Raising Funds

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Abbie

This is it. The final waiting time before we start to travel to bring Y home! That means we are at a final push to try and get our funds together to bring him home. We still need about $15,000 which will cover our food, lodging, airfare and travel in country, as well as translator and facilitator fees and other government type expenses.

It is our heart’s desire that we can complete our adoption with out debt. Emmie’s surgery in April pushed us to meet our out of pocket maximum for the year with insurance. That was wonderful because it means all of our other medical (which wasn’t a lot until Emmie’s hospitalization in August) is free. But, it’s not so great because if you have ever looked at your deductible and out of pocket max, you know that those numbers are not easy to meet (meaning very expensive). That means our medical debt is slowly accumulating. By the time we get this out of pocket met, Emmie will be looking at or will have completed her third surgery. That means our deductible for next year will have been met and possibly our out of pocket maximum will be met again. So, our desire to go debt free on this adoption is two-fold. We know that Emmie’s medical expenses will continue to max out amount to pay and we really do not like going in to debt. Before surgeries, we were blessed to only have house payments as our only debt. Our cars are paid for. If we use our credit cards to get the rewards, we pay them off each month. We would prefer not to have any extra debt to burden our home and family.

With that being said, we are working hard at several fundraisers and even have friends out working hard too. This next one, I am super excited about.

Most of you know I’m not a jewelry person. But, when I saw these beautiful necklaces, I just couldn’t resist. Mark purchased a necklace similar to these with Emmie’s life verse on it (Proverbs 31:25). I love that necklace! Handmade Hope was started to help bring home a beautiful daughter from China. Now, Tina is reaching out to other adoptive families to help them bring home their beautiful children. We were one of the blessed families chosen by Handmade Hope to participate in this fundraiser.

Check out what I got. I am waiting, impatiently for them them to arrive in the mail (USPS decided to delay the shipment for some reason), but you can go to the website to check them out.

For our Y the Brave

And to add to Emmie’s necklace(which will be hers one day).

Each purchase made from Handmade Hope from now until September 30th will contribute to our adoption fund. We will receive 40% of profits and if you mention our family adoption then we will receive 45%. Our goal is to raise $500 through this fundraiser.

And for my Bama friends, you must check out these!

Now is a great time to start shopping for Christmas and birthdays too! Click here to shop now.

Welcome Home!

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Abbie

We didn’t think it was going to happen until Y actually got on the plane to come to America. None of the 90 plus hosting families knew what God was up to. There was a worldwide visa shutdown in June. At first, they thought hackers had gotten in to the system but then later it was determined to be a computer glitch. Regardless of what happened, it caused visa systems everywhere to completely shutdown. No visas anywhere were being issued.

Y was scheduled to arrive on a Monday. The Thursday night before, through tears, we read that there was nothing that anyone could do. The systems were coming back up but they were slow and in Y’s country there were 39 plus people ahead of our kiddos. We had begged, pleaded and finally contacted our congressional members who also did the same. There was just nothing they could do.

We accepted this. Trusted God had another plan and found comfort in knowing we would see him very soon. But God.

Friday afternoon, I sat down to work quietly (something I get to do on occasion) at a coffee shop. I pulled up my email and burst in to tears. The embassy workers had agreed to come in on a holiday weekend to process our kids visas. All of them.

And so, I got a bit emotional and almost tackled our poor Y when he came walking through the airport with a hint of a smile and excitement in his eyes.

The car got covered in window chalk. And Zoe made sure to put “Welcome to Y” in his native language. Our flight attendants recognized several peoples shirts and came over to tell us how the kids did on the flight over. They sweetly smiled for pictures and told us the kids really enjoyed coke. Oh yay. Super excited sisters having fun with the camera while waiting. Still waiting. We totally forgot his welcome poster at home so I made Mark stop at a Walmart and the kids decorated one while waiting. Super excited Mama. Here they come! Yeah, I think he had a bit of trouble breathing and really wanted to see his brothers and sisters too but I had trouble letting go.

We had to look at his welcome letter from us.

