As we prepare

Tomorrow, we get to meet the little ones we have spent the past 3+ years preparing for. (Did you know we had our first meeting with our adoption agency the same month the twins were born?!) There are so many thoughts and emotions swirling inside me that I'm simply overwhelmed.
As we get ready for this long awaited day, we have a few requests. By Colombia adoption law we will not be permitted to share pictures of them for at least 2 more weeks in any public forum. We know you are excited to see them. We are excited to share them with you but we will be respecting these laws.
Please do not ask for details regarding their background. Their story is important but it is their story. If they want to share it with the world, we want that to be their choice. We are thankful for their birth mother, grandmother, and foster family and desire to honor them in any way we can.
Do not be surprised if we do not respond to texts, calls, messages, or social media tomorrow. We desire to be present in every way possible. We have waited a long time for this day.
Right now, returning home still feel as far away however, when we do please be understanding that we are still bonding. So not ask to hold our children. Do not hug or kids them. Do not offer them food. These are all very important pieces to establishing us as their providers and care takers. These bonds are essential.
And finally please Pray with us and for us. We have dreamt about this day for so long. We know God has gone before us and prepared the way for us.
 "God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6

Dossier, Birthdays, and Matching Grants

So...at this point in our journey, I get asked at least 2 or 3 times a day, "How is the adoption going?" I always wish I had easier answers.  I realize what most people are really asking is, "How much longer?"  Believe me, I yearn for an answer to that question more than anyone.
Unfortunately, I still don't have that answer.  However, let's celebrate the steps that are getting us closer to being there!  Our dossier has been completed!  A dossier is a legal paper representation of us, and our adoption to the Colombian government.  It was shipped to Colombia at the end of last week.  It is our hope that ICBF (Children's Services for Colombia) will have an available appointment this week to begin the process of reviewing.  Our in country representative will meet with them to start this process.  They then have up to 40 days to review our dossier.  They can then either approve or request more information from us.  (Our big prayers are a speedy review and approval without extra information).  After approval, we wait for an "Official Referral."  This will include full files on our sweet twins!  Clothing sizes, education, medical information, behavior analysis, birth family information, etc.  We will then (of course) accept the official referral.  At that time, ICBF will give us travel dates!  WooHoo!
Each one of these steps also is accompanied by fees.  Some fees go to the US government.  Some fees go to the Colombian government. Other fees go to our adoption agency.  Finally, we will also need to pay for our full travel costs.  Sounds overwhelming, right?!  However God has blessed our family immensly!  We are $2000 from being fully funded!  That is incredible!  We started this process with no idea how we would come up with $40000, but God had big plans to show how BIG and GREAT He is!

So now that you have a better idea of how the adoption is going, let me tell you about the other exciting part of our week.  Our incredible babies will turn 3 this week!  Now I'd be lying if I said the only emotion connected with that day is excitement.  This momma wants to be with them!  Like now!  So, will you bless us and our babies on their birthday?  Below are 2 birthday boards.  One for S and one for J.  For their birthday, will you sponsor a present?  You choose a square and make a donation of that amount (aka - square #3 is a $3 donation).  Your donation will be doubled by an awesome matching grant we have through Brittany's Hope!  So that sponsorship of square #3 actually gets us $6 closer to full funding!  In fact, all donations made from now until we are fully funded will be doubled!

 

Thank yall for following our journey, supporting our dreams, and praying big prayers with us!

Leap of Faith

You know, it really is amazing what God can do when you step back and let Him do it.  In every day life, I am really bad about getting in His way.  (see my last post...I really like being in control).  However, I have had less opportunity to do this in our adoption. So much of this process is completely out of my hands so it has been a whole new world of surrendering control.

This has been especially true when it has come to finances.  Tyler and I jumped into adoption with no set idea of how we were going to afford it.  When everything is said and done, our total cost will be about $40,000.  Needless to say, that was not something we had saved up.  However, we felt strongly that adoption was how God was calling us to grow our family.  So we took the leap of faith.

I am excited to say we found out this morning we will be receiving another grant.  This one is a little different than the others we have been given.  It is called a matching grant.  This means any fundraising we do or donations we receive will be matched by the grant organization, Brittany's Hope.

Now here is where it really gets good!  We could be eligible to have up to $5000 matched.  If we are able to meet that goal and have it matched, we will be fully funded!  From nothing to $40000 in under 2 years!  It would mean we would not have to take out any loans in order to bring home our twins!  

With that in mind, we do still have a few continuing fundraisers going on.  We have tshirts.  In honor of this awesome opportunity, we are reducing those to $10 each.  Sizes are limited, so get them quick!

We have puzzle pieces!  For $5 you can sponsor a puzzle piece.  We will add your name to the back of the piece.  We will put it together and it will be hung on the wall in the twins room.  Throughout  their lifetime, the twins will be able to see all the people who were a part of bringing them home.

We also know some of you still have our change jars.  These have been a really cool project for us.  All the coins that have come into our house this year, have gone to bring our children home.  Others of you have partnered with us in this.  We are so blessed that you have allowed your change to bring life change for our family!

