4 months on the waitlist. 20+ to go. To say our October waitlist numbers were disappointing is an understatement. Our official #'s are Girl 116, Boy 100, and siblings 50. Not much movement.....hardly any referrals have gone out in the last couple months. The "veteran" adoptive parents I am in contact with say that this is the norm. When I say that I am disappointed about no referrals are going out, I want to mention that I in no way wish that a family be broken so that we can get our child.....It sounds kinda bad when I replay it in my head. :-) What is disappointing is that while there are plenty of kiddos that NEED us, most of them are "unadoptable". Read on......
I want to explain some things about the waitlist and referrals. So far, the number one question folks ask us about our adoption is "when will you get your child?". "What?! 2 years? why so long? Aren't there millions of orphans?' The answer is yes. There ARE millions of orphans.They all need families. And, while there are not enough families to cover all the orphans (sadly), there are plenty of families waiting to bring one or MORE of these littles into their family. I wish it were that easy. Unfortunately, the USCIS (dept of homeland security) is VERY peticular about allowing a child to be adopted. There has to be documentation that the child is an orphan, and they are very meticulous about this. The Ministry of Woman's Affairs in Ethiopia has also, in the last year, slowed waaayyy down in the number of adoption cases they process daily. And, to add to that, the agency that we have contracted with has it's own set of rules about the children they accept into their orphanage. AGCI has to feel that the child will clear embassy with no difficulty before they accept that child. Which means that they do their own research about the background of the case on top of the research already done by the government. So, you can see now why it takes so long. There was a time a couple years ago when an adoption could be completed and the kiddo would be home in 9-12 months. Our agency is telling new applicants now to expect 24 months, and LONGER. Ugh.
While the wait is tough, we are so glad that we chose the agency that we did. We like their approach to adoption. They are in it for the children, and there to find families for children, not children for families. They partner with only select orphanages, and do not seek out children.
Did you all know that it is National Adoption Month? Is it coincidence that it's the month to be thankful as well? ;-) So, If ya know any adoptive families, give them a shout out, will ya?!
Thanks for following us, all!! Stick around, the best is yet to come ;-)
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Yep, we're still waiting!
3 months on the waitlist. And, some days more than others, it seems as though there is an eternity still to go. Today is one of those days, unfortunately. It feels like that 41st week of pregnancy when you so long to meet your child, to kiss his head, to smell his hair. You know that day WILL come, but the wait is heatbreaking.
Galatians 6:9 says this.... "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
It's God's version of "just keep swimming, just keep swimming...." :-)
Our waitlist numbers came in an email today....not much movement, but any movement, I'll take!
We are officially # 117 girls, #101 boys, and # 47 siblings.
All else is good.....Jaden is getting the hang of 1st grade, that took a few weeks to adjust to. His teachers are all very pleased with him, and so are we! Kevin and I are coaching soccer this year, and we are busy with life in general.
Our next fundraiser is TOMORROW! LimeBerry is a self serve frozen yogurt place, and they are hosting a fundraiser for us, and when you come in and purchase between 4-8 pm we get 20% of the sales to help with our adoption costs. The location is on Tumwater BLVD, by the airport.
I'll also be getting our online auction together, and will be starting it mid-october. It will be on my personal Facebook page, as this is the easiest way to manage it. If you want to be a part of it, shoot me a friend request. I'm under Jamie Nichols. I'm pretty excited about that one, I have lots of neat things to auction off!!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!!!
Galatians 6:9 says this.... "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
It's God's version of "just keep swimming, just keep swimming...." :-)
Our waitlist numbers came in an email today....not much movement, but any movement, I'll take!
We are officially # 117 girls, #101 boys, and # 47 siblings.
All else is good.....Jaden is getting the hang of 1st grade, that took a few weeks to adjust to. His teachers are all very pleased with him, and so are we! Kevin and I are coaching soccer this year, and we are busy with life in general.
Our next fundraiser is TOMORROW! LimeBerry is a self serve frozen yogurt place, and they are hosting a fundraiser for us, and when you come in and purchase between 4-8 pm we get 20% of the sales to help with our adoption costs. The location is on Tumwater BLVD, by the airport.
I'll also be getting our online auction together, and will be starting it mid-october. It will be on my personal Facebook page, as this is the easiest way to manage it. If you want to be a part of it, shoot me a friend request. I'm under Jamie Nichols. I'm pretty excited about that one, I have lots of neat things to auction off!!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!!!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
August numbers (a little late!)
Ok, so I am really terrible at updating out little blog these days. Sigh!!! Everytime I sit to update, I think about the laundry that needs folded, or lunches that need made, or Pinteresting that needs done (lol). So, our new numbers are...... #121 girl, #103 boy, and #49 siblings!! Moved up a smidge. Just a smidge.
What a busy summer of getting absolutely nothing accomplished!! A camping trip, a trip to Silverwood, some church activities, some little day activities....that's all I can remember of our summer, yet we were crazy busy!! Now school has started again, and I am starting to feel some sense of normalcy again! I am so glad to be back in a routine. I do thrive on routine!! Jaden started 1st grade last week at Centralia Christian School, and is already loving it. Hope his thirst for learning continues.....We were working on some online learning games tonight, and one of the options was a math game. He said "oooh, that one looks fun!" Yep, math is fun, Bug!!
We had another very successful rummage sale this last weekend, bringing in nearly $2200!!! YAY! It was fabulous! Unfortunately, though, we have decided to cancel the Bunco night. Just not enough interest in it. God continues to pave the way to our little one.....sometimes with little pebbles, sometimes with big stones. I am learning more and more to just keep trusting, and to keep my faith in Him. We have some amazing prizes that were donated for the Bunco, though.....so I am going to be having an online auction in the next month or so with these prizes, and more!! Looking for donations for this auction if anyone would like to donate. It can be really anything new. Crafts you make, something from your business, baked goods, canned goods, really....ANYTHING!!! Let me know if you have something to donate. We are also still collecting cell phones...I've enlisted one far away friend (thanks, Cam!) to collect EVERY used cell phone in Texas, maybe you could do the same? It's easy to do, let me know if you are interested.
Our next fundraiser will be September 29th....At LimeBerry!!! It's simple.....Go to the LimeBerry on this day(the one by the airport in Oly) between 4-8pm. Order. Pay. Help our little one come home!! BRING YOUR CREW!!! We get 20% of the profit from these 4 hours, so the more that show up, the more we get!!
I'll close with this....A letter to our child....
To our precious little one-
We are waiting for you. You are probably not even born yet, maybe just a glimmer in God's eye at this point. And yet I love you. I love you like you are here, in our house, and have been with us since the beginning. My heart has a special place for you, my little one. We are preparing for you as we wait; reading books, saving vacation time, adjusting our finances, preparing the heart of your big brother, and most of all, VERY most of all.....we are praying. Praying for you, that your heart will be strong, and you will be healthy, and you will adjust to becoming a part of our family, to our world....it will be so different here, little one. We are also praying for your birth family. I cannot in a million years imagine having to give up my baby, for any reason. We pray that they will find piece in thir hearts, as they give you up to a better life, for whatever reason. I also love your birth family, little one, for the gift they are going to give us....YOU. We are also praying for us, and everyone in our lives. This is going to be a huge adjustment, my sweet baby, for all of us. You are not going to be very sure about us, , and we are going to do our very best to ensure you are safe and healthy. We are new at this though. Parenting you will be different, with different issues, and we are praying that God gives us the knowledge, and the strength to know how to handle issues.
I must admit, little one, while I am excited, I am equally as scared. I know God is by our side. After all, this is HIS story, we are merely the supporting actors. We are His sheep, He our shepard. And for this reason, I have faith.
Little one, we will do everything in our power to give you the life you deserve. We will teach you love, love of your family, love of your Father in heaven. We will teach you right from wrong, and pray that we do this well. We will teach you what God wants from you, what you can do to serve our mighty God. And we will love you. That you can be sure of. We are your parents, you are our child.
So, for another 1.5-2 years, we will pray daily for you and love you more and more with every passing day. You are so worth it. God thinks so, and so do we.
With much love, sweet baby.....
Momma.
