The Funds. They Keep Coming.

Don't think I've forgotten about you. I've wanted to post our fundraising progress for a while now. Except, well, last week this is what our internet was like:

...

Seriously. No internet. All week. Because, you know, for fun.  Except not fun at all. Finally our company got a repair guy out last Friday. So then I would have posted.

Except football season. And you know me and football season, don't you? Well, if you don't I'd be happy to share more. Except I can't. Because I essentially took zero pictures. Something about being in 100 degree heat for 12 hours makes me not very photo-happy.  Anyway, tiger victory. Let's move on to the week before last week, shall we?

So first, the t-shirts arrived a week ago Thursday. I was so very nervous.  We had the goal of selling 100 t-shirts.  I was hopeful but realistically thought we might not make it.  With a few days to go, we weren't there yet. And I don't know if it's theologically appropriate to pray for t-shirt sales but I did it anyway. And the day we put our order in? It was for 157 t-shirts.

You guys.

They arrived and my fears were immediately put at ease. They were softer than I expected. They were cooler than I had hoped. And since I got both colors, they are now two of my favorite shirts in my closet. We were so blessed to work with a great company, have wonderful people purchase them, and all around just have a fabulous t-shirt selling experience. So fabulous we are considering making a second order.

What a total blessing.

After accounting for the costs of the t-shirts, shipping, etc., we made right around $1500. I couldn't be happier. We were praising God!!

And then a little less after we realized we had to sort and ship all those t-shirts.

I kid. But seriously. They took over our house. The day before trivia. Which was, in it self, kind of a big deal. Exhibit A, my dining room table:

Yeah. That's less than half. They were all over my house. On every piece of furniture. But we were so thankful for the funds they raised.  

The day after t-shirts we gathered for what was quite possibly one of the most fun nights of my life: Trivia Night.

To say I was nervous was an understatement. My wedding was about half the size of trivia night. Never had so many people gathered to support me in an endeavor. It was completely overwhelming.

I ran like a crazy person all day but really didn't have that much to do. Why, you ask? Because I have a wonderful group of friends who took on so many of the organizational and gathering tasks. And by 6:30 everything was ready to go and people started showing up.

Let the masses arrive!

At which point I ran to the bathroom. To hide. And pray. And for all the praying that had gone on in the past 6 weeks over this trivia night, all I could pray at that exact moment was, "God, could you please make this fun?? All the planning and people gathering will not be worth much if people come and have a miserable time. Please, please, make it fun."

Now, I know it was for me. And I know I am completely and totally biased. But I really, truly thought it was a very fun night.

Standing at the front of the room, in our t-shirts, preparing for trivia

There was lots of laughing.

Scorekeeping table, having fun and working hard!

And lots of (I think good-natured) frustration as people worked their hardest to get the questions right

And there was some funny game playing

And I even got to hold the mic a few times



There was eating and drinking and all sorts of merriment. There was even a winning team. Who won a golden mailbox of glory.

But the best part of all of it was so many people saying such kind words and supporting us financially and emotionally.

You see, when you've been waiting for an adoption for 2 years and it might be a while still (even though you hope not), you begin to wonder if people still are around. Oh at the beginning, they're there. And they're praying. But two years later? When there's no cute picture or plane tickets to buy yet? When it's just quiet frustration and more updates that cost more money? It's easy to feel alone.

But we didn't feel alone that night. We were filled to the brim with other people's hope for our future family.

We couldn't have done any of this without our friends and community. And this isn't all of them. But it is a good chunk of our small group, who worked tirelessly. They planned, they wrote questions, they picked up pizza. They set up tables. They prayed with us. And for us. And over us. And they stayed til we locked up that night.  

Do you want to know what love looks like? Take a good look.

As we were putting the place back together, the womenfolk started to count the money. And they sent me away, wanting to do a grand total together.  So when I finally stopped moving long enough to celebrate, they handed E and I a bank envelope containing...

Almost $4,000 in profits. You guys. In my wildest dreams. Seriously. I just stood there and I am pretty sure I was so shocked I didn't know what to say.

So, you might notice our thermometer has moved quite a bit in the past two weeks.  That's all of you.  Coming together. Buying t-shirts. Giving donations. Playing trivia. Telling your friends to buy t-shirts and play trivia.

And while I can't write a handwritten thank you to each of you, oh how I wish I could. Because the gratitude in this heart? It overflows. I pray you know how much it means to us to be supported so fully.

And so, with that, we can officially accept a referral any day. The money? It's there. 

