A Victory for the Pocketbooks

A victory has been won (at least for one year anyway) on the front of the financing adoptions war.

Everyone knows that, unfortunately, adoption costs a lot of money. Adoptive Parents often battle with their budgets to make way for their beloved children.

Our government offers an Adoption Tax Credit as an incentive for families to adopt. That tax credit was in danger of disappearing.

Now, President Obama has extended the Adoption Tax Credit for another year. To which we cheer Hooray!

You can read about how the adoption tax credits have been extended for one year HERE

Garage Sale

We held a garage sale this weekend to help earn some money to apply towards our adoption expenses for A*.

Some friends might remember we did a big fundraising garage sale with 2 other families who were adopting from Ethiopia a little over a year ago. The multi family garage sale we had that year was epic. I mean it. So many generous friends and family gave donations that our ENTIRE carport, back patio, storage room, and several bedrooms in our home will filled to capacity last time. We had so much stuff I was panicking that we wouldn't sell it all. I had no clue what we would do if we didn't.

Start a resale shop, maybe?

Thankfully most everything did sell (and what didn't went to a friend to raise money for medical bills for her mom) We 3 families split $5000.00 for our efforts and were elated!

While our sale this year is a bit smaller it's definitely more manageable for just our family. Though, our same wonderful friends who worked with us last time are back at it again, lending a helping hand. We have some of the best friends!

We are so thankful for your help, Kim, Brooke, Julie and Mark!!!

Have you ever noticed that there's a certain culture to garage salers? They are a breed all their own. The people watching never disappoints at these events.

This year we had many return customers. Some of the more colorful shoppers showed up in full force much to my amusement!

One particular woman who came back again was a woman my dear friend Julie had to get firm with last year when she caught the woman greedily rolling and compressing clothes into a 5$ fill-a-bag we offered. She piled the clothes so high over the top of her sack that Julie just couldn't let her get away without charging her for half a bag while pointing to the sign which said "Adoption Garage Sale Fundraiser." (I realize it isn't reading as humorous as it truly was because you just had to be there to see it. But, trust me, it was a hand-over-my-mouth in disbelief, don't-burst-uncontrollably-into-laughter kind of moment.)

Our over-stuffing friend was back this year dismayed to find we learned from last year and marked items individually. hahaha Of course she still complained that we were selling near new children's jumpers and jeans for fifty cents.(No stains people! Not faded one bit.... worn maybe twice)

The outrage!? How could we?

I guess we're greedy to get our son home like that ;-)

Another woman I'll refer to as Ms Indecisive came back again this year too. She's the one who asked all about items and haggled us down to a really good price only to leave. Then, she'd come back and buy one item at a time. She did this several times at varying intervals from 10 minutes to an hour. Sometimes she even came back to buy some random thing she didn't even act interested in the first time around. One time she parked pretty quickly, jumped out and went looking for some other item that had already sold, much to her dismay.

Seriously, she cracked me up! I guess she's been burned by buyers remorse once to many times and likes to stew on things for a bit. Maybe she has a commitment phobia. Whatever the case she's a hoot.

Then there are the people who steal. We've had them every time. I can't say I understand adults who behave this way. My feelings about people who steal are that if they need it that bad; God bless them. But it should be noted they just stole from my baby boy and I know God's not going to be very pleased with that.

I especially enjoy the garage salers who just love to get out on a cool morning and do some chatting with neighbours and maybe shop a little.

I love to hear people's stories. The older people are my favorite. They talked to me about how when they were a child and how they had a thing-a-ma-bobber just like this and they used it for this or that. Or, they'll just shoot the breeze while explaining to us about some mysterious contraption we're selling and don't know what it is. I enjoy watching them use their years of expertise in the art of being thrifty (for many, like my grandmother, had to learn this art the hard way during the great depression)

Garage sales are sentimental in a way because I enjoy seeing objects our family enjoyed and used going to a good new home. I so appreciate items that were lovingly donated to our cause being purchased by folks who will have their needs met for a good price.

