What's Next?

So we had our home study on Wednesday. We're waiting on a couple more components before she can complete it. My parents have to get their doctor forms turned in, kids have doctor appt in August and we're waiting on two more letters of reference. We'll likely have our home study returned to us by September 1.

So... our next phase of fundraising has begun. Selling children's clothing on eBay. This clothing was donated to our garage sale, but I thought that if I pulled the name-brand items and put them on eBay, I could generate more sales. So if you're interested in seeing our stuff, just visit my eBay site: i-love-kitchen-stuff. And pray that we meet our goal. We need about $500 before the end of the month. Yikes!

We're Really Getting Somewhere Now!

So the garage sale was an awesome success. Not only did we reach our first goal (to pay for the first half of the home study), but we are actually almost 1/2 way to our second goal (the other half of the home study). We are so grateful for all the donations.

Today we had our second of 3 parenting classes. It was fun. There is one other couple in our class. They are adopting from Columbia. We learned about abandonment and the need for attachment for adopted children. Each time we have one of these classes, it just gets me so excited to meet our new son. We talked a little tonight about names. Because, of course, we can name our child whatever we want once he's adopted. We will likely Americanize his name and give him a Biblical name so that he fits in with the rest of the family. Christian says he's going to teach his new brother how to run and jump on the bed and how to play with his Geo Trax. Elijah says he's going to teach the child everything he and Christian are learning in gymnastics.

We also have gathered almost all the paperwork for the home study. Just a couple more steps, a couple copies and fingerprinting for everyone in the house over 18 (yes, that means mom and dad, too). Our third class is on January 27 and then we can schedule our home study shortly thereafter. Once the home study comes back (I think it takes a couple weeks), we can apply for grants. We can also begin gathering our dossier. Still so much to do, but I feel at least one step closer.

The Garage Sale!

Yes, it's coming... the garage sale is upon us. My parents have said that they are willing to run the sale on Friday (while I'll be working) and possibly even Thursday. But Saturday is the big day. I'm so excited. We've been working so hard to price all the items and we've truly made some progress.

The donations have been so generous. I am overwhelmed by the amount of amazing items that people have donated to our cause. Thank you so much! We are truly appreciative. I pray that we can earn enough money to at least begin the home study process. Our goal is $900. It's a pretty steep goal, but again, people have been SO generous. I think we can do it. Please pray for our sanity and success!

Baby Steps

Not much has changed here. We're just starting to get stuff together that both Holt and Hillside want. It's so overwhelming. We're just going to get through it step by step. I had a nice conversation with my friend, Marissa, who is also adopting from Ethiopia. It's so nice to have a support system. Right now I'm writing my auto-biography. I know. Not terribly interesting, but required by Hillside. It's fun but time-consuming.

Our biggest problem right now... the woman who agreed to care for Christian next school year (Pittsford only has 1/2 day kindergarten) backed out on us. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. But we're having a hard time finding someone else. So if you know of any childcare providers (must be Pittsford district) looking to take on a charming kindergartner, please help us connect. I just have to believe that the perfect person will cross our path. That's how we found his present daycare.

Lastly, our garage sale is coming along. I put an ad in the church bulletin hoping for some more stuff. Hopefully we start hearing from people early next week. We need to raise $900 by early July and this is our biggest fundraiser yet. Once the home study is done (probably not until the first week in August), we can begin applying for grants. These are available, but not that easy to get.

Remember to check out the links to the left. Smartraise.com is the website to go to if you are interested in purchasing anything online. If that company is a participant, you pay nothing extra for your purchase, but that company gives a portion of your sale to our cause.

Latest News and Next Steps

So, we just heard from Holt today. We need to begin putting together our Dossier, but that won't be complete until after the home study. Also, parenting lessons. I know. Funny. But there's 9 hours worth of stuff we need know about bringing an Ethiopian child into an already-established family. We're trying to schedule that now.

We're also gearing up for the garage sale. Already a lot of people helping us out with stuff. The garage sale is the weekend of June 18th. If you'd like to donate some stuff, just call Gabriel. He'll come pick it up!

We've Been Accepted!

Yesterday was a very painful day for me on a personal level. But when I sat down to read my email... What good news to learn that we had been accepted by Holt to adopt from Ethiopia. I was definitely a little nervous, but now it is all coming together! Gabriel and I are so excited to begin this venture.

Even the first step can't be easy!

So we even messed up our first step. Holt contacted us. We forgot to include some things (pics, tax statements, contract). The final thing (for this step) is being mailed out tomorrow! I'm so proud of Gabriel who has really picked up the slack during our crazy month of May!

Other news:

We have a follower on our blog (yay! Tracy) and our jewelry party was pretty successful. We're going to host another Cookie Lee Jewelry Party in December.

Our next fundraiser is the garage sale in June. So please contact us to donate your stuff! We are getting so excited.