Blessings Galore!

First things first... We are still waiting for travel dates.  The foundation over in Z's country has to wait for the actually paperwork to be in their hands before they can schedule travel.  They expect this in a week or so. The biggest thing we are learning in this adoption is that the term... "HURRY UP AND WAIT" is very relevant.  Patience... as hard as it is... is a must.

We are praising the fact that travel will be SOON.  :-)

In the meantime, I want to share a couple blessings that we have encountered over the past few days.  God has been showing his love to us in the little things and we feel so blessed.

Last week, we were discussing the unofficial "dress code" for travel in Z's country on one of our message boards from our agency.  I sorta started getting nervous because everyone was saying women should wear capris, not shorts.  I own 2 pairs of capris and the rest shorts.  So, we will be visiting the orphanage for 5 days total.  With the cost of the flights coming up, along with the $5,500 in foundation fees that are due, we were getting a little nervous about the money situation.  I mentioned this to a friend of mine on our way over to get cucumbers from her mother in law's garden.  While we were there, my friend remembered her MIL was getting ready to donate some of her clothes.  Well, low and behold... she pulled out 5 pairs of capris.  The chances that they fit me are slim to none since I never have luck at goodwill or anywhere getting clothes that fit.  I tried them on... and all 5 pairs fit perfectly! Thanks Lana! 

 Only 4 our pictured because one pair I've already worn!

The next blessing came in the way of the mail.  Another friend of mine from Holland was going to sell us a toddler Patapum (which is a soft sided carrier much like the popular Ergo).  We wanted to try this out for Z on our first trip to see if he'd be willing to be carried in it.  These carriers promote attachment and for a scared little blind boy, this might be the best thing in the airport while traveling home with him.  Well, last week it came in the mail and my friend not only sent it to us... but she GIFTED it to us!  What an awesome blessing.  Thanks Susan!

  The Patapum is slightly bigger than the Ergo and has more support for a taller child.

The little blessings continued to come this past week.  On Thursday, I got home and found this in the mail.  I ordered it a while ago and sorta forgotten about it.  We weren't sure it would come in time for our first trip when we ordered it.  Can you guess what it is?

All we need now is a little guy to use it to explore his new world!

Give up?  This is little Z's first blind walking cane!  Let me tell you, this is the cutest thing I have ever seen. So little and perfect for our little guy!  We are still debating whether we will bring it on our first trip for him to try out and we would possibly leave it for him.  

Hannah has been busy sewing things for her little brother, but recently ran out of material scraps that my mom gave her.  Here are a couple of the things she has sewn.  I'm quite impressed with the work of my 13 year old!  She made these 100% on her own!

A little bucket hat made lovingly by his big sister!

This little toy even has crinkly stuff inside, perfect for him!

So, today Hannah was thrilled to go to my mom's house because she let her go through ALL her material and take what she needed!  Well, her extra scrap material.  We can't wait to see what things her imagination can come up with!  Stay tuned... Until then, here's just part of the material that she was given from her grandma.  Thanks Grandma!

She promises to pick it all up before she goes to bed LOL!

Another blessing came tonight and I'm still smiling because of it.  We were going through craigslist today looking for a crib.  A lady posted about a crib and we responded. She had posted it yesterday and usually we get a response saying, "sorry, already gone!"  Well, tonight we got an unexpected response.  This lady is giving us her crib!  For FREE.  And it comes with the mattress AND it's fairly new... made in 2005!  It's dark cherry finish and will be perfect in Dave and my room when he comes home.  We plan on doing something like this when he comes home.  That way he can safely be in our room so he knows we are here to meet his needs.  I learned about this from another awesome adoptive mom and Dave agrees that this would be the best for Z.  Thanks Rachel for the idea!  Thanks Amy for gifting the crib to us!!!

This is how Rachel suggested.  This new crib we were gifted will be perfect!

I could go on and on about the little blessings we've received just over the past week.  I can't express how truly thankful we are!

