We're nearing the end of March!

Can you believe how fast this month has flown by?!  In a flurry of sickness that has swept our household, tagging and organizing for the consignment sale, attempts to stay on top of schooling the boys, and everything in between, March has blown in and is about to blown out!  When I started this blog, I had lofty intentions of writing great articles about homeschooling, projects we're working on around the house, and life in general.  But, alas, it has not happened.  I have been consumed with just living life and, for me, that's okay.  It's more important, I believe, to focus on the living, rather than worrying about the fact that I'm not sharing all the details here on our blog.  So, for now, this blog will continue to be solely an avenue for keeping our friends and family updated on our adoption.  Maybe, someday, it will morph in to something more.  But, for now, I'm content that it is what it is.

So - an update!!  Our home study arrived at our house on March 18th (hip hip hooray!!!) and, after doing the happy dance, I turned right around and took it to the post office along with the rest of our I800a.  The I800a is our application to the United States government asking them for permission to adopt a child from Bulgaria.  I learned on Tuesday (March 25) that they received our application and that it is now being processed.  Things are moving along!  Thank you so much for your prayers!  It's so nice to now be officially into Step 2 of this process!

While we are waiting for our I800a to process, we have been hard at work collecting all the documents we need for our dossier (our application to the Bulgarian government, asking their permission to adopt).  We had our physicals this week and are heading back to the doctor tomorrow for results on all the tests.  As long as all is good and we are healthy, the doctor will sign off on the medical documents.  We are also waiting on two more documents from our social worker that will need to be included.  I'm hoping they will arrive this week!

If all goes according to plan, my hope is to be able to go to Tallahassee next week to have everything for our dossier apostilled (this means they will put several big gold seals on it saying it's all authentic and true).  After that, I will be able to send our dossier off to begin the translating process.  Our dossier won't actually be complete until our I800a is approved, but at least most of the translating can be done while we're in the process of waiting for the approval.

Whew!  That's more about the process than you wanted to know, isn't it?!

Fundraisers:

My mom and dad will be arriving tomorrow afternoon so that Mom can spend all day Saturday helping me to sort, tag and organize the donations that have come in for the consignment sale.  Thank you to ALL who have donated!!!  I'm excited to see how the sale goes - whether all the hard work that we have put in to it will pay off.  If you live where we live, be sure to mark your calendars for April 4th and 5th to shop the Acorns to Oaks sale!  It will be a great opportunity to stock up on anything you might need for your kiddos!  For information and location, see their website!

Only a few more days to get in donations for our Tag Her Bag fundraiser!  Our sweet girl's bag is filling up with names.  It has been such a blessing to read all the comments and see all the signatures on the bag!  I'll take a final picture and let you know the total amount that has been raised through this fundraiser when the month is over.  We have been BLOWN AWAY by the donations that you guys have given.  The love and support from our friends, family and even strangers has been such a confirmation from God that we are doing His will in this.  Thank you, to each and every one of you, for allowing God to use you in this way!

I believe that's all for now!  I have a few more minutes of quiet/nap time left and a very stuffy nose, so I believe this mama is going to shut her eyes for a quick nap!  May you all have a very blessed day!

Update time!

Hello, friends!  This is not going to be a long, deep, thought-provoking post.  It's going to be something much more simple.  It's going to be me taking the opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU, to bring you up to date on our fundraisers and to let you know where we need prayer.  If you are new to this blog, I'd love for you to follow along with us on our journey to adopt our baby girl.  Be sure to check out our past posts to get the full story of how we got to where we are now and where we hope to be going!

So, first off, the thank you!  Take a look at the thermometer on the right side of the screen.  At the time of writing this, the thermometer reads $7365.90!  WOW!  I have included in this figure money that Andrew and I have spent from our savings on the adoption already, donations to Reece's Rainbow that are sitting in our grant waiting to be used, and donations that have been given to us directly and currently sit in our adoption account.  $7365.90 - wowzers.  That's 1/4 of the way there!!  We are floored and so very thankful.  Thank you to each and every one of you who have been donating.  Through your kind words, your prayers, your incredibly sweet notes (many of which have brought me to tears) and your donations, Andrew and I have felt supported more than we ever dreamed possible.  And, through you, God is confirming that we are on the right path.  Through you, I am seeing how very much this child is already loved.

Tag Her Bag Update:

The suitcase arrived and the signing has begun!  John and Joseph were the first to sign the bag and they were so very excited to be a part of bringing their sister home.

Just a reminder that each and every donation during the month of March will earn you the right to "Tag the Bag!"  For more information on our current fundraisers, take a look at this post!  Our hope is that this fun, girly bag will be filled to the brim with the names of friends, family, and complete strangers!  A tangible sign of how much our child is wanted!

