Saturday, August 29, 2009

Molly Goes to Work, Legal Updates, & Prayer Requests

Coffee Anyone?


Molly started working at Starbucks this past week. We felt that with with our mounting legal fees and Matt's new job, the time was right for me to begin supplementing our income.

With hours that work really well for our family, it feels like a pretty sweet deal. I start work at 5 a.m. and am home just a couple of hours after the girls get up in the morning.

Our generous and wonderful extended family watches the girls while I am at work. We are thankful for this opportunity that allows me to make some extra money without incurring additional daycare costs!

Harper thinks that my new job is pretty cool and is envious of my green apron! In addition to the usual pretend cooking she does, she has added making "big cups of coffee." Waverley just likes it when I bring home the vanilla milk!

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A New Milestone for Waverley

Waverley put two words together for the first time this week.

"Pat Mama," she said with a smile as she leaned out of her seat at the table to pat my arm as I brought her dinner to her. It was a really sweet moment.

But then again, this girl loves to eat, and she might have just been happy to have her food!


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Updates on the Legal Front & Prayer Requests

Our lawyer and the birthfather's lawyers have submitted their briefs to the Court of Appeals. At this point, a panel of three judges will review transcripts of our court dates, all of the evidence presented, and the briefs.

At an unknown time in the future, our lawyer and the birthfather's lawyers will go before this panel of judges to answer questions.

From there, more time (of course, always more time!) will go by for deliberations and then a verdict will be reached.

Our lawyer brought up several times in his brief that the duty of this court is not to make a new ruling based on what happened during our trial, but rather to decide if the favorable ruling was made in error. We are very happy with the quality of our lawyer and the work he has done for us.

As we go through this time of waiting, we would be so grateful for your continued prayers. We firmly believe that it is through prayer alone that we won our case in the first place.

Please pray that the judges would not be able to overturn this ruling.... that it would simply be impossible for them to do so. We don't care how this happens! We just pray that they will decide that there is no viable option but to uphold the ruling Judge Sheppard made in our favor.

We also ask for prayers for our lawyer during this time... that he would have the answers to the questions that the judges need to hear, and that he would have a supernatural wisdom and discernment when he stands before them.

Finally, please join us in praying for our girls. We do not want Harper and Waverley to pick up on the mounting tension in our home as our court date approaches. We saw clear signs of stress in our daughters as we rode out the last round of this legal battle. We are praying they will not pick up on the worry and fear that we have a hard time keeping at bay.

Lastly if you are so inclined, we would so appreciate your prayers for our family in general... that we would be strong and courageous, not afraid or discouraged, remembering that the Lord, Our God, is with us wherever we go. Joshua 1:9 promises that to us. We pray it would resonate within us as we clearly see that God is in this with us and for us.

Thank you so very much!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Everything Rides on Hope Now... A Note from the Nagels


A Note from Matt & Molly....


The first morning the blog was up and running, I got out of bed and checked my email. Danielle (the creator and author of this blog) had emailed me that fifty people had already been on the site since she posted it at 1:00 that morning. Someone had even made a generous donation!

I quickly went to the blog and saw that the count was at 62. I just sat there with my hands over my mouth. How could that many people care about our family by 8:00 in the morning?!

Matt and I called each other and texted excitedly all day, marveling over how many people had looked at Waverley's site... we even had followers!

Our mood could best be described as giddy!

We had to permanently install a box of Kleenex by our desk! The nicest comments you could imagine got posted on the blog. As we read them, our eyes filled with tears and we felt carried by your prayers and your support.

I saw the numbers climb exponentially...

85...

124...

I freaked out when the count was in the 600's!

Who were these people that cared about our family enough to read our story? It occurred to me that if this many people were reading our story, it was possible that same amount of people were praying to God on our family's behalf!

I felt buoyed up in hope.

999 hits!

I laid my head on the desk and listened to the first song that plays when you go to the blog...

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours

I'm not my own
I've been carried by You
All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

The prayers, love, support, contributions, and offers of fundraisers from all of you feels like a huge piece of that shelter right now.

We stand in awe that both people who love us, and those that don't even know us would consider joining our journey and commit to praying for us as we continue down this uncertain road.

We are so deeply encouraged.

Knowing that you are praying for us and for Waverley is a huge gift to us.

And a gift to her!

We won't ever be able to communicate how much your support means to us. There are not words for this kind of gratitude. It is just resonating inside of us and giving us such a sense of peace and an unspeakable hope.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

We are so grateful for your continued prayers.

Please keep checking in!

Love,
Matt and Molly


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An Update from Danielle...

I thought you might like to see another picture of the two sweet sisters, so here it is....

To those of you who have emailed me regarding fundraisers or bracelets, please forgive me if I have not yet responded to you. Thankfully, my Inbox has been quite full recently! I will respond to each of you personally, but in the meantime, please know that if you would like to reserve a bracelet, you can make a donation via the PayPal button on the blog. Then just email me at danielleholtzman@cox.net indicating how many you would like to reserve. I plan to have an update on the bracelets soon!

And if you have generously offered to do a fundraiser, I am THRILLED to accept your offer! I will be responding to those offers individually as well!

And to you readers... stay tuned because we have some GREAT fundraisers being planned!

From my own heart, THANK YOU to everyone who is praying for Matt & Molly, sharing their story, spreading the word, and helping to alleviate their financial burdens. It is quite amazing to watch the numbers increase and the prayers begin to be heard. I know the prayers are being heard as I witness our dear friends being filled to the brim with an overwhelming peace and immense hope!

As I've shared before, I feel confident that with the prayers and support of so many, this sweet family will stay intact!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

SHOW MATT & MOLLY YOUR SUPPORT... and help raise money!

How neat would it be if Matt & Molly could actually SEE how many people are praying for them and supporting them on their adoption journey?


Well, now they CAN!


Introducing....


"FOR THE LOVE OF WAVERLEY" Bracelets



These bracelets are in the process of being made! They will be light blue in color (Molly's choice to represent Waverley) and have a debossed look (similar to the ever-so-popular "Livestrong" yellow bracelets) that says...


"For the Love of Waverley"


If you would like to SHOW your support to Matt & Molly as well as help with their financial needs, reserve your bracelets today!


We welcome a suggested donation of $5 per bracelet, but any amount you feel you can give will be graciously accepted.


If you would like to purchase a "bulk" of bracelets to sell to your church members, family, or friends, that can be accommodated as well.


We want to light up the greater Kansas City area with an ocean of light blue bracelets SHOWING Matt & Molly how many people are praying for them and supporting their needs!


AND... for those of you that purchase bracelets, please email me a picture of you and/or your group showing off your bracelets. I will be starting a Photo Gallery on this blog showcasing all of the bracelet-wearing supporters!


To reserve your bracelet or to purchase a bulk grouping, please contact Danielle at helpmattandmolly@gmail.com . 100% of the profits from the sale of these bracelets will be contributed to the "Help Matt & Molly Fund".

Thank you in advance for supporting this inaugural fundraiser and for doing your part to SHOW Matt & Molly your support!



With gratitude,


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