Ok...So I am literally typing this blog just as fast as I can...it is like my brain is working so fast that my fingers can't keep up. I have never felt as strong about anything as I do at this moment so I hope you are all prepared to listen!!! So I downloaded 2 books this morning, I know that anyone that knows me and is reading this thinks that is pretty funny because I HATE to read. Anyway, they are both by the author Kay Bratt. I am already almost finished with the first one and it is a book that every single person on the planet must read!!!! The title of the book is "Silent Tears" by Kay Bratt. I won't tell you too much because I honestly feel so serious about everyone reading and not only that but buy the kindle version and get it on your ipad, iphone or any ebook device so that you can start reading it today!!! Here is just a little bit about the book, Kay moved to China and lived there for approximately 4 years due to her husbands job. While she was there she was a volunteer at an orphanage there and this book is basically the journal that she kept while she was there. It is brutally honest and raw and something that anyone from this great country couldn't possibly imagine!!!
I am more serious then ever about my fundraising for the orphans in China!!! I have been a bit saddened by the fact that everyone isn't jumping at the opportunity to spend $20, get a shirt in return but be helping such a great cause. Now I am on fire!!!! I am going to be planning many more fundraisers in the future. Please know that we are paying for our own adoption, that is NOT what this fundraising is about. This is about raising enough to pay the debt that the orphanage tells us that we have to pay for them having our daughter there for how ever long...and then any extra we can raise will be donated in the form of special bottles for babies with Cleft lip/cleft palate, bars of soap, diapers, formula, toys, clothing and anything else that will be used specifically for the children in the orphanage and their care!!!!
I want to say that I seriously hate to read!!!! If you are sitting there not even considering getting this book to read because you just don't like to read I promise you will be so appalled by what is going on in this book that you won't be able to put it down. I also challenge you to read it and consider donating in the form of a check, buying a tshirt, or participating in any other fundraiser that we will be doing such as a possible trivia night or something along those lines. At this point we have raised a minimal amount but I hope to raise enough to make a different to the one orphanage that we will come in contact with. Please read the book!!! Get informed with what these poor precious helpless babies are going thru on a daily basis!!!!! Then if God opens your heart consider a shirt for the people in your family who sleep on a mattress, in the warmth of your house, and eat meals until they are full with snacks in the middle, and take hot showers daily, and run and play with toys or even get to go outside!!!!! Know that there are children on the other side of the world that use their fingers for entertainment or softly stroke their own arms in order to feel some sort of human loving touch. I also want to say that not all orphanages are bad....but all orphanages are full of children who can't possibly get the kind of care that a child deserves, even if the nannies there have the best intentions. So this isn't about bad nannies...it's about orphans!!!! God doesn't call us all to adopt but He does call us all to help orphans!!!! Also if you have an idea for a fundraiser please contact me. I am willing to do what I need to because at this point this is a mission trip that hopefully I will get to go on next year and as any other mission trip that your church plans there has to be funds in order to get the supplies needed to help these sweet, innocent children!!!!!! Also if you have a church that would want to get involved and help me sell my shirts please let me know!!! The shirts are an easy way for someone to help and they can have something in return!!! I would be grateful to put them for sale in a church bulletin or even if I need to make a trip there on a sunday I will be up for that too.....together we can do this!!!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
BIG DECISIONS
Ok, well I have been agonizing over this decision for a little while now but it is finally made....let me take you back!!! A few months ago I was on a walk at the state lake by my house, it wasn't out of the ordinary for me to be walking out there. At the end of the walk as I was almost to my mail box I noticed a car drive past and I kept walking noticing that they turned around and were headed back. Well I turned down my road and so did the car and stopped next to me. It was a guy that had moved to Collinsville but when he lived in Nashville he went to church with us. Anyway he asked about our adoption and said that he had a relative that was in the process of getting her second child from China and that her experience had been great and he thought she might be a good reference for us. So I got her name and figured I probably wouldn't talk to her but it might be neat to read her story as lots of people that adopt do blogs as well. So I did what anyone would do and facebooked her name. Well eventually her and I began chatting on facebook. I was immediately shocked by her adoption timeline...it was obvious that God had really designed her story as it was an unheard of timeline. I immediately started thinking about whether I was with the right agency. I just couldn't believe that someone could have the experience that she had. In talking to her though I met another lady that adopted using the same agency and her story was very similar. Just an amazing experience that you just don't usually hear about.
