New Adventures

I feel completely disconnected to the blog world these past two weeks!  I just returned home from an overwhelming work trip to NYC and I'm extremely happy to be home with my family.  Bobby has never had the kiddos overnight before...more less for 6 nights!  The trip was great: an exceptional writing conference, great food, shopping, and my first Broadway experience--Wicked.  NYC is definitely a whole different world than the openness and slower paced life we live in North Dakota. I found myself missing ND...the August evenings listening to the crickets chirping, the fields that are almost ready for harvest, and the sunsets or clouds you can see for miles. 

Travelling home was more than exhausting and frustrating (late take-off which led to missing our connecting flight, an unexpected night in Minneapolis, and then issues with the plane in MPLS)!  But I was fortunate to make it home just a couple hours before Eli's 5th Birthday Party (and fortunate to have such a great husband and mom who cleaned, cooked, and prepared for it!).  Here are a few snapshots of his baseball party:

We start inservice tomorrow and the first day of school is Thursday already!!  After the conference I am finally feeling excited to go back to work...of course I'm still a little saddened to be leaving my children, but know God had this planned for me!

Growing up, through college, and my first few years teaching math has always been the easiest subject for me.  It came naturally and was something I never had to plan/study for.  As a new teacher I found myself spending a lot of time anxiously planning my reading and writing instruction and had to work hard to teach these two subjects.  Oddly enough I spent so much time researching, planning, and educating myself in literacy instruction that I grew a huge love for literacy and teaching children how to read and write.  In the last two classrooms I had I  savored every moment of teaching literacy and developing new tools and ideas for my students! 

Now, here I am returning to education as an Instructional Literacy Coach (which is working with the teachers to develop the best reading and writing instruction for their students)...and the best part is I will be working PART TIME while my mom and sister-in-law are at my house 2.5 days a week with our children!  No more overly priced health insurance bills and a little extra income to go straight into our adoption fund!  Looking back, I can completely see how God has been planting the seeds and growing the roots to lead me to this job and this opportunity for some financial relief for our family! 

I'm thankful for all the opportunities God has placed in my life and I look forward to seeing how this new school year unfolds, how much Eli grows as a five year old, and what other experiences we will have this year!  We have our notarized home study in hand and will be sending our I-600 in TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!  Last step in the paperwork process and our dossier will be sent for our baby girl in Ethiopia! 


James 1:17     
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.        

Love from our family to yours!

Far Away...but Close to Home

Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya have been hit with the worst drought in 60 years.  Bobby and I are working with our friends in the Ethiopian adoption community to raise support for four organizations already working to provide famine relief in the Horn of Africa (where our child(ren) are!!!)

Our one day fundraiser allows you to donate any amount (as little as one dollar) to any of four organizations--World Vision, Children's Hope Chest, World Food Programme, or Doctoros Without Borders

To encourage your donation over $25 or over $50, we have created a list of items for you to shop from.  We have t-shirts, jewelry, even a full-size Scentsy warmer. 

Please visit the site to donate to one of the four organizations or to learn more:
http://adoptivefamiliesforfaminerelief.weebly.com/index.html

Whether you decide to donate today or not... please pass on this website by forwarding this email or sharing on Facebook or Twitter.  We sincerely appreciate your support!

Fundraiser ends at midnight Thursday, August 11th.
For more information on the drought and famine go to http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7372866n

Africa may be miles away, but we now have family living there.  Our very own children may be affected by the drought and may be suffering due to the lack of food/water.  Please pray for the people of Africa as this is a huge devastation for their country. 

Love from our family to yours!

 

Leaps and Bounds!!!

We are getting closer! We are STILL waiting for our Colorado background checks to get back, then will send our I-600 form in, wait for that process, THEN our dossier will be sent to Ethiopia!!!! 

We have so much to be grateful for this week!  God has answered so many prayers and we are getting so much closer to getting our dossier sent to ETHIOPIA!!!  We need $7,700 to get our dossier sent and this week brought us great strides!

A couple weeks ago the kiddos and I were running errands and decided to stop and get the car washed...which turned into a 1.5 hour adventure after we got stuck in the car wash, the arm broke on our car, we had to wait for the owner to show up to get us out, then had to take pictures of the scratches on our car, etc.  Believe it or not the 1.5 hours in the car with three hungry kiddos was not bad!  I kept my patience and was able to laugh at the situation.

