We have been blessed beyond words, words that are too deep to put into a simple blog post. God created a story that only he could come up with because we could never have imagined it ourselves. We were gifted a monetary donation by Brad's sister and brother-in-law so large that they said "we don't want you to worry, we just want you to bring her home". This gift far exceeds anything we could have ever dreamed of. I watched my husband humbly fall to the floor in tears saying that, "he no longer has to fear that our daughter will be left waiting while scramble to collect funds". We are humbled and amazed at their generosity and God's provision through the use of his people.
I must say that as a mother, the monetary gift means so much but, it is the acceptance of our child that means more than anything. I love that without ever seeing her face we have family making sacrifices so we can bring home a new member of our family.
There is a fabulous story behind our gift, one that I would love to share personally with those we know however, we would like to keep the details private to this blog in honor of our daughter who will one day feel incredibly loved by the generosity of her Aunt and Uncle.
"For him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" Romans 11:36
To Him be the glory as we sit in utter amazement of how we have been blessed along these 4 months of our adoption journey.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Good News/Bad News
Yesterday was a rough one with our littles at home. I think they are ready for school and the lack of structure and routine of summer is wearing on everyone. They are fighting a lot, running through the house and constantly wrestling. This is making for one worn out and tired mama. In fact we have this verse on our kitchen chalkboard right now and both kids have memorized it over the past two weeks. "Those who love God also love their brother (and sister)" 1 John 4:21. By the time dinner rolled around this mama was done and I needed a walk with my sweet fur baby who doesn't talk back. For some reason on the walk I looked down at my email on my phone. I got the blessing I so needed that day. It was an email from our agency saying our Dossier is complete and ready to go to China. I was in shock. They have taken over all of our authentications and therefore I really had no idea how far along we were. What is even more perfect timing is that today was our fingerprinting appointment which was the only thing the agency was waiting on. I walked home with new energy and couldn't wait to tell Brad.
When I walked in the door he was upstairs putting the kids to bed so I opened the attachment of the email. I was shocked to find that we owe $4,150 do send our dossier to China. Deep breath. Sigh. God has taken care of us this far and he will as we move on.
Brad came downstairs and I asked if he wanted the good news or bad news first. He wanted the bad news so I gave him the bill. He was shocked as well but, just as happy as I was to hear about our dossier being complete.
I haven't shared a lot of the financial information on the blog because so much is personal. However, we will give God the glory and say that so far through personal donations, bonuses from Brad's work (never has happened before this adoption), the yard sale, and me picking up PRN jobs we have not yet gone into savings.
We don't know where the next $4,150 will come from but, we have placed our worries in God's hands and we will dwell on the "Good News"
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself." Matthew 6:34
If you feel led to support our adoption and our dossier going to China remember that we have a paypal account linked on the left of our page. Donations are tax deductible. With love and thanks!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Snapshot
The paperwork binder is growing by the day. Only those who have been down this crazy adoption road can imagine all of the paperwork. Here is a snap shot of the binder. I don't think the photo does it justice.
The contents are:
File of I800 A form and all supporting documents
Homestudy agency application and parent education coursework
Homestudy and supporting documents
S.C. Law Enforcement criminal records check
Adoption agency application (and lots of payment receipts)
Dossier Documents (birth certificates, marriage certificate, letters from employers, family financial profile, physical exams of all family members, passports, family photos and home photos and a letter to China asking their permission to adopt one of their orphans)
Applications and letters asking for loans/grants
We are actually coming to a close on all of the paperwork except for the financial parts. Somehow the inactivity is making the wait harder. I have never been a good waiter and I know God is teaching me something through this quiet period.
He does give small glimmers of hope just to keeps us going. Yesterday we received our fingerprinting appointment which was much sooner than we expected.
The contents are:
File of I800 A form and all supporting documents
Homestudy agency application and parent education coursework
Homestudy and supporting documents
S.C. Law Enforcement criminal records check
Adoption agency application (and lots of payment receipts)
Dossier Documents (birth certificates, marriage certificate, letters from employers, family financial profile, physical exams of all family members, passports, family photos and home photos and a letter to China asking their permission to adopt one of their orphans)
Applications and letters asking for loans/grants
We are actually coming to a close on all of the paperwork except for the financial parts. Somehow the inactivity is making the wait harder. I have never been a good waiter and I know God is teaching me something through this quiet period.
He does give small glimmers of hope just to keeps us going. Yesterday we received our fingerprinting appointment which was much sooner than we expected.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Quick Update
We have had a lot of thoughtful questions about how we are moving along with the process so I thought I would give a quick update.
