The following post is from November 13, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! After a week long vacation followed by Aaron being in Uganda for two weeks, it's been a while since we've given an update on our adoption progress. Thank you to all of you who consistently show your support by checking in with us and asking about how things are progressing. Here's a brief update on where we are in the process: HOME STUDY VISITS: We are required to do four home study visits with our adoption counselor before we can submit a profile book to be shared with a birth mom. We have completed two of our four visits, and should have the third visit before the end of November. Lord willing this means that we will complete our visits before for the Christmas holiday season sets in! HOME STUDY REQUIREMENTS: As part of our home study process, we each have to complete 10 hours of adoption edu...

The following post is from October 18, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine...

The following post is from October 14, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! Several months prior to Amy and I deciding to adopt, we got a random request from our neighbor who is a film maker. He said he needed a house with a living room and a kitchen table in order to make a short film he was working on, and he asked if he could use ours. We said that would be fine, and one weekend while we were away they came and shot their film in our home. We thought that was the end of the story. Several months later, on the day we submitted our application to the adoption agency, we got a text from our neighbor with an invitation to watch the finished film online. You can imagine our surprise when, as we watched, we realized that the film was a part of an effort to raise awareness of the need for domestic adoption in the United States. What are the chances?! Our neighbor made the film for a nonp...

The following post is from September 26, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! Now that we have begun the adoption process and are in the early stages of fundraising, one of the first questions we get from people is, “Why does adoption cost so much?!” That’s a great question because adoption is not cheap! We are estimating that our adoption will likely cost us around $25,000 with potential to be higher. So what’s the deal? A lot goes into providing a permanent home for a child, and while our hearts tell us that there shouldn’t be a price tag on such a thing, there are a lot of people, agencies, and legal hoops involved in the process. Someone has to foot the bill for these, and in private adoption (as opposed to state funded foster care), the financial responsibility lands on the adoptive parents. These costs include, but are not limited to the following: Homestudies — evaluations and ...

The following post is from September 26, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! “Aaron, I have an idea I’d like you to pray about.” I wish I could tell you the number of times I’ve heard these words come out of Amy's mouth. Since before we were married, even during times when we weren’t technically even dating, I have heard her speak these words…and I have learned that these words almost always mean that a substantial change is coming. In January, 2017, Amy came to me and said these words, and the idea she wanted me to pray about was us adopting a baby. It wasn’t the first time we had talked about adopting. It’s always been something we’ve talked about, but if I’m honest, I think I always believed that adoption would be just that; something we talked about. Now, here she is, asking me to pray about it. My first response was simple. No way. I mean, I told her I’d ...

If you’re reading this, you’re aware that our family is in the beginning stages of adopting. We are so excited to share more about the journey God has us on and we hope that you’ll continue walking alongside us in prayer as we start the process of bringing another little one into our home. The following post is from September 26, 2017. Please keep in mind that our adoption journey has changed, and you should read our most recent posts to see where we are headed! For the last several years I (Amy) have had a tiny flickering of a flame inside whispering,  “Adoption … adoption… “ The flickering and whisper would flicker off and on. Some days, the desire to adopt would burn strongly inside of me. Other days, it would feel a little more far off and dim. Over the years, I’ve had many dreams, and I’ve learned to wait and give them each to our Heavenly Father instead of overthinking or planning. Aaron and I have learned that God’s plans are perfect and so is his timin...

That's right, we're adopting! We'd love to tell you all about it, so we've set up a blog to keep you informed. To read about the recent changes in our adoption, please read our blog here. The following post is from September 19, 2017, when domestic adoption was the plan. God has given us new direction, so please keep in mind...this information isn't quite accurate anymore... It gives us great joy to share with all our friends and family that we have decided to adopt a baby girl! That’s right, this Etheridge family of 5 is soon to be the Etheridge family of 6! This decision is one that has been drenched in prayer over the last 9 months as we have laid our family at God’s feet and asked Him to lead us. It became abundantly clear that He was inviting us to bring another one of His children into our family as one of our children. We are honored and thrilled to welcome another baby into our family Lord willing sometime in the Spring of 2018. Adopting a ch...