Why the story?  Well, the small scratches on my car (which are almost 100% buffed out) brought us $400 in an insurance claim...of course we weren't going to use $400 for  something silly--like scratches you can't even see-- when we can put the money toward GOD's PURPOSE in our life right now!  (even got a bundle of free car washes, so the 1.5 hours was rather successful!)

THEN we've been preparing for a rummage sale for awhile now...cleaning closets, getting donations from wonderful friends and family, and setting up.  My goal in the process was $800-$1,000 and prayed that God would bring the people and money even on a rainy weekend. 

Well, God once again showed His wonders by bringing us...

$800 on the FIRST DAY ALONE...

 another $600 on the second day....

$1,400 to go straight toward our dossier payment. 

W.O.W. 

And THEN...we got our tax return a couple months ago (which some of which went toward our initial adoption costs) but were short changed $2,000 when we received our return.  We've questioned it a couple of times but it wasn't looking promising.  After our sale today I checked our bank account to find an extra $2,000 sitting  there....unexpectedly from our taxes.
That means this week we have made a huge leap and are able to add $3,800 to our adoption account!!!!!!!!  Can you say God is great...or WHAT?!??!!?

Today I was elated in all the ways God has answered our prayers and has provided for our family.  Just a few short hours after all the excitement I found myself in a situation feeling jealous and bummed out.  In that moment I had to stop, shake my head, and realize the little silly insecurities in life do not matter.  It's so easy to get caught up in the little things...at the end of the day when I sit back to reflect, I realize how small I am and how awesome He is.  I pray that God continues to show me how small I am...how silly insecurities are...how great He is. 

I pray that every one of you reading this will stop and take a moment to reflect on what God has done in YOUR life this week...month...year...life.

So much has been given to me;
I have no time to ponder on that which has been denied.~Hellen Keller

"Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever."
Psalm 136:26 

Love from our family to yours!

"Mommy, which one of us is your favorite?"

Sometimes parenting is sweet, loving, fun and easy....then there are times that leave you tired, exhausted, angry or dumbfounded.  Little Ayla (3) is just blowing me away lately with her vocabulary and the things she comes up with...she's definitely our "talker". Eli (almost 5) on the other hand is more of the listener/heartfelt child and really thinks things through (a little background information for the following story!).A few nights ago I was putting the kiddos into the car and Eli asked the question every mom is asked at least once..."Mommy, which one of us is your favorite?" 

When he asked the question I was expecting to open a whole can of worms and an in depth conversation.  I started by responding..."Of course you are all my favorites...."

He interrupted, "But who do you LOOOOVVE the most??" 

"Eli, I love you all the same but for many different reasons.  I love you all because you are my children....I love you because..."

After I tell him what I love about him he interrupts again, "Well Mommy, I love Daddy more and then you." and grins.

Of course the conversation stopped at this point as I was completely dumbfounded (a little jealous) and laughing hysterically. 

I just read this post today that covers the same topic but with a much better ending:)  It's a great little story, so I'd recommend everyone to read this post:

"In Love with Adoption"

Post by Shelley Brown 

Love from our family to yours!

Black and White

Our family was able to get away for a short trip to Polson, MT last week.  It was a great time visiting friends and family in the town which brought us so many happy memories! 

The 12 hour drive was actually quite relaxing and was great time for Bobby and I to get some of our training done...on the way we read "Black Children White Parents: Putting the Pieces Together" by Tonya Moore.  Reading this book opened us up to great conversation and helped us realize some important issues we need to start thinking about (hair/skin care, cultural differences, our judgmental society, answering tough questions, etc)

We've just started the whole adoption process and I've already been asked numerous times how I feel about having a black child.  When we started this process we didn’t have any concerns about this issue as we knew we were called to Ethiopia and know we won’t have any issues loving or accepting a child of another race. 

