Jeremiah+KaraEmberlin,LovelinandValor

HELLOTHERE...First,wewanttothankyousoverymuchfortakingtimetoget

toknowourfamily.Withoutevenknowingyou,wealreadybelieve

youaresuchacourageous,caringandlovingperson.Thedecision

youaremakingisthemostselflessdecisionamothercouldever

make.

Ifchosen,wewouldprovideahomethatisfulloflove,joy,faith,

care,protection,musicandloadsofdancing.Ourhomeisonewhere

ourchildrenareencouragedtolearn,growandfollowtheirGod

givendreams

Whatyouaredoingbyyoursacrificiallovewouldblessour

familyimmensely.Witheverychildwehavehad,ourloveonly

growsstrongerandstrongerandwetrulyfeelwehavesomuch

morelovetogivemorechildren.

Ourwordsfailtoexpressourgratitudeandadmirationwehave

foryourcourage,strengthandsacrificialloveyouhaveforthis

baby/babies.Ourpromisetoyou,ifchosen,istoalwaysletselfless

lovebetheguidinglightofourhomeandfamily.

WITHLOVEANDRESPECT,

JEREMIAH+KARA

WHYADOPTION?Wehavealwaysfeltweweremeanttohavealargerfamilyandthatwe

werealsosupposedtoadopt.ThroughallthreeofKara’spregnancieswe

eagerlyawaitedthearrivalofeachofourchildrenalreadymadlyinlove

withthembeforetheywereborn.Jeremiah’sstoryisoneofavery

inconvenientpregnancythatveryeasilycouldhaveendedprematurely.

However,hisMomfeltthatGodhadaspecialplanforhislifeandmadethe

bravedecisiontocarryhimtofullterm.Becauseofthisweunderstand

thatnomatterhowababycametobe,alllifeissacredandbeautiful,and

ourheartsdesireistoloveanotherlittlebabyforlife!

WHEREOURFAMILYBEGAN...Wemetandfellinloveattheripeoldageof15and16yearsold.That’s

right…teenagelove!WemetatachurchyouthgroupandonApril10th

of1998webecameofficialandneverlookedback.Wewaitedwhat

seemedaneternitybeforeourparentswouldallowustogetmarried

butonJune14thof2003wefinallywereabletomakevowsbeforeGod

andfamilythatnothingapartfromdeathcouldseparateus.

::ITHADTOBEYOU::

::OURLITTLEFAMILY::Afteralmost23yearsofbeinginloveandbeingbestfriends,with

lotsoflessonslearnedandtrialswehavegrownthrough,weare

moreinlovethaneverbefore.Thegreatesttreasureofourmarriage

hasbeenourthreechildren.Emberlin(13),Lovelin(7)andValor(4).

Theyhavebroughtusmorejoyandlovethanweknowwhattodo

withwhichiswhyweknowourfamilyismeanttobebigger.

KARATheloveofmylife,KaraisthemostconfidentanddedicatedpersonIknow.Whenshesets

hermindtosomething,ithappens.Ourchildrenhavehadahome

environmentwheretheynotonlyfeelcrazyloved,buttheyknowthat

theyaresafe,andtheytrulythrive.Thisisbecausehertoppriorityhas

beenthehealthandwellnessofourfamily.Sheismybestfriendand

confidant.Shelaughsatallmycornyjokesstillandlovesourchildren

likeaboss.SheisthestrongestwomanIknowandtherockand

backboneofourfamily.

WRITTENBYJEREMIAH

JEREMIAHMyBestFriend,Where do I begin with Jeremiah? He is the most selfless and

compassionate person I know. He is a huge visionary and is sooooo

talented.Hemakesspendingtimewiththefamilyapriorityandlovesto

snuggle all of us. Not tomention all thewrestling that happens in our

house.Hehasspenthiswholelifecommittedtowhathebelievesinand

has traveled theworldplayingmusic sincehewas 18yearsold.He is a

greatdancerandwonmeoverwithhishumor.Hehassomuch loveto

give.Ilovehimso.

WRITTENBYKARA

Lovelin(a.k.a.LoveBug)livesuptoher

name.Sheisadedicatedbigsisterandis

constantlysnugglingwithheryounger

brother.Sheisoneofthekindestand

thoughtfulkidsweknow.Shelovesarts

andcraftsandplansonbeingateacher

andamomwhenshegetsolder.She

trulyhasaheartofgoldandgetsgiddy

whenwetalkaboutaddingmore

beautifulbabiestoourfamily.

Emberlinisasongbird.LikeherDad,she

alsowritesmusicandregularlyleadsmusic

withherDadatchurch.Shehasahuge

heartforpeoplewhofeellikeoutcasts.She

hasoneofthemostcompassionatehearts

andisagreatbigsister.Sheiscrazy

confidentinwhosheisandisaleader

amongstherfriends.

Valorisboth100%boyandhasavery

tenderheart.Helovesactinganddressing

uplikehisfavoritesuper-heroes,Spider

Man,IronManandCaptainAmerica.

Honestly,helovesallsuper-heroes.He

aspirestobeafirefighterorPolice

Officerwhenhegrowsup.Hehasa

heroesheartandwillundoubtedlybea

protectorofhisyoungersiblings.