What a busy summer of getting absolutely nothing accomplished!! A camping trip, a trip to Silverwood, some church activities, some little day activities....that's all I can remember of our summer, yet we were crazy busy!! Now school has started again, and I am starting to feel some sense of normalcy again! I am so glad to be back in a routine. I do thrive on routine!! Jaden started 1st grade last week at Centralia Christian School, and is already loving it. Hope his thirst for learning continues.....We were working on some online learning games tonight, and one of the options was a math game. He said "oooh, that one looks fun!" Yep, math is fun, Bug!!
We had another very successful rummage sale this last weekend, bringing in nearly $2200!!! YAY! It was fabulous! Unfortunately, though, we have decided to cancel the Bunco night. Just not enough interest in it. God continues to pave the way to our little one.....sometimes with little pebbles, sometimes with big stones. I am learning more and more to just keep trusting, and to keep my faith in Him. We have some amazing prizes that were donated for the Bunco, though.....so I am going to be having an online auction in the next month or so with these prizes, and more!! Looking for donations for this auction if anyone would like to donate. It can be really anything new. Crafts you make, something from your business, baked goods, canned goods, really....ANYTHING!!! Let me know if you have something to donate. We are also still collecting cell phones...I've enlisted one far away friend (thanks, Cam!) to collect EVERY used cell phone in Texas, maybe you could do the same? It's easy to do, let me know if you are interested.
Our next fundraiser will be September 29th....At LimeBerry!!! It's simple.....Go to the LimeBerry on this day(the one by the airport in Oly) between 4-8pm. Order. Pay. Help our little one come home!! BRING YOUR CREW!!! We get 20% of the profit from these 4 hours, so the more that show up, the more we get!!
I'll close with this....A letter to our child....
To our precious little one-
We are waiting for you. You are probably not even born yet, maybe just a glimmer in God's eye at this point. And yet I love you. I love you like you are here, in our house, and have been with us since the beginning. My heart has a special place for you, my little one. We are preparing for you as we wait; reading books, saving vacation time, adjusting our finances, preparing the heart of your big brother, and most of all, VERY most of all.....we are praying. Praying for you, that your heart will be strong, and you will be healthy, and you will adjust to becoming a part of our family, to our world....it will be so different here, little one. We are also praying for your birth family. I cannot in a million years imagine having to give up my baby, for any reason. We pray that they will find piece in thir hearts, as they give you up to a better life, for whatever reason. I also love your birth family, little one, for the gift they are going to give us....YOU. We are also praying for us, and everyone in our lives. This is going to be a huge adjustment, my sweet baby, for all of us. You are not going to be very sure about us, , and we are going to do our very best to ensure you are safe and healthy. We are new at this though. Parenting you will be different, with different issues, and we are praying that God gives us the knowledge, and the strength to know how to handle issues.
I must admit, little one, while I am excited, I am equally as scared. I know God is by our side. After all, this is HIS story, we are merely the supporting actors. We are His sheep, He our shepard. And for this reason, I have faith.
Little one, we will do everything in our power to give you the life you deserve. We will teach you love, love of your family, love of your Father in heaven. We will teach you right from wrong, and pray that we do this well. We will teach you what God wants from you, what you can do to serve our mighty God. And we will love you. That you can be sure of. We are your parents, you are our child.
So, for another 1.5-2 years, we will pray daily for you and love you more and more with every passing day. You are so worth it. God thinks so, and so do we.
With much love, sweet baby.....
Momma.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
July numbers
My, goodness, where has our summer gone?! Is there really only 1 more month until school starts?! Our family has been crazy busy, but not accomplishing much if that makes sense!! We've been getting projects around the house completed, getting ready for fall soccer(who's idea was it to COACH this year!!), planning more fundraisers(stay tuned!), and squeezing in some swimming, and other summer fun in between!!
Wow! There has been MUCH movement in Ethiopia this month! Our current #'s on the waitlist are......
#127 girl, #109 boy, and # 51 siblings!!! We are sure moving right along on this waitlist! And, unofficially, we are one less on each list, as there were 2 more babies referred in the last 3 days. In the past, the average referrals per month was 2 for AGCI. In the last month alone(our first month on the waitlist) we have moved up about 15 spots!! When we started this process, both Kevin and I had a feeling that it wouldn't take the 2 years that our agency prepared us to wait....we felt it would be less. And going by these trends, it will be MUCH less!! BUT, we are still waiting....however long it takes. Waiting for our Lord, waiting for Him to move mountains in our lives. I love our little Nichols already :-)
I must say, half of me is writing this post with pure excitement, because this means that we are that much close to OUR little one, and these children will now know the love of a family and GOD!! But the other part of me is filled with sorrow.....You see, adoption does not come without loss, the kind of loss that most of say "i could NEVER do that!". My heart aches for these little ones, who are losing their birth family. It aches for the birth parents, who sometimes have no choice but to give up their child, because of poverty or illness. I continually pray for these little ones, their birth families, and their forever families. Would you join us in praying for these babies? And also for the babies that don't get to be matched with a forever families.....there are plenty of them as well. I wish I could take more....I wish I could do more.
So, I've been doing some number crunching lately too. So far, we are about $7500 funded for our adoption. Not too bad, but we still have so far to go, especially since our "paid in" total is far more than our "paid off" total. I would so love to be out of adoption debt before our little one comes home. We are so appreciative of everyone who has supported us thus far, and are humbly asking for more help!!! But, friends, I know that resources are scarce for alot....so what we are asking for mostly is PRAYERS!!!!! We covet your prayers!! Prayers for our journey, in general... We pray that our fundraisers will be successful, not only in earnings, but we are trying to come up with fundraisers that are fun and great and that don't put too much pressure and stress on people. Second, we need HELP with our fundraisers! Help with planning, help with making our events happen, help getting donations, and especially spreading the word, etc.And last thing is we need people to participate in our fundraiser, that's where you all come in, to help spread the word!! So here's a glimpse of what's coming up(or ongoing).....
1. BUNCO!! We will be having a Bunco fundraiser on Sept 22nd at Cooks Hill Community Church. Watch for details about ticket sales! Needs for this include prize donations(we already have alot of awesome ones!!), food(see me for details on this one), and BUNCO PLAYERS!!! This will be a great night!
2. Another yard sale! Sept 7-8th I will be having another yard sale. needs for this include helpers(please, please!) at the sale and donations for the sale. We'll gladly take your donations, whether it be a box full or a truck full!!
3. Cell phones-this will be an ongoing thing, if you come across one, keep us in mind and save it for us!
4. Our Adoption Bug T-shirt site! The link is at the top right of THIS BLOG!, you cal click on it and it will take you to our site. these are awesome t-shirts that show you are PROUD to support adoption!
I have more fun things in mind to keep us busy over the next year as well....stay tuned!
This is alot to soak in, I know.....I just want to give a HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to all who have supported and helped us thus far.....We have such a tremendous support system. You all are wonderful, and we so appreciate you.
Wow! There has been MUCH movement in Ethiopia this month! Our current #'s on the waitlist are......
#127 girl, #109 boy, and # 51 siblings!!! We are sure moving right along on this waitlist! And, unofficially, we are one less on each list, as there were 2 more babies referred in the last 3 days. In the past, the average referrals per month was 2 for AGCI. In the last month alone(our first month on the waitlist) we have moved up about 15 spots!! When we started this process, both Kevin and I had a feeling that it wouldn't take the 2 years that our agency prepared us to wait....we felt it would be less. And going by these trends, it will be MUCH less!! BUT, we are still waiting....however long it takes. Waiting for our Lord, waiting for Him to move mountains in our lives. I love our little Nichols already :-)
I must say, half of me is writing this post with pure excitement, because this means that we are that much close to OUR little one, and these children will now know the love of a family and GOD!! But the other part of me is filled with sorrow.....You see, adoption does not come without loss, the kind of loss that most of say "i could NEVER do that!". My heart aches for these little ones, who are losing their birth family. It aches for the birth parents, who sometimes have no choice but to give up their child, because of poverty or illness. I continually pray for these little ones, their birth families, and their forever families. Would you join us in praying for these babies? And also for the babies that don't get to be matched with a forever families.....there are plenty of them as well. I wish I could take more....I wish I could do more.
