Q&A Adoption Update

Alrighty, I’m back! I’ve been spending all my free time in gamblers anonymous after returning from Vegas! Those penny slots, which are terribly named by the way, are quite addictive! Totally kidding, y’all! I hate gambling! I stopped while I was a whopping $5.00 ahead... oh wait, no, I think I was actually $5.00 down. Oh well.

But seriously, you guys should just come to expect large gaps between posts by now. I mean lets just be open and honest here... I stink at this pretty bad. So, savor this post as you read it. You never know how long it will have to hold you over for!

We are ready for Christmas in the Ogden house! Hooray! I guess we should be since it is indeed Christmas Eve! Yikes! Where has this year gone?

We took a different route this year in regard to presents (thanks to the suggestion of my friend Jenny) and it has been WAY less stressful for me! I think we have found a new family tradition! Maybe I will post about our traditions on Wednesday as my children recover from their sugar highs and wrapping paper cuts. I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays, too. :)

I posted a FB status the other day that mentioned our adoption, and judging by some of the “Wow! I had no idea!”s that I got, I figured I should post an adoption update despite the discouraging fact that not much as changed. I have been working diligently on my autobiography for our home study and I finished it Friday. To be completely honest, I’m having some withdraws from answering probing questions, so I thought I would do the update via a Q&A post. 

Some of these questions people have actually asked, some we’ve asked ourselves and some we assume people are wondering but just don’t ask. You’d probably be surprised which are which. For the record, I’m ok with people asking me questions as long as it’s not something that will harm my children (they definitely listen). I know there’s been a lot of hype about “%@*& people say to adoptive parents” floating around in the adoptive-mom-blogosphere, but, as of 12/24/2012, I am not easily offended by questions and comments... ask me again in about three years. 

Enjoy your update and answers...

You’re adopting? I had no idea! Yes, we are indeed adopting. We shared our decision with family and friends back in September. We are adopting two little girls. Currently, we’re in the first portion of the process called the home study. This is basically an application to be parents... even though we already are. The home study will probably take about 8-10 weeks. We have our first visit or meeting with Lifeline (the agency doing our home study) on January 15th! Yay for some progress!

What made you choose to adopt? Long story short, God. He began to lay adoption on our hearts back in 2009 when he showed us how we, as Christians, have been adopted. We feel adoption is a beautiful example of the gospel that is near and dear to the heart of God. 

Are you adopting domestically or internationally? Why? We are adopting internationally from [country in Asia]. We chose [country in Asia] because we wanted to adopt from a country where the gospel is not free to be preached. 

Aren’t there like a ton of kids here that need homes, too? Yes, there is a heartbreaking amount of orphans in the USA, but we feel that God is calling us to adopt from [country in Asia]. We are not against domestic adoption and who knows, God may call us to adopt domestically one day, but today, He’s calling us to adopt from [country in Asia]. 

Will they be sisters? Yes, they will be biological sisters. [Country in Asia] will not allow you to adopt two unrelated children at the same time! This was kind of a “BOO!” for me because I kind of see it as a probable delay in referral, but God has our girls picked out and it will be a perfect match at the perfect time.

Why don’t you become foster parents first to “try it out”? I didn’t know you could “try kids out” but at this point in our life, we don’t feel called to be foster parents... we feel called to be adoptive parents. I will say however, that God has really been working on my heart about fostering and state adoptions. So maybe one day we will “try some out.” Grrr.

How much is it going to cost? Ummm including travel, it’s going to be around $50,000 total. 

Why is it so dang expensive? I used to get huffy about this myself before we started this process. I thought, “Why does it cost so much money! If it were cheaper, then more kids would probably be adopted!” That’s a logically thought process, but honestly, the $$ is pretty legit. There are agency fees, government fees, country fees, travel expenses and a ton of little random things... it just adds up.

So you just make a load of money and have that all saved up? No, we definitely don’t make a load of money (and we aren’t good enough at chemistry to raise it Breaking Bad style either) and we certainly don’t have stacks of $$ resting sweetly in a savings account. As much as the cheapo in me wishes it wouldn’t cost so much, I kind of feel like it’s a required part of the journey for our personal growth. As a control freak, this is hard, but we have to trust that God will provide what we need. We have seen His provision already and it’s truly amazing. So far, we’ve raised over $3,000.

But you don’t have a have a big enough house or car for four kids! Our house is definitely smaller than I would prefer, but we feel that this is where we need to be for the time being. We will likely look for something bigger shortly after the girls come home. And a swagger wagon is definitely in my future. The Cube will be making it’s exit probably around this time next year. 

