Here comes Ainsleigh

Well, some of you may already know, but for those who don't, Mollie and I will be parents in less than 2 WEEKS!!!!  Ainsleigh Nikole Reynolds will be born by c-section on January 10, 2012.  We will be heading up to Memphis on January 9th to get our hotel and to be there in case the doctor schedules an early delivery.  The birth mom is having another doctor visit this morning and will be asking what time the section is scheduled.  We are really excited and can't wait.  I started on and finished the nursery about a week and a half ago.  Pictures of it are on my facebook page.  Thank you all for all of your support, whether that was through prayers, financial gifts, or whatever way you supported us.  THANK YOU ALL!!!  Please continue to pray for the Tennessee side of the adoption, that all will go smoothly and quickly so we can bring Ainsleigh home as soon as we can. 

The Meeting

Hello everyone!  Mollie and I hope that you have had a great Thanksgiving and that you are all ready for celebrating Christ's birthday this Christmas. 

Mollie and I wanted to inform everyone about our meeting with the young lady we are adopting from last week.  It was a great meeting.  Mollie and I both feel very blessed to be adopting from some one with such a great heart.  She was very forth coming with information with all the questions we asked and was eager to ask questions herself.  Mollie and I were able to go with her to her doctor's appointment after our lunch meeting and Mollie went back with the young lady.  When the doctor walked in, he asked, "and you are?"  Mollie responed by telling him her name and his response was, "Oh, you're the adopting parent."  We were stunned that he already knew.  Then Mollie was able to her Ainsleigh's heart beat.  We ended the day by meeting up with some old friends of ours that had moved to Memphis a few years ago.  It was a great DAY until...

We got home at 11:30 Wednesday night after driving home from Memphis.  We were so tired, we didn't notice anything in the front of our house.  As I was leaving for work the next morning, I opened the front door of our house to find two boxes on our front step.  I asked Mollie if she had purchased anything off line for Christmas and she said, "No, why?"  Well, I brought in the boxes, opened them and found that we had 2 items from our baby registry.  The young lady we are adopting from got us those gifts!  We were blown away!  I am unashamed to say it, but I cried on the way to work.  Then, after I got home from work and small group Thursday night, there was another box.  It had 4 items from our registry...YEP!  You guessed it!  She had purchased us a total of 6 things for Ainsleigh.  May God receive all the praise, glory, and honor! 

Be praying for us as we meet our attorney for our first face to face meeting this coming Wednesday!

Oh, and by the way, the doctor told Mollie and the young lady that she is not 31 weeks but 34 weeks along!  We will be parents in about 5 and a half weeks!!!! 

Spirit Night

Hey everyone.  Mollie and I will be having a Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive to help raise money for our adoption.  It will be from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm.  We will receive 10 % of all the inside sales.  So, please come in and eat Chick-Fil-A tonight for supper.  We will be there with some of our friends and family.   Would love to see you all there.  Thank you in advance for your supporting our adoption of Ainsleigh Nikole!!!

By the way, we had a wonderful turn out for our 5k and we are still selling t-shirts.  Please let Mollie know if you would like to purchase a t-shirt tonight.  She will have shirts at Chick-Fil-A tonight if you would like to purchase one.  They are only $15.00.

Opportunities

Hey everybody!!!  I know it has been a little while since Mollie and I updated our blog.  Of course we have been busy with work and trying to get the final few things finished with our home study, which will be done next week after we take our second dog to the vet.  Any way, we wanted to inform everyone that 1) we have named our little girl Ainsleigh Nikole and 2) she will be born on January 11, 2012 by C-section.  Please be in prayer for Ainsleigh and her birth mother for their continued good health and that the delivery goes very smooth.

We also want to let you all in on a new opportunity and two that are coming up quick.  Our 5k run/walk FUNraiser is coming up November 5th.  If you would like to participate and have not filled out a registration form, please go by Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive, fill it out, and return it to the same Chick-Fil-A with your $25.00 registration fee that will include your t-shirt.  If you would only like to buy a t-shirt, we have those in now and they look great.  They are $15.00 a shirt.  Now for the new opportunity.  Mollie and I have been given a great blessing by our restaurant we work for, Chick-Fil-A at Dogwood Festival Market on Lakeland Drive, a SPIRIT NIGHT!!!!  Shane, you are asking, what is a SPIRIT NIGHT?  I am glad you asked.  Spirit nights are a benefit that Chick-Fil-A does.  Our SPIRIT NIGHT will be on November 14th from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm.  During those 2 hours, 10% of all the inside sales will be donated to us to help with our adoption.  Please mark your calender and make Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive your dinner destination between 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

Thank you for all of your support, whether that is prayer, financial or any of the other forms of support that I cannot think of at this time.  Hahaha.  Again, Mollie and I thank you all.

