Good morning, famiy and friends!!
We have finally made progress with our adoption paperwork. We were at a stalemate for months due to the Army's unwillingness to provide Matt with a notarized letter of employment verification. To my utter delight, Matt was able to finally convince his commander to go down to JAG to sign the letters (which Matt composed himself) in front of a notary. HOORAY!!! To make things even better, Matt had Friday off of work so we were able to take the 15 other documents in that we have been waiting to notarize. The LAST two things to be notarized were the Power of Attorney and the Affidavit of Dossier. After notarizing them we took them to the Muscogee County Clerk's office to be authenticated. Thankfully, that was a quick and painless trip (besides running to the ATM to grab cash to pay for the authentication). Once that was completed, Matt took the boys home (that's right, we did all of this with our busy boys in tow) and I went to FedEx to ship the two documents to the Georgia Secretary of State to be authenticated at the state level. I shipped them next day even though they won't arrive until today at 10 am. I also enclosed a pre-paid return envelope for next-day shipping. That was $50 well spent. It is my hope that I will receive them back before the week is out and we will get to move on to the next step!
The Next Step.....
Once we receive the authenticated documents back, I will take both original sets of dossiers to Kinko's where I will make 3 complete copied sets. Each page of the two dossier copy sets will be notarized as original copies. The two originals and the two notarized copies will then be mailed to our adoption agency. Our agency worker will look them over to make sure we did everything correct and then she will ship them to Ethiopia. At this point, we will send in a check for $6000 which is for the remaining two installments of the total $9000 Ethiopia program fee. Money, money, money.
By the way, for those who live locally, we are trying to put together a fundraiser 5k run. I think this will be a lot of fun and I would love to have some friends run it with me! Thank you so much everyone for being so supportive and loving during this very difficult and frustrating process.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sizes and Shirt Styles
Click the link to view the Aeropostale V-Neck shirts and colors. http://www.aeropostale.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11051569
Tee Selections
Ocean Blue Tee, Gold paint
Light Heather Tee, Purple paint
Navy Blue Tee, White paint
Plum Purple Tee, Gold paint
Light Pink Tee, Purple tee
Lime Green Tee, White paint
Yellow Tee, White paint
White Tee, Gold Paint
Moon Purple Tee, White paint
Light Pink Tee, White paint
Plum Purple Tee, White paintThe Gold and White paints are stencil paints that look and feel just like a screen-printed shirt. The purple paint also looks great but it has a softer feel because it is just a fabric paint. Many other color options are available for the fabric paint such as greens, blues, reds, oranges, etc. I would be happy to do some childrens/toddler shirts and baby onsies as well just let me know so that I can purchase the clothing and sizes. I am also going to get two more styles of women's shirt from Aeropostale - a v-neck and a round neck. Please specify what you want ASAP because I need to order them before the sale ends and they become expensive again.
Fundraising T-Shirts!