Why don’t you just sponsor a bunch of kids or buy an orphanage with all that money? Well, I think those are great things to do, but God has called us to adopt. *Smiles ever so sweetly*

So how long does it take? TOO STINKIN LONG! We really don’t know how long it will take, but our guess is it will be another 18-24 months. Bleh! Actually, [country in Asia] isn’t even taking international adoption applications at the moment because of backlog and probably won’t start up again until after February. We aren’t sure how or if this will effect our timeline yet.

Do you know who your girls are yet? No, we won’t likely get a referral for a while.

What do your kids think? I think Asher is pretty blissfully ignorant about the whole situation, but Brayden is pretty open to the adoption. After all, he was the one who prayed for a sister for weeks on end. Now he prays for his sisters. He asks questions sometimes. We talk about it on a fairly regular basis.

Do you really want more kids? Like 100% more? Well, had you asked me that a few years ago, I would have quickly said, “No way! Are you crazy? I don’t want to be out numbered! Two is plenty enough!!” It’s funny how our plans don’t always match up with God’s plans and it’s also funny how he can change your wants. Of course the thought of four kids is slightly terrifying when I consider how the wine section calls me by name when I take only TWO children to the grocery store by myself. I ask God quite often, “Are you sure about this?” He hasn’t said, “Just kidding!” yet.

Don’t you have enough on your plate right now? Ummmm yes, yes I do have enough on my plate, but I also have two little girls who need to come home. So what’s your point?

Won’t you get a lot of stares, comments and questions since the girls won’t look like you? They won’t look like me? :) Yes, I totally expect the stares and Qs. I’m sure they will get annoying, but that’s just part of the deal.

Are you adopting special needs children? I think a sibling group is technically considered “special needs” but yes, we are open to some special needs. 

How old will they be? When we first started talking about adoption I had a cute little one year old (note the singular form) pictured in my head, but now, I’m guessing our girls will be somewhere close to our boys ages. We really want Brayden to remain the eldest child, so that means they will be younger than six.

So do you have to go there to get them? Yes, one parent must travel once to India and stay for about 1-2 weeks. We will both go, though. 

Aren’t you worried they will have, you know, emotional issues? I would LOVE for things to go smoothly and never have any “issues” but I’m preparing myself for the worst regarding the transition period. Thankfully I have several adoptive friends who go before me, and I know they will be wonderful resources of wisdom and encouragement. Selfishly, I don’t want my children to have any issues of trauma, neglect or abuse, but I know that God has already chosen the perfect children for our family... no matter what that looks like. He will be our strength... that’s where my hope lies.

Don’t you worry that you won’t love them like your “real” kids? First off, I think the “real kids” term is probably going to be the one thing that does bother me. Our girls WILL be our REAL kids. They are just as much really ours as our boys are! I have absolutely no worry at all that I will love my girls with the same unconditional, motherly love as I have for my boys. I know this because God has already began to grow this love for them in my heart despite the fact we have yet to even see their faces. 

Don’t you think this is unfair to your “real” kids? I mean this is really going to affect them!  My “real” kids already think life is unfair, but honestly, I think this is the best thing for our boys. I just have to trust the hearts of our boys to the Lord.

There seem to be a lot of people in your church adopting, is that why you’re adopting? Well, as I said before, we felt God calling us to adoption back in 2009. Then, we only knew two families who had adopted. I will say that I think seeing the support of our church for adoption was definitely encouraging, but we are simply being obedient. I wish more people, in more churches, all over our city would be obedient. 

Can we ask any other questions we may have? Sure! Why not!

Well y’all, that is it for now. I have laundry to do. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your families! If you think about it, pray for our girls... that God would send his angels to comfort them, that they would not hurt or go hungry, that wherever they are they would not be lonely, that God would whisper in their ears that their family loves them. 

Until next time! -K

Confessions

We aren’t going to church this beautiful Sunday morning (I’ll explain), so I felt the intense urge to embrace the Catholic ritual of confession. Instead of a dimly lit, private confessional, I’m using the internet. That’s just as private, right? 

Here’s my confession: I am a terrible, awful, down right rotten mommy-nurse! 

Seriously, y’all, it’s bad! If by some crazy spoof I was in the running for “Mother of the Year” award, I’m officially disqualified now that the stomach bug has found our little house. Let me paint you a picture...

Thursday night, we all went to bed happy and healthy. I was looking forward to not having to run out the door to take Asher to school and actually being able to get some stuff done around the house.

