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Johnson Family/Adoption Update

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  Hey guys! It’s been a while since Matt and I have updated you on our family and adoption process. We’re so sorry for the delay! Life has been full of surprises, joy, trials, and a whole lot of busyness. We’re happy to report that our family of 4 is thriving and enjoying this sweet season of life with littles! In April of last year, we welcomed our (surprise!) sweet baby boy, Samuel Reece. He was healthy, strong, and a champion nurser right from the start. At about 2-3 weeks old we started to notice some signs of food allergies/sensitivities. Then at the 9-12 week mark we started to have greater concerns regarding his feeding. He had begun to require a lot of coaxing to eat, and we tried everything to keep him growing and healthy. We met with lactation consultants, speech therapists, and pediatricians. No one could determine what was causing his resistance to eat. At the beginning of August things got scary. Sam completely stopped eating, dropped to beneath the 1 st  percentile, and w
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Surprise!

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Surprise! Matt and I found out that we are expecting a baby boy due in April! We are so excited to welcome this sweet little one into our family. After two miscarriages and a host of medical issues, we had a lot of anxiety about another pregnancy.  But God surprised us, and here we are!  Everything is going well so far, and Livy is very excited to be a big sister! A few people  have asked us if this changes anything with our adoption. Yes, and no. We are still so excited to adopt a kiddo from eastern Europe! We believe (and it's been affirmed again and again) that God has called us to welcome a child in need into our family.  We are still adopting internationally through Lifeline. The only thing that may change is the country that we adopt from. Right now we are enrolled in their Hungary program. We love Hungary! We're so drawn to its culture and our hearts go out to the marginalized Roma population who make up the majority of Hungary's orphans. All this being said, Hungary
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Puzzle Fundraiser

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International adoption is expensive. Like crazy expensive. Unfortunately, this reality keeps so many amazing couples from taking the steps to adopt. There is an expenses page in our adoption packet that makes me shiver every time I glance at it! When we first made the decision to adopt, one of the fears that we needed to confront was fundraising.  There aren’t many things more humbling than asking other people for money. It’s uncomfortable. It’s vulnerable. The more we have talked about it though, the more we understand that it isn’t about asking people for money, but asking them to be a part of our story- our child’s story, and how they got to come home. So we are so excited about this PUZZLE FUNDRAISER!  It works like this:   1. We designed a 520 piece puzzle (pictured above). The border is a piece of Hungarian folk art as a celebration of our child’s country and culture of origin. In the center it says, “For This Child We Have Prayed.” This is a scripture reference from 1 Samuel 1:
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Fundraising Update

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First of all, we'd love to thank each and every person who has poured out their love and support to our family through this adoption. We are overwhelmed with gratitude! We could tell you story after story of how we have seen God affirm our decision through our loving community. One of the ways He has done that is through our initial fundraising. With your help we have raised $4,714.75 to date. $595 came from donations through our Go Fund Me page. $4,119.75 came from the rummage sale we put on at the beginning of July. Wow! These funds allowed us to cover both our IIAME fee and our first agency fee to Lifeline. We are so grateful! The rummage sale was a blast! We got to meet so many amazing people and we were blown away by incredible acts of generosity. From spontaneous donations by friends, family, and complete strangers to 10 year old boys donating and setting up their favorite toys for display. To the man who got out of his truck with $200 and told us the story of his adoption be
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Our Story

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  After much prayer and consideration we have decided to grow our family through adoption!  Adoption has always been dear to our hearts. We had considered it before our daughter, Olivia, was born, but decided we'd like to have biological kiddos first. After Livy, we had two miscarriages. Our beautiful babies, named Hope and Noah, were delivered directly into the arms of Jesus. Through our heartbreak and loss, we have discovered great hope that God has a plan for gifting us with another little one to love. We desperately want to parent a kiddo in need while also giving Livy a new brother or sister.  We've discerned that the next step of our family's journey is adopting internationally through an organization called Lifeline.  We were accepted into their Hungary program, and expect the adoption to be finalized over the next few years.  We were drawn to Hungary after learning about its largest orphan population, the Roma children.  The Roma people (often negatively referred to
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