We received immigration approval yesterday! One step closer. Thank you God!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Help us bring our son home by purchasing a t-shirt, please go to https://www.bonfirefunds.com/joseph-denna-emily-word-adoption-fund
Joseph, Denna & Emily Word Adoption Fund
Thank you so much!
Joseph, Denna & Emily Word Adoption Fund
Thank you so much!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Our Emotional, Crazy Roller Coaster UK Adoption Ride Has Started.... Joseph, LaDeanne & Emily Word
Okay guys, here goes. This is my first ever blog. I was a little nervous about starting one. I am not a bit computer savvy, but with the help of my dear friend, Wendy, helping me get set up and her wonderful words of encouragement, here goes nothing!
Our Family
We are Joseph also known as Joe or Joey to friends and family, LaDeanne, me, everyone calls me Denna. No one can spell nor pronounce my birth name, so Denna is the easiest! Finally, there is Emily, our 6 year old daughter. We are the Words. Joe and I have been married for almost 13 years. We live in a small East Texas town, Grapeland. Grapeland is known for Peanut Festival and Watermelons! Joe is a high school AP Math and Physics teacher, he also owns and operates a small large equipment repair business in his free time. Although, during the school year, he doesn't know what free time is! He actually works in his shop on weekends and during the summer. I was a stay at home mom until Emily started school in 2012. After Emily started school I started my own cleaning business. I clean a number of houses, a church and a youth center in Grapeland. I am very blessed to have a job where I am available for my daughter if she gets ill or if she is out of school. I love my job and I love the people I work for, they are like family to me. Emily is in kindergarten this year. She is so smart and she loves school. We both have a wonderful family. Joe is the oldest of 4 kids. Jason, Alicia and Adam are his brothers and sisters. Joe's mom and dad also live in Grapeland. I am the oldest of 2 kids. Kim is my baby sister, well she's not a baby, she's 37! My mom and dad live in Riesel, Texas. We have many, many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and Joe's mawmaw. I can't go into naming all of them! Everyone is excited about our second adoption journey!
Emily's Adoption
Yes, for everyone that doesn't know, Emily Word is adopted! I know, she looks just like Joe! It's all God folks! He had her picked out just for us! We began trying to conceive in 2004. After months and months of trying, we decided to seek help. After seeing our OB-GYN and taking numerous rounds of Clomid, 3 Artificial Insemination's, we decided to see a specialist. We began seeing the most wonderful, caring doctor at the Texas Women's Hospital in Houston Texas. He was amazing!After just ONE exam, he determined I had endometreosis. I had 2 surgeries to remove the endo, also removing my appendix, part of my intestines and whatever else they could take out I think! After healing, we were okay to start trying to conceive again. We also had already discussed adoption as another option in case we couldn't get pregnant. We have friends that have adopted and Joe's mom is actually adopted, adoption was always an option for us. We did get pregnant twice between-2005-2006, both of the pregnancies ended in miscarriages. After numerous tests, the doctors concluded I could not carry a child to term. Of course, Joe and I were devastated, especially me, all of the women around me, friends and family, they were becoming pregnant. Why couldn't I?
I can't count how many times I asked myself that question. But after a lot of crying, praying, crying and praying, we decided it was time to look into adoption. Joe and I both could not imagine our lives without kids. We were put on a waiting list using an adoption agency in Florida. Awesome people, made the process so much easier. As anyone who has adopted knows, adoption is not for everyone. It's very costly, stressful, emotional. I could go on and on and on! We adopted our precious "angel" Emily in 2007. We were actually there the morning she was born. We were both nervous wrecks! The birth mother had 48 hours to change her mind. Those 2 days seemed like a month! I can't express how emotional that day was. It was one of them most exciting yet scariest days of our lives! The birth parents are amazing people. They did an amazing thing. They put their child first, and they blessed us with such an amazing gift! We remain in contact with Emily's birth family, sending them photos regularly.
Emily is now a smart, happy, thriving 6 year old little girl. Emily knows she is adopted. She knows she is "special". She tells everyone that she has a lot of family!
Our UK Adoption
We always new we wanted another child. We both had brothers and sisters, we didn't want Emily to be an only child. Emily doesn't want to be an only child. She will tell you in a heartbeat, I want a brother to wrestle with! Yes, Emily is a tomboy, but she can be a girly girl as well. We new we wanted an older child, we had already decided we did not want to change diapers or do midnight feedings again!
