Adopt Together

In an effort to run one last BIG adoption fundraiser, we have started an AdoptTogether page.  Straight from their website, AdoptTogether says this:

AdoptTogether is a non-profit, crowdfunding platform that bridges the gap between families who want to adopt and the children who need loving homes.
At AdoptTogether, our vision is to live in a world with no more orphans-- a family for every child. Whether you’re a family who wants to adopt or a future donor, you’re a big part of turning this vision into a reality. 

Visit our page at https://www.adopttogether.org/lovechoseyou.  If you feel led, please feel free to share it with others via Facebook, Twitter, or email!

As a THANK YOU for your donations through AdoptTogether, we would like to offer the following for each level of donation:
$10--a personalized thank you card from the big brothers for helping bring their baby sister home
$25--the FIRST PEEK at our first photo as a family of five (and a card)
$50--a LOVE print specially designed by Aunt Kelsey (and a family photo and a card) 
$100--a heart necklace handmade in Kosovo//the outer heart is copper and the inner heart is silver//symbolizes that EVERY baby grows in our HEART (and a card)
$150--a heart necklace and a LOVE print (and a card)$200--a heart necklace, a LOVE print, a family photo, and a card 

Details about the necklace:

This is a beautiful, hand crafted, fair trade heart pendant made with classical technique (AKA: a hammer) in Kosovo.  The outer heart is copper and the inner one is silver.  The chain has a silver outing.  This is a beautiful symbol of adoption, motherhood, or love as you picture the love growing in your heart.  These necklaces were donated to us by a sweet family that is currently fostering to adopt 3 children in Atlanta, GA after journeying through their own God-ordained adoption story.  

Details about the prints:
Each print will be printed as a 5 x 7 photograph and send via mail.  You can also choose to have the digital file emailed to you if you would rather.  Please choose from the following designs. 

Song of Solomons

I love you

Winnie the Pooh

Black Chevron

 

Together

Small Things

love

Love You Forever

World

Adventure

All You Need

busy month!

Hi friends!
I am so sorry for the lack of update on the blog...I did not mean to leave you waiting in suspense!  Life has been incredibly busy for us this month.  As the anticipation of bringing our little one home anytime now, the pressure to quickly raise the necessary funds has been looming.  Our days have been full of sewing burp cloths, crafting Christmas ornaments, and preparing for Breakfast with Santa!  And what a blessing each of those projects have been!  In addition to bringing in money, they have brought lots of fun memories.  For those of you interested in numbers (or maybe even looking for fundraising ideas of your own) here is a breakdown of what each project made us: burp cloths = $110 (with more hopefully to come!), ornament fundraiser = $464, Breakfast with Santa = $1,125.  WOW!  And here are a few pictures to recap the fun...

In the midst of all the fundraising, there have been several baby possibilities.  None of them have been our perfect match yet.  I plan to blog on that more later, when my heart is ready.  Through each possibility, my heart has really broken for everyone involved.  Each story has made me more aware that it isn't just a baby--it is a baby, their birthmom, their birthdad, and in many cases, lots of birth siblings.  While I knew that in my head, my heart is feeling it in ways I hadn't anticipated.  Will you pray for those families as you pray for our journey?  Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

God is GOOD!!!

You guys, I am completely blown away!  Last time I shared an update on our adoption costs we were $1315.00 in the red.  As of today, we are only $86 in the red!!!!  We only need $86 to pay for our homestudy!  Did I mention that GOD IS GOOD?!  I am tearing up just typing this.  There is no way we can thank you all enough for your support.  I have had so many friends jump at the opportunity to host a Thirty One party...thank you!  I asked my mom to help me test out our PayPal account by putting $1 in there and she put in $25...thank you!  One of my best girlfriends from high school and her husband generously donated $250...thank you!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  

Financial Update:

COSTS

Application fee:  $195.00

Homestudy application: $1000.00

Fingerprinting: FREE!  We were blessed by our local police station when they did our fingerprints for free after finding out we were adopting!  Praise Jesus for the little things.

Fingerprint processing: $100.00

Child Abuse and Neglect Report: $20.00

TOTAL (so far): -$1315.00

FUNDRAISING

Thirty One Commision: $954.00

Personal donations: $250.00

                                        $25.00

Fundraising TOTALS (so far): $1,229.00

Ending balance: -$86.00

If you are interested in hosting a Thirty One party, please let me know!  These are great bags and other organizing essentials at great prices, run through a Christian led company, and I get 25% commission on everything sold!  If you are interested in giving a direct donation, there is a PayPal link on the far right of this blog page.  Also, please keep reading this blog for information on an upcoming Christmas fundraiser that Kirby, Jaxon, and I are working on!  And again, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!  Would you please continue to pray for our family and our fundraising endeavors?  

 

adoption costs

Ready for some real talk here?  Money is a STRUGGLE for me!  And I would even go as far to say that it is a struggle for our marriage (GASP).  The ways Kirby and I approach money and finances are pretty much as opposite as could be!  And, I am so glad God put us together to balance each other out.  The crazy amounts of anxiety I have, paired with his carefree "it will all be fine" attitude, seems to actually work for us!  Coming in to this adoption has been pretty humbling for us both and has stretched us both past what is comfortable.  Kirby has helped me to see how important it is, not to be carefree, but to TRUST that the LORD knows where that money will come from!  I have helped him to see the importance of knowing what costs are coming up and planning to budget for that as much as possible.

Adopting is expensive!  I plan to write a future blog that will help break down the costs and explain where all the money goes, but suffice it to say adoption is not cheap...and we are not rich!  Domestic infant adoptions typically cost anywhere from $20,000-$30,000 and while we are working diligently to save that money, we realize we will never be able to save that much in the amount of time we are expecting it to take to bring our baby home. So, we are humbly trusting God to help us raise that money through different endeavors.  As we continue to ask you to partner with us, we want to be open and honest about where we stand with our finances.  We want you to know exactly what you are helping us pay for as we go.   I also hope that this might someday serve as a help to other families saving to bring their own babies home.  So, here is the breakdown of where we are so far:

Application fee:  $195.00

Homestudy application: $1000.00

Fingerprinting: FREE!  We were blessed by our local police station when they did our fingerprints for free after finding out we were adopting!  Praise Jesus for the little things.

Fingerprint processing: $100.00

Child Abuse and Neglect Report: $20.00

TOTAL (so far): $1315.00

Fundraising totals (so far): $0

-$1315.00

Would you join us in praying?
1. for the finances of this adoption
2. for our marriage us we move through what it looks like to save this huge amount of money
3. for unexpected blessings
4. for the fundraising opportunities that are already in the works (be on the look out for a FUN Christmas fundraiser we have planned to roll out over the next couple months!)