Our homestudy update is ALMOST done!!
We have been waiting for this moment for so long I don't even really know what it's going to feel like once we actually HAVE it! It has felt like a piece of our journey that would never actually come. buttttttt .... it's almost here! The only document we are still waiting on is Alya's birth certificate which should hopefully arrive tomorrow. Then I can fax it over to the agency that is doing our homestudy update and BE DONE! *fingers crossed!*
As we are getting closer to the possibility of being matched with a birth mother *gasp!* we are trying to figure out more ways to raise the rest of the money that we will need. Our church/journey group has been so amazing with supporting us through this whole process. We feel so blessed to have these amazing people be apart of our lives. And I am so thankful to be able to share this crazy journey with friends that have truly become my family. We have been trying to brain storm fundraiser ideas that could bring in lots of money. The best idea that we have come up with so far is to have a benefit concert night. This is where we are need of LOOOOOOOTTTTTS of prayers!
So ... apparently not only do we already go to church with awesome people ... but we go to church with awesome people who also may have possible "in's" with big bands. So here are a few of our 'ideas' or plan A-Z lol. The first idea *Plan A* was to get Steven Curtis Chapman to come and play at our church. This idea rocked ... but we found out today that it's not going to be able to happen. Blan B. is to get Casting Crowns to come and do an acoustic concert at our church. *ummmmm hi! how awesome would that be!??!?!* We are supposed to find out about that tomorrow possibly. It's totally something that is kind of out there as far as something that could actually happen .... but hey I have seen crazier things happen before! So ... pray, pray, pray, pray, pray! Now if all of that doesn't work out then we have Plan C. Which is to get local bands to play. So, either way things will be awesome ... and I am super excited about getting the ball running with this event!
Hopefully I'll hear some amazing news tomorrow ...
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Girls Night
Okay ... so I promised that I would blog about our Red Carpet Gala our church put on for all of us lovely ladies this past Friday night. I really can't even describe how beautiful and amazing that night really was. This post if full of lots of pictures .. but I don't think any of them do justice to how awesome it really was. The gala was held at our church ... and man oh man did they deck the place out! Chandeliers, beautiful table decorations, photographers, the men were our servers, and of course don't forget about the red carpet! ... this list goes on and on and on!
Three of my Journey Group (small group) girls, my bff's sister and I all met at a house to get ready and drive over to the gala together. I am not really one that gets dressed up very often ... in fact I have never dressed up for a formal event besides my wedding. lol I never went to any dances growing up, so all of this dressing up and getting your hair done was quite fun. :0)
Right after we got ready ...
Prom pose!
The room was soooo beautiful!
Check out the table decorations!
These shoes were beautiful ... but they hurt like you know what! lol I'm not usually the dress up kind of girl. A good pair of flip flops and I'm good to go! So let's just say these shoes weren't on my feet for very much of the time that night. However, they did display the program very well ...
My best friend
My journey group sisters (minus one)
Can I please tell you about Alya's outfit that night??? Because this picture looks like I'm scolding him lol ... Alya was working the sound board for the evening and needed to wear black pants and a white shirt. We went to Kohls last week and found him a new pair of pants and that vest that he has on in the picture. We didn't get a new white shirt because he had one at home. As we were leaving the store the alarm went off. I told Alya that one of the items might have one of those ink tag things on it. He searchedreally well like a typical guy and said that there was nothing there. So ... we went home (45 min drive) Fast forward to the night of the gala. Being a typical guy the wonderful man I married he didn't get his outfit together until he was putting it on at 5:00pm (we were leaving at 5:15pm). He put his leg through the pant legs and what do you suppose he saw right on the ankle???? YUP! The stupid ink tag. Not only did he not have any pants but he couldn't seem to find his white shirt either. So a half hour before he was supposed to be at the church for set up he had to run to good old Tar*et and buy himself a new outfit. sigh .... boys ...
we're cute ...
Okay... so this one is embarrasing ... but it was just so good I had to post it. It still makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it haha.
The night was perfect. And I am so so so so glad that I went. We started the night out with an awesome dinner followed by even more amazing worship. There were several awards given out to women from our church and then Alya and I were invited up to share a little about our adoption journey. They did a special offering for us at the end of the event that night and with the gifts from the women who attended the event and also the gifts from our adoption ministry at our church we raised $3,500!! We feel so blessed to be able to be apart of the amazing things that God is doing at the Journey. We are so thankful for the people that He has brought into our lives during this time in our life. We have loved every minute of being able to share this journey with such sweet and amazing people. This adoption journey has been a long one ... and it hasn't been easy ... but in the end it will all be so worth it.
The night ended with an AMAZING speaker. I was so bummed that I didn't bring a pen because every time she would say something I would be like oh, that's good! and then ... oh, that's good too! and then oh! that's really really good! lol So .. since the sound guy just so happens to be in my journey group I've got an in with getting a copy of her speaking lol. I can't wait to share some of the things that she talked to us about that night ... I left so challenged ... and I really can't wait to share!