Friday morning I am awakened by the sweet sound of, “Mommy! MOMMY! My belly hurts!”  I drag myself out of bed and fuss for Asher to go to the bathroom and go back to bed. He obeys and then, of course, starts throwing up IN his bed. Vomit and bedding... my favorite combination!

I’m usually not a squeamish person, BUT I. do. not. do. vomit. well. Guess who is the only person in our house capable of cleaning up vomit. Yep, you nailed it, ME! You so smart!

When there is vomit involved, I am not nice. For some reason, it’s like I’m personally offended by the vomit. I know they don’t do it on purpose and in fact cannot help it at all, but try to tell my stomach that! And I know I should be sympathetic and sweet, but y’all... it’s vomit. Immediately, my face goes into involuntary “this is totally disgusting” mode, I’m holding back my own vomit and “Ughhhhh... bleh... Ewwww!” is slipping out between held breaths. Clean up cannot go fast enough and people cannot get far enough out of the way. If it's covered in vomit, washable and cost less than $15 it's probably going in the trash. 

Once I do get it cleaned up, I know I should go snuggle in close to my sick child and kiss their sweaty head while they continue to deposit last night’s partially digested dinner into the toilet, but my senses are being assaulted and apparently my senses are cowards. The most I can muster is a back rub with an outstretched arm. My affectionate word choices include, “Are you done, baby?” and “Do you feel better now?” Internally, these are pleading prayers for a end to the nastiness. 

After the first episode of upchuck, I am anxiously awaiting the next, because it’s rarely just one... that would be too easy. I watch the culprit patient very carefully for any sign of impending sickness. If they open their mouth for more than 2 seconds I am sprinting across the room with a bowl and frantically asking, “Do you feel like you’re going to be sick again?” Avoiding vomit clean up at all costs is vital!

So, Asher had the bug all day Friday. He got very efficient at using the provided bowl. I love my Pampered Chef mixing bowls by the way... maybe this one a tad bit less now though. For the record I did not make him sleep on the floor. That was his choice. 

Last night and today was Brayden’s time to shine. Lance went to a friends house last night for some bearded buddy time, so I took the boys to Burger King for an ice cream cone, because they are good and they are 69 cents. 

Immediately upon finishing his ice cream, like not even 30 seconds after his last bite, Brayden said his belly hurt. We have a bit of a “boy who cried wolf” situation with Brayden and belly aches. He usually gets them when we are asking him to finish his meal and they magically go away when people mention dessert. So my oh so sympathetic reply was, “Reeeeally?!?!” He said it really hurt so we headed home. I put the boys in bed and Brayden started screaming that his belly hurt bad. 

Now, you have to understand something else about Brayden. He acts like you are ripping his fingernails off when you try to cut them and if he falls and scrapes his knee you would think he was in need of a knee replacement. If “dramatic” started with an “e” it would have been his middle name (all the men in Lance’s family have “e” middle names). I’m not sure what we did as parents to encourage this behavior, but whatever it is, DON’T DO IT!

Rational conversation is completely pointless when he is like this. I ask him, “How bad does your belly hurt?” and he replies, “I CAN’T SAY HOW BAD IT HURTS. ONLY ME KNOWS BECAUSE IT’S MY BELLY.” Alrighty then! That was helpful. I ask, “Do I need to take you to see a doctor, baby?” and he says, “NO!! I AM NOT GOING TO THE DOCTOR... Will they give me a shot? AHHHHHHHHHH!! I WANT DADDY! PLEASE CALL DADDY!” No problem! Gladly! This screaming went off and on for about an hour. Somewhere around 9:30pm Brayden went to the bathroom, and let’s just say we finally understood why his belly hurt so bad. I knew what was probably coming next... it showed up around 3:00am. Vomit. Then again around 7:00am and this time it was all in the bed. Perfect! Two for Two!

After repeating the clean up scenario from Friday with a few more gags and ill tempered word blurts, I announced that we were out of Ginger Ale and sacrificially volunteered to get dressed and go to the store. I mean somebody has to do the hard stuff right? 

Brayden has had it a bit worse than Asher, but he’s actually handled it like a champ. He hasn’t complained too much about throwing up. He did, however, scream like a banshee when his brother dropped a book on his forehead shortly after this picture was taken...

So that’s my confession. I do not have the “good nurse-mommy gene” and I’m not quite sure how to acquire it. For the record I also lack the “good nurse-wife gene” either, so this nasty little bug better be done with this house. Just Sayin!