One of my favorite pictures. Look at Malachi and that sweet little brother face!

Our summer adventures were just beginning.

On to Adoption

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Abbie

If you are not a Facebook follower to our page, I know that you may have not seen the updates, but we are home after eight days in the hospital. Emmie is doing great adjusting to her brace and sleeping a tad better. I’m working on a more detailed post with lots of cuteness pictures interspersed but that will probably come this weekend.

Y the Brave is now “across the pond” and we are all missing him terribly and ready for him to be home. I keep counting and stop at eight and look around confused. After I do that a couple of times, one of the kids pops up and says, “Mom, there are only eight of us now.” I knew that.

We have just mailed off our last document to get apostilled and sent two other documents to our agency for our dossier. Once those three are approved, apostilled, chanted over, and whatever else they have to do, then they will make their way to Eastern Europe. Joining their brothers to be translated and sent on to the SDA (their child care agency). And then we’ll await the call to travel.

We have been blessed with a grant! We would like to use this grant as a matching grant. That means, if you feel led to donate $5, it will actually be $10. $20 becomes $40, etc. So, here goes our first big fundraising challenge! We would love to see this grant doubled by the end of September.

Of course, more than anything, we ask that you please pray and seek out what God would have you do. If you feel called to give, no matter the amount, you can go to our Youcaring link. Youcaring is completely free for us but they do have to take out processing/card fees for the money agency (Stripe, similar to Paypal). For every dollar given from now until the grant has been completely matched, we’ll add in that money to our site. Thank you for praying and giving!

T-Shirt Fundraiser

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Abbie

We’ve created a page specifically on our blog to link to fundraiser and adoption updates. But, I wanted to update on the home page as well.

We have an awesome friend who just happens to be a graphic artist. Okay, she’s really just a great artist who does graphic design as well! She agreed to design a t-shirt for us for a fundraiser and here it is:

The verse is one we felt led to use for Y the Brave’s coming home!

Psalm 145:5-6 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

T-shirts are $20. Plus shipping when applicable. Orders can be placed via our Paypal account. This is a pre-order. We will take orders until May 1st and then place a bulk order locally with Big Frog.

We are so excited to be able to buy locally and work with some amazing people over at Big Frog.

To order via Paypal, you can go here:

Delivery or Shipping

Delivery $20.00 USD
Shipping (up to 4 shirts) $25.95 USD

Adult Sizes

None
X-Small
Small
Medium
Large
X-Large

Youth Sizes

None
Y-XS
Y-S
Y-M
Y-L

Overwhelmed

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Abbie

“Here ya go,” a neighbor boy down handed me a ten dollar bill.

“Oh, you want a box of donuts?” I asked.

“No,” his mom said. Then she gently urged him. “Tell her what the money is for.”

“To help with your adoption.” He said shyly. Gulp.

His mom went on to explain. She was reading our little ol’ blog and in tears over Y the Brave’s story. Her son asked what was wrong. She told him. About adoption. About the cost. His heart was open. He wanted to help. Double gulp.

Somehow I managed to hold it together. A young boy does not need to see a middle aged mama turn in to a blubbering mess. Then the neighbor told me that her sister heard about what her nephew did and wanted to match his gift. I’ve never even met this woman. A stranger. Giving and helping.

And so it went the whole day. Neighbors came from all around and donated. We had doughnut orders throughout the week and delivered them on Saturday while having a small yard sale. Our neighbors gave from their hearts. A cute one dollar used outfit turned in to a twenty dollar outfit and I was ordered to not give her change back. The eight dollar boxes of doughnuts turned in to ten dollars or even twenty.

We were so tired by evening but so overwhelmed at the love our neighbors poured in to our family as they celebrated our adoption process and helped us to kick off our fundraising for the adoption.

Tears were welled up in my eyes the whole day and I just really wasn’t sure what to say what to do. Time after time I squeaked out a meager “thank you” because I knew anymore and I might just lose it.

