Friday, June 4, 2010

Easton is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!! We're Pregnant!!!

Soooooo, our baby Easton in Ethiopia is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!!!!!!! We are excited to announce that we are PREGNANT!!!! Our adoption agency has just approved us to complete the adoption and bring Easton Home! We will be a family of four by Christmas!!! GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!

It has been a very hard couple of weeks. We told our agency everything and prayed that they would show compassion and understanding toward us. We had to submit an Action Plan to prove that we were prepared for the responsibilities of two children. Here is an excerpt of the essay we submitted. (We obviously took it very seriously, fighting for our baby Easton!)

Our Transparency

"We cannot, for a second, pretend that we know exactly how things are going to work out for our family. What we can tell you is that we have put our hearts and souls into building our family. As Dr. Purvis from Empowered to Connect states, “We cannot have expectations. We must lay them down and only be fully committed to love our children, giving them everything we have selflessly.” This is exactly what we intend to do for our children. We have committed endless hours of paperwork, adoption training, bonding and attachment researching, our life’s savings and thoughtful planning for our son Easton Fulmer. We set out on this journey wanting to become parents, little did we know that God would pull us closer to him than ever, as we cling to his word and search our hearts for his guidance. We have trusted in the Lord for every step of our journey to parenthood. We are thankful that he has not made it easy but has shown us to trust in Him and put all of our faith in Him.

There have been many days of rejoicing and sadness through our journey. We are thankful for each emotion experienced, as we have grown closer to each other and the Lord. When we found out that Ashlie was pregnant we praised God for creating this miracle. After being told that the possibility of Ashlie conceiving naturally was very low we were shocked and surprised by God’s gracious gift to us. In addition to our happiness, we felt worry and fear. We were in love with Easton and knew that he was our son. We knew that we would have to fight to show that we are his parents and capable of caring for two children. We believe that God purposefully chose us to be in this exact situation, the parents of two children, 9 months apart.

We understand that every couple would not be able to handle this situation. However, we believe that our current situation is ideal to give a loving home to Easton and our biological baby. (We don’t have a name for him/her yet, but plan on giving him/her an Ethiopian middle name. All of the Fulmer’s are now Ethiopian!) We have an amazing support system ready and able to care for each and every member of our family. As we would do anything for our children, our parents are fully committed to sacrificing for us. They understand what it takes to raise children and they are ready to support us by any
means possible. We know that God orchestrated our family members living close to our home and their level of support of our adoption because he knew that we would need them throughout our journey. "

Well, that's it! We are going to be a family of 4!!!!! Now it's time to pack our bags and get to Easton as soon as possible!!!!
We'll keep you updated!!!

Thank you for your prayers and support!
Love,
Ashlie and Ryan

21 comments:

Bex said...

SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHHH MY GOSH! I'M IN TEARS! WHAT A BLESSING AND A MIRACLE! THANK YOU JESUS!

How far along are you? (or are you not saying!?). Praying for you and thrilled for you and I'm so excited to continue following your story of this beautiful family growing and expanding! Praise God.

Jenn said...

I understand all too well the emotions that you must have been experiencing the past few weeks. I am *so* happy that your adoption agency made the RIGHT decision!!! Congrats!

Brad and Tara said...

Congrats!!! I can't imagine all that you are feeling right now. Praise God that AWAA let you proceed to bring Easton home!! I bet you are all smiles knowing you are going to be mommy to 2 babies!!!

Shannon said...

WOW! That's awesome and so exciting:) Congrats!

Stacy said...

Congratulations! That is such wonderful news!

CandB said...

What an adventure! Excited to follow your journey!! Congrats to you both! =)

ReaganF said...

Ashlie I am just THRILLED for you and Ryan!!! Congratulations!!!

Real Simple said...