So I started praying about what all this means for us. I put it on the back burner and was just going to pray about it. Well in the mean time I had some things pop up with my social worker, things that she should have known but that I ended up teaching her. I have never adopted before and she is a social worker in charge of adoption....she should have known this stuff. That started to make me question the relationship with my agency as I just didn't feel right with them. Ever since the convo with the social worker at the beginning where she basically said that maybe I should find a new agency...I just haven't felt like they were on my team...I felt more like I was walking on egg shells trying to keep them happy so that they didn't kick me out of their agency. Well this put me into really praying about whether we were with the right agency. So...I began asking others to pray with me. Well I have been doing research and talking to the agency and what I really like is that basically they are a China Special Needs agency...they aren't dipping in the domestic and all of that...their heart is really for the China Special Needs children. They go to China and have relationships with 3 orphanages where they get all the referrals from those institutes....and they also participate in the shared list. So.....today clarity came. I can't tell you what happened. I can tell you that I haven't slept well in 3 days just seriously stressing over this but today it just became clear!! I met these ladies all because it was God's plan and I really feel like we have been led to this new agency. I am just trusting even tho it is really scary!!! So....I will spend the next couple of weeks getting all the stuff together to change agencies. For those wondering, we don't start over...we will basically pick up where we are however because this agency is smaller we will get more attention and should get things moving faster. So please continue to pray for us that this is where God wants us to be. Also pray that we are one step closer to meeting Mabry.
So I started praying about what all this means for us. I put it on the back burner and was just going to pray about it. Well in the mean time I had some things pop up with my social worker, things that she should have known but that I ended up teaching her. I have never adopted before and she is a social worker in charge of adoption....she should have known this stuff. That started to make me question the relationship with my agency as I just didn't feel right with them. Ever since the convo with the social worker at the beginning where she basically said that maybe I should find a new agency...I just haven't felt like they were on my team...I felt more like I was walking on egg shells trying to keep them happy so that they didn't kick me out of their agency. Well this put me into really praying about whether we were with the right agency. So...I began asking others to pray with me. Well I have been doing research and talking to the agency and what I really like is that basically they are a China Special Needs agency...they aren't dipping in the domestic and all of that...their heart is really for the China Special Needs children. They go to China and have relationships with 3 orphanages where they get all the referrals from those institutes....and they also participate in the shared list. So.....today clarity came. I can't tell you what happened. I can tell you that I haven't slept well in 3 days just seriously stressing over this but today it just became clear!! I met these ladies all because it was God's plan and I really feel like we have been led to this new agency. I am just trusting even tho it is really scary!!! So....I will spend the next couple of weeks getting all the stuff together to change agencies. For those wondering, we don't start over...we will basically pick up where we are however because this agency is smaller we will get more attention and should get things moving faster. So please continue to pray for us that this is where God wants us to be. Also pray that we are one step closer to meeting Mabry.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Waiting isn't that fun
Well there is no real news about the process as we are still waiting for the international team to approve our home study. Our social worker said today that they must have gotten hit with a bunch at one time...ugh. After they approve it, we will then submit it to DCFS to be approved but once approved by the international team the DCFS approval is certain, just a step that has to be done.
I tried to order Cardinal tshirts that you can personalize and have Mabry and 47 put on the back but a week later I got an email saying that they couldnt' make those because basically since Mabry is retired they can no longer use his name and number. I then stopped by the Cardinal Store at the mall where you can buy jerseys and have a players name and number put on the back. I explained my story to the lady at the desk and she said that even though she wasn't suppose to she would do it for me because of our story. SO I bought all 4 jerseys before she could change her mind. It was like Christmas to get those Jerseys!!!! I do want to get a red cardinals jersey in a toddlers size for her and have it personalized at that same store. The lady said that they didn't have a red one that small but if I found one she would personalize it for me. So I will see if I can find it. How cute would it be for us to all wear it the day she returns off the plane and for her to have one on too!!!!! I sure hope it all works out!!!