Living in Dickinson we believe the biggest issue for us will be incorporating the child’s heritage in our life.  Being there is not much cultural diversity in western North Dakota and we do not have any African American friends or family, we will need to work extra hard in finding some good role models for our child(ren).  By reading books such as this, I feel we will be able to learn more about the black culture and what it will take from us to incorporate African culture in our life.   We look forward to teaching our children about various cultures and how to be accepting of others no matter the color of their skin or where they come from.

I can only hope that our community will welcome our adoption with open arms, but realize there will be some who do not favor our choice of a mixed race family and racism will be an issue throughout our lives.  We hope to show others the love we have for ALL people and hope that our family can be an example for others in our community.  

I know this topic will be addressed over and over again and will be the topic of many blog posts in the future.  I would recommend this book to EVERY white parent adopting a black child or even grandparents and close relatives!  I believe that by continually educating ourselves and living our lives through love, we can be effective parents of any race!

The fact is there are millions of orphans around the world waiting for a forever family.  We do believe and acknowledge that the perfect situation would have all children in a healthly home with their biological parents.  BUT, there are millions of children from various countries/races without their biological families.  There are MILLIONS of children waiting to be adopted in Ethiopia and God has trusted us in raising one of those children. 

Love from our family to yours!

The End of Anxiety?!?

Well, we received some bummer news this week.  Some of you may recall me saying that the adoption process for Ethiopia is slowing down.  We just received word from our family coordinator that if we have our dossier sent by Sep/Oct we should expect to get a referral between September 2012 and April 2013...there goes the 7-11 month referral wait.  We happened to pick Ethiopia and sign an agreement right as this was all starting to change.  We knew this could happen when we made our decision but truly know this is where God has led us.  We will continue to pray that the process in Ethiopia speeds up again and for the MOWYCA (Ministry of Women Youth and Children's Affairs).

I've realized that putting your complete faith and trust in the Lord is not easy.  Too often I have worries and concerns in my life in which I feel I can handle myself.  Too often  I challenge God's power.  In the past year or so I have worked hard at putting God first and foremost in my every day happenings.  The more aware I am of Him in my life, the more I have realized that He is in control of EVERYTHING. 

I can't help but think about what George Muller said, "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith.  The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety."

Even though this seems to be bummer news, we will wait for this child(ren) as long as needed to bring them HOME!  We have been blessed beyond measure already and I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds.  Just this week God has done amazing things to help us move forward!  We sold about 20 tshirts in the past week, received a check in the mail that we have NO CLUE where it came from, and just today we received a donation from a classmate of mine whom I haven't seen or had contact with (other than Facebook!) since high school--HOW AMAZING!!! (and THANK YOU!!!)

Last night I was able to connect with a lady from Bismarck (just 100 miles away) who has adopted two children from Ethiopia.  Listening to her story and her heart for the orphans made this news hurt even more.  It's so hard to hear about the conditions that MILLIONS of children are in right now.  She told me that for every 1 child that is adopted from Ethiopia there is 2,000 more children waiting.  BUT hearing her story and being able to connect with someone "locally" was GREAT!  We are hoping to meet their family someday soon and look forward to the connections God has in store for us! 

Even though this wait is going to be long and cumbersome, I will not stop being an advocate for orphaned children.  Please take a few minutes to check out this blog!!!  What Kelly is doing for orphans is unbelievable and the stories of their time in Ethiopia (RIGHT NOW) are life-changing!

Off to enjoy a relaxing weekend with friends and family!  Looking forward to a campfire tonight, possibly fishing tomorrow, and our neighbor's birthday/movie night tomorrow night!  We have so much to be grateful for... may we continually to look at the millions of blessings we have and not be led astray by the few mishaps and discomforts!

Love from our family to YOURS!

The Road Ahead...

Our wonderful social worker came for another Home Study meeting yesterday!  She will be coming back on Sunday and then we are DONE WITH OUR HOME STUDY!!!  (well, other than waiting for the background checks to be cleared---no skeletons in any closets here so we should be clear!).

Here is a little update on how things are panning out and what is to come from here:

1. Wait for background checks to get cleared and finish our 20 hours of training (about one month)... during this wait we will get our garage cleaned out so we can have our garage sale!!

2. As soon as the background checks are done the home study will be officially completed and we can send it off to the US Government (USCIS--United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) with our I-600A form (basically a form that says we are cleared to bring an orphan to the US and have them legally join our family). 

