We have another SON !

We have been super busy lately and I haven't gotten around to blogging about it, sorry ! So long story short : Ethan and Ashlyn are getting a BROTHER ! 

Several months ago we saw this little boy on the waiting list. But because he was not in Bulgaria we kept looking. Every time we saw him we would say a prayer that his family found him. I have been drawn to him from the moment I saw him. A little over a month ago when we saw his picture again we decided to discuss whether or not he could be our son, as it would require switching countries and agencies. 

On November 11. I woke up with the strangest feeling, and later that day his profile was shared on an advocacy page. SO I decided to call the agency with his file and they said we could qualify for his country ! Later that evening I was connected with a lady who had just brought her son home from the same orphanage. She said when she first got there the little boy asked her if she knew here his mommy and daddy were because they weren't coming for him. A few weeks later she went back to say bye and the nuns that run his orphanage told him she was going to America to find his mom and dad. He put his little hands together and prayed.

That was the same day we asked for his file.

To make this story even more unbelievable, a few months after we started the process of adopting I was talking with my pastor because I had felt like God was leading me in a different direction. I felt like I had a little boy with spina bifida on my heart and I didn't know why. Spina Bifida is a birth defect where the spine doesn't fuse while the baby is growing in the womb; part of the spinal nerves are exposed and get damaged. After birth, the baby has surgery to close the lesion, but the nerve damage is lasting. The problems range from mild weakness in the lower part of body to full paralysis. Some children need shunts, and others have bowel and bladder issues. Children need extensive physical and occupational therapy, bracing, and close monitoring by skilled physicians. But with the right parents and the right medical team, these children grow up healthy, active and mobile!!

We knew we wanted this little guy to be in our family so we sent the paperwork in on November 20. We have been fundraising like crazy since ! We so desparately want our little guy to be home for Christmas next year ! Our next fee is the USCIS fee of $872. And if we want to have the slightest chance of him being home by Christmas, we need to pay it by Jan. So we can send our dossier by no later than march.

To help us get to that goal we are making blankets, ornaments , hand crafted paintings and home made laundry soap ! which can all be viewed on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/watchthemcbridefamilygrow

We also just started our puzzle piece fundraiser !  The puzzle is 1,000 pieces, and you can sponsor a piece for just $10 ! Once you have sponsored a piece your name will be written on the back  and when  the whole thing is put together it will hang in our sweet boys room, so that he can see everyone that helped bring him home ! Our son resides in an orphanage nestled in the foot hills of Mount Ararat. This is the place where the bible says the Ark rested on after the flood, which is why we want the puzzle to be Noahs Ark! He has lived in an orphanage since birth. We are unable to share a picture or give more personal information until we have adopted him. But I promise he is PRECIOUS!!! He has the sweetest smile and funniest expressions !!

I truly feel god has led our entire journey so far. And this process has strengthened my faith in the lord in ways I can not even describe.We know there will be challenges ahead for our family but with them will be many blessings. With God by our side we will conquer every battle placed in front of us.

So Many Fundraisers !!

Okay, full disclosure. I am not very good at this whole blog thing. I always think about it when I'm driving - or getting the kids to sleep. So now that I have remembered during the day it is time to let you guys know what we have been up to!

FUNDRAISERS y'all. Thats where we are at.

We have so many going on right now but we know they will be so worth it :)

This Saturday ( November 1 2014) We will doing our yard sale and we have had so many donations pour in from just all over the place. We are so thankful and have been so blessed by the many many people who have stepped out to support our adoption and help us bring our child home ! This adoption process is restoring our faith and making us so thankful that we took that leap of faith and chose to follow His plan.

We are collecting shoes for an organization called Angel Bins ! They will come collect the shoes and pay us per pound towards our adoption, how stinking cool is that ?!? The only catch is we have to collect 10,000 pounds of shoes ( thats roughly 10,000 pairs  y'all ! ) before they will come. So I am pleading with you guys- clean out your closets. Those shoes youve had in there for 5 years and havent worn? They would be perfect for our shoe drive. We just ask that the shoes you donate be in pairs :)

We also have a few more lined up and they are BIG so stay tuned and when we have them for sure ready to go, you will be the first to know ! :)


Thanks for following our Journey !

Ashton & Tony

The Beginning !

This is our very first blog ! We have decided to start this blog to keep up with our journey because we know it is one we will want to look back over and remember.

So how did this all start ? We have always wanted to adopt, and knew that adoption would be a part of our story and how we would grow our family one day. We also knew that adoption would be a long process which is why we decided to start sooner rather than later. We initially thought we would foster-to-adopt but for various reasons we decided international adoption was best for our family. We researched and looked around six months before we decided to make “The Call”- and it took about a month to find our agency ! We love them !

Why Bulgaria ? We initially looked into a few other countries but none of them felt right. Also because of our ages we were limited to a few countries. But now that we have our agency and our country we couldn’t imagine any other place ! We know our perfect child is in Bulgaria waiting for us ! We are so excited to begin this process and start the journey of completing our family through adoption.

Most of the people in our lives are super excited for us and are happy to be apart of this journey. A few people have asked why we would want to adopt since we are young and perfectly capable of having children of our own, the answer is simple really. We have always wanted to grow our family through adoption and we think that another child will be a beautiful addition to our two beautiful children we already have.

A little about us: Ashton is a stay at home mom to our amazing sweet little ones. Ethan is 3 years old and the typical get dirty, play hard boy. Ashlyn is our little stinker ! She is 9 months old and learning to walk. We are so blessed to have them in our lives ! Ashton is a birth doula, and student, graduating in the spring of 2015. Tony works hard to provide for our family and we could not do what we do without him. He is our rock and is such a wonderful husband and dad ! Tony works for a call center in our area and is amazing at his job !

Stay tuned for more updates :)
Thank you so much for reading our (short first post) blog ! We will continue writing every so often to let everyone know our progress <3