We have moved to FACEBOOK!

After a year of no blog updates, I realized that I should let you all know we have moved our updates to FACEBOOK. Feel free to visit Joni & my Facebook profiles for the latest news on our family....and NEW photos of Joel!

Rodney

Celebrating The Wait

During my personal devotion time this morning, I was reading Psalm 130 and read through verse 5:

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,

and in His word do I hope." Psalm 130:5

Within the margin of my Bible, I had written:

"11/13/2009, Joni & I were approved by the adoption agency yesterday. Now, we wait to be chosen."

Tears of joy filled my eyes as I paused this morning to reflect on the brief journey Joni & I have taken since I recorded that note last year.

The following week of 11/20/2009, Joni & I had received our first adoption situation (teen birthmother in Kentucky cast on MTV's '16 & Pregnant') followed by two other situations over the next four months. All three ending when the birthmothers selected other families to parent their children.

The process was a powerful, emotional roller coaster that caught both of us by surprise.

THEN, on March 26, 2010 (4 months & 3 days from my above note AND 3 days from the conclusion of the third adoption situation), we surprisingly discovered God had chosen us to parent our own biological child!

What a mighty God we serve!

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope."

Psalm 130:5

Today, we CELEBRATE the wait for December 2, 2010 when (Lord wiling) we will welcome our little miracle (Joel Delano Bowen) home.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Rod & Joni

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Initial photos from Joel's room [a work in progress]:

While I'm Waiting...I Will Serve You!

A Mother's Prayer - Rachel Aldous

A wonderful song & video!

Oh.....BOY!

Joni & I are thrilled to report that we are expecting a little BOY! Lord willing, Joel Delano Bowen will arrive on or near December 2, 2010.

Joni's doctor is very pleased with the latest ultrasound and told us that everything looks great. Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary!

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

God Has Blessed Us With A Miracle!

Family / Friends,

We are thrilled to let you know we are expecting a baby! This pregnancy is truly a wonderful miracle & an amazing gift from our Lord!

WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!

Having been in the adoption process for a year, we had hoped that we would one day be able to have biological children too. We simply did not fathom it would be in our near future!

December 2, 2010

Thank you so much for your continued prayer support!
-Rod & Joni

A devotional thought from a pair of mouth retainers?

Recently, I've been pondering the verse, Romans 2:12, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Earlier this week, I met with an orthodontist to have new retainers created to replace my old ones that were slowly breaking down. I only wear the retainers at night, so I did not realize the slow breakdown of the old retainers was actually allowing my teeth to slowly move from the position the braces had placed them years ago.

Well, I didn't realize THAT IS until my new retainers were placed onto my teeth this week.

Ouch!

The new retainers totally disrupted my first night of sleep. I could literally feel my teeth slowly moving. Needing to get these teeth back into the correct positions, I decided to keep the retainers in my mouth the next couple of days. Slowly, the pain began to ease. Now, at day 3, there is little pain..just a slight tenderness on the gums.

I am really surprised that my teeth had moved THAT MUCH.

To the eye, they looked the same.

As I ate, I never noticed any issues.

That is when this verse in Romans really started to stick into my head.

Like the retainers, I must remember that I need to keep myself fastened into God's word, DAILY! The Bible is the "retainer" that keeps my mind anchored in Him and living in His direction for life. Without, I will begin to shift from the place He has positioned me in Him...slowly...unnoticed by others or even me...I will drift away farther from Him.

Romans 2:12, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Family & Friends,

Thanks so much for your continued prayers these past two weeks while the MS agency was trying to locate the birthmother in order to get her back into the office to make the decision. Our agency just notified us the birthmother has chosen another family.

I just spoke to Joni, and we are both happy to hear a decision has finally been made. Of course, we are disappointed that we were not selected, but we are more excited to know the little boy will NOW have a family to care for him.

Please continue to pray for that little boy and his adoptive family that the transition/attachment/bonding will be seamless between them.

Thanks again for your continued prayers for us, too

:) -Rodney

2/26/2010: PLEASE PRAY - Adoption Update!

Please join us in prayer!

Our adoption profile is being shipped overnight to deliver on Monday; 3/1/2010 to a young birthmother in MS. She will review our profile along with many other "waiting families" profiles next week in order to decide which family she wants to parent her newborn baby boy.

What we know:

* Birthmother delivered her healthy, bi-racial baby boy on February 5, 2010

* Wanting to choose an adoption plan, she released her baby to "interim care"/foster care until she could select the adoptive family.

* The agency is trying to contact the birthfather to determine whether he will relinquish his parenting rights (birthmother has voluntarily relinquished her rights to parent).

Please pray:

1. For the birthmother. We are thrilled that she chose LIFE! Though we can not imagine that emotional, physical, etc that she must go through in choosing an adoption plan, we are already praying for her...yes, FOR HER. As she has to review the many profiles in order to make such a life decision for her baby, she is sure to face many emotions. Please pray for her and that our Lord would direct her to choose the family that He has in mind.

