It's been a long time coming.....and more to come

          I know it has been a year...yes a year....horrible I know!!     These last several months I have been so incredibly thankful for this little man that has changed our lives completely.     Judah has brought us so much joy.       He just turned 15 months old on the 18th of this month and is learning so quickly!          

There are so many moments where I am overwhelmingly grateful for this amazing woman who chose life for her son.    Today is one of those moments.     We are grateful for this woman who saw something in Kyle and I just even through a book she saw from an agency.       Through our phone conversation we laughed and told stories about everything almost and so much more!     This woman has forever changed our lives and we love her so dearly!        We will call her Mo, for public blog purposes, but I wish everyone could meet this incredible lady.     She is full of life, emotion :) laid back, real, genuine, and so much more!
  

          
    Today the gratefulness and love we have for Mo just swept over me while I was laying Judah down for his nap.  
    We will always cherish her and honor her in every way.        
      
        Bless you Mo.      Thank-you for giving us the privilege to care for Judah and to raise him up.     
  We will see you again my friend! 



 Love you dearly!                      

    

      
       

Count down has begun

     Just checking back in with ya'll!    Getting my Texas talk down again before leaving...yes in 2 and a half weeks we fly out.
  
 Since our last post, "Run the race...finish strong,"   we have had a few donations for the marathon.    Kyle and I were able to sell a couple items as well.    So from that $2000 that is needed, we are down to $1600 needed for our trip.     Do me a favor and pray and spread the word.    We need the funds for sure by May 17th.    

I have had some people ask where to donate.    Directly on our blog, at the top of the article you are reading, to the right is a link that reads "Donate".    All you need to do is click on that and it will take you step by step through that process.   It is secure and set-up through paypal and funds go directly into our adoption fund.   You can also private message us through FB if you are wanting to mail a check as well.   

All my Spencer peeps, get in contact with my sister and she will get the money put directly in to Judah's adoption account as well.   

I had someone turn in their Judah Jar again and thankyou thankyou thankyou!!  If anyone out there still has a Judah's Journey jar and it's full  contact me and I can get the change from you!  Every little bit helps.    

Kyle and I are blessed to have the support from friends and family to help us finalize Judah's adoption.      
It was 1 year ago today that we received an e-mail about a little boy that would be due in the summer of 2013.   He stole a portion of our hearts at that point in time and God has unfolded the rest.
Thanks for being a piece of our puzzle.    We love you all!

Run the race...Finish Strong

      Judah's Journey will never end, but our adoption side of things will....can I get an AMEN!!  
                             This post is about Adoption, community, and family.
      Kyle and I are currently trying to raise the last $2000 to finalize Judah's adoption.   We thought we had enough money raised  until we had an unexpected trip back to Texas thrown into the mix.   So with that comes travel expenses with flights and rental cars and legal fees.
We are also blessed, because talking on community and family, we have gained family in Texas and really a community of people came together back in July to find us a place to stay while in Texas, we paid for 0 hotel rooms and we were there for about 5 weeks.  We stayed with the same amazing hostess the whole time!   Martha and her family are a huge blessing and now a large part of our lives today.   We were going to stay at another place back in July, but if fell through because Judah's due date got changed, but God worked it out and we were able to spend time with the first family as well!   
    
     Kyle and I are partnering with a friend we met at an adoption group a couple months ago.   When you attend these groups many people don't know each other too well, or at all, and they become close by just sharing their stories and being real with each other.     I posted something on an adoption facebook group I belong to regarding the remaining expenses needed to finalize our adoption.  Within an hour I was talking with Bob regarding my post.  
    The last few years Bob has ran to raise support for children with life threatening health conditions and for their families through Make A Wish Foundation of ND .   It wasn't until recently that Bob started re-directing his efforts.   He still runs to help children and families in need, but with orphans in mind.     He just happened to come across my post on the adoption facebook page and we started chatting.   If you ask me it was certainly a God thing, and God timing.
    
