time school starts back up and I go back to work! It would relieve some stress that wouldn't have to be added to the stress of another school year starting back! And with the digital conversion SHS is undergoing, and laptops being given to every teacher and student, I'm sure my stress level will be out the roof! YIKES!

Until next week! Oh...and by the way, we are headed to IOP in Charleston this coming week so I will be available to take orders, but I won't be working on any at the beach! Just FYI! 

XOXO,

Katie

Week 24 FUNdraising Friday Update

Well, it's been a bit of a slow week as far as krafts are concerned. We only brought in $185.31 to add to our adoption fund. But, any amount gets us closer, so we are always thankful for any amount we receive. What can you do? Continue to promote my krafts page (facebook.com/kraftsbykatiehill). If you need anything personalized or a gift that will stand out among the rest, I'm your girl! Thanks for thinking of me!

On the adoption front, we have our home study finished, we have everything paid for on the front end, and now we wait. We don't know how long, and that's totally ok. God knows. We pray for our expectant/birth mother all the time and for the baby that may or may not be in this world yet. We'd love it if you would pray for her and the baby whenever you think about it. We know God is listening and covets our prayers!

Things to pray for:

• the health of the expectant/birth mother and the baby
• support from close friends and family of the expectant/birth mother
• that the expectant/birth mother would seek counsel from Bethany early on so they can help meet her needs
• that the expectant/birth mother would hear a word from the Lord and feel a sense of peace and love

We know each and every time we look into our baby's face, we will remember the sacrifice this woman made, and we will love her for her decision each and every day.

Here's the update on our fundraising this week:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4886.52 -- ALL 1000 pieces are SOLD!!!! Thank you!

Krafts by Katie: $9787.44

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

Paul's Burgers/Silent Auction Fundraiser: $2904.94

Other donations: $611.20

GRAND TOTAL: $18,977.02.............only $3022.98 left until we meet our goal!

This means we have reached 86% of our goal! 

Thanks again for all your support! Keep it coming!

XOXO,

Katie

Week 23 FUNdraising Friday Update

After an overwhelming (but good) week last week, this week has been a little down. I've still got orders coming in, but it's much slower now that summer has set in. At first I thought that may be a bad thing, but it definitely gives me a break and allows me to not be SO consumed with krafting all the time. Maybe God just knew I needed some time for me. However, God is cool in that He provided that "over $500 deposited goal" this week. He still hasn't let us down on our weekly deposit goal. I SERIOUSLY thought there was NO way we'd deposit that much this week until Jason came home this morning after going by the bank. Someone had read our story and given my dad $100 check to give us. God thing right??!!

Speaking of time for me, that is just what I've gotten this week! For those of you who know me and my husband, you know that he is a complete work out (train is his word for it) junkie! He gets up at 4:45 or so each morning, cooks a healthy breakfast (that he prepares the night before), and gets himself to the gym before work. Now, I pretty much mastered the get up and cook a good breakfast part, but getting up that early was something I just didn't understand. I used to think he was CRAZY for doing this and I never understood how ANYONE could it. BUT...I decided to join him this week. YES, I bit the bullet, went to bed a little earlier, and got up and TRAINED hard!

Let's go back a little bit. When I was younger (and admittedly, still now) I used to wonder how people could just "let themselves go." How do you look so great in high school (and maybe even college) and then just gain 50 pounds? Well, I certainly have not gained 50 pounds, but I have put on 20 pounds since I remember weighing 125 in college (so you math people, yes, that means I currently weigh 145). That blows my mind. It's been a slow gain, but goodness, that's ridiculous! I started noticing more recently that my arms looked big and flabby and I had (oh gosh I don't want to say it.......) back fat. YUCK! So, after going to the Carolina Super Natural body building competition last Saturday (that my husband WON last year), I decided I needed to make a change. And not for a season. For life! So here begins my journey to a healthier lifestyle that I can keep up!

I have been more sore this week than EVER in my life. Even though it hurts, it means change is happening. Jason has helped me so much to get up, get going, and work those muscles! I've actually been doing 2 - a - days! I go back for cardio later in the day. So, this marks the first Friday of pics and what kind of pics might you ask? #FLEXFRIDAY pics! I was never a big "instagrammer" but I am now! I love following all these fitness pros and getting tips on diet and exercise. It's really cool to see the transformations of many pros out there! If they can do it, so can I! Here's our 1st #flexfriday pic from today!

let's see how my muscles change and grow each week!! I'm excited!

Meanwhile, when I haven't been working out, I've had several orders placed this week and I've got about 9 to finish. Looking for more if anyone is interested! Visit my krafts page here to see some of the cool things I make! I will ship to you if you need it!

Here's the totals for this week:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4886.52 -- ALL 1000 pieces are SOLD!!!! Thank you!

Krafts by Katie: $9609.01

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

Paul's Burgers/Silent Auction Fundraiser: $2904.94

Other donations: $611.20

GRAND TOTAL: $18,798.59.............only $3201.41 left until we meet our goal!

So we have reached 85.4% of our goal! Anyone want to just write a check for the remainder? LOL! Just kidding! We are so close and I'm excited for the day I can tell you guys that our goal is met! I love that little thermometer that keeps up with our goal each week! Too cool! If you haven't noticed it, it's on the sidebar at the top. 

This 23rd week also marked another milestone. We had our last home study appointment with our case worker. So, she will be working on typing up our home study within the next week or so. Once it's approved, we'll be on the list waiting! More on that process in another post!

Thanks again for all you supporters out there who are rooting us on! We love ya!

XOXO,
Katie