SURPRISE!!!

Mollie and I have been busy working and trying to finalize our home study and our fundraisers.  We placed our order for the t-shirts today and will have them in our possession soon.  We have our fliers being posted in different places, a commercial on Star 93.5, and our registration forms for our 5k at Chick-Fil-A at Dogwood Festival Market in Flowood.  So, what's the surprise?  I am glad you asked...

Mollie and I have been given some information from her brother and his wife of a young lady that is looking to do a private adoption for her second child.  Due to the sensitivity of this decision and for her privacy we have decided not to blog her name.  We have been in contact with her and know that she has a precious 3 year old already and is a single mom.  She told us that she is not able to afford to keep the child she is pregnant with and is looking for a good family to give her child to.  I spoke with her last week and found out that the girl's mom is full blooded Cherokee Indian and her dad is Caucasian.  The baby's father is African American.  So can we say, "BEAUTIFUL baby!"  Well, during the most busy part of my day today, I received 6 text messages.  I did not know it at the time because I was seeing client, after client, after client.  When my day finally ended, I checked my text messages to find that one of those were from the young lady we have been talking to and 4 or 5 of them were from Mollie.  The young lady text both of us today around 2:15 this afternoon to let us know that she had her latest ultrasound today and the doctor said that the baby is looking great and everything looks to be going well.  Oh, and by the way, ITS A GIRL!!! 

We were a little taken back at first to be honest, just for the fact that we have been praying so much for our possibility of a little boy, Kolton Garrett, from South Korea.  We spoke with our social worker and she told us that while private adoptions are good, she did tell us that at the birth of the child, the mother still holds the right to change her mind and keep the child.  She told us that if we are interested in this, go for it but keep in mind that the mother has the right to change her mind and if she does decide to keep the child, we are still in line for the Korean adoption.  Mollie and I are excited but we have already prepared all our fundraisers for a boy named Kolton Garrett and as of now, that's the road we thought we were on.  We are wanting every one to know that any and all financial support is going towards our adoption, whether its a little girl from Tennessee or a possible boy from Korea.  We also would like to know some of your thoughts about this news since you all are family and friends.

New and Updated information

Mollie and I are very excited to let every one know that we have finalized our t-shirt designs and have given the print shop the go ahead on production of them.  Our friends at Oneway Promotional Products are doing the t-shirts and we are starting a pre-sale for our t-shirts.  If any one would like to help us with our adoption by ordering t-shirts, please let us know.  Please make checks payable to Mollie or Shane Reynolds and in the memo, write ADOPTION.  You can bring your checks and orders to Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive at Dogwood Festival Market.  Here are the prices:
          Youth - XLarge              $15.00
          2XLarge - 4XLarge       $17.00

Here is the updated and finalized information about our 5k run/walk fundraiser.  The fundraiser is affectionately called "Five for Kolton."  It will be on November 5th, 2011.  The participants that wish to run, that will start at 8:00 am.  For those who are walking it, that will start 15 minutes later at 8:15 am.  We ask that all participants be at The Church At Northshore, 498 Northshore Parkway in Brandon, MS, at least 45 minutes early.  The route of the race will start at the end of the parking lot at the church.  Then cross the street and turn left onto the track.  Next, go down to Fox Bay and turn around and go back to the church.  The fee for the 5k is $25.00 per participant and this price will include your t-shirt.  There will be a late registration at 7:00 am but you are not guaranteed a shirt.  There will be a free Chick-Fil-A breakfast for the first 200 participants.  You can pick up and drop off your 5k registration form along with your registration fee at Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive at Dogwood Festival Market.

If you feel led to just give a monetary gift, make those checks payable to Mollie or Shane Reynolds.  You, too, can drop those off at Chick-Fil-A on Lakeland Drive.

We would like to take this time and thank all of you who are praying for us and for our baby boy Kolton.  Thank you to all our family and friends.  For those of you who have helped us through this process so far;

Bridget Bruenig, Ashton Corley, Katie Fatheree, Bry Freeman, Oneway Promotional Products, The Church At Northshore, Andy and Alli Leatherman, and Chick-Fil-A at Dogwood Festival Market, Mollie and I want to give a special thanks to.

Of course we are humbled and gracious to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for without him, none of this would even be possible.

ADOPTION UPDATE!!!!

For those of you following, whether you are family or friends, we received some new information today.  As I was going to work today, I checked my email in the parking lot before going into Chick-Fil-A.  I had a new email from Holt International.  They are our international adoption agency that is helping us adopt our baby whom we have already named Kolton Garrett, and we don't even know if he is born yet.  Any way, if you will indulge me, I want to type out the email threads.  It says:
               Dear Reynolds Family,
               Good news from Korea.  Please see the following email from Korea regarding your eligibility.