I *may* have let a few items go for less than they were worth (I'm a horrible haggler that way) but there's something in me that's wired to be a giver, I guess. It's so hard for me to charge people for items that we're graciously given to me. I understand I might need some better boundaries but I'd also rather be a softy on that matter than run the risk of being too stingy.

In the end we made $800 for today. Not bad at all!

Tomorrow we wake up the crack of dawn, brew some coffee and do it all again.

Ah, yes, a good garage sale is so satisfying. Especially since the proceeds bring us one step closer to bringing A* home.

Coming Down the Pipeline

I'm working late, completing our 3 month post placement report requirements. I've also begun the readoption paperwork for Jonas this night. It is very important because Jonas came home with an IR-4 visa (Ethiopia is a Non Hague Country). Jonas is a permanent resident at this point. He, obviously, does not have a Social Security Number or a US Birth Certificate, etc. Legally, his name is still Yonas. All that will change with his readoption.

Also, Dustin and I would like to keep our Home Study current for future adoption purposes. (wink, wink) Financially it makes more sense to keep it updated (around $700 with a local HS agency- Not AWAA) than to let it expire and have to completely recertify with the state. So it seems that, truly, the adoption paperwork will never end for us!

My BIG FAT MOUTH

I'm telling you a secret. It's just between me and my blog buddies because I plan on making sure Julie keeps my "oopsie" moment which was caught on tape on lock down forever. But, I know you enjoy laughing with at me so I thought I'd share with you.

So yesterday was our video adoption testimonial taping session. We are a part of a ministry at church that is all things adoption and the purposes for the video is for various promotional and informational uses. I've never done a video session before. Dustin neither. Truth be told I've secretly known I was meant to be in front of a camera since I was about 7 (funny, it's suddenly occurring to me where Rienne gets her theatrics from.) though as soon as I found myself there I realized I prefer hiding behind blogging much more. Apparently I only feel challenged to be BOLD in my pj's at 1 a.m. by the glow of my high resolution computer screen.

Dustin does NOT like public speaking in any form or fashion and making a recording which will then be shown to the general public is just the same as standing in front of the crowd live in his book. He was nervous. But it didn't show. He was very articulate. And, he spoke much more than I expected he would. He's passionate about this topic, so that helps. He even mentioned my favorite line, "It almost made me cry!" (you have to read through the comments of this post to understand the humor of this phrase)

Julie kindly mentioned we would be taped in high definition moments before we were set to begin. WHAT!? Are you kidding me? Had I known that I would've exfoliated and maybe put on some foundation. And probably, I would have worked harder to cover the bags under my eyes. WHY OH WHY did she do this to me? Ignorance would have been bliss. Truly.

So there we were, apparently in HD, and then Julie also mentioned that if we say something and it doesn't come out right we ought to just pause and make a normal face and then continue saying it all over again that way they can easily edit it in between and not have to work to cut that portion out with us making strange faces, etc. Instantly I thought of all the wretched faces I make constantly while talking and I KNOW this is going to be tough for me. I imagine a splice where I go from having my mouth wide open and my face contorted to me suddenly having my mouth shut and a blank look on my face in the next frame. Too funny.

Anyway, on to the "oopsie". There are many things, in hindsight, I wish I would have skipped saying or feel I could have done a better job of expressing but the biggest regret of all has to be the comment I made where I was referring to how Dustin and I are unsure if we ever would have adopted had the Lord not used experiencing the loss of two miscarriages in our lives to point us to the loss orphans must feel. I was referring to how daunting some of the aspects of adoption seemed to us as compared to having children by birth. And that's when I said it. I actually said, "It just seemed easier to lock the bedroom door at night and try the old fashioned way."

I cannot believe I actually said that! I am so embarrassed. I think if I could watch the tape I would see my face turn instantly red. I know I put my head down in utter shame. Dustin tells me the "video guy" as he is affectionately called (as if he has no name) giggled a bit behind the camera. Oh NO! Please don't let this get out around our church. SERIOUSLY.

