MIKE & JEN WALDEN

Jen reminds me SO MUCH of me when we began the process to adopt! Adopting first felt very natural to me. I love this little excerpt from her blog! It's so honest…

 "Many of you who know me, know that I have talked about wanting to adopt for a long time.  I am not one of those girls who dreams of being pregnant with warm, fuzzy feelings.  Even before meeting Mike, I knew that I wanted to be a mom.  I just wasn't sure they would be my biological children.  As Mike and I have talked about what our family will look like in the future, both of our hearts have been drawn to adoption.  At Redeemer Fellowship (our church), there was a sermon about a year ago which painted a beautiful picture of Christ's love and sacrifice for us.  Christ loved me, even in my sin and filth, so much that he died on the cross in order to adopt me into His family. At the end of the sermon, Kevin (our pastor) spoke about what we can do in response to God's love for us.  For both Mike and myself, our answer was to adopt."

They are now officially a waiting family! Read a little more about their story below and consider supporting their adoption! You can give through their Adopt Together page, or support them by shopping Love is Waiting. This week 20% of sales will go to the Waldens!

"Hi! We are Mike and Jen Walden and we are adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia!  Our story begins in 2009 when we met at a Superbowl party thrown by a mutual friend.  We were engaged later that year and were married in September of 2010.  We currently live in Prairie Village, Kansas. Mike is an accountant for JE Dunn and Jen is an occupational therapist at John Knox Village.  As a couple, we enjoy working in the yard, doing home projects, playing with our dog Zoey, and spending time with family and friends.  We are also active in our church community at Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City, Missouri.
We began talking about adopting shortly after we were married in 2010. Adoption touched our hearts because it is a beautiful picture of God’s love for His people.  We were orphaned by our sin and God, in His love and mercy, adopted us into his family.  He paid the ultimate price so that we can know eternal love in Him.  Earthly adoption is a tangible picture of this love and a small thing that we can do in response to God’s love for us.  

We were drawn to Ethiopia because of the beautiful children in this country who need forever homes.  Although we know it will come with challenges, we are excited to become a multicultural and multiracial family.  It will be our joy to bring African culture and traditions into our home as we learn and grow together as a family.

We began the adoption process in March of 2013. We have completed our home study, filed our dossier, and have been pre-approved by the Department of Homeland Security to bring a child into the country. We are anxiously awaiting placement on the Ethiopian waiting list with our agency, Children's Hope International, and hope to be placed with our child within 18-24 months.

One of the great challenges of international adoption is the cost. To this point, we have contributed thousands of dollars towards our adoption, but still need continued support to cover adoption fees, travel, visas, etc. We are excited about our adoption journey and we are thankful that you are supporting us through prayers and financial gifts. Follow our journey at thetomahawkhouse.blogspot.com "