Waiting

It seems that this past week has been the most calm I have been in months.  It seems waiting is much easier when you are waiting to be submitted and everything is in the hands of our facilitators in the girls country.  It is hard to believe we are going to be traveling soon. In fact I have had some extra time to do some things around our house.  Last night I actually painted our living room, and now I'm thinking about painting the girls room.  We moved into our house right before committing to Nellie (Bella) and I have done nothing to our house didn't even have photos on the wall because every free moment for months was scrambling around doing all the paperwork for our adoption.  So now it sort of feels like I'm nesting, tackling one room at a time and making it my own.

A few days ago, I did another coupon class to help raise money for our adoption.  This one was different then the others that I have done.  There were a few women that came in late and missed when I talked about the girls, and the adoption.  After the class, one of these ladies asked me about our adoption.  I started telling her and she recognized reeces rainbow from the news special they did around Christmas time.  I went into more detail and her eyes welled up with tears.I could tell her heart was broken.  We had an instant connection, love for the least of these.  Every time I turned to her, her eyes were red and started to tear up again.  Pray friends, pray that she persuses more information about orphans, pray that she gets a hold of me with more questions. This so thrills me, I have been praying that in some way The Lord would use our story  and that it would have profound effects on others.  In the seven months that we have been preparing to bring our girls home this is the first time I have seen someone get.  She got it, she understood, her heart broke.  I pray that in someway she is moved to action.  I do not even know her name, but my hunch is that she is going to inquire more. This actually makes my heart do flips.  I die inside every time I see another orphan transferred to an institution, I wonder why, why does this happen.  But I know that we are starting to band together and the world is starting to see the crisis at hand and we are doing it one at a time.  It just thrills me to know.  God is so Good.

Please continue to share our balloon release fundraiser.  We are close but we are still so far away.  Please share on your blogs, facebook, and tell your friends.  I am so in awe of how you guys have supported us with this fundraiser we now have 44 balloon that will be released on March 25th.  Thank you so much.

8000 to fully funded!!!!

I sent our paperwork off yesterday and have been stalking UPS all day.  It left Kearney, traveled to Omaha, then checked in Kentucky.  It must have boarded a plane at that point because according to the UPS website it will be delivered tomorrow sometime.  I know, I'm working on the control thing but when you work months on end on paperwork you don't want to hand it over to our mail system for it to get lost.  So I have been praying over the mail that our paperwork makes it safely.  Yes, I'm a bit of a control freak, if it was up to me I would hand deliver it myself.  I truly am working on letting go.  So what comes next?  After all of our paperwork is received, it needs to be translated into a different language, and when that is finished and everything is the way it is supposed to be we will get a phone call saying that we are submitted.  Please pray that our paperwork is submitted by March 1st.  If we aren't, there are a few documents that we will need to redo.

We had a huge blessing come in the other day and a family member sent us a check for 1500.00.  When I opened the card I could hardly believe it.  I won't mention names because I don't know if they want us to or not, but we are so thankful to have family love us so much.  It is awesome to say that we now only need 8,000 to be fully funded.  I really can not believe it.  It is amazing that we are getting there.  I am so thankful to all of you who have sent us money.  Asking is so hard for me, I really am learning more about humility.  I have worked hard during the last 6 months, working double shifts  and putting all the extra towards our adoption.  I have had a garage sale and sold stuff,  I have the money from our tax refund towards this adoption.  Needless to say I learned that I can't do this all on my own, and it is you that pray for us, and help us emotionally, and financially get us to the end.  Ultimately it takes us all to get our girls here.   I don't have the words to say but thanks for helping us.

Please continue to share our balloon fundraiser, and in a few days there will we another prize added.

It is FINISHED.  Our dossier is FINISHED!!!!!!!!  Girls here we come.

Balloon Release March 25th

 I just wanted to say, thank you so much for supporting our family right now.  The overwhelming response that our balloon fundraiser has had in the past few day is unbelievable to me.  We truly thank you for all you do to help us emotionally and financially. God has been showing me daily His faithfulness, and I continue to sit in Awe of who He is.  

In honor of World Down Syndrome day on March 21st, we are having a "STEP UP FOR DOWNS DAY"  event in Kearney on Sunday the 25th of March from 1-3pm, First United Methodist Church 4500 Linden Drive, Kearney NE.  This day is not only about our family adopting but about getting out awareness to our community about down syndrome.  If you aren't far please come and support us.  Please contact me if you would like flyers to sponsor walkers.  