3. Wait for I-600 to get passed (usually takes around 8 weeks) and apply for grants.

4. Send our dossier (complete pack of paperwork for our adoption) to AWAA for approval, then it will be translated and send to ETHIOPIA--(that date is commonly known as your DTE--Dossier to Ethiopia)!!  $7,700 is required when we send our dossier off--watch our fundraising thermometer and funds tracker to see how God is working in this process!

5. Officially on the wait list for our baby girl or sibling group! (will know a better time frame when we reach this point but as of now they are expecting  a 7-11 month wait time for a referral)

6. Receive/accept a referral and wait for a court date.  Pay referral and travel fees (approximately $17,000)

7. Trip 1: travel to Ethiopia to meet child(ren) and appear in court

8. Return home and wait for everything to process (I imagine this will be the hardest part of this entire journey!!)

9. Trip 2: travel back to Ethiopia to complete paperwork and bring our child(ren) HOME!!!

Just a little insight for those of you who are following our story and don't know exactly how the adoption process works.  I'm asked almost daily how old our little girl is and what her name is.  People (including me just a few short months ago!!) don't know how much time and energy goes into adopting a child.  It's sad that this much wait time is involved when there are MILLIONS of children waiting, wishing, and hoping.  We just lay this all before the Lord, ask for His guidance, and wait patiently....
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LordIf you'd like to read about the Ethiopian program through America World Adoption, click here:

Love from our family to yours!

T-Shirt SALE !!

Well we are half-way there!  Our goal is to sell 100 t-shirts (ordered 120!) and we have currently sold 60!! 

Our adoption journey has been such an eye opener to the orphan crisis around the world.  Our family is committed to being advocates for this cause.  The need is astounding and we are privileged to have the opportunity to change lives of fatherless children. 

I've dropped the prices of our shirts, as I feel the need to raise awareness is greater than the need for our family to quickly raise the funds we need to send off our dossier.  I agree that adoption, foster care, and mission trips aren't necessarily for everyone.  But EVERYONE can be used by advocating for orphans around the world!

Click on the links on the right or shoot me a message/email if you're within delivering distance!

Plans to Give you Hope and a Future

Dossier work update:Passports renewed...check (wait to get back!)
Hague training....check
Background checks...check (wait to get back!)
Employment letters...check
Physicals...check
Application letter to MOWCYA...check
Home study underway...check


To do list:
Financial Statement
Round up last couple of reference letters
Start AAU training
Bobby finish Autobiography
Finish Home Study
Wait, wait, wait :)


The list is definitely getting smaller!  We have been feeling God's hand among us this week!  We got good news about our passports (less money and work than we thought we had to do!) and had a very great group of people join us for our Fundraising Dinner.  We have raised exactly how much we need to pay for our Home Study!  Now we will be working toward our Dossier payment which will be right around $7,800.  I know God is definitely on our side and will be moving mountains as we continue to work toward bringing our little girl HOME!! 


It's so easy to get caught up in the paperwork and fundraising of adoption that I need to bring myself back to the cause and reason behind this process! 

I strive to have the faith and love of our children.  Little Eli and Ayla are constantly reminding us to pray for our daughter and to include her in our family even now, before she is with us or possibly even born!  The other night we were sitting at the dinner table and we asked Ayla how many people are in our family (simply asking as she LOVES to count things lately)...she started around the dinner table and counted, "1...2...3...4....5....and my baby sister is 6!!"  I don't know why I was shocked at her response as she is infatuated in the idea of having a baby sister...but it warmed my heart tremendously to be put into perspective by a THREE YEAR OLD!  We ARE a family of 6...a family that God created and has wonderful plans for. 

We are reminded in Jeremiah that God has plans for us...He has hope and a future planned for our little girl and for many other orphans around the world who are waiting to be brought home to forever families.  I continue to pray for the orphans of this world...and just as much I pray for the Christians of this world who CAN make a difference in the life of children who are starving, left alone, helpless, hurt, and crying out.Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 

As we celebrated adding members to our family this past weekend and celebrated the Freedom we have in America, I can't help but dream of the day we will bring our daughter (or children) home from Ethiopia.  How they too will join our family and will be gaining freedom they wouldn't have if we weren't called to bring them HOME.

