We've committed...PART 2!!!

I finally have an update for you on who the second little girl we've committed to is!! :) Yay!!! Meet "Abigail"....



Abigail and Emilie (not their real names - we have learned their birth names though!) are both in the same city, although we won't know for awhile if they are in the same orphanage or not. Even still, they are available to be adopted together, and we can't wait to be their parents!

Abigail is 5 years old, and the giant bow on her head means she's an orphanage favorite! :) Another adoptive family traveled to this region and the orphanage staff asked them to find a family for her, they love her very much and want to see her find a family. They can't understand why she hasn't already found her family.

Well, sweet girl - here we are! :) We're coming for you!!

Brandon and I spent most of the day yesterday working on our homestudy paperwork, and will be doing more of the same today. Then we've just got to get a few things notarized and get a few copies of things and it'll be sent off to our homestudy agency! Then we'll be able to set up our home visit and interviews! Hopefully our homestudy portion of the adoption will be done by the beginning of March - that is our goal. Then we'll be one step closer to bringing Emilie & Abigail home!

How can you help?

First of all pray - pray for the safety and protection of our girls.

Pray for our strength and for protection over our marriage. Nothing is wrong - don't read anything into that - but Satan likes to have a hayday with situations like this. I read just the other day that adoption is spiritual warfare - and Satan will try to throw any obstacle he can at us, to keep us frustrated and distracted. But we know that we're following God's command to care for orphans.

Pray for the finances. We are really praying and trusting that we won't have to go into debt for this adoption. Our girls' country has changed some laws as of just a couple of weeks ago, and starting in 2012 will require THREE trips to the country - so that adds an additional sum of money for travel. We have some fun and creative ideas for fundraising, but we know times are tight for most people. We will hopefully have another fundraiser soon! :)

Other ways you can help - donate. We have two ways you can donate currently. The first is directly to us through our ChipIn. These funds will be used for our homestudy fees. These donations are not tax-deductible, but come directly to us right now. These are the most helpful donations at this point in the process. The second way you can donate is through our Reece's Rainbow Family Sponsorship Page. These donations are tax-deductible, and will be released to us later in our process. (after our paperwork is in the country and we are getting ready to travel)

Thank you so much for your support! We appreciate it so much! :) Thank you from Abigail & Emilie!! :)

Insert clever Christmas blog title here...

I spent the last three days baking - and my brain is fried....or maybe I should say baked! I truly enjoy baking each year, but it's a lot of work! Instead of buying lots of gifts for our friend and family, we give goody plates. This year I made 11 different kinds of treats for our plates. I'll post the recipes on my cooking blog next week. :)

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on facebook and here on our blog regarding our adoption! We are truly excited that we get to be parents to that adorable little girl! :) We've learned a little more about Emilie, and will take some time after the holidays to blog more about our process and our sweet girl - hopefully by then we will have committed to our second girl as well. Next week, we are tackling the stack of paperwork we have still to do for our homestudy!

A HUGE thank you also to those who have already donated to either our homestudy fund or our Family Support Page. You'll notice both of those buttons off to the right on our blog. We truly appreciate your support. If you happened by my blog last night you might have seen an "ugly" comment left in the comments - there is a very uncreative/unoriginal person who likes to troll the blogs of people either adopting from Reece's Rainbow or advocating for the kids on Reece's Rainbow. We don't take their comments personal in anyway, but on the off chance any of you saw the comment (I deleted it fairly quickly) - I just wanted to briefly address it. (This will be the one and only time I acknowledge this "person" on my blog) I am not "buying my child" - we are paying a ransom for a child who doesn't have the freedom and love of a family. We unfortunately don't have $30,000+ sitting in a bank account - but that doesn't mean we can't afford this. I know very few people that have that kind of money just sitting around. I wish we did - that would make this so much easier, but instead we're trusting God that the funds will come - and so far He has been taking care of us almost exactly to the penny of what we've needed!

All that being said, I have made a slight change to the commenting on my blog - all comments now need to be approved by me before they'll post. Just a heads up, in case you're wondering where your comment is!! :)

Brandon and I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas! Be safe, have fun and enjoy!!!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2: 10 - 14

It's official!! We've committed!!

So, we've been sitting on this news for almost a week - but now we can make an announcement!! :) Brandon and I have officially committed to a very sweet, absolutely adorable little girl!!! Meet "Emilie".

This is not her real name -but what she is listed on Reece's Rainbow as. We will find out her birth name later in our process and then make a decision as to what we will name her. But for now, she's Emilie! :)

So, I'm sure this brings up questions for all of you - and I'd be happy to answer them! So ask away!! We have begun the process of our homestudy - and pray that will go smoothly. FYI - we can't announce where Emilie is - for her safety and the safety of all kids in Eastern Europe waiting for their forever homes. So from here on out we will refer to it as "Emilie's country".

Over the next couple of weeks you will see some changes around this blog as we get all of our "buttons" up and running. You'll be seeing a "ChipIn" - which you can donate to which will go directly to our Pay Pal account - we'll be using these donations to help offset the costs of homestudy fees and USCIS fees and lots of other things!! (These donations are not tax-deductable, btw - but we appreciate them VERY VERY much as there are quite a few fees that come up right away!!) You'll also see a button linking directly to our Reece's Rainbow Family Sponsorship Page. These donations ARE tax deductable - and the funds will be released to us later in the process, and will help offset some of our travel expenses and stuff like that. We appreciate donations to either account VERY much!

Brandon and I appreciate most of all your prayers and support throughout this process. We are very excited to bring Emilie home - and are hoping and praying to actually bring a second girl home at the same time, just waiting for a few details to know for sure if we'll be able to do that. Please continue to pray for us - we still have quite a journey ahead!! :)

Here is a link to our Family Sponsorship Page on Reece's Rainbow.

Our First Adoption Fundraiser!!!

We have been so busy the last couple of weeks, I haven't had time to update anything!! How long til Christmas break?? Spring break?? :) But in the midst of all the craziness that is our lives right now, we've been able to make a few small steps forward in our adoption process! No huge announcements yet, but know that we're moving forward. We have an agency to work with, and getting ready to submit our application with them and get started on our homestudy!! :)

To help offset some of the fees that come with applying and our homestudy, we're having our first adoption fundraiser this weekend! Our awesome friend, Christopher is a Pampered Chef Consultant - and he is having a party for us this Sunday...ALL proceeds from the party will go toward our adoption fund!! Obviously, all of my readers can't come to a party here...but we have set up online ordering for it!! If you'd like to order online visit: Our Pampered Chef Fundraiser, use Jennifer Willis for the host - and be sure to select direct shipping! :)