Until next time! -K 

Post-Election Day Thoughts for Christians

Well, it’s Post-Election Day! The internet and the television are in a frenzy about the outcome of this presidential election. I thought I would add my two cents for those of you who care enough to read it. Nothing ugly, I promise!

I vote, and I vote conservatively. I choose to vote this way for many reasons... I choose to vote on behalf of the unborn. I choose to vote in favor of less government bureaucracy not more. I choose to vote for biblical marriage. I choose to vote for less taxation and more responsible spending. 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I probably did not vote to re-elect the President. For several months, I’ve had a feeling that the President would remain in the White House, but that didn’t make me any less disappointed with the outcome of the election.

This morning, as I laid in bed thinking about things, I heard a simple question in my head, “What would you have said out loud in that moment had the election gone the way you had hoped?” It didn’t take me very long to reply inwardly, “I would have said, ‘Praise the Lord!’” Then another simple question popped up, “Why wouldn’t you still say that regardless of the outcome?” Oooooooooo, yowzers!

The truth of the matter is, as Christians, we SHOULD praise Him in every situation! I have continually heard people say, “God is in control,” “Jesus is still King,” etc. Yes, he most definitely is in control, and of course he is still King, but are we actively praising him for it regardless of whether we are satisfied or disappointed with our circumstances? 

I was sorely convicted before my feet had even touched the ground! Once I got up, I found this short Psalm. What a wonderful confirmation of what SHOULD be overflowing from my soul!

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Can anyone else say, “WOW!”? I mean how appropriate is that? Praise the Lord!

Until next time! -K

N-O-V-E-M-B-E-R

I guess I took a bit of a break from blogging. Sorry. :) I wish I was better at posting more frequently, but sometimes it just ain’t happenin. 

I hope you guys had a great October, and hopefully none of your children went into a sugar coma! That month went by crazy fast, right? It will be Christmas before we can blink an eye. 

I thought I would be ubber cheesy today and do an acronym for November. So this is a random thoughts post since I am just going to make stuff up to fit the acronym. That’s what people do right? 

N - November (I think using the acronym word in the acronym is a no-no but deal with it!) is Adoption Awareness Month. 

We don’t have much of an update on our own adoption other than we are getting closer to starting our home study. I’m really praying we can start earlier than January. 

I never had the pleasure or pain of “trying” to have a baby. Both of my boys were sweet surprises. However, the last few days I have felt what I imagine may be similar to the pain of a woman with a barren womb. I want so badly to have my girls... to love them and care for them. I see other adoptive moms who have faces to match with the love they feel in their hearts, and I feel very barren. I would never have dreamed that I would have this longing for two children who have no blood relation to me and who live on the other side of the world. I know that this process will take a long time and in God’s perfect timing I will have those faces, but oh it’s so hard for this impatient momma to wait... and we've only just begun. 

So, in the mean time I read a ton of articles/blogs and watch a ton of YouTube videos about adoption, [country in Asia], adoption stories, interracial families, etc. 

Here is one I found this morning. I cried. So sweet!

O - Obama... no, totally kidding. I’m not going there. However, I read an old puritan quote by John Newton that came in my Grace Gems email. 

“The whole system of my politics is summed up in this one verse, ‘The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble!’ Psalm 99:1”

Amen!

V - Veggies are my BEST FRIENDS for the next 10 days. I started an AdvoCare herbal cleanse today, because over the last month I have been a sugar whore and have said yes to any sweet that crossed my path... and I liked it way too much. Soooo nothing like a good cleanse to trim that waistline and feel cleaner. Wish me luck! 

Oh and “V” is for Vegas, too! I am heading to Vegas this month with a few friends to photograph a huge travel agent convention. This is my first trip to Vegas, so I’m excited. I’m not a big gambler, so no body needs to worry that I am going to gamble away all of our adoption funds. :) But how stinkin cool would it be if I played a slot one time and won $50,000! I would be the crazy girl screaming, “Oh, PRAISE JESUS!”

E - Eggheads... that’s who we have driving on the roads in Columbus, GA! During rush hour yesterday, we about died on the interstate because the people in front of us decided it made perfect sense to slam on breaks in the middle lane because people in the right lane were exiting. I'm going to move on before I sin...

M - Moving again! It seems as if we are playing musical houses! Yes, we found out that we CAN stay in the house we own, but after talking it over, we agreed that we probably needed to move back to the house that Lance’s dad owns and sell ours. It would give us double the space and double the bathrooms (we only have one here). I REALLY do not want to move, but we think it’s the best option right now. We are praying that our house will sell quickly this time around. 

