...kinda.
While we are still waiting for our referral and haven't heard much from our agency lately, we did get good news from another source!
We heard from ShowHope last week and we found out we were selected to receive a LARGE grant from them. Larger than I had prayed for/hoped for/expected! With that news, and with all of the various ways we've been trying to raise money, we have the remaining fees covered for a referral for one child!
We are now saving for travel (2 trips to Ethiopia, lodging, meals, etc...) and in case we get a referral for 2 children.
Our agency announced a couple weeks ago (as did other agencies) that they are closing their Ethiopia program to new applicants until things speed up. Like any other speed bump we've encountered in the past 6 months, it at first makes you panic, but then I realized that our agency does this anytime a wait is longer than they feel comfortable with. Every once in a while, they have to do this with their Korea program (which is their largest and most successful program) because the wait is longer than they prefer. Like every other situation that has occurred, we're trusting our agency and God 100% in the situation. Yes, we're bummed things are going slower than we hoped for, but the end result is going to be completely worth it!
In house news, we are still only able to use/live in 2/5 of the house, but we do have a new, beautiful, non-leaking roof! We're just waiting on insurance to get the rest of the house live-able and then we'll have an almost brand new house! I'm anxious to get things put away and have a nice, clean, organized place, but it will come hopefully soon.
I think that's it! One of these days, I'm going to post pictures, but the computer that I need for that is packed away somewhere.
Thanks for checking in!
~Katie
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Adoption Update
We still haven't heard anything. But we are making headway in our fundraising, and I have no doubt everything will work out.
I've been struggling with trying to explain what is going on with Ethiopian adoptions right now, but it's hard to explain. Then, I was given this article and I thought it explained it perfectly. http://www.worldmag.com/articles/18357
Its very interesting!
I've been struggling with trying to explain what is going on with Ethiopian adoptions right now, but it's hard to explain. Then, I was given this article and I thought it explained it perfectly. http://www.worldmag.com/articles/18357
Its very interesting!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I can honestly say, we have been busy!
In early June, we were blessed with the opportunity to make breakfasts for the Fireside Cafe at church on Sunday mornings. Usually the youth mission teams do this, but since they're all on their mission trips, nobody was available to do it. We will continue doing this throughout the summer (and maybe a bit longer?). We have found out that so many people in our church have some sort of tie to adoption and/or Ethiopia and we never would have known had it not been for this opportunity.
Over MuskyFest, we had a bake sale to raise money for the adoption. Thank you to all who came out to support us!!!!! The first day,we made about $200 and the second day, we made about $125. We put the money in our adoption jar to be deposited the next banking day. When I went to go count it for the deposit, there was $425 in there! Yes, we counted all of it multiple times, but the numbers were all the same.....we had an extra $100 in there when it was time to make the deposit. {The Lord will provide!}
The next weekend (1st of July) we had a bad storm come through our area. Our house got hit and we need a new roof, our privacy fence got torn down, and some other things got damaged. We're thankful for our insurance!
We decided to postpone our yard sale (from the 8th & 9th to the 15th &16th) so we would have extra time to clean up the mess. Since our roof is so steep, we had to rent a lift to get up on the roof to nail tarps down. Owen had gotten about 40' up in the air, over the middle of our yard when the lift died. He was stuck up there for quite some time before we could find the emergency button. We (or I should say Owen) eventually got the tarps over everything. He spent from 10-3 working on it.
That leads me to this upcoming weekend-
we are having a big garage sale on Friday and Saturday in the garage of the Christian bookstore (2nd & California). 3 families are going together on it and there will be lots of stuff. Right now, our house is torn apart with getting everything ready- I can't wait to get it all out!
I have an adoption related post coming up soon.
Thanks for checking in!
~Katie
In early June, we were blessed with the opportunity to make breakfasts for the Fireside Cafe at church on Sunday mornings. Usually the youth mission teams do this, but since they're all on their mission trips, nobody was available to do it. We will continue doing this throughout the summer (and maybe a bit longer?). We have found out that so many people in our church have some sort of tie to adoption and/or Ethiopia and we never would have known had it not been for this opportunity.
Over MuskyFest, we had a bake sale to raise money for the adoption. Thank you to all who came out to support us!!!!! The first day,we made about $200 and the second day, we made about $125. We put the money in our adoption jar to be deposited the next banking day. When I went to go count it for the deposit, there was $425 in there! Yes, we counted all of it multiple times, but the numbers were all the same.....we had an extra $100 in there when it was time to make the deposit. {The Lord will provide!}
The next weekend (1st of July) we had a bad storm come through our area. Our house got hit and we need a new roof, our privacy fence got torn down, and some other things got damaged. We're thankful for our insurance!
We decided to postpone our yard sale (from the 8th & 9th to the 15th &16th) so we would have extra time to clean up the mess. Since our roof is so steep, we had to rent a lift to get up on the roof to nail tarps down. Owen had gotten about 40' up in the air, over the middle of our yard when the lift died. He was stuck up there for quite some time before we could find the emergency button. We (or I should say Owen) eventually got the tarps over everything. He spent from 10-3 working on it.
That leads me to this upcoming weekend-
we are having a big garage sale on Friday and Saturday in the garage of the Christian bookstore (2nd & California). 3 families are going together on it and there will be lots of stuff. Right now, our house is torn apart with getting everything ready- I can't wait to get it all out!
I have an adoption related post coming up soon.
Thanks for checking in!
~Katie
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've updated.
I was hoping to have an official waiting list number for you, but our worker told us we don't have a number. I guess they don't do a "number list" anymore, which really wouldn't have made a difference for us anyways, but is looking to be about a 7 month wait for (she did say there were about 80 other families before us). Since we are open to an "older" child, a possible sibling group (2 children), and either gender, it cuts our wait time down.......which makes me panic.
Kind of like you're pregnant, but not only do you not know if you are having a boy or a girl, but there's a possibility of having twins and they might not be infant, but walking & talking toddlers! And then, you find out that you don't have maternity insurance, so you have to pay OOP. (which by the way, I've been told that the costs are about the same for adoption as delivering at a hospital). So, panic attack is about to be full blown.
And then I think of the past year and that He has provided every step of the way. There's no other way to explain it. Through pop cans, yard sales, photo shoots and necklaces; and a lot of blessings from the big guy above, we are doing it! We're 1/2 way there!
I was hoping to have an official waiting list number for you, but our worker told us we don't have a number. I guess they don't do a "number list" anymore, which really wouldn't have made a difference for us anyways, but is looking to be about a 7 month wait for (she did say there were about 80 other families before us). Since we are open to an "older" child, a possible sibling group (2 children), and either gender, it cuts our wait time down.......which makes me panic.
Kind of like you're pregnant, but not only do you not know if you are having a boy or a girl, but there's a possibility of having twins and they might not be infant, but walking & talking toddlers! And then, you find out that you don't have maternity insurance, so you have to pay OOP. (which by the way, I've been told that the costs are about the same for adoption as delivering at a hospital). So, panic attack is about to be full blown.
And then I think of the past year and that He has provided every step of the way. There's no other way to explain it. Through pop cans, yard sales, photo shoots and necklaces; and a lot of blessings from the big guy above, we are doing it! We're 1/2 way there!
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