The past few nights Kai has gone to bed and stayed awake singing this song "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do!" I love his innocence, because this song popped in my head this morning after reading our update!
When I woke up today I had an email saying that this birthmother had chosen to place her baby with a family member. I surprisingly was not sad at all! The whole time we have been waiting I have been in constant prayer that she would make the best choice for her and her unborn baby, and if that choice was not us I would be at peace. Well God knows what he is doing (big surprise I know) and I woke up and read my message and had an overwhelming amount of Peace. I was not sad for us, I was not heartbroken, I was ok!
Thankfully, I know that my God has our Zoie already chosen and that his timing is perfect.
So friends and family I reiterate to you
" Our GOD is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY, there is NOTHING my GOD cannot do!"
I hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the time with your families!
Love,
Tarrah
Friday, December 20, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Our first time being presented
Well it has happened! This week we were presented to a birthmother through a private lawyer in south GA. I promised Nick I wouldn't get too excited, but it has happened. We (ok I) have wanted to make sure that you as our family and friends were in the loop during this whole process, even if it was the not so fun part! So, because of that I have been telling everyone that we might here today whether or not the birthmother chooses us.
I ask for your prayers that if this baby girl is our Zoie that it will happen, and if this is not our girl I (Tarrah) will be able to process the idea of not being chosen. This is the reality of domestic adoption. You get shown to birthmothers and some do not choose you. I know that God has our daughter chosen and I am ok with that.
I will update you all on the outcome as soon as we know something, it may be a yes, it may be a no!
Love to all!!!!
Tarrah
I ask for your prayers that if this baby girl is our Zoie that it will happen, and if this is not our girl I (Tarrah) will be able to process the idea of not being chosen. This is the reality of domestic adoption. You get shown to birthmothers and some do not choose you. I know that God has our daughter chosen and I am ok with that.
I will update you all on the outcome as soon as we know something, it may be a yes, it may be a no!
Love to all!!!!
Tarrah
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Some BIG news!
When we got home from school today we were greeted with an amazing email. Our homestudy is now approved and we are officially on the wait list! Our family profile books have been sent out and we can be shown to birth mothers. This part of the process is the true test of endurance, so to speak, and the next leg of our journey could take as little as 2 days or it could take as many as 2 years or more. We know that God has our precious Zoie chosen already and we pray daily for her and her birth family.
This amazing news does come with a new set of challenges. One of the biggest is the financial needs that come with this phase of the process. While we know this whole experience is not only about money, we also understand that there are needs that must be met in order to make our dream a reality. When it comes to the funds, we are diligently paying off credit cards and trying to save as much as we can. We fully trust that God will provide through our work in saving, grants and fundraising. Two amazing friends have stepped up to offer family photo sessions all over the Cherokee and Forsyth County areas with a portion of the proceeds benefitting our needs. We will have a big garage sale in the spring and also hold a painting party at Picasso's Corner. We still have an active Pure Charity link for anyone who feels compelled to donate. This is tax deductible:-)
A little note from each of us......
Tarrah-
Next thing up for me is to fill out as many grant applications as I can get my hands on. I have printed a few already and need to finish filling them out. If you have any grants that you know of please send me an email.
Nick-
This is really awesome, exciting, scary, uplifting, frightening, and so much more all rolled into one. It's another major hurdle that we've passed just when we think that it will never happen. We had been figuring that the process would have gotten to this point back in early September at the latest. It's another reminder to us that God's timing isn't ours and that we simply need to sit back and trust in Him. Looks like I'm going to need to dust off my diapering skills and get ready for those all-hours-of-the-night feedings again :-) But like everyone tells me, I need a little girl wrapped around my finger :-)
This amazing news does come with a new set of challenges. One of the biggest is the financial needs that come with this phase of the process. While we know this whole experience is not only about money, we also understand that there are needs that must be met in order to make our dream a reality. When it comes to the funds, we are diligently paying off credit cards and trying to save as much as we can. We fully trust that God will provide through our work in saving, grants and fundraising. Two amazing friends have stepped up to offer family photo sessions all over the Cherokee and Forsyth County areas with a portion of the proceeds benefitting our needs. We will have a big garage sale in the spring and also hold a painting party at Picasso's Corner. We still have an active Pure Charity link for anyone who feels compelled to donate. This is tax deductible:-)
A little note from each of us......
Tarrah-
Next thing up for me is to fill out as many grant applications as I can get my hands on. I have printed a few already and need to finish filling them out. If you have any grants that you know of please send me an email.
Nick-
This is really awesome, exciting, scary, uplifting, frightening, and so much more all rolled into one. It's another major hurdle that we've passed just when we think that it will never happen. We had been figuring that the process would have gotten to this point back in early September at the latest. It's another reminder to us that God's timing isn't ours and that we simply need to sit back and trust in Him. Looks like I'm going to need to dust off my diapering skills and get ready for those all-hours-of-the-night feedings again :-) But like everyone tells me, I need a little girl wrapped around my finger :-)
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Waiting.....
Wel,l I notice that it has been a while since we have updated our friends and family on our process. Sorry about the delay but things have been the usual form of crazy around here lately.
All I can say is we are still waiting......