So, I've been doing some number crunching lately too. So far, we are about $7500 funded for our adoption. Not too bad, but we still have so far to go, especially since our "paid in" total is far more than our "paid off" total. I would so love to be out of adoption debt before our little one comes home. We are so appreciative of everyone who has supported us thus far, and are humbly asking for more help!!! But, friends, I know that resources are scarce for alot....so what we are asking for mostly is PRAYERS!!!!! We covet your prayers!! Prayers for our journey, in general... We pray that our fundraisers will be successful, not only in earnings, but we are trying to come up with fundraisers that are fun and great and that don't put too much pressure and stress on people. Second, we need HELP with our fundraisers! Help with planning, help with making our events happen, help getting donations, and especially spreading the word, etc.And last thing is we need people to participate in our fundraiser, that's where you all come in, to help spread the word!! So here's a glimpse of what's coming up(or ongoing).....
1. BUNCO!! We will be having a Bunco fundraiser on Sept 22nd at Cooks Hill Community Church. Watch for details about ticket sales! Needs for this include prize donations(we already have alot of awesome ones!!), food(see me for details on this one), and BUNCO PLAYERS!!! This will be a great night!
2. Another yard sale! Sept 7-8th I will be having another yard sale. needs for this include helpers(please, please!) at the sale and donations for the sale. We'll gladly take your donations, whether it be a box full or a truck full!!
3. Cell phones-this will be an ongoing thing, if you come across one, keep us in mind and save it for us!
4. Our Adoption Bug T-shirt site! The link is at the top right of THIS BLOG!, you cal click on it and it will take you to our site. these are awesome t-shirts that show you are PROUD to support adoption!
I have more fun things in mind to keep us busy over the next year as well....stay tuned!
This is alot to soak in, I know.....I just want to give a HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to all who have supported and helped us thus far.....We have such a tremendous support system. You all are wonderful, and we so appreciate you.
In you the orphan finds mercy.
Hosea 14:3
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Waitlist, BABY!!!!!!
Well, folks, 6 months of paper-chasing, document preparing, online education completing, workbook doing, and, of course, praying has paid off!!!!! We are officially on the waitlist for a referral for a beautiful Ethiopian baby!! Our official numbers are.....(drumroll, please!) #143 for a baby girl, #122 for a baby boy, and #61 for siblings(twins) under 12 months of age. I am......ELATED!!! So much that I am wondering, if I am this excited just to be on the waitlist, I am going to be CRAZY when we actually get our referral! We have been told to expect 24 months from this point, and we are praying like crazy for a referral sooner than this. But, God knows our child.....and we will wait for him/her. God gave Kevin this verse this morning, which he shared with me.....
"Wait Patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." Psalm 27:14.
I love how God gives you exactly what you need at the right time. He is just amazing.
So, to say the least, right now.....I am completely FREAKING OUT!! I think it hit me today that we are going to be parents again, we have to start getting out travel vaccines completed, and we have SO MUCH MORE money to earn!!! YIKES!!! Better get to work!
We recieved notice for our fingerprinting appts, which is on a day that completely doesnt work for us, and it is difficult to change the appt, so tomorrow we are going up to Tukwilla to beg and plead to do our fingerprints tomorrow(which I understand sometimes they will). Gonna do a little window shopping too, maybe a little IKEA!!
We were disappointed to cancel the carwash, but weatherman still calling for rain, so kinda glad we did. We are now rescheduled for the last Saturday in July, same place and time. If anyone can come help wash, even for a couple hours, can you let me know in advance please? I'd love to be able to plan who will be there at what time. We are also planning a Bunco night the end of September, get your team together!!! Thank you all so much!!!
THANK YOU, all for your continued prayers for us and our little one. We continually feel supported, and are grateful for you all. I cannot wait for all you to meet our little one, the one we have all been praying for! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I know ours just got off to a great beginning!!
"Wait Patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD." Psalm 27:14.
I love how God gives you exactly what you need at the right time. He is just amazing.
So, to say the least, right now.....I am completely FREAKING OUT!! I think it hit me today that we are going to be parents again, we have to start getting out travel vaccines completed, and we have SO MUCH MORE money to earn!!! YIKES!!! Better get to work!
We recieved notice for our fingerprinting appts, which is on a day that completely doesnt work for us, and it is difficult to change the appt, so tomorrow we are going up to Tukwilla to beg and plead to do our fingerprints tomorrow(which I understand sometimes they will). Gonna do a little window shopping too, maybe a little IKEA!!
We were disappointed to cancel the carwash, but weatherman still calling for rain, so kinda glad we did. We are now rescheduled for the last Saturday in July, same place and time. If anyone can come help wash, even for a couple hours, can you let me know in advance please? I'd love to be able to plan who will be there at what time. We are also planning a Bunco night the end of September, get your team together!!! Thank you all so much!!!
THANK YOU, all for your continued prayers for us and our little one. We continually feel supported, and are grateful for you all. I cannot wait for all you to meet our little one, the one we have all been praying for! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I know ours just got off to a great beginning!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Carwash cancelled.
We have decided to cancel the carwash that was scheduled Saturday June 30th. It is supposed to rain, and we need more helpers!! We are rescheduling it for the last Saturday of July. Family and friends, please consider giving a few hours of your time. Know that by doing this it will help a precious child know the love of 2 parents, a brother, and most of all.....God!! Thanks!!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Dossier mailed!
Just a quick update tonight....We received great news last week that AGCI(agency) has changed their policy and are now allowing families to submit their dossier for review BEFORE they are fingerprinted for USCIS. YEAH!! It's a small victory, but I'll take it.....what this means is that we basically will shave off about a month of waiting for paperwork. I mailed the dossier to AGCI friday, they will review it this week, we are PRAYING for NO mistakes or glitches!!! If it is ok(it has to be PERFECT-ONE tiny detail off and we have to re-do whatever is wrong!) then it will be submitted to Ethiopia for approval. Then FINALLY we will be on the waitlist!!
We are having a carwash this Saturday June 30th at AutoZone on Yelm HWY from 10-4. I am still enlisting washers, dirty cars, and would anyone be willing to donate some car wash soap to us? Let me know ASAP, so I can get it before Saturday! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
We are having a carwash this Saturday June 30th at AutoZone on Yelm HWY from 10-4. I am still enlisting washers, dirty cars, and would anyone be willing to donate some car wash soap to us? Let me know ASAP, so I can get it before Saturday! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Upcoming fundraisers!
All is well in casa de la Nichols....Jaden is out of school for the summer, and this momma is SAD that I no longer have a kindergartener! Where in the world did this little BOY come from? Cuz I could have sworn that I had a bouncing baby boy last time I checked!! We are planning lots of stay-at-home or stay-near-to-home activities for the summer. Can't wait!!
Things are sort of at a stand-still on the adoption homefront....waiting to recieve our fingerprinting appointment notifications from the USCIS. Going to be working on getting our Dossier copied in the meantime(we have to have 3 complete copies of ALL the paperwork!!) That waiting list is getting SOOOO close ;-)
We have a few fundraisers going on at this time, something for EVERYONE to be involved in ! :-) We are collecting used cell phones to send in for recycling, this one is easy. Let me know if you have any laying around, I will come get them!! Ask around your place of work, friends, family if you would, you would be surprised how many have some just laying around! I made a flyer for my work, I can email it to you if you wish, to put in breakrooms, etc.
Also, the T-shirt fundraiser is ongoing, please see the link at the top right of our blog page, it will take you to our t-shirt site. We got some for ourselves, of course, and they ROCK!!! they are super cute, great quality, and a wonderful company to do business with!! LOVE THEM!! A great way to SHOW your support!!!.
And finally, We will be having a car wash on Saturday June 30th 10-4 at AutoZone 4840 Yelm Highway Lacey. If anyone is able to come wash cars, we would appreciate it, or just bring your dirty car to us for a washin!! Also does anyone work for a company/store that would be willing to donate the soap and maybe a couple of wash mitts for us?? Send me an email if you are able to help, jknichols@localaccess.com. Thanks all....hope to see you LINED UP that day!! ;-)
OH, and we are planning a BUNCO fundraiser event for the end of september....right now looking for a venue that is free or CHEAP, has a kitchen, and is clean. Shooting for our church, but just in case that doesn.t work out....shoot me an email if you would like to help with this event.
SO>>>>There are just a few things for us and others to be praying about! Please let me know if you have any questions about these fundraisers, we SOOOOO appreciate all your help!! It takes a villiage to raise a child.....well, it also takes one to ADOPT one!!