Three of my Journey Group (small group) girls, my bff's sister and I all met at a house to get ready and drive over to the gala together. I am not really one that gets dressed up very often ... in fact I have never dressed up for a formal event besides my wedding. lol I never went to any dances growing up, so all of this dressing up and getting your hair done was quite fun. :0)
Right after we got ready ...
Prom pose!
The room was soooo beautiful!
Check out the table decorations!
These shoes were beautiful ... but they hurt like you know what! lol I'm not usually the dress up kind of girl. A good pair of flip flops and I'm good to go! So let's just say these shoes weren't on my feet for very much of the time that night. However, they did display the program very well ...
My best friend
My journey group sisters (minus one)
Can I please tell you about Alya's outfit that night??? Because this picture looks like I'm scolding him lol ... Alya was working the sound board for the evening and needed to wear black pants and a white shirt. We went to Kohls last week and found him a new pair of pants and that vest that he has on in the picture. We didn't get a new white shirt because he had one at home. As we were leaving the store the alarm went off. I told Alya that one of the items might have one of those ink tag things on it. He searched
we're cute ...
Okay... so this one is embarrasing ... but it was just so good I had to post it. It still makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it haha.
The night was perfect. And I am so so so so glad that I went. We started the night out with an awesome dinner followed by even more amazing worship. There were several awards given out to women from our church and then Alya and I were invited up to share a little about our adoption journey. They did a special offering for us at the end of the event that night and with the gifts from the women who attended the event and also the gifts from our adoption ministry at our church we raised $3,500!! We feel so blessed to be able to be apart of the amazing things that God is doing at the Journey. We are so thankful for the people that He has brought into our lives during this time in our life. We have loved every minute of being able to share this journey with such sweet and amazing people. This adoption journey has been a long one ... and it hasn't been easy ... but in the end it will all be so worth it.
The night ended with an AMAZING speaker. I was so bummed that I didn't bring a pen because every time she would say something I would be like oh, that's good! and then ... oh, that's good too! and then oh! that's really really good! lol So .. since the sound guy just so happens to be in my journey group I've got an in with getting a copy of her speaking lol. I can't wait to share some of the things that she talked to us about that night ... I left so challenged ... and I really can't wait to share!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Lately ....
Wow ... it's been a really really really long time since my last post. I've been around ... still blog stalking everyone else :0) just haven't really felt like I really had much of anything to write about our journey lately. I miss it though ... I miss allowing the words of my heart to pour out on this screen. Blogging our journey has definitely been a blessing, and hopefully I'm out of my rut and can get back to it again.
Here's a little update on our adoption journey as we know it ...
Our homestudy update has taken FOREEEEEEEEVVVVVER to be completed. I found out last weekend that our FBI checks have FINALLY come in, however we still need like ten other documents to be faxed into the agency before it can be completed. Can I just ask why someone can't make up a homestudy check-off list for all the documents that will be needed? Seriously I want to know why agencies haven't made one up yet? It just seems that once I get in all the "final" papers that are needed I get sent an email thanking me for sending those documents in, but that now they need these 10 more things to be turned in and then we'll be all set. Only not really because once I've dug through every inch of my house looking for those 10 more documents they now all of a sudden need 20 more? I just don't get it ... really I don't. I mean didn't they know that they needed all those documents from us at the very beginning? Sigh ...
So our FBI checks have come in but now we have to:
1. get a copy of Alya's birth certificate (we can't find his, which means taking off work to go wait for hours in the office to get a copy.)
2. get a copy of Alya's SS card (because he lost his once upon a time ago, which means taking off more time from work to wait for hours in another office to get a copy ... oh wait he already did that and now we have to wait for 2 weeks to get a new one in the mail)
3. Get our new kitten's shot records (we're bad and haven't gone to the vet yet)
4. Send in our 1040's for the past THREE years ... (why?)
5. And I have to write answers to questions about why I want to adopt outside of my race.
We are SO close! It's just a super busy time for me right now. School just started back up and I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with her head cut off at times. I know that everything will come together when it's supposed to ... it's just hard when I know that the ball is in our court and everyone is just waiting on us to get things turned in.
Here are some positive things that are going on in our lives as we wait for our homestudy to be completed...
1. Alya was one out of 50 people chosen nation wide for a full scholarship to the University of Phoenix! Waaaahooo go Alya! I am excited for him and his new journey as a college student. :0) He is wanting to major in an IT computer networking type of degree. We definitely feel so blessed to be offered this scholarship because without it we wouldn't be able to afford for him to go to school. I know that he has always wanted to further education, and I am so thankful that he has been given this wonderful opportunity!