Acorns to Oaks Consignment Sale Update:

The collecting, sorting, tagging and organizing items for the consignment sale is underway!  Thank you to each of you that have been cleaning out your kiddos' closets to donate items!  We are very much in need of hangers, so if any of you have extra hangers hanging around (ha ha!) in your closets not being used, would you pass them our way?  We need both adult and child hangers.  Thanks!!

Don't forget to mark your calendars to come and shop at the actual sale itself!  It will be held on April 4th and 5th at First Assembly Church!  It will be a great way to load up on kids' clothes, maternity clothes, toys, games, and so much more at fantastic prices.  If you would like more information, take a look at their website!

Finally, a prayer request:

In my mind, I've broken down this adoption process into six steps:

1. Home study
2. USCIS approval (approval from the US government to adopt a child from Bulgaria)
3. Dossier approval (approval from the Bulgarian government to adopt a child from Bulgaria)
4. Referral and Trip One (in which we will be referred a child and travel to Bulgaria for a week to meet her)
5. Second stage Dossier (more paperwork and court that will make her officially our child)
6. Gotcha Trip!! (in which we will travel to Bulgaria for a week to bring our child HOME!)

We have been in step one for almost 3 months now and I am SO READY to move on.  But, in God's timing, we are still waiting for our South Carolina Child Abuse clearances to be delivered to our social worker.  After that she will be able to put the final touches on our home study and we will get home study approval from our adoption agency.  Once I have a copy of the home study and a letter of approval from our adoption agency, we will finally be ready to move on to step #2.  I know that God is working all this for our good and for the good of our child.  His plans are perfect and His timing is perfect.  But, the waiting and the lack of control is so hard for me.  Will you please pray for me to have patience and for our paperwork to come through in exactly the right timing?  It would be GREATLY appreciated (especially by Andrew, who has to deal with my impatience)!!

That's all for now, folks.  You guys are wonderfully wonderful!  May the Lord bless you as richly as you have blessed us!

It's time to spill the beans on our first two fundraisers!

First up:  Tag Her Bag!  

March is Down Syndrome Awareness Month***, so we wanted to have a fundraiser that would span the entire month and would allow anyone and everyone that wanted to participate (kids and adults, those near and those far) the opportunity to do so.  I found this cute fundraiser suggestion online and felt like it was the perfect fit for our goals.  So, for the month of March, anyone that donates ANY amount (be it $1, $1000 or more!), will have the opportunity to sign the cute, girly suitcase pictured below that we purchased especially for our daughter.  The suitcase will travel with us to Bulgaria on both trips, will be used to pack up our child's belongings, and will travel with her HOME.  It will then be her suitcase to keep forever, a tangible reminder of all the people who loved her, prayed for her, and encouraged her before they had ever seen her face.  Below is the flyer that we are posting around our church and passing along to friends and family.

Donations can be given to us in person or mailed to us (if you need our address, feel free to email me). If you would like for your donation to be tax deductible, you can donate through Reece's Rainbow.  On the right side of this blog, there is a button that you can click to go directly to our Family Sponsorship Page.  If you go this route and use Paypal, please be aware that 3% will be taken out of your donation to pay for the Paypal fees.  You also have the option of mailing Reece's Rainbow a check, in which case 100% of the donation will be put toward our adoption.  After you've donated, be sure to "Tag Her Bag!"  If you live out of town, we will sign your name for you.  If you live in town, we'll have the suitcase at church every Sunday and Wednesday throughout the month of March along with a plethora of Sharpie pens to do the tagging! 

Next up:  Acorns to Oaks Consignment Sale!  

I have signed up to be a consignor for our local Acorns to Oaks Consignment sale.  Over the next month, Andrew and I will be begging asking for donations of gently used baby and kid clothes (newborn to size 16), maternity clothes, baby items, toys, shoes, etc.  We will sort, hang, price and tag all of the items and turn them into the sale representatives at the end of March.  We will receive 70% of the proceeds from the sale of our items, all of which will go toward our adoption!  If you are interested in donating items, take a look at this list to be sure that your items are eligible.  You can drop your items off to me any time before March 25 (if we are not home, you can leave them on our porch) or give me a call and I will be happy to pick them up from you.  For this fundraiser, I will also be in need of A LOT of hangers - adult size and, especially, child size.  If you would like to donate hangers (used or new), you would quickly become my very best friend!

I am SO EXCITED about both of these fundraisers!  I am excited to see baby girl's suitcase fill up with names, I am excited to see our house fill up with baby/kid clothes to be consigned, I am excited to see God's hand at work.  Thank you, in advance, for your love, support, and encouragement.  

***EDIT - So, it just came to my attention (thanks, Google!) that March is not actually National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  October is.  You would think I would know these things since I am hoping to adopt a child with DS - sheesh!  Meh, you live, you learn!  HOWEVER, March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day, hence the reason I was thrown off.  So, in honor World Down Syndrome Day, we will Tag Her Bag throughout the month of March and celebrate the beauty of the 21st chromosome!  Thanks for your patience with this mama that is learning the ropes of this whole new world!