ADOPTION UPDATE AND FUNDRAISING INCENTIVES

Praise God, our dossier arrived in Kiev this morning!  Our agency tells us the timeline will go something like this: It will take a week to get entered and go into translation. On the week of April 14th, our dossier should be submitted to the SDA, (State Department of Adoption.) The SDA will then get back to us with an appointed date and time.  If all goes smooth with our paperwork, we should be traveling in approximately 8wks from the time we are submitted to SDA.  Which is around mid June.

We sent this photo in our most recent letter to Sergey.

With all the good news, we have this looming shadow of adoption debt hanging over us. We really need your help. We are not asking for a lot from anyone. But if everyone could help a little, it will add up to something big.  If, for example, all of our Facebook friends donated $10, we would have over $7500 raised.  That's crazy!

As most of you know, we are doing this really neat fundraiser called Sergii's Squares.  There are 100 squares on the board and if each number gets donated, that adds up to $5040.  To buy a square, please click on Give Now button on the right side of the blog.  I will then write "DONATED" across your square.  

And here's the incentive!  The sign company I worked for back when I was a young, single mom has printed vinyl window decals to help us out with bringing Sergii home.  I have decided to offer them as a gift to anyone who donates $20 or more towards our adoption.  We have both decals on our two vehicles, and I love them so much that I asked if they could duplicate them for us.  Not only did they do that, but they gave them to us free of charge to use for fundraising!

Measures approx. 4-1/2" diameter

Approx 11" long

As long as supplies last, we are offering one of these totally awesome decals for a minimum $20 donation.

___________________________

I thought I'd post the first video I made of Sergii.  He was still here when I created it, happily playing outside with the kids. I cried and cried the whole time putting it together as I was doing it to advocate for him. I knew then I wouldn't be able to live without him. It took my husband a little longer to figure that out. But here we are... two months away from making him our son.  

Man Up Fundraising Shirts! Get Yours Now!

Our t-shirt fundraiser has begun!  We are selling two different Simply Love shirts to benefit our adoption.

I will start marketing the men's shirt now, since I have a shirt and a model. I got this shirt for my husband a few years ago, and it has always been one of my favorites. So it was my first choice in the men's shirt department.

He gets so many compliments whenever he wears it. 

The Shirts will be $22ea, plus $3 for shipping.

Sizes range from youth small to adult XL. 

(XXL & XXXL are an additional $2)

Sammy is shown below wearing a men's large.

Latest News on the Homefront

We have some exciting news to share!

Last summer we hosted an orphan from Ukraine for six weeks. When we set out on the journey, we had no idea how this boy would affect our lives or our hearts. We knew for certain that we were done adding to our family. We went into this with our eyes wide open and hearts sealed shut. Finished adopting, but with a heart for orphans, we wanted to do our part. We would host him, love on him, share the Gospel with him, pray for his future, fill him up with all the goodness a family could give. Provide him with the experience of a life time.  And when his time was up, we'd send him back with shoes, warm clothes, school supplies, and toys.

Well this boy came in, with his heart wide open, and completely steamrolled our excellent plan. He soaked up all the love we gave him and returned it tenfold. HE GAVE US the experience of a lifetime. No matter what he had to offer, he gave as hard as he could, all the time. The most eager child I have ever met. This boy filled OUR love tanks up. He fit right into our family like he was the missing piece of a puzzle we didn't even know existed. 

On the day he left, I gave him a photo album of his time with us as a keepsake. He was so happy that he fought back tears. And that suitcase that I was so excited to send him off with wasn't so exciting to me, or him, anymore. What I was once so happy to be able to do for him, was literally making me feel sick to my stomach. But I did it. I lovingly and tearfully loaded him up with lots of stuff to take back with him.  All that *stuff* I jammed in there felt like I was leaving him with the leftovers. Leftovers of our time spent together as a family. Leftovers suffice when you are starving for a meal. But once you've had the meal, the leftovers never taste the same.

So, our once sealed-shut hearts were busted wide open by an 11yo boy from an Eastern European orphanage. He unknowingly crept in there and has made his home inside. 

We would like to not only have him in our hearts, but also in our home. We want him to be our son. Our kids want him to be their brother.  

We are moving forward to adopt him.

Unprepared, but very motivated, last month we began the process to bring him home. Adoption from Ukraine is very expensive and we are asking for help. We will be doing various fundraisers in addition to our "You-Caring Fundraising" button on the side of the blog, where you can donate any amount.  If you cannot give, please pray along with us for a smooth and uneventful adoption process. Also for patience and peace for our future son.