It has been almost 11 weeks since we finished all of our requirements for our home study. Now we wait until our agency approves us before we can be shown to any birth mothers. I am frustrated that it is taking this long, but I know that this process is a wait. God's timing is perfect and I know He has our Zoie girl already chosen for us.
We are still fundraising with mini photo sessions and thank each of you that are having your family photos taken to support us. Let us know if you are interested in a session. We have 2 family friends who have graciously given of their time and talents to offer these for us. Once these are done we will not be doing any other fundraising until the spring. At that point we will probably have a painting night at Picasso's Corner in Woodstock. More information to come as that time gets closer.
Thank you all for checking in on us and I pray each of your families are well!
TZ
All I can say is we are still waiting......
It has been almost 11 weeks since we finished all of our requirements for our home study. Now we wait until our agency approves us before we can be shown to any birth mothers. I am frustrated that it is taking this long, but I know that this process is a wait. God's timing is perfect and I know He has our Zoie girl already chosen for us.
We are still fundraising with mini photo sessions and thank each of you that are having your family photos taken to support us. Let us know if you are interested in a session. We have 2 family friends who have graciously given of their time and talents to offer these for us. Once these are done we will not be doing any other fundraising until the spring. At that point we will probably have a painting night at Picasso's Corner in Woodstock. More information to come as that time gets closer.
Thank you all for checking in on us and I pray each of your families are well!
TZ
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Pure Charity Link
Good Morning Family and Friends!
I am so excited to have found this fabulous site for you to be able to donate if you choose. The Pure Charity site allows you to make a tax deductible donation that goes directly to our adoption agency. Click on the icon on the right of the blog to access our site. We are going to continue to do some more fundraisers in the coming weeks or months, but some of you had asked how you can give now to our cause. This link allows you to do just that, and it's tax deductible! Every single penny that we raise from this goes directly to our adoption accounty which is spent solely on the fees charged from our agency.
We have heard from our social worker that she is almost done writing our home study, the next step is to go before the director to be approved. Once approved, we are on the waiting list! I cannot wait to be on the waiting list! We have begun to gather items that will be needed for Zoie to arrive. We found a set of bunk beds for the boys, which they are so excited about. We also found a crib for Zoie. We won't move the boys into a room together until closer to bringing her home, but it is nice to know we have what we need.
I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support during this time. I promise money is not the only thing needed, that will come as we are trusting in God's timing. Prayers are the most important thing we need. We will happily take any prayers and positive thoughts you want to give! We are so thankful that you are all along with us on this journey. Expanding our family is a team effort and we are so honored that you have chosen to go through this with us!
TZ
I am so excited to have found this fabulous site for you to be able to donate if you choose. The Pure Charity site allows you to make a tax deductible donation that goes directly to our adoption agency. Click on the icon on the right of the blog to access our site. We are going to continue to do some more fundraisers in the coming weeks or months, but some of you had asked how you can give now to our cause. This link allows you to do just that, and it's tax deductible! Every single penny that we raise from this goes directly to our adoption accounty which is spent solely on the fees charged from our agency.
We have heard from our social worker that she is almost done writing our home study, the next step is to go before the director to be approved. Once approved, we are on the waiting list! I cannot wait to be on the waiting list! We have begun to gather items that will be needed for Zoie to arrive. We found a set of bunk beds for the boys, which they are so excited about. We also found a crib for Zoie. We won't move the boys into a room together until closer to bringing her home, but it is nice to know we have what we need.
I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support during this time. I promise money is not the only thing needed, that will come as we are trusting in God's timing. Prayers are the most important thing we need. We will happily take any prayers and positive thoughts you want to give! We are so thankful that you are all along with us on this journey. Expanding our family is a team effort and we are so honored that you have chosen to go through this with us!
TZ
Friday, August 9, 2013
August Update
Greetings everyone,
Back to school time is here again for us. Gone are the days of sleeping until 7:15am, at least Monday through Friday.
We wanted to take a quick minute and let you know where everything stands in the adoption process. Right now our social worker is hard at work on our official home study paperwork. It could be another month or so before that is ready. Once that's done, we are approved to begin getting our name out there for mothers to look at. Tarrah spent the last few weeks of vacation working very hard on the book that will be shown to potential birth mothers, and in my honest opinion it looks amazing! 7 copies of it have been sent to Macon to begin to be distributed, once we're home study approved.
While the process is moving right along, so is the need for donations and fundraising. In the coming weeks we will be sharing information with you about some family photo sittings that a good friend of ours is going to sponsor for us. We would love to have you come out and help us during this project. Stay tuned for details.
If you feel so compelled, please feel free to donate to our fund now by clicking on the PayPal link on the blog. All the proceeds that we get, either through donation or through fundraising, are going straight into our Zoie fund so that we can pay the various expenses that come our way. Our next major deadline is coming soon when our home study is finalized. At that point we will need to provide the agency $1500 in order for our profile books to be shared. We can't do this without your help!
As always, we want to be an open book about this. Feel free to drop us a line, ask whatever questions you have, or lend your support. All of you who are reading this are our family and we want you to be a part of this life-changing process!
Peace,
NZ & TZ
Nick's Email Tarrah's Email:
nickzomer2003@gmail.com tb2123@hotmail.com
Back to school time is here again for us. Gone are the days of sleeping until 7:15am, at least Monday through Friday.