2. We have been given the opportunity to share our adoption journey with our church family. Our church is putting on a gala tomorrow night and we have been asked to share our story with the amazing women that will be attending. They will be taking up an offering for our adoption fund at the end of the evening. We feel so blessed to have been apart of such an amazing church family for the last 2 1/2 years. The people of our church have literally become like family to us and I can't imagine our lives without them. I'll make sure that I post pics and share about the event later this weekend. :0)
That's pretty much all that is going around here. Not a whole lot is new ... still in the waiting stage ... but I know we're getting closer to the day where we will meet our perfect little bundle of joy. :0)
Here's a little update on our adoption journey as we know it ...
Our homestudy update has taken FOREEEEEEEEVVVVVER to be completed. I found out last weekend that our FBI checks have FINALLY come in, however we still need like ten other documents to be faxed into the agency before it can be completed. Can I just ask why someone can't make up a homestudy check-off list for all the documents that will be needed? Seriously I want to know why agencies haven't made one up yet? It just seems that once I get in all the "final" papers that are needed I get sent an email thanking me for sending those documents in, but that now they need these 10 more things to be turned in and then we'll be all set. Only not really because once I've dug through every inch of my house looking for those 10 more documents they now all of a sudden need 20 more? I just don't get it ... really I don't. I mean didn't they know that they needed all those documents from us at the very beginning? Sigh ...
So our FBI checks have come in but now we have to:
1. get a copy of Alya's birth certificate (we can't find his, which means taking off work to go wait for hours in the office to get a copy.)
2. get a copy of Alya's SS card (because he lost his once upon a time ago, which means taking off more time from work to wait for hours in another office to get a copy ... oh wait he already did that and now we have to wait for 2 weeks to get a new one in the mail)
3. Get our new kitten's shot records (we're bad and haven't gone to the vet yet)
4. Send in our 1040's for the past THREE years ... (why?)
5. And I have to write answers to questions about why I want to adopt outside of my race.
We are SO close! It's just a super busy time for me right now. School just started back up and I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with her head cut off at times. I know that everything will come together when it's supposed to ... it's just hard when I know that the ball is in our court and everyone is just waiting on us to get things turned in.
Here are some positive things that are going on in our lives as we wait for our homestudy to be completed...
1. Alya was one out of 50 people chosen nation wide for a full scholarship to the University of Phoenix! Waaaahooo go Alya! I am excited for him and his new journey as a college student. :0) He is wanting to major in an IT computer networking type of degree. We definitely feel so blessed to be offered this scholarship because without it we wouldn't be able to afford for him to go to school. I know that he has always wanted to further education, and I am so thankful that he has been given this wonderful opportunity!
2. We have been given the opportunity to share our adoption journey with our church family. Our church is putting on a gala tomorrow night and we have been asked to share our story with the amazing women that will be attending. They will be taking up an offering for our adoption fund at the end of the evening. We feel so blessed to have been apart of such an amazing church family for the last 2 1/2 years. The people of our church have literally become like family to us and I can't imagine our lives without them. I'll make sure that I post pics and share about the event later this weekend. :0)
That's pretty much all that is going around here. Not a whole lot is new ... still in the waiting stage ... but I know we're getting closer to the day where we will meet our perfect little bundle of joy. :0)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Date Day/Night(s) :0)
I love going on dates. Especially ones that aren't really planned out and are just spontaneous. I love being able to just spend some "us" time and just have fun.
Last weekend Alya and I went to the Landing in downtown Jacksonville. We went to dinner and then rode on a little boat along the river. It was a nice quiet night just with my love. (I did however find out that my camera screen was broken :0( so taking pictures was VERY interesting ... still on the look out for a new one!)
This past Sunday I decided to surprise Alya with a random {day}date. I love love love surprises ... I love being spontaneous ... and just having fun! My wonderful husbandisn't all that great at coming up with surprises tries his very best to appease my obsession with surprises. So I thought that it would be a great idea to show him how to surprise someone! lol Alya is a wonderful artist. And I love doing anything crafty ... so this date was really something for both of us to enjoy doing together. (duh, that's what dates are for!) So I googled this place ...
You get to go and choose your piece of pottery and paints to glaze with ...
And it was one of my most favorite dates! :0)
I decided to pick a little pig piggy bank to paint for the nursery.
The nursery colors are pink, sage green, yellow and white. So I thought that it would be cute to do a pink piggy with green and yellow polka dots. These were my colors ...
Here's how it turned out ...
I thought it would be cute to write her name on the butt {Amiah}
And then I wrote love mommy 2010
And Alyacopied also chose to do a little bank to put in the nursery, but his was a cute little puppy dog.
The sun was in our eyes in this picture ... but it was one last picture of us as we were leaving the pottery place. We have to wait one week before we can go pick up our new artwork :0) We had a really great day and I can't wait to do it again!