Things are sort of at a stand-still on the adoption homefront....waiting to recieve our fingerprinting appointment notifications from the USCIS. Going to be working on getting our Dossier copied in the meantime(we have to have 3 complete copies of ALL the paperwork!!) That waiting list is getting SOOOO close ;-)
We have a few fundraisers going on at this time, something for EVERYONE to be involved in ! :-) We are collecting used cell phones to send in for recycling, this one is easy. Let me know if you have any laying around, I will come get them!! Ask around your place of work, friends, family if you would, you would be surprised how many have some just laying around! I made a flyer for my work, I can email it to you if you wish, to put in breakrooms, etc.
Also, the T-shirt fundraiser is ongoing, please see the link at the top right of our blog page, it will take you to our t-shirt site. We got some for ourselves, of course, and they ROCK!!! they are super cute, great quality, and a wonderful company to do business with!! LOVE THEM!! A great way to SHOW your support!!!.
And finally, We will be having a car wash on Saturday June 30th 10-4 at AutoZone 4840 Yelm Highway Lacey. If anyone is able to come wash cars, we would appreciate it, or just bring your dirty car to us for a washin!! Also does anyone work for a company/store that would be willing to donate the soap and maybe a couple of wash mitts for us?? Send me an email if you are able to help, jknichols@localaccess.com. Thanks all....hope to see you LINED UP that day!! ;-)
OH, and we are planning a BUNCO fundraiser event for the end of september....right now looking for a venue that is free or CHEAP, has a kitchen, and is clean. Shooting for our church, but just in case that doesn.t work out....shoot me an email if you would like to help with this event.
SO>>>>There are just a few things for us and others to be praying about! Please let me know if you have any questions about these fundraisers, we SOOOOO appreciate all your help!! It takes a villiage to raise a child.....well, it also takes one to ADOPT one!!
Monday, June 11, 2012
I want your phones!!
Starting a new fundraiser! Turns out you can turn in old cell phones for cash. They don't pay much, on average, but if I get enough of them, could be profitable!! SOOO, do YOU have old phones collecting dust??? If so, kindly collect them, and I will come get them! Also, could you spread the word at your work, family, friends, etc.....? The more, the better!!
I have 6 of them total(yes, 6!!), if every family has a few the $$ will add up!!
Thanks again for your support!!
I have 6 of them total(yes, 6!!), if every family has a few the $$ will add up!!
Thanks again for your support!!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Wait. Be Still.
2 years. Two YEARS!! 730 days. That is such a long time. That is the current wait time for placement of a child. Breath in, Breath out. God is in control.
I am feeling anxious today, so I thought I'd come here to vent, and sort through all my many emotions. Bear with me while I work through it ;-)
When we started this process, we put ALL our faith in God. It still is, dont get me wrong. We were told the wait was long, and was longer than it was a year ago because of some newer policies set forth in Ethiopia. "We tell our families to expect a wait of up to 36 months.....Blah, blah." I heard it, but I guess I didn't really believe it, or maybe it didn't really sink in because we were SOOOO overwhelmed by all the paperwork we were to be busy with. But now, the paperwork is nearly done. And the wait is still there. Maybe I thought that the wait wouldn't REALLY be that long. I mean, there are roughly 147 MILLION orphans, right? How COULD it possible take that long to find us just one child? One child who needs us, our home, our love, GOD'S love. I feel like a child, impatient for Christmas to come. I am impatient for our child to come. Jaden so wants a brother (or even a sister!).
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God...."
I'm sad, quite frankly. There is a reason why we can't have children like most others, the "conventional" way. I am certain of the path God has set forth for us......aren't I? Yes, of course....of course I am. I feel it. I feel it in the depths of my soul. Why else would I commit to adopting an orphan, whose little life has been rocked, who could potentially change our entire world as we know it? Why else would I commit to the incredible cost of adoption, asking our friends, families, and perfect strangers to GIVE......GIVE their hard-earned money so that we....one little family....could make a difference for ONE? Yes, I am certain.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
I love my son. I would do anything in the world for him. I would go to the ends of the earth for him. I love our future child, and WILL go to the ends of the earth for him/her as well. So, I guess the answer is, Yes. It IS worth it.
"But I trust in you, Lord: I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands" Psalm 31:14-15.
Thanks for listening, and especially thank you for your prayers and support!!
I am feeling anxious today, so I thought I'd come here to vent, and sort through all my many emotions. Bear with me while I work through it ;-)
When we started this process, we put ALL our faith in God. It still is, dont get me wrong. We were told the wait was long, and was longer than it was a year ago because of some newer policies set forth in Ethiopia. "We tell our families to expect a wait of up to 36 months.....Blah, blah." I heard it, but I guess I didn't really believe it, or maybe it didn't really sink in because we were SOOOO overwhelmed by all the paperwork we were to be busy with. But now, the paperwork is nearly done. And the wait is still there. Maybe I thought that the wait wouldn't REALLY be that long. I mean, there are roughly 147 MILLION orphans, right? How COULD it possible take that long to find us just one child? One child who needs us, our home, our love, GOD'S love. I feel like a child, impatient for Christmas to come. I am impatient for our child to come. Jaden so wants a brother (or even a sister!).
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God...."
I'm sad, quite frankly. There is a reason why we can't have children like most others, the "conventional" way. I am certain of the path God has set forth for us......aren't I? Yes, of course....of course I am. I feel it. I feel it in the depths of my soul. Why else would I commit to adopting an orphan, whose little life has been rocked, who could potentially change our entire world as we know it? Why else would I commit to the incredible cost of adoption, asking our friends, families, and perfect strangers to GIVE......GIVE their hard-earned money so that we....one little family....could make a difference for ONE? Yes, I am certain.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
I love my son. I would do anything in the world for him. I would go to the ends of the earth for him. I love our future child, and WILL go to the ends of the earth for him/her as well. So, I guess the answer is, Yes. It IS worth it.
"But I trust in you, Lord: I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands" Psalm 31:14-15.
Thanks for listening, and especially thank you for your prayers and support!!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
5 months paper preggo!
5 months ago we begain this crazy process. Seems like we have been working on our paperwork for SO LONG.....We are so close to being able to submit our Dossier, I cannot wait!! Thats the good thing.....the bad thing is that compared to the wait we have up next, 5 months is nothing. This makes me so sad. We baby-sat for our dear friends the other day, who have a beautiful 11 month old baby girl, and taking care of her made me want ours home SO BAD!!!
On positive note, we recieved our notarized home study in the mail today. So, tomorrow I will be going to bank to get a cashiers check for $870, and heading to the post office to send away our USCIS application to get fingerprinting appt. Also, we can now start applying for grants, although since we are not adopting special needs or "waiting children," there are very few that we qualify for. every little bit helps, though.
Also, don't forget to check out our T-shirt website! The company is called adoption bug, they are a company that helps families with raising funds for adoption. Our family website is www.adoptionbug.com/nichols. Check it out, I am super excited to recieve our shirts in the mail(any day now) and will be wearing them PROUDLY!!!
Not much else to update today.....i am asking for 2 things specifically tonight, though, from our faithful supporters. We would so appreciate if you all would share our blog with your friends and family, spread the word about our endeavors. We are going to be continuing to have fundraisers, and would like to give as many people as possible the opportunity to support us and our call to serve our Lord. Keep checking in with us, watch for updates!! Also, would you pray specifically for our (my!!) patience.....I find myself getting anxious when I think about how much longer we will have to wait, please pray for peace within my heart through the next 1-2 years. Thank you so much!!!!
On positive note, we recieved our notarized home study in the mail today. So, tomorrow I will be going to bank to get a cashiers check for $870, and heading to the post office to send away our USCIS application to get fingerprinting appt. Also, we can now start applying for grants, although since we are not adopting special needs or "waiting children," there are very few that we qualify for. every little bit helps, though.
Also, don't forget to check out our T-shirt website! The company is called adoption bug, they are a company that helps families with raising funds for adoption. Our family website is www.adoptionbug.com/nichols. Check it out, I am super excited to recieve our shirts in the mail(any day now) and will be wearing them PROUDLY!!!
Not much else to update today.....i am asking for 2 things specifically tonight, though, from our faithful supporters. We would so appreciate if you all would share our blog with your friends and family, spread the word about our endeavors. We are going to be continuing to have fundraisers, and would like to give as many people as possible the opportunity to support us and our call to serve our Lord. Keep checking in with us, watch for updates!! Also, would you pray specifically for our (my!!) patience.....I find myself getting anxious when I think about how much longer we will have to wait, please pray for peace within my heart through the next 1-2 years. Thank you so much!!!!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Notice anything new?
