June 1:
We are online with LDS Family Services FINALLY!
April 1, 2012:
We are online with LDS Family Services FINALLY!
April 1, 2012:
This it the letter to birth mothers that we have written:
Dear Friend,
It's both exciting and amazing to consider that a simple letter will start a chain of events leading to a new and beautiful child in our midst , along with the life-long friendship of a brave and loving mother. Thank you for taking a minute to consider our family. Please know that we are prayerfully looking for you, as we know you are prayerfully looking for the best family for your child. We are so excited to discover our birth mom, and hope you can sense who we are as a family who anxiously awaits our miracle . . .
Who we are:
My name is Andrea, I’m 30 years old, and I grew up in Rexburg, Idaho. Brad is 32 years old, and grew up in Calgary, Canada- he’s a Canuck! Logan is our 7 year-old boy, and Austin is our 2-year old boy, running closely behind his brother wherever he goes. Brad and I met, dated, and married while attending BYU-Idaho. We were married in the Idaho Falls, Idaho temple. We have been married for 11 years and been through a lot of adventures as a family. And here we are on another one!
Why we are adopting:
We KNOW that there is another child who is supposed to be in our family. We also know that Andrea can’t have any more biological children due to pelvic problems experienced in her pregnancy. After praying, fasting, and searching for an answer as to how we would grow our family, we now know that we will find our baby through adoption. The boys are so excited for a brother or sister! Ann and I are trying to be patient as the nursery, toys, and clothes sit clean and ready for a new little one. We know that this journey is requiring faith from us as well as from our birth mom. So we wait, dream, pray, and try to build on that faith.
Andrea (written by Brad):
Andrea is a very expressive, affectionate girl. She cares a lot about how other people feel, and goes out of her way to help anyone that she can. Andrea is the girl that organizes the party and leads the group. Her friends and family come to her when they need help or support. She’s the girl that walks up to the stranger just to talk, or holds the lady’s baby in the grocery line so that she can pay. Andrea loves being a mother, and fulfills her duties to the very best of her abilities. She loves to take the boys outside and teach them about the world around them. She loves to garden and grow flowers. Ann plays the piano, the violin, and sings. She also loves to dance, work out, ski, wakeboard, and be outdoors. She is disciplined and very motivated. Most of all, Andrea is committed to serving the Lord. She maintains a close relationship with her Heavenly Father and has spent her entire life trying do what’s right.
Brad (written by Andrea):
Brad is a very smart, hard-working man. He is patient, calm, and a total visionary. He dreams so big, and usually makes it all happen! Brad has a way about him that makes people feel very safe and comfortable. People often come to him for advice, and seem to always want to be around him because of his loyalty and skill for listening. Brad knows how to work really hard, but he’s also really good at starting the party. He is big on spontaneity and creativity. He loves to go for rides on his Harley, or anything else that goes abnormally fast. He is a very skilled snow skier, water skier, wake boarder, hockey player, and golfer. He loves motivating and teaching other people, especially the youth. He is a busy dad, trying to coach all of Logan’s sports teams and taking the boys out for guy’s nights on the weekends. His favorite time of the week (and ours too) is getting home at the end of his crazy work day and church duties to just relax with me and the boys. The boys are very possessive of their time with dad and wait for him to show up at the door with their cars, balls, and school projects ready to throw in his face! Brad is really good at figuring out new ideas for parenting the boys and teaching those “life-lessons” that he learned from his Father at a similar age. He is a consistent influence to them every day, and is also a great teammate for me with respect to following through and parenting our growing boys.
It's both exciting and amazing to consider that a simple letter will start a chain of events leading to a new and beautiful child in our midst , along with the life-long friendship of a brave and loving mother. Thank you for taking a minute to consider our family. Please know that we are prayerfully looking for you, as we know you are prayerfully looking for the best family for your child. We are so excited to discover our birth mom, and hope you can sense who we are as a family who anxiously awaits our miracle . . .
Who we are:
My name is Andrea, I’m 30 years old, and I grew up in Rexburg, Idaho. Brad is 32 years old, and grew up in Calgary, Canada- he’s a Canuck! Logan is our 7 year-old boy, and Austin is our 2-year old boy, running closely behind his brother wherever he goes. Brad and I met, dated, and married while attending BYU-Idaho. We were married in the Idaho Falls, Idaho temple. We have been married for 11 years and been through a lot of adventures as a family. And here we are on another one!
