Family Challenge

At the end of August Nate and I began talking about how we can cut back on our expenses to save up for our adoption. The first thing that came to mind, and probably the most obvious, was the food budget.  We came up with a plan and sat down with the kids and explained.  They were totally on board.  Probably because they really had no clue just how much we were planning on cutting back.  No more cereal, chips, crackers, pretzels, pop, meat, ice cream (this is a HUGE sacrifice for Nate), any prepackaged snack item like granola bars, fruit chews.....etc.  If they wanted a snack it was going to have to be fresh fruit, veggies, cheese, piece of toast or any homemade bread, cookie or muffin I make.  For breakfast it's fruit and toast, eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, muffins or scones.....made from scratch of course, because it's cheaper.  Now let me explain that I love cooking and baking for my family and they love eating what I make so breakfast really hasn't been that hard to adjust to, but still cheaper than going through three 4 dollar boxes of cereal in a week......that's 48 smackers a month...JUST IN CEREAL!!  Lunches have been a bit of an issue because I adore sandwiches, I could eat an artistically crafted, delicious sandwich any time of day or night.  Well, no meat means no meat, so no lunch meat.  BOO!  The kids struggle with not having something crunchy and salty to have with their lunch so there is some sighing when trying to come up with something creative AND yummy to eat.  Mostly from me.  On to dinner time.  Let me just say that as of today, September 26, 2011, we are all ready to crack.  I am not sure any of us can eat another bean and we have 4 more days left in this challenge.  If a recipe calls for meat, I substitute beans when it makes sense.  There has been a lot of salad and so very many potatoes consumed.  I've been making my own bisquick mix as well.  I did not realize that there are literally thousands of bisquick recipes out there and so many that actually taste pretty darn good.  My quick mix recipe makes double what you would find in a store bought mix and saves me about 12 bucks a month.  Not bad.  There is so much more I could share with you but our beans and rice dinner (yes, I said beans, ugh.) and cornbread is almost done so I better run.  It's been a bit of a sacrifice but it wouldn't be a sacrifice if it was easy right?  The total amount we saved so far this month is 410 bucks!!!  Our goal was to save 500 bucks and I think we can do it.  We are pretty proud of ourselves and realized too that even with the cutbacks, we still have so much.  We haven't gone to bed hungry yet and I can't help but think of all the little ones around the world who suffer daily from hunger.  Off to eat my beans.  With a smile on my face and thanksgiving in my heart.  

Dossier Funding

We are really close to completing our Home Study and then we are only about a couple months away from  submitting our dossier.  The dossier is a set of documents that pretty much says that we are for real people that aren't criminals, that lead normal, healthy lives and that we really, truly desire to love and care for another child.  Everything needs notarized and county and state certified.  After it's sent it will then be translated and then sent to Ethiopia.  After that I'm not sure on the exact details of what goes on but we then wait and see if they like what they read and then match us to a little boy.  There are several steps that are involved to make this happen and each step requires a fee.  The total cost we need to have in order to submit the dossier is $7700 smack-a-roos.  As you can see, to the right of this post is a donate button.  If you feel led, please donate and be assured that every penny will go towards bringing our son home. You can also choose the button down further on the right to purchase some delicious coffee.  Five dollars from every bag purchased goes towards our adoption. I am trying to figure out how to put a fundraising meter on this blog so we can see how we're doing, so who knows how long that will take me!  Most importantly please pray for us.  I know I ask every time I post, but that is the most important thing to us, that you all lift us up in prayer and ask for wisdom, strength and patience on our behalf. Well, that's it in a nut shell.  

Second Home Study Meeting Done

We had another successful meeting with our SW this morning.  She interviewed me and Nate individually and each of the kids.  They were so nervous and worried about how it was going to go.  Each one of them came up after their interview with huge smiles on their faces and said how nice she was and that it wasn't so hard.  We told them to just be honest and answer any questions the best they could and they did.  I'm so proud of them!  