So here we are just waiting but that is something that God is really helping me with. I am becoming much more aware that this is just the way the process is, I cannot change it, and therefore I just have to go with the flow and things will happen when they are meant to happen!!! I have been watching youtube videos of "gotcha days" and found a video where they went to the childs orphanage.....I will say that there will be many tears shed in China....both happy and excited tears but also tears of sadness for the ones left behind. Definitely a very eye opening experience so far and I cannot even imagine the lessons on the horizon. Remember that ALL the money raised from the tshirts go to the orphanage....Mabry is a lucky one that will get a loving family but there are many that remain and we want to do our part to help them.
I tried to order Cardinal tshirts that you can personalize and have Mabry and 47 put on the back but a week later I got an email saying that they couldnt' make those because basically since Mabry is retired they can no longer use his name and number. I then stopped by the Cardinal Store at the mall where you can buy jerseys and have a players name and number put on the back. I explained my story to the lady at the desk and she said that even though she wasn't suppose to she would do it for me because of our story. SO I bought all 4 jerseys before she could change her mind. It was like Christmas to get those Jerseys!!!! I do want to get a red cardinals jersey in a toddlers size for her and have it personalized at that same store. The lady said that they didn't have a red one that small but if I found one she would personalize it for me. So I will see if I can find it. How cute would it be for us to all wear it the day she returns off the plane and for her to have one on too!!!!! I sure hope it all works out!!!
So here we are just waiting but that is something that God is really helping me with. I am becoming much more aware that this is just the way the process is, I cannot change it, and therefore I just have to go with the flow and things will happen when they are meant to happen!!! I have been watching youtube videos of "gotcha days" and found a video where they went to the childs orphanage.....I will say that there will be many tears shed in China....both happy and excited tears but also tears of sadness for the ones left behind. Definitely a very eye opening experience so far and I cannot even imagine the lessons on the horizon. Remember that ALL the money raised from the tshirts go to the orphanage....Mabry is a lucky one that will get a loving family but there are many that remain and we want to do our part to help them.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Just a quick update!!
So just a quick update!! I got a message via the portal from our social worker yesterday letting me know that the agency has approved our home study and now it is sent off for the international team to approve. Once approved by the international team (she said probably about a week), then we will be on to getting our Dossier (packet) together and then we send that to China. Now the Dossier is simple forms for the most part, much easier then the home study, just busy work because things have to be state sealed (in springfield) and also notarized. Also you have to get new birth certificates and things because they have to be marked within 6 months. So all of that will have to be done over. No worries I can handle busy work!!! So this is great news and if all goes well then in a couple weeks I will be on a mission to get my Dossier together!!!! Once we send it to China, we will get confirmation on the day that they receive it which is known as your LID or Log in Date. Once you have one of these then you are eligible to receive a referral!! Getting a referral is a lot like trying to get pregnant, they do referrals once a month and if you don't get one then you wait for the next month to try again!!! So basically it will just be a waiting game. I will get into more detail about all of that when that time comes but right now just know that things are happening although it doesn't really seem like it!!! Knowing that we might be a couple weeks away from starting the dossier just seems crazy to me!!! I checked my records and we got our formal application approved on March 26 and here it is August 9 and we are only a couple weeks away from preparing for our final step before we are just waiting!!!! God is so good.
Thanks for following this journey and we are excited about the stuff that is yet to come...and btw...please buy a tshirt!!!!! It is for a great cause and we would greatly appreciate it!!!! I have Small, Med, Large, and XL in stock in my car and any other size I will be more than happy to order!!!!!! Please get a hold of me if you are interested...they are $20
Thanks for following this journey and we are excited about the stuff that is yet to come...and btw...please buy a tshirt!!!!! It is for a great cause and we would greatly appreciate it!!!! I have Small, Med, Large, and XL in stock in my car and any other size I will be more than happy to order!!!!!! Please get a hold of me if you are interested...they are $20
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Sorry it took so long
Ok so I have several things to say for this blog so I am sorry if this gets lengthy but there is some good info at the end that you might want to know so bear with me!! I have literally been having this blog run thru my head over and over and I knew that I needed to do it but when I would sit down the words just weren't right. So I have decided to just go for it and hope that it comes out the way I want it to!!!