Love from our family to yours!

Beauty Surrounds Us!

After a couple of weeks of working late on our basement (which flooded this spring and we are now remodelling...NOTHING compared to what families are facing in Minot...I cannot even imagine, especially when 1/2" of water made us cringe, broke, and tired!) we decided this Sunday was going to be spent worry free hanging out in the beautiful badlands that surround western ND.  We were thanking the Lord all day for the beautiful day He gave us (when it was supposed to storm)!  When we got to our trail head (Jones Creek in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park) I was quite unsure of how the kiddos would do hiking.  But boy did I underestimate the power and strength of our 3 and (almost) 5 year old children!  They hiked almost FOUR miles with us and only complained once (1/4 mile INTO the hike after seeing a hill full of snakes)!  Here are a few favorite snapshots of the day:

The only wildlife we were able to spot were a TON of snakes (blue racers and bull snakes...no rattlers, thank goodness!) ...

And A LOT of beetles eating buffalo dung (I had to take a picture, A: because the majority of our time was spent watching the beetles walk backwards rolling poop into perfect circles--sorry, but it's true, the kiddos were AMAZED, and B: you wouldn't even imagine how many beetles are on this one pile alone!  It's almost like a hidden picture...this picture doesn't do justification!)

I CANNOT WAIT for family days with another little child to love on and care for!  I thought about her often throughout the day...wondering if she's born yet, where she is living, if she is suffering, if she is safe.  I cannot explain the emotions I already feel for this little girl who may not even be born yet!  All we can do right now is pray that she is comforted and safe, whereever she may be!

We are looking forward to spending the week with friends and family we love!  We are praying for a successful turnout at our fundraising dinner (see earlier post for more information) tomorrow night and then have a fun 4th of July (MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!!!) weekend planned with my brother-in-law's wedding and my 10 YEAR CLASS REUNION (getting older!).  I pray that each and every one of you reading this has a safe, fun holiday weekend enjoying this beautiful world God created.  Look for the beauty that surrounds you each day!

Love from our family to yours!

The Paper Pregnancy, Paper Chasing, Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork!

Well, summer is officially here!  The weather in ND this year has been terribly wet and therefore we have spent many days indoors when we'd really like to be splashing in the water, or scrapping more knees on the cement.  We did manage a few days of nice sunny weather, and the kiddos know that means the swim suits are on and we're outside for the day! 

 

I remember the days when I was first pregnant with Eli...crazy hormones, many people giving advice, and reading every article or book on pregnancy I could find.  Well, fast-forward five years and we are now experiencing a different pregnancy...one that is often referred to as "The Paper Pregnancy."  A lot of the emotions/motions I went through five years ago have returned! 

Last week we received our dossier paperwork and for those of you not in the adoption process, I can't even explain the time and energy that goes into this!!!!!  This is just a glimpse of our pile we will be working on for the next 3-4 months or so:

To my close friends and family, please know that we have not forgotten you:)  These next couple of months are filled with trips to the courthouse, doctors, social workers, post office, etc!  I have told myself that I cannot get too consumed in the process and need to stay connected and in touch with everyone!  In a memoir I'm currently reading "From Ashes to Africa," it reiterates the point that the sooner we get our paperwork done, the sooner we will be on the waiting list for our baby girl (or sibling group!).  That fact alone is hard to push aside....

I read this post yesterday on a blog I subscribe to:

• Stay connected with your real life friends. In the throes of adoption, it becomes all too easy to seclude yourself to the world of adoption blogs and groups. It is so important to continue to nurture relationships with your real life friends though. Even if it feels like they don’t understand what you’re going through, focus on all of the things you do have in common rather than the things you don’t. And just a hint, don’t talk about adoption all the time. It gets old for other people.

What great advice to those of us who are paper chasing, and waiting in our adoption journey!

As crazy as it is, two years ago I didn't even know exactly what a blog was, or how it worked.  Now, the blog world has become a vice for me!  I had no clue that I would get emotionally invested in others lives who live across the country and I've never met face to face!  However, the connections I've made with families I've "met" through blogging is so wonderful!  It's so great to see how God is working in others lives and how hope is being brought to orphans around the world! 

