On Thursday, October 24th our dossier was formally submitted to the government in Nadiya's country. Now we wait for our travel dates! We expect to receive dates in December and travel in January.
We are praising God for His faithfulness throughout our process thus far. It feels good to be done with the "paper chase."
As we wait to travel we will continue with our fundraising and begin to gather things we will need for our trip. Visiting Eastern Europe in the middle of winter is going to be quite an adventure!
Please continue to pray for our soon-to-be daughter. We cannot wait to hold her in our arms! I am going to have 15 months worth of kisses to plant on her sweet face :)
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Paperwork update!
As of Thursday, our dossier is now in the hands of our in-country facilitation team! They will translate and notarize all the documents and then formally submit our dossier to the government. We will be notified when the dossier has been submitted and then the wait for travel dates begins!
If travel dates continue to be issued at the rate they have been for families recently, we would theoretically be invited to travel to Nadiya's country in mid to late December. There is a great likelihood, however, that due to the New Year and Orthodox Christmas holidays in EE, we will not be invited to travel until January.
Either way, it won't be long until we travel! I am beginning to put together lists of cold weather items that I need to start accumulating. Tonight I even searched for baby sized snow suits at our local consignment store :)
Please continue to pray for little Nadiya. Justin and I so yearn for the day we can hold her in our arms!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
T-Shirt Time!
Monday 11/11 Update:
I will be ordering the shirts this evening. They should be shipped to me in the next 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone who ordered. Personally, I can't wait to start wearing mine :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin and I are super excited to roll out our next fundraiser! Money from every t-shirt purchase will go directly to our adoption fund. And seriously, these are some great looking shirts!
Keep reading for details on how to purchase your shirt.
As an extra incentive, the first 20 people to purchase a shirt will have the chance to win a $20 iTunes gift card! I will draw for a winner once we sell 20 shirts.
Update: My dear friend Jenny was the winner of the gift card and insisted I keep it for another drawing. Let's keep this thing going :) The next 20 people to purchase a shirt will be entered to win the $20 iTunes card.
Sara G is the winner of the $20 iTunes card!
The Details:
Sizes Available: Adult XS-XXL
Shirt Cost: $20 (US shipping included for those who don't live near us)
How to purchase: Donate to our Reece's Rainbow FSP here. You can also write us a check or pay with cash if you prefer.
Send me an e-mail to let me know what size shirt you want! petersadopt13(at)gmail(dot)com
The last day to purchase shirts will be November 10th!
I will be ordering the shirts this evening. They should be shipped to me in the next 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone who ordered. Personally, I can't wait to start wearing mine :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin and I are super excited to roll out our next fundraiser! Money from every t-shirt purchase will go directly to our adoption fund. And seriously, these are some great looking shirts!
Keep reading for details on how to purchase your shirt.
Sara G is the winner of the $20 iTunes card!
The Details:
Sizes Available: Adult XS-XXL
Shirt Cost: $20 (US shipping included for those who don't live near us)
How to purchase: Donate to our Reece's Rainbow FSP here. You can also write us a check or pay with cash if you prefer.
Send me an e-mail to let me know what size shirt you want! petersadopt13(at)gmail(dot)com
The last day to purchase shirts will be November 10th!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!
Ready to be amazed?
We ended up collecting 7,520 pairs of shoes! That's 8,340 pounds of shoes!!
We will be paid $5,838 dollars for the shoes! Isn't that incredible??
To every single person who helped us by collecting shoes, donating shoes, or counting and sorting- thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Justin and I have felt so overwhelmed with love and support by our community during this time.
Piles in our living room, dining room, garage and driveway!
Counting the VERY last bag of shoes this morning!
Queen of the Hill
It took over two hours for the 2 men to load up and weigh all our shoes!
We are happy to have these shoes out of our house :)
Monday, September 30, 2013
American Girl doll madness!
Christmas is coming quickly! Here's a great way to potentially win an amazing gift for the little girl (or adult- no judgement here) in your life and help our adoption.
I'm so excited for our American Girl doll giveaway! Here are the details:
Entries are limited. The giveaway will conclude once 1,000 entries are received!
How to earn an entry:
Donate $5 to our Family Sponsorship Page (you can click here or use the donation box on the top right corner of the blog). And yes, you can donate more for multiple entries!
