For the past year I have been dabbling in the world of paying for my own domain to host all of the updates we have had for our adoption, ventures in cooking, and Derek's races.
There have been things I truly liked about having my own domain but many many more I did not like. Not having the ability to have comments is the biggest.
I have definitely poured out my heart onto the screen of that page and I can't bare losing all of that material. -- I hope that one day Baby Doop is able to look back over some of what Derek and I have written and see just how much he/she is loved and wanted.
Please forgive me, but this is just a welcome back for me so here are all of the previous entries made on the domain in one spot.
Aaahhh...it feels so nice to be back.
June 23, 2015
B-Metro has published our story in their July issue. It was beautifully edited. Beautifully pictured by the fun photographer. EVERYONE should grab a copy of the magazine!
We have raised over half of the funds required to complete our adoption. Honestly, I feel that has been the easiest part of this journey. Growing up with the Dad that I have, hard work and consistent good work ethic was just part of everyday life. Cutting knee high grass to pay for my very own membership to the local pool and keeping the house or dog pin tidy were typical chores of mine so when it came to the physical aspect of fundraising I felt like it was second nature. Getting into the nitty gritty of the emotional side has really challenged me to the core.
I am thankful for the listening ears of our Lifeline counselor. Though each week we attend a counseling session puts us one week away from the Home Study visits, WDD and I are growing in our marriage and we are growing, grieving, and healing individually. Those moments are what will really count on the day our child will be placed in our arms. Those moments are what will come to fruition the day our child talks to us about the pain of feeling rejected by his/her birth parents.
May 26, 2015
Our third anniversary was April 6 and we filed our application for adoption with Lifeline. Two days later we found out we had been accepted and would then begin to move forward with the adoption process. Looking back, we had no idea what we were getting into.
Once our application was approved, we met our social worker, Rachel, for our initial interview. For you future adoptive parents and families out there, this interview is not for the faint of heart. It was long. It was in depth. It covered every possible subject we could think of and then some. Dear adoptive families, be prepared to openly discuss every aspect of your marriage and childhood - the good, the bad, the super ugly.
After our initial interview we took an online quiz called Prepare/Enrich. While we were in premarital counseling we took a marriage related quiz with the same system. Prepare/Enrich identifies the specific strengths and weaknesses within your relationship.
During this process, we had a large online auction fundraiser. Many many businesses local and far away donated incredible goods to our auction. In the end, we had 24 items which brought a little more than $1200 which covered the costs for our application ($250) and our initial interview ($875). If you are looking for fundraiser ideas, this was easy and quite successful. Our family and friends really came through for us with contacting local businesses or donating original pieces of their own.
We often talk about how God has guided us through each and every step of this process. The money we have needed has been provided. Peace with making the initial decisions of what special needs we are comfortable with and how to talk about the possibility of adopting a child with a different race as ours has come when needed.
Making the move to Alabaster from Mobile was a great opportunity for our marriage and our careers. WDD was employed at a local school system and was forced to step WAY out of his comfort zone for the past two years. He learned so much from this experience. He learned he could successfully teach students who are not like him with priorities, ethnic background, and economical background. He learned he makes a difference in the small everyday things like showing up on time everyday. Those students who could not rely on their own mom and dad could rely on him and that made a difference. Those students who had no male guidance in their life to show them how to appropriately dress for a job interview or organize their notes for a college class learned these skills in his classroom without ever directly addressing them. I have to say, I am very very proud.
This year the school system WDD worked in made the decision to make drastic budget cuts which meant the loss of hundreds of jobs all over the county. WDD was one of those hundreds. Again, God had bigger plans. Our adoption seemed to be stalled. Our fist home study didn't seem to be able to get scheduled due to calendars and travel. This could not have been more perfect.
God provided yet again. A position at the high school 5 miles down the road came available and offered the day WDD interviewed!
We now wait for Friday when we will meet with a set of counselors with Lifeline to discuss the results of the Prepare/Enrich quiz we took. Our summer will be a busy one. Physicals. Background checks. Paperwork. Home study visits.
I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
March 10, 2015
Barely a month has past since my last post and yet so much has changed. We are on the brink of having half of the necessary funds to complete the entire adoption. The quilt is underway but still a long way from complete. I am on blanket number 5 with orders for 6,7,and 8!! The first decoration for the nursery has been handmade and delivered. I am selling Usborne Books (
d4721.myubam.com) and absolutely loving it. There's also an auction in the works.
Yesterday, WDD received an email from a reporter with al.com and the Birmingham News. The reporter proceeded to let us know that she had been contacted by a friend of mine talking about how they need to do a story on us and our adoption. We were shocked that someone outside of our family would take the time and effort to reach out and speak for us. This afternoon WDD and I got the opportunity to talk to this reporter and tell her the story of "us".
Our story is a long story and a super fun story that goes all the way back to day in the University of Mobile's Learning Center with Fobes, JPoPep, Mindy, Emily, and Megan playing UNO and every now and then doing some actual work. Those were the days of WDD and I repeating "ew, it's JUST Rebekah" or "ew, it's JUST Derek".
I am so thankful that the way I pictured our story as just friends did not end up that way. Instead, this afternoon I sat watching, with misty eyes, WDD talk about how he prays for the birth mother of our child as he knits to fill the hat orders he has. He prays for our child and that we be parents who show Jesus to our child. He prays that our child and our child's birth mother and birth father know Jesus.
What a great middle chapter to our story.
