Many of you have supported us by listen, sharing, and voting for our second adoption over the past couple of weeks.  Starting from the beginning, Jenn found out about a contest to help fund an adoption for a couple.   You had to make a 3-5 minute movie about your adoption and submit it to Fund the Nations.  We went back and forth deciding if we would make a video since the due date was only a few days from when we found out.  Jenn finally decided that we just needed to try.  So that night, after a long day of work and parenting, Jenn and I filmed the interviews from our couch from 10:00PM – 12:00AM (with bloodshot eyes I might add).  The next morning, we got up at 5:45AM and filmed going to the park.  After work that day, I edited the videos as fast as I could and we submitted it.

A few days later, Jenn received a phone call that we made the top ten and were going to be in the running to have a significant portion of our adoption costs covered by this fundraiser.  So Jenn went to work on her through social media, texting, calling, and emailing.  Now you may be wondering why I said Jenn went to work.  There’s a simple answer to that, I don’t have social media and I texted / emailed all my friends (that’s a total of 2 people and of those 2 people, while they were originally my friends, I am pretty sure they would consider Jenn their friend and me just her husband).  

We found a crazy amount of people willing to listen, share, and vote for us.  The support we felt was unreal.  Unfortunately, we found out this morning that we were not the winners of the contest (Congratulations Alexander Family).  Throughout the week, Fund the Nations would send us some statistics of the voting.  Frankly, we weren’t even close.   And I use the term ‘we’ lightly since it was 100% Jenn doing all the work.  I remember seeing Jenn’s face the first time the stats came out and we were far behind.  It broke my heart.  I tried to explain to her how many things we really have going against us:

1. We aren’t social media people.  I have never had social media and thus she is already working with half the audience.
2. We had to be done with our home study on the 10th of November and have the video submitted on the 10th of November.  We actually had our final home study visit on the 10th of November, were creating our adoption book and finalizing our paperwork, and trying to finish the video.
3. Because of the timing, this was the first many of our friends were hearing about our second adoption.
4. And lastly, and most importantly, that she is married to a wildly unpopular person.

And yet, even through all those obstacles, Jenn persisted.  Being a super-mom throughout the day and a social media guru at night.  She called, texted, emailed, and posted until the final moments never once giving up.  From day one as a NICU baby, Jenn has always been a fighter.  She never gives up, never relents, and always persists.  

Jenn, I am so proud of you and thankful for you.  Thank you for your persistence with this fundraiser.  Thank you for your patience to balance this while still parenting our daughter full-time.  Thank you for not giving up on our family and this second adoption. While ‘we’ may have lost, I win everyday by the simple fact that I am married to you.  

I hope you realize how special you are, how much Addey and I love you, and how thankful we are that you are in our lives.  I knew when we were getting married that I didn’t deserve someone like you.  You prove that everyday but have especially proved that in the past couple of weeks.  I am so thankful for you, thankful for Addey, thankful for our family, and thankful for a God that allows me to have two amazing girls in my life that I clearly don’t deserve.  

-jon