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,