               RE: Reynolds Family/MS: We have a family who would like to adopt a Korean child in the WCP
                     (Waiting Child Program).  Mrs. has a medical condition of gastroperesis.  Please see her
                     medical letter attached and advise if the family will be approved to adopt from the WCP.
                     Thank you.  [This part was from our social worker at Catholic Charities to Holt International]

              RE: Reynolds Family/MS
                    Yes the family will be approved to adopt from WCP.

                    I will be processing your application and will be in touch with you shortly.

So, as you can see, God is working miracles and we are giving him all the praise and glory and honor!!!  You can say that Mollie and I now know what it is like to take a pregnancy test and have it come back positive!!!!  At least, this is what I think it feels like. 

Here ya go

Mollie and I have gotten some more information about our adoption fund raisers.  We have gotten approval to use The Church At Northshore as our meeting place for the 5 k.  The address to the church is 498 Northshore Parkway, Brandon, MS 39047.  The website for the church is http://www.northshorerewired.com/.  The date of the 5 k will be October 29th.  The registration fee for the 5 k is $25.00 and this will include your t-shirt.  All proceeds will go to help with Kolton's adoption.  All participants will need to have their registration form and fee in no later than October 17th.  Any individual, individual family, or business that would like to be a sponsor for the 5 k, the sponsorship fee is a minimum of $100.00.  We are coming up with a sponsor form and this form and fee will need to be in no later than October 17th as well.  The only thing we are waiting on is the call back from Rankin County Sheriff's Department so that we can make sure there isn't anything we need to cover or get approved for the 5 k.  A pick-up and drop-off point for the registration fee and the sponsorship fee will be announced as soon as we get the ok from any law enforcement and approval for the site.

Also, Mollie and I have turned in out t-shirt desings and will be ordering them soon.  If any one would like to help us in our adoption through buying a t-shirt and not participating in the 5 k, we will be taking pre-orders for them.  T-shirts will be $15.00 a shirt for shirt sizes youth-XL.  T-shirt sizes 2XL-4XL, add $2.00 and with 5XL, add $3.00.  The t-shirts are a blue color that is between baby and navy blue and the ink is white.  On the left front chest of the t's, it will have South Korea on it and it will be shaded in.  On the back, it will have a drawing of the globe with South Korea shaded in and all the other continents and all just outlined.  There will be a verse on the back as well, half on one side of the globe and the other half on the other side of the globe.  The verse is Ephesians 1:5.  Please let us know what size shrits and how many you will be needing and we can get them to you as soon as we get them.  Make your checks out to Mollie and Shane Reynolds.  We will have order forms for the t-shirts and if you need receipts for taxes, we can do that too.  Thank you all for your support and a special thank you to OneWay Promotional Products for our t-shirts!!

One more thing that Mollie and I would like to invite you too.  Intersect Dance Collective is a dance company that our friend's are the co-founders.  Andy and Alli Leatherman are our friends that co-founded Intersect Dance Collective and attend church with us.  Andy came to me and told me that they wanted us to be one of their benefits.  He asked us to give our story and at the end of the performance, he wanted us to get a love offering.  Their performance of "Silver and Gold" from Acts 3:6, will be Friday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church.  They are located at 4000 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211 and the admission price is $5.00.  We would love to see you all there and thank you to Intersect Dance Collective for this great blessing!!

New Opportunity

Well, it's been a little while since we have updated.  So here is some new information.  First, Mollie and I would like to thank those of you that are following us through our journey.  Also, we would like to let everyone know that we are closer to having our 5 k run/walk finalized.  We are planning to set the date for the 5 k to be October 29th.  We have a friend that is making the flier for us and we have our first sponsor.  The entry fee will be $25.00 per person and that will cover your entry fee and your t-shirt, that was designed by our friend Bridget Breunig.  A very special thank you to her for our t-shirt design.  We are trying to finalize the route and the meeting place so the 5 k is not totally finalized.  As soon as it is, we will have everything set.  If any of you following us work in a business that might be interested in being a sponsor for our 5 k run/walk, please let us know.  We can get you a sponsor form and get your business signed up.  This can be a great way for your business to advertise as well.  For those businesses that choose to be a sponsor, we will be asking them if they have a company sign and will have those posted at different spots on the route of the 5 k and at the meeting place.  So, be looking for the final details.
Secondly, Mollie and I had our couple's interview with our social worker today, August 17th.  We answered questions about how we met, a little about our growing up, our ideas about discipline, how and when are we gonna tell Kolton about adoption, and questions about our faith/religion.  She also told us that as far as she can see, if the finger prints don't show anything like one of us being on the run, we should be approved for our adoption!!  We feel so blessed and are so excited.  WE CAN NOT WAIT TO MEET KOLTON GARRETT REYNOLDS!!! 