Finally our PayPal account is still set up to receive donations.  If you choose sending money to friends and family, we are able to accept the donation without charges.
We would be honored if you would partner with us in this leg of our journey.  We are committed to do whatever it takes to bring our children home, but we would absolutely love to do so without loans.

Have you ever considered adoption and said, "I can't afford that"?  Me too.  But if God is calling you to it, He will provide for the journey.  It may not look the same as it has for us, but I'd love to tell you more about what has worked for us.

His plan

Checking the mail these days has gotten very exciting.  Quite often the mail brings us a little bit closer to bringing home our sweet little ones.  Some days this means receiving paperwork.  Others it means receiving more practical items like car seats.  Today it meant receiving a letter from Show Hope.
Show Hope is a Christian based organization committed to caring for orphans.  They do this in a variety of ways including Adoption Aid, Care Centers, Pre & Post Adoption Support, and Student Initiatives.  They help provide hope in situations that can seem hopeless.  (You can learn more at www.showhope.org )
Today, they helped do just that for us.  We received a letter saying that we have been awarded a grant for $5000.  It is incredible to us how God is writing our story, and our children's story!  Each step of the way He is present.  Each financial mountain, He moves at just the right time.
When we started this process, many thought we were crazy.  We couldn't afford an international adoption.  (That is still true.  By all normal standards we can not afford an international adoption).  However, we knew that this was what God was calling us to do.  So we jumped.  I don't think either of us had any idea of what that would actually look like or how we would get there.
Here we are almost 3 years later.  (Timing is everything...the twins are almost 3)  We are adopting from a different country than we originally planned.  We are adopting twins...certainly didn't plan on that.  Our age group is different than expected.  Our adoption is approximately 75% funded.  I say this to say one thing...God's plans are greater than our plans.
What is He calling you to do today? Is He asking you to trust Him?  To step out in faith to something that seems completely crazy?
Do it!
He knows what is best.  He goes before you.  He prepares a way for you.  Whether He is asking you to do something big like adoption, or small like invite a friend to church trust Him.  He's got this.

Dream Job

A friend of mine posted on facebook recently, "What is your dream job?"  I've had a wide variety of jobs in the last decade or so.  Some I absolutely loved, others not so much.  Each one has had its ups and downs.  I absolutely love what I am doing now.  Serving is amazing!  I love the family run company I work for.  I feel like I am an important piece of the puzzle and I am valued.  All that being said, I still couldn't call it my dream job.  I mean dream jobs are big and fancy or different and quirky...they are things you rarely get to do in the real world, right?
And then it hit me!  My dream job is the one things I feel like I've always wanted to do. It is as if God has designed me uniquely for it.  My dream job is to be a mom.  As we prepare to bring our twins home, I dove in head-first to all things parenting.  Babywearing, cloth diapering, educational opportunities, etc.  You name it, I've researched it.  I want to do everything I can to be prepared.
You see I have waited a long time to be given this amazing opportunity.  Even as a young girl and as a teenager I dreamed of being a wife and mother.  With each day, it gets closer.  God is giving me two little ones to raise up in this world until the day He asks for them back.  What calling could be more meaningful that to shape them and mold them?
I don't have this whole adoption thing figured out.  There are still some big paperwork hurdles and big financial hurdles we have to get over.  But I know He's walking the journey with us.  I don't have this whole parenting thing figured out (hence all the research ;) ) There are hurdles ahead that I will probably trip over in the dark before I ever see them.  But I know He will walk that journey with us as well.
How cool is it, that God has uniquely designed me and is now granting the desire of my heart.

We just got a letter...

Does anyone remember that little jingle from Blues Clues?  Every time the mail came it was super exciting.  I remember mail being like this as a child, too.  I would get the mail with my Mom after getting off the bus.  Our dog had even been trained to carry the stack to the house.
As I got older, mail got a whole lot less exciting.  Usually a trip to the mail box means bills, catalogs, and junk I don't care about.  This was not the case yesterday.  When I got home, Tyler had already gotten the mail.  It was stacked in the kitchen.  I started with packages because they are typically more fun, and he had sent me a text about them earlier.  Package number one - cloth diapers!  I ordered these about a month ago so I was happy to open them and see such great colors and quality.  Package number two - the amazing video monitor system my parents ordered for us for the twins room!  We debated whether this investment would be worth while, but after talking to a few moms, we decided it was worth it (and they got a great deal).
I thought this was the end of all the fun.  Then Tyler said, "Oh and we got a letter from Homeland Security."  In a normal situation this would probably not be good.  I knew it would go one of two ways.  They could be requesting more information for our file...but that wasn't the case.
WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED!  (By Immigration in the US).
So the ominous question is...what's next?  Well the easy answer is: our dossier.  But most of you have no idea what that means.  So...a dossier is a file that will contain about 50 pages give or take.  It is a representation of who we are, why we want to adopt, and why we are qualified to do so.  It has lots of legal forms, our completed homestudy, reference letters, and even pictures of both us and our home.  This file all has to be notarized, certified, and apostilled.  So if any one is wondering what I am doing with my free time, read that paragraph again.
When that is done, we will get our official referral file.  That will include more information regarding their background, current foster home, medical files, and sizes.  We are patiently (or impatiently depending on the day) awaiting this information.  After this we will be given our travel dates.  Please pray that we can travel in February.  We very much want to celebrate the twins birthday with them.  We are on track for that to be a possibility.
On a practical level, we also have had a great week!  I found some incredible black friday deals on car seats!  We saved a few hundred dollars.  Additionally we got a good deal on a luggage set.  I have also connected with a mom who has out grown the sizes we need.  Being able to purchase gently used clothing in great condition has been a huge blessing!  We believe all our major physical needs for the kids have been met.  I am sure things will come up once they are home, but we feel physically ready to bring them home.
This also means all our extra funds can be spent paying off debt and paying adoption related costs.  We are one-third of the way to being fully funded.  We feel incredibly blessed to be part of this journey and see the ways God is providing.  Please pray along with us that he will continue to provide in whatever ways He sees fit.  I have filled out many grant applications and would love to see some of those to provide for the next part of our journey.
Please also pray that God continues to prepare hearts.  You never reach adoption without loss.  Pray for the hearts of our children's birth family.  Pray for their foster family and community.  Pray for our family.  Pray for Tyler and I as we prepare for big changes.  Pray for our community as they wrap around us during this transition.  Pray for our twins.  Hope is coming, even if they don't know it yet.

