Baby Steps...

With one hand clenching a fistful of chair fabric and the other hand reaching, fingertips yearning, Henry set his gaze toward me, just three feet away. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement as his chubby little legs caused his body to sway in jerky, uncoordinated rhythm. He was grinning from ear to ear as he finally set off! He had never done this before. He didn't trust his own strength and skill, because these resources had never been put to this kind of challenge. One thing he did know, was that his father stood before him in his future, his arms open and smile upon his face, wooing him, "Come."

And there in our living room in Mount Juliet, TN in April of 2009, he did. And we have seen how that small step of faith was just the first of the 10 million steps, leaps, and skips he has taken since then. In this analogy, we are like Henry - Amelia would have been ready for her first 5-K at 10 months old :0)

As we begin the first leg of our journey, we too don't trust our own strength and skill, our past experiences, or the certainty of a smooth trek. But we, too, believe that as we seek to bring a new child into our home, we are moving toward a voice echoing through the chambers of our heart, "Come." And we can just imagine the God who is speaking to us is calling with arms open wide and warm smile upon his face. 

As we trust in this voice, we remember that God calls us, not individually, but as communities to follow him. We take great strength and hope in knowing our family and friends will be a part of this experience. First, we ask for your prayers that God would sustain us with patience with the process and the health and welfare of the children waiting for loving homes - one of whom will become a part of our family. We also ask that you would pray that God would open avenues of provision for this process. Adoption is expensive. As we have learned, the documentation, legal, and travel fees are considerable – even when working through a non-profit faith based adoption agency. We hope to raise at least $15,000 of the costs we are facing, with a goal of $20,000 - with the thermometer on this page tracking our progress. An estimated outline of our financial obligation to this process is as follows:

Agency Fees                                                             $9,500.00

Out of Pocket Adoption Expenses                    $12,938.00

In-Country Expenses (Ethiopia)                       $11,201.00

Est. Total (-$12,700 Federal tax credit)         $20,939.00

We recognize that sometimes God expects us to be a part of the answer to prayer. So, as our friends and family, we are asking for your support. In addition to your prayers, we are hoping that you may feel led to make a financial gift to help a child become part of our family.

Here are some of the ways we hope to meet our financial goal:

1 - Adjusting our monthly family budget to be able to save more

2 - Sending out letters to friends and family

3 - Assembling a 1,000 piece puzzle as sponsors purchase $10 puzzle pieces (more details soon!)

4 - Selling Kameron's World Famous Homemade Pound Cakes - Coconut or Cream Cheese (see below)

5 - Hosting childcare nights for local friends to have a date night 

Some of our local friends have sampled Kameron's Coconut Pound Cake over the past couple of days...and no crumbs remain! If you would like to order one (Coconut or Cream Cheese), please send her a message on Facebook, at kam.carden@hotmail.com, or call/text at 205-863-0672. We ask for a donation of $30 each - and we promise they are worth it!

Please know that any donation for this child that you are able to is a gift directly to our family and is, therefore, not tax deductible. If you would like to make a gift online through PayPal.com, click the "Donate" button on this page. We are grateful for the difference you are making.  

Will you help us take our "first" steps in this journey? We deeply desire to show God’s love to one of His own by making him or her one of our own. Please be in prayer for all five of us during this journey.

In God’s grace,

Nathan, Kameron, J. Henry & Amelia (and Baby Number Three!)