I found this meeting particularly resourceful because she told us where we could find a clinic that deals with international adoption.  We will be able to take our son and have him evaluated on every aspect of his being.  Let me just say that I'm relieved to have this information.  I am feeling more and more ready to mother this little boy.  Feeling ready to have respect for his losses and whatever traumatic experiences he may have gone through.  I am feeling more and more ready to walk with him through his adjustments and attachment issues and love him with all I have.  I am developing a fierce mama love for this boy  (you know, the kind that any parent feels with their kids), but I don't have a face yet.  I'm developing a terrible sense of someone else is caring for him when it really should be me and Nate.  My emotions make zero sense right now.  I feel an urgency to just get this done and bring him home as fast as humanly possible and yet I find myself wanting to slow down a bit so our funding for this adoption can catch up.  Waaaaay up.  It's hard.  We all have a love for him.  We sit at our table and look at the empty chair and imagine him sitting there.  We talk about what he might think of this or that, or what he'll do in the snow or how would he like build-a-bear.  Will he prefer stuffed animals or cars?  Building with blocks or legos, or drawing or singing?  Sports or science?  One of the joys Nate and I have in being parents is watching our kids grow, change and watch them discover their own areas of expertise.  We are ready to start all of that with our fourth.  The kids are ready to fill that empty space in our home and hearts with their sibling.  We are praying that God, if it's His will, that He will quickly provide the funds and we will be able to get the rest of the paperwork done and complete the dossier by Thanksgiving.  I know it's a tall order but God can do it, the question is, is that what's best for us?  So, we continue to wait........

First Home Study Meeting Done

This morning we had our first in-home meeting with our social worker.  She is wonderful and we are so thankful that she is working with us.  This meeting consisted of our SW asking questions like, what is our motivation for adopting, do we understand there could be delays.  She addressed that fact that the probability that our child will come with attachment issues and possibly other emotional problems is big.  We went over some paperwork and had a nice conversation around our table with cups of coffee in hand.  I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  Oh, and let me just say.......SHE DID LOOK IN ALL MY CLOSETS!!!  And because of my obsession with cleaning and organizing during the month of August, I was ready.  Thank you. No embarrassment whatsoever. Ha! I rock!  Okay, so do my kids, I did pay them after all.  =D

Near the end of the meeting our SW said that we are moving fast and almost have all the home study paperwork done.  We knew that and we are so happy, but we need to do some serious money saving and fundraising.  Thanks to all of you who have so generously bought coffee or donated money for this adoption.  It means so much to us, you'll never know just how much.  Keep praying for us!  We are so excited to see how God moves in this journey! 

Moving right along!

Nate and I have been jumping through many hoops the past two weeks and we are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I hate paperwork. I loathe paperwork. I would like to spit in the face of paperwork. Because of these strong feelings instead of procrastinating, I tackled the paperwork. My main concern when I sat in front of the mountain of documents was how fast can I shrink it. I cried, I fretted, I paced, I wrung my hands nervously and not once did I think to pray for the process of paperwork. Our family coordinator sent us an email that reminded us of the tedious job we had ahead of us and then said to pray. *enter slap on forehead*. Duh. Didn't God call us to adopt? Didn't He orchestrate our lives the past 16 or whatever years to prepare us for this calling? Am I really fretting over paper?!?! Why am I trying to go on my own strength? God's got this. Totally. Without a doubt. Paperwork is vital in bringing home our son. I have to say that since we have prayed over this paperwork, things have gone pretty smoothly. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of time for lots of bumps to get over and to have some issues along the way. In fact, I expect it. But even when that happens, God still has this under control and He will see to all the details.

This morning our Social Worker called and we set up meetings for the next two weeks and then we'll have one more after that. We could have this home study wrapped up in just three weeks! I'm so elated. Nate and I both are feeling very excited to be getting a little closer, every day, to our son. We are thanking God for His provision and trusting He will continue to provide EVERYthing we need to see this adoption to the end. Thanks for your continued prayers for financial needs to fund this adoption, for our hearts to be prepared for parenting this little guy and for our kids, although, they are ready, they want him home like yesterday. We are so thankful for their tender, sweet hearts and their willingness to love another sibling and share their life with him. I'm a proud mama that's for sure!