Thankfully Julie has creative control of the project, so I am told. And, I feel I'm in pretty good with her so I think she'll be sensitive to my request.

That's good. I'd hate to have to hunt her down!

Best Guesses

We all made guesses as to which day of the week THE phone call will come. The winner gets dessert of their choice when the call happens. I am really pulling for my day to win because I plan to get me some Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

So here are our guesses:

Monday: Aurora and Rienne
Thursday: Dustin and Allyse (Dustin actually thinks we'll get the call this Thurs which is our anniversary)
Friday: Jen

May the best dessert win!

No News is The News

In my best 'woe is me' tone I report (humph) that a phone call will not be happening today.

Perhaps tomorrow? One never runs out of reasons to hope.

I only jumped out of my skin once today when the phone rang. That's pretty good. The other times I was able to rationalize myself into behaving calmly. Other than that the kids and I were engrossed in school all day. I welcome the distraction. Any distraction will do these days. This past weekend I was consumed by the Olympics and loved every second of it. It made the time fly by quickly.

This week Dustin and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary and so I have many welcome distractions to look forward to. I intend to give myself over to them fully. I'll keep you posted on how successful I turn out to be at it.

PS- I was so distracted that our 6 month DTE ( Dossier to Ethiopia) anniversary came and went without any mention. So here it is guys. SIX months! The mid point of our referral wait timeline.... Whoo hoo*

* okay, I admit it. That "whoo hoo" was written with just a hint of sarcasm and in a tone which hints at my being underwhelmed, but the rest was genuinely positive.

Another One Bites the Dust

Another precious family with our agency received a referral for siblings today. That means they are OFF of the WFR list (that's Waiting For Referral) and on to the WCD list (Waiting for Court Date) We are celebrating with them! So far that's two referrals for the month of August. Keep 'em coming Lord!

Please be in prayer for four families who are anxiously awaiting news on Friday to see whether or not they have cleared the courts. If the don't make it on Friday they will have to wait out the closure. I know it's extremely difficult for them right now.

Not Far To Go

Rebecca and Zack received their referral for a boy today. We are thrilled for them!

We are next in line for a boy under two years old. I can't believe it's so near. I don't know how long we'll occupy this slot but it sure is exciting to be here.

Congratulations and Moving Up

I've posted before about how Dustin and I started off in the El Salvador program. I met a really sweet woman named Lisa in the El Salvador YG (Yahoo Group) at the time. Needless to say God redireted me and Dustin to the ET program and Lisa and I lost touch. THEN, come to find out later on that God had also directed Lisa and her husband to Ethiopia as well. Needless to say, it's a very precious thing for us to be able to rejoice alongside Lisa and her husband Ray today as they just received a referral for their son Jonas. Head on over and congratulate them for me, will ya?

This leaves only one more precious family in line ahead of us. Rebecca is also a lady I adore. She and her husband are now #1 in line. Rebecca and her hubby are first and next comes.......... You guessed it folks... US!! It's my hope that Dustin and I would have the chance to meet these two families in person. Preferably travelling to pick up our kiddos together!! I pray our referral comes close to these two so we can score a travel date with them.


Please pray for us. This level of anticipation is almost unbearable, and yet we must bear it in patience. Dustin and I trust in God's timing and resolve to honor Him even if waiting longer is a part of His plan. Lisa's referral has made the idea of our own referral being within reach. It feels more possible now than ever and that idea has me walking around in a day dreamy state. I need the fog to lift from my brain so I can live life in the space between longing for our son and the reality of referral time.

Loss

It seems so personal a tragedy but after hearing about the huge loss the Chapman family has suffered after an accident resulted in the death of their youngest daughter it would feel wrong not to acknowledge it. Stephen Curtis Chapman and his wife Beth have been huge advocates for adoption and I am so sorry for their loss. Being that AWAA was the agency the Chapman's used to facilitate their adoptions I am sure the ripple of such a loss will be far reaching within our agency's community.