We wanted to take a quick minute and let you know where everything stands in the adoption process. Right now our social worker is hard at work on our official home study paperwork. It could be another month or so before that is ready. Once that's done, we are approved to begin getting our name out there for mothers to look at. Tarrah spent the last few weeks of vacation working very hard on the book that will be shown to potential birth mothers, and in my honest opinion it looks amazing! 7 copies of it have been sent to Macon to begin to be distributed, once we're home study approved.
While the process is moving right along, so is the need for donations and fundraising. In the coming weeks we will be sharing information with you about some family photo sittings that a good friend of ours is going to sponsor for us. We would love to have you come out and help us during this project. Stay tuned for details.
If you feel so compelled, please feel free to donate to our fund now by clicking on the PayPal link on the blog. All the proceeds that we get, either through donation or through fundraising, are going straight into our Zoie fund so that we can pay the various expenses that come our way. Our next major deadline is coming soon when our home study is finalized. At that point we will need to provide the agency $1500 in order for our profile books to be shared. We can't do this without your help!
As always, we want to be an open book about this. Feel free to drop us a line, ask whatever questions you have, or lend your support. All of you who are reading this are our family and we want you to be a part of this life-changing process!
Peace,
NZ & TZ
Nick's Email Tarrah's Email:
nickzomer2003@gmail.com tb2123@hotmail.com
Monday, July 22, 2013
Final Home Study
Greetings adoption fans!
Last week was a crazy week for us. Lots of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Pressure washing, vacuuming and cleaning carpets, organizing closets and rooms, etc. Basically if it was dirty before, it's not now. All of that was done in preparation for our final home study visit with our awesome case worker Tricia.
Our visit started at around 11:15, and the boys stole the show. They were so excited to see her and show her around that they didn't even wait for her to get out of the car. Once we corralled them back until she rang the doorbell, it was green light for center stage. They showed her all over the house and then proceeded to have a "war" with their umbrellas (which had been uncovered during the big cleanup exercises earlier in the week).
From the adult perspective, the visit was a piece of cake. Everyone kept telling Tarrah on the message boards and things that this was nothing to stress out over and just to relax. However, when someone is coming in to your home to tell you if you're worthy or not to adopt a child, it's a really stressful feeling! In retrospect, we should have listened to them a little, but at the same time it's nice to have done a much needed deep cleaning on the house. I mean, who knows when the last time was that this house was pressure washed! We showed her around the house, addressed a few key points (Zoie's room, fire extinguisher, where the safe is located, etc), and then had our final pre-adoption chat. The whole visit lasted maybe 45 minutes. I felt bad that she had to travel up all this way for such a short visit, but then again it was awesome that it wasn't too taxing or difficult.
Now, we wait. We have to wait about 6-8 weeks for her to write up our home study. Once that's done we have to wait to be shown to potential mothers. Then we wait to be selected. This waiting also gives us time to come up with some much needed funds. When the home study is written, we have to pay $1500 to the agency. I (Nick) will be working a part time job at a local tutoring company to start chipping away at it. Donations are gladly accepted via our PayPal account!
Be on the lookout for our next fundraiser: a family photo shoot! We will have a couple of locations for you to choose from. More information in the coming weeks on this one!
Well, that's about all. We are plugging along nicely in the process. It's all in God's hands and His timing now. This process has definitely been a reminder that our timing is not His!
Peace,
NZ & TZ
Last week was a crazy week for us. Lots of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Pressure washing, vacuuming and cleaning carpets, organizing closets and rooms, etc. Basically if it was dirty before, it's not now. All of that was done in preparation for our final home study visit with our awesome case worker Tricia.
Our visit started at around 11:15, and the boys stole the show. They were so excited to see her and show her around that they didn't even wait for her to get out of the car. Once we corralled them back until she rang the doorbell, it was green light for center stage. They showed her all over the house and then proceeded to have a "war" with their umbrellas (which had been uncovered during the big cleanup exercises earlier in the week).
From the adult perspective, the visit was a piece of cake. Everyone kept telling Tarrah on the message boards and things that this was nothing to stress out over and just to relax. However, when someone is coming in to your home to tell you if you're worthy or not to adopt a child, it's a really stressful feeling! In retrospect, we should have listened to them a little, but at the same time it's nice to have done a much needed deep cleaning on the house. I mean, who knows when the last time was that this house was pressure washed! We showed her around the house, addressed a few key points (Zoie's room, fire extinguisher, where the safe is located, etc), and then had our final pre-adoption chat. The whole visit lasted maybe 45 minutes. I felt bad that she had to travel up all this way for such a short visit, but then again it was awesome that it wasn't too taxing or difficult.
Now, we wait. We have to wait about 6-8 weeks for her to write up our home study. Once that's done we have to wait to be shown to potential mothers. Then we wait to be selected. This waiting also gives us time to come up with some much needed funds. When the home study is written, we have to pay $1500 to the agency. I (Nick) will be working a part time job at a local tutoring company to start chipping away at it. Donations are gladly accepted via our PayPal account!