Last weekend Alya and I went to the Landing in downtown Jacksonville. We went to dinner and then rode on a little boat along the river. It was a nice quiet night just with my love. (I did however find out that my camera screen was broken :0( so taking pictures was VERY interesting ... still on the look out for a new one!)
This past Sunday I decided to surprise Alya with a random {day}date. I love love love surprises ... I love being spontaneous ... and just having fun! My wonderful husband
You get to go and choose your piece of pottery and paints to glaze with ...
And it was one of my most favorite dates! :0)
I decided to pick a little pig piggy bank to paint for the nursery.
The nursery colors are pink, sage green, yellow and white. So I thought that it would be cute to do a pink piggy with green and yellow polka dots. These were my colors ...
Here's how it turned out ...
I thought it would be cute to write her name on the butt {Amiah}
And then I wrote love mommy 2010
And Alya
The sun was in our eyes in this picture ... but it was one last picture of us as we were leaving the pottery place. We have to wait one week before we can go pick up our new artwork :0) We had a really great day and I can't wait to do it again!
Monday, July 12, 2010
It Has Already Been Done …
Those five words from my previous post have almost been haunting me since I read them over on Kim’s blog. I’m not saying this in a negative way. I’m not thinking about it the way you would traditionally think of the word haunting … but instead as an amazing reminder that the steps it will take for this adoption to take place “have already been done”. God has already orchestrated this crazy little adventure that we are on, and in the midst of the waiting I had forgotten that. He already knows who our child(ren) *fingers crossed for loads more!* are … He knows every single hair on their head, just like He knows mine. I don’t know if our baby has been knitted together in his/her mother’s womb yet … but the steps to get us to our little miracle “Have Already Been Done!”
I feel like we are just kind of in this rut of a waiting period. Where it’s not necessarily a bad place to be … but just a slow paced, nothing new is going on kind of place. A place that is completely out of my comfort zone; a place that has me going stir crazy! I am the let’s get going girl with 20 million things on my to-do list that need to get done RIGHT NOW! I love staying busy and having a plan in place that helps me know where I’m starting and where I need to end. My mind is a never ending race of figuring out the best and quickest way to get these tasks completed, while at the same time slowly adding more things to the bottom of my list to complete when I finish the first 20 million. That’s my life … and really I love that fast paced race (that I create) … yeah I said it … the race that I CREATE. I’m wondering if this is a time of rest for us … for patience *yuck* and for time to just be STILL. That S-word is a bad word in my vocabulary. Still … what’s that mean? But at this part in our journey I really don’t have a choice but to be still. There literally is not much that I can do right now. I don’t have any grand fundraiser plans up my sleeve at the moment … so I’m being forced to just wait out this period and be still. It is so so so hard for this busy bee to get the hang out of it.
Our update is still going on … waiting on those silly FBI checks that are said to take 13 weeks … *WHY?* and then hopefully we can apply for some grants. I had a dream the other night that someone just gave us the rest of the money needed and I couldn’t stop hysterically sobbing. Man how totally amazing would that be!?
I was thinking about this whole fundraising thing … it seems to be something that follows me around everywhere. Just when I think I can hide from that fundraising word it sneaks up on me again. See when I was in college at Flagler I was involved in this incrediably amazing Christian club called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I was on leadership for most of my college years. I never in my life felt as challenged in my walk with God as I did during those four years of my life. I have never grown so much in my life, and I have never felt as close to Him as I did then. When I graduated I left for six weeks to Ghana , Africa and when I returned from my trip I was supposed to start an internship program called Pioneer Year at the local community college just down the road from Flagler. Before I left for Africa I was super excited about this new adventure God was leading me on. I loved loved loved ministering to students on Flagler’s campus. When I say loved … I mean that’s all I ever wanted to do … it was what made me happy. Then when I got back from Africa my adventure was supposed to start. I had no idea where I was going to live, I had no money, no job … and with this internship I was supposed to FUNDRAISE my salary. In the midst of being scared out of my life about embarking on a strange new campus that had no ministry what so ever, my partner “came out” and the group denied her application to come on staff. I was so so so scared. How in the world was I going to do this alone? I had already been feeling like this wasn’t what I was supposed to do … and honestly I don’t know that I made the wrong choice … but I quit. I quit before I even really began and most of that was to do with the fundraising aspect of the ministry. I don’t like to ask anyone for anything … I makes me feel weak and vulnerable, two feelings I hate to feel! So I quit, I got a teaching job and then got married all within that crazy year. And now … I’m back to that word … the one I originally ran away from. Fundraising. But this time it’s seems like God is asking me what it’s going to take to be worth fighting for? Was I willing to fight for that ministry no matter how my heart still is saddened that I gave up a chance to work with college students who I absolutely love? No, … I didn’t fight for them, I quit. Then I hear Him asking, “What about the orphaned?” “Are they worth fighting for?” And my response … Hell Yes! So … I’ve got my boxing gloves on and I’m willing to fight through any hoop that is thrown my way …even the hoop called “stillness”. *sigh*
