Praying for an expedite!

This week, we should find out if the current part of our adoption process will be expedited. Our dossier is in China and our wonderful agency is requesting a faster process due to Josie's medical needs. We know her long term health and life expectancy requires quick medical intervention here, but expediting requires the person deciding it to agree with that. There was a time Josie had frequent medical care and surgeries but lately the information has been harder to obtain. These tumors grow without chemotherapy and our local experts are urging us to expedite. So we pray that the people deciding these things will agree with the medical opinions we are presenting to them.

Would you pray for Josie as she waits? And pray for this process to be expedited for her?

We were so blessed to meet our matching grant and also to receive another grant recently. That has allowed our agency fees to be paid on time and our adoption to move forward. Praising God for this need being met!

There is still a financial need to be met to complete our adoption. As we learn how soon we can travel for Josie, we want to make sure we are prepared. Please come back to the blog to find out about our fundraisers and we also humbly accept donations through our Reece's Rainbow account, which is a tax deductible way to give.

Adoption Update

We made our matching grant last week, which was a huge financial blessing. We will now add another $2000 to our adoption. The thermometer on the right column can sometimes look intimidating, but slowly, we will get there.

Imagine my surprise, when I was notified that we received a grant that will add even more to our adoption funds and of course to our lovely thermometer. It was such a positive boost that I needed during an otherwise difficult time.

Eve was hospitalized 3 weeks ago and she is still recovering. We are also leaving out of state to visit a specialist and the preparations are occupying my mind. I want to keep Josie at the forefront of our minds at all times as we continue to parent our children at home. It will be a busy summer but it's the good kind of busy. Sports, preparations for Josie and hopefully travel. Our adoption paperwork is all done on our end so we just have to wait as China processes it.

Prayer request: would you pray that Josie's adoption is going to be expedited in China? Her medical condition can take a turn at any moment and we have everything ready to care for her tumors here.

We are also in need of funding for our travel related costs. Please check back here for new fundraisers soon. We also have an account with Reece's Rainbow that is tax deductible. You can access it HERE

Josie has already changed us

In the process of adoption, it's so easy to think of what a difference a family will make to a child that doesn't have one. Love, safety, security, medical care, food and opportunity to live a full life. With each of our adoptions, I have seen the changes in our children when they know they belong, but this story is not about that. I wanted to share how Josie has already given us the most beautiful gift.

This is our daughter Eve. She was adopted nearly 3 years ago with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. We knew we would encounter many unknowns as her medical diagnosis was not based on any testing, just an educated guess. Over the years, Eve began having more seizures, her body started moving involuntarily (dystonia), we found out she was deaf and we had a few crises that left her doctors baffled. We were referred to genetics to see if we could find a cause.

A few months after Eve's first genetic testing, we learned about Josie. We took a long time to discuss what saying yes to a child with cancer would mean to our family and how we would manage all her needs. We looked at the outcomes for her tumors and what life would look like for her. Welcoming Josie into our family would definitely be better for her than being alone in an orphanage. And while we prayed for clarity, we had discussions about all our children. The truth is, that we think we have control over our children's health, future and longevity of their lives. With Josie, the odds might be against her, but she really needed a family to increase those odds. It was so much easier to say yes to her, when we gave all our perceived control to God and knew that He knew the number of her days, all of our days.

Then, we received news about Eve's health. She was diagnosed with a devastating rare syndrome. It's progressive and most children do not survive into their teen years. It's awful, plain and simple. We have grieved this information but at the same time, Josie had given us a gift already. Just as we had given her life to God, Eve's life was no different. There was the peace that passes all understanding. The quiet whispers that comes from an all knowing God. He is with us, He knows this about Eve and we are to increase her odds by being her family. In working through these emotions with Josie, we were already a few steps ahead with Eve.

Two girls, soon to be sisters. We are so blessed.

If you would like to be part of Josie's journey, you find see our Reece's Rainbow account here

Our fundraising thermometer is on the sidebar, once we reach $10,700 we will receive $2,000 as a matching grant.

We Swapped Mugs

Last night, I attended a mug swap fundraiser a dear friend had organized as part of a mug swap fundraiser we are doing online. Just a few ladies got together, brought mugs to share and we caught up on life and such.

The mugs were fun and creative, I received this fun ice cream sundae mug, it was super cute and my kids are drooling over the toppings.

The ladies were beyond generous and combined with another mug swap, I have updated our thermometer for our matching grant! When it hits $10,700, we will receive our $2,000 matching grant!!!! Would you help us get there?

Our Reece's Rainbow, tac deductible account is HERE

I can't wait to see pictures of the online mug swap when they begin to pour in!