The travel money? Not so much yet. But we are sure it will come with time.  People are already asking what fundraising we'll be doing next. And while there will be a "next fundraiser," we are going to breathe and be fully thankful for the provisions we've had thus far for a hot second. I need a little time to recoup. And I am guessing my friends do, too.

I know this post is long but I will answer the final question everyone keep asking: what about that referral?

Well, here's what we know: the new process in Ethiopia (called PAIR) is slowing down the referral process right now as agencies work to meet all the new paperwork requirements. Turns out having every t crossed and i dotted in a developing nation is not exactly easy. So things are slow right now and they don't expect many kiddos to be paperwork-ready in the next few weeks.

This may or may not have any effect on us. After all, we don't really have a good idea of "where we are" in reference to when we'll get the call. Could be soon. Could be later. All depends on what kiddos get clearances and whether or not they fit in our request or someone else's.

But tonight, none of that matters. We're going to sit back and be thankful for a little while.

Thank you for being our people, all of you.  We can't wait to introduce IC to the people who make us so incredibly blessed.

...

(Thanks to Ashley and Meg for the photos)

Raising Funds and Raising Hope

Yesterday was our final garage sale of the summer.  And yes, I know it's not summer. But you get it.  Until we can no longer see our breath while setting up, we are going to take a garage sale hiatus.  Anywho, we are so blessed with friends who have given generously by way of donations.  It was to the point where I was unable to park in my side of the garage.  We knew the temps were decreasing and we decided this weekend would be the best time to try and do a final clean out and allow me back in my parking space.  And, of course, there was an away game this weekend. Plus, we are ready to submit our dossier and are down to just a little more money before we can submit. So, we went for it. We knew the weather could make it a gamble but it was a risk we were willing to take.

I don't know if I have shared much about the fact that there are a couple other families adopting from ET in our church who are ahead of us in the process.  They are great friends and full of knowledge.  Being the fundraising gurus they are, I asked their opinion and both ladies (we'll call them the Adoption Fairies) really thought I should do a two-day sale.  I went to ask for the day off and realized I was already booked for appointments most of the morning.  So, I went back to the ladies with the bad news that the only option was for a Saturday-only sale. A bit of a bummer, I know, but it was my only option.  That's when the Adoption Fairies, as we will call them, told me they had already agreed to run the sale on their own on Friday--with or without me.  Friends, what a blessing. I couldn't believe it.

So we prepped and laid things out and I started the sale. On Friday, the AF showed up and I ran to work. These AF are pros! They brought extra signage, extra bags, and they even have sale-increasing strategies.  I was sad to head to work but knew I was leaving the sale in good hands.  We cheered in my kitchen when I got home from work and celebrated our one day total.  The AF said they would come back for Saturday and we'd push for an even better Saturday.

Friday night we planned to make cupcakes but there was this thing called the World Series that took all my attention.  Yeah, the Cards won. And while I don't really care, it's still kind of fun. Plus, my mom and grandma would probably disown me if I didn't at least show some excitement.  Specifically, my grandma may have disowned me.  She did, after all, call me at 11:30 that night to see if I'd watched.So, I ended up waking up early on Saturday to finish making our cupcakes.  Back to the action...

Saturday the AF came and we enjoyed each others' company. It was, potentially, the coldest garage sale I have ever seen.  We had Snuggies.

And hot chocolate.

And a few people come to visit.  OK more than a few, but much fewer than the last sale we had.  I wasn't deterred--I knew any funds were more than we had the day before.  There was an estate sale going on two blocks down so we kept our sale open late to benefit from the traffic. At two we finally closed down and after some extreme rearranging, we were able to put the car in the garage.

I love to do the money counting, so as Hubs was still finishing the cleaning up process, I busted open the money bag and started to count.  Friends, this is where the story gets intense. Because as I started to count, I realized we had some sort of fishes and loaves story going on.  I kept sorting and counting and sorting and counting and my jaw hit the table. The more I counted, the more confused/ astounded I got. In fact, I think I started giggling. Hubs came over and together, we realized there had to be more to this story. Yes, the AF had earned their name.  Someone had snuck money into our bag without us knowing. And at the end of the day, we raised more than $800.  Friends, WHAT A BLESSING.  We have known the money would show up so we could submit our dossier soon but we just didn't know how.  I am here to tell you God answers prayers. We don't have a grand total of how much money we have in our possession but it's got to be close.  I called my AF friends and cried tears of joy and of complete humility.  How beautiful.

And do you know what? This is not the first time we've had a sale where money magically ended up in our possession that we didn't earn (you know who you are).  Yes, our friends are true blessing in this process.