AND/OR
Share our Reece's Rainbow FSP (this link) on your blog, Facebook page, or via e-mail. (Limit of one free entry/person)
You MUST let me know that you entered the giveaway! Please forward me your donation receipt or let me know you shared our FSP page. If you don't have my contact info, please use this e-mail address: petersadopt13(at)gmail(dot)com
Additional details:
The winner of the giveaway will receive their choice of any American Girl doll (value: $110) or their choice of Bitty Baby Twins (value: $115). The doll can be shipped anywhere in the US.
Are you new to this blog? Check out this page to find out more of our story!
I'm so excited for our American Girl doll giveaway! Here are the details:
Entries are limited. The giveaway will conclude once 1,000 entries are received!
How to earn an entry:
Donate $5 to our Family Sponsorship Page (you can click here or use the donation box on the top right corner of the blog). And yes, you can donate more for multiple entries!
AND/OR
Share our Reece's Rainbow FSP (this link) on your blog, Facebook page, or via e-mail. (Limit of one free entry/person)
You MUST let me know that you entered the giveaway! Please forward me your donation receipt or let me know you shared our FSP page. If you don't have my contact info, please use this e-mail address: petersadopt13(at)gmail(dot)com
Additional details:
The winner of the giveaway will receive their choice of any American Girl doll (value: $110) or their choice of Bitty Baby Twins (value: $115). The doll can be shipped anywhere in the US.
Are you new to this blog? Check out this page to find out more of our story!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Another Sunday Update
As I write this, it is a little after 5pm in our daughter's country. Here in the States, our day is just beginning. I woke to the sounds of my alarm clock (i.e. EJ) and after her morning nursing session we are in the den playing. It's hard to think about the fact that in the first 45 minutes she was awake, EJ probably received more attention than our daughter in EE received ALL DAY. More on that later in this post.
Highlights of the week:
Homestudy
Our homestudy was finalized and arrived in our mailbox on Thursday. Friday morning I sent it off to USCIS! Please keep praying for speed and favor as we are matched with a USCIS officer and receive an appointment for our biometrics.
Baby girl
There was also another pretty noteworthy event on Thursday. Click here to see a beautiful photo!
In a few days I will write another post answering some questions that have come up since we've committed to Nadiya.
I know it's easy to see Nadiya's sweet photo and become overwhelmed with how cute she is, especially with those delicious cheeks and darling ears! And oh, how fun to have a sweet little baby!
But that's not why we are going to fly across the world to adopt this sweet little one. It isn't because she is so precious, or because I LOVE having a baby so much (although she is, and I do).
I don't specifically know Nadiya's condition or situation, but I am familiar with what I know to be true of many former-orphans from her country. I know that most likely, she is not receiving the nutrients she needs and probably is hungry a lot of the time. Her interaction with caretakers is probably very infrequent. She might have already learned not to cry after months of having no one respond.
I don't say this to depress anyone (or myself). I think it's important to remember WHY we are adopting and the conditions orphans with special needs face each day in EE.
Last day of work
Many of you know that I've had the wonderful opportunity to return to work on a part-time/contract employee basis. Wednesday was my last day, as the hotel was sold and my services were no longer needed. I'm not going to lie- it was a stressful 3 months of trying to balance EJ's therapy (four sessions/week), getting this adoption process underway, being a FT mommy/wife, and fitting in 2 days at work. The money I earned is going straight toward adoption costs which of course is a blessing.
We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped with babysitting EJ while I've worked. Justin and I know you all are busy and your sacrifice of time is so appreciated!! Auntie Arlene, Becky, Grandma Coco, Grandma Sheri, and Nana- thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Fundraising Update
Our garage sale is on Saturday. We have tons of neat things to sell, please pray that there will be a large turnout! We have a little less than 3 weeks to continue our shoe collection. As of yesterday, we have gathered 820 pairs! Please continue to spread the word.
-M
Highlights of the week:
Homestudy
Our homestudy was finalized and arrived in our mailbox on Thursday. Friday morning I sent it off to USCIS! Please keep praying for speed and favor as we are matched with a USCIS officer and receive an appointment for our biometrics.
Baby girl
There was also another pretty noteworthy event on Thursday. Click here to see a beautiful photo!
In a few days I will write another post answering some questions that have come up since we've committed to Nadiya.