::TOGETHER::ourfavoriteplacetobe

THANKFUL+BLESSED

MAKINGMEMORIES

Weareafamilythatdoesa

lottogetherandmaking

memoriesisourgreatest

priority.Oneofourfavorite

thingstodoisplayboard

gamesorsnuggleupand

watchingfamilymovies

together.Wealsohavefamily

dinnertogetheratleast80%

oftheweekwhereweask

eachotherwhatourfavorite

partofthedaywas.Because

wehavefamilyacrossthe

nation,weregularlydoalot

oftravelingadventuresin

ordertoseeeveryone.Wego

onatleastonebiggerfamily

vacationeveryyear.Our

dreamcometruewouldbe

afterourchildrenareadults,

theywouldsaythatthey

lovedtheirchildhood

becauseofalltheamazing

memories.

EDUCATION,FAITH+TRADITIONWeareafamilywhodesirestoseeourchildrenthriveinlife.Our

children'seducation,mental,emotional,physicalandspiritualhealthare

superimportanttotherhythmswehaveinourhomeandschoolinglife.

WithKara’sprofessionalbackgroundbeinginthehealthindustryand

Jeremiah’sbeingbothaprofessionalmusicianandPastor,wehavealways

triedtomakelearningandgrowingfunandholdourchildrentoastandard

wherecollegeeducationormissionworkishighlyencouragedbutwillnot

beforced.WeareafamilywhoisbothunapologeticaboutourloveforJesus

andallpeople(nomattertheirbeliefsorlifestyles)butalsoencourageour

childrentothinkforthemselvesandgrowinafaiththatisrootedinloveand

logic.Ourhopeandprayeristhatastheygrowtheywillchoseontheirown

tocontinuetofollowJesusandlivelivesthatreflectlove,peace,humility,

hope,charityandintegrity.

Abigpartofourfaithishavingachurchcommunity.Itisnotonlypartof

Jeremiahsvocation,itisalsoaplacewhereourwholefamilyhasloadsoffriends,

communityandsupport.Ourcommunityisasecondfamilytous.

Wemakebirthdaysandholidaysveryspecialbecause,onceagainmemoriesare

superimportanttous.Wehaveseveraltraditionsaroundholidays,includingan

Easterfeast,goingtothepumpkinpatchinthefall,cuttingdownourown

ChristmastreethedayafterThanksgiving,lotsofcinnamonrollsandpresentson

Christmasmorningandsomuchmore.Wecelebratelove,lifeandJesusin

everythingwedo.Wearebynomeansperfect,butafamilywhohaslivedthrough

manyhardshipsandGodhasalwaysmadeusmoreresilientthroughthem.

OURHOME+PETS

Weloveourretrohomebecauseithasalotoffunpersonalitylikeourfamily.We

haveasplit-levelranchhomewith4bedroomsand1playroom.Wehavealarge

laundryroom,diningroomandlivingroomthatwepurposelykeepnoTVinsowe

canhavequiettimeandboardgameswithoutdistractionsupstairs.Onebathroom

hasatypicalbathtubwithshowerandourmainbathroomhasastand-upshower

andajacuzzibathtubthatourlittlesarealwayshavingfunadventuresinduring

bathtime.

Ourhomesitsonabout1acreoflandsoourbackyardislargewithabeautifulcreek

thatrunsthroughitthatwecanfishoutof.Weliveinanamazingneighborhood

withsuperawesomeneighborswholovedogs-whichisamazingbecausetheirdog

andouradopteddogJolene(namedaftertheDollyPartonsong)playtogether

regularly.Wealsohavetwoadoptedkittycatswhoareboyandgirlsiblings.Ourboy

isnamedGiraffe(Lovelinnamedhim)andourgirlisnamedAmbrose.Ourpetsare

anotherpartofourfamilyandwelovethemverymuch,eventhoughJolenelikes

toeatourshoes.

::FAMILY::findyourtribe

My(Jeremiah’s)parentsRandyandDebbiehad5boys.Isitrightinthe

Middle.BetweenallofusboysGrandmaandGrandmahave9

grandchildrensofarwhichwehopetogrowthroughadoption.Theylove

ourbabiesverymuchandwhenwegettoseethemandmybrothersits

alwaysfilledwithlotsofhugs,kissesandstories.MyDadhasloadsof

storiesfrombeingacareerArmyMan.Ialsohave4othersiblingsfroma

biologicalDadwholivesinthePhilippines.Imet2ofthem6yearsago

andI’mcrazyclosewiththemandsoarethekids.MytwoothersiblingsI

justmetoverthepast2years.Ithasbeenaninsanejourneymeetingmy

newsiblingsoverthepast6years,butabeautifulone.

My(Kara)ParentsBob(Papo)andSheryl(Mammy)hadmeandmy

youngerbrotherMichael.ThekidsseeMammyandPapoalotandhave

suchaspecialbondwiththem.Whentheyareintown,wearealways

tryingnewadventuresintheBigCityandmakingmemories.Mybrother

livesinHawaiiandisaFireFighter.Wearestillwaitingforhimtoget

marriedandtogiveusmoreCousins!!

::OURPROMISE::Adoptionwillneverbeasecretinourhome.Wepromisetobevery

openwithourchild/childrenabouttheirstory,theiradoptionandthe

sacrificeandloveofyourdecision.Therewillneverbeanegative

wordspokenaboutourbirthfamilytoanyonebecausewealready

havesomuchadmirationandgratitudetowardsyou.Placingyour

babyupforadoptionisselfless,lovingandverybrave.Weareso

thankfulthatyoutookthetimetogettoknowourfamilyalittlebit

andwewillcontinuetoprayforyouasyoumakeyourdecision.

Jeremiah+KaraEmberlin,LovelinandValor