Does anyone notice anything different about our page??? (hint-look to your right!!) We are now selling adoption T-shirts through a company called adoption bug, which helps fundraise for adoptive families! The link will take you directly to our T-Shirt site, and you have your choice of 6 T-shirts that I think are pretty awesome! SO, if you support adoption and are PROUD of it, grab one or ALL of these T's!! I think your WHOLE FAMILY will need one ;-) We get 40% of the sales toward our funds, and we sure could use it SOON!! Read on.....
Our home study is DONE and APPROVED by our agency, and in the mail to us as we speak! WHEW, that feels great!!! The next step will be to get I-600(department of homeland security) fingerprinting done ($875!!). That will take a few weeks to get back, and when it does our Dossier will be en route to Ethiopia!! ($6500-gulp!) Then we wait......Our official parameters we have decided on are boy OR girl, under 12 months at time of referral, twins OK(yes TWINS!), minor/correctable special needs OK. If we end up waiting for quite a while, we may end up changing the age parameters(lets face it-we're not getting any younger!!)
We are about $7500 funded for our total fees, with the fundraisers we've had thus far, $$ we have put into it, and the $2500 provided by my employer(although this actually wont come until we are finalized). We have about $22,500 more to cover to meet our goal of $30,000 or more that we expect to pay. We have many more fundraisers planned, and the T-shirt fundraiser will be ongoing. We pray for a great turnout at each of our fundraisers, this is such a worthy cause in our eyes. I wish we could bring all of them home!!
We get quite a few questions about why we chose International adoption, why not adopt from the US. Most people intent well, then there are the few who are just rude about it. I dont think that I have really explained what led us to Ethiopia, and why not the US. I will save that for another post, I feel so passionately about it that it may be a long post ;-)
All else is great on the homefront! Kevin and I are well, Jaden is finishing up baseball, and only has a week and a half left of Kindergarten. Man, I am sad about that! We have enjoyed this year SO much, I really hate to see it come to an end. We just love his school, and He has the BEST teacher, hate to see it end!! Hopefully next year will be just as wonderful!!
Stay tuned, our WONDERFUL supporters!!! God Bless you ALL!
Our home study is DONE and APPROVED by our agency, and in the mail to us as we speak! WHEW, that feels great!!! The next step will be to get I-600(department of homeland security) fingerprinting done ($875!!). That will take a few weeks to get back, and when it does our Dossier will be en route to Ethiopia!! ($6500-gulp!) Then we wait......Our official parameters we have decided on are boy OR girl, under 12 months at time of referral, twins OK(yes TWINS!), minor/correctable special needs OK. If we end up waiting for quite a while, we may end up changing the age parameters(lets face it-we're not getting any younger!!)
We are about $7500 funded for our total fees, with the fundraisers we've had thus far, $$ we have put into it, and the $2500 provided by my employer(although this actually wont come until we are finalized). We have about $22,500 more to cover to meet our goal of $30,000 or more that we expect to pay. We have many more fundraisers planned, and the T-shirt fundraiser will be ongoing. We pray for a great turnout at each of our fundraisers, this is such a worthy cause in our eyes. I wish we could bring all of them home!!
We get quite a few questions about why we chose International adoption, why not adopt from the US. Most people intent well, then there are the few who are just rude about it. I dont think that I have really explained what led us to Ethiopia, and why not the US. I will save that for another post, I feel so passionately about it that it may be a long post ;-)
All else is great on the homefront! Kevin and I are well, Jaden is finishing up baseball, and only has a week and a half left of Kindergarten. Man, I am sad about that! We have enjoyed this year SO much, I really hate to see it come to an end. We just love his school, and He has the BEST teacher, hate to see it end!! Hopefully next year will be just as wonderful!!
Stay tuned, our WONDERFUL supporters!!! God Bless you ALL!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
What a week!!
Wow, what a week we had last week!! TWO fundraisers in one week!! THANK YOU everyone who was involved!!
Wednesday the 16th my co-workers had a bake sale for us. Everyone pitched in, and brought some YUMMY goodies! By the end of the day, there was hardly anything left, and our total for this sale was just over $900!!! can you believe that?!
Saturday was our rummage sale, and MAN did we have a sale!!! Ford's Prairie Grange was STUFFED with donated yard sale items, and quite honestly I was in a panic that we would have to bring alot of that stuff back home. Folks kept coming in, and I think there was only a handful of people who didn't leave with something. After all said and done, we ended up brings home a small fraction of what we started with. Our total for the sale? $2045!!! woooooot!
So in one week alone, we earned over $3000 toward our adoption fund! WooHoo! The best part about our fundraisers is being able to spread the word about how God is working in our lives, and hearing others' stories. I have found that once people have adoption in their lives, and in their heart, they will share anything with whoever will listen. The same holds true for us. Since we advertised as an adoption fundraiser, that drew people in that had some experience in adoption, and it was wonderful chatting with those folks.
As far as our progress, we are awaiting the final draft of our home study, which may take a few weeks. Once that is finalized, we will be able to request a fingerprinting appt with USCIS(dept of homeland security). This will take a couple weeks, and THEN.......Finally we will be able to submit our dossier to Ethiopia!!!
Stay tuned for more updates, and some more FUN fundraisers we have planned! Thank you for your prayers!!
Wednesday the 16th my co-workers had a bake sale for us. Everyone pitched in, and brought some YUMMY goodies! By the end of the day, there was hardly anything left, and our total for this sale was just over $900!!! can you believe that?!
Saturday was our rummage sale, and MAN did we have a sale!!! Ford's Prairie Grange was STUFFED with donated yard sale items, and quite honestly I was in a panic that we would have to bring alot of that stuff back home. Folks kept coming in, and I think there was only a handful of people who didn't leave with something. After all said and done, we ended up brings home a small fraction of what we started with. Our total for the sale? $2045!!! woooooot!
So in one week alone, we earned over $3000 toward our adoption fund! WooHoo! The best part about our fundraisers is being able to spread the word about how God is working in our lives, and hearing others' stories. I have found that once people have adoption in their lives, and in their heart, they will share anything with whoever will listen. The same holds true for us. Since we advertised as an adoption fundraiser, that drew people in that had some experience in adoption, and it was wonderful chatting with those folks.
As far as our progress, we are awaiting the final draft of our home study, which may take a few weeks. Once that is finalized, we will be able to request a fingerprinting appt with USCIS(dept of homeland security). This will take a couple weeks, and THEN.......Finally we will be able to submit our dossier to Ethiopia!!!
Stay tuned for more updates, and some more FUN fundraisers we have planned! Thank you for your prayers!!
Monday, May 14, 2012
BLESSED
Have I mentioned how blessed we are?? Well, we SOOOO are. :-)
We have a couple fundraisers going on this week. A fellow nurse that I work with offered to arrange a bake sale at work to help with our adoption costs, and that will take place on Wednesday the 16th. Been baking up a storm for that! What a perfect excuse for me to bake!
And THEN......Saturday the 19th will be our rummage sale!! 8-5 at Fords Prairie Grange in Centralia, on Reynolds Road. MANY, MANY families have donated toward the sale, and we are so blessed by that. What is really cool, though, is that people we dont even KNOW are spreading the word about our sale in hopes of drumming up lots of customers! A cashier at the christian store told Kevin she would spread the word after he mentioned what we were up to this weekend.....a friend of a friend of a friend is telling EVERYONE she knows about it, and so on. Many people are offering to help with anything we need help with.
Things like this give me peace of mind that we are on the right path. God is leading us, and He is making sure that He is providing. I do have to say, though, that I do not like being, what's called in adoption world, a "fundraising family". Don't get me wrong....I am so THANKFUL for every single contribution toward our adoption. It's just that it is not in my nature to ask people for help, for donations, for anything really. i am sure that it is just the enemy that is putting these uneasy feelings in me. I know perfectly well that in adoption world, just about every family who are in the midst of an adoption are "fundraising families", and this is how it becomes affordable. I have to just keep telling myself, this is God's path for us, HE WILL PROVIDE!
Hope all the mommas had a great Mother's day, by the way!! My day was fantastic! Spent some time with MY mama, gramma, aunts, sister, etc, etc....then came home to some prizes from my boys. My little man is so stinking cute, and was SOOOO proud to give me his gifts and cards. Of course, handmade and hand picked by him, and I wouldn't have it any other way!! Those are the best ones! Oh, AND they both worked so hard and cleaned the house for me!! I can't imagine not being a mom, not knowing that love that only a mama can know. Amazing. just Amazing.