Lastly, I want to congratulate my husband for getting a new job working nights!  If you know Dave you will know that public service is where his heart is.  He is a volunteer fire fighter, works on the Hazmat team, runs a business selling light bars and now he has a job as a security officer!  He will work 3 or 4 nights a week and when little Z comes home he will be able to stay home with him and we won't need to put him in daycare!  Dave has been trying for a security job for years.  Perfect timing wouldn't you say?  Please pray as he transitions from his other full time job because for a while he is going to be VERY tired. 

I'm so proud of my husband!

Please know that there are still LOTS of puzzle pieces to put your name on.  Let me know if you would like a piece or two.  Hoping to have all of them sold before our trip.  Won't you help?  For more information please see this blog post: http://addingawealtothebus.blogspot.com/2013/07/quick-wont-you-buy-puzzle-piece-or-two.html  

Anyone who purchases a piece of the puzzle will have a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!  The more pieces you buy, the more chances you have to win!  $5 gets you a piece with your name on it so we can always remember who helped bring our little guy home.

Thanks for your continued prayers.  Hopefully the next post I write will be letting you know what our travel dates will by!  Praying it's this week!

 

Quick! Won't you buy a puzzle piece or two?

In the next day or so, we are hoping to find out what days we get to travel to visit little Z.  

Plane tickets are running about $1,800 to $2,000 a piece.  Quite a bit more than we anticipated for.  When our foundation tells us when to travel, we need to be ready to go. 

The orphanage has told us that they are planning on moving him when school starts and we really hope to be able to travel before he gets moved so that we can meet the people who know his history.  And maybe try and see if they can keep him at his orphanage until the adoption is final in 5 or so months.


Because we are going to be getting travel dates really soon and will probably only have a few weeks to travel, we are in desperate need for funds.  We have come up with a real quick fundraiser that we've seen other families do very well with.  It's called a "Puzzle Fundraiser."


Here's how it works: 
This is a puzzle we have bought and are putting together to put in our living room, for everyone to see!  Granted, he may not be able to see it, but we will be able to tell him about it.

There are 200 pieces to this puzzle.  You can purchase pieces of the puzzle in person or on the donation button on the right hand side of this blog or paypal as a gift to hanstella9@yahoo.com.

Each piece has a white coating on the back, which we plan to write your name on (or any name you choose) in colorful sharpie markers.  This will be a wonderful reminder of how many people loved him and helped bring him home.

Each donation of $5 will get you one piece of the puzzle.  Once we have all the pieces sold, we will draw from the entries for a prize... which will be announced soon.  I promise it will be good!

If you pay through paypal, please put what name you want to go on the piece.  Or you can message me through email or Facebook.  

We really hope that we can sell all 200 pieces before we travel so we can offset some of the travel fees. Three week or so... think we can do it?  

Please, won't you help bring us one step closer in our journey?

Thanks in advance.  I will let you know soon when our exact travel dates are.

Soon... VERY soon!

The calendar is blocked from August 10th through the end of the month!  Not certain on the dates yet, won't know that until next week... but our foundation emailed and said they are certain we will be traveling one of those weeks!

AHHHHHH!

SO MUCH TO DO!!!

SO LITTLE TIME!!!

Plane tickets are about $400 a piece more than we budgeted for.  Plus we can't book until next week so praying it won't go up even more.  Trying not to panic yet.  Please pray that the funds will come in.  If you feel like donating, there is a clicky thing on the right of this page.  We'd be forever grateful.

If we go the week of the 11th... my parents will be out of town.  Praying we find someone who can watch our girls.

My head has been spinning and life feels so surreal.  It's a wonderful feeling because Dave and I are going to meet the boy that we LOVE!

And another awesome thing... Hannah Hopes' beanie babies are going to make it in the hands of every orphan in his orphanage.  We got a donation to pay for an extra suitcase!

WE ARE SO EXCITED!  Can you tell?

The girls and I (along with an awesome friend and her very cute little boy) are heading out in a little bit to sell more freezer pops and soaps.  Tuesday we went out and the kids earned $51 to bring their brother home.  I love how they are so eager to help.

I can't believe its happening... we get to meet the boy that we've prayed for since June of last year, the boy that we love...  Feels like a dream.