I will start by a little update. Home visits are FINISHED!!! She has 1 month to get the report written and approved and then hopefully we will move right along to the Dossier which is the packet that goes to China!!! The 3rd and final visit was pretty painless other than the fact that she interviewed our boys without us present!!! She apparently just asked Grady if he would share his toys with his new little sister to which I believe he actually answered yes!!! Connor was as sweet as ever though as the social worker had to tell us 2 of his answers!! She said that she asked him if he felt like we were good parents and he replied "they are the best parents that I know". She also asked him what he thinks about having a sister that doesn't look like him and he said "it doesn't matter what she looks like, just what is in her heart". That is just soooo connor!!! The social worker said she would have thought it was rehearsed if not for his face when he said it. So she said down with Jason and I just for a bit longer and just like that the home visits were over!!! She did say that she might have forgotten a few things so I have been watching the portal for a question or two but nothing yet.
Ok so I have been getting a great deal of response to this adoption, I have received ALOT of questions and I first want to say that I LOVE the questions!!! They always start with "do you mind if I ask you a few questions" and the answer is always NOT AT ALL. At this point I have very limited information as we are still in the middle of it but I am willing to give you any information that I have or any advice that I can!! Please know that international adoption and domestic are quite a bit different so I am probably no help with that!! Along with the questions though I get a lot of "you guys are amazing" or "what an amazing thing that you guys are doing" or "there will be many jewels on your crown in heaven" and let me say this is just not the case AT ALL. I am a planner and as a child I thought I had my life all planned out!!! I have always wanted to be a mommy and when that happened I just assumed that God will let me life be as perfect as I had dreamed. However, years of infertility and 6 miscarriages was definitely NOT in my plans!!! When I got pregnant with Chesney though life was finally going to end the way I had planned. I was going to have the 3 kids that Jason and I had agreed on, I was going to have my 2 boys and finally a little girl. All of my children were going to be white headed little kids running around and life was perfect again!!! Losing Chesney was never in the plan! Having a tombstone at a cemetery that I am forever attached to was not the plan. This morning Pastor Danny spoke on Jesus and how if we believe He was God then we must believe that He is sovereign. That yes it is true that He healed the blind man, but it is also true that He made that man blind, let him live blind for 30 years so that everyone would know he was blind, and then healed him for His glory!!!!! God doesn't promise life is going to be this perfect little bubble just because we are followers, in fact if you read the bible the men that followed Jesus side by side on His time on earth didn't have a perfect life AT ALL.....some were stoned, beheaded and even skinned alive. So who am I to think that my life is going to be perfect!!! So back to my point, less than 8 months ago I had my life all figured out and none of it had to do with fundraisers for an orphanage, mountains of paperwork, invasive interviews in my home, and flying across the world....but it did include finishing my family with my daughter. This is where God stepped in. God LITERALLY blew doors closed and opened and left no doubt for either Jason or myself that this adoption was exactly where He wanted us to be...although it was no our plan it was His. So you see us adopting a special needs daughter from an orphanage in China was NEVER in our plans so we are not these great people doing great things and hoping to get rewarded. We are simply being obedient. So what you mistake for greatness is simply obedience. Not everyone is called to leave the US and live in a place like Chad Africa and be a missionary....not everyone is called to go to China and adopt a special needs child....not everyone is called to do the same things....all that God asks is that what we are called to we are to be obedient!! So that's where we are....we are so excited to get MeiMei even though she wasn't exactly what we had planned she is EXACTLY what God planned so it is going to be even better then we could have imagined!!! I love the Christian author Lysa TerKeurst so I will end this part of the blog with a quote from her that fits this just soooo well!!!!
“One thing you can be assured of is that God has already worked out all the details of what your obedience will accomplish-and it is good. We need not fear what our obedience will cause to happen in our life. We should only fear what our disobedience will cause us to miss.”