      Bob will be running in the Fargo marathon in a couple weeks, on May 10th  and will be running to raise support for Judah!    We are asking if you would consider donating $1 per mile.   So that would be $26. 20.      We have a donate link on our blog on the right hand side, "Donate".   It is secure and through paypal, you do not have to have a paypal account to donate.    If you are in the area and want to donate directly to Kyle and I please private message us on facebook or texts.     

God truly put this together for just this point in our adoption journey.  Please consider donating and pray that the rest of our funds roll in.
Share on your facebook page to have people check out the blog and possibly donate if they can.

              
            God Bless,
               Kyle, Micale, & Judah


  

It's Adoption Auction Time!!!!!!

So many people keep asking me why are you fundraising again?  Aren't you done?   The answer to these questions are: Yes, we are fundraising again, so no we are not done :)     
     We will be having to make an unexpected trip to Texas in 4 weeks and this fundraising process has been slow since everybody has thought we were done with the process.   We are at THEE FINAL STEP!  This is the very very last thing we are needing to get done for him to become Judah William HILLERUD.   Please help us make this happen and share our blog post and share again and again till we get our funds raised.    We will be needing  close to $2500 to finish. In that dollar amount it will vary depending on the price of plane tickets and car rental.   
  With adoption there are so many reason's as to why the process is not complete.  Kyle and I don't feel the need to go into any details on it all, just know that we have been anticipating and waiting for this day for a very long time now and it is finally going to be here!!  We have had to be patient and know that God is in control of it all no matter what the reasoning is behind the wait.   God Knows.     He knows the expenses as well, but let me tell you this little boy who stole a portion of our heart 1 year ago on May 1st when we heard about him, then took our breath away when we met face to face on July 18th is completely worth every penny we need to raise, every background/fingerprints we had to do, and every paperwork that came along with it!!  
     
So here is what's up!      Kyle and I are doing an auction for a couple items that we will have listed on our blog.  Here is what you need to do.   If you see an item you want to bid on, you comment on our blog at the bottom of the article.  You list your name, what item you are bidding on and the dollar amount of your bid.    These items will be listed with a minimum bid that it has to be started out at.   If you are NOT in the Bismarck/Mandan area or get to town for the pick-up there will be mailing charges.    Each item will have a deadline for bids and will be listed next to that item.     Hope this makes sense!!!     
The other thing I would like you to do is share share share this on your FB and e-mail it to people because even if there is nothing they want to bid on and would like to make a donation to us via paypal it would be greatly appreciated!!  Every single $1 counts!!  The "Donate" link is at the top of our blog on the right hand side.       

All this is time sensitive and time is ticking so I will start listing the items!!!!

$50 GIFT CARD TO FABYOULOUS SALONG & SPA!

FabYouLous Salon & Spa in Bismarck is THEE best place you can go! (my personal opinion)  They do everything from hair, to pedicures/manicures, facial's, massages, etc...  Not to mention, it is stock full of all the amazing Aveda products that you love!    The service in there is incredible and top of the line!!    MOTHER DAY IS VERY VERY SOON!!  SPOIL HER WITH THIS!

 
MINIMUM BID OF:  $40 
[ bidding will end Sunday April 27th @ 11:00 PM ]



NEXT ITEM UP IS A GIFT BASKET WITH ALL YOUR SUMMER ESSENTIALS!

 Included in this basket is Rodan & Fields sunless tanner (the best sunless tanner on the market right now!)  Nail Polish, nail polish remover, hair ties, foot scrubber, and toe nail kit!     If interested in more of Rodan & Fields check out this website:  www.nicolehuson.myrandf.biz        Seriously the best stuff out their and I just started using it.  The before and after's are proof in itself.

   OPENING BID OF $40
  (bidding will end Sunday April 27th at 11:00 PM)
   
Get your bidding on!!   Remember sun and fun and mother's day :)    Happy bidding!
The other items for sale OBO will be listed on bismanonline.com        We have 2 overstuffed chairs, super comfy!    Will also have a circle side table with a small drawer, beautiful wood color.  Check them out!     

