No News is Good News?

I did a Google search to see where the quote "No news is good news" came from...it's thought to have originated in 1616 when King James I said, "No news is better than evil news". I have to agree with him but I can say, with quite a bit of confidence, that I doubt anyone in the adoption process has ever used the quote as it's said today! We want news and waiting for it can be so difficult!

We did however, receive an additional document that the Philippines has just added to their dossier requirements. It was simple...just some signatures and notarization. I almost wanted it to be more difficult so that I had something to work on! Hahahaha! I know I'm crazy seeing as I've been so busy sewing scarves over the past month or so. But anything that keeps me working on something towards bringing our little girl home makes the time pass a bit easier.

Speaking of scarves...yesterday I did a big craft fair here in Omaha, with the help of my friend Courtney. We sold 90 of my scarves in 7 hours!! I wanted to sell at least 75 and my goal was definitely exceeded! God is so good! So far, with the help of our family and friends, we've sold 316 of my scarves and Courtney has sold 50 of her scarves! 366 scarves in less than a year! I would have never dreamed that these scarves would be such a huge fundraiser for us. I give God all the credit for the idea and the ability to make them.

Other than scarf sales, well, no news is good news, right? ;) Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

We Are On The Roster!!!!

I know it has been way too long since I've written an update and well, we have felt that its been way too long since we've GOTTEN an update! Today that all changed...we received a call from our adoption agency that they received the official letter from ICAB that our dossier has been APPROVED and we have been added to the Philippine roster as of July 19th!!! (It only took two weeks for us to find out! LOL) This news is so amazing to us and just made everything feel so official!! We are on top of the world!! We knew this day would come but as the days turned into weeks and weeks into months it's hard to not have some doubts. We did a lot of praying and are slowly learning patience as our prayer is that every step will happen in God's timing and not our own. 

A lot has been going on while we were waiting for this news. I now only work 6 hours a day instead of 9! It's been amazing how just 3 hours a day can make such a huge difference for our family! I LOVE the extra time I have with the boys and being able to get more done at home. It has been so much less stress for everyone! 

So what happens now? Well, more of the same...waiting! But this time we are waiting for the match of our child! We know the excitement won't last forever as we wait to receive our referral but every day that passes is one day closer to bringing her home! Thank you as always for all the prayers for us, this process, and our little girl! I'll try to do better about posting updates even if I don't have much to say! :)

Fundraising Results!

I just wanted to give a quick update on the Thirty-One fundraiser results! We put in quite a bit of work organizing and planning the open houses in Lebanon, PA and Omaha, NE but God multiplied our efforts. We had established a goal to sell $2,500 worth of product so that $500 would go toward our adoption cost...well, all of you supported us above and beyond what we ever dreamed! Drum roll please....

Together with the two open houses and the online event there was $5,098 worth of Thirty-One product sold!!! That more than doubled our goal! On top of that, we received a few donations and my mom and sister did a raffle that raised another $300 for a GRAND TOTAL of $1,399.70!!! How amazing is our support system? The very best one out there, in my opinion!

I simply cannot thank everyone enough for the support...we are totally blown away by the generosity of our friends and family! We love you all and know that God will multiply blessing back to each of you!

Also, as I mentioned in my last update we need a bigger vehicle that will fit 3 car seats (well 2 and a booster). So here is a picture of our mini-van!

It's a great vehicle with lots of space and in the couple of days that we've had it, it has already made life easier with our two boys. We consider it to be progress as there is nothing left we need except for the referral of our little girl! And of course we could see God's hand in our purchase as He made everything go so smoothly and the price come in lower than we originally budgeted! All glory and praise to Him!

I-800A Approval!

Time has continued moving right along at a fast pace...for that I am grateful! This process takes time, so the faster time goes, the faster we get to bringing our Filipino Princess home!

Just 10 days after my previous update, we received our appointment time to get fingerprinted at the USCIS office...which is part of the approval process to get our I-800A approval. I was surprised at how quickly we received our appointment times. I had read online that if you don't receive an appointment time 6-8 weeks after they accepted the application, you should call them...I wasn't thinking that just 10 days later we'd have our notice! The appointment was for last Thursday, May 9th and lucky for us USCIS has a facility here in Omaha...which was still a 30 minute drive from work! LOL! We also received notice that our dossier was received by the Inter Country Adoption Board in the Philippines and is being reviewed as of April 30th. We are believing God that we will receive notice of approval very soon!