Thank you to the SEVEN people who are currently writing letters of recommendation for us.  We are thankful beyond words in the wonderful people God has placed in our life! 

Love from our family to yours!

Fundraising Dinner

	RSVP is not necessary but would be nice to start getting an estimated head count!

Fields of the Fatherless

Just finished reading Tom Davis' book, Fields of the Fatherless and MUST write a post encouraging others to read it as well!  If you are currently adopting, thinking of adopting/foster care, or want to know more about caring for the fatherless, this book is a MUST! 

“Instead of self-concern, we need to be more concerned with loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Instead of conforming to what every other Christian does and what society wants us to do, we must lay down our lives and allow our actions to speak louder than our words... 
The definition of evil in the world is when good men and women see injustice and do nothing...
God puts the poor in our lives so we will reveal compassion.  It's a test for us and a promise to them.  Are we passing or failing?...
God wants us to remember our bondage, remember how He has saved us, and in that remembrance, He wants us to reach out in love to the fatherless….
Because He has poured out such love and care for us, we are to go find "the least of these," and do the same."
Tom Davis in Fields of the Fatherless

The book reminded me of the night I knew adoption was for us...   That single night of habitual reading before bed has forever changed my life!  It's amazing how quickly my feelings toward adoption changed and how I KNEW God was speaking directly to me and my family!  One question I've often pondered in the past is ,"Am I living the live I was made to live??"  After reading this book, I feel a sense of relief, knowing this is EXACTLY where I am supposed to be! 

To be honest, when we started REALLY thinking about adoption I felt like we were simply growing our family by adding another child.  Little did I know that God had so much in store for us!  He was creating a compassion for orphans and a whole new ministry for our family.  How great it is to hear little Eli or Ayla praying for their sister or for children who don't have mommies and daddies.  (It's also super fun to see Ayla tell EVERYONE about her new baby sister---and the first response is ALWAYS a quick look to my belly!).

What an HONOR it will be to welcome one of His children into our home like He welcomes us! 

I cannot wait to see where this journey leads us. 

I CANNOT wait for the process to speed up and to have my baby girl in my arms...

Fundraising update:
Shirts are being ordered TODAY!  I am placing one large order and there will only be so many of each size!!  Let me know what size you want before they are G-O-N-E! We are also in the process of planning a support dinner.  Dates, times, details should be finalized sometime this week:) 
Love from our family to YOURS!

Let's Play Dress Up!

With a 5 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old around the house we are always ready for a good laugh and a fun time!  Each day is filled with numerous times when I wish I had my camera on hand...this week I've been lucky with the camera and have caught the kiddos in some spontaneous silliness:)

The theme of the week seems to be dress up and I am 100% honest when I say I had absolutely NOTHING to do with any of these pictures..just kids caught being kids;) 

Ayla went to take a nap in her undies after running through the sprinklers...this is how I found her 30 min later!

Eli came out of his room saying he was ready to head fishing

Eli dressed Ayla today!

How about you join the kiddos in some dress up fun by supporting our adoption through our t-shirt fundraiser!!!  We will be ordering t-shirts within the next couple of weeks but place a pre-order now and be guaranteed the shirt and size you would like!!! 

The men's and women's shirts are super soft, trendy shirts and the kids' tees are the common Gildan t-shirt (Eli who is 5 wears a 6/8, Ayla fits a 2/4). 

 

Every shirt will bring us $10-$15 toward bringing our daughter home!  You can click on the Fundraising tab to order with paypal or you can drop off or send cash or check to us.

We truly appreciate everyone's love and support!

Fundraising (and Owen's FIRST Birthday!!!!)

Have to share Owen's big day with everyone...then some fundraising updates!

We had a nice party at mom and dad's house...a yummy picnic dinner, good cake, and great company!!  He stayed up quite late playing with everyone and enjoying all the attention!  I still can't believe our little monkey is ONE already!  Boy time flies!

And now for the fundraising...