Our homestudy is FINALLY completed. We had a few issues with our social worker completing the write up of the homestudy by the end date we agreed upon. This added some stress since I left at the end of June to take the kids to FL for all of July. We knew that we had to meet in Greenville to sign the homestudy before leaving for Fl and unfortunately the homestudy was not completed. Thankfully, our social worker agreed to allow Brad to meet alone with her and I was able to sign the homestudy through fax. This delay added a bit of stress but, in the end all worked out just fine.
The best part of having the homestudy completed is we can now begin applying for grants and loans. This is key because bills are adding up fast!
Once the homestudy was completed we were able to mail our I-800A form. This is the form which determines our eligibility to adopt a child from a Hague country. When that form is approved we will be fingerprinted to check our criminal history. This is our last step before our dossier is sent to the US consulate and finally the moment we have been waiting for.....to CHINA! At this point our paper work is finally done and we are at the mercy of government officials and our adoption agency to push the papers through as fast as possible.
After almost 4 months of paperwork we are truly antsy to see our daughter's face. The end is in sight but, our referral day can't come soon enough.
Our homestudy is FINALLY completed. We had a few issues with our social worker completing the write up of the homestudy by the end date we agreed upon. This added some stress since I left at the end of June to take the kids to FL for all of July. We knew that we had to meet in Greenville to sign the homestudy before leaving for Fl and unfortunately the homestudy was not completed. Thankfully, our social worker agreed to allow Brad to meet alone with her and I was able to sign the homestudy through fax. This delay added a bit of stress but, in the end all worked out just fine.
The best part of having the homestudy completed is we can now begin applying for grants and loans. This is key because bills are adding up fast!
Once the homestudy was completed we were able to mail our I-800A form. This is the form which determines our eligibility to adopt a child from a Hague country. When that form is approved we will be fingerprinted to check our criminal history. This is our last step before our dossier is sent to the US consulate and finally the moment we have been waiting for.....to CHINA! At this point our paper work is finally done and we are at the mercy of government officials and our adoption agency to push the papers through as fast as possible.
After almost 4 months of paperwork we are truly antsy to see our daughter's face. The end is in sight but, our referral day can't come soon enough.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Yardsale re-cap
Boy did God show off at our yard sale. We were blessed beyond belief leading up to the sale. First, our dear friends the Swistaks offered to host the sale because we knew their neighborhood and street would get more traffic than ours. However, after seeing how large the sale got, I NEVER would have asked them to host. They took on so much; deliveries, gathering tables, helping to advertise, setting up before 6am, selling their butts off while helping to wrangle our wild 2 yr old boys and so much more. Thank you Thank you Swistak family!
We knew the week leading up to the sale that we had about 5 families that would be donating and we thought that was more than enough. But, as I sit down to write thank you notes I realize that we had close to 20 families that donated their time and their "stuff". It truly was humbling watching friends and even strangers come together for our cause.
One of the sweetest stories was a little girl who heard our story and decided she wanted to help. Not only did she donate some of her old clothes, toys and room decor but she set up a beautiful lemonade stand and bake sale. She was even sweet enough to let the little kids help out.
So if this isn't evidence enough that God was part of the plan.....here is where we were blown away. We needed $1250 to pay the adoption agency the week after the sale. The total raised at the sale alone was $1254. As one of my friends put it....it was the money for the agency plus a Happy Meal for the kids!
Here are some of my favorite moments of the day. Thanks Jill for thinking to help take pictures. I never want to forget this day. And, truly thank you to all who made this sale possible.
We knew the week leading up to the sale that we had about 5 families that would be donating and we thought that was more than enough. But, as I sit down to write thank you notes I realize that we had close to 20 families that donated their time and their "stuff". It truly was humbling watching friends and even strangers come together for our cause.
One of the sweetest stories was a little girl who heard our story and decided she wanted to help. Not only did she donate some of her old clothes, toys and room decor but she set up a beautiful lemonade stand and bake sale. She was even sweet enough to let the little kids help out.
So if this isn't evidence enough that God was part of the plan.....here is where we were blown away. We needed $1250 to pay the adoption agency the week after the sale. The total raised at the sale alone was $1254. As one of my friends put it....it was the money for the agency plus a Happy Meal for the kids!
Here are some of my favorite moments of the day. Thanks Jill for thinking to help take pictures. I never want to forget this day. And, truly thank you to all who made this sale possible.
Just an idea of how much "stuff" was donated
Emi was cracking us up. She brought binoculars to look for customers.
My sweet and talented friend Jill made these capes to sell. Alekzander and Brooks made great marketing tools.