I left the day feeling completely overwhelmed by God's faithfulness and by how blessed we have been with friends who love us.  Hubs and I shared lunch and gave sincere prayers for the blessings of the day.  As I told the AF, we knew we would be getting a child through this process.  We had no idea we would also be getting friends.

We can't wait to have our son here. We also can't wait to pay it forward and help families like ours on their journey. We've got a long way to go but we are one big step closer yesterday.  I am hoping that celebratory blog post when we submit that dossier soon. And neither of us have been delusional enough for even a second do believe we've done any of this on our own.

He is faithful. And he works through people who listen to his call.  We see it all the time.

We are blessed.

Here's a fun one to end on. I will hopefully post tomorrow about our seasonal fun. But if you don't hear from me, have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Letter to the IC and a Little Update

Hello IC,

You may be imaginary to others, but you are very real to me (even though you may not even be alive yet). I wanted to tell you about how great your Dad is and how much he can't wait to meet you.  He's pretty much the best dad ever, even though you're not here yet.  He's pretty great to me, too.  I know he's planning all the exciting things you'll do together, like play ultimate frisbee and go to the park and ride bikes. In the meantime, though, he's spoiling me until he can spoil you. Take yesterday, for example. I mentioned on twitter I was cold and wanted some hot chocolate and he showed up at my door 30 minutes later with some surprise hot chocolate just for me.  Don't think he won't do the same for you, Little IC.  You will like hot chocolate, I promise. More importantly, though, I really think you and Dad will have a special relationship.  Each day he looks more and more forward to spending time with you, reading you books and being silly with you.  We can't wait.  We love you way more than you can even fathom.  And your Father in Heaven loves you even more than we do, which is impossible to even think about.
 

Much Love,

Mom




Aside from thanking Hubs for being awesome, last night was spent playing Mario and getting stuff ready for our next fundraiser.  We are doing another garage sale on Saturday and I am looking forward to it!  We're getting close to needing to spend some of this money for some major adoption expenses soon.

Big news, BTW.  Remember **that one document**? Well, it's here!  We have our third and final home study visit scheduled for a week from Wednesday. We're getting very close to finishing our "paper pregnancy." Of course, I'll give you updates as they are available.

Weird post, I know, but get used to em..  I was inspired by Kristyn wrote to her very own little man (and still does) and frankly, it just feels right. I think I'll try to keep writing to him on here, in the spirit of a few posts ago.  Alright, I'm out...

Puzzle Fundraiser

**Update: Thanks if you're visiting from Kelly's Korner. To read more about our adoption, you can click the "adoption" tab below our header. Thanks for opening our hearts to our family and our little man!**


Please welcome our guest poster--the Hubs himself--Eric


Greetings all!  As you can tell from the title we are starting our Bring Home Baby Puzzle Fundraiser.  I know what you’re thinking, ‘Puzzle Fundraiser!? What does it mean and how can I get involved!?’




We chose a puzzle (Klimt’s Tree of Life) and are requesting a donation of $10 for each piece. We'll print your name on the back of your piece (you can come sign it yourself if you live close), assemble and frame the puzzle in a doubl- sided frame, and hang it in Baby's room.

Why this Fundraiser?

Jess has always liked puzzles, been drawn to them, is good with them, and can play with them for hours.  I believe puzzles to be one of the most time consuming and frustratingly tedious acts on the face of the earth.  My view of puzzles being the adoption process and her view being the joy and excitement we have for Baby, this seemed like a metaphorically accurate fundraiser.  ☺


The old proverb says it takes a village to raise a child.  We also believe sometimes it takes a village to bring a child home.  This puzzle will serve as a daily reminder to us of the many people it has taken to bring him home, and will be his to keep and show his children / grandchildren.




So how exactly can you make a donation?  On the side of Jess's blog, you'll see a widget called "ChipIn."  This widget is connected directly to our PayPal account.  We suggest a donation of $10 for a piece, but feel free to donate as you wish.  You can purchase more than one piece or you can give a larger donation and request only one piece.  If you feel more comfortable donating in cash or check, send me a comment or contact me directly and we'll work something out. We'll try to give updates as the pieces of the puzzle come together.


Please feel free to pass this link on to others who may be interested.  We want this to be a true "village" with all invited to share.


This is our first blog fundraiser but will not be our last.  We know this journey to our son is a long one and we have many miles to go (literally) and many dollars to raise before we are joined.


Thank you for your prayers and support on this journey.