When we started this journey we knew adoption was expensive…but didn’t know HOW expensive it was!!  An international adoption for one child costs $25,000-$40,000!!  Our adoption will cost $33,000 and up to $44,000 if we get two children (we have requested to adopt a baby girl between ages 0-2 but have also stated we’d be open to a sibling group of 2 children under the age of 4…it will more than likely be one child, but there is the possibility of two).

I have heard others in the past say people shouldn’t adopt unless they have the money to pay for it. We feel people with this common belief do not understand the need for adoption/foster care and how helping others through the process can make a life-long difference!!! Ask many couples why they don't adopt, and they'll say finances are what are holding them back. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are MILLIONS of children worldwide waiting for a forever family.  We believe families need to have the monetary needs to care for and welcome another child in their home; but the cost of adoption is overwhelming and too much for almost any family to bear alone.  Through the help of family, friends, and grants we are hoping to change the life of a baby girl.  A baby girl who otherwise could spend her life in an orphanage, without ever knowing the love of a family. 
When we started this journey we knew there were orphans in the world and knew we wanted to change a life through adoption (little did we know that our lives would change drastically--ALREADY!!).  Now that we’ve done research we know the numbers, see the need, and feel God’s call.  Knowing the numbers, seeing the photos, and hearing the stories, there is no way we can now ignore the orphan crisis that exists world-wide. 

How YOU can help our family through this process:

·         Prayer!!!!!

o   Prayer for our daughter who may already be born or is in her birthmother’s womb!!

o   Prayer for our family as we face the challenges and time commitment of adoption

o   Prayer for the 163 million orphans around the world who are crying out for help

o   Prayer that God will work in our lives and help us raise the funds to bring our daughter home

·         Monetary Support

o   A financial donation (even the smallest amounts will bring us closer to our goal!).  You can mail a check to us or  click on the “Donate” button which is powered through Paypal.

§  We have decided to have a picture printed after our funds are raised and every person/family that gives a monetary donation will have their signature on the picture. The picture will hang in her bedroom and be a constant reminder of the love that was given to her before she was even brought home!

             o   Order a t-shirt!!!  Each t-shirt sold will bring us approximately $15  andwill also help spread the word about the orphan crisis (t-shirt orders
                 will be ready soon…information to come soon!)
     o   Order coffee through our online store ($5 of every bag will go to our
                fundraising!) http://www.justlovecoffee.com/waitingonsix

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TOWARD OUR FUNDRAISING THROUGH PERSONAL DONATIONS ALREADY!!!!
Curtis and Janel Kolar
Mindy Litton

All fundraising updates will be posted under the fundraising tab.

Love from our family to yours!

Love for the Afflicted

Well, we got through mom's 50th birthday party.  It was a gloomy day outside so we spent the day celebrating indoors...but the real celebration began around 7pm when Jesse made it home (my brother who is currently serving through the Peace Corps in Honduras...we haven't seen him since last June)! 

Here's a small glimpse into the day full of laughter and YUMMY food!

Six of the eight girls were here to celebrate!!! (Missed you Aud, Corliss and the lonely boy, Jerry!)

After the party our family went over to mom and dad's house with Cain, Ally, and Jesse...we sat around giggling at the kiddos wrestling and running around.  It was a night just like any other night hanging out with the familly...a night full of comfort and love.

When I returned home and hopped into bed I was overwhelmed with emotions.  Our children are loved, spoiled, cuddled, safe, carefree children just like most of the children I know.  While we sit and celebrate birthdays and time with family there are MILLIONS of children around the world who have never celebrated a birthday or know what family feels like.  There are children who wait day after day for someone to take them in and for a place to call home.   

My heart just aches and aches for those children. To know we won't have our baby girl in our arms for 1-2 years feels not fair!!  Are we crazy to think this single act of love will make a difference in the world?!?!  God's love for the afflicated is shown over and over again...how can He use us to make a difference?  While I ponder these issues and wonder what more we can do, I can't help but try to be an advocate for those children who fall asleep every night without a mommy or daddy.

I put together a video to show others a small glimpse of what the Bible tells us about caring for orphans and how EVERYONE can make a difference some how (push pause on the playlist before before starting to video):


Bobby and I have no special training for this task before us...all we have is the direction our Father gives us...and someday we will have one more child to roll around with, rock to sleep, and love beyond measure. 

Love from our family to yours!