Baby Chores

If you are wondering, baby chores are the chores that Mollie and I are having to do to finish and finalize our international home study.  Mollie's gastroenterologist brought his letter to Catholic Charities up to Chick-Fil-A tonight and so that makes one thing completed.  Tomorrow, Mollie and I are going to the Brandon court house/Jail to get our finger prints done and sent in to the FBI.  That will be the starting point of our FBI criminal back ground checks.  So, the ball is rolling and we are checking items off of our home study, one by one.  Next on the list is to buy a 7 pound fire extinguisher to replace the little one and to get our extensive blood work done.  Praise be to God!!!  WE ARE SO EXCITED!  And to prove our excitement, a former employee came to Chick-Fil-A this evening and spoke to Mollie.  When Mollie was talking with her, she asked Mollie if she was prego because she was glowing.  Mollie told her no but that she and I were adopting.  Mollie said that she looked like she was about to fall when she told her that.  She then said that was what she was talking about.  Mollie looked very excited.  She told Mollie that what we are doing is a great thing and there are going to be peaks and valleys but for us not to give up.  I think this was a wonderful God moment.  I think God has given Mollie the expectant mother "glow!"  God cares so much for us and this is a way to confirm that.

What a difference a week makes

To God all glory, honor, and praise.  We have seen answered prayers this week and God has shown himself to Mollie and myself in such a way that we can only say it was him.  Oneway Printing has agreed to do our t-shirts, we are setting up a meeting with a close friend about the planning and all for our 5k run/walk, and we have already seen God work in the area of provisions as our Jehovah Jireh!  We just want to keep everyone following us through our blog, through facebook or twitter updated and to let you all know that God is who he says he is, just ask, just seek and he will prove himself to you as well. 

Busy Day

Well, we had a long day.  We were able to get some things done though.  We went today to get our finger prints done for the FBI criminal background check part of our international home study.  We just were not able to get them done.  The machine that they use just wasn't working.  They told us that this is how they do the finger prints now and if they did them with the ink, they could smear and it would not help us at all.  Thanks to Matt Gipson for helping us today and being willing to tell us that the ink would not be good for us.  We were also able to get some info about adoption financial information.  In all, I say we had a great day.

Brainstorming

Support can come in all types.  There is emotional support, prayer support, financial support...you get the picture.  Mollie and I are in the process of brainstorming ideas for fund raisers for financial help with our adoption.  We trust that God is our Great Provider, Jehovah Jireh, and in faith, we are believing that the finances will be there.  So, in believing, we are coming up with fund raisers.  We have bought large blue plastic baby bottles that are piggy banks, we are planning a 5-K run/walk, we are also trying to do some possible spirit nights at Chick-Fil-A, and we are wanting to do T-shirts that will go along with the 5-K run/walk.  We need some help.  We are needing to find a company that can help with our T-shirts for a low price or a discounted price.  We are already coming up with the design and a friend of our's is coming up with that.  We are just needing to find help with the printing of the T-shirts.  We want to thank you all in advance with all your support, whether that is financial, emotional, or prayer.  THANK YOU!!  We know that times are tough but we believe in God and know that he owns the cattle on 1000 hills, heck, he owns the hills those cattle are on.  May God bless and again, thank you.

Faith

Just wanted to include my life verse before going to sleep tonight.  It has been on my mind for 2 days now and there is a lot of faith, security, and assurance in it.  Habakkuk 1:5 says to, "watch and be utterly amazed.  For I (God) am going to do something in your day that you would not believe, even if you were told."  That verse just really speaks to me about our adoption, the finances for the adoption, our little boy Kolton, and maybe even the entire process.  To him all glory and honor!

Our first Post

A lot of you have been asking about any news on our adoption.  Well, we created this blog to keep everyone in the loop.  This is our first blog and first post, so we hope you like it.  We also want to thank you in advance for all your prayers, support, encouragement and your joining us in this new season of our lives.  We are adopting a baby boy from Korea, well, at least that is what we have applied for and are praying for.  We met with our social worker today, 7/13/2011, for our second meeting.  We paid a deposit for our international home study, received our "book"let of paper work that requires us to add more paper work to it to send in, and we also put in our application with Holt International for our Korean baby boy.  Mollie and I are very excited and words cannot express the joy and the other emotions we are feeling at this time.  We have even decided on a name for our child, I told you we were excited!  Any way, his name will be Kolton Garrett Reynolds.  We will continue to update this as new information comes and as often as needed.  Again, thank you.