Well it may be official that we are crazy...but we believe we are being obedient. To what you may ask??? Well, we believe that God has asked us to take one step further in this adoption journey. We believe He is leading us to adopt not 1, but 2 children. I know it is a little crazy, and actually a bit scary. But we are trusting that God will take care of us.
I bet you have a few questions rolling around in your head, so I will try to answer them.
-We are planning to adopt a boy and a girl.
-We would like for them to be siblings, but are fine if they are not.
-The cost will increase but only by about half.
-We can all still fit in our vehicle. (Hey, the question about our vehicle was one of mine)
-The kids think it is great and have all actually been praying about it for awhile.
I am sure you may have other questions. Please feel free to ask. We really enjoy talking about our adoption!
We would ask that you would continue to pray for us!!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Big Day
Today we received notification from Hand in Hand Adoption that we were awarded a matching grant up to $10,000. That means that Hand in Hand will match dollar for dollar up to $5000. If we raise $5000, they will give us $5000! WOW! What a start to this next phase. We are very excited about this grant. And, this is only the first grant application we have heard from! If that were not enough for one day, we received an email notifying us that someone had given $500 today through our blog's "donate" button. We are simply overwhelmed.
If you would like to be a part of this matching grant, please let us know. We will need to send you a letter describing the grant and how it works.
Praise God with us for these blessings.
Now, a simple housekeeping issue: from this point forward, we will refer simply to Africa when talking about where our child will come from.
If you would like to be a part of this matching grant, please let us know. We will need to send you a letter describing the grant and how it works.
Praise God with us for these blessings.
Now, a simple housekeeping issue: from this point forward, we will refer simply to Africa when talking about where our child will come from.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Fingerprints
We received the letter from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service telling us when to go to Nashville for our fingerprints. It happened lots faster than we expected. We mailed our stuff about 2 weeks ago and received the letter today. This is a big step that puts us just a little bit closer to bringing home our little one.
We would also like to ask for prayer during the next few days. We are expecting to hear back concerning a matching grant this week. We will update you with the news once we are notified.
Thanks for reading our blog and for praying!
We would also like to ask for prayer during the next few days. We are expecting to hear back concerning a matching grant this week. We will update you with the news once we are notified.
Thanks for reading our blog and for praying!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
We did it... actually God did it!
God has provided the money for us to complete our 1st payment!!! We even have a little left to work toward payment #2. To this point we have raised a little over $8,600 toward our adoption expenses. Isn't that awesome!!
We are now looking forward to seeing how God provides money for our next payment, which is about $14,000. Once we have about $4,500 of that, then it is our understanding that we can request our referral. That means we will have pictures of whoever God is adding to our family!! I can't wait!!! We are praying that money comes quickly. We actually have a grant that we should hear back from in the next week or so. Please pray in regards to that!! We serve a big God and we know He will provide for us.
Also, remember to pray for our I600a application to be processed quickly!
We are now looking forward to seeing how God provides money for our next payment, which is about $14,000. Once we have about $4,500 of that, then it is our understanding that we can request our referral. That means we will have pictures of whoever God is adding to our family!! I can't wait!!! We are praying that money comes quickly. We actually have a grant that we should hear back from in the next week or so. Please pray in regards to that!! We serve a big God and we know He will provide for us.
Also, remember to pray for our I600a application to be processed quickly!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Applications
This has been a huge week for applications on the adoption front. First of all, we have filled out, paid for and mailed in our I600a application. I am sure, you are like us when we first say those number and letters... What do they mean? Well it is our application to the US government to be approved to adopt an orphan. It is a big part of the adoption journey. Please pray that all goes well with our application process and that we get our approval quickly.
We also have completed 4 adoption grant applications and are in the process of completing 3 more. Each of these grants works differently and has different qualifications. Please be in prayer for each of these grants. Pray that our applications will find favor in the eyes of the decision makers.
We are so anxious to bring our little one home and we are trusting God to provide all that is needed to do that.
We also have completed 4 adoption grant applications and are in the process of completing 3 more. Each of these grants works differently and has different qualifications. Please be in prayer for each of these grants. Pray that our applications will find favor in the eyes of the decision makers.
