Our First Meeting

Just got out of our first meeting with Elijah. The nurse met us and was so good about explaining everything that was going on. There are many sensors, and feeds hooked up so we were a little intimidated at first, but felt reassured as she explained the function of each one, and why it had to be hooked in or taped on to our baby boy.

It took a while of just looking at him laying there to realize that this is becoming more and more real with each moment. At first he was lying on his stomach, so he was pretty still. Then the nurse turned him over and he got excited. He stretched out his arms, kicked his little legs and let out a few faint cries. In fact he set off his machine so much he woke up the baby next to him. I have a feeling he will be a fighter, and an instigator.

We were able to reach our hands in the incubator and touch him. He reached out and put his tiny fingers around my finger. Though tiny, by comparison to his hand they are very long. Meagan got to change his diaper and I got to put a crochet hat on his head. I asked Meagan if this could be the normal, she change him, I dress him, and I was assured that would not be the case.

We know that we have between 4 and 8 weeks till he will come home. The time between now and then will be spent traveling 5 and a half hours to see Elijah, getting a nursery ready for an infant, and work, school, church responsibilities.

Please continue to pray for us as we progress on this adoption journey. Long weeks are ahead but we know it will all be worth it when Eli comes home. 

Progress and Prayers

So many of you have been praying for us on our adoption journey.  For such a long time it has seemed like all we were doing was waiting, and waiting. We still wait, but with a possible light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot share any details with you at the time, but I wanted to let you know that we are progressing in our adoption process. 

What can you do? 

First of all you can keep praying. I know it's hard not knowing specifics but just pray for what we have asked from the beginning. Pray for birth moms, infants, and adoptive parents everywhere. We'll let you know when to pray more specifically for our situation.

Second we are still raising money for our adoption process. The Hopes Prayers and Lullaby CD is still on sale. If you haven't gotten one yet, or you know someone who needs one please order it soon. Go to www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin. Someone also asked if we had a direct link to make a donation. If you are interested in that let me know and we will set something up through paypal or some other form.

Third be patient. There is so much up in the air, so much we do not know. We will let you know if anything progresses as soon as we can. And that may still be several months away. 

To stay updated though make sure and follow us in one of these ways.

russellandmeagan.blogspot.com - Our Adoption Blog

facebook.com/lullabycd - The Hopes Prayers and Lullabies Facebook Page

twitter.com/rgmmusic - Russell's Twitter account

Prayers for Brooklyn

For the past many months you have been praying for Meagan and I in our adoption process. First of all I thank you so much, and hope you will continue.

I write now though to ask for prayers for another hopeful family. It is for my cousin's daughter Brooklyn. Here is her story...

A Word From Mom:

At week 20 in my pregnancy, our child was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. We were told that there was a hole in her diaphragm and that her intestines were invading her chest cavity. She would undergo surgery at birth and face many trials in order to survive. My husband and I were scared, but we clung to our faith and believed that God had placed this little girl in our lives for a reason.

Brooklyn Elizabeth Hales was born on November 28th, 2010. She was the most beautiful thing we had ever witnessed. Without a chance to hold her in my arms, she was whisked away to the NICU at Texas Children's Hospital. Hooked to tubes and wires, our little girl was struggling to hold on. Over the next few days she fell in and out of stability. Her vitals jumped up and down as the doctors worked hard to control her treatment.

We are taking it one day at a time. Brooklyn has proven herself a fighter and has already had her corrective surgery. She was put on a heart and lung bypass machine which kept her stable throughout the process. She continues to make progress and grows stronger every day. She has a long way to go, but has proven herself worthy of this battle. She has already touched the hearts of hundreds and continues to amaze us with her endurance. We are grateful for the honor to be her parents. She has taught us all to "have a little faith", and I encourage us all to learn from her journey.

Friends and family are holding a Benefit BBQ and Auction on March 5th in Lake Jackson, Texas, with all proceeds going for Brooklyn's medical expenses. If you are in the area and can stop by, that would be awesome. I am including the flyer so you have all the information.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

And Much To Do While We Wait

On May 9th Meagan and I announced that we were beginning the adoption process. Since that time we have attended a workshop to learn more about the process, I have recorded a CD to sell and raise money, we completed our home study, we assembled our profile book, we raised enough for our first payment,  and now, over 8 months later everything is submitted and hopefully soon we will be on the waiting list.

We just wanted to say thanks to all who have helped us get this far in the journey. We are no where near the end, but it is a relief to basically get step 1 behind us.

So what's next?

Next we pray and wait. We wait for whoever God has chosen to come into our lives, choose our book and give us a phone call letting us know it's time for step 2.

Until then though there is still much to do. We are still selling CDs. Hopefully there are still some people out there who would like one or more. If that's you go to forkintheroadmusic.com/purchase.

Some friends are putting together a children's clothing, furniture and toys resale fundraiser for us. So we will be busy collecting, sorting, and pricing for that.

We want to go ahead and get the nursery ready, since we do not know when we will need it. We will be moving some things around, re-arranging, painting, cleaning and working on that project too.

That's about all of an update that we have right now. Again, thanks for your prayers and support.

Russell and Meagan

Special Thanks to Indie Heaven

When I created the Lullaby CD, I had hoped to sell a few copies to help with our adoption process. So far this is going pretty much according to that plan. I recorded the CD and put it up on Indie Heaven.

Indie Heaven is a site dedicated to helping independent Christian artists. Since I had been on there for some of my other music I thought that would be a great place to put this CD.

What I did not expect though, was to receive a donation of $1000 towards our adoption process from its members. 

Here is a bit of the blog post shared by Keith Mohr, Indie Heaven President:

"After I learned more about the reason for Russell’s new CD, I prayed how Indieheaven could be of help to them, and I sensed God leading me to donate a portion of the income received from our wonderful Indieheaven members support in December. I notified Russell about the donation, and they were very grateful for the donation."

This donation has helped us to get a good start on our second payment, along with continued CD sales, a few concerts, and setting money aside.
I encourage you to go check out Indie Heaven and its various artists. There are many Christian artists, with many different styles.
Check out the top 20, listen to Indie Heaven Radio, or go vote on the Fan Faves.
Again, thank you.

The Book Has Arrived

Today we received our profile book in the mail. The book contains photos of our lives, friends, families, town and more. This will give potential birth mom's an bit of an idea if who we are. This is one of the final pieces we needed to complete stage one. Soon we will mail this off to the agency, along with the first check and some more paperwork so we can be listed as potential adoptive parents.

In other good news we did a little bit of calculating and figured out that we are half way to our second payment. This will be what we will pay when we get matched with a birth mom. The third payment is due when the process is over. Right now though we are glad to almost have the first payment and step complete.

We want to thank you all for your continued prayers. Also want to remind you that the Lullaby CD is still for sale. It makes a great gift for new or expecting mothers. www.indieheaven.com/artists/russellmartin

Thanks again!

Russell and Meagan

Dear Baby- #5 Meet Your Future Family

Dear Baby,
This past Christmas we got everyone together for a family photo.
They are all praying for you and can't wait to meet you!


- Love,
Russell and Meagan