Finally I have a little something exciting to share!!! I am from a small town of 350 people, so everyone knows everyone and everything. There was a special little boy that basically affected everyone in St Peter's life, his name was Alex Wodtka. Now let me say that because I was a child during all of this I am going to tell it as I remember and if any of my facts are absolutely perfect then I'm sorry!! Anyway, Alex was born with a heart defect on April 1. He had a heart transplant and was a sweet little boy with a huge future. It's not my place to give his entire story and isn't necessary for this story anyway. Alex ended up in St Louis where he would eventually pass to be with the Lord, but while he was there he had a "wish" to meet Mark McGwire. This was around 1998 and McGwire was who all little boys wanted to meet. However, because he was who he was he wasn't able/chose not to go to the hospital to meet him. BUT Fred Bird went along with John Mabry. I was a Junior in high school during this time and this was a HUGE character building moment for me. I never want to be seen the way McGwire was seen in our small little town....like he just couldn't take the time to see this little boy that just wanted to meet him because he was a good ball player. I also learned that I wanted to be the kind of person that John Mabry was and wanted to teach my kids that you are never too busy to be there for someone else. So I had the picture of Alex, Fred Bird and Mabry in a collage frame in my dorm room thru college because it was a defining moment of sorts. So when we were trying to find a name for MeiMei I immediately fell in love with the name Mabry. So our little China doll will be named Mabry and therefore the boys could still call her MeiMei if they choose to. I hope that I can teach my children to be great examples of their faith and also have the compassion that John Mabry had to go to the hospital even when he wasn't the one that was asked to go!!! Lets just say that I might have to buy a Mabry cardinals jersey for all 4 of us for the airport.....you are all welcome to sport yours too....lol.
By the way...tshirts are still for sale......
I will start by a little update. Home visits are FINISHED!!! She has 1 month to get the report written and approved and then hopefully we will move right along to the Dossier which is the packet that goes to China!!! The 3rd and final visit was pretty painless other than the fact that she interviewed our boys without us present!!! She apparently just asked Grady if he would share his toys with his new little sister to which I believe he actually answered yes!!! Connor was as sweet as ever though as the social worker had to tell us 2 of his answers!! She said that she asked him if he felt like we were good parents and he replied "they are the best parents that I know". She also asked him what he thinks about having a sister that doesn't look like him and he said "it doesn't matter what she looks like, just what is in her heart". That is just soooo connor!!! The social worker said she would have thought it was rehearsed if not for his face when he said it. So she said down with Jason and I just for a bit longer and just like that the home visits were over!!! She did say that she might have forgotten a few things so I have been watching the portal for a question or two but nothing yet.
Ok so I have been getting a great deal of response to this adoption, I have received ALOT of questions and I first want to say that I LOVE the questions!!! They always start with "do you mind if I ask you a few questions" and the answer is always NOT AT ALL. At this point I have very limited information as we are still in the middle of it but I am willing to give you any information that I have or any advice that I can!! Please know that international adoption and domestic are quite a bit different so I am probably no help with that!! Along with the questions though I get a lot of "you guys are amazing" or "what an amazing thing that you guys are doing" or "there will be many jewels on your crown in heaven" and let me say this is just not the case AT ALL. I am a planner and as a child I thought I had my life all planned out!!! I have always wanted to be a mommy and when that happened I just assumed that God will let me life be as perfect as I had dreamed. However, years of infertility and 6 miscarriages was definitely NOT in my plans!!! When I got pregnant with Chesney though life was finally going to end the way I had planned. I was going to have the 3 kids that Jason and I had agreed on, I was going to have my 2 boys and finally a little girl. All of my children were going to be white headed little kids running around and life was perfect again!!! Losing Chesney was never in the plan! Having a tombstone at a cemetery that I am forever attached to was not the plan. This morning Pastor Danny spoke on Jesus and how if we believe He was God then we must believe that He is sovereign. That yes it is true that He healed the blind man, but it is also true that He made that man blind, let him live blind for 30 years so that everyone would know he was blind, and then healed him for His glory!!!!! God doesn't promise life is going to be this perfect little bubble just because we are followers, in fact if you read the bible the men that followed Jesus side by side on His time on earth didn't have a perfect life AT ALL.....some were stoned, beheaded and even skinned alive. So who am I to think that my life is going to be perfect!!! So back to my point, less than 8 months ago I had my life all figured out and none of it had to do with fundraisers for an orphanage, mountains of paperwork, invasive interviews in my home, and flying across the world....but it did include finishing my family with my daughter. This is where God stepped in. God LITERALLY blew doors closed and opened and left no doubt for either Jason or myself that this adoption was exactly where He wanted us to be...although it was no our plan it was His. So you see us adopting a special needs daughter from an orphanage in China was NEVER in our plans so we are not these great people doing great things and hoping to get rewarded. We are simply being obedient. So what you mistake for greatness is simply obedience. Not everyone is called to leave the US and live in a place like Chad Africa and be a missionary....not everyone is called to go to China and adopt a special needs child....not everyone is called to do the same things....all that God asks is that what we are called to we are to be obedient!! So that's where we are....we are so excited to get MeiMei even though she wasn't exactly what we had planned she is EXACTLY what God planned so it is going to be even better then we could have imagined!!! I love the Christian author Lysa TerKeurst so I will end this part of the blog with a quote from her that fits this just soooo well!!!!