My thoughts and prayers are with their family.

Tingles

There are many exciting things happening around me these days. My friend Tara is traveling to ET to go get her girls as I type. Julie got her dossier certified today and is finished with her paper chase. Kim has filed for a court date for custody of her daughter. I am soooooooooo happy for these families! I have the jittery, excitement caused tingles happening deep in my gut. Oh the blissful vicarious living I plan to do in the coming months.

I do have some juicy little tid bits of info to whisper into your ear. Ya ready? Well, it seems that our agency is hoping to give out TEN referrals per month. Yup, can you believe that!? That's almost double what they have been currently able to do. It has been my constant prayer that our referral would come in June (Okay, I just divulged the deepest longing of my heart in telling you that) I have been pleading and praying for God's favor to be bestowed upon us and for a quick referral. Our paper chase took SOOOO long. NINE agonizing months to be exact. I am praying to be blessed with a referral on the short end of the 5-7 month time frame we've been given. If AWAA can hold true to it's goal June could be very likely for us since they tend to give more boy referrals than girls and last I checked we were somewhere near the 20th in line for a boy. So it's not necessarily likely but it doesn't feel so far fetched anymore. Let's just say that it's no longer impossible.

We are ever so aware of the fact that court closures loom on the horizon of our referral timeline. It would be agonizing for us to have to wait through October for a court date. Of course, I continually remind myself God's timing is perfect and that no one WANTS to be caught in the closures but alas every year someone's gotta do it, and that we are no special case. Yet, all that comes with a DEEP hope/prayer that it's not going to be us this year.

The whole AWAA YG is a buzz with guesses as to when the next batch of referral is going to be handed down. We were told it was going to be a big one. ((( SMILE))) When the news hits I'll be sure to keep you informed.

A Letter

Read this letter from the Transition Home. It's an interview of a 10 year old girl. It makes me both smile and feel the nervous tingle in my stomach. I am glad she feels well taken care of and love to hear she loves her adoptive family already. The tingle comes from the nerves I felt when I had to get on a plane and fly home to visit my dad all by myself when I was not much older than her. If a little trip had my stomach in knots I am sure this large life transition for her will be monumental. I am praying for her dear little heart and her family as a whole!

Finished.... well not quite

It was another successful day for our yard sale. No total for you yet, though. You'll just have to keep biting those nails. We have a lot of items left over so we have decided to have another sale next weekend in another neighbourhood for different traffic. In the meanwhile while you are waiting for the total I am sure Julie will be posting pictures soon at her blog since she is a better blogger than I an actually remembered to take some photos! (You're on top of things Julie!!)

You'll have to try to imagine me in my present state, hair disheveled, sweaty, looking ragged and in a walking zombie like state so if this post makes no sense at all please excuse me.

Heather wanted to know some details about how we ran things so I thought I'd just post it here in case others wanted some pointers.

Our sale consisted mostly of donated items. We traveled to pick up all the donations. We really didn't turn down anything.

First order of business: Clothes. Here's how we did it. We had so many bags of clothes that we couldn't believe it. If I had to guess I would say we had close to twenty five.... that's 25 large outdoor type black trash bags full of clothing (I could be low on that estimation but I didn't want to be dramatic about it ;) In light of our over abundance we came up with the idea to do the $5 fill a bag. Julie bought some plastic waste paper basket liners and we used those as our official bags. If you wanted to you could up the price of the bags for baby clothes simply because you can pack a bunch more in there but we had so much of everything we felt $5 was good. Even with the awesome deals we still had selfish people who couldn't handle the rule that anything hanging over the top would have to go into another bag. You'd think people would be generous being it was going to a good cause but some people are just THAT CHEAP!