As you all know there is another special family in our community getting ready to adopt sweet Atrem.  There family along with several others are helping to make this event happen.  So this fundraiser is for both of our families, as we will be bringing home three sweet children home into our community soon.  They will grow up together.  It brings tears to my eyes knowing that our town not only loves orphans but loves orphans with special needs.  The Lord knew what he was doing when he put these precious children on my heart.  I rejoice in knowing that I have a community full of people who will love my children.  I rejoice in knowing that there are a handful of special women out there so liked minded as me.  I met Atrems sweet mama the other day and can hardly believe it when I heard her talk.  She desperately has a heart just like mine to just love these little ones so much.  When I here her talk, I here myself talk, it is just so amazing.  

Friends I'm here to plead for help, our paperwork will be sent in days.  We will be traveling soon.  More than likely the beginning of April and we are trusting that the last 10,000 will come in.  Seeing my babies for Easter how perfect is that? What you, my online friends can do to help.  Be a part of our special day by buying a balloon. 

What my online friends can do.

BALLOON RELEASE  The funds from this event will help us bring home our girls.  This event will have a special spot in my heart because these balloons will hold information about rr, and children waiting  for there forever  famililes.  It is easy really.  Put 10.00 in the chip in for the balloon release for each balloon purchase and tell me which child you want to sponsor.  Any child on RR without a family.  Your 10.00 will buy a balloon and attached will be information about rr, and a plea to help orphans with a photo and information about your chosen child. 

Make sure you leave a comment here telling me who you are, and which child you want to sponsor.

 Then in March , I will upload a video of the event for everyone to see.

GIVEAWAY will take place the day of the balloon release, everyone who bought a balloon will be entered, each balloon bought is one entry in the giveaway.  Also, if you share this fundraiser let me know and I will put your name in the drawing each time you share.  ( There have been a few more donations of prizes I will add in the upcoming days)

Prize #1  100.00 giftcard to Walmart

Prize # 2 100.00 giftcard to Target

Prize #3  A Vera Bradley bag.

 Prize #4

There is one for each month and then one with a cupcake for birthday. 

Disappointed!  First it has been quite the week.  Friday night Nathan had the stomach bug all night long, Saturday night it was Noah, Sunday it was Zachary and Caleb.  Sunday night, I started to get sick and am now just getting over it.  So it has been quite the week.  On the up side hopefully we won't be sick when it is time to travel.  However, today was the day that I kept telling everyone that our dossier would be sent. I was wrong, again.  Seems to me whenever I have a projected date, it is completely wrong.  It has kind of been emotional because I desperately wanted to send our paperwork today.  This is what happened, I sent in our paperwork to get the official state stamp, and was told they were sending all of our paperwork back unstamped.  Why, because our social workers licence needed to be an original not a photocopy. (News to me and my stateside helper.) So my dear husband is running to Lincoln on Friday to get this taken care of.  Apparently the office with state licenses is one door away from the secretary of states notary office.  So I am not even trying to attempt a day that it will be mailed next week, that way I won't be disappointed.

Our adoption costs

Our Adoption Costs

ACTUAL EXPENSES:

$1316.00   Homestudy fee
$1305.00   Commitment fee

$10.00       Local police department fingerprinting fee
$36.00      FBI Fingerprinting fee
$45.00      Copies of Marriage Licience
$302.00     Passports

$80.00       Medical co pays

$80.00        Apostille fees for CSPs and POAs (8 documents) 

$40.00        Apostille fee's for redo's because country changed names
$120.00      UPS shipping to Eastern Europe
$40.00        Overnight documents so another family could hand deliver paperwork
$975.00      USCIS application
$390.00      Apostille fees for all dossier documents 

$500.00          wire to country to send over with dossier.
$175.00           ship dossier over to country


$5414.00  Total spent to date

ANTICIPATED EXPENSES
(all of these are approximate at this time and may be more or less):
$ 6000.00    Airfare
$ 2000.00   Lodging ($100/night X20 days)
$400.00  Food/other supplies ($20/day X 20 days)
$13,000     Facilitator fees
$ 1000   Transportation (train, driver or taxi to visit the institution and to collect                                                     documents, go to court, etc)
$ 1200.00 2 passports
$ 1100.00   Visa and medica
$  720   USCIS fee for Gracie
$  2000   Girlie  flights home!
_________________________________________________
$27,420  Anticipated total of costs yet to be incurred

For a grand total of . . .

