Time for the shots!

For those who might be traveling soon….

KC & I posted a blog entry earlier in our process about “shots” and what we needed to get. Well, we have finally gotten around to having enough money to pay for them. (They are expensive!)

I learned some very valuable news yesterday while calling to schedule our appointment(s) for today. When traveling to Ethiopia one of the shots recommended by the CDC (which you can find all of this online on their website, it is very simple) is a Hepatitis A & B shot. Luckily they come in a ‘combo’ shot so you can get them at the same time, but it is three separate shots. So you have to go three different times. The nurse asked me yesterday when we were leaving for our trip, because according to the CDC you have to have a month between the first shot and the second. You can’t have them any closer together. They also told me that they suggest you get two shots before you leave, you obviously aren’t required to get any shots, but recommended. I mean who wants to bring Meningitis or Polio home with them? Not me. But they said as long as you get two rounds of the shots into you, you should be okay, but they obviously suggest going ahead and getting the third during the process, just to make sure.

So I thought I would pass along that information. We were planning on waiting as long as we could before we got the shots, but I am so glad we called and checked. Not that we have any information on when we are traveling, but I would have been pretty upset with myself if we were told we were traveling in two or three weeks, then if we went to get shots and we found this out. So here is some unsolicited advice, I would recommend calling your local travel clinic or doctor to see what their recommendations are and really, when you should start getting them. So you don’t run into any ‘timing’ issues. Just a thought.

Also, I guess it’s a good thing that the Hep. A & B shots are a set of three that way we can spread out the other shots that we are recommended to get and we wont get them all together at once. I am 6’ 3” and weigh, on a good day, about 205, so getting some of these aren’t that big of a deal, but KC on the other hand who is 5’ 4” and weighs about 115 probably couldn’t handle as many shots as I could in one sitting. Some of them are live viruses! So we plan on spreading them out, getting three today, two later, etc.

Well, we go today to get the shots and I will update you all later after it is done. I’ll take pictures too. Really, what the post will probably consist of is how I screamed during every shot and how KC just sat there and made fun of me. She laughs at me every time I have to get a shot and says, “you would have never survived as a women, childbirth is way harder than this.”

(For those of you in Alabama who need shots, we have found that the cheapest place in our area to get them are at the Alabama Department of Public Health as well as the AUM Nursing Clinic in Montgomery – Google them their numbers are on-line.)

Until later –

J.W. Godwin

What an amazing couple of weeks.

I don't know what to say other than God is busy at work...

Last week we finally receive our referral for Zoe Grace and we got to see her picture for the first time and now this week our friends, Brad & Rachel, finally received their court date!!! F I N A L L Y ! ! !

For those of you who have been following our blog for a while you have heard the names Brad & Rachel. They were the original couple that we talked to about adopting and they are the ones who finally gave us the “push” of confidence out of the nest to pursue those feelings. They have been such great friends and an even better resource right here in Montgomery. After their LONG almost two year process they are getting to leave VERY soon to go meet their baby girl. (Due to security reasons I am not going to post any ‘details’ about their trip or when they leave. Those of us adopting understand that we can't share anything until it's all over.)

If you have a moment this week say a special prayer for them as they get ready to go into this next chapter of their lives. I know I am being very vague about this, but I don’t want to say too much. So pray for them this week, next week, the following week and on forward…. and say a very special prayer for Little Caroline who is will be one of the best big sisters ever!

Until next time.

-j.w. godwin

It happened!!!

This post won't be long because we are running around like chicken with our heads cut off & calling everyone we know . . . Because we were given our referral tonight! We finally got to see Zoe Grace's precious face! She is two months and three days old. She is absolutely perfect!!! Thank you everyone who has prayed for us and supported us through this process! We are so blessed!

More to come later...

-J.W. Godwin

Thanksgiving Re-cap

With Thanksgiving over, left over’s eaten, family now gone, and life somewhat back to normal for the next few weeks, until it’s time to gear up for Christmas, I thought that I would update you all on everything.

Well, as most of you know, because we would have shared the news if it had happened, we did not receive a referral by Thanksgiving like we were hoping and praying for. We realize that it is all in God’s hands and we will be introduced to Zoe when he is ready for us to be. So we are now praying that, that is the one gift that we get for Christmas!! Please join us in praying it is the right time. But we have found out that we are getting closer on the list to being at the top. Our agency doesn't give out "numbers" to tell you how many families are ahead of you, but I annoy them so much I think they told me one to get me to leave them alone. I can't say what number it is, but I will tell you it is in the single digests! So PRAY, PRAY, PRAY !

As some of you know, KC and I have some interesting ‘characters’ in our family and surprisingly I was only confronted by a few of them on Thanksgiving about the adoption. So needless to say it was a great day! I am posting some pictures of the day. Olivia finally got to meet my Granny. She is my dad’s mother and she turned 99 this year. We truly are blessed to still have her in our lives. She is full of so much spunk and wisdom.




So while we didn’t get our referral there is still SO much to be thankful for this year.

There is also a picture of me and my brothers and sisters with our Granny. Then the one at the top of the post is of everyone in my family, as in brothers, sisters, and their families – so not including aunts, uncles or cousins.



until later -

j.w. godwin

Being thankful...

As we all get ready to start one of the most wonderful times of the year there are SO many things that each of us could be thankful for. Just in the last year KC and I have been blessed with Olivia Claire, we have dealt with some tough times, some good times, and yet we all still have the things that are really the important things in life - our health, our family and our faith.