B - Beards are manly and sexy... unless they are gross. I love Lance’s beard. It’s “No Shave November” and so all these normally clean-shaven men are attempting to grow beards. There is no attempting for Lance... his is good to go. I did ask him to trim it down a while back. We had been watching "Eureka" (awesome show by the way) and the character Nathan had a closely trimmed beard. I liked it... on him... not on Lance. So, he grew it back out. Much better. 

E - Every preschool class must go to the Pumpkin Patch. Asher’s class was no exception. He is so cute and sweet. I love my boys!

R - Reading is for people who have lots of free time... I am not one of those people, but I wish I were so I could finish some books. I’ve been reading the “Game of Thrones” books thanks to our friend Brandon. The first one was great and I’m enjoying the second one, but I just cannot find the time to read that dang book! I’m about halfway through. 

I also started reading a parenting book by John Rosemond called “Family of Value". I've only gotten through the first chapter, but so far I agree with it. Don’t ask me what it was about... I don’t recall now... I just know I agreed. 

Then of course I really want to read my Bible more... I need the Lord to give me discipline regarding this. I’ve been doing a Bible study on the book of James with a group of ladies at our church and that has been great... when I get to go. This was a verse that stood out to me big time in James:

Can anyone else say, “Ouch!”?

Well, y’all. This is where I have to say goodbye and go clean my house. I’ve got a sink full of dishes and about 150 crushed CoCo Puffs on the kitchen floor. I’ll stop the description there.

Until next time! - K

A Letter To Kristian

Today, friends, is not mine and Lance’s 8th wedding anniversary but Tuesday was. I’m late posting because we have been traveling through Europe, walking along cobble stone streets, sipping decadent coffee together and forgetting we are Georgians. Well, not really, but a girl can dream right? We didn't go to Europe but we did watch the sunset from the top of a parking garage while we drank coffee and ate donuts. Same thing, don't you think?

You know how they say you love each other more as the years pass? Well, it’s true, but I think that’s because every year you get more and more “okay” with the things that drive you crazy. I’m kidding. These last eight years have been a journey worth taking. I love my man and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us!

When you were in grade school, did your teacher ever make you write a letter to yourself in the future? I had to do that in middle school and I received the letter the year I graduated high school. I thought it was pretty cool, but for some reason I really worried about those kids who moved away and never got their letters. It still bugs me even now. Yes, I’m completely aware that I’m weird. 

Today, I’m going to reverse that idea. I decided I would write a letter to my pre-marriage self. I wonder what it would have effected had I actually gotten this letter... probably a great deal since it would likely have gotten me admitted into the mental hospital. “Hey y’all! Look at this letter I got from eight years in the future!”

Dear pre-marriage Kristian,

Don't freak out, but it's me/you writing you from 8 years in the future. Looks like it’s a couple of weeks before you say your vows to Lance... before God and man. You’re probably busy being concerned about the reception decor and the tuxedos you have to reorder. Oh, that hasn’t come up yet? Well, it will, and you will cry big tears, but it will be okay. However, I should warn you, first off, that Ava Maria is a REALLY long song, and you may want to consider cutting out a few verses. Second, you should prepare your control freak self for the fact that one of your flower girls will not go down the aisle, so your perfect symmetry is going to go out the window. Third, you may want to eat some food the morning of your wedding, because you won’t eat much at the reception or afterward.

Also, you should probably sit down with your vows and really think about them. You will be promising to “honor and obey” your husband. Remember how, according to your marriage counseling, he’s an “otter” and you’re a “lion”? Yeah, honoring and obeying is not going to come easy for you. It's going to be something you have to work on... for the rest of your marriage. I know you think this isn’t really a big deal, but it is. This will rage a war against you on the inside... you must learn to tame the lion and the lion’s tongue!

Oh, and you know how you think you don’t want kids? Ha! That’s just so hilarious, because you’re going to have two boys. Neither of them will be planned. They are going to drive you absolutely insane and yet you are going to love them so completely. But wait, I’m not done with the kid thing! You’re going to adopt two more kids! Yep, no kidding! And get this, they will be GIRLS! Gasp! You, yes you! So have fun with that. Nope, birth control will not save you... that’s what is so funny. :) Oh and Brayden is six so you do the math!