Why we are adopting:
We KNOW that there is another child who is supposed to be in our family. We also know that Andrea can’t have any more biological children due to pelvic problems experienced in her pregnancy. After praying, fasting, and searching for an answer as to how we would grow our family, we now know that we will find our baby through adoption. The boys are so excited for a brother or sister! Ann and I are trying to be patient as the nursery, toys, and clothes sit clean and ready for a new little one. We know that this journey is requiring faith from us as well as from our birth mom. So we wait, dream, pray, and try to build on that faith.
Andrea (written by Brad):
Andrea is a very expressive, affectionate girl. She cares a lot about how other people feel, and goes out of her way to help anyone that she can. Andrea is the girl that organizes the party and leads the group. Her friends and family come to her when they need help or support. She’s the girl that walks up to the stranger just to talk, or holds the lady’s baby in the grocery line so that she can pay. Andrea loves being a mother, and fulfills her duties to the very best of her abilities. She loves to take the boys outside and teach them about the world around them. She loves to garden and grow flowers. Ann plays the piano, the violin, and sings. She also loves to dance, work out, ski, wakeboard, and be outdoors. She is disciplined and very motivated. Most of all, Andrea is committed to serving the Lord. She maintains a close relationship with her Heavenly Father and has spent her entire life trying do what’s right.
Brad (written by Andrea):
Brad is a very smart, hard-working man. He is patient, calm, and a total visionary. He dreams so big, and usually makes it all happen! Brad has a way about him that makes people feel very safe and comfortable. People often come to him for advice, and seem to always want to be around him because of his loyalty and skill for listening. Brad knows how to work really hard, but he’s also really good at starting the party. He is big on spontaneity and creativity. He loves to go for rides on his Harley, or anything else that goes abnormally fast. He is a very skilled snow skier, water skier, wake boarder, hockey player, and golfer. He loves motivating and teaching other people, especially the youth. He is a busy dad, trying to coach all of Logan’s sports teams and taking the boys out for guy’s nights on the weekends. His favorite time of the week (and ours too) is getting home at the end of his crazy work day and church duties to just relax with me and the boys. The boys are very possessive of their time with dad and wait for him to show up at the door with their cars, balls, and school projects ready to throw in his face! Brad is really good at figuring out new ideas for parenting the boys and teaching those “life-lessons” that he learned from his Father at a similar age. He is a consistent influence to them every day, and is also a great teammate for me with respect to following through and parenting our growing boys.
The boys:
Logan and Austin keep us on our toes from the moment they wake up and run down the stairs demanding breakfast, until the moment their eyes close at the end of a busy day. Logan is a very intelligent little boy. He is a natural leader and loves to be the boss of little Austin. He enjoys having a house full of kids, and tells us that he wants 11 siblings! We tell him that 3 or 4 is a little more like it. My favorite thing about Logan is his passion for life. He enjoys taking piano lessons, wakeboarding, swimming, and playing on his baseball, soccer, and football teams. Austin is a silly, silly boy. He loves to make people laugh, and knows how to get everyone’s attention. He has a strong will and a very soft heart. Austin, like Logan has a special bond with his dad and demands personal time with him at bedtime. Running errands with Aussie can be quite entertaining as we watch how many smiles he brings to people’s faces.
As a family:
Brad and I spend a lot of time and energy trying to be the best parents that we can be. We have frequent talks with Logan about why we ask certain things of him as far as responsibilities in our home go as he grows. We teach the boys how to pray and feel safe, knowing that their Heavenly Father is always with them. We take a lot of time teaching the kids how to show love and respect to each other, as well as the importance of hard work and service. Logan and Austin trust us because we are consistent with them. They know that we love them unconditionally and want only the best for them.
We like to have a lot of fun! We love to travel almost as much as staying home with milkshakes and a movie. Logan loves going with us on cruises and to Hawaii. Logan and Austin love going to Disneyland and the beach. We take the kids to my parents’ house in Idaho and then Brad’s family cabin for 2 weeks every summer. We also spend 2 weeks staying with each family at Christmas time. During the summers, we go out on the boat a few times a week as a family. We love having pool parties and barbeques at the house with family and friends. Every summer, we host cousin’s camp, where all of my nieces and nephews come with my mom and sisters to spend a week with each other. It’s the most chaotic, fun 6 days of the summer!
What we want you to know the most:
We are ready for a baby in every financial and physical way. I worked with birth mothers at LDS family services during my graduate school internship, and we have also seen miracle after miracle with adoption in the lives of our friends and family. We have very strong testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We try to live it in everything we do, and it’s who we are. Our families, including parents and siblings, all support our decision to adopt. The house is ready, and our hearts are ready to love this baby that comes to us.