Be on the lookout for our next fundraiser: a family photo shoot! We will have a couple of locations for you to choose from. More information in the coming weeks on this one!
Well, that's about all. We are plugging along nicely in the process. It's all in God's hands and His timing now. This process has definitely been a reminder that our timing is not His!
Peace,
NZ & TZ
Saturday, July 6, 2013
AND THE WINNER IS......
The Names......
MARGARET McCARTY! CONGRATULATIONS MARGARET!
Please email me at tb2123@hotmail.com with which doll you would like (you can find them here http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/static/character.jsp). Also please let me know what address to send the doll too.
Thank you so much for all who participated in our American Girl Doll Raffle! We made $220 towards our adoption fees! We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!
Next up for fundraising: Family photo sessions with Marianne Nash Photography at a local park. Details to come. In the mean time you can checkout Marianne's photos at https://www.facebook.com/#!/mariannenashphotographyanddesign
Love you all!
Nick, Tarrah, Quintin, Kai and Zoie!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Home Study, Macon Visit #2
Greetings blog fans and followers,
Nick has the controls for this post, so watch out!
Today Tarrah and I made the always exciting drive down to Macon for another meeting with our case worker. This was a monumental trip as the next time we make an adoption trip south will be to bring Zoie back home. We have made it through the 2 required classes regarding the agency and the 2 required meetings with our case worker. Now she just has to come and see us one more time; this time in our neck of the woods with the final home inspection. So we will be busy preparing the house for her July 19th visit. Lots to do! If you are dying to get out of the house and help someone out, we've got plenty of jobs to be crossed off our list. Don't be shy!
The meeting went really well. Some logistical items to start with and then the individual interviews. Who would have guessed that Tarrah and I would give almost identical responses to questions that we didn't know about ahead of time? Yeah, we're that good. Or that alike. One or the other. There's a reason why we're together! And we didn't throw the other one under the bus, so the drive home was tolerable and we actually spoke to one another. We had to ask at the end just to make sure that everything was on the level for us, and it is. She doesn't seem to have any questions or concerns for us as of right now. Woo hoo!!
One final reminder: You have exactly one week to purchase your tickets for the American Girl doll raffle. The winner gets to choose the doll of his/her choice, a $110 value! The winner will be selected on July 4th, so you still have time to enter. Tickets are $10 for 1, $20 for 2, $25 for 3. If you want more of that, just let us know and we'll hook you up!
Thank you all for joining us on this journey to bring Zoie home. Each of you plays a vital role in this process and we can't do it without you!
-Nick & Tarrah
Nick has the controls for this post, so watch out!
Today Tarrah and I made the always exciting drive down to Macon for another meeting with our case worker. This was a monumental trip as the next time we make an adoption trip south will be to bring Zoie back home. We have made it through the 2 required classes regarding the agency and the 2 required meetings with our case worker. Now she just has to come and see us one more time; this time in our neck of the woods with the final home inspection. So we will be busy preparing the house for her July 19th visit. Lots to do! If you are dying to get out of the house and help someone out, we've got plenty of jobs to be crossed off our list. Don't be shy!
The meeting went really well. Some logistical items to start with and then the individual interviews. Who would have guessed that Tarrah and I would give almost identical responses to questions that we didn't know about ahead of time? Yeah, we're that good. Or that alike. One or the other. There's a reason why we're together! And we didn't throw the other one under the bus, so the drive home was tolerable and we actually spoke to one another. We had to ask at the end just to make sure that everything was on the level for us, and it is. She doesn't seem to have any questions or concerns for us as of right now. Woo hoo!!
One final reminder: You have exactly one week to purchase your tickets for the American Girl doll raffle. The winner gets to choose the doll of his/her choice, a $110 value! The winner will be selected on July 4th, so you still have time to enter. Tickets are $10 for 1, $20 for 2, $25 for 3. If you want more of that, just let us know and we'll hook you up!
Thank you all for joining us on this journey to bring Zoie home. Each of you plays a vital role in this process and we can't do it without you!
-Nick & Tarrah
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Quiet time
Good Afternoon!
I just noticed I have been quiet for a few weeks. Life has been busy as usual. We went to Hilton Head with the boys and had a great time on "bacation," as Kai calls it. We are now working on things around the house for when Tricia comes here on July 19.
On the adoption front nothing big is happening right now, we will meet with Tricia this Thursday for our 2nd interview with her. I will get to start working on the profile book after this meeting. I cannot wait to have that part done.
On the fundraising part, we are doing well, we have 37 entries in our American Girl Doll raffle. After that is done we will not do much for a while. Nick has gotten a second job to help us get out of our debt sooner and start saving more. In the fall a good friend of ours will be having family photoshoots for us. We will have a day or 2 we will have sign ups for you to have your family photos done here in Cherokee County. I do not know all the details yet, but will let you know as soon as I do.
Thank you everyone for the prayer and support, I pray that you are able to see the good, bad and wonderful aspects of Adoption. I pray some of you decide to grow your family in this way as well.
9 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE DRAWING!!!!!!!
TZ
I just noticed I have been quiet for a few weeks. Life has been busy as usual. We went to Hilton Head with the boys and had a great time on "bacation," as Kai calls it. We are now working on things around the house for when Tricia comes here on July 19.