Remember bids start today and don't forget to check back in case you get outbid you can bid higher!!   

thanks for the support as we embark on getting the last step of our adoption journey finished :)     
                                Happy Easter Everyone!!!

 
 
     
     

Light at the end of this tunnel

So many of you may be saying,  "it's been so long since we've gotten an update on Judah's Journey!"   Well, yes, it has been a long time.   As many of you may know Judah has now been with us for 8 months.     It is crazy how extremely fast time goes now!    Our little man Judah turned 8 months old last week.   He is nothing short of a blessing and Kyle and I are thankful daily for his laugh, his smiles, his hugs, his kisses, his excitement he always brings to all these simple things we don't even think about.    

                 What has happened during the last 8 months?  

With Judah: He is growing like crazy of course, he is healthy, and he is tall.   He does smile and laugh believe it or not.  If you are around him he is super serious, but give him a minute and you might get a smile.    We are so excited to  see what amazing awesome things God has in store for him.    He loves doing patty cake, and loves when mom and daddy sing Jesus loves me.    He bounces like a crazy man in his bouncy chair, he loves it:)    He now gets to sit inside the carts now at the store, he really thinks he's hot stuff when that happens.


With mom and dad:  Kyle and I have both gotten back into the schedule of church, and work.    I am part time so I enjoy those days off I get to spend with our little man.     Kyle and his business, Valor Insulation Company, are doing well.   Spring, I think, is somewhat here and business is starting to pick up yet again.  

   
With the Adoption:    Judah's adoption, even though he's been home for 8 months, is still not final.     In adoption, you have to follow all the steps, and  it's easy to be upset when something just doesn't get done right away or is not yet complete yet.      In our case we have had some interruptions since bringing him home.      God though has given us a peace in all of it.      We have been waiting for some news on when we can possibly look at finalizing our adoption,  And as of last week Monday, the 17th,  we saw a glimpse of light at the end of the adoption tunnel.    

We need your prayers most importantly during the next 4-6 weeks, as that is the waiting time frame for if we know if we can terminate & finalize our adoption at that time.  We will know the answer to this on April 18th, soon!!      We were not planning on having to go back to Texas to finalize and we were told last week that we could take care of termination and finalization all in one sitting.   It would save us money in court fees and filing fees as well as another attorney fee.     So if all goes smoothly up to April 18th, we would be looking at a trip back to Houston, which was not expected at all. 

Since this has been drawn out more than we fully anticipated, we are needing to do more fundraising.      We are needing the funds by April 18th, which is not far away at all.    We are needing funds to purchase 2 plane tickets, car rental & gas while we are there and to finish paying attorney fees as this has been going on 8 months.    We currenlty do not have an exact dollar amount that is needed.    If you are able to join with us in pray please do and if able through your finances that would be great!    
If you still have our Judah's Journey jars, please save your change for us!      We will also be making Cedar planters for sale!!    You would be able to place a pot directly into the planter or you can buy the landscape tarp to fill your planter with soil.   It is spring and everybody is wanting to see some flowers or pants coming up.   It has been a long winter!!

Kyle and I are selling these cedar planters for $60.    On the inside of each planter will be Judah's handprint because you had a hand in finalizing his adoption.    










If you live in the Bismarck, Mandan area or come to Bismarck often enough please consider purchasing one of Judah's planter's.    Please give us time to get yours made once your order has been placed.    Payment due upon order of your Cedar planter.

If  you don't need a planter, but are able to donate in some way at all, contact Kyle and I via a comment on this blog or facebook.   We also have our donate tab located at the top of this blog at the right hand side.    The donation is done through paypal or credit/debit card.
Please share our blog with all your friends as well.  The more people praying the better. If they are able to financially help we are forever grateful!

It is funny as it has come down to the wire for raising funds and God came through always in the beginning of our whole adoption journey.  He is in this!  Judah's birth mom chose life for him, and God chose Kyle and I.  God presented Kyle and I to Judah's birth mom and it was a perfect match.    We love her so very much and want the best God has for her.   She is an amazing woman and did an amazing thing for her son.   God Bless her greatly!