Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Your help needed!

We are excited to share 2 ways that our local friends & family can help us fundraise- without spending a dime.

Opportunity #1

We need your old shoes!


We have 45 days to collect as many pairs of shoes as possible. Our goal? 5,000 pairs of shoes! It seems crazy, but I am told it is doable. We will be paid by the pound for the shoes we collect by a great organization that helps schools and charities to fundraise.

Ways YOU can help:
a. Check out your closet and donate shoes you haven't worn in ages... I'm sure I can't be the only one who hangs on to shoes for YEARS thinking that maybe they might be needed down the line. (Ok, I'll even 'fess up re: a pair of brown suede fur-lined clogs. A certain sister of mine thoroughly mocked me during a recent "What should I wear" closet exploration.)
b. Set up a mini collection! Can you post a flier at work and ask co-workers to bring in old pairs of shoes? Maybe spread the word online via your Facebook page? Perhaps you can ask around at your church. Please let me know if you would like me to e-mail you a flier!

Our home's garage will be our main collection area, but we would be delighted if others were able to collect at their house too! We are happy to come pick up larger collections. For obvious reasons, I am not going to post our address here, but if you need that info please contact me!

Opportunity #2
I don't know about you, but I am always looking to purge my house of clutter and unneeded items! If you've been looking for an excuse to deep clean and free up space around your home I have quite the opportunity for you :) We are hosting a garage sale on Saturday, September 28th. All funds raised will go straight to our adoption fund. If you have anything you would like to donate to the garage sale, please let me know! We can even start taking items now if you already have a pile set aside to donate.

We are so thankful to have these opportunities to raise money to bring home our sweet girl! Thank you for helping in any way you are able.

Melanie


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Downtown

On Wednesday we made a trip to Downtown LA to have some of our adoption paperwork apostilled. (Never heard of an apostille? Neither had I before we started researching the adoption process. Essentially, an apostille is a form of authentication that is done to a notarized document before it is sent overseas.) Almost every piece of paper we will send to the country we are adopting from has to be apostilled. Some states charge $5 per document. Some states even have a cap on the amount they will charge you. But not our wonderful home state! Lovely California charges $20-$26 per document with no cap.

EJ and I were happy to have Bethany join us for the trip downtown. Bethany and her husband are friends we met through our small group at church. Coincidentally, they are also in the middle of an international adoption. You can check their blog out here.


Here we are in front of the state building. Sadly, the smiles you see above are a bit misleading. We left empty handed as our paperwork was refused. Thankfully, we've figured out the problem now and it shouldn't be difficult to fix.

One highlight of the day was Justin unexpectedly joining us for lunch. Thanks again, Bethany, for being such a delightful partner in adventure!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

FAQ

Where are you adopting from?
We are adopting from a country in Eastern Europe. We cannot publicly state the country until after we pass court. 

Do you know what child you will be adopting?
At this point, no we do not. 

When will you bring your new child home?
We won't know an exact date for travel until several months from now. At this point we expect to travel sometime in the first few months of 2014.

How much will the adoption cost? 
Final costs will vary due to time spent in country and things like the unknown costs (at this time) of plane tickets. However, we expect that it will cost approximately $25,000.

How are you going to fund the adoption?
We will be using money from our savings account. I (Melanie) have started contract work on a part time basis in order to save more money for the adoption. We will need to fundraise for a large portion of this adoption. More information will come soon on two local fundraisers we are planning. Also, we have an online "Family Sponsorship Page" set up through Reece's Rainbow. Donations can be made to our account via mail or the internet and are tax deductible. (Please note that gifts given online are subject to a 3% PayPal fee. To ensure that all of your donation comes to us, please consider sending a check instead. Checks should be made payable to Reece’s Rainbow- with our name included on the memo line- and mailed to PO Box 4024  Gaithersburg, MD  20885)

Why adopt? Isn't one kid with Down syndrome enough?
We firmly believe that each and every human being was created in the image of God and has great value and worth. Our hearts were broken when we found out how orphans with Down syndrome and other special needs are treated in some countries around the world. In the country we are adopting from, orphans with Down syndrome spend the first 4 years of their life in a "baby house." Many times these beautiful children are left in their cribs the vast majority of the day and receive no interaction other than hurried feedings and one diaper change a day. At age 4, the children with special needs are transferred to adult age mental institutions. The statistics vary, but it is understood that something like 90% of these sweet children die within one year of being transferred. 
We feel that God has asked us to step forward in faith and parent one of these children. We know that God LOVES adoption. He asks us to care for the fatherless many times in the Bible. In fact, God was the one who adopted you and me to be His own children! As we act in obedience, we are confident that God will provide for every need we have throughout this process.

Galations 4:4-7 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

James 1: 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Please let us know what other questions you have!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Great resources

I know many of you probably have questions about what this process is going to look like for our family. No two adoption journeys are the same, but I wanted to suggest some blogs that were helpful to me as I began researching what an adoption might look like for us.

I am so thankful for families who make the effort to diligently record details of their adoption adventure!

Carter's Family

Zoya, Mila & Sofia's Family- here and here

-Mel

Monday, August 12, 2013

The big announcement!

After many months of thoughtful prayer and deep conversation, our family has begun the process to adopt a child with special needs from Eastern Europe.

There are many stories we could share (and some we will, down the line) about how God has led us to this exact point. Our decision to adopt was born out of a desire to be obedient to what we feel God has asked our family to do in this season of our lives. We know we have been equipped in a unique way to care for a sweet little one with special needs.

As many of you know, we were shocked to find out our first child would be born with Down syndrome. It hasn't been easy, but the first 16 months of our daughter's life have been rich and filled with joy. We are very blessed to have many local resources available for our sweet EJ. She has amazing therapists and we've met many friends who are walking this same path as us. It's been wonderful to become a part of the local Down syndrome community.

We are thrilled to have so many supportive family members and friends and hope that you will come alongside us as we move through this adoption journey!