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Any Day Now

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So, how’s your adoption going? This is the question I get almost daily, and really, I don’t mind. I enjoy explaining the process of adoption to others. If you’re not personally involved in it or connected in some way, it can be hard to understand sometimes, especially since many times it is such a long process. So, how is our personal journey going? Once again we are in a waiting period “hurry up and wait”. We have done everything on our end that we need to do at this point. Our dossier (lots of paperwork) is in Ghana, and we are currently waiting for a referral of a child from Ghana. When will we receive that information? Well, according to our adoption agency, it will be “any day now”. Which literally means it could be tomorrow, or it could be in the next month or two. Right now it is out of our hands and out of the hands of our agency and is in the hands of the government of Ghana. There are some other families that are in front of us, and once those families have been proce
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Two For One

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Many of you, our family and friends, have already heard about this new fundraiser we are currently doing. The great thing about this fundraiser is that it doesn't cost you any money!!! We have teamed up with two other local families also working on adoptions and Funds2orgs  to do a Shoe Drive. For the months of June and July we are collecting new and gently used shoes. We take shoes of all types and sizes. Dress shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, boots, kids shoes, adult shoes. We cannot accept flip flops or house slippers. Once all the shoes are collected and organized, the company we are working with will come pick up the shoes and pay us for them. We have a HUGE goal of collecting 2,500 pairs of shoes!!! The great thing about this shoe drive is that it serves TWO great purposes. You help us raise funds for our adoptions, and you help those that are in need get a good pair of shoes in developing nations. Two for One, pretty awesome. So, we need YOUR help to reach this goal! W
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Hurry Up And Wait

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This seems to be the mantra of many adoptive families, and the more I'm in this process, the more I understand it. In fact, this has become my go-to description when talking to friends and family that ask how the adoption process is going - "hurry up and wait" is my response. You fill out forms as fast as you can... and then you wait. You complete training in record time.. and then you wait. You collect official copies of every single certificate ever associated with your life before they're even asked for... and then you wait. Your application is accepted, you rush to fill out the next set of forms... and then you wait again. Those of you that have never gone through this process may think I'm exaggerating a bit, but really I'm not. There are so many processes during an adoption that are not in your control, so much of waiting on other people and governments. Even so, my personal desire and drive is to do everything that is in our control as thoroughly and
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Thank You

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Our t-shirt fundraiser is complete, and shirts are being delivered as we speak. This fundraiser was a great success, bringing in just at $750 for our adoption! We are so excited and thankful to all of you that purchased a shirt. We also happen to be super excited about the shirts themselves and how they turned out! I have yet to get a picture of our entire family in the shirts, otherwise I would have used that picture for this post, but who knows when that will happen, and I didn't want to wait to get this thank you posted.  To all those that purchased a shirt and to all those that have supported us through other fundraisers and YouCaring donations we want to say a huge THANK YOU to you all! Having your support and knowing that you all are behind us in this decision and this journey means the world to us. We couldn't do this without all of you. Your help in raising money, your prayers, and the continuous encouraging words that we receive all help is in continuing o
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The Process of Adoption

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I've had several people ask me when we will be going to Ghana to get our child, so I thought I'd share just a little bit about how this adoption process works. This is by no means an extensive explanation, it is just meant to give you a simple picture of what our process looks like. The very first thing we have to do is apply to an adoption agency and get approved - Done! Then we move on to the Home Study - this is an entire process and not just one home visit - we are so close to being done with our part of this process, then we just have to wait for the report to be completed by our social worker Next we have to apply and be approved by the US government to adopt internationally - this form/application is called the I800A for anyone interested in that info :). We have been given the information to go ahead and start getting these documents filled out, but we won't be able to submit anything until our home study has been approved Next, you usually apply
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T-Shirt Fundraiser

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You may be seeing several of these types of posts in the coming days as we work hard to bring in funds for our adoption. Right now we are just starting our t-shirt fundraiser. Nathan and I love this t-shirt design, and we hope you do to! We're doing this fundraiser with the help of Fund the Nations , a t-shirt company that does shirts specifically for fundraising efforts or group events (youth group, camp, etc.). My goal is to sell 100 shirts!!! This would help us raise around $1,000 for our adoption! Below you'll find all the specifics for the shirt and ordering. Brand: Bella Canvas (that means super soft and comfy!) Color: Dark Grey Heather Sizes: Youth XS-L, Adult XS-4XL Cost: $20 each (add $2 for 2XL and up) Shipping: $5 flat rate shipping up to 10 shirts (Free delivery/pick up for locals) Ordering Deadline: January 30th To place your order online, click here We will place one large order for all the shirts after the deadline of January 30th February 1st. Aft
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Paper Pregnancy

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I've heard people call an adoption a paper pregnancy, and I believed them, but now I'm experiencing it for myself. Not a whole lot has happened since the last time I gave an update, except for paper... lots of paper. And it's really only the beginning. Some of it feels reduntant. How many times do you need to know my name and age? It hasn't changed from the last five time I told you! Some of it though is helpful. It really makes you think about why you do what you do, and it's so easy to go through life and not really stop to think about why we are doing the things we're doing. We are also getting ready for our first Home Study visit this Friday! We are excited and nervous. If you think of it, say a prayer for us. I will tell you one thing, by the time Friday rolls around, our house will have NEVER been cleaner! You think you clean like a crazy person when you're having guests over? You ain't got nothin' on me! I realize I haven't cleaned
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