“One thing you can be assured of is that God has already worked out all the details of what your obedience will accomplish-and it is good. We need not fear what our obedience will cause to happen in our life. We should only fear what our disobedience will cause us to miss.”
Finally I have a little something exciting to share!!! I am from a small town of 350 people, so everyone knows everyone and everything. There was a special little boy that basically affected everyone in St Peter's life, his name was Alex Wodtka. Now let me say that because I was a child during all of this I am going to tell it as I remember and if any of my facts are absolutely perfect then I'm sorry!! Anyway, Alex was born with a heart defect on April 1. He had a heart transplant and was a sweet little boy with a huge future. It's not my place to give his entire story and isn't necessary for this story anyway. Alex ended up in St Louis where he would eventually pass to be with the Lord, but while he was there he had a "wish" to meet Mark McGwire. This was around 1998 and McGwire was who all little boys wanted to meet. However, because he was who he was he wasn't able/chose not to go to the hospital to meet him. BUT Fred Bird went along with John Mabry. I was a Junior in high school during this time and this was a HUGE character building moment for me. I never want to be seen the way McGwire was seen in our small little town....like he just couldn't take the time to see this little boy that just wanted to meet him because he was a good ball player. I also learned that I wanted to be the kind of person that John Mabry was and wanted to teach my kids that you are never too busy to be there for someone else. So I had the picture of Alex, Fred Bird and Mabry in a collage frame in my dorm room thru college because it was a defining moment of sorts. So when we were trying to find a name for MeiMei I immediately fell in love with the name Mabry. So our little China doll will be named Mabry and therefore the boys could still call her MeiMei if they choose to. I hope that I can teach my children to be great examples of their faith and also have the compassion that John Mabry had to go to the hospital even when he wasn't the one that was asked to go!!! Lets just say that I might have to buy a Mabry cardinals jersey for all 4 of us for the airport.....you are all welcome to sport yours too....lol.
By the way...tshirts are still for sale......
Monday, July 1, 2013
Second home visit
Alright so we had our second and most dreaded visit and I can say we survived!!! It was as they explained they questioned each of us individually for over an hour. I'm sure you are all shocked to hear that Jason took longer than mine lol. The questions ranged from the members of our family, past relationships, deaths in our family, infertility, how we fight, what we fight about, strengths and weaknesses of us and our spouse and on and on. Basically every detail of your life is fair game. I can see why they warn you that you might get emotional but since I talk about our fertility stuff all the time, I survived.
So we have this week off and then our final visit with our social worker is on the 11th. She will then have a couple weeks to write report and then on to dossier!!!!!!!!! Dossier is the paperwork that we have to send to china. So basically it is a much smaller stack of papers and we get the state seal and notarized as needed and then mail to china and get a log in date (LID). One we have an LID we are officially a waiting family!!!!!! This process is moving right along and we couldn't be more happy!!!!
I want to tough on the tshirts again. We are not fundraising to pay for our adoption but we want our friends and family to be involved in this process and we also want to be able to help the orphanage that we get meimei from to take tremendous care of future babies waiting for their forever family. Please consider getting a shirt for your entire family!!!! They are $20 and come in any size you could want!!! You can contact me or anyone in my family!!! Also I have order forms at the dental office if u want to get one or maybe make copies and put them at your place of business!!!!! Also feel free to request order forms if you want to get some group orders!!!! It really is a great cause and we really want to show how much we appreciate these people caring for our daughter!!!! I am thinking about setting up a Facebook page for the adoption updates and also would love for you that order shirts to take a picture of your family in the shirts and post on our page!!! I will post more information on that when I get it going. In the meantime, please sell and buy the shirts!!! If I am going to reach my goal of 300 shirts I am going to need for all of you to buy them, put order forms in your work and ask everyone you know if they have bought one yet!!!! Thanks to all of you that have already ordered one, I cannot wait to see your pictures!!!!!!!
