Update... and sheets, anyone??

As you know, we are adopting a sibling group from Ethiopia.  We have finished what is affectionately know as the "paper chase," where we have had home visits with a social worker and completed piles of forms and paperwork for both our government and Ethiopia's.  

We are now waiting. 

We have been approved for up to 4 children ages 0-14 years old.  We are completely trusting the Lord's providential wisdom, that He's preparing for us the exact children He has for our family.  Our hope is for a sibling group of 2 or 3 children, but we know the Lord will only give us what He's equipped us for!

Adopting is ridiculously expensive!  We knew it would cost a lot, but we never could have guessed exactly how much!  The estimated cost to adopt 2 children is $40,000... and God has graciously provided just over $14,000 thus far!  We've had yard sales, sold t-shirts, hosted Pampered Chef parties, received donations from friends and family, and even held an orphan care dinner-- and now we're selling sheets!  We will keep our goal of $40,000 based on a sibling group of 2 until we learn otherwise... if we do, in fact, receive a match for a larger sibling group, the cost to adopt them increases approximately $5-7K per child.

As of today, we've paid out over $11,000 in expenses to our agency and our government for the process (fingerprinting, home study, etc.)  We have just over $3,000 in our adoption fund.  The day we receive our referral (child match), we have 7 days to accept and pay the referral fee, which is the largest lump-sum payment in the whole process.  The referral fee for 2 siblings is $14,200, and the agency adds $5,000 for each additional child.  So, while we completely trust that the Lord will provide, we are working tirelessly with a variety of fundraisers to raise the money necessary to bring our children home!  We would be devastated to have to reject a child match because we didn't have the money needed to adopt them!!!

We discovered this fundraiser from 2 of my family members' experiences with the sheets.  My aunt and cousin had purchased them for a different organization's fundraising.  Much to their surprise, the sheets were amazing!  Truly, they said, "Macy's quality sheets at K-mart prices!"  Between 1200-1500 thread count, deep pocketed, with lots of colors to choose from, they decided to secretly begin selling sheets to friends and our family without ever letting us know!  Within just a few weeks, they'd sold over 50 sets, and raised over $500 for our adoption!  They met me out one night just after Derby and gave us a check for $560 for our adoption!  And they STILL have people calling and asking for more!  

They told us about it, that it's the easiest thing they've ever done for a couple reasons: 1) the sheets are priced so inexpensively, 2) the quality is so good, and 3) once people bought one set and received theirs, most called to order more!  

There's no deadline on ordering... this is an on-going fundraiser, and we can order any amount at any time.  However, we are working hard to raise the $14-19,000 referral fee so we eliminate the risk of having to reject a child match because of not having enough money.  So every sheet set you order gets us a little bit closer to bringing our children home!

We have said many times since beginning this journey that it takes a village to adopt a child... and we are so grateful to those people who are a part of the village helping to get our children home!!  We're praying the village continues to grow with more folks wanting to be a part of our family's story!

If you'd like to order sheets, you can comment on this post and we'll add your order to our next batch.  Simply include size, color and quantity.  The sheets are $35 per set, no matter which size or color you choose.  You can mail a check to us when you order.  Thanks again for your support!

Much love,

From Ella....

Hi, new siblings! 

Guess what we've been doing for the past like 4 days? 

We've been cleaning out our basement to raise money for you guys to come home with us!!  And we have a lot of stuff to sell to help get you home!! 

I really want new siblings to have even more fun than we normally have at our house! 

I really hope that you guys have more than enough blessings that God has sprinkled on you and your guardians right now.  And now I wish for MORE blessings on you!

Love your future sister,
Ella

Waiting

Waiting isn't what I thought it would be.

I'm not exactly sure what I had in mind.  Perhaps a peaceful reprieve compared to the crazy rush of getting paperwork and forms together.  Time to play with the kids, enjoy the weather, actually get back into living in the present with them....maybe some time to enjoy our current family as it is today, kind of like the last trimester of each of my pregnancies.

Alas, no such wait exists, at least not right now.

There's still much to do, and I'm still praying for balance in the midst of this journey.  I do believe that's what it's about for me right now.  Trying to stay in the present with our kids here and live in my heart with our future kiddos, praying for all of them and relishing the time we have right now, waiting on the Lord and trusting His timing and His plan.  The Lord is refining my character every day of this journey, and for that, I am thankful.

We completed our homestudy last week, submitted all of our forms, paperwork, letters, etc., and even turned in our completed dossier.  We wrote several checks-- paid for everything up to our referral, which means we've paid out over $11,000 thus far for this process.  Praising God for providing every cent and praising Him for what we trust will be His continued provision.

Essentially, there's nothing left for us to do on our side of this process (except PRAY.)  We've done our part, and now "we wait."

We wait on a phone call from our agency, matching us with a sibling group.  The call could come next week or next year; we just don't know... although we pray it's sooner than later.  We trust God's timing.  And we still don't know how many children!  So we trust that God, in His providential wisdom,  knows exactly what is best for our family and exactly which children in Ethiopia will be our forever children.

But I'm anxious.  Not in a worried kind of way.  More like you know you're about to get a really yummy treat and you can smell it baking, but you have to wait until it's completely cooked and cooled off before you can take a bite... that kind of anxious.  Excited, but kind of nervous that the treat might not be everything you've hoped it would be, or that it might even burn your mouth if you eat it too soon.

Have I mentioned that this waiting is NOTHING like I thought it would be??? It's just not easy, or peaceful... and it's only been a week!  My heart aches for those families who waited years, and for those families waiting now.

We continue our fundraising efforts... God has provided over $14,000 so far!  We are so grateful and thank Him daily for the people, provision and prayers that have been given on our family's behalf.  We are planning another few events and applying for grants and loans.  As it stands right now, we need another $26,000 to get our children home.  This doesn't scare us quite as much as the $40,000 did when we first began.  Because we know our God equips us for that which He calls us, and He has provided thus far. Truly, Ephesians 3:20-21 has been our lives for the past 4 months!

But when that call comes-- you know the one I referenced that could be next week or next year?-- well, when that call comes, we have ONE WEEK to accept the match and pay the fees associated with the referral.  As little as $14,200 or as much as $24,200, depending on how many children God has for us!  So we've upped our efforts, planning and selling and praying for ways to raise the money needed to get our children home.

You know, we had to see specialists to conceive Ella and Ava, and we have joked for years that Ava was our "most expensive child."  It's almost been a trophy in our house.  :-)  (Ella's 1 treatment was fully covered by insurance, but insurance didn't cover any of the 5 treatments we had before Ava was born.)  Obviously, we are overjoyed that we sacrificed at that time in our lives because now we have our sweet-spirited, precious Ava!  In much the same way, we sacrifice, but know with certainty that it will all be worth it when we get to meet our precious children!  And they'll most certainly be awarded the trophy for "most expensive!"

So we work, we wait, we pray, and we trust... Galations 6:7-10