Second: People told us that Fridays were better than Saturdays and THEY WERE RIGHT! Our best sales were Friday and NOT Saturday. Shocking but oh so true. We started at 6am and had tons of traffic from people on their way to work who would stop back by on their lunch, etc. More drivers saw our signage on Fri so maybe even some folks came back on Saturday after they saw the sign driving to work on Friday. We made large signs with paper printed in LARGE fonts. Then we used spray adhesive to glue the papers to stiff poster board. I honestly believe that the neat clean signs drew more people than a hand written sign would have. Also, the signs were the MOST effective tool for getting shoppers. We emailed the entire planet and sent out adds in local newspapers, listed on Craigslist, printed up wallet size papers to hand out and I would estimate that the return on that was 10% of the shoppers we had. That's pretty low. So good signage is important (that and a few key shopper who got on their cell phones to tell Friends and family,
"Oh my gosh I am at the hugest Yard sale ever. You've got to get down here!.") Our signs said "HUGE yard sale Fri/Sat 6a-1p" and we printed up separate arrows to affix to the signs after they were hung directing traffic to our place. That got 'em here with no need to include our address. Our city only allows you to post 6 signs and with 6 well placed signs we were able to draw a large crowd.

That's all I can think of. Any more questions leave a comment and I will try to address them for you.

Twas the night before...

...the HUGEST yard sale ever and everyone is already tired! I had my friends Julie, Kim, Stacey and Sherry over to help set up today from noon 'till 3:30/4-ish and Julie hung around until 10pm. We still aren't finished. Tomorrow we have to wake up and unload furniture and set out MANY last minute items. I will take pics tomorrow so you can have a visual of what this thing looks like. It's monster!

I have to get up really EARLY tomorrow to finish setting up. The sale starts at 6am. OUCH that's gonna hurt. Tomorrow I might actually make an exception to my usual coffee free routine ( I am really sensitive to caffeine) and opt for a cup, increased pulse rate and flutters be darned! I'll need all the help I can get. It's all about service with a smile ;)

more referrals!

2 girls and 2 boys, and two sibling sets were referred by our agency this week! Yeeehawww!!

Very exciting stuff!!

Congratulations to:
The West family
Kidd family
Cordelle family
and three other families I don't know

I've bragged before

about having some of the greatest friends ever but you have to know just how true that statement is! Our friends and family have donated so many items for our HUGE combination garage sale that I think we could open a consignment store tomorrow if we were so inclined. We have EVERYTHING you can imagine.

This garage sale will benefit 3 families including mine. Kim at Living Love Out Loud along with her family and Julie at Four Plus More along with her family will be splitting the proceeds with us. All funds will go directly toward our adoption expenses and we couldn't be more excited about the help. The Lord has poured His love over our families through His Body of children who have given to us in an amazing way and we have to give Him glory for His amazing provision!! Simply amazing.

Please pray for many shoppers on March 28th and 29th as I am now running out of space in my home. The car port is FULL, the storage unit is FULL, the baby's room is FULL, the entire back patio (which is quite large) is FULL. We have no more space left!!!!

I am sending my hubby over to the neighbors to make peace offerings before the big event hoping the increase in traffic will not annoy them overly. Maybe they'll come shop too.

We are setting up a table to help raise awareness about adoption at our garage sale. I pray at least one family who visits will have their hearts turned toward adoption.

Stay tuned for all the gory details of the sale......

Our Saturday Night Date

We were blessed to hear Eunice of Tumaini Ministries speak last night. It was wonderful to hear her stories about the children she loves so much yet difficult to hear about what the have had to endure before they came to Tumaini. I highly recommend you head over to the website and check them out. My good friends Julie and Mark invited us to the gathering. We made a night of it afterwards and ate dessert at the Cheesecake Factory afterwards.

Julie's parents invited Eunice to their church. I guess they had found out about Tumaini through internet research and ended up volunteering at Tumaini during a trip to Kenya a while ago.