Monday, June 24, 2013
1st home visit
Well we officially survived our first home visit!!!!! This one was actually a very easy visit and it seems the only one that we are dreading is the second one which is already this thursday!!!! This is the visit where they take you individually and grill you for about an hour and a half each she said....also they don't want the kids in the house as it can be "heavy topics". All I know is that I don't know what in the world all of this is for....but it's the process and therefore we have to do it!!!! The first visit she walked thru our house and when we sat down to talk it was basically reasking the questions that we filled out in our paperwork so that was fine. The only shocking question so far was when she asked about our guardians we chose for our kids in case we die....that was fine as I guess I see why they want to make sure all of that is set up....but hey needed to know what their annual income was. So are you telling me that they have to meet an ideal income when they are simply stepping in to raise our kids because we have died.....seems crazy to me. However, they are fully qualified so it all worked out fine!!!!
I also wanted to touch on one of the fundraisers we are doing for an orphanage donation. I want to first say that we know how the government runs the orphanages and therefore we will use this money the way our agency advises. Jason's office is going to donate special bottles for babies with cleft lip and palate so that we can give those to the orphanage but there are many needs for baby items. So if they think we should take the money in china and buy a bunch of formula, bottles, clothes or whatever that is what we will do. As of now I am just going to start an account that will all be given to them in one fashion or another. So right now we are selling tshirts specifically designed for this adoption!!! The outline over the words on front is the outline of China. The shirts are $20 and yes I know that is quite an expensive tshirt but remember that this money is going to something really great and you get a tshirt in return!!!!! We spend $20 on things for our kids that will eventually not be appreciated and thrown away......so if that is your hang up I ask that you pray about it and maybe your heart will be opened. We are so blessed here in our little bubble that it is so hard to even fathom the basic needs not being met for other children. I remember a mom that I know that returned from getting her daughter in China and she said "we don't have starving kids right here among us so when you feel that in your hands it is so hard to even explain". You see they aren't starving the kids because they are mean nannies at an orphanage that take out their anger on babies....they are under feeding them because they don't have the means to feed them what they really need. So I like to say that we are NOT all called to adopt, but we are ALL called to help orphans.....so please consider buying a tshirt for your whole family!!!! I know it's asking alot but just consider it!!!! I will attach a picture of the front/back of the tshirt and if you are interested then message me and we can also ship the shirts to you for an additional $2, so NO EXCUSES ;)
I also wanted to touch on one of the fundraisers we are doing for an orphanage donation. I want to first say that we know how the government runs the orphanages and therefore we will use this money the way our agency advises. Jason's office is going to donate special bottles for babies with cleft lip and palate so that we can give those to the orphanage but there are many needs for baby items. So if they think we should take the money in china and buy a bunch of formula, bottles, clothes or whatever that is what we will do. As of now I am just going to start an account that will all be given to them in one fashion or another. So right now we are selling tshirts specifically designed for this adoption!!! The outline over the words on front is the outline of China. The shirts are $20 and yes I know that is quite an expensive tshirt but remember that this money is going to something really great and you get a tshirt in return!!!!! We spend $20 on things for our kids that will eventually not be appreciated and thrown away......so if that is your hang up I ask that you pray about it and maybe your heart will be opened. We are so blessed here in our little bubble that it is so hard to even fathom the basic needs not being met for other children. I remember a mom that I know that returned from getting her daughter in China and she said "we don't have starving kids right here among us so when you feel that in your hands it is so hard to even explain". You see they aren't starving the kids because they are mean nannies at an orphanage that take out their anger on babies....they are under feeding them because they don't have the means to feed them what they really need. So I like to say that we are NOT all called to adopt, but we are ALL called to help orphans.....so please consider buying a tshirt for your whole family!!!! I know it's asking alot but just consider it!!!! I will attach a picture of the front/back of the tshirt and if you are interested then message me and we can also ship the shirts to you for an additional $2, so NO EXCUSES ;)
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