Sometimes fundraising looks a lot like work

It's funny, each of our adoptions have been funded differently, but God has provided. Always. Since this is our 3rd adoption, we didn't start with a hefty savings account but did have enough to get started. Quickly, our friends joined in and participated in our initial fundraisers. Our homestudy was funded.

After that, it's been harder to climb up the financial mountain for each fee. I took on some extra work and each of those checks have gone into our adoption account. We squeeze little things out of our budget and that goes in the account. We were turned down for our first grant....that hurt....but of course I know there are so many deserving families applying and waiting just like us. So I took on more work and worked on the next fee.

Thankfully, our church gave us a grant toward the next fee. AND they gave us a $2000 matching grant. The next $2000 we raise (when our thermometer hits $10,700) they will match that amount by $2000. This would cover our next fees and give us a bit breathing room to save up more.

Two ways you can donate:

Tax deductible donation to our Reece's Rainbow Account (starting point for the match was $48.50)
Non tax deductible YouCaring Account (starting point here was $958)

Our t-shirts are selling for 2 more days HERE and we can use the proceeds towards the matching grant also.

We are so thankful for your support. If you have any fundraising ideas, I would love to hear them. Please keep watching the thermometer and I will be so happy to announce it when we have met the matching grant!

i800a approved!

i800a is one of the government approvals we need to adopt. Yesterday, I was surprised to find our approval letter in the mail, as we were told it would be another 1-2 weeks for it. We had a top neuro-oncologist who specializes in pediatric brain tumors write a letter requesting an expedited processing and we were told the request was denied. There has been misuse of the expedited processing in the past and now the result is that very few people are allowed to expedite. It's sad.

In that letter, the doctor wrote many things that outline our Josie's medical condition. It's a tough read because all her needs seem serious and at times overwhelming. At the same time, we are so glad to be her parents and give her all the opportunities for world class medical care. We live within 30 minute drive to 4 children's hospitals, there is always an expert in one of them.

When our dossier is ready to be sent, which is soon, we will also have our next fees due. Currently we have a matching grant of $2000, so when our thermometer (on the right column of the blog) hits $10,700, we will receive an additional $2000. Wonderful, right? We would love for your consideration in helping us reach that matching grant.

One way you can donate that is tax deductible, is through our Reece's Rainbow account. You can also check out our t-shirt fundraiser and Mother's Day Mug Swap.

How Josie captured our hearts

So often, I am asked why we are adopting Josie specifically or why we are adopting again in general. We have 5 children and they keep us busy. We have been through the adoption process twice and know how easy (or not) bringing a child home is. Eve, our youngest, has special needs and requires total care. I know all the questions have been from either curiosity or wanting to know the story, so I am not bothered. I am glad to share.

Almost a year ago, a friend sent me a picture from an adoption advocacy group and asked if we knew a family that would be open to adopting a little girl with special needs. She had a diagnosis of brain and spine tumors and currently she was paralyzed due to the tumors. She may never walk again so the family would need to be open to a wheelchair possibility. To our family, that would not be a barrier to adopting but at that time, we were not thinking about adoption. We were in a challenging season with Eve’s care and all our focus was directed to that. I prayed for this little one and passed her picture on to a friend who might be able to help.

I joined the advocacy group to see if there were any updates about this sweet little one and each time someone reviewed her file, I prayed. But her family had not found her yet. In total, she had waited for a year and each day, the tumors would grow and she would be alone. 

We finally reached a season where Eve’s care was easier and we had more resources for her long term care. I took some time to reflect and Eric and I spoke about if we would adopt again. I told him about a little girl who I had now known for 6 months and he said we should learn more. I didn’t waste any time and we learned about the seriousness of her medical condition. We prayed and felt at peace with the unknowns.

Then we found out her file was being reviewed by two homestudy ready families. We withdrew our application because they could get to Josie quicker. As much as we had fallen in love with her, we were willing to step back so she could be adopted sooner. It broke my heart and we hadn’t told no one.

A week later, we contacted another agency to talk about adopting from Josie’s country in general. They mentioned that they could ask if she had been indeed matched or if she was still waiting. There was no harm in asking and they sent an inquiry about her file. Turns out, neither of the interested families had chosen her so she was still available. We said an immediate YES to Josie and started the adoption process. 6 months of waiting, praying, saying yes, then walking away and then yes again. All this confirmed in our hearts that we were ready. For the unknowns and the hard times. And ready for the love and blessing that she will be. 

We are excited to partner with Reece’s Rainbow again to help with our adoption costs. If you have ever thought about adopting and are not sure how to make it happen, I welcome your questions. And Reece’s Rainbow is a great resource also to begin exploring adopting a child with special needs.