Ok, we are soooo close I can smell jet fuel!!
We were blessed today with a 1,500.00 grant and a loan for 5,000.00 that with another friend who generously offered us a no interest loan for another 2000.00 means we are only about 500.00 short of what I believe will be the final costs to get to China! I am beyond humbled right now!
I will probably call tomorrow and get tickets put on hold that I can purchase on Thursday. OH MY GOODNESS I'm going to CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are going to be in debt for a long time but Ting is worth it!!!!!!! Heck I think I just paid off Kaitlyn's Csection a few years ago so what's another 18 years. LOL (KIDDING!!)
Wow, I have to pack!!!!!!
Stitching my way to China for another daughter.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Breathe in breathe out
I have to remind myself to do that, because honestly I can't remember right now.
All day I was worried about whether or not our TA would come. I started seeing so many others get theirs that I started to panic. So finally the call came and of coarse all the anxiety that comes with it. When will we travel? What will it cost? Will we have the money? You know all the usual stuff....Then at 11pm my phone rings and it is my China coordinator and she says we have your Consulate appointment (CA). This is BIG, this is the appointment that guarantees that Miss T will be a US citizen when we land back on US soil. Everything is backed up from there.
Our CA...........AUGUST 21st...........Great right? Well yes, sorta, you see this means we are in a PANIC of trying to figure out last second things because we need to be on a plane by Aug 10th or 11 and Yes I know tomorrow is AUGUST FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BREATHE in BREATHE out........ I'm having heart palpatations, I'm sweating, and just generally FREAKING OUT right about now.
Please say some prayers for us, specifically that we will have the money to travel. That the money will be there when we need it to purchase tickets with at least a 7 day advance so they are not 4K a piece! Pray for my sanity. I am not good under pressure, I tend to go hide in a quiet place and wait for it to pass and I do not have time to do that!!! Pray for Miss T. Her world will be rocked in less then 2 weeks and she won't know what hit her. She does know she has a family but how much can a just turned 4 year old truly understand what that means.???? I know there will be pain in her heart to gain love and that's hard. Pray for Emma as well. This adoption is bringing out a lot of pain and grief for her. She talks about her birth family constantly and I try to listen and help her through it but I am so disconnected right now stressing over THIS adoption I'm not sure if I'm helping her process her own adoption enough. :(
All day I was worried about whether or not our TA would come. I started seeing so many others get theirs that I started to panic. So finally the call came and of coarse all the anxiety that comes with it. When will we travel? What will it cost? Will we have the money? You know all the usual stuff....Then at 11pm my phone rings and it is my China coordinator and she says we have your Consulate appointment (CA). This is BIG, this is the appointment that guarantees that Miss T will be a US citizen when we land back on US soil. Everything is backed up from there.
Our CA...........AUGUST 21st...........Great right? Well yes, sorta, you see this means we are in a PANIC of trying to figure out last second things because we need to be on a plane by Aug 10th or 11 and Yes I know tomorrow is AUGUST FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BREATHE in BREATHE out........ I'm having heart palpatations, I'm sweating, and just generally FREAKING OUT right about now.
Please say some prayers for us, specifically that we will have the money to travel. That the money will be there when we need it to purchase tickets with at least a 7 day advance so they are not 4K a piece! Pray for my sanity. I am not good under pressure, I tend to go hide in a quiet place and wait for it to pass and I do not have time to do that!!! Pray for Miss T. Her world will be rocked in less then 2 weeks and she won't know what hit her. She does know she has a family but how much can a just turned 4 year old truly understand what that means.???? I know there will be pain in her heart to gain love and that's hard. Pray for Emma as well. This adoption is bringing out a lot of pain and grief for her. She talks about her birth family constantly and I try to listen and help her through it but I am so disconnected right now stressing over THIS adoption I'm not sure if I'm helping her process her own adoption enough. :(
Monday, July 30, 2012
TA
It is official, China has invited us to come to pick up our daughter!!! I'm not sure what day we will be leaving but it's official!!!!!!
We are waiting to hear about a grant/loan this week as well, nothing like waiting until the last minute huh? YIKES I can't believe we are at this point and still short.
Another thank you goes out for everyone who has donated to our Chip In to bring Miss T home, right now we are over 2600.00. Praise the Lord!!! Thank you so much!!!
We are waiting to hear about a grant/loan this week as well, nothing like waiting until the last minute huh? YIKES I can't believe we are at this point and still short.
Another thank you goes out for everyone who has donated to our Chip In to bring Miss T home, right now we are over 2600.00. Praise the Lord!!! Thank you so much!!!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Thank you
Check the bottom of this post often for new skirts as I list them
I want to say thank you to everyone who is helping us to bring home Miss T. I can not even begin to tell you how much each and every dollar has meant to us!!! It looks like our travel approval can come as soon as next week. (there were several travel approvals issued today that were only in process for 7 or 8 days) I do not know what we will do if ours does come that quick. The one thing I do know is that GOD knows how this will end. I have had a hard time the last 24 hours, I will not lie. I have spent a lot of time in just tears!! I have however felt your prayers and have been able to focus on what is important and that is Miss T. We HAVE to do what we can to bring her home and that now includes being "THAT" family, and I am ok with it. I am not proud, I am not happy but I understand that God wants us to be where we are.