Our home study should be ready for our review by the end of the week, and if looks ok, will go to the family coordinator at AGCI for review. The next step after approval is to apply to the department of homeland security for an advanced petition to adopt, included in this is called a biophysical profile, which is advanced fingerprinting, eyeball scanning, etc. Once that is done, then we can send our Dossier off to Ethiopia!! Once reached in Ethiopia, our waiting will then begin.....
Until next time.....Thank you all for supporting us. Now come shop our rummage sale!!!! ;-)
We have a couple fundraisers going on this week. A fellow nurse that I work with offered to arrange a bake sale at work to help with our adoption costs, and that will take place on Wednesday the 16th. Been baking up a storm for that! What a perfect excuse for me to bake!
And THEN......Saturday the 19th will be our rummage sale!! 8-5 at Fords Prairie Grange in Centralia, on Reynolds Road. MANY, MANY families have donated toward the sale, and we are so blessed by that. What is really cool, though, is that people we dont even KNOW are spreading the word about our sale in hopes of drumming up lots of customers! A cashier at the christian store told Kevin she would spread the word after he mentioned what we were up to this weekend.....a friend of a friend of a friend is telling EVERYONE she knows about it, and so on. Many people are offering to help with anything we need help with.
Things like this give me peace of mind that we are on the right path. God is leading us, and He is making sure that He is providing. I do have to say, though, that I do not like being, what's called in adoption world, a "fundraising family". Don't get me wrong....I am so THANKFUL for every single contribution toward our adoption. It's just that it is not in my nature to ask people for help, for donations, for anything really. i am sure that it is just the enemy that is putting these uneasy feelings in me. I know perfectly well that in adoption world, just about every family who are in the midst of an adoption are "fundraising families", and this is how it becomes affordable. I have to just keep telling myself, this is God's path for us, HE WILL PROVIDE!
Hope all the mommas had a great Mother's day, by the way!! My day was fantastic! Spent some time with MY mama, gramma, aunts, sister, etc, etc....then came home to some prizes from my boys. My little man is so stinking cute, and was SOOOO proud to give me his gifts and cards. Of course, handmade and hand picked by him, and I wouldn't have it any other way!! Those are the best ones! Oh, AND they both worked so hard and cleaned the house for me!! I can't imagine not being a mom, not knowing that love that only a mama can know. Amazing. just Amazing.
Our home study should be ready for our review by the end of the week, and if looks ok, will go to the family coordinator at AGCI for review. The next step after approval is to apply to the department of homeland security for an advanced petition to adopt, included in this is called a biophysical profile, which is advanced fingerprinting, eyeball scanning, etc. Once that is done, then we can send our Dossier off to Ethiopia!! Once reached in Ethiopia, our waiting will then begin.....
Until next time.....Thank you all for supporting us. Now come shop our rummage sale!!!! ;-)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
home visit....CHECK!!
Whew! Home visit, DONE!! 6 long hours of talking to a complete stranger about our upbringing, our family relationships, our marriage, our deepest darkest secrets.......SO glad that's over!! It wasn't as bad as I though it would be, it was definately easier for Kevin as you all know how much he loves to talk!!
;-)
We are STILL waiting on a CPS background check from Tunesia for Kevin, and have to re-do our financial paperwork, but other that those things, we are done with the homestudy! Our social worker will take a couple weeks to write up our report, and once it is approved by everyone involved, it will be notarized and ready to ship off to Ethiopia!! I finally feel like we are making progress in this journey. I cannot believe it has been 4 months since we started this crazy process! The term "paper pregnancy" is such an accurate term for this process. just like pregnancy, there is lots of waiting, lots of impatience, lots of anticipation, lots of nausea(especially when you write those HUGE checks!!), and LOTS of faith....faith in God, faith in your care providers(our case manager being our OB!), and faith in each other. In pregnancy, you lean on your partner, you look in anticipation of the future, you dream about what will be, what may not be; you fear the worst, and hope for the best. Expecting by way of adoption is no different. only the waiting, anticipating, fearing, trusting, and dreaming period lasts 3 times as long.
We have amazing support. Our church family has been wonderful, our family, our friends, our co-workers.....people at the bank, folks at the secretary of state office, random people we share our journey with. We are so grateful for this support. Adoption puts a soft spot in just about everyone's heart, we have random people praying for us and our journey. It is amazing. and We are grateful! Our rummage sale is coming up, and we have recieved so many donations that they are filling up our home, and several more families are still bringing us things. This is going to be a MONSTER sale!!! Now that our paperwork is nearly done, we will be planning several more fundraisers to help in funding the incredible cost of bringing our child home. Depending on how this sale goes, we may have another one later in the summer/fall....we shall see. We are also in the works of planning a Bunco night, and possible a golf tourney(this one up in the air still). Thinking about taking my crafts and such "on the road" too, maybe doing a few holiday bazaars. We'll see how much time I can come up with!
As I close this post, my heart is happy and my dreams are big. It's starting to sink in the magnitude of this journey......it's huge. at least, in His eyes, it is. And because of that, it is in our eyes too. All for Him. :-)
;-)
We are STILL waiting on a CPS background check from Tunesia for Kevin, and have to re-do our financial paperwork, but other that those things, we are done with the homestudy! Our social worker will take a couple weeks to write up our report, and once it is approved by everyone involved, it will be notarized and ready to ship off to Ethiopia!! I finally feel like we are making progress in this journey. I cannot believe it has been 4 months since we started this crazy process! The term "paper pregnancy" is such an accurate term for this process. just like pregnancy, there is lots of waiting, lots of impatience, lots of anticipation, lots of nausea(especially when you write those HUGE checks!!), and LOTS of faith....faith in God, faith in your care providers(our case manager being our OB!), and faith in each other. In pregnancy, you lean on your partner, you look in anticipation of the future, you dream about what will be, what may not be; you fear the worst, and hope for the best. Expecting by way of adoption is no different. only the waiting, anticipating, fearing, trusting, and dreaming period lasts 3 times as long.
We have amazing support. Our church family has been wonderful, our family, our friends, our co-workers.....people at the bank, folks at the secretary of state office, random people we share our journey with. We are so grateful for this support. Adoption puts a soft spot in just about everyone's heart, we have random people praying for us and our journey. It is amazing. and We are grateful! Our rummage sale is coming up, and we have recieved so many donations that they are filling up our home, and several more families are still bringing us things. This is going to be a MONSTER sale!!! Now that our paperwork is nearly done, we will be planning several more fundraisers to help in funding the incredible cost of bringing our child home. Depending on how this sale goes, we may have another one later in the summer/fall....we shall see. We are also in the works of planning a Bunco night, and possible a golf tourney(this one up in the air still). Thinking about taking my crafts and such "on the road" too, maybe doing a few holiday bazaars. We'll see how much time I can come up with!
As I close this post, my heart is happy and my dreams are big. It's starting to sink in the magnitude of this journey......it's huge. at least, in His eyes, it is. And because of that, it is in our eyes too. All for Him. :-)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Home visit scheduled!!
Hi, all! We FINALLY, after months of obtaining various documents, have our home visit scheduled!! Will be next Friday, May 4th(can you believe it's almost May already!?) and we are hoping to have only one visit. Oh, sweet joy, I can TASTE the progress!!! We are still waiting for 1 document, a CPS background check from Tunesia. But, since this is our ONLY hold-up, they agreed to let us go ahead with the home visits. OK, time to start cleaning this house!!!!
This also means that we have to really decide on our referral parameters, since this has to be included in the homestudy write-up. We definately know that we want a young infant with minimal to no special needs, as we feel that this would fit in best with our family and lifestyle. We also could chose whether we wanted a boy or girl. This has been a bit difficult to decide. We both would like a girl to balance out our family(me more than Kevin!), but in the end we have decided that we will not specify one or the other gender. We feel that this takes away from a big part of why we are adopting, as God has called us to take this journey for HIM. We feel that if we were open to only one gender or the other, we would be closing an opportunity that God may have for us. God already has our little one chosen, in His design. We want to keep this adoption all in His name, His design, His guidance....So we will continue to be obedient, and let Him guide us. I would love a girl, but couldn't imagine my life without our little boy, so either will be more blessings than we could count. Instead, we will pray for healthy and happy.