Eric (and Jess)

One Down, Many to Go (and a mothers day update)

Well, we can officially say we have begun fundraising!  We were up at the crack of six this morning to move the bags and boxes of things people had given us over to our friends' house for our yard sale.  First things first--I have never had a yard sale before.  I didn't know what to expect.  So, when I rolled in at 7 and we'd already had one customer, I was slightly surprised.  Ultimately, we had traffic that ebbed and flowed all morning but we have LOTS of stuff left and hope to do another sale again later this summer.  Thanks to everyone who contributed items (and a special thanks to Ash and Pete, who gave us a hefty donation of their own) we made a little over $250.  For our first fundraiser, we are happy clams:).  It will go straight into the savings, waiting to be used on our international documents, the next big cost on the path.  We're so honored to have such great friends who love us (and our little one) so much.

Speaking of great friends, I received an unexpected blessing of a different sort from another dear friend yesterday in the mail: my first mothers day card.  Exhibit A:

Rarely have I seen a greeting card so beautiful.  Friends, adoption is kind of a hard thing sometimes.  I mean, yes, at the end of this, God-willing, I will be a mother.  Yet, unlike moms who get that way by being pregnant, there's not a lot to remind me each day of the path to motherhood.  Sure, I have paperwork.  Lots and lots of paperwork.  But it kind of feels like it's just a part of my job.  It's hard to tie it on a daily basis to an actual person who will join our family.  So, to get such a sweet reminder that I will, in fact, be a mom and I am at this moment a mom-to-be is really more than I could handle.  Yes, you guessed it--the tears.  They came.  I am a crier.  We're all cool with that by now (I hope).  I was just overpowered by the thoughtfulness of sweet Jenna who decided to remind me of how she loves me and how lucky I am to be on the road to motherhood, even if my road is filled with files.

For my own mother, I took a less-traditional route this year.  Amanda wrote a lovely post the other day about As Our Own, an amazing organization that helps free children who are born into sex slavery in India.  So, I decided instead of flowers, my mom could help someone's child for Mothers Day.  They even have a certificate you can print out to give to your mom.  So, if you are a last-minute shopper, head over to As Our Own and make a difference.  Your mom will be proud.

I want to leave you with the sweet words Jenna wrote inside my first Mothers Day card:

"We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light"  

Colossians 1:9-12

Happy Mothers Day to each and every mother and mother-to-be out there!

The Waves of Activity

For the longest time (and by longest time I mean about 2-3 weeks) I felt like nothing was happening in our paperchase.  We knew what needed to get done, but some of it is out of our control.  Financial paperwork? At a standstill because of the new job and the required extension on taxes.  Medical Paperwork? At a standstill because *shocker* it's impossible to get in to see a doc on a timely basis in this town.  Fundraising? At a standstill because of my school and some background stuff.

Well.

This week, we've had several key pieces fall into place.  God is faithful, even when I think things aren't moving. Here's the update:


 I was unable to attend our small group meeting this week because of illness. When I started feeling better, I got on Facebook and realized our small group had decided to have a garage sale for us to help get the Babe here.  I was rushed with emotion! Then, I posted on Facebook for extra goods to sell and friends, you came out of the woodwork! Thanks to everyone who has donated.  We are excited to see what happens tomorrow.

Our social worker emailed and said all of our references and our guardianship letter had been turned in.  Our dossier letters are one away, as well.  This is great news and means we are a couple steps closer!

I had my physical on Tuesday.  Let me tell you, this is kind of intense.  I had blood drawn and they checked for a lot of diseases.  A lot.  Mind you, I did not even consider the fact I might have had any of these things prior to having the blood drawn.  And then suddenly, my mind got a little worried--what if something came up I never knew about!? Luckily, I got all the bloodwork/TB test/ urinalysis back and all is well with my body.  Not that I had a worry before.  But it's still good to know.  Hubs has his physical scheduled as well.  It's still several weeks away.  Everything is in baby steps in this process.  Ironic.

I mentioned earlier we'd had a delay with our fundraising.  We were trying to set up a support account to receive tax deductible donations.  There were some complications and we'd almost given up on getting an account until after we finished our home study.  Considering we still probably have a few months left on that step, I was trying to be patient.  Yesterday, I had a scheduled lunch with one of the financial employees at our church.  I knew it was going to be a fun lunch; after all, Tanya is a fun lady.  But as she sat down after ordering, she made it more fun than I could have imagined--the church had set up our account for us months before we thought it would be possible.  What a blessing and relief!!

So, that's where we are friends.  Are we close to being done? Nope.  We probably won't be done with paperwork for several more months.  But we're closer.  Baby steps.  That's what it takes.

We're looking forward to our garage sale tomorrow.  If you need the deets, comment and I'll be happy to share.  As promised, we will also have another support-raiser on the blog within the week.