Some of the most exciting news is that today when I got home from work we had our I-800A approval in the mail! It hasn't even been a week since we had our fingerprints taken and they have already approved us! Favor from God? I sure think so! It's all about God's timing and not our own...even though we want it to go FAST! I have to admit that it's super exciting and somewhat surprising when things move quickly. I know I shouldn't be surprised because nothing is impossible through Him and He is guiding this entire journey but He still never ceases to amaze me! 

So, what's next? Well, more waiting...waiting for the official word of approval from ICAB on our dossier and then just waiting to get matched with our child! Once we get matched we'll have more paperwork, of course but for now, we wait. I'm not so good at waiting, so I meditate on Habakkuk 2:3 and keep busy with fundraising and our boys. We have now sold over 215 scarves! Can you believe it? There are scarves in 3 countries...U.S., Philippines, and England...and 8 different states...Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin!

Our great friend Kerstyn has been selling scarves for us as well (and buying them for herself!). She has sold about 15 scarves for us! Jonathan's Aunt Paula has been buying scarves for her sisters and herself and his Aunt Janet is the one who took one to England for her daughter! We are so very blessed!

This Saturday I'm having a Thirty-One Open House fundraiser so I've been prepping for that as well. My amazing sister is a consultant and is giving us 20% of all sales straight to our adoption fund. Her and my mother have pretty much sold Thirty-One and/or a scarf to every person in our family, and every one of their friends and coworkers. People who have never met us before are helping support our adoption. I've always thought I had a pretty awesome family but I'm amazed at their hard work on our behalf. I'll give an update next week on how much we were able to raise through the Thirty-One sales.

I also hope to be updating everyone soon that we will be getting a mini-van...that's right, a mini-van! Our current vehicle is not big enough for 3 kids so we will be adding another vehicle out of necessity. It's pretty exciting as it's really the last thing we need to bring her home (besides all the fun girl clothes shopping I'll get to do.) As always, thank you for your support and prayers! This journey has been so amazing and just keeps getting better! Also, please keep Cooper in your prayers as he will be having hernia surgery on May 31st. Thanks and lots of love!!

Paperwork Completion!!

Wow! First I have to apologize for taking so long to post an update but things have been crazy busy and you are about to hear why...

As many of you may have seen, I have been super busy sewing scarves getting ready for the craft fair that took place this past Saturday. I made a little over 100 scarves just for this craft fair as I was unsure of how many I would sell. Well we had a very successful day, selling 49 scarves at $25 a piece!! We also had someone offer us a spot at another craft fair later this month for free since we are fundraising for our adoption! My sister is also doing a craft fair in a few weeks and is going to sell my scarves too. So far we have sold 139 of my scarves and over 40 of Courtney's scarves! Amazing!! 

I heard a quote on the radio the other day that made me laugh because it really rang true to me, they said "When it's God's will, it's God's bill!" I couldn't agree more right now that God is totally paying this bill and it just confirms that we are in His will. We've received additional donations that have completely knocked our socks off and we know that God will bless each and every person that has supported us through prayer, finances, and encouragement! Thank you all!

So the process is moving right along...we received our Home Study approval on March 27th and were able to send our dossier to our agency's home office on April 3rd! They have received it and approved it and will be sending it to the Philippines THIS WEEK!!! Last week we were also able to send in our I-800A to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is our application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. (Hague Convention - protection of children in respect to inter-country adoption) We received notice today that they have received and accepted our application! 

What's next? Well, a lot of waiting...but first we will have to go get fingerprinted by USCIS for our application. Then we wait for the approval of the I-800A and meanwhile we've been told it can take between 2-4 months for our dossier to be approved by the Philippines and officially get placed on the list of approved families. Once on the list, they are estimating 12-18 months until we receive a referral of a child. We are believing God that our time frames will be much shorter than expected! If you would like to pray with us please be praying for a quick approval and a speedy referral of the perfect child for us in God's perfect timing!

Habakkuk 2:3 - But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day. 