On the adoption front nothing big is happening right now, we will meet with Tricia this Thursday for our 2nd interview with her. I will get to start working on the profile book after this meeting. I cannot wait to have that part done.
On the fundraising part, we are doing well, we have 37 entries in our American Girl Doll raffle. After that is done we will not do much for a while. Nick has gotten a second job to help us get out of our debt sooner and start saving more. In the fall a good friend of ours will be having family photoshoots for us. We will have a day or 2 we will have sign ups for you to have your family photos done here in Cherokee County. I do not know all the details yet, but will let you know as soon as I do.
Thank you everyone for the prayer and support, I pray that you are able to see the good, bad and wonderful aspects of Adoption. I pray some of you decide to grow your family in this way as well.
9 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE DRAWING!!!!!!!
TZ
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Home study interview #1
Yesterday we were able to meet with our Social Worker, Tricia, for our first home study interview. We got up at 6:15 am and left the house by 7:15 to make sure we arrived in Macon in plenty of time. Our appointment was for 10:30 and if you know Atlanta traffic one day that can take an hour and a half the next the same trip can take 3 hours. We were blessed and highly favored and it took us less than 2 hours. Since we had so much time to kill we were able to get some shopping for Malakai's birthday party done.
We made it to the agency in plenty of time and were quickly greeted with a very pleasant lady. Since we were early Tricia was not quite ready for us but we didn't wait too long. We sat with her and went over the paperwork we had already submitted and she made us very comfortable. I really had no idea what to expect so it was nice how relaxing it was. We were able to get answers to some of the questions we had and left feeling very confident!
We now have our next 2 appointments set up with Tricia, one more in Macon on June 29th and then she comes for our home visit on July 19th. From then we wait about 6-8 weeks for her to write up our homestudy. That means by middle of September we will be waiting to be chosen from a birthmother. I am really looking forward to that point, but nervous at the same time since I do not wait very well:-)
Don't forget about our American Girl Doll raffle! We don't have many entries right now, so your chances are very good! Winner will be chosen July4th!
Love to you all!
Tarrah
We made it to the agency in plenty of time and were quickly greeted with a very pleasant lady. Since we were early Tricia was not quite ready for us but we didn't wait too long. We sat with her and went over the paperwork we had already submitted and she made us very comfortable. I really had no idea what to expect so it was nice how relaxing it was. We were able to get answers to some of the questions we had and left feeling very confident!
We now have our next 2 appointments set up with Tricia, one more in Macon on June 29th and then she comes for our home visit on July 19th. From then we wait about 6-8 weeks for her to write up our homestudy. That means by middle of September we will be waiting to be chosen from a birthmother. I am really looking forward to that point, but nervous at the same time since I do not wait very well:-)
Don't forget about our American Girl Doll raffle! We don't have many entries right now, so your chances are very good! Winner will be chosen July4th!
Love to you all!
Tarrah
Thursday, May 16, 2013
AMERICAN GIRl DOLL RAFFLE TIME!
The time is here to have our second fundraiser to bring home baby Zoie. We will be holding an American Doll Raffle from now until July 4th. The winner will be able to pick any of the dolls ($110 Value!). Tickets will be 1 for $10, 2 for $20 or 3 for $25. Obviously you can purchase more than just those amounts, those are just the price increments! See the “Add to Cart” button on the right of the blog to purchase your tickets. If you have any questions please email me or comment here on the blog.
Our t-shirt sales God provided more than our initial goal, which Nick thought was hefty! This time our goal is $1500! I know we serve an amazing God and He will provide!
Thank you in advance for being a part of our raffle!
Tarrah & Nick
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
T-Shirts, Round 2
Back by popular demand, we are currently accepting orders for our adoption t-shirt. Shirts are $20 and the window for ordering is open through 4/30. We need at least 12 shirts total to place the order, so don't be afraid! You can either pay us directly or by clicking on the Paypal link. Either way, all proceeds go directly to our Zoie fund!
Friday, April 5, 2013
We serve and AMAZING God!
I want to thank each and every one of our friends and family members for helping us with our first fundraiser! The shirts are in and look awesome!!! The ones being mailed will go in the mail tomorrow (Saturday April 6, 2013). The rest will be delivered throughout next week to those near by. When you get your shirts please send us a photo of you and your family wearing them so we can include it in our book we make our precious child.
We have been blessed to have raised over $900 with this first round of t-shirt sales! This is almost all of our first payment due!
If you are still interested in shirts we do have a few extra (5 Small, 1 Medium, 3 Large and 2 XL). Email me if you are interested in these. We will also do a second round of orders in the future.
We have been blessed to have raised over $900 with this first round of t-shirt sales! This is almost all of our first payment due!
If you are still interested in shirts we do have a few extra (5 Small, 1 Medium, 3 Large and 2 XL). Email me if you are interested in these. We will also do a second round of orders in the future.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
T-Shirts, Part 2
Thank you all for ordering a t-shirt! We have placed our first order and are currently awaiting them to be printed and shipped to us.
What? You missed out on the first order but really want one? Don't fear...we are going to order more! Stay tuned to when you can get in on the action! We will be ordering a second shipment of shirts in the coming weeks, so you are not too late. Let us know if you want one and we will make sure to make it happen for you!