Big Questions: Why fundraise?

Over the next few weeks, I am going to attempt to tackle some of the "big" questions we are asked often.  Some of these are important.  Some are difficult.  Some are painful. Tonight I am going to start with the one we probably get asked most often...
Why do you fundraise?
Yep.  Many people are afraid to ask us this question directly.  But, they ask our friends and family.  Occasionally they will ask us.  "Why do you fundraise?" is actually one of my favorite questions.  This is because it is something we thought a lot about before ever doing it.
First off, the big easy reason for us fundraising is adoption is expensive!  Seriously.  It will cost between $35000 and $40000 by the time we bring our twins home and they are legally our children.  For those who are wondering, no that doesn't include all their "stuff."  We will still need clothes, toys, diapers, etc.
Adoption is expensive.  But so is buying a car and you don't see people doing fundraisers for that (usually...gofundme has prompted some weird things). Our desire to fundraise was not motivated solely by the expense, but by our desire to share our passion and our story.  As we have walked through this process, it has been our desire to share our story, to spread awareness, and maybe inspire someone else to jump in to their own journey to a child waiting for a family.
We have tried to be intentional about this desire as have done each fundraising endeavor.  For example - our adoption tshirts.

They say "HOPE It changes everything"  We love this.  It is not inherently about adoption.  It is designed to start conversations.  It brings you into our story.  A close friend and member of our tribe got to have a conversation just this week while wearing her Hope shirt.  She got to share adoption, our story, and God's great provision with someone I may never meet.  

Yes, every dollar raised brings us closer to bringing our sweet twins home.  However, it is our desire that it also means awareness and advocacy.  We strive to be intentional.  It would be our greatest joy if some piece of our fundraising efforts not only brought our children home, but led to another child finding a home.  

Thank you to all who have partnered with us thus far.  You are changing our lives.  You are changing our family.  You are providing immeasurable hope to sweet little twins whose hope was dwindling.  

A quick update on all things adoption in our world.  Our immigration paperwork was sent last week.  I received text notification about 30 minutes ago that our file was received (Isn't technology cool?).  Once this is approved, we will submit our dossier. We have been working to submit grant applications for the last two weeks.  Hopefully this will help provide financially.  We have completed baby registries (as many of you requested) with Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby, and Target.  And we continue to fundraise...because we still need about $20000 to bring our children home.  Pray with us as we continue walking this journey.

We waited...

The past few weeks have been quite a roller-coaster. Those close to us have walked with us through pain, heart ache, excitement, and joy. They have cried with us, prayed with us, waited with us, and jumped for joy with us.
About 6 weeks ago we read a profile and after prayer and consideration felt they were the right fit. We submitted our letter of intent. We then learned another family submitted their letter just hours before ours. We praised God for placing children in families but our hearts hurt. It took some time to recover.
We went back to the waiting children list. We requested more information. We read more profiles. None fit. I began to feel distant from God. Surely He has a plan...right?
Over labor day weekend I requested more information on a sibling set. Our global caseworker messaged us back stating that they were not in the approved age range for us. Then she asked if we would be interested in receiving information on two year old twins. I immediately responded yes! Many little pieces of the profile drew us to these children.
Late that night we wrote another letter of intent and sent it off to BCS global.  They messaged back with some edits. By noon our team was translating.  Our letter was sent to ICBF by Wednesday evening.
And then we waited...
And waited...
And waited...

But it was worth it.
Our letter of intent was accepted. We are planning to welcome twins (1 boy and 1 girl) in late winter, early spring.

We are overwhelmed, excited, and a little anxious. There are still plenty of financial and paperwork hoops to jump through. I have been writing lots of grant applications, looking at babu stuff, and praying big prayers.

Would you pray with us? Support us? Walk with us on this crazy journey?

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. But once you do, everything changes." -David Platt