2. For the baby boy. He is currently in interim care, and he will soon be placed into an adoptive family's care. So, within these past few weeks, this little boy will have already faced TWO MAJOR LOSSES in his young life.

- His mother.

- His interim care mother & family

From our training, we understand that even at his young age, he could struggle with attachment issues due to these major transitions occurring. Please pray for him.

3. For the birthfather. Though we are not sure whether he is known by anyone other than the birthmother, please do pray that if he comes forward that he will see God's grace and love through the lives of those adoption personnel working to serve the birthmother and this little baby boy.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

We will plan to update our blog just as soon as we receive an update from our agency.

SNOW ICE CREAM!

With 5+ inches of snow fall, we carefully scraped the top layer to create a SNOW ICE CREAM treat!

January SNOW DAYS!

Joni's snow dance paid off! She got a snow day from school as snow fell on Friday (1/29/2010), and we are guessing schools will also be closed on Monday (2/1/2010). A BEAUTIFUL SNOW (with layer of ice on top) that is GREAT for sledding! :)

Christmas in Arkansas, we head back home to Nashville, TN through the beautiful, snow-covered hills.

UPDATE: Agency Contacts Us With Our First "Situation" To Consider!

On 11/19/09 (one week after our official approval), our agency contacted us with a "situation" for us to review and consider.

The situation:

- birth mother expected to deliver on Dec 16

- birth father and & family supporting the birth mother's choice to choose an adoption plan

- birth mother requires direct placement (i.e. chosen adoptive parents would be welcomed at the hospital during delivery)

- ....and the BIGGEE!....

The birth mother is currently being filmed for MTV's "I'm 16 & Pregnant" reality show!

For us, we did not feel that we could say "no" to the opportunity to have our profile shown to her. We have come this far into the adoption process, and we seriously do not feel we can decline the opportunity for our profile to be shown to the birthmother as she considers her options. In the end, if she chooses us, we will trust the decision was Divine in our faith and trust that He has a plan and is directing the birthmother to choose us (even with the potential that our desire to remain private would explode into the public with this reality show being taped).

So, on Thursday afternoon, we let our agency know that we would like to have our profile shown.

During the weekend, our excitement grew with every passing minute.

To help with our waiting, we went shopping....for a CAR SEAT & STROLLER! :)

Fast forward to today, Monday - 11/23/09.

We prayed and waited and prayed and waited all weekend...trusting our profile was being delivered along with the 4-5 other family profiles to the birth mother's state. This morning, we followed up with the agency....silence. We continued to wait.

FINALLY, late afternoon today, our agency counselor let us know the birth mother had chosen a local family from her own city/state without even reviewing the "waiting family" profiles. We were not chosen. The car seat and stroller will need to remain empty in our upstairs bedroom, stored behind closed door.

Though we are disappointed, we do trust the decision made was the best choice for the birth mother and her baby.

We remain hopeful as we trust our Lord and continue to wait and listen for His perfect plan...looking forward to the day when we are chosen and we get to eagerly welcome our child into our hearts and home.

Thank you all for your continued prayers!

:) -Rod & Joni

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For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

11/12/09 - APPROVED!

After months of preparations, evaluations, classes, etc, Joni & I are THRILLED to report...

WE ARE APPROVED!

The adoption agency notified us today that we have been approved to adopt. Thank you for your continued prayers as we head into the official WAITING-TO-BE-CHOSEN period.

-Rod & Joni

10/27/2009 - FINAL MEETING WITH THE AGENCY

Joni & I are very excited to report that we just completed our final pre-approval meeting with our adoption agency this evening!

After months of preparations, classes, meetings, etc, we met with our adoption worker tonight to review our service plan, which is the final piece of this amazing puzzle. From here, the social worker completes the writing of the report and then submits it to the agency director for a thorough review and approval. We expect to be approved by December 2009!

Once approved, the agency will be able to start showing our profile to interested birthmothers, who will review and make the adoption plan by choosing the adoptive parents. This process has been an amazing journey for both Joni and me.

Understanding we could have months of "waiting" ahead of us, we are still so excited to know we are so close to finally being approved. Very exciting times!

Thank you all for your continued prayer support!

More details to come....once we have them.

:) -Rodney

10/20/09: Adoption Home Inspection

10/20/09, the adoption social worker is scheduled to inspect our home. This is one of the final steps in the process before the agency writes our home study report. Right now, we are on track to be approved by December 2009.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers!

10/19/09: We complete the adoption profile packet!

Tonight, Joni and I completed the adoption profile packet that birthmothers will review when they select their children's adoptive parents.

Social Worker Interviews COMPLETED.

This week, Joni and I completed the necessary interviews in the adoption process. The past few weeks have include a couple interview followed by each of us having solo interviews with the social worker. Now, we work on our adoption profile that the birth mothers/parents will review in their selecting potential adoptive parents.

We will deliver this profile (4 copies) to our social worker when she comes to our home on 10/20/09 for the "home inspection".

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!

Joni really enjoys this song!

Fail Us Not from Steven Potaczek on Vimeo.