-NZ
What? You missed out on the first order but really want one? Don't fear...we are going to order more! Stay tuned to when you can get in on the action! We will be ordering a second shipment of shirts in the coming weeks, so you are not too late. Let us know if you want one and we will make sure to make it happen for you!
-NZ
Monday, March 25, 2013
Baby Fever
Yesterday was one of the most amazing days of my life! I have been a mentor to a teenager since I had her in class when she was a 7th grader. This past August she became pregnant. I have been answering pregnancy questions for 9 months, praying all involved stayed healthy and safe. Saturday night she went into real labor (after 2 false alarms). We made it to the hospital and she was 6cm.
This teenager allowed me to be a part of the whole birth process! I have to say God's design of childbirth is the most amazing this to watch! I was unable to have my children without a C-section and their births were amazing, but watching from the other side was so amazing!
The whole time I was thinking about our baby girl, I know it is highly unlikely I will be able to be there when she is born and that makes me sad, but I know God has her already planned and chosen for us to parent and I have baby fever even more after watching baby Autumn be born yesterday. I am thankful God allowed me to be in this girls life and that I was able to experience this!
Paperwork update:
I have sent off for Malakai's birth certificate and have started gathering what we need. We meet with CCS on April 12th for our next informational meeting.
T-Shirt update:
THANK YOU to all who have purchased shirts already! I am so excited! We will be ordering the shirts next Monday so there is still time to pass along our address to your friends to order! Our goal is 100 shirts and we are at 30 or so!
Love you all and we are blessed to have you in our lives!
This teenager allowed me to be a part of the whole birth process! I have to say God's design of childbirth is the most amazing this to watch! I was unable to have my children without a C-section and their births were amazing, but watching from the other side was so amazing!
The whole time I was thinking about our baby girl, I know it is highly unlikely I will be able to be there when she is born and that makes me sad, but I know God has her already planned and chosen for us to parent and I have baby fever even more after watching baby Autumn be born yesterday. I am thankful God allowed me to be in this girls life and that I was able to experience this!
Paperwork update:
I have sent off for Malakai's birth certificate and have started gathering what we need. We meet with CCS on April 12th for our next informational meeting.
T-Shirt update:
THANK YOU to all who have purchased shirts already! I am so excited! We will be ordering the shirts next Monday so there is still time to pass along our address to your friends to order! Our goal is 100 shirts and we are at 30 or so!
Love you all and we are blessed to have you in our lives!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
My Random Thoughts
Greetings all,
So this is Nick taking control of the blog for a bit. I'm a long-time reader, first time writer. I'm glad that Tarrah has set this up so that all of you can get a little glimpse into this process that we are going through.
First, and probably foremost, I wanted to let all of you know things from my perspective. I want to assure all of you know that I am 100% committed to this process. I would say that I was more than 100% committed, but since mathematically that's not possible, we'll stick with the numbers this way. Previously I have not been as vocal as Tarrah has been about this whole process, but I have been an active participant in all the decisions that we've made. As long as we have been an item, T and I have discussed our thoughts on adoption and that our family would not be complete until we welcomed a child into our family through this process. I was waiting until the time was right to begin talking about it. And since we now have officially begun the process I figure I don't have anything to hide! Countless times I've been told (and honestly seen) God's timing is never our own and that He laughs at us when we try to plan out our own futures. So He's probably had a pretty good chuckle at the fact that I kept thinking this process would begin for us in a few years. Well, the time is now and we are off and running!
Speaking of running, on June 8th that is exactly what I will be doing. Covenant Care, the group that we are using for the adoption process, has a yearly 5K race down in Macon. Since the conference I was going to present at has been cancelled for that same weekend, I am going to put this time to good use. Thank goodness for those couch to 5K apps and websites out there. Thank you all for the support on this. You may not think a 5K is really that big of a deal, but for this heart patient armchair quarterback, this is going to be epic!
So to summarize, I'm all in for the process and am going to run a race in June. Thank you all for your pledges and purchases of t-shirts to help us begin this process. We are still taking orders and welcome your support!
Peace,
NZ
So this is Nick taking control of the blog for a bit. I'm a long-time reader, first time writer. I'm glad that Tarrah has set this up so that all of you can get a little glimpse into this process that we are going through.
First, and probably foremost, I wanted to let all of you know things from my perspective. I want to assure all of you know that I am 100% committed to this process. I would say that I was more than 100% committed, but since mathematically that's not possible, we'll stick with the numbers this way. Previously I have not been as vocal as Tarrah has been about this whole process, but I have been an active participant in all the decisions that we've made. As long as we have been an item, T and I have discussed our thoughts on adoption and that our family would not be complete until we welcomed a child into our family through this process. I was waiting until the time was right to begin talking about it. And since we now have officially begun the process I figure I don't have anything to hide! Countless times I've been told (and honestly seen) God's timing is never our own and that He laughs at us when we try to plan out our own futures. So He's probably had a pretty good chuckle at the fact that I kept thinking this process would begin for us in a few years. Well, the time is now and we are off and running!