$32,834 Our estimate of what it will cost to ransom two children from Eastern Europe

What we have and what we still need:

Bella and Gracie's grants:   10,000

FSP                                      1037

Tax refund and savings          6000
other donations                     2000


Total of what we have          19,037
Total of what we still need    8383


I wanted to break this down so that everyone knows where we stand,  God has provided   24,451. I am in awe of how everything has been provided so far.  Just the other day, the day we needed 390.00 to send in for apostilling documents.  Moments before heading to send them off, an old daycare family came and paid an old  bill, in total they paid me 400.00.  The money that was needed to get the apostilling done.  There have been many moments like this in our process. At the beginning we ended up not needing to pay our mortgage one month, and that helped pay for another item on our list.  The Lord has continued to show me that He provides.  We have a little over a month to come up with 10,000 it seems like a huge task but I know we can get there.  Later today I will be sharing our next fundraiser, please share it with everyone you know.  

Bella and Gracie = my girlies

Sorry, I haven't updated in a few days.  I just have been busy.  As far as where we are in process we should be able to send off paperwork next week.  Just working on our taxes.  That is it everything else is finished.  I'm planning on sending all the documents on Wednesday.  I think I'm almost in shock that we are actually this close.

My heart has kind of been torn in two.  On one hand I am ecstatic that we are getting closer to the girls.  We have even picked out names Nellie is Isabella (Bella) and Katelyn is Grace (Gracie).  I am thrilled that soon they won't be sitting in orphanages but will be home and loved by our family.  On the other hand I look at the thousands of children that will continue to be there living the life that my girls will get to leave.  It really haunts me.  I'm afraid that when we walk into the orphanages our eyes will be opened to a new degree, and I know that those precious children are all going to touch my heart. I know me and I know I won't want to leave any of them behind.  I have been praying about what life will be like after the girls get home and how I can be used to help these other kids.  I have no idea how the Lord is going to use me but I look forward to seeing what He has planned.  I know that adoption is not the end for me.  There is more, even if I an only adopt two, I can help bring home others just not sure what that entails yet.


For the moment I need to stay focused.  It is quite the task trying to get everything all set up for when we are gone.  I'm trying to make a list but the list keeps getting longer and longer.   Keeping food, school, kids, and daycare kids going with me not here seems to take a lot of people's help. It makes me wonder how I keep it all going smoothly.  I am really grateful for all of those willing to help.

I am truly leaping with joy.  I can not even explain the stress, that seems to be gone.  I am so thankful for the support of all my new found internet friends.  Each of you have held me up in the moments that I really wondered if we were ever going to get there.  I believe that I see an end in sight.  All the countless hours of worry, splashed with paperwork that seemed never ending on top of life seemed like such a daunting task.  I truly can say I have a new kind of respect for families who adopt.  Really I had no clue when we started how difficult this would be.
Now I know we have just hit the next part, which I have come to expect will be difficult.  Thinking about being in a country where I can't communicate with others because of  the language barrier,  the unknown of the orphanages, the food, the culture.  The paperwork trail in a country where I wont have a clue as to how to get places, and the emotional part of actually meeting the girls.  The thing is I am so ready to go, I should be shaking in my boots, but instead my head says bring it on I can do it.  So here we are, ready for the next season of this process.
I will have another fundraiser  coming up in a week or so.  We are right at the 10,000 mark now.  To me that seems impossible to come up with in the next month and a half, and I could fret but, we have made it this far.  There have been moments when God has had to carry me because there was just no way I could do it myself.  I have seen His presence through this whole process and know that we will get there.  I have faith that soon I can hold those my girls in my arms.

We have been approved

I only have a few moments, but wanted to let everyone know that we have been approved by immigration.  We are so close.  I am overjoyed, girlies we are coming for you soon.

WAITING

UPDATE:
I have spend the whole afternoon on the phone. I have called senators in Nebraska, and have been told to email several different people.  So tonight I am emailing away. Please pray, as I was told by two different people in different senator offices that they were going to work on this for us.  There is still hope to have paperwork in country very soon.


The waiting is so hard.  I keep myself busy so it  doesn't consume my every thought. I call daily to find our if we are getting close to immigration approval. We still haven't been assigned an officier as I just got off from the phone again. I pray that when I talk to someone the answer is yes your immigration paperwork is approved.   It feels like I am walking around holding my breath, and as soon as the paperwork is approved I will be able to breathe again.  The daily phone calls are starting to get to me, because they tell me the same thing day after day, and what they say is I have to wait.  So in the meantime I wait, and wait and wait some more.  The country the girls are in reopens and processes dossiers on February 9th,  and that was so my goal.  My goal was to have it all sent in for that day.  This is out of my hands there is nothing else that I can physically do to get approval.

Adoption is definitely not for the faint of heart, it's a good thing I'm not a quitter.  Trying to push through this with a good attitude, I am not good at waiting.