That said I have been BUSY today sewing some skirts. I will be offering premade skirts for little girls for 12.00 each with 2.00 shipping for 1 and if you order more than 1 skirt shipping will be 1.00 additional for each skirt.
I have several fabrics that I am using up so once they are gone they are gone and I will not be able to get them back. I need to shout out to Robin Magana of Red Thread Stitches Boutique for the fabric as well as the pattern that I use to make them. Robin sells her pattern here if you are interested in making some of your own skirts.
The first skirt I have is available in a size 4T
The ONLY dress I have left out of this photo is the ice cream/cupcake dress on the end. I will be making more dresses this week and posting photos very soon. Thank you very much for your interest!!
I will be listing skirts as I make them Thank you very much!!!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Not IF but When
I have finally allowed myself to believe that we WILL be going to China next month. I actually have said WHEN we go to China in a conversation, not IF. I must say that is HUGE for me. I have been so apprehensive to say that, guarding my heart if you will. I have seen though that God has planned this entire adoption from day 1 and I need to just keep trusting HIM and not relying on my own understanding.
Last week we were the featured family in a Making a difference 1.00 at a time campaign. In just one week, we made $1928.00 I am BLOWN AWAY by the generosity of others in helping us bring our daughter home. We also have an application into a private foundation for the opportunity for a grant or loan or both. This would be the answer to so many prayers. Hopefully we will hear from them some time next week. Our Travel Approval should be here this coming week as well (maybe Monday) so we should know our travel days very soon! WOW
PLEASE remember my generous friend has donated some items that she is willing to give away if you donate to our Chip In and leave a comment here. We are so grateful for her generosity!!!!!!!!
Last week we were the featured family in a Making a difference 1.00 at a time campaign. In just one week, we made $1928.00 I am BLOWN AWAY by the generosity of others in helping us bring our daughter home. We also have an application into a private foundation for the opportunity for a grant or loan or both. This would be the answer to so many prayers. Hopefully we will hear from them some time next week. Our Travel Approval should be here this coming week as well (maybe Monday) so we should know our travel days very soon! WOW
PLEASE remember my generous friend has donated some items that she is willing to give away if you donate to our Chip In and leave a comment here. We are so grateful for her generosity!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Angels among us!
I have been so blessed by all the people stepping up to help us bring Miss T home. It truly proves that there ARE angels among us!!!
My friend Sindy nonimated our family for a fundraising campaign called Making a difference 1.00 at a time. It litterally is make a HUGE difference 1.00 at a time. She nominated us just hours before we got the call that we did not get the money we had so hoped for from ABBA fund.
I also have another dear friend who has graciously offered some items for us.
Because I am not the one offering these items please do not put any information in the Chip-in instructions. The Chip-in is designated as for donations only, and if they think I am selling things it will mess up my ability to transfer funds until it gets straighten out. THANK YOU!
The first is a window cling for your car that simply says "Blessed by the miracle of adoption" She has 5 of these and the first 5 people to donate at least 10.00 via our chip in button here on the blog and then leave a message (it won't be published) with your email address will receive one.
Next is an adorable Gymboree-small panda hair clip (never worn) that can be yours for a 10.00 donation (there is only 1 of these so when it's gone it's gone). Please make a donation and then leave a comment here with your email address (again, it will NOT be published)
Next is a beautiful hand made (never worn) multi-loop Tolee hair clip. It can be yours for a donation of 15.00 to our adoption fund (again, only 1 of these)
My friend Sindy nonimated our family for a fundraising campaign called Making a difference 1.00 at a time. It litterally is make a HUGE difference 1.00 at a time. She nominated us just hours before we got the call that we did not get the money we had so hoped for from ABBA fund.
I also have another dear friend who has graciously offered some items for us.
Because I am not the one offering these items please do not put any information in the Chip-in instructions. The Chip-in is designated as for donations only, and if they think I am selling things it will mess up my ability to transfer funds until it gets straighten out. THANK YOU!
The first is a window cling for your car that simply says "Blessed by the miracle of adoption" She has 5 of these and the first 5 people to donate at least 10.00 via our chip in button here on the blog and then leave a message (it won't be published) with your email address will receive one.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Now what?
I have been asking myself that question over and over and over again since last night. We had a plan to pay for the last of our expenses for the adoption. That plan was not to be. I decided we needed to try plan B. I've been stressing for a month now as we waited for the decision of a Christian foundation that does 0% interest loans to families who are also Christian and who are adopting. We found out last night we were denied. The letter says they have more applicants than money to share so they wished us luck, and with that our dreams came crashing down.