Alya threw a curve ball at me last night. He actually threw out a fundraising idea! GASP! SHOCK! I don’t know about any of the rest of you adoptive moms but my husband is great at saying “yes dear, whatever you need dear” and signing on the dotted line when I throw a piece of paper in his face. He’s not the one that comes up with the crazy houred fundraising ideas and knows all the agency paper work like the back of my hand. So when he mentioned this idea, I was like .. huh? what did you just say? So I don’t know if it would actually come of anything, and I’m going to let him handle any details, if there are any with this particular idea … but it could be a good idea, maybe? lol See his cousin plays for the CA Angels baseball team. Howard Kendrick is his cousin … and he’s kind of like a small home town type of hero. The reason why this came up is because we were watching the All Star Team play on TV yesterday. And he mentioned that he found out he made like 1.7 million a year *now if that doesn’t make you throw u in your mouth a little, I don’t know what will! ha!* So I was like well maybe he would buy a baby or two?? Just totally joking, I don’t even know the guy … but maybe?? ;0). Alya was like well I did kind of have an idea that maybe he might help out with. He was thinking of having a signing or something like that and have people pay a certain amount to see him. I don’t know if that would even be something that could work out … but even so, I was very proud of Alya for trying to come up with something. :0)
I feel like I haven’t really been updating during the month of June and now into July … I hate having lots of blank days … I just don’t know what to write about. Praying that maybe if I can learn to be still, God will give me something to write about. :0)
I feel like we are just kind of in this rut of a waiting period. Where it’s not necessarily a bad place to be … but just a slow paced, nothing new is going on kind of place. A place that is completely out of my comfort zone; a place that has me going stir crazy! I am the let’s get going girl with 20 million things on my to-do list that need to get done RIGHT NOW! I love staying busy and having a plan in place that helps me know where I’m starting and where I need to end. My mind is a never ending race of figuring out the best and quickest way to get these tasks completed, while at the same time slowly adding more things to the bottom of my list to complete when I finish the first 20 million. That’s my life … and really I love that fast paced race (that I create) … yeah I said it … the race that I CREATE. I’m wondering if this is a time of rest for us … for patience *yuck* and for time to just be STILL. That S-word is a bad word in my vocabulary. Still … what’s that mean? But at this part in our journey I really don’t have a choice but to be still. There literally is not much that I can do right now. I don’t have any grand fundraiser plans up my sleeve at the moment … so I’m being forced to just wait out this period and be still. It is so so so hard for this busy bee to get the hang out of it.
Our update is still going on … waiting on those silly FBI checks that are said to take 13 weeks … *WHY?* and then hopefully we can apply for some grants. I had a dream the other night that someone just gave us the rest of the money needed and I couldn’t stop hysterically sobbing. Man how totally amazing would that be!?
I was thinking about this whole fundraising thing … it seems to be something that follows me around everywhere. Just when I think I can hide from that fundraising word it sneaks up on me again. See when I was in college at Flagler I was involved in this incrediably amazing Christian club called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I was on leadership for most of my college years. I never in my life felt as challenged in my walk with God as I did during those four years of my life. I have never grown so much in my life, and I have never felt as close to Him as I did then. When I graduated I left for six weeks to Ghana , Africa and when I returned from my trip I was supposed to start an internship program called Pioneer Year at the local community college just down the road from Flagler. Before I left for Africa I was super excited about this new adventure God was leading me on. I loved loved loved ministering to students on Flagler’s campus. When I say loved … I mean that’s all I ever wanted to do … it was what made me happy. Then when I got back from Africa my adventure was supposed to start. I had no idea where I was going to live, I had no money, no job … and with this internship I was supposed to FUNDRAISE my salary. In the midst of being scared out of my life about embarking on a strange new campus that had no ministry what so ever, my partner “came out” and the group denied her application to come on staff. I was so so so scared. How in the world was I going to do this alone? I had already been feeling like this wasn’t what I was supposed to do … and honestly I don’t know that I made the wrong choice … but I quit. I quit before I even really began and most of that was to do with the fundraising aspect of the ministry. I don’t like to ask anyone for anything … I makes me feel weak and vulnerable, two feelings I hate to feel! So I quit, I got a teaching job and then got married all within that crazy year. And now … I’m back to that word … the one I originally ran away from. Fundraising. But this time it’s seems like God is asking me what it’s going to take to be worth fighting for? Was I willing to fight for that ministry no matter how my heart still is saddened that I gave up a chance to work with college students who I absolutely love? No, … I didn’t fight for them, I quit. Then I hear Him asking, “What about the orphaned?” “Are they worth fighting for?” And my response … Hell Yes! So … I’ve got my boxing gloves on and I’m willing to fight through any hoop that is thrown my way …even the hoop called “stillness”. *sigh*