We began looking into adopting through our local CPS. Can you say nightmare! We played musical chairs with CPS for almost a year, we still have not been enrolled in any of their required classes! One Sunday at a dear friend's birthday party, we met his son and daughter in law. They have adopted all of their children internationally. All 5 of them! Wow, what an amazing family! Well, one thing led to another, we were put in touch with our "new" and may I say"amazing" friend Renee. She put us in touch with the CCC Families, a group started by Ginger, an awesome lady! This groups helps give orphans from the UK a chance to come to America twice a year, summer and winter, to experience the love and happiness of a family life. Joe and I took all of this as a sign from the Lord above, we needed to do this! We participated in the winter hosting. We hosted 2 girls from the UK weeks during the Christmas holidays. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. Joe and I had about decided it wasn't for us, until we took the girls back to the airport. We saw that most of the other families had such wonderful experiences with their kids. After a lot of discussing, praying, more discussing, more praying, we decided we would host again this summer. We were all set to host this summer, when a lady posted an article on CCC families, advocating for a 15 year old boy from the UK that needed to be adopted before he turned 16 at the beginning of March. He so desperately wanted a forever family. Days went on, and I could not get that sweet boy's face out of my mind. God put this child heavily on my heart. I finally started inquiring about this boy, hearing nothing but great things, I finally got up the nerve to talk to my husband about him. At first, he didn't want to hear it, not a teenager. But he slept on it, and the next morning he said let's talk about it. One thing led to another and by the second week in February, we were filing a I600 A petition on this boy. We were moving full speed ahead, no thinking, no what if's, we were taking that leap of faith! God put "S" on our hearts. We new he was our son. Since filing the petition, "S" has decided on another family. My heart broke into a million pieces. I was devastated. This boy had stolen my heart. I asked, "Why did God put him on my heart so heavily for us to come this far, and he take it all away"? I am finding hope in the fact that along the way we have met new friends, Kim and Jade, that were in the UK adopting their son, a friend and room mate in the same orphanage as "S". We got to know them really well. They actually helped us keep in touch with "S" during that time. Anyways, since "S" has made his decision, Kim and Jade have introduced us to another young man, in the same orphanage that also needs a forever family. After much questioning and praying, Joe and I have decided to try and make him a part of our family. We want to open our home and our hearts to this boy. As many are aware of, adoption is very expensive. We are not fortunate enough to have the money and 401K we did when we adopted Emily. We are now a teacher and a cleaning lady. I am not going to complain, we have been blessed to be able to pay for most of the prepaid adoption expenses through family and friend donations and fundraising I have done. We are now trying to raise the money for the actual adoption, travel expenses, fees, etc. If you feel your heart is telling you to help us, no matter how big or how small it may be, every little bit helps, your contribution will be greatly appreciated. See the adopttogether donate button on the right side of the page. Help us bring our boy home. Thank you so much from the bottoms of our hearts! And stay tuned, our roller coaster ride isn't over yet!
Our Family
We are Joseph also known as Joe or Joey to friends and family, LaDeanne, me, everyone calls me Denna. No one can spell nor pronounce my birth name, so Denna is the easiest! Finally, there is Emily, our 6 year old daughter. We are the Words. Joe and I have been married for almost 13 years. We live in a small East Texas town, Grapeland. Grapeland is known for Peanut Festival and Watermelons! Joe is a high school AP Math and Physics teacher, he also owns and operates a small large equipment repair business in his free time. Although, during the school year, he doesn't know what free time is! He actually works in his shop on weekends and during the summer. I was a stay at home mom until Emily started school in 2012. After Emily started school I started my own cleaning business. I clean a number of houses, a church and a youth center in Grapeland. I am very blessed to have a job where I am available for my daughter if she gets ill or if she is out of school. I love my job and I love the people I work for, they are like family to me. Emily is in kindergarten this year. She is so smart and she loves school. We both have a wonderful family. Joe is the oldest of 4 kids. Jason, Alicia and Adam are his brothers and sisters. Joe's mom and dad also live in Grapeland. I am the oldest of 2 kids. Kim is my baby sister, well she's not a baby, she's 37! My mom and dad live in Riesel, Texas. We have many, many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and Joe's mawmaw. I can't go into naming all of them! Everyone is excited about our second adoption journey!
Emily's Adoption
Yes, for everyone that doesn't know, Emily Word is adopted! I know, she looks just like Joe! It's all God folks! He had her picked out just for us! We began trying to conceive in 2004. After months and months of trying, we decided to seek help. After seeing our OB-GYN and taking numerous rounds of Clomid, 3 Artificial Insemination's, we decided to see a specialist. We began seeing the most wonderful, caring doctor at the Texas Women's Hospital in Houston Texas. He was amazing!After just ONE exam, he determined I had endometreosis. I had 2 surgeries to remove the endo, also removing my appendix, part of my intestines and whatever else they could take out I think! After healing, we were okay to start trying to conceive again. We also had already discussed adoption as another option in case we couldn't get pregnant. We have friends that have adopted and Joe's mom is actually adopted, adoption was always an option for us. We did get pregnant twice between-2005-2006, both of the pregnancies ended in miscarriages. After numerous tests, the doctors concluded I could not carry a child to term. Of course, Joe and I were devastated, especially me, all of the women around me, friends and family, they were becoming pregnant. Why couldn't I?
