Monday, May 31, 2010

Run for a child May 30th 2010!

Well, we did it! We all ran/walked the 1/2 marathon & 10k to raise money for our adoption! The trail was a lot harder than we all anticipated with steep muddy hills, rocky terrain and small creeks to cross! We are so proud of everyone, it was not an easy feat! Thanks to all the participants and all who prayed for us, cheered for us. For our camera crew, and for all our sponsors! THANK YOU!!!
This is the group of runners minus a few who were not there yet!


                                    Getting all warmed up and ready!
                                                                    Yay Molly!!!

 
And Todd making it look easy with an incredible running time!
                                                Bryan & Karin! You guys are amazing!
                                               Jo and his battle wound from the trail!
                                 Jing-Ping with a "I'm so glad this is over" smile on her face!
                                                       My Amazing Mother!!!
                                             Andrew, Megan & Sara!
                                                            Peter Andrews and family!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Praying for two...and yes the rumors are true!

Andrew and I have been thinking and praying a lot in double lately! We feel like God has recently lead us to possibly adopt a sibling group instead of just one child. We spoke to our social worker about it during our last home study visit and she thought it was a great idea!

By now you may be wondering why two? Why would they want the extra hassle of buying two of everything, having two crying and screaming children riding back with them on a 36 hour travel from Ethiopia, or paying the extra fees in order to bring home a second child? We say, why not? With double cribs, highchairs and medical bills also comes double joys! Are reasons for requesting two children (besides the fact that we feel God's leading) are as follows:
     First, we know that the transition from leaving the orphanage in Ethiopia, perhaps the only home our child has ever known will certainly be easier if he or she has a sibling to share the experience with. Everything they know will be unfamiliar to them, including us, so having one familiar person in their life will aid in the transition to a life with their forever family!
      Secondly, we know that we want to adopt more than one child at a time because from a financial standpoint, it is much more cost effective to spend a few thousand for a second child now than another $30,000 a couple years down the road. Also, if we adopt a second time, we have to complete ALL the paperwork over again and that is not something I want to do again anytime soon (although it is totally worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat :-)
      Thirdly, there is a greater need for families to adopt sibling groups. They usually fall into the 'waiting children' category along with kids with special medical needs, and older children.

We don't know if God will for sure bless us with siblings but we are excited for the possibilities! whether one or two, we know God has a perfect plan for our little family and I can't wait to see it all unfold! Please pray that we can get the last several thousand dollars we still need and that the rest of the process will continue to go smoothly!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Hannah's Hope in Addis Ababa!

                          This is where our baby/babies will be staying when we go to pick them up!

Adoption Garage Sale Success!!!

WOW! Our garage sale went amazingly well last weekend! Despite the occasional rainy weather, we had a huge turn out with many customers. People were so great and would tell us to keep the change after buying something. My favorite customers were the ones that would bargain us down on an item they wanted and would then give a donation that was more than the money they saved from bargaining! I guess it made them feel better to get a good deal and donate to our cause! People are funny.

A BIG thanks to the Partsch family, specifically Susan, John, Ashlyn & Grandma, the Charvet family, Genie, Kelvin, Mary & Paul, Shelly Stern, Emily Savage, the Jewett family, and to all the many people that donated so many items so that the fundraiser could be such a HUGE success! THANK YOU!

Are you ready to hear the total?.......Drum roll please............

$2900 (approx) !!! WOW! This is unheard of for a garage sale! That is enough for two round trip tickets to Ethiopia! Praise the Lord!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Need Bake Sale goodies:)

Hey Everyone! My little sister Ashlyn is in charge of the bake sale at our adoption garage sale this Friday & Saturday! Is anyone willing to bake their favorite pan of brownies or cookies to donate for a good cause? Please let us know if you are and thank you!!!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

H.R. 213: Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009 (GovTrack.us)

H.R. 213: Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009 (GovTrack.us)

Adoption Garage Sale & Bake Sale!!1 May 21st-22nd

Come visit us at our Adoption Garage Sale and Bake Sale on May 21st-22nd! It will be held at our friend's house in Renton. We have so many great items donated by multiple families! We would love it if you would stop by for a visit, come help out, or perhaps go shopping! :-) There will be an amazing bake sale as well as Italian sodas for everyone to enjoy while they shop! The sale is at the Jewett's house: 18113 141st AVE SE, Renton WA 98058!


The home study home stretch?

After mountains of paperwork and multiple trips to the notary, court house and post office, we are finally on our home study home stretch! We only have a couple more documents to gather before we send in our dossier and only one more meeting with our social worker! Yay! God has been so good and we have definitely seen His hand throughout the process. For the most part, things have been going really smooth. Documents that we have to wait for from the government and other agencies have been getting sent back to us in record time!

We spoke with one of AGCI coordinators about what our estimated time of traveling to Ethiopia would be because Andrew needs to let the fire station know an approximate time frame. We were told that the date would most likely be sometime in August!!! Could be as early as July or perhaps not until September. It is just so hopeful to have an estimated time. It actually became much more real for me at that point. We could be bringing home our baby this fall! So exciting!