Speaking of running, on June 8th that is exactly what I will be doing. Covenant Care, the group that we are using for the adoption process, has a yearly 5K race down in Macon. Since the conference I was going to present at has been cancelled for that same weekend, I am going to put this time to good use. Thank goodness for those couch to 5K apps and websites out there. Thank you all for the support on this. You may not think a 5K is really that big of a deal, but for this heart patient armchair quarterback, this is going to be epic!
So to summarize, I'm all in for the process and am going to run a race in June. Thank you all for your pledges and purchases of t-shirts to help us begin this process. We are still taking orders and welcome your support!
Peace,
NZ
Thursday, March 14, 2013
T-Shirts!
We are ready to pre-sale our t-shirts :-) I am so excited, Nick and I sat down today and changed a little bit about the shirt, the back will still look the same(the photo below), but the verse on the front will now be James 1:17a "Every Good and Perfect Gift is From Above" We wanted the verse to sound more positive, we want our daughter to know that she is a perfect gift from God! We will take Pre-orders from now until March 31st. Please use the button on the right side of the blog to order your shirts! Our goal with this fundraiser is to sell 100 shirts. This will give us the first pre-placement fee that will be due once we are done with our homestudy.
Share this with everyone you know! If you want it hand delivered you can pay by check and then no shipping will be charged. Thank you so much everyone for your support, we could not do this without your help!
Share this with everyone you know! If you want it hand delivered you can pay by check and then no shipping will be charged. Thank you so much everyone for your support, we could not do this without your help!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Created for Care
What an amazing weekend!
Have you ever been in a conversation with a friend that you know likes you and is supportive of what you are doing, but you can tell they still think you are kind of crazy? I get that feeling a lot when talking about our adoption. This weekend while attending the Created for Care retreat I was in a room with over 450 women who get it, they get why we want to add to our family through adoption, they get the weird looks, they get the stress of completing the home study process, they get the heartache of waiting for your child! It was phenominal. I met some amazing women who I know will be life long friends.
If you are even praying about adopting you should check out www.createdforcare.org. They hold the retreats just north of Atlanta 2 times a year. I will definitely be attending again.
Keep your eyes open for pre-sale of our shirts! We will begin this week and go through March 31st.
Have you ever been in a conversation with a friend that you know likes you and is supportive of what you are doing, but you can tell they still think you are kind of crazy? I get that feeling a lot when talking about our adoption. This weekend while attending the Created for Care retreat I was in a room with over 450 women who get it, they get why we want to add to our family through adoption, they get the weird looks, they get the stress of completing the home study process, they get the heartache of waiting for your child! It was phenominal. I met some amazing women who I know will be life long friends.
If you are even praying about adopting you should check out www.createdforcare.org. They hold the retreats just north of Atlanta 2 times a year. I will definitely be attending again.
Keep your eyes open for pre-sale of our shirts! We will begin this week and go through March 31st.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Information Overload
What an amazing God we serve! When we were first accepted by our agency we thought our first informational meeting would be in August of 2013. This was OK with us, but stressful, since taking a Friday off the first month of school is always hard. Our God had an even better plan, on Monday we received a phone call telling us there had been some cancellations and there was an opening at the February meeting on the 22nd. We are already out of school this week, so how perfect! Not only did we not have to take a day off for this meeting, but our 2nd meeting falls during our Spring Break so we don't have to take a day then either! For those of you in Education you know that taking a day off is always harder than being at school, especially when finding a substitute is so hard
So after a crazy busy week Nick and I headed to Macon for our first meeting. We were given a lot of information about the agency itself, and how the process will work. We were able to meet our caseworker and other families who are in the process as well. We actually met another couple from our town, and the wife will be attending the Created for Care retreat in March just like Tarrah.
Now that we are officially officially beginning the paperwork chase begins. Please pray for us as we gather all the information needed, and for our child's birth mother. We don't know if she is even pregnant yet, but our God knows who she is and that she will be a part of our adoption story.
If you know anyone who is pregnant and needs help please have them contact http://www.covenantcareadoptions.com/. Not only do they work with adoptive parents, but they share the love of Christ to mothers who are experiencing brokenness.
Love you all!
TZ
So after a crazy busy week Nick and I headed to Macon for our first meeting. We were given a lot of information about the agency itself, and how the process will work. We were able to meet our caseworker and other families who are in the process as well. We actually met another couple from our town, and the wife will be attending the Created for Care retreat in March just like Tarrah.
Now that we are officially officially beginning the paperwork chase begins. Please pray for us as we gather all the information needed, and for our child's birth mother. We don't know if she is even pregnant yet, but our God knows who she is and that she will be a part of our adoption story.
If you know anyone who is pregnant and needs help please have them contact http://www.covenantcareadoptions.com/. Not only do they work with adoptive parents, but they share the love of Christ to mothers who are experiencing brokenness.
Love you all!
TZ
Monday, February 18, 2013
American Doll Raffle
We are looking at having an American Doll raffle. We would sell tickets 1 for $10 and 3 for $25, the winner of the raffle would be allowed to choose the doll that you want. Interested? Comment here:-)
We are trying to raise enough with this raffle to cover our first set of agency fees. Please Share this with all your friends and family!
Thank you all for sharing this and helping us bring our Zoie home.