Exciting Times!

Today was a very exciting day for us as we had our Home Study interview with our social worker! The anticipation for the meeting just made the whole day feel exciting for us...even while we went about our normal lives early in the day. The interviews went great and we enjoyed the time. Something she said really struck us both as yet another sign that we are doing what God has called us to do...She said that she does a lot of Home Studies and for some countries she can't include anything about their faith or religion because those countries aren't free to worship like we are BUT the Philippines believe so strongly in Christian values, and who we are and all of our documents are about our faith and it is a perfect match! She actually said that we are a 5-star family and will be considered as such there as well! Wow! I'm just amazed at God's goodness! We will meet with her again on March 19th to review our Home Study Report.

Our dossier is now pretty much complete. We have everything compiled, except for our Home Study report. The last thing I need to do is mount our pictures on the paper, label them, and we are good to go!! It feels so good to have such a major project completed. By the way, our psychological evaluations came back and we are both normal! My boss asked me if I didn't mistake the Psychologist for saying that my name was Abby Normal! LOL! (If you don't get the joke, watch Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.)

On the fundraising front, things are going better than I could have imagined so far. We still have a ways to go but again I'm amazed at the support of all of our friends and family. Together with my scarves and Courtney's scarves we have hit the 100 mark. I would have never dreamed that we could sell that many. I still have a few orders left to be filled too! I have now shipped my scarves to Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania! I am actually doing a craft fair here in Omaha on April 6th...last year there was over 3,000 people that attended. I plan on making 100 scarves to take along. This weekend I'm having a "scarfing" party with Courtney and my friend, (and best babysitter ever) Kerstyn, to start cutting and sewing!! If you are interested in a scarf just let me know! Here are a couple of pictures of the new materials I've been using.

And here is a picture of the Mommy/Daughter sets:

Again, I just want to thank everyone for following along with our journey, for your prayers, and financial support. This journey is so exciting for us but it wouldn't be nearly as much if it weren't for all those coming along with us. If you'd like to be praying along with us, we are currently praying that our dossier will be approved (quickly) and we will be matched with the perfect child (for us). We are also praying that the time frame for the match will be much quicker than the estimates that are currently out there!

Edging closer!

We've been pretty busy since my last post! Fundraising has been going amazingly well thanks to the help of my mom and my awesome friend, Courtney! Together the 3 of us have sold over 50 scarves and counting! (Well technically 4 of us because, Charlie, Courtney's husband has helped sell them too!) It's been a lot of work and a lot of fun. A huge thank you to everyone and anyone that has bought a scarf. We truly have an amazing support system of friends and family! Courtney and I are actually trying to make up a few different items, as well, to sell at a craft fair in April. I've also started making some different patterned scarves and I'm using a new material that is jersey knit, like t-shirt material. I'll post some pics soon!

We have also been prepping our home to add another little one...we've been cleaning up the basement by sorting out garage sale items, lots of purging, and organizing. We are making great progress! Also in line with prepping the house, we've been cleaning out the spare bedroom...and by cleaning out I simply mean selling the current furniture and prepping what used to be Cooper's crib, then toddler bed. We have to take a picture of the room to include in our dossier. 

Speaking of our dossier, we are getting closer! We've both already met with the psychologist and will meet with him in a couple of weeks to go over his report. We have all of our certified documents, we have all but one reference letter back, all medical forms completed, and our police clearance letter. We still have a couple of questionnaires to finish and the pictures to put together and then we just need our home study report to add! Just today I spoke with our social worker and scheduled our meetings with her!! It's so exciting for us to be getting closer to "The Wait"! (Waiting to be matched with our child!) 

So as silly as this sounds, I have to say that I'm thankful for movies like Despicable Me and Meet the Robinsons.  It has really helped Cooper grasp the whole idea of adoption even better. Just the other day I mentioned something about our social worker and Cooper says, "Is she going to make sure our home is suitable for children?" I couldn't help but laugh because that is directly from one of the short films on the Despicable Me DVD! Kind of makes me think God can use anything to teach us if we listen! 

We Have a Psychologist & Let the Fundraising Begin!

We are continuing to make progress! Our criminal checks from Pennsylvania and Nebraska are in and all but one of our reference questionnaires! That means we will be able to start our home study interviews very very soon!!