This afternoon after I got off work KC and I rushed to church to try to get there in time to help one of our friends with her "project." Stephanie is in charge of the Operation Christmas Child drop off center that has been assigned at our church. It isn't just the drop off center for our church though, it is for all of the churches in the area. She is doing an AMAZING job! But as I walked into the church tonight I was taken back by how many boxes there were. I stood and looked at the hundreds of boxes still empty that will be filled later this week and it made me realize that each of those big boxes can hold fourteen 'shoe boxes' inside of them. That is a TON of presents. Just think, every one of those tiny shoe boxes will be handed to a child somewhere in the world for Christmas. For most of them this will be the only thing that they receive and how simple it is. KC and I put together a few boxes and it only cost about $15.00 per box. $15.00 is going to give some kid the most awesome gift they have gotten all year. I guess standing next to a few empty boxes really couldn't register with you, unless you then realize that all of those boxes are waiting to be filled to help Santa out with all of his deliveries.

So this year as we all get ready to spend time with our families and be thankful for everything that we have all been so blessed with, remember those who aren't as luck as us.

Also, one prayer that KC and I have been praying is that we receive our referral by Thanksgiving. We know that it is only about a week away, and the possibility of that happening is very low. We have recently had some people even tell us not to get our hopes up, and we understand that... but through Jesus Christ anything is possible, and if you don't believe that, read the post before this one.

Every year at Thanksgiving we stand in a HUGE circle at my parents house and hold hands to pray before we eat. Before we do so we all have an opportunity to tell the entire family any 'news' that we may have. We usually have someone saying that they are either getting married or are pregnant or whatever. Well this year KC and I want to 'introduce' our newest daughter to her new family through a picture. When we told a few people that we were adopting it spread like wild fire, so they all already know that, but we think it would help make it more 'real' for everyone if we had a picture of Zoe rather than just an idea of a person.

So over the next week, when you take a moment to thank God for all that you have been thankful for, if you have any free time ask him if it is possible for us to meet our daughter soon... even if it is just in a picture. That truly would make this Thanksgiving even more to be thankful for.

until later -

j.w. godwin

Prayers answered !

The post before this one was about a couple here in town who is adopting a baby girl from Uganda - Amelia. They were the first couple that KC and I met and talked to at Saint James UMC and by meeting them we finally had the courage to take our leap of faith to adopt. Well on behalf of them to all of you who prayed for them – THANK YOU ! Rachel sent me this message earlier today and I have to share it.

“Four years ago, God whispered to my heart that I would have children who did not come from my body… and He placed within me an unquenchable love for my future babies.
Our daughter Caroline came the old fashioned way… our sweet surprise! Then in 2009, we answered God’s calling by beginning our process to bring Amelia home. Nearly two years, 57 photographs, and five major adoption delays later, we realize that this adoption is in God’s control, and that only His miraculous hands can bring our daughter home.
Make no mistake. Amelia is already our daughter, even if it is not yet the case legally. God planned her for us since the foundations of the earth. While untold obstacles continue to stand in the way of our getting to her, we KNOW that God has already won the victory. The body of Christ is coming together in prayer now, and miracles are already happening.
God has a special heart for adoption. Over two hundred years ago, Jesus laid down His life to pay the costly fee for our own adoption into the family of God. Our Father knows and loves the beauty of adoption. He longs for us to come to Him in the same way that our family longs for Amelia to come home to us. He will be victorious.
Please be a part of the miracle. Please be blessed to join us in praying, fasting, and fighting spiritual warfare for our precious Amelia. Join the fight, and see God move mountains. We know that God wants others to see His beauty and might through Amelia’s story. Please cry out to God with us, and we will all watch in awe as our Mighty Savior moves.”

Rachel also sent a message to several of us this morning and it said –
“Our Ugandan attorney called to ask if we'd like him to file our case. We said YES!!!! Here is how you can continue to pray! Please see specific prayer requests below:
1.) That our official documents arrive in Uganda through the mail system at WARP speed.
ANSWERED! God TRULY used "warp speed"!!
2.) That our Ugandan attorney feel an URGENCY for our case and attempt to file as soon as he has our documents.
Sounds like this is being answered, please pray that he follows through!!!
3.) That the courts are still accepting new cases once our documents arrive, even though it will be close to the holidays.
4.) That we are miraculously granted a court date and are able to travel AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, hopefully December!!!”

So there we have it people. We need to start at steps 2 and go through 4. Most of you are in the same boat as KC and I - you are adopting a baby and that is one of the reasons you read our blog. Well one thing that KC and I have learned through our adoption process is that we are all here for each other, even people we have never met. As brothers and sisters in Christ it is our responsibility at moments like this to pray for others and help them through their “tough” moments. People who aren’t adopting sometimes have a difficult time understanding how emotional it can be to know that you have a baby somewhere out there and there is nothing you can do to get to him or her home any quicker. TRUST me – if there were any way Amelia and Zoe Grace would both already be home. I am reminded of Matthew 25:35-40 that says – “35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Even though we all may not know each other, we all have a common bond. We are to help those least among us, as well as those we don't even know. Thank you ALL for your prayers for Rachel and Brad as well as for KC and I. We ALL appreciate them so much – and keep them coming.


Zoe Grace update: I am working on a post about that, I just had to go ahead and put this one up today so that everyone could celebrate with us their good news! More about Zoe to follow…

until later -

j.w. godwin

Prayers needed!

Attention to all friends and family -

We have some very close friends who are adopting a little girl from a different country. They were referred their sweet baby girl back this summer and you could tell the moment that they saw her precious face that she was their child and they had a parents heart for her. They have been going through so much in their process and keep getting "pushed back." They continue to stay strong and show what a "true" parents strength is like. Their love for their child is just as strong as if she was a biological child.

Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. As KC & I wait for our picture of Zoe, I couldn't imagine getting a picture of her and then not being able to go get her! Talk about a heart ache!

So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. It has to be tough, but we know that God is and will continue to help them and their baby.

Until later -
j.w. godwin