TZ
Look for dolls here:
http://www.americangirl.com/index.php
We are trying to raise enough with this raffle to cover our first set of agency fees. Please Share this with all your friends and family!
Thank you all for sharing this and helping us bring our Zoie home.
TZ
Look for dolls here:
http://www.americangirl.com/index.php
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentine's Day
WOW, Valentines day in a middle school is crazy!
I wanted to wish all my family and a friends a very happy Valentines day, I pray each of you are filled with love and know that our Heavenly Father loved us enough to send his only son to die for our sins. What a love that is!
Today I also pray for my children's future spouses. That they are raised to know the love of Christ and love him with all their heart. Who knows, they may not even be born yet, but I know God has the perfect person chosen to be my childrens mate.
Adoption update:
Both sets of fingerprints are done and sent off. Now we wait to have our Homestudy done:-)
TZ
I wanted to wish all my family and a friends a very happy Valentines day, I pray each of you are filled with love and know that our Heavenly Father loved us enough to send his only son to die for our sins. What a love that is!
Today I also pray for my children's future spouses. That they are raised to know the love of Christ and love him with all their heart. Who knows, they may not even be born yet, but I know God has the perfect person chosen to be my childrens mate.
Adoption update:
Both sets of fingerprints are done and sent off. Now we wait to have our Homestudy done:-)
TZ
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Adoption Without Debt
Our goal over the next 12 months is to be 100% credit card debt free. We have taken the Dave Ramsey financial peace classes and we have our snowball worked out where this is 100% possible! PRAISE GOD!!!!!
I have already read Julie Gumm's book Adoption without debt, but now I am going back through it and reading closer on fundraising ideas. I have a t-shirt designed that we will be selling, on the front pocket it will say " When We Love the Least of These" and on the back will be the Pink and Blue design below. It will be on a grey t-shirt and we are thinking of selling them for $15-$20 each. I will be adding a paypal link on here when they are ready to start being pre-sold to make it easier for people to help.
Adoptive Momma's- What has your family done that was successful in helping to raise your adoption funds?
I don't want to always be asking for money so if we sell things, I want them to be something that you would already buy and it just help us in the meantime.
That is all for today, I am about to start my day.
God Bless you all and thank you for the prayers during our process.
TZ
I have already read Julie Gumm's book Adoption without debt, but now I am going back through it and reading closer on fundraising ideas. I have a t-shirt designed that we will be selling, on the front pocket it will say " When We Love the Least of These" and on the back will be the Pink and Blue design below. It will be on a grey t-shirt and we are thinking of selling them for $15-$20 each. I will be adding a paypal link on here when they are ready to start being pre-sold to make it easier for people to help.
Adoptive Momma's- What has your family done that was successful in helping to raise your adoption funds?
I don't want to always be asking for money so if we sell things, I want them to be something that you would already buy and it just help us in the meantime.
That is all for today, I am about to start my day.
God Bless you all and thank you for the prayers during our process.
TZ
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Sanctity of Human Life Day
Today is Sanctity of Human Life Day. On facebook today Covenant Care Services, the Agency we will be working with, posted this:
" Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Did you know that Georgia is 7th of the 50 states for most abortions performed annually? Every day in our state there are 98 abortions and 5 adoptions. Pray with us that God will replace a culture of abortion in Georgia with a culture of life and adoption!"
As I read this my heart is happy and sad at the same time. My heart is happy to know that we have chosen the path of adoption to add our final member of the Zomer clan. My heart is aches for all the children who will not be adopted.
Our blog name is Zomer love of Life because we know our daughter will be named Zoie, which means life. We talk about her like she is already here. Quintin and Kai know we will one day have a baby sister named Zoie. I don't even know if she has been concieved yet, but I know God has our Zoie girl planned for us. I love her already!
Our church today is speaking on the sanctity of life, pray that those who hear will be blessed and open their hearts to adoption.
TZ
" Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Did you know that Georgia is 7th of the 50 states for most abortions performed annually? Every day in our state there are 98 abortions and 5 adoptions. Pray with us that God will replace a culture of abortion in Georgia with a culture of life and adoption!"
As I read this my heart is happy and sad at the same time. My heart is happy to know that we have chosen the path of adoption to add our final member of the Zomer clan. My heart is aches for all the children who will not be adopted.
Our blog name is Zomer love of Life because we know our daughter will be named Zoie, which means life. We talk about her like she is already here. Quintin and Kai know we will one day have a baby sister named Zoie. I don't even know if she has been concieved yet, but I know God has our Zoie girl planned for us. I love her already!
Our church today is speaking on the sanctity of life, pray that those who hear will be blessed and open their hearts to adoption.
TZ
Friday, January 4, 2013
Our First official step
Today we recieved the first official step of our adoption process. Our pre-application has been accepted. Now we wait to attend the first mandatory informational meeting. While we are waiting for this meeting we will be working on our GBI and FBI background checks so that we can officially begin our home study.
While we are a long way for our precious addition being added to our family, we are all exicted that the process has officially begun.
Please pray that we will be patient in God's timing for a placement and for all the ups and downs we face as a family.
While we are a long way for our precious addition being added to our family, we are all exicted that the process has officially begun.
Please pray that we will be patient in God's timing for a placement and for all the ups and downs we face as a family.
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