We are so anxious to bring our little one home and we are trusting God to provide all that is needed to do that.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Approved, sold and given
Well it has been a cool few days! First of all our Home Study is complete. For those of you who have experienced the adoption process, that is a big deal. It is basically a document all about us-our life history, the kids, medical information, finances... you name it and it is probably in there. If you want to know something about us, it is in there:) You must have an approved Home Study to proceed with an adoption.. Well- we are APPROVED!!
On another note-Remember the bedroom suite that was donated to us awhile ago. Well, it had not sold. This weekend a precious friend put it out at an estate sale she was having. And today we were contacted to say we needed to pick it up, it had not sold. I was so disappointed. I have to confess- I wondered why God did not allow it to sell and was a bit sad. So I began praying and guess what??? Not 10 minutes later, when I arrived home- the kids came to the door telling me it had sold. God is so good!!!
BUT that is not all... I sat down to check my email and a friend from high school had emailed to let me know a check was headed our way for $100 toward our adoption. So I say again- GOD IS GOOD!!!
We have been blessed this week, but we ask that you please continue to pray for us! We need a little over $1000 to finish off the first payments. We are so close. Also continue to pray for us as we complete grant applications. We need to raise between $20-24,000 in order to bring our daughter home. It seems overwhelming at times, but we are about 1/4 of the way there and we serve a BIG God!!! Thank you so much for following our blog.
Wait there is more!!! I had finished this post and had it posted and then more happened. The bunk beds we were trying to sell, sold. And so I say again GOD IS GOOD!!! I am awed and humbled by His ways.
And more- we had an extra DVD/VCR combo and Dave found someone on Craigslist who needed one. So we are now only $925 from finishing over our 1st payments:)
On another note-Remember the bedroom suite that was donated to us awhile ago. Well, it had not sold. This weekend a precious friend put it out at an estate sale she was having. And today we were contacted to say we needed to pick it up, it had not sold. I was so disappointed. I have to confess- I wondered why God did not allow it to sell and was a bit sad. So I began praying and guess what??? Not 10 minutes later, when I arrived home- the kids came to the door telling me it had sold. God is so good!!!
BUT that is not all... I sat down to check my email and a friend from high school had emailed to let me know a check was headed our way for $100 toward our adoption. So I say again- GOD IS GOOD!!!
We have been blessed this week, but we ask that you please continue to pray for us! We need a little over $1000 to finish off the first payments. We are so close. Also continue to pray for us as we complete grant applications. We need to raise between $20-24,000 in order to bring our daughter home. It seems overwhelming at times, but we are about 1/4 of the way there and we serve a BIG God!!! Thank you so much for following our blog.
Wait there is more!!! I had finished this post and had it posted and then more happened. The bunk beds we were trying to sell, sold. And so I say again GOD IS GOOD!!! I am awed and humbled by His ways.
And more- we had an extra DVD/VCR combo and Dave found someone on Craigslist who needed one. So we are now only $925 from finishing over our 1st payments:)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Pray please
We are starting the process of applying for grants. Would you pray that we will find favor with the charitable organizations and their decision makers?
We will apply for several grants, and some will be matching grants. Matching grants are grants that will match any money we raise up to a set amount. It will work like this: for every $1 we raise, the charitable foundation will give us $1 up to a predetermined total. If we receive a matching grant, we will need to raise money toward that total amount so that we can maximize the $$.
We will update you on our progress as we go. We still have a long way to go, but we know that our God already knows how He will provide for our needs. So, again we ask, will you pray? Daily? Thanks in advance.
We will apply for several grants, and some will be matching grants. Matching grants are grants that will match any money we raise up to a set amount. It will work like this: for every $1 we raise, the charitable foundation will give us $1 up to a predetermined total. If we receive a matching grant, we will need to raise money toward that total amount so that we can maximize the $$.
We will update you on our progress as we go. We still have a long way to go, but we know that our God already knows how He will provide for our needs. So, again we ask, will you pray? Daily? Thanks in advance.
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