I loved telling our story to complete strangers as they waited for doughnuts. Especially when it started with the question, “Where are you getting your baby from?” My baby. My eight year old baby. Ha! Y the Brave has told me so many times that he is not a baby!

We love sharing our story of Y the Brave and our family. And to see God’s love shown over and over in our neighborhood…only one word could explain how we felt…Overwhelmed and extremely thankful for the love that has been poured out to our family.

Now we regroup and work on the next couple of fundraisers. And our home study. And appointments for Emmie. Oh, and homeschooling and life in general. It’s never boring around here for sure.

A Tale of Mistaken Identity

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Abbie

Once upon a time there were two beautiful little boys with the same name who dwelt under the same roof in a land far, far away. One little boy was placed under the care of his aunt and the other had no one to care for him.

Until one day when the little boy left his far away home on an adventure half way around the world. His feet landed on foreign soil and in to the arms of a mother and father who grew to love him dearly.

Alas, that little boy had to leave his new family to return to his faraway home but oh how the mother and father and his new brothers and sisters prayed that one day they would be reunited.

One day, sad news traveled from afar to the mother and father that the little boy was under the care of a kind and loving aunt. While the parents were devastated they would never see their son again, they knew that he was in God’s hands and only God would direct his steps and guide his precious life.

Then news traveled again from afar…the little boys with the same names had been confused. Yes, indeed, the little traveler was not under the care of a loving aunt. It was the other beautiful boy with the same name.

The family from half way around the world rejoiced at God’s timing and His love and began, anew, the quest to bring their son home forever.

But first! The young boy will leave his far away home on another adventure half way around the world for two whole months with his loving, and often times crazy, family!

The Beginning…(Because there is no way this tale is going to end here…we need a happily ever after people!)

Okay, okay, now it’s the non story teller me! Yes. You read that correctly, Y the Brave is indeed available for adoption and we are, once again, on this crazy adoption adventure.

Stay tuned. Keep your eyes peeled. We will be raising money to get the first part of our adoption paid for…and then the second…and the third. We thought breaking it up in to three goals might not make all of our hearts drop to our stomachs!

We’ve got three fundraisers in the works for now and we’ll have more to come. While Y is here over the summer, we won’t be discussing his adoption to protect his heart, so we’ll be doing fundraising via the internet. Mark should have the donate button up soon through Paypal.

Heartbroken

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Abbie

Late Wednesday afternoon, we received a call that Y’s aunt had assumed guardianship of him and was no longer available for adoption. Our hearts were crushed. We were already looking forward to getting his adoption paperwork started and having him here this summer. Planning and preparing. Suddenly halted.

We knew when we started this that there was no guarantee that we would actually get to bring Y home until the court date. But to have everything end so quickly. To know that we will never get to squeeze him and love on him and hear him say he loves us in Ukrainian and English. That is hard.

But…

We know that God is Sovereign. We know that while we can’t protect and care and disciple Y that the Lord is providing and caring for him even now. God is bigger than us and can do so much better at caring for Y and for all of our kids way better than we can ever do.

We are praying for Y and for our healing heart. We are trusting that God is providing and protecting and guiding him. And we are praying for his aunt as she raises him as a mom would. I pray that they both can grow in knowing the Lord. Will you please pray that with us?

And I am praying that one day. Even if it’s only one day, we’ll be able to see Y again and give him hugs and loves. If only one more time.

Nine is Divine!

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Abbie

The end of October brought us a beautiful picture and much anticipation and preparation as we hosted an 8 year old boy who couldn’t speak English and, as far as we know, had never experienced a Christmas with family. We wondered if he would love us the way we already loved his picture. If he would think we were insane or just absolutely crazy…

Yeah, he fit right in.

December brought that boy to our home and our hearts…well, they melted. With each smile and simple request and heart attack (the boy would jump down several steps at a time to go downstairs, I honestly wondered if he would make it without an ER trip or two), we melted more. He took our hearts back with him when he got on that plane in January and we knew that we needed to move heaven and earth to make sure he came home to us soon.

Our Y the Brave!