I can't count how many times I asked myself that question. But after a lot of crying, praying, crying and praying, we decided it was time to look into adoption. Joe and I both could not imagine our lives without kids. We were put on a waiting list using an adoption agency in Florida. Awesome people, made the process so much easier. As anyone who has adopted knows, adoption is not for everyone. It's very costly, stressful, emotional. I could go on and on and on! We adopted our precious "angel" Emily in 2007. We were actually there the morning she was born. We were both nervous wrecks! The birth mother had 48 hours to change her mind. Those 2 days seemed like a month! I can't express how emotional that day was. It was one of them most exciting yet scariest days of our lives! The birth parents are amazing people. They did an amazing thing. They put their child first, and they blessed us with such an amazing gift! We remain in contact with Emily's birth family, sending them photos regularly.
Emily is now a smart, happy, thriving 6 year old little girl. Emily knows she is adopted. She knows she is "special". She tells everyone that she has a lot of family!
Our UK Adoption
We always new we wanted another child. We both had brothers and sisters, we didn't want Emily to be an only child. Emily doesn't want to be an only child. She will tell you in a heartbeat, I want a brother to wrestle with! Yes, Emily is a tomboy, but she can be a girly girl as well. We new we wanted an older child, we had already decided we did not want to change diapers or do midnight feedings again!
We began looking into adopting through our local CPS. Can you say nightmare! We played musical chairs with CPS for almost a year, we still have not been enrolled in any of their required classes! One Sunday at a dear friend's birthday party, we met his son and daughter in law. They have adopted all of their children internationally. All 5 of them! Wow, what an amazing family! Well, one thing led to another, we were put in touch with our "new" and may I say"amazing" friend Renee. She put us in touch with the CCC Families, a group started by Ginger, an awesome lady! This groups helps give orphans from the UK a chance to come to America twice a year, summer and winter, to experience the love and happiness of a family life. Joe and I took all of this as a sign from the Lord above, we needed to do this! We participated in the winter hosting. We hosted 2 girls from the UK weeks during the Christmas holidays. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. Joe and I had about decided it wasn't for us, until we took the girls back to the airport. We saw that most of the other families had such wonderful experiences with their kids. After a lot of discussing, praying, more discussing, more praying, we decided we would host again this summer. We were all set to host this summer, when a lady posted an article on CCC families, advocating for a 15 year old boy from the UK that needed to be adopted before he turned 16 at the beginning of March. He so desperately wanted a forever family. Days went on, and I could not get that sweet boy's face out of my mind. God put this child heavily on my heart. I finally started inquiring about this boy, hearing nothing but great things, I finally got up the nerve to talk to my husband about him. At first, he didn't want to hear it, not a teenager. But he slept on it, and the next morning he said let's talk about it. One thing led to another and by the second week in February, we were filing a I600 A petition on this boy. We were moving full speed ahead, no thinking, no what if's, we were taking that leap of faith! God put "S" on our hearts. We new he was our son. Since filing the petition, "S" has decided on another family. My heart broke into a million pieces. I was devastated. This boy had stolen my heart. I asked, "Why did God put him on my heart so heavily for us to come this far, and he take it all away"? I am finding hope in the fact that along the way we have met new friends, Kim and Jade, that were in the UK adopting their son, a friend and room mate in the same orphanage as "S". We got to know them really well. They actually helped us keep in touch with "S" during that time. Anyways, since "S" has made his decision, Kim and Jade have introduced us to another young man, in the same orphanage that also needs a forever family. After much questioning and praying, Joe and I have decided to try and make him a part of our family. We want to open our home and our hearts to this boy. As many are aware of, adoption is very expensive. We are not fortunate enough to have the money and 401K we did when we adopted Emily. We are now a teacher and a cleaning lady. I am not going to complain, we have been blessed to be able to pay for most of the prepaid adoption expenses through family and friend donations and fundraising I have done. We are now trying to raise the money for the actual adoption, travel expenses, fees, etc. If you feel your heart is telling you to help us, no matter how big or how small it may be, every little bit helps, your contribution will be greatly appreciated. See the adopttogether donate button on the right side of the page. Help us bring our boy home. Thank you so much from the bottoms of our hearts! And stay tuned, our roller coaster ride isn't over yet!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)