I have so many things to blog about...this past month was a busy one! More to come on the end of our summer (with pictures) soon! :)
WE PASSED COURT! For those of you in the adoption world, you are probably teary eye, smiling and jumping up and down. For those of you new to this process, you are asking yourself "ok, so when do they get them". :) Although this is a huge step in our process, where our children are legally given our last name, we still have a long way to go. We hope to travel early 2014 sometime.
A long way to go...when we started the process of adopting from the Congo, things seemed quite simple. The process, the timeline, the cost, the travel, everything really "matched" with our family's needs well. Unfortunately, since starting the process, many things have changed. We knew this could happen, it's always a possibility with adoption. I want to be completely honest with you. I am feeling defeated, physically drained and really tired of fundraising. I keep thinking we are close and then something hits. We originally planned for 1-2 weeks of travel, 1 person possibly 2. Now we both HAVE to go, and we have to plan on 2-3 weeks. Jeff only has 2 weeks of vacation per year so he will definitely have to take some time off without pay. We'll have to estimate another 2 weeks in country for 4 people. (Do you see why I am feeling defeated?)Another thing is the entire adoption timeline went from 9-12 months to 12-18 months. This means we are paying for more care for our kids while they are there (totally understandable) but it also means a lot more expense. They get sick, they need medicine, care, vitamins, healthy food. This averages out to $200 per month per child. We pay this through our agency.
Our agency has been good to us, but we still owe a lot. We have to save for travel and pay for a few things like visas and the little things that add up (like buying an extra bed, pull ups for the trip,etc). All our extra income has gone towards our adoption, our savings is drained. We have done a lot of fundraising; golf outing, 2 garage sales, proceeds from our home businesses, babysitting, etc. We are still applying for grants, running our home businesses and babysitting. Unfortunately, there have been times when we thought we were very close only to find out we are not. Some details I am not at liberty to share right now, but I will say this, we need to raise over $20,000 more. Please pray with me. I am overwhelmed. I know God will provide, I just ask for wisdom and direction. These children need a home and a family and God. These children do not have much of a fighting chance unless they are adopted. Please, I beg you to pray for us to be blown away again by God's provision and grace. We just want them home.
I know our story is just one of thousands. I know you have already given. So much. I know it is hard and expensive to raise a family. But here I am asking this. Please consider a gift of $10 or more. Please be a piece of our puzzle.
WE PASSED COURT! For those of you in the adoption world, you are probably teary eye, smiling and jumping up and down. For those of you new to this process, you are asking yourself "ok, so when do they get them". :) Although this is a huge step in our process, where our children are legally given our last name, we still have a long way to go. We hope to travel early 2014 sometime.
A long way to go...when we started the process of adopting from the Congo, things seemed quite simple. The process, the timeline, the cost, the travel, everything really "matched" with our family's needs well. Unfortunately, since starting the process, many things have changed. We knew this could happen, it's always a possibility with adoption. I want to be completely honest with you. I am feeling defeated, physically drained and really tired of fundraising. I keep thinking we are close and then something hits. We originally planned for 1-2 weeks of travel, 1 person possibly 2. Now we both HAVE to go, and we have to plan on 2-3 weeks. Jeff only has 2 weeks of vacation per year so he will definitely have to take some time off without pay. We'll have to estimate another 2 weeks in country for 4 people. (Do you see why I am feeling defeated?)Another thing is the entire adoption timeline went from 9-12 months to 12-18 months. This means we are paying for more care for our kids while they are there (totally understandable) but it also means a lot more expense. They get sick, they need medicine, care, vitamins, healthy food. This averages out to $200 per month per child. We pay this through our agency.
Our agency has been good to us, but we still owe a lot. We have to save for travel and pay for a few things like visas and the little things that add up (like buying an extra bed, pull ups for the trip,etc). All our extra income has gone towards our adoption, our savings is drained. We have done a lot of fundraising; golf outing, 2 garage sales, proceeds from our home businesses, babysitting, etc. We are still applying for grants, running our home businesses and babysitting. Unfortunately, there have been times when we thought we were very close only to find out we are not. Some details I am not at liberty to share right now, but I will say this, we need to raise over $20,000 more. Please pray with me. I am overwhelmed. I know God will provide, I just ask for wisdom and direction. These children need a home and a family and God. These children do not have much of a fighting chance unless they are adopted. Please, I beg you to pray for us to be blown away again by God's provision and grace. We just want them home.
I know our story is just one of thousands. I know you have already given. So much. I know it is hard and expensive to raise a family. But here I am asking this. Please consider a gift of $10 or more. Please be a piece of our puzzle.
PUZZLE PIECE FUNDRAISER
Here's how it works:
We purchased a 500 piece puzzle.
You sponsor one piece or multiple pieces.
One for yourself.
One for your family.
One for each member of your family.
One for a Christmas gift.
One in memory of a loved one.
One for September.
One for October.
One for the hope of adoption in your own heart.
One for Crusoe.
One for Isa.
Gather 10 people from your workplace, small group, Facebook and all give $1 to sponsor one together.
I am asking you to give up that cherry coke, candy bar or pack of gum each week. I know this is hard. I know because it's hard for me.
Won't you please prayerfully consider sponsoring a puzzle piece or more?
Will you please share this with friends? We cannot sell 500 pieces alone.
Your name or the name of your choice will go on the back of the puzzle piece. When all have been sold, the puzzle will be pieced together and framed. We will show our kids how many people helped bring them home.
Here's good news for YOU! Once the puzzle pieces are sold and before we put it together, we will have a drawing. We will randomly draw names from the pieces and we have gifts! Gifts for you! The list of gifts is incomplete right now but here is what we have so far:
31 items (lots of them and NICE big ones!)
a handmade baby outfit
credit from my store, Olive Blooms
pieces from Olive Blooms
tshirts
hoodies
So, here's how you can sponsor a piece:
Contact me through email or Facebook.
Give online through Lifesong (link to the side)
Send a check.
THANK YOU so much for your support. We literally cannot do this without you. Bless you.