Marybeth had fun trying on all of the clothes! I think she might have bought as much as she donated ;)
Monday, June 11, 2012
Yardsale
Friday, June 1, 2012
FAQ's
Lately we have been getting a lot of questions about the adoption. Here are some FAQ's and the best answers I can give.
1. Where are you in the process?
We have completed our home study visits (4) and the paperwork involved in that (obtaining originals of birth certificates, marriage certificate, all family had medical exams and blood work, pet vet records, letters of reference, employment verification, criminal background checks, child abuse clearances for all states lived in). I am sure I am missing some of the paper work stuff. There is A LOT! The home study involved interviews with us about our marriage, parenting styles as well as separate interviews that looked at our past. Kyrie also had a simple interview of her own. The social worker also took notes as she walked around our home. Once the home study is written up (hopefully very soon) we will drive to our agency in Greenville SC to review it and it will be sent to our adoption agency in Portland, OR.
We are currently working on our Dossier. This is what we send to China that is basically our family profile. It includes all of the home study paperwork plus some more including family photos and home photos and passport info. Once the Dossier is sent to China we can become LID which means Locked in Dossier. At that point a larger number of children are available for us to be matched with. Because Brooks is so young we have decided to go this route rather than be matched with an older waiting child. We want to maintain birth order.
2. Are you sure you are adopting a girl?
Yes, although I do not have a strong preference either way, Brad and Kyrie do. Now that we have planned and imagined having another girl, I couldn't picture it any other way.
3. Will you have to travel?
Yes, we will travel to China for about 2 weeks. The kids will be cared for at home by their grandparents. The two weeks are spent seeing sights and learning about the culture as well as having medical exams, completing paperwork and maintaining a visa for our new daughter.
4. When do you think you will have her?
There is no exact science to figuring it out but, we are assuming next spring. We will know more once we are matched with a baby and our dossier is in China.
5. Why are you adopting?
My first blog entry explains this very well. It's truly a calling from God. We chose China for a number of reasons. First and foremost, after prayer it felt like the right decision. In addition is a rather short process, there is a huge need and China is one of the only countries where 1 travel is required.
6. Besides the normal delays of being in an orphanage will there be anything else medically wrong?
We are adopting through the waiting child program. All of these children have some type of special need. We have met with our social worker and adoption agency to discuss what type of need we feel we can handle as a family.
Okay, those are most of the FAQ's we get. I will add to them as we get them. Don't be afraid to ask. We love questions.
1. Where are you in the process?
We have completed our home study visits (4) and the paperwork involved in that (obtaining originals of birth certificates, marriage certificate, all family had medical exams and blood work, pet vet records, letters of reference, employment verification, criminal background checks, child abuse clearances for all states lived in). I am sure I am missing some of the paper work stuff. There is A LOT! The home study involved interviews with us about our marriage, parenting styles as well as separate interviews that looked at our past. Kyrie also had a simple interview of her own. The social worker also took notes as she walked around our home. Once the home study is written up (hopefully very soon) we will drive to our agency in Greenville SC to review it and it will be sent to our adoption agency in Portland, OR.
We are currently working on our Dossier. This is what we send to China that is basically our family profile. It includes all of the home study paperwork plus some more including family photos and home photos and passport info. Once the Dossier is sent to China we can become LID which means Locked in Dossier. At that point a larger number of children are available for us to be matched with. Because Brooks is so young we have decided to go this route rather than be matched with an older waiting child. We want to maintain birth order.
2. Are you sure you are adopting a girl?
Yes, although I do not have a strong preference either way, Brad and Kyrie do. Now that we have planned and imagined having another girl, I couldn't picture it any other way.
3. Will you have to travel?
Yes, we will travel to China for about 2 weeks. The kids will be cared for at home by their grandparents. The two weeks are spent seeing sights and learning about the culture as well as having medical exams, completing paperwork and maintaining a visa for our new daughter.
4. When do you think you will have her?
There is no exact science to figuring it out but, we are assuming next spring. We will know more once we are matched with a baby and our dossier is in China.
5. Why are you adopting?
My first blog entry explains this very well. It's truly a calling from God. We chose China for a number of reasons. First and foremost, after prayer it felt like the right decision. In addition is a rather short process, there is a huge need and China is one of the only countries where 1 travel is required.
6. Besides the normal delays of being in an orphanage will there be anything else medically wrong?
We are adopting through the waiting child program. All of these children have some type of special need. We have met with our social worker and adoption agency to discuss what type of need we feel we can handle as a family.
Okay, those are most of the FAQ's we get. I will add to them as we get them. Don't be afraid to ask. We love questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)