Alya threw a curve ball at me last night. He actually threw out a fundraising idea! GASP! SHOCK! I don’t know about any of the rest of you adoptive moms but my husband is great at saying “yes dear, whatever you need dear” and signing on the dotted line when I throw a piece of paper in his face. He’s not the one that comes up with the crazy houred fundraising ideas and knows all the agency paper work like the back of my hand. So when he mentioned this idea, I was like .. huh? what did you just say? So I don’t know if it would actually come of anything, and I’m going to let him handle any details, if there are any with this particular idea … but it could be a good idea, maybe? lol See his cousin plays for the CA Angels baseball team. Howard Kendrick is his cousin … and he’s kind of like a small home town type of hero. The reason why this came up is because we were watching the All Star Team play on TV yesterday. And he mentioned that he found out he made like 1.7 million a year *now if that doesn’t make you throw u in your mouth a little, I don’t know what will! ha!* So I was like well maybe he would buy a baby or two?? Just totally joking, I don’t even know the guy … but maybe?? ;0). Alya was like well I did kind of have an idea that maybe he might help out with. He was thinking of having a signing or something like that and have people pay a certain amount to see him. I don’t know if that would even be something that could work out … but even so, I was very proud of Alya for trying to come up with something. :0)
I feel like I haven’t really been updating during the month of June and now into July … I hate having lots of blank days … I just don’t know what to write about. Praying that maybe if I can learn to be still, God will give me something to write about. :0)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I Had To Share This ...
I needed to read this blog today ... and I thought that you might need to read it too. I found this post over at Kim's blog and I knew that there would be someone else out there that might not follow her blog that needed to read it .... BECAUSE I DID!
Saturday, July 10, 2010 Fundraising...and why I think everyone should do it!
Many of us in the adoption world are affectionately referred to as "fundraising families". For the purpose of this post we will go with FF for short. Our numbers are growing...and for good reason.
...and those who "affectionately" refer to us are basically...well...US! We are a tight bunch. We empathize, sympathize, strategize, rationalize, visualize and sometimes even hypothosize on what all this fundraising stuff really means.
I won't quote the source, because I don't have hard numbers, but I heard it said not too long ago that the number of families entering the adoption journey that will be fundraising families will be 8 out of 10. 80% !!! and for what it is worth, the source provides adoption grants so they would be in the know. So, being a FF that is in the homestretch of this part of the journey I thought I would share a few thoughts on what I have learned thus far. I guess I'll start off by being a "negative Nellie" and then end on a super positive note.
Fundraising Fact #1
It's hard.
There is no easy way around it. It is simply hard. And with hard comes "not always fun" as well. Oh, it is loads of fun when the t-shirt orders are pouring in and the agency deadline is far enough away you are pretty optimistic it will all come together before it's due.(By the way, we missed the deadline more than once with our agency...) But there are the many days where there is just silence. One of the plagues in Exodus was darkness. God's word says the "darkness was so strong it was felt" Exodus 10:21 (my paraphrase). Well, in fundraising, there is silence. Often, the silence is so loud it is heard. And that silence leads to discouragement, lonliness and even despair. Which leads us right back to "hard and not always fun". Even those in the cyber community that make it look easy will admit it is hard, but each will also admit the "hard" is worth every single tear, cry and groan.
Fundraising Fact #2The 80/20 rule seems to apply, especially early on. Actually, according to other FF's it is really more like the 90/10 rule. In other words, 90% of the funds raised seem to be given by only 10% of the people who you are journeying through life with. And while your heart is strengthened by these generous donors, you realize the entire 30-34K (current Ethiopian costs) cannot be obtained by these precious few...and they realize it, too. Which leads us to...
Fundraising Fact #3"Where did everybody go?"
They didn't go anywhere. You did. They are where they have always been and probably where you once were as well. You have in your life your "go to" people. We girls call it our "go to girls" Always there for each other, always will be. But the fact is many others are just not going to understand with their heads or their hearts where you are going. It just is what it is. They may smile and admire what you are doing but the truth of the matter is they just don't get it and THAT IS OKAY!
When my 12 year old was questioning the lack of support at one point I tried to put it in a way he could understand. I told him his sister was kidnapped and I needed a million dollars ransom to save her and could he help me? He looked at me long and said, "I can't, I don't have it to give" My point to him was not the money but to drive home the fact that you can't give something you don't have to give. For some reason known only to their hearts, these "where did everyone go'" people don't have the support to give... money completely aside. You have got to let yourself off the hook with this one. The time and heart energy wasted on trying to convert even closest friends and family members is not yours to take on. Surrender it and give it back to God. It's His job. Can He use you? Sure, but probably not in the way you envision right now. Let it go or at the very least, put it on the back burner for now... Cause here's the deal... God has called you to an incredible journey. He is entrusting you with that which breaks His heart. It is so clear in His word He favors the orphan, widow and the least of these. He trusts YOU to steward this journey, not them, at least not now. Whether these people around you ever "get it" or not, whether they come around and support you with a financial gift or fundraising support or emotional support or not... That is THEIR journey!
