Pictures Galore!

I've been so lucky to have the support of so many in raising money towards our adoption. These past weeks I've been able to photograph many families, and a few weddings. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of those willing to let me snap a few! I'm working diligently in getting them edited in between working at the Birthplace. You can take a peek over at:

www.cuteasa-button.blogspot.com

If anyone is interested in having pictures done and you live in the Portland area please email me at:
kerrikuykendall@hotmail.com

I saw what I saw

I have a good year I'm guessing, before I have the chance to travel and meet my baby girl face to face for the first time. Yes....baby girl. Nate and I have narrowed our parameters down (adoption lingo for age/gender specifications) to an infant girl 0-18months. It turns out that if you increase your age range, you can still specify gender. I will say that I hesitate to even specify anything because I feel that God will place the exact child we are meant to have in our family with us. It was a difficult decision, but I'm trusting that Oliver will be a good big brother for his baby sister.....and we couldn't be more thrilled to have a sweet girl in our family.

In this year of waiting, I'm gearing up for some major personal growth. Daily I think about her, if she is even born, what her birth mother is going through, how she is doing, if she is healthy....so many thoughts run through my mind. I wish I could just push the fast forward button and have her here, safe and home with our family. But, I know that in times of waiting, or longing, or difficulty comes great times of beauty and awakening. I'm holding on to that understanding with all I've got.

I wanted to share a little song and video that touches my heart. I have a huge lump in my throat every time I watch it because I think it is a portrait of some of what I may see when we travel to Ethiopia.

An aritcle about us!

We have had many opportunities to share our journey with friends, family, and many others as we follow our path towards adoption. Recently, we were honored to be a featured article in The Baramoter. You can read about it

here

or

here

Craig Bidiman, the author of the article has shared some of his personal first hand experiences about adoption. He is an adoptee and hearing his story and his willingness to share it with us, means so much. He has also shared a few encouraging words which are much needed during this stressful waiting time.

Here is some of what Craig personally shared:

"Throughout all of my experiences as an adopted child, one thing reverberates most within me: I am unlike anyone else in the world because my family chose to take a chance on me. They didn’t have to. They could’ve just forgotten about me and moved on with their lives. They had enough love to open their hearts to me-a child they had no idea of what would become of. This is why adoption matters. Showing that you are willing to risk everything on someone you don’t even know!

With your passion and intent, you have the opportunity to provide a life for a child who may have never had an option like this if it weren’t for you. You are doing what so many people in this world say they want to do but never follow through on."

Thank you Craig for sharing our story, and touching our lives with your encouragement in more ways than you know.