Thank you all for your continued prayers. We are so blessed!!
This also means that we have to really decide on our referral parameters, since this has to be included in the homestudy write-up. We definately know that we want a young infant with minimal to no special needs, as we feel that this would fit in best with our family and lifestyle. We also could chose whether we wanted a boy or girl. This has been a bit difficult to decide. We both would like a girl to balance out our family(me more than Kevin!), but in the end we have decided that we will not specify one or the other gender. We feel that this takes away from a big part of why we are adopting, as God has called us to take this journey for HIM. We feel that if we were open to only one gender or the other, we would be closing an opportunity that God may have for us. God already has our little one chosen, in His design. We want to keep this adoption all in His name, His design, His guidance....So we will continue to be obedient, and let Him guide us. I would love a girl, but couldn't imagine my life without our little boy, so either will be more blessings than we could count. Instead, we will pray for healthy and happy.
Thank you all for your continued prayers. We are so blessed!!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
a quick update....
Just wanted to keep our supporters in the loop, we haven't completely dropped off the face of the earth!!
We have been busy with LIFE and all it brings us.
Jaden's birthday was FABULOUS, all his little friends had a great time, including little mister himself. Yes, pics are still coming. :-)
Jaden's 1st baseball game was saturday, and we are staying BUSY with that!!
As far as the adoption "stuff", we are waiting......sigh. We have medical appts this week for Jaden and I, and we thought we would be DONE with homestudy paperwork after that. not so much. One of the requirements is that we have a CPS background check for every state and country we have lived in for greater than 3 weeks. Yeah, Kevin was in the military and deployed ALOT. all those countries count. Turns out that Tunesia is the only country that keeps record of such, so really we skated by pretty well with this. But, for the last month and a half we have been playing phone/email tag with the embassy to see if we needed this form. turns out we do, and we just sent it off a week ago, and it takes 2-3 weeks. so, more waiting. Was hoping we would have ALL paperwork in by June 1st, but that's looking very unlikely. So, we are trying to be patient and obedient. YES, LORD, we are still following your call!!! We are NOT giving up!!!
It is hard to be patient though, most of the time. Babies are being born all around us, and it's difficult to wait for OUR precious baby. I know it will be SO worth the wait, but it's still hard. :) Thank you for all your continued prayers. More updates to come.....
We have been busy with LIFE and all it brings us.
Jaden's birthday was FABULOUS, all his little friends had a great time, including little mister himself. Yes, pics are still coming. :-)
Jaden's 1st baseball game was saturday, and we are staying BUSY with that!!
As far as the adoption "stuff", we are waiting......sigh. We have medical appts this week for Jaden and I, and we thought we would be DONE with homestudy paperwork after that. not so much. One of the requirements is that we have a CPS background check for every state and country we have lived in for greater than 3 weeks. Yeah, Kevin was in the military and deployed ALOT. all those countries count. Turns out that Tunesia is the only country that keeps record of such, so really we skated by pretty well with this. But, for the last month and a half we have been playing phone/email tag with the embassy to see if we needed this form. turns out we do, and we just sent it off a week ago, and it takes 2-3 weeks. so, more waiting. Was hoping we would have ALL paperwork in by June 1st, but that's looking very unlikely. So, we are trying to be patient and obedient. YES, LORD, we are still following your call!!! We are NOT giving up!!!
It is hard to be patient though, most of the time. Babies are being born all around us, and it's difficult to wait for OUR precious baby. I know it will be SO worth the wait, but it's still hard. :) Thank you for all your continued prayers. More updates to come.....
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
3 months "paper preggo" :)
Haven't updated in a while, but really there isn't much your missing! Almost everything is turned in for our homestudy, waiting on medical appts for Jaden and I in two weeks. Now working on Dossier paperwork, which is a cinch compared to the homestudy paperwork!!
Since I am using alot of lingo common to the adoption world, I thought i'd take a minute to explain to you all what the heck I am saying!!
Homestudy-This is a "report" of our lives.....usually about a 25-30 page document prepared by a social worker, who reviews our submitted paperwork and comes to our house for a minimum of 6 hours to visit with us and get to know us.
Dossier-A collection of documents, including the homestudy report, as required by the country you are adopting from.
Waitlist-pretty self explainatory.....we will be on the waitlist for 18-24 months before we get a referral(see next). We will get updates monthy stating what number we are on the waitlist.
Referral-OUR CHILD!! :) A referral means that our agency has found us a child that meets our criteria that we decide on with our social worker. We will recieve a referral after the child passes medical exams AND after both Ethiopian affairs and our agency both do a background check to verify that the child is in fact a legitimate orphan. Oh, what a sweet day this will be!!!!!! We then have a week to review the child's file, PRAY, and decide if that child is really ours :)
We have been busy getting ready for Jaden's 6ith birthday.....you all know how I love parties!! This year, I did scale down a bit and am letting a kids play place host rather than running the show myself. I have to admit, it has been SO much easier! I'll post pics so you can see what I have been working on!
We have yet to set a date for our yard sale, and are still GLADLY taking donations! We are waiting to hear from our church board to see if we can have it at our church...So that will make a difference on when we have it. aiming for mid may, if I can pull it off by then!! Let me know if you have donations, we'll come get them!! So far my basement is overflowing, and it is spilling into the garage! We are BLESSED!
Keep the prayers coming.....We so appreciate them, and we can feel the energy around us from you all praying for us!! LOVE YOU ALL!!! :)
Since I am using alot of lingo common to the adoption world, I thought i'd take a minute to explain to you all what the heck I am saying!!
Homestudy-This is a "report" of our lives.....usually about a 25-30 page document prepared by a social worker, who reviews our submitted paperwork and comes to our house for a minimum of 6 hours to visit with us and get to know us.
Dossier-A collection of documents, including the homestudy report, as required by the country you are adopting from.
Waitlist-pretty self explainatory.....we will be on the waitlist for 18-24 months before we get a referral(see next). We will get updates monthy stating what number we are on the waitlist.
Referral-OUR CHILD!! :) A referral means that our agency has found us a child that meets our criteria that we decide on with our social worker. We will recieve a referral after the child passes medical exams AND after both Ethiopian affairs and our agency both do a background check to verify that the child is in fact a legitimate orphan. Oh, what a sweet day this will be!!!!!! We then have a week to review the child's file, PRAY, and decide if that child is really ours :)
We have been busy getting ready for Jaden's 6ith birthday.....you all know how I love parties!! This year, I did scale down a bit and am letting a kids play place host rather than running the show myself. I have to admit, it has been SO much easier! I'll post pics so you can see what I have been working on!
We have yet to set a date for our yard sale, and are still GLADLY taking donations! We are waiting to hear from our church board to see if we can have it at our church...So that will make a difference on when we have it. aiming for mid may, if I can pull it off by then!! Let me know if you have donations, we'll come get them!! So far my basement is overflowing, and it is spilling into the garage! We are BLESSED!
Keep the prayers coming.....We so appreciate them, and we can feel the energy around us from you all praying for us!! LOVE YOU ALL!!! :)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Paperwork? What paperwork?!
I sit in my living room, thinking "now what do we have to get accomplished tonight?" Disbelief creeps in, because I realize. We are so close to being done with the paperwork I can taste it!! We have no more workbooks to do, no more online courses to take.....no more questions to answer(for now). We are waiting on just one more thing, our medical appointments(which are scheduled NEXT MONTH!!) and that will wrap up our home study documents! Whew!! This has been a challenging couple months, life has been whirling on around us and it's hard to concentrate on anything else but PAPERWORK! The great thing is that our agency requires most of same documents for our home study as is required for our Dossier, so we really wont have much more to do after the home study is done. *insert happy dance here!*
Sometimes we get so caught up in all there is to do with the adoption, all the paperwork, notarizing about a billion documents, this, that , and the other.....it's easy to lose sight of why we are adopting. I love to tell our story. I love to tell people that we are answering God's call and that it was HE who planned this for us. We are merely sheep in Jesus's pasture, He is our Shepherd. We will follow Him to the ends of the earth. So to answer this call, to say YES to Jesus, is nothing short of awesome. Most who know our struggles with infertility only assume that adopting a child is second best, the next best thing. We were asked when we started this process about our infertility and miscarriage history, whether we had come to terms with it. We wholeheartedly answered, YES we have. THIS is our plan. God has chosen our child for us already, we already love our child, even though he/she probably hasn't even been conceived yet! It's an amazing feeling. We are getting SO much support from people, whether it be our best friends and family, to the random folks that just so happen to ask us questions that somehow tie into our adoption story. It. is. AMAZING!