YEAH, the news is out! Love you all. PRAISE GOD because HE is in control. HUGS! the hall family will continue to pray for you all. What is next for you all? God knows...that brings peace! I thnk of that song..."like a deer patheth after water..." you know that one? it is so calming. ( i may of mix it up alittle, but it is such a calming song)

V said...

ahhh CONGRATS!!!! God is good! One question I have is why would an agency not let someone as far along in the process bring their child home in the first place? People adopt twins all the time! People can have more than 1 child at a time and still be great parents. Am I the only one who thinks its weird that it would even be an issue with how far along you are in the adoption already? Its not like you would be having a baby in the same month as adopting lol. Someone explain bec I dont get it! :)

Debb said...

OMGosh!!! God is SOOO GGOOOOD! Your story is truly an amazing one! Crazy how God has known all along that this is exactly how it was going to work out for you! Just goes to show that His plan is perfect and there is no better place to put our trust, than in HIM!!!!

Celebrating your joy with you. I am sure you will be awesome parents! We will continue to pray for you.... and your TWO babes!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! :o)

Glowing Hearts said...

Thats amazing. Our family was also going through the adoption process and I found out two weeks ago that I'm pregnant as well. Unfortunately we weren't far enoug along is the adoption so we've been taken out of the program, which is actually a real bummer to me. Its like losing something you've been hoping for, for so long. Good luck with the adoption and your pregnancy!!
The Maxwells

Unknown said...

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for the love and support!!!! We are very Thankful for God's blessings and cannot wait to see the next couple of months unfold! I wish I could respond to everyone but my time is limited with our 1,000 things to do checklist! =)

V, I did want to respond to the question about why an agency would potentially not allow a family to continue with the adoption. I believe their number one concern is the unpredictability of International Adoption. Although I'm not due for 6 months there is no guarantee that Easton will be home by then. We have to now worry about court closures and investigations, in which could draw the process out to 5 or 6 month. We had to create the Action Plan to show that we have a plan for all of the worst case scenarios. So basically, the adoption agency has to make sure the family is capable of handling any situation that might arise. If we had not already received our referral, our adoption would have most likely been postponed.

We are so Thankful that AWAA saw our family as capable and has allowed us to bring Easton Home!!!!!!! SO, SO, SO Thankful!!!!!

With Love, Ashlie

pmalleca said...

so incredibly happy for you!!!! you are truely blessed! God is sooo Good!!!!!

Becca Daws said...

Congrats, Ashlie on both your babies! I was actually told I had a low likelihood of conceiving naturally and we were in the process of adoption as well when we found out we were pregnant with Grant.

So very excited for you guys!!

Becca (Bruce) Daws

Ryan & Jen Smith said...

Ryan & Ashlie,

I just went to show my husband the photos of Easton's room on your blog and saw your new post - what a miracle story! I'm sure words cannot express the joy your family is experiencing. So happy for you! Praying for you as you prepare for your babies - you are truly a blessed family!

Blessings Always,
Ryan and Jen

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for both of you!! That is awesome!!! My 2 kids are 17 months apart and it was fine!!! 9 months apart is great!!!! HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD?????
CONGRATS!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxo

Mama Mimi said...

"How awesome is our GOD!" - that seems the BEST Way to describe this story that HE has knit together for you! Amazing news! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Mark and Wendy said...

A huge congratulations, Ryan and Ashlie! How amazing...to be parents of two itty-bitty babies in a matter of months-rejoicing with you! I can't imagine the heart-wrenching emotions you went through waiting for AWAA's approval!

Kari said...

I STILL AM IN SHOCK over your miracle news!! You are soooo dear to me and we've never actually met in real life:))) LOL I can't wait to lead with you in Africa soon!!
xoxo

Kari

Jon, Lindsay, and the pups!!! said...

That is such amazing news! You don't know me but your blog has been a big inspiration for us! So happy for you and your family! :)
Lindsay

AGoodKindOfCrazy said...

I know this is old news now, but I hadn't read your blog in quite some months for some reason.

I find this AMAZING! A friend of ours is due Nov 7 with a baby boy that they never should have been able to conceive. Not so out so out of the ordinary these days, buuuuuut..... the same week she found out she was pregnant they were also chosen as the family for a baby girl that was born on March 14. So they will have a 4 year old son and 7 month old daughter when baby #3 arrives. I can't wait to pass your blog along to her. :)

Congratulations on both of your precious boys!