Seeing Double!

Ok, it's official...I have emailed our case worker and our home study lady to make sure they add that we would accept a set of twins under 18 months.

So, whichever comes first.... the single baby girl under 12 months...or twins under 18 months.

God is good and whatever He has in store for us is GOOD too!

:)

Added to my Etsy Shop: STOCKINGS!

I'm finally done with my Christmas stockings for my Etsy Shop! If you would like to purchase one (or more!), they are $25. You can either email me or just purchase them from my Etsy Shop. If there is another fabric that you have in mind, just let me know...the sky's the limit!

The fabric choices are:

Home Study? Check!

I never really realized, in the short time we have been doing the paperwork shuffle, just how important the home study is! Everything I'm doing now seems to be waiting on the home study!

Good news though....Last Monday was THE day!

Andrea arrived around 2:00 and we dug right in. I felt like it went by fast because before we knew it, it was 6:30! It was very similar to our foster care home study, so there weren't any surprises.
Lots of questions about our feelings on adoption and the birth Mom. I felt comfortable with our answers.

There was no rummaging through our things. We took her on a tour of the house and that was about it.
Our kids had their "interviews" and they thought that was cool.

Now we wait....story of our lives right now..right?

I have been working hard on the Dossier. Most of it is complete, just a few things left to add.
What I am looking forward to now is to be able to submit the I-600A (CIS approval). That seems to be the last BIG thing we are waiting to complete.

We are excited and ready to keep moving forward and get on that WAITlist!!!!!! :)

Money is Evil!

I have decided that money is the root of all evil (well, maybe not ALL evil, but a lot of evil).

Racking our brains trying to come up with avenues to raise money, or people we have yet to talk to about buying a t-shirt, buying an item from my Etsy shop, donating money.....it's all very exhausting!

I knew this would be the hardest part. That and waiting... but this is for sure the hardest part right now.

We are faithful in the Lord and we know God will bless our efforts and He will provide. The hard part is the in-between. The parts between the next t-shirt order or crayon roll order, it's the not knowing...that's what gets me.

I know, I know...that's where FaITh comes in, but that's easier said then done sometimes!

I guess this is the REAL part of our journey....the hard working, penny-pinching, budget setting part!

We will make it....to our next $3900...and then the next $7000 and then the next $10,000. I know we will, and when we do....glory to God! He has brought us this far and has shown us that this is exactly what we need to be doing!

She's Crafty.....

Yes, that "she" is ME! I'm getting crafty like no one's business! I have been posting the "fruits of my labor" on Craigslist and Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftycreations2). I have spread the word through my sister, my BFF, and other close, precious friends.

I am thankful for my sister who purchased t-shirts and headbands & has passed on the info to her good friend, Lindsay... who seems to be the "mayor" of mommyville in San Antonio! Thanks Ang!

I'm blessed to have a very precious BFF who's support has been unwavering! She has purchased headbands, baby gifts, t-shirts, etc! Kerri...your support has been such a gift to us!

I also have a sweet friend, Stephanie, who has offered to take some of my "craftiness" with her to craft shows and sell it. What a WONDERFUL gift that has been!

I am just amazed every day in the greatness of God...and truly believe that God will provide!

We are still trucking along with our t-shirt sales. I think we are about 40 short of our goal, but we will get there...one shirt at a time!!! The design is on the sidebar of our blog.

If you know of someone that may enjoy a crayon roll, maybe a cute headband or a sweet dolly....just email me! I love to sew and really have enjoyed sewing for our adoption!

You can check out most of my things on my Etsy site, www.etsy.com/shop/craftycreations2 , and if you see something you like, just email me. Especially if you are local...I can always deliver! :0)

Tonight We Dine With the Queen!

Ok, maybe not WITH the Queen, but more like AT the Queen.....Queen of Sheba Restaurant that is! We are excited to be attending our first Gladney Family Association get together. Families from the area (OKC, Edmond, Norman, etc) gather on the second Tuesday of every month at the Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant in Oklahoma City.

We will only know people from reading their blogs, so it will be fun to meet a lot of them!

On to an UPDATE:
I have submitted all 3 groups of paperwork to Gladney! That was a big accomplishment...but the Ethiopian Dossier will be an even bigger one!! I've started on it already.
I submitted our I-600A to Gladney, which they will hold on to until our home study is complete...and then it will get submitted as well.
Our home study is scheduled for Nov. 22nd at 2pm. I am very excited about this, because once that is done it feels like we will be SO much closer to getting on the wait list! WOW, just saying that is a bit unreal!
We are 1/2 way done with FBI fingerprints and background checks. Clint went today and got his done, so I'll go tomorrow for mine. We will also do fingerprints for our I-600A, but that will be after it's submitted.
As for fund raising... we have been taking orders for our shirts and doing well with that. I love getting orders from people I don't know!
We have been blessed with contributions from friends...and have been shown time and time again just how RIGHT this is. God seems to YELL that at us every day! Thank you God!
Ive been selling things from my Etsy store (http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftycreations2) and from Craigslist.... my sewing machine even needed a little oil the other day. It made me happy that I was having to use it enough for it to need a little tune-up!!!!

We are just excited and thankful to God for blessing our lives over and over again!

Fingerprints!

There are many parts to this application. If it wasn't for Kathleen, I'd never get all of this done. She keeps me on track, task-to-task.

Every bit makes a difference!

Any adoption domestic or international is expensive to say the least. We love our supporters! Buying a t-shirt, donation, or kind words of support, they all help make this possible. The best part, a child will move from a life of poverty to our home...you can be a part of it, too.

---

Jeff and Keri Due
Garrick Shreck
Madeline Roberts
Kate Roberts
The Roberts Family
Chris and Shandy Belford
Randy and Shalayn Miller
Scott and Melissa Hinman
Gus and Angie Ray
Messena Howze
Ricky & Stephanie Brady
John & Jennifer Linck
Amy Huhnke
Jewel McKenzie
Cherrise Ducharme
Carlie Wellington
Tiffany Wise
Shirley Beckman
Rebecca Wright
Lori Owens

HOMESTUDY Scheduled!!!

I am SO excited that our home-study has been officially scheduled!!! It kindof came out of nowhere because I didn't know we were up to that point with our paperwork. YIPPEE!

It's scheduled for November 22nd at 2pm!

Adoption Shirts!!!!!

YIPPEE! We have finally decided on a design for our adoption t-shirts! They will be gray with this design on them.

They are $15.00 and hopefully we will be flooded with orders! I have to get all the orders in before I can officially order them....so let me know ASAP, how many & what size!I can't wait to get this going!!!! SO excited.

Hopefully I will start to see these around town.....

Fundraising and Halloween!

Halloween was good...Laynie was a nerd and Blake was a "Bad News Bear" baseball player.

They were cute.

Clint and I stayed in...I sewed and he watched the World Series. We took turns handing out candy.

We have been busy working on the design for our adoption t-shirts. I hope to get them done this week and start selling them!

I have been working on new things to add to my Etsy store. I'm excited to be working on some cute Christmas stockings too!

My craft room has spilled out onto my dining room table!! Thank goodness Clint is so patient when my sewing takes over! I know he knows it's for a great cause! That helps!! ;)

We are still covered in paperwork. I wish it was all done and we were already on the waiting list! All things are in God's timing. I know this.
In the meantime, I will keep sewing and trying to raise money to bring our sweet girl home.

xoxo