On the dossier front we are making very nice progress as well! We received our certified copies of our marriage lisence, one of our church reference letters, our "Guardian's Letter of Acceptance" (if anything were to happen to us the guardian's of our children have to say that they would accept our adopted child and are in support of the adoption), and Jonathan's boss' reference letter! Most importantly...we found a Psychologist! And awesomely enough we got an appointment for Monday already! Even more favor! Things are definitely coming together!

So I've been saying that I'm going to have a fundraiser and I'd post some pictures...here it is...

I'm making and selling infinity scarves and my sweet friend, Courtney, is knitting scarves as well. All scarves are $20 and all proceeds go towards our adoption fees. I can make scarves out of almost any fabric (as long as its wide and long enough) so the options are endless. If you don't see one you like I can always do something to fit you better. These are the infinity scarves I'm making:



Here are the patterns up close and what it looks like on...

These are the knitted scarves:

Please get in touch with me if you would like any or have any questions! Of course if you would simply like to donate money at anytime we would be so blessed and honored by your support! Thanks again for all your prayer and support!

We Have a Social Worker!

It has been another successful week! First and most importantly, we received our Home Study invoice...I've never been so excited to receive a bill before! LOL! Basically our invoice is prepayment for our home study interviews and the home study report that will be part of our dossier to the Philippines. With the invoice we found out who our social worker is and we are so excited that it is the same social worker who taught our classes last weekend! She has such an amazing heart and we are thrilled to go through this journey with her by our side. She just went to the Philippines in October as part of an ambassador program for our agency. They become ambassadors for older children that need forever families. Now she is working to adopt two of those children herself!

We still haven't found a psychologist that can perform both of the evaluations we need BUT in the process of looking, we found out that our health insurance will cover all the time we need with an in-network psychologist and we only have to pay a $30 copay! This is a major answer to prayer as we were expecting to have to pay it out-of-pocket which is very expensive.

I was also able to get a phone number for someone at our sheriff's office to help us get our police clearance letter. A dad at our the boys' preschool is a sheriff, so he gave us the phone number. The Captain that I got a hold of is being so helpful and is ensuring the day we come into the office to get it that either he or one of his Lieutenants will be there and ready to assist us. We talked on the phone for about 5 minutes just "chatting". Yet another example of the favor that God has given us in this process!!

Our dossier is coming along and references and other documents are slowly starting to trickle in! We are already learning so much from this journey...every step requires faith and complete trust in God! I hope by next week to have some pictures of what I'm making for a fundraiser...I'm excited to see what everyone thinks. Thanks so much for your prayer and support!

In Him,
Alaina

Making Progress

We have had a very successful past few days! We had a couple of mini-miracles that I can't really give details about but have been major wins for us and have just continued to show us God's favor and grace!

We have completed the last of our current paperwork for our home study!! We also learned that all of our background checks have come in except for Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and our criminal checks for Nebraska (with FBI fingerprinting). Yesterday and today we took a "Parents in Process" class at our agency's local branch office that had to be completed before we can start the next steps. They were great classes that helped us to start preparing our hearts and minds for what is ahead of us and becoming a multi-cultural family. It was also an awesome opportunity to meet with a local social worker and 5 other families in the process. We are excited to continue building those relationships in the future as we met a lot of really great people. Lastly, we are still waiting for 3 of our 4 references to complete their questionnaires and then we can start our home study interviews!! It's very exciting! 

We are making progress on our dossier as well. We have ordered extra copies of our birth certificates and marriage certificate (we need 2 or 3 certified copies of each!) We put out requests to our current church and our past church in Ohio for our pastoral references and to our bosses for our employer references.

We've also been trying to track down a psychologist or psychiatrist that can complete our psychological evaluations. We've had multiple references from our church but so far none of them do both of the tests we need to have completed. Please keep in your prayers that we will not just find one but the right one! We may have to spend quite a bit of time on this so we are believing it will be another person that God puts in our path for a reason.

Hopefully my next update will be that we have a social worker assigned and are starting our interviews! I have a fundraiser coming up that I'll share too once I get some made and can show some pictures. Thanks for all the prayers and support!