Take your eyes off them and put them on Him. He will amaze you with new people who will encourage you in so many ways. Some of people I thought would walk shoulder to shoulder with us simply can/will not. Others I knew only as acquaintances I am now "doing life with". God is drawing together a community...He's good like that. I was discussing the plagues in Exodus with my husband and was amazed at how God continued to harden Pharaoh's heart over and over. But you know, others needed to SEE. They needed to see God's power and believe. The same is true for some hardended hearts that are watching your journey.
Fundraising Fact #4God funds what He favors.
I know, on the "silence" days, you really wonder if it will all come together. Let me let you in on a simple truth I wish I had embraced early on. It's real deep so steady yourself. It is four simple words but full of truth...
It is already done.
I told you it was deep. It really and truely is...already...done! It is already accomplished. It just has not been delivered yet and the reason it has not been delivered yet is because God has a purpose greater than the adoption costs going on here. Your journey will look like what He needs it to look like. Fraught with struggles and successess. Covered in tears and triumphs. Filled with hope, dreams, faith-building and worship. Because it really is not about you and it really is not about that orphan. It is about Him and it is about the Gospel. Each of these little journeys is a picture of the Gospel. No wonder it costs so much. For Jesus, it cost his life. No wonder it is so hard. No wonder "others" don't have it to give. No wonder.
Being the picture person I am, I liken the journey of my family and your journey to pieces of a big, beautiful painting...sort of picture tiles building aside and on top of each other to form the final masterpiece. As I said before, our "tiles" will take as long as He needs them to take and will look like what He desires them to look like so that He can draw the other tiles pieces that will form around ours and continue to form the grand picture . Wow... I'm sure that was full of theological holes but that's what I wish I had known from day one.
So I know that was only 4 fundraising facts and there is time (cause we're in the WAIT) for another post to share about specific fundraisers, but that is just some of my thoughts on the "behind the scenes" of being a FF. I would not for a minute disuade you from entering the journey of adoption due to lack of funds but rather encourage you to take the next step. You don't have to have the end in sight. You don't even have to have the step after the next step in sight. You just have to start. A fence is no place to sit. No matter how you dress it up, a fence is a fence and it's just a barrier. Hop off one side or the other. You've already been on "that"side. And while it may be safe, your "picture tile" is losing it's color. Watch as He blows your socks off with what He will do with your story. In the end, there WILL be enough, because He is enough.
He promises.
Saturday, July 10, 2010 Fundraising...and why I think everyone should do it!
Many of us in the adoption world are affectionately referred to as "fundraising families". For the purpose of this post we will go with FF for short. Our numbers are growing...and for good reason.
...and those who "affectionately" refer to us are basically...well...US! We are a tight bunch. We empathize, sympathize, strategize, rationalize, visualize and sometimes even hypothosize on what all this fundraising stuff really means.
I won't quote the source, because I don't have hard numbers, but I heard it said not too long ago that the number of families entering the adoption journey that will be fundraising families will be 8 out of 10. 80% !!! and for what it is worth, the source provides adoption grants so they would be in the know. So, being a FF that is in the homestretch of this part of the journey I thought I would share a few thoughts on what I have learned thus far. I guess I'll start off by being a "negative Nellie" and then end on a super positive note.
Fundraising Fact #1
It's hard.
There is no easy way around it. It is simply hard. And with hard comes "not always fun" as well. Oh, it is loads of fun when the t-shirt orders are pouring in and the agency deadline is far enough away you are pretty optimistic it will all come together before it's due.(By the way, we missed the deadline more than once with our agency...) But there are the many days where there is just silence. One of the plagues in Exodus was darkness. God's word says the "darkness was so strong it was felt" Exodus 10:21 (my paraphrase). Well, in fundraising, there is silence. Often, the silence is so loud it is heard. And that silence leads to discouragement, lonliness and even despair. Which leads us right back to "hard and not always fun". Even those in the cyber community that make it look easy will admit it is hard, but each will also admit the "hard" is worth every single tear, cry and groan.
Fundraising Fact #2The 80/20 rule seems to apply, especially early on. Actually, according to other FF's it is really more like the 90/10 rule. In other words, 90% of the funds raised seem to be given by only 10% of the people who you are journeying through life with. And while your heart is strengthened by these generous donors, you realize the entire 30-34K (current Ethiopian costs) cannot be obtained by these precious few...and they realize it, too. Which leads us to...
Fundraising Fact #3"Where did everybody go?"