Pray that everything will fall into place just as God has intended it too.  It's going to be a wild ride of gathering funds, booking flights, booking hotels, packing... but it is going to be so worth it!

Thanks for your continued prayers.  This is a HUGE step to getting him home sooner.  After this trip, we should be able to bring him home approximately 4 or 5 months later. Soon buddy... VERY soon!

  

Cautiously Hopeful

Today we were told that even though the Deputy Minister has not been appointed, it is very likely that another Minister (responsible for other areas) over there will be able to fill in for a couple IAC meetings before the end of the month.  Remember, the courts over in Z's country shut down for the month of August and some of September... so this is VERY good news.  

These meetings will be to issue referrals for dossiers waiting for special needs children.  Um... that's us!!!  Our dossier as been submitted to the government since May, and I have been told they usually take them in order.  

I am trying hard not to get my hopes up because no date for these meetings have been scheduled yet.  BUT, deep down it's really hard not to want to jump for joy.  

So, for the next few week, please join us in prayer for Z's country and for these meetings to be called and that lots of people get their referrals.  

Also, we have some big bills coming up after we get our referral before we can travel.  Please pray that the funds come in.  God will provide.  Airline tickets for August or September are running between $1200 and $1500 a piece.  Dave and I will both be traveling the first trip, which is very important that we both meet and commit to our little guy.  The second pickup trip is still undetermined if Dave will be able to go since it's so expensive.  Also, we still owe our agency here in the U.S $3500 and our foundation in Z's country will need approximately $6000.

If you feel led to chip in, please feel free to go to the side bar and click on the donation link.  If not, please pray!  

God will provide.

Thanks for your prayers. 

I'll keep you posted when we hear more news!     

Two little girls... Fundraising for their brother!

As we wait for the government in little Z's country, I told the girls that maybe they could keep their mind off the waiting by thinking of ways to raise some funds for bringing their brother home.

The wait is not only difficult for Dave and I, but it's really hard on the girls.  We expected to travel in June or July and now in reality it is not looking like we will be able to travel until September or October.  We are hoping we are wrong, but the rate things are going... we are being realistic.  Which, that would mean that little Z won't be home until March or April of next year.  We KNOW this is God's timing.

So, Stella decided that she'd like to sell Jumbo Koolaid Freezer pops for $1 to raise funds.  She started selling them last week at the campground.  She even had a picture of little Z to show people exactly who her little brother was! The only problem with being at the campground is the freezer doesn't freeze them very fast. But she was able to raise $20 in about a half hour! I forgot to get pictures of her actually selling them last week, but it was so adorable.  This is right after she got back to our camper.

(oh and the nasty rash on her arm is from the life jacket she practically lived in on the 4th of July at the lake)

  
Tonight after dinner, her and Emily were complaining that they were bored.  We suggested that she get the wagon out and sell some more of her freezer pops.  They were so excited.  They've been out in our neighborhood for about a half hour already.  It's quiet around here!  Of course, Dave is in the yard making sure they are safe :-).  Hannah was gracious enough to stop playing on her phone to take a picture of the little entrepreneurs.

They are also selling the soaps that we have left.  If anyone is interested in buying a soap for a daily reminder to pray for our little guy... we would be happy to sell you one.  $5 :-).  We have a few sanitizers left along with bigger soap bottles.  But you get the idea!

Very hard at work

Looks kinda like Emily is too shy to go up to the doors herself

Stella is definitely our outgoing child.  She is not shy at all!

If you do not live in our neighborhood, but would still like to donate to help bring their little brother home, feel free to donate on the side bar or you can always purchase Restaurant certificates.  We still have a ways to go... every little bit counts!

Stay tune for another awesome fundraising idea that Hannah is working on!

I LOVE how excited these kids are about having a little brother.  

Thanks for your continued prayers.  Please specifically pray for little Z's country so that a Deputy Minister of Justice can be appointed before the Aug/Sept summer shut down comes.  If one is appointed this week, there is still a chance that we will get our referral before they close down completely for that month and a half.  The sooner we get our referral, the sooner we can visit and the sooner she will come home!

Thanks!