I know it's easy to see Nadiya's sweet photo and become overwhelmed with how cute she is, especially with those delicious cheeks and darling ears! And oh, how fun to have a sweet little baby!
But that's not why we are going to fly across the world to adopt this sweet little one. It isn't because she is so precious, or because I LOVE having a baby so much (although she is, and I do).
I don't specifically know Nadiya's condition or situation, but I am familiar with what I know to be true of many former-orphans from her country. I know that most likely, she is not receiving the nutrients she needs and probably is hungry a lot of the time. Her interaction with caretakers is probably very infrequent. She might have already learned not to cry after months of having no one respond.
I don't say this to depress anyone (or myself). I think it's important to remember WHY we are adopting and the conditions orphans with special needs face each day in EE.
Last day of work
Many of you know that I've had the wonderful opportunity to return to work on a part-time/contract employee basis. Wednesday was my last day, as the hotel was sold and my services were no longer needed. I'm not going to lie- it was a stressful 3 months of trying to balance EJ's therapy (four sessions/week), getting this adoption process underway, being a FT mommy/wife, and fitting in 2 days at work. The money I earned is going straight toward adoption costs which of course is a blessing.
We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped with babysitting EJ while I've worked. Justin and I know you all are busy and your sacrifice of time is so appreciated!! Auntie Arlene, Becky, Grandma Coco, Grandma Sheri, and Nana- thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Fundraising Update
Our garage sale is on Saturday. We have tons of neat things to sell, please pray that there will be a large turnout! We have a little less than 3 weeks to continue our shoe collection. As of yesterday, we have gathered 820 pairs! Please continue to spread the word.
-M
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Slow and steady progress
Here is a quick update of how things are going around here!
- We are very close to our homestudy being complete. (hopefully by Friday!) Once our homestudy is complete we can finish our application w/ USCIS- (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). USCIS will provide us with approval for the adoption and what is known as the golden ticket. This process can sometimes be very lengthy and could keep us from submitting our dossier before the winter cutoff. We are praying for favor and speed with USCIS.
- We are continually chipping away at our dossier. Our dossier is the collection of documents we will send to EE. This package contains some simple things (marriage certificates, copies of our passport) and some documents that are very complex and involved. As I mentioned above, if we are unable to submit our dossier before the cutoff date, it will add approximately two months to the process. This would mean that some of our documents would start to expire and we would need to redo things. More importantly, we don't want our child sitting in an orphanage a minute longer than she needs to and the thought of our precious daughter being stuck an extra two months in the dead of winter absolutely kills me. Please pray that all our documents and USCIS approval will come together beautifully and that we will be able to submit our dossier before the cutoff!
- Our garage sale is 2 weeks from yesterday. Justin spent time yesterday rearranging everything we have received and I am so thankful for all the boxes of donated items people have given us so far!
- I am happy to say that our house is filling up with bags of shoes! Please continue to share this fundraising opportunity. We are still very far away from our goal of 5,000 pairs.
Your love, support, prayers and encouragement mean so very much to our family. Thank you for coming alongside us!
- We are very close to our homestudy being complete. (hopefully by Friday!) Once our homestudy is complete we can finish our application w/ USCIS- (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). USCIS will provide us with approval for the adoption and what is known as the golden ticket. This process can sometimes be very lengthy and could keep us from submitting our dossier before the winter cutoff. We are praying for favor and speed with USCIS.
- We are continually chipping away at our dossier. Our dossier is the collection of documents we will send to EE. This package contains some simple things (marriage certificates, copies of our passport) and some documents that are very complex and involved. As I mentioned above, if we are unable to submit our dossier before the cutoff date, it will add approximately two months to the process. This would mean that some of our documents would start to expire and we would need to redo things. More importantly, we don't want our child sitting in an orphanage a minute longer than she needs to and the thought of our precious daughter being stuck an extra two months in the dead of winter absolutely kills me. Please pray that all our documents and USCIS approval will come together beautifully and that we will be able to submit our dossier before the cutoff!
- Our garage sale is 2 weeks from yesterday. Justin spent time yesterday rearranging everything we have received and I am so thankful for all the boxes of donated items people have given us so far!
- I am happy to say that our house is filling up with bags of shoes! Please continue to share this fundraising opportunity. We are still very far away from our goal of 5,000 pairs.
Your love, support, prayers and encouragement mean so very much to our family. Thank you for coming alongside us!
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