They didn't go anywhere. You did. They are where they have always been and probably where you once were as well. You have in your life your "go to" people. We girls call it our "go to girls" Always there for each other, always will be. But the fact is many others are just not going to understand with their heads or their hearts where you are going. It just is what it is. They may smile and admire what you are doing but the truth of the matter is they just don't get it and THAT IS OKAY!
When my 12 year old was questioning the lack of support at one point I tried to put it in a way he could understand. I told him his sister was kidnapped and I needed a million dollars ransom to save her and could he help me? He looked at me long and said, "I can't, I don't have it to give" My point to him was not the money but to drive home the fact that you can't give something you don't have to give. For some reason known only to their hearts, these "where did everyone go'" people don't have the support to give... money completely aside. You have got to let yourself off the hook with this one. The time and heart energy wasted on trying to convert even closest friends and family members is not yours to take on. Surrender it and give it back to God. It's His job. Can He use you? Sure, but probably not in the way you envision right now. Let it go or at the very least, put it on the back burner for now... Cause here's the deal... God has called you to an incredible journey. He is entrusting you with that which breaks His heart. It is so clear in His word He favors the orphan, widow and the least of these. He trusts YOU to steward this journey, not them, at least not now. Whether these people around you ever "get it" or not, whether they come around and support you with a financial gift or fundraising support or emotional support or not... That is THEIR journey!
Take your eyes off them and put them on Him. He will amaze you with new people who will encourage you in so many ways. Some of people I thought would walk shoulder to shoulder with us simply can/will not. Others I knew only as acquaintances I am now "doing life with". God is drawing together a community...He's good like that. I was discussing the plagues in Exodus with my husband and was amazed at how God continued to harden Pharaoh's heart over and over. But you know, others needed to SEE. They needed to see God's power and believe. The same is true for some hardended hearts that are watching your journey.
Fundraising Fact #4God funds what He favors.
I know, on the "silence" days, you really wonder if it will all come together. Let me let you in on a simple truth I wish I had embraced early on. It's real deep so steady yourself. It is four simple words but full of truth...
It is already done.
I told you it was deep. It really and truely is...already...done! It is already accomplished. It just has not been delivered yet and the reason it has not been delivered yet is because God has a purpose greater than the adoption costs going on here. Your journey will look like what He needs it to look like. Fraught with struggles and successess. Covered in tears and triumphs. Filled with hope, dreams, faith-building and worship. Because it really is not about you and it really is not about that orphan. It is about Him and it is about the Gospel. Each of these little journeys is a picture of the Gospel. No wonder it costs so much. For Jesus, it cost his life. No wonder it is so hard. No wonder "others" don't have it to give. No wonder.
Being the picture person I am, I liken the journey of my family and your journey to pieces of a big, beautiful painting...sort of picture tiles building aside and on top of each other to form the final masterpiece. As I said before, our "tiles" will take as long as He needs them to take and will look like what He desires them to look like so that He can draw the other tiles pieces that will form around ours and continue to form the grand picture . Wow... I'm sure that was full of theological holes but that's what I wish I had known from day one.
So I know that was only 4 fundraising facts and there is time (cause we're in the WAIT) for another post to share about specific fundraisers, but that is just some of my thoughts on the "behind the scenes" of being a FF. I would not for a minute disuade you from entering the journey of adoption due to lack of funds but rather encourage you to take the next step. You don't have to have the end in sight. You don't even have to have the step after the next step in sight. You just have to start. A fence is no place to sit. No matter how you dress it up, a fence is a fence and it's just a barrier. Hop off one side or the other. You've already been on "that"side. And while it may be safe, your "picture tile" is losing it's color. Watch as He blows your socks off with what He will do with your story. In the end, there WILL be enough, because He is enough.
He promises.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Nothing New Really ...
It's back to the waiting game for us. We had our homestudy update done a week ago Friday. Don't remember if I posted about that or not. I know that it's been forever since I last posted ... but honestly there just really isn't much to write about. We did find out that our current homestudy from foster care might not be able to be updated. This seriously is just ridiculous. Waiting to hear back from our agency to see if they will be okay with the logistics the other agency doing our homestudy is trying to figure out.
sigh ...
and so the waiting continues. Sometimes it would just be nice to know a round about time frame of when we will be able to bring our baby home. Next week, next month, 6 months, 1 year, 1 million years ... whatever it may be, it would just be nice to know how long we have to wait.
Still staying positive ... there's just nothing to write about or be excited about at the moment. Praying we can use the homestudy we currently have instead of paying tons more money to get a whole new one.
sigh ...
and so the waiting continues. Sometimes it would just be nice to know a round about time frame of when we will be able to bring our baby home. Next week, next month, 6 months, 1 year, 1 million years ... whatever it may be, it would just be nice to know how long we have to wait.
Still staying positive ... there's just nothing to write about or be excited about at the moment. Praying we can use the homestudy we currently have instead of paying tons more money to get a whole new one.
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