So, I am trying to post about once a week on our progress....just to keep everyone in the loop. Some weeks there wont be much to report, other than "waiting, waiting..." Thank you ALL for your prayers and support!
Sometimes we get so caught up in all there is to do with the adoption, all the paperwork, notarizing about a billion documents, this, that , and the other.....it's easy to lose sight of why we are adopting. I love to tell our story. I love to tell people that we are answering God's call and that it was HE who planned this for us. We are merely sheep in Jesus's pasture, He is our Shepherd. We will follow Him to the ends of the earth. So to answer this call, to say YES to Jesus, is nothing short of awesome. Most who know our struggles with infertility only assume that adopting a child is second best, the next best thing. We were asked when we started this process about our infertility and miscarriage history, whether we had come to terms with it. We wholeheartedly answered, YES we have. THIS is our plan. God has chosen our child for us already, we already love our child, even though he/she probably hasn't even been conceived yet! It's an amazing feeling. We are getting SO much support from people, whether it be our best friends and family, to the random folks that just so happen to ask us questions that somehow tie into our adoption story. It. is. AMAZING!
So, I am trying to post about once a week on our progress....just to keep everyone in the loop. Some weeks there wont be much to report, other than "waiting, waiting..." Thank you ALL for your prayers and support!
Friday, March 9, 2012
I see the light!
Well, I was feeling pretty good about our progress in our homestudy paperwork this week. We are nearing the end, just waiting on a few things that we have no control over. Have a large packet to mail off next week, and I thought I'd get a bit of a break just in time to get Jaden's birthday party in order.....Then we talked to our caseworker today. "you're doing great with your homestudy paperwork, are you ready to start working on the Dossier paperwork now?" *sigh* Oh, well.....I expect that we should have everything done, including our Dossier submitted to Ethiopia by the end of May. Then we wait...and wait....and, well, you get it. As of right now, the wait time from Dossier submitted to Ethiopia to referral of a child(baby) is 17-18 months.
It's been hard to balance all this paperwork and required education with our everyday life! We are going to take some time for a family day tomorrow, heading to Seattle to try us some Ethiopian food(part of our "homework"). Excited!!
Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!! Again, thank you for your prayers! :)
P.S. 3 lonely followers.... ;)
It's been hard to balance all this paperwork and required education with our everyday life! We are going to take some time for a family day tomorrow, heading to Seattle to try us some Ethiopian food(part of our "homework"). Excited!!
Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!! Again, thank you for your prayers! :)
P.S. 3 lonely followers.... ;)
Friday, March 2, 2012
2 months "pregnant"
We started our adoption process 2 months ago exactly today. So, I guess that means we are 2 months "pregnant" :) I saw a cute T -shirt that says "So far, no morning sickness....but the paper cuts are terrible!" Not to mention the writer's cramps!
We are about halfway through our paperwork. It's hard trying to balance the paperwork with life. I feel like I am back in college!
I am feeling the Enemy's presence lately. That can only mean that God is doing great things, right? The Enemy is feeling the pressure and has to get his two cents in as well. More than I hate the enemy itself, I hate that I find myself succumbing to his lies. Bahhh!!!!! Sorry, dude.....no room for you at our house, nor in our lives!! We are GOD's children!!
Thank you, our faithful followers!! Feel free to share our story with your friends and families....The more people praying for us and our child, the better!!
Happy Weekend to all!!
We are about halfway through our paperwork. It's hard trying to balance the paperwork with life. I feel like I am back in college!
I am feeling the Enemy's presence lately. That can only mean that God is doing great things, right? The Enemy is feeling the pressure and has to get his two cents in as well. More than I hate the enemy itself, I hate that I find myself succumbing to his lies. Bahhh!!!!! Sorry, dude.....no room for you at our house, nor in our lives!! We are GOD's children!!
Thank you, our faithful followers!! Feel free to share our story with your friends and families....The more people praying for us and our child, the better!!
Happy Weekend to all!!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Just keep swimming....
We are almost done with our adoption education! YAY! a couple online courses to take, and we will be done. EXCEPT for one thing. I have to find a traditional Ethiopian recipe to prepare and try, OR we are supposed to find an Ethiopian restaurant. Nearest is Seattle or Portland, so that's out. Yes, I could totally lie and say I did it, the little angle on my shoulder would say "tisk, tisk". SO, does anyone know where I can buy teff and berbere? ;) Apparently Ethiopian cuisine is extremely spicy, so this should be interesting. PEPPER is too hot for this white girl!! haha!
We are getting SO many positive comments and prayers about our adoption journey, it just makes me all fuzzy inside!! If you would have told me that we were going to be adopting an Ethiopian child, oh say 10 years ago, I would have said you were CRAZY! Are you kidding? I have barely gotten out of Washington, I HATE bugs, and I really HATE shots.It's an amazing feeling, though....just listening to Him. I am so thankful that we are children and servants of God, and are doing this work through Him. He is guiding us, He is encouraging us as well. He is AMAZING! and HE WILL PROVIDE!! I am faithful in that, even though the cost of this journey is overwhelming at times. Thank you all who have donated to our cause thus far! Right now, we are consumed with the amount of paperwork to complete, but after this part is over, there will be nothing to do but wait. SOO....stay tuned for some fundraisers! We would love your hand-me-downs for our yard sale we are planning!
Thank you, our faithful friends and family! We love you all!
Oh, and.....our poor little blog is so lonely.....no followers :*( Who will be the first??? Become our followers, subscribe by email....you won't miss a detail! ;)
We are getting SO many positive comments and prayers about our adoption journey, it just makes me all fuzzy inside!! If you would have told me that we were going to be adopting an Ethiopian child, oh say 10 years ago, I would have said you were CRAZY! Are you kidding? I have barely gotten out of Washington, I HATE bugs, and I really HATE shots.It's an amazing feeling, though....just listening to Him. I am so thankful that we are children and servants of God, and are doing this work through Him. He is guiding us, He is encouraging us as well. He is AMAZING! and HE WILL PROVIDE!! I am faithful in that, even though the cost of this journey is overwhelming at times. Thank you all who have donated to our cause thus far! Right now, we are consumed with the amount of paperwork to complete, but after this part is over, there will be nothing to do but wait. SOO....stay tuned for some fundraisers! We would love your hand-me-downs for our yard sale we are planning!
Thank you, our faithful friends and family! We love you all!
Oh, and.....our poor little blog is so lonely.....no followers :*( Who will be the first??? Become our followers, subscribe by email....you won't miss a detail! ;)
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Knee deep!
Welcome, Welcome to our Blog! I will update this blog as much as I am able to, when anything new and interesting happens in our little adoption story! Feel free to joing our site, and to get updates by email, so you will never miss a thing!! I will be posting announcements about various fundraisers we have planned as well.
Right now, we are in the middle of a whirlwind of paperwork, and trying like crazy to get all our documents in order for our homestudy. Some of this paperwork has been easy, like obtaining birth certificates. Some of it is challenging and time consuming, though....such as our adoption education as required by our agency, and trying to obtain a CPS check for Kevin from Tunesia!! HAHA!! We are just trying to take one step, one document at a time, and know that it will be finished in time.
Once our homestudy is done, we will work on getting our Dossier done for Ethiopia. A dossier is a fancy word for saying "a collection of paperwork", as required by Ethiopia.
Please continue to pray for us, as well as our future child and their birthfamily. We appreciate all our AMAZING support!!!
Right now, we are in the middle of a whirlwind of paperwork, and trying like crazy to get all our documents in order for our homestudy. Some of this paperwork has been easy, like obtaining birth certificates. Some of it is challenging and time consuming, though....such as our adoption education as required by our agency, and trying to obtain a CPS check for Kevin from Tunesia!! HAHA!! We are just trying to take one step, one document at a time, and know that it will be finished in time.
Once our homestudy is done, we will work on getting our Dossier done for Ethiopia. A dossier is a fancy word for saying "a collection of paperwork", as required by Ethiopia.
Please continue to pray for us, as well as our future child and their birthfamily. We appreciate all our AMAZING support!!!
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