Bottled Blessings

We started our fundraiser this past week! We have asked friends and family to fill up a baby bottles with spare change.

Our goal is to raise $1500, the amount needed to bring home a sibling! All proceeds will be used toward the visa, Colombian passport, and airfare of a sibling that is needed to keep a sibling group together to bring home to the US!

Today, we received our first two bottles back!!! The total was $8.18!!! Yippee! So, the countdown begins! Will we make $20 by the end of the week???

Balance needed = $1,491.82

Looks big, but is so do-able!!!

Remember save your change! And help us bring our babies home! God bless!

Just waiting on two...

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the last two important documents to complete our dossier before sending it to Colombia. CHI has been very encouraging during this frustrating time of chasing down papers.

Our fingerprints were never received by the FBI; supposedly they were lost, the money order never cashed. I sent off new fingerprints and money order this past Thursday thru UPS 2-day. Should receive clearance by the end of next week, hopefully.

We have requested our SW to do an addendum to change the age range of the sibling group we are allowed or wish to adopt. We are open to adopting siblings between the ages of 0-72 months. I am excited about adopting older children or toddlers. However, I am sure I will need lots of support from family and friends, but I have faith in God that He will send the right people at the right time.

This addendum is needed to go to the USCIS to receive approval from the Immigration services so that we may bring these children home. This is a vital piece of paperwork that is taken a long while to process; it may even be longer since the office is out of New Orleans area where things are moving slower since Hurricane Katrina.

God Parents
Ben and I prayerfully considered people who we would want to care for our children in the event that something tragic were to happen to both of us. It is with great delight that we can announce that Greg and Mandy Flurry have agreed to be God Parents to our children. We feel confident that this couple will be spiritual mentors in the lives of these children, and we are blessed they have committed themselves to our future family.

Greg and Mandy have two beautiful boys named Caleb and Alex. They are very family-oriented and value investing in the lives of others, as well. The Flurrys' are very involved with Church on the Rock of Pascagoula where Greg and Mandy are part of the worship team. Greg and Mandy also have an amazing Christian band named Orphan Soul where they minister to groups of people. Mandy is lead vocalist while Greg is the drummer.

More to come about Orphan Soul and The Flurry Family soon. (Look for their link coming soon...)

Update on Chuck, Kaleb, & Ainsley: Ainsley is very susceptible to colds. She is staying with Nana right now. She is talking and walking!!! She calls everyone "dada"! She can say "deer" (I think her cousin, Elijah, taught her that word!), "kitty", and more! She looks alot like my sister! I will have pictures and links posted soon. Please pray that God will strengthen her immune system and hide her in His Shadow!

Kaleb, Shanda would refer to him as Mommy's angel, is still struggling dealing with the loss of his Mom. He has difficulty expressing himself verbally to others. Chuck says times most difficult is when no one's around and all is quiet. Please pray that God will send His Holy Spirit to surround precious Kaleb and that Kaleb would find comfort and love from our Father in heaven. Also, pray that peace would come in those quiet times. That during the times of grieving that Chuck and Kaleb draw closer than ever before and form a bond between one another that is so strong, that in that bond they will become strengthened...

And Chuck, I cannot imagine the pain he goes through. Just because the funeral is over and maybe the phone calls and cards have stopped or lessened, does not mean his grief has...We were talking the other day, and he shared that there are times he still calls home, and then remembers she's not there; or when he's had to pull over on the road, because he's grief-stricken. I don't know what it's like to be in his shoes, but I can identify with some of the pain...It was my sister....and it still hurts. So, please continue to pray for him as well. Now, he has to play a dual role, Daddy & Mommy. Pray that God heal his body from all disease or sickness. Pray that God draws him closer to Him and that He gives Chuck a wisdom to care for these children and to be to these children what he needs to be. Ask that God raise up other men in the area to stand up and support a brother in need. To be available to him when he calls. Pray that the spirit of heaviness would leave Chuck and that God allow Chuck to grow in healthy assurance or confidence that He CAN do this...Pray that evil influences just go away and that this family is protected by the hand of our Father. I ask you to pray that God also draw together Chuck, Ainsley & Kaleb together and that they become a testimony of love to us and to others...that God is still on the move and He has a plan even though we may not understand it.

I know this blog isn't all adoption related, but it's all occurring during the process. It's a thing called life...thanks for your time and prayers...

More to come later...an adoption time line, pictures, and info on Colombia!

God bless!

In the beginning...

Our adoption journey officially began when we mailed our application to Children's Hope International on August 31, 2006, our fifth anniversary. We immediately began the paper chase, but as life would have it, we faced some unexpected surprises that set us back.

On November 15, my beautiful 32 y/o sister, Shanda, passed away. Shocked with grief, compiling our dossier was secondary to my precious nephew and niece my sister left behind (Kaleb - 7 y/o & Ainsley - 11mos.). As we continued to mourn our loss, Benjamin and I were able to refocus and channel our energies toward Kaleb, Ainsley, and our children who wait for us somewhere in Colombia. We began again to work steadfast in collecting required docs needed for the dossier.

We completed our home study with Acorn Adoptions; our SW is Danita Holladay. She is great! We chose to use Children's Hope Internationals after much prayer. We have also come to agree to meet the challenges of rearing three siblings!!!

God is so good and faithful. His word states that this is true ministry: to take care of widows and orphans...God is good and we have seen His hand at work in many different ways throughout this process. We have raised nearly $10,000 through prayerful donations given by family, friends, and strangers. That is God! But, because we accepted the challenge to adopt three children and to try to keep a sibling group together, then we will have to raise another ten thousand...we have found some neat fundraising ideas on the web and thru other adoption family stories. You will see some posted on the bottom of the blog. I hope to learn how to make them link to give more details...that will be coming soon.

So, please continue to pray for us as we move forward in completing the dossier requirements and continue our fundraising efforts. Please pray for our children. We can't wait to have them in our arms, to hug and kiss, to laugh and cry, to read bedtime bible stories, to be ours...to be part of our family...to be a mom and dad...to be responsible and serious and silly all at the same time...God is good; what an honor to give us to be parents of his chosen ones!!!!

Well more details to come soon including pictures of the family, details about the dossier, the chosen God Parents & Family, fundraising details, and an update on Chuck, Kaleb, & Ainsley.

God bless & Good night!