But REGARDLESS of everything and everyone being ready for baby, we realize that a placement won’t happen until it’s RIGHT. We know that God is at the helm of this beautiful process, and especially mindful of you and the family that will love and lead your beautiful child through life’s experience. We wish you all the best in your journey, and are cheering for you!
Love,
Brad, Andrea, Logan, and Austin Harker
E-mail us at annieharker@yahoo.com
February 3, 2012
We
went to our first FSA meeting last night! FSA (Families Supporting
Adoption) is a group of couples from the community who are hoping to
adopt or have adopted in the past. We meet every month to get educated
about options, networks, and programs that can better our chances for
finding our birth mom. The tips we got were SOOO helpful. I have to be
honest, I would have never imagined that applying for and getting
certified to adopt would ever be this intense. It's a LOT of work. Every
tiny ounce of effort will be so worth it in the end. I think that I
would be speaking for every parent in that room last night by saying
that when it comes to finding or our children, we'd all be willing to
fly to the moon and back. Twice. Brad and I need to make pass it along
cards. We need to visit with the school counselors. We also need to
spread the word on facebook and on the blogs of our family and friends.
I'm going to make a "button" this week. I need to ask Bill O'Reilly and
Anderson Cooper to announce it on Fox and CNN. Then maybe our chances
will be higher than the average waiting time of 2 years for couples with
LDS Family Services:-) You know the most amazing thing about the
entire process? We are not in control of this- not in the least bit. We
are doing our part, and the rest is entirely, and completely up to God,
and someone whom we have never met. A mother that we love already. We
just don't know where to find her.
January 16, 2012:
We are adding a
new and exciting page to our family journal, and an entirely new chapter
to our family's life! We are ready and waiting to adopt a baby! We are
registered through LDS Family Services, and also have an adoption lawyer
if a private adoption is needed. The wait to adopt can be long,
sometimes very long. We have been encouraged by our caseworker to
network and share our story with everyone that we can reach, in hopes to
find our miracle. So, I am at this moment, changing my mind from
wanting my blog to continue to be a personal record meant for only the
eyes of family and best friends, to being a vehicle and tool that helps
us find the birth mother that is looking for us. We are actively searching for her and her family, wherever she may be.
Here is our story:
For
anyone reading this post, you will know that we have two healthy,
wonderful boys. You will also know that bringing them to the earth has
brought me an interesting combination of health problems! Let me
summarize what has happened after both births. A woman's pelvis and
related ligaments stretch in order to prepare for birth. After delivery,
her joints and tissues normally resume their previous position so that
their bodies can function properly. My joints and tissues don't resume
position! They stay dangerously loose, which causes a whole host of
problems. We have experienced miracles with my full recoveries twice,
and are so grateful for the blessing of that healing! Now we are so
excited and ready for our third child, who we know is out there
somewhere. We know without any doubt through the Lord's reassuring hand
that this is the path that will lead us to our birth mom, her family,
and our baby.
Adoption has always been near to my heart, as I took
an interest in it as a young child. I studied the dynamics of adoption
in college, and fulfilled my internship at LDS Family Services, working
with and counseling birth mothers. Brad and I have discussed adoption
throughout our marriage. We explained it to Logan at an early age, and
have engaged him in our discussions regarding us moving forward with the
adoptive process. We have spent hours and hours filling out paper work,
and are waiting for our home study to come back. WAITING. That is now
what we need to become experts at. I am asking you, as friends,
family, and even strangers, to help us find the mother that is looking
for us to place her angel with. We thank you for your help and
excitement in our journey! A mother's choice to entrust her child in the
arms of another mother and father is one of the most selfless, loving
acts that a person could perform in this life. It is not without great
understanding, insight, and compassion that a mother can choose whether
raising or placing her baby with an adoptive couple is the right
decision for her child. Moving forward with the decision to place her
baby, if she is spiritually guided to do so, takes a tremendous amount
of courage and a willingness to accept heartache in order to offer the
best life for her child. Please look for the unwed pregnant mothers
around you, whether they are placing or KEEPING their child, and offer
them love and support in their trial. They need all of the support and
non-judgemental love that they can get, regardless of their decision.
All our love,
Brad, Andrea, Logan, and Austin Harker
E-mail us at annieharker@yahoo.com