Here we are about 4-5 weeks away from when we are supposed to be IN China and we are short the entire amount of money it takes to get there. I never wanted to be one of "those" families. You know the ones who just blindly go into an adoption without a plan. The ones who blast all over the internet because they need thousands of dollars or they can't get their kid. I know ALL the criticizm of those families, I've been there, and I've probably said some of the same things. I then saw my own close friends in situations very similar. I hurt for them, I donated and prayed. Then we started our own adoption without a plan. I stepped out in faith and watched in awe as God provided at each turn. We never had more than enough, we always had just enough exactly when we needed it. When we started this journey my prayers were that if we were not her family that God would shut the door. I prayed and prayed that we would not be one of those families that needed thousands of dollars right before travel but yet here we are.
So what now? Honestly I don't know the answer to that. So many people are trying hard to pick me up and get me to fight the fight. I'm tired though, I'm soo tired, I have fought so hard at each and every step of this and feel like I'm out of fight. I don't think I've given up, I mean we are "this" close to having her home. I do admit though to feeling like this is impossible. We are figuring we need about 10K for us to travel. We do not intend to do any touring, no Beijing first. We originally wanted to take EmmaLi because she has such an anxious attachment, as well as we thought it would help "T" with her adjustment. I would still love to take her, I just don't know how we are going to get there ourselves at this point. I am trying in my head to figure out the least expensive way to do this. One way is obviously to postpone travel until mid to late September. If we have at least a 21 day advance purchase for the tickets that will save us several hundred dollars each ticket. We are still not doing any touring, will pack a suitcase full of Top Ramen and protein bars for meals if that will help. I hope it will. Another thing we are doing is begging. Yup turning into "THAT" family, we are at the mercy of everyone else to do what we started. We are on our knees praying that the Lord can move someone's heart to the point of donating.
Before we knew we were denied for the loan a sweet friend in the adoption community nominated our family for a fundraiser called Making a difference 1 dollar at a time. The idea is to literally ask for 1.00 from as many people as you can. It is run by an adoptive mom who is also weeks away from travel at this point. You can read our story on her blog The total looks great, and it is but that is also starting from where our American Girl doll give away ended. We HAVE however raised close to 400.00 in less than 12 hours. If we can keep up that pace we will be able to start breathing again. Our family will only be featured for 1 week so PLEASE share our blog as well as Angela's blog with as many people as you can. If you can not give a dollar to our family, please become a follower of her blog and maybe you can help another family at another time. We truly will be getting to China on the generosity of others and the grace of our Lord!!!!
Lastly THIS is who we are fighting for. This is the latest photo we have of Miss T. We would love nothing more than to have her be the youngest of our clan!!!
Here we are about 4-5 weeks away from when we are supposed to be IN China and we are short the entire amount of money it takes to get there. I never wanted to be one of "those" families. You know the ones who just blindly go into an adoption without a plan. The ones who blast all over the internet because they need thousands of dollars or they can't get their kid. I know ALL the criticizm of those families, I've been there, and I've probably said some of the same things. I then saw my own close friends in situations very similar. I hurt for them, I donated and prayed. Then we started our own adoption without a plan. I stepped out in faith and watched in awe as God provided at each turn. We never had more than enough, we always had just enough exactly when we needed it. When we started this journey my prayers were that if we were not her family that God would shut the door. I prayed and prayed that we would not be one of those families that needed thousands of dollars right before travel but yet here we are.
So what now? Honestly I don't know the answer to that. So many people are trying hard to pick me up and get me to fight the fight. I'm tired though, I'm soo tired, I have fought so hard at each and every step of this and feel like I'm out of fight. I don't think I've given up, I mean we are "this" close to having her home. I do admit though to feeling like this is impossible. We are figuring we need about 10K for us to travel. We do not intend to do any touring, no Beijing first. We originally wanted to take EmmaLi because she has such an anxious attachment, as well as we thought it would help "T" with her adjustment. I would still love to take her, I just don't know how we are going to get there ourselves at this point. I am trying in my head to figure out the least expensive way to do this. One way is obviously to postpone travel until mid to late September. If we have at least a 21 day advance purchase for the tickets that will save us several hundred dollars each ticket. We are still not doing any touring, will pack a suitcase full of Top Ramen and protein bars for meals if that will help. I hope it will. Another thing we are doing is begging. Yup turning into "THAT" family, we are at the mercy of everyone else to do what we started. We are on our knees praying that the Lord can move someone's heart to the point of donating.
Before we knew we were denied for the loan a sweet friend in the adoption community nominated our family for a fundraiser called Making a difference 1 dollar at a time. The idea is to literally ask for 1.00 from as many people as you can. It is run by an adoptive mom who is also weeks away from travel at this point. You can read our story on her blog The total looks great, and it is but that is also starting from where our American Girl doll give away ended. We HAVE however raised close to 400.00 in less than 12 hours. If we can keep up that pace we will be able to start breathing again. Our family will only be featured for 1 week so PLEASE share our blog as well as Angela's blog with as many people as you can. If you can not give a dollar to our family, please become a follower of her blog and maybe you can help another family at another time. We truly will be getting to China on the generosity of others and the grace of our Lord!!!!
Lastly THIS is who we are fighting for. This is the latest photo we have of Miss T. We would love nothing more than to have her be the youngest of our clan!!!
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