I’m just going to tell you now, you are NOT your mother. You are not a “June Cleaver” you are a “Frankie Heck”! I wish I could say that you get better as the years go along but, so far, that has not been true. You will have way too much stuff and clutter and you will hate it. You will have a constant mound of laundry in multiple places in your house. You will one day have stuff in more than one house! I’m hoping one day you will become more disciplined and organized, but I haven’t gotten a letter from far future Kristian yet and I have my doubts.

You will learn a great deal over the course of the next eight years. You will come to realize the importance of finding your sufficiency in Christ alone... not in your husband or anything else. You will learn the hard consequences of sin that you are unaware of right now. You will discover what grace and mercy truly is and you will learn that you must give grace and mercy because it was first given to you. Many years from now, you will learn that you are not in control and never will be... this will be a hard and ongoing lesson. You will learn so many things about Lance and one of those things is that he is not a mind reader. You will both BEGIN to learn how to communicate with each other, but that is also a hard and ongoing lesson.

You will learn a lot of little things over the next eight years. You will learn that laundry has to be rewashed twice if you let it sour in the washing machine. You will learn not to let your kids eat in the living room. You will learn what household cleaners kill ants on contact. You will learn that you will never be able to make a bed like your mother does and you will be okay with that. You will learn that water just doesn’t cut it on your son’s morning hair. You will learn that Lance will NOT ever learn to put his socks anywhere besides the floor next to your bed. You will learn that you completely stink at buy cars. You will learn the importance of not having debt. You will learn that Lance takes longer showers than you do. You will learn how to stop your husband from snoring. You will learn to cook and you actually won’t be half bad at it. Oh, the things you will learn... the list is endless.

There will be good times and there will be bad times. You will laugh so hard you cry and you will cry so hard you vomit. There will be times that you cannot get close enough to him and there will be times that you cannot get far enough away. You will experience just about every emotion possible. I cannot prepare you for everything... some things must simply be lived through. Rest assured though, you will cherish the good as well as the bad. All your experiences will be like the very ring he will place on your finger as a symbol of your devotion... precious gold forged in the fire decorated with beautiful diamonds created under tremendous pressure.

Kristian, marriage is hard, it’s complicated but it is a wonderful adventure. You will love this man and there will be no words that can describe that love. Marriage was not designed by this world... it was designed by the Creator of the universe to mirror His own love for His people... His bride. One day you will see this and you will understand that God created you and He created Lance and He united you together for His glory and your joy. This one truth will become a catalyst for your love for each other.

So, in couple of weeks, when those doors open and your father walks you down the aisle toward that handsome, blue eyed, dark haired boy, know that you are in for WAY more than you bargained for and it will be WAY better than you can possibly imagine. Enjoy the journey.

Love,

Future You

Until next time! -K

Be A Part Of The Story!

You should totally be doing a little dance right now because #1 it is Saturday and #2 I actually did what I said I was going to do and posted a new blog this weekend! And just because I can, I will sprinkle this post with cuteness for your pure enjoyment. :)

I shared with you in my last post how I planned to used Kristian Ogden Photography to help raise funds for our adoption. Beginning October 1st, all proceeds from my portrait sessions will go toward bringing our little girls home. 

I’m hoping that we can partner with a new non-profit organization called Clement Arts in the near future, but we are still working out what that relationship will look like, so I am starting things off this way for now.

Normally, when clients choose to do a portrait session with Kristian Ogden Photography, they are charged a session fee ($150-$225) and then they purchase print products afterward. In the past I have charged $50 for a single digital image. What I’m getting at is these new package prices are greatly discounted. I truly hope this not only helps us raise funds but also helps bless other families.

The Session Packages are for newborn sessions, baby/toddler sessions, children sessions, family sessions and couple’s sessions. I still do not shoot weddings or high school seniors. Here are the packages:

$300

-30-45 minute session

-10 digital negatives

$500

-1 hour session

-20 digital negatives

$750

-2-3 hour session (great for newborn)

-25 digital negatives

$900

-2-3 hour session (great for newborn)

-25 digital negatives in both color and black &white (50 total)

Of course there are plenty more details on my website HERE.

Please consider helping support us in this way, and if you know anyone else who is looking for a portrait photographer, pass this info along. When you support our adoption, you become part of our little girls’ story. That means a lot to us!

I do want to say that if you have a photographer already, PLEASE don’t take your regular business away from them. I have  a lot of photographer friends in the area, and the last thing I want is for this fund raising effort to have a negative impact on their business.

If you have any questions about the photography or how you can help bring our girls home in other ways, please feel free to email me at krisogden@hotmail.com. 

Until Next time! -K