February 1, 2015
January was lovely for the Dupuis family. We filled orders. I started on an existing order. I got strep throat. WDD started on the first section of his National Board Certification process. He even got a chance to read a book book! Lately, it has been only audio for us so to hold a book and finish it is a major accomplishment. We also both chopped all of our hair off in honor of a dear friend kicking cancer's boo-tay!
There were hard stress-filled days and there were great days, sounds pretty much like every single month, right?? :-)
As I promised with my last post, we have an exciting fundraiser that is kicking off TODAY!
These quarters will be cut into smaller pieces and made into a quilt for Baby Doop. Each fabric piece can be sponsored for a donation of $10 or more. As a sign of gratitude, your name will be embroidered onto your fabric square. Oh, I am SO excited about this project!!! I cannot wait to see the final project and all of the names of those who love our baby as much as we do!
In order to keep track of the names for the quilt, please use the hashtag #quiltedtogether when you submit your donation into our GoFundMe or when mailed to us. Finally, we know some of you want to stay anonymous in your giving. We still want Baby Doop to know your love for him/her. Please give us a verse you would like to represent you.
So here we go:
1. Donate $10 or more
2. In the comments of your donation, put #quiltedtogether
3. In the comments of your donation, put what name or verse you would like embroidered on your square
We can't wait to see what is in store for us this month!
December 31, 2014
The past eight months have had many many high points. Within eight short months we have raised over $7,000 making up 31% of our adoption goal. I am dumbfounded by the generosity of people who have never met us let alone those who love us and pour into our lives on a daily basis. We have had two yard sales, baked a lot, knitted scarves, hats, blankets, and coasters, sold books, had t-shirts made, and conquered the unknown area of craft fairs. All the while we have shared moments of joy, anticipation, gratefulness, and sorrow with each other and many of you.
Our calendars have been booked solid with events and creating products and frankly, we are tired. You all probably just thought, "Get ready for that baby! Then you'll be tired!". You would be completely correct. We still want to have the Doop Dash but have not had the time to devote to creating the race. There are two different yet equally exciting fundraisers coming very soon.
First, we have had some very generous people donate a condo at the beach for a weekend to be sold at auction. We have also had an incredibly talented artist offer to take a picture of your choice and turn it into a pencil portrait also to be sold at auction. These two items and their donors are also very dear to our hearts. A set date has not been decided for the auction as of today but will be decided and announced very soon. Should you have a service or item you feel led to donate to our auction, please email us to discuss any details.
Secondly, I posted a picture on Instagram and Facebook of some brightly colored pieces of fabric earlier this week. As you know, we love to craft. We have been thinking about ways to incorporate our child's nursery into a fundraiser. At dinner with two of the greatest girls ever, a friend suggested we make a quilt for Baby Doop, so that's what we are going to do! We want to make a quilt large enough for our baby to grow with and eventually take to his/her home where he/she will raise our Grandbaby Doops. We will have 6x6 squares of fabric to be sponsored for a minimum of $10. Once the quilt is fully assembled, we will embroider each donor's name on the back. Many many years from now, Baby Doop will come home from a terrible day where she got her first speeding ticket because she drives like Mommy or her boyfriend broke up with her or she didn't get into the graduate school she had been hoping to get into or he fell off his bike and scraped his knee and he will grab a carton of ice cream and curl up into this quilt. He will be reminded of all of the people who prayed for him, loved her, sacrificed to bring him home.
I am excited about this quilt. I am excited about wrapping up a tiny baby in a gigantic quilt radiating with love.
Our desire is the same on the bad days of sorrow and no understanding and the "Why not me"s and the on the good days full of joy and laughter and seeing God's ever faithfulness - to follow God's calling to be adoptive parents and to give Him praise through it all.
9.20.14
As of today, we have approximately 14% of the total cost for the adoption. Our bake sale in August was a huge success. Between our cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, pound cake, and banana bread, we used 14lbs of flour and about 10lbs of sugar along with many many other ingredients!
We will have another bake sale in November for Thanksgiving side dishes. I am known for my cornbread dressing and WDD has his dad's peanut butter pie! This should be loads of fun and full of deliciousness.
The first Doop Dash is in the making as well. With WDD being such an avid runner, the obvious large fundraiser was to host a race. Please join us in prayer that we find the most affordable location, donations for food, donations for door prizes, and time keeper.
Our journey to adoption began many years ago before WDD and I even knew each other. Most girls dream of what their future family will look like. Mine looked very similar to a rainbow with children from different cultures surrounding me with big smiles. WDD's dream was one with a wife and children with his nose, hair, and impeccable since of style and wit.
Years past and my body never seemed to have regular cycles or moods. After many questions and frustrations, we learned that, no I am not crazy but no I do not ovulate due to my eggs forming cysts instead of continuing the normal cycle. Could we have biological children? Yes. Would it take means that are none too romantic? Yes. Would we be guaranteed a child? No. We have many friends who have experienced problems with infertility of all kinds. Our heart breaks for them. Our prayers for comfort and understanding go out to them.
God has placed a calling for adoption on our lives. Could God work a miracle and give us biological children? Yes. Will that take away the calling of adoption? No. We believe that God is the first adoptive parent. He has taken us into his family and loves us as his own.
Currently, we are in the fund raising stage. It costs a great deal to adopt a child. Per Alabama law, as a married couple, we cannot file adoption papers until we have been married 3 years which is April 2015 for us. Sadly, money talks. We want to be prepared financially for each step of this process which is why we are intentionally adding to our fund.