Our Adventures in Time Travel

Ok, so the ticker has changed again..... BUT I promise this to be the last change. I moved it back in time since I was told today via conference call that our log-in dates will now be counted as the date our dossiers make it to ET. I need this revised date because it more accurately tells me what we could face with court closures (for those of you who might not know the court closes every year Aug - Oct and no adoptions are finalized during that time in Ethiopia yet referrals can still be received. families are not able to travel to pick up their children until they have officially received custody of them in Ethiopia). I expect that we will indeed need to get our finger prints taken again since those were done the end of July '07. That is the only thing that should need to happen for us before we travel.

All told the conference call with the program director today was very encouraging and exciting. I like that we have a solid timeline to lean on these days and even if the Lord should choose to have us wait through a court closure I am so thankful to be in the ET program. This is the journey that is involved with International Adoption. I am becoming used to the twists and turns, the ups and downs. I thank the Lord that His peace is growing on me and that the more I learn to rely on Him the more thankful I become for all He is doing. His peace allows me to give Him thanks in all things. What a gift! Thank You Lord.

My birthday is mid June and our anniversary is mid August. With the possibility of a referral happening anytime in between we should have a lot to be celebrating around that time of year.

Living Vicariously

It happens every time a family from our agency travels to get their child. I watch their videos full of happiness and excitement. I overflow with joy for them and show the kids what they can expect mom and dad to be doing while we are away. I show them the beautiful nannies of the Transition Home and where 'brother' will stay until we arrive.

It happens right about the time I push away from the computer. My mind races and suddenly I find myself trying to imagine what it will be like when I am standing in their shoes. Only, in my imaginings my son remains faceless for now. It a weird surreal kind of thing. The way a mother's heart will try to connect with her child. The way my heart goes about trying to make sense of an event in my future just too big to comprehend.

When I was physically pregnant I didn't need the picture of the ultrasound to bring home the reality that my child was real and coming soon. I could feel them growing and kicking. I felt continually connected to them. In this paper pregnancy I struggle from day to day to experience the feelings, the reality, that our son will eventually be here. Taking the trip with the other families helps me to connect in some strange way with our boy. I find that I tell myself, "See they are actaully getting their kids, and someday you will too. This wait which feels like eternity really won't last forever. The end is coming. It came for them, it'll come for our family too"

I honestly need that kind reassurance some days. There are weeks when the people around us forget that we are 'pregnant' because there is no visual reminder. It's hard, even, for some of the extended members of our family to feel connected to the reality of it all. That's why I am so thankful to have my blog. I can write and obsess all I want and not wear out the people around me. If they don't ask I don't have to take it personally. I can come here and rant endlessly about the adoption to you all and if you get sick of me you can simply click away to some other, less obnoxious, more entertaining blog. Everybody's happy. It works.


Watching the videos and reading the details of the trips help me to visualize where he will be when it's our turn. I am growing more acquainted with Addis Ababa believe it or not. I hope things will be somewhat less shocking and all brand new when we travel because of the blogs I've followed before hand. I have learned a bit about what the people and environment around us will look like. I am familiar with the Hilton where we will stay, and I've read all the reviews of the local restaurants. haha. Any little detail which gives me a sense of familiarity helps me feel a bit more grounded and less like I am living a fantasy of adoption. That this waiting will really end with our homecoming. (God please let our homecoming come swiftly... but as in all things, only in Your timing ;)

Today we are 3 days away from the 2 month mark waiting for a referral. The wait gets both easier and harder. Easier because we've not nearly 10 months under our belts here and what's a few more. Harder because every day we are separated from our son feels like an eternity!

So come rejoice with me in the union some families from our agency and share in other's momentous occasions! The Lord is good all the time!

Here are some links to a few of the families who are in ET right now. Some have yet to update us but the Treadwells have some pictures and videos to see:

Treadwell Family

Harpold Family

McIllrath Family

Rejoice!

Oh friends such good news for today! Two families (that we know of) had successful court dates in Ethiopia and their children are now officially theirs!

Congrats to the Steiger's and to the Cole's!! All of them are the proud parents of stunningly beautiful daughters.