And here we are. Starting our home study. Starting this journey. Scared, thrilled, nervous, and anxious. The kids are thrilled that we are seeking to adopt Y. As we started hosting they all agreed to host him and when we asked them if they would like for him to live with us forever there was a resounding yell of approval. We have a great agency and tremendous support from family and friends.

So, with all that said, we are happy to announce that we are praying to add #9 to our family by the end of the year!

There are a lot of unknowns so we are taking each step slowly and carefully. We are anticipating everything yet expecting very little (the same way we walked through hosting).

We would covet everyone’s prayers as we walk this journey.

Our first step is to get our home study done. We are anxiously awaiting on that paperwork to make it to us in the mail. After that is a commitment paperwork for our agency and then dossier paperwork and fingerprinting etc. We’re hoping to start our travel by the fall but we know that nothing is predictable and nothing is planned when it comes to adopting.

Our goal is to do this debt-free. We obviously don’t have $30,000 lying around to do that so we are praying that God will provide. Within the week we will be setting up a crowd funding site and planning fundraising events. So, keep your eyes and ears peeled!

And Y, well, he’s a part of our family, now and forever, no matter what, no matter how goofy we all are.

Merry Christmas!

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Abbie

I’m just a bit sick when I think about these next pictures. We realized at the end of January that we have some how deleted a lot of pictures. All of our Christmas day present opening chaos pictures are gone. We had a tinsel fight after we decorated the tree. Those pictures have disappeared. And, even sadder, Liam’s birthday pictures are gone. So from here on through almost the new year, most of these pictures are from our phones so please be patient.

Zoe and I not only made pants for all the kids, Zoe wanted to make pants for her and Ceili Rain’s American Girl Dolls. She did an amazing job!

Christmas Day! I was so excited I got to make some cute embroidered shirts for everyone too!

We finally did it. We got Mark a coffee maker! And it’s a pretty red. It has definitely been used quite a bit since then.

Christmas Breakfast and Y’s first time eating hot fruit compote and my homemade biscuits. He approved.

Meal time is always quite entertaining in our house.

We got Y a rubber band bracelet hook and bands. By the time he left he had over 15 bracelets made and they almost made it to his elbow.

We found out pretty quickly that Y LOVES cycling! He would have been riding every single day, no matter the weather.

Okay, we worked hard to make sure Y not only tried a lot of American food but that he had some that was rather familiar to him. He did not like borscht even though his brief description said he did. But cucumbers and radishes and any kind of meat…that was perfect for him. A veteran hoster had mentioned a blog called Natasha’s Kitchen and testified that her recipes were pretty authentic for Eastern Europe. Every time I made one of her recipes, Y was super excited and would quickly give me two thumbs up. For Christmas supper, I made meat piroshki. Oh my, we won’t even discuss how unhealthy these things are all fried up. But the taste. Ahhh, they were amazing! This may be our new traditional Christmas supper.

Hosting Party

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Abbie

We first learned about hosting from some loooong time friends B and H. We followed along on Facebook as they hosted S and then prayed and prayed as they worked to bring her home in to their family forever. She came home in the Spring, by the way.

You know how people say it just takes one pebble to make a ripple? That’s B & H. After their hosting, we had a set of friends host and then this past winter, there were about four of us that hosted in the area. We all had heard about hosting from B & H.

Since there were so many of us hosting this winter, we were able to have our own get together. Only three families came but, hey, our family is a traveling party.

We had a “Wrap the Snowman” game.

And Y got to try his first cupcake. Little things that we don’t think of having to tell our kids sometimes caused a few giggles. Like, don’t eat the paper on the cupcake. And, we don’t try on clothes in the middle of the store (Thankfully, I was paying attention and able to direct him to the fitting rooms before he disrobed). Sugar, it’s safe to say, is his favorite treat.

B & H have been such a positive influence, encouragement and source of knowledge throughout our hosting. We are forever grateful for them sharing their experiences and helping us through our first hosting.

Just a Bunch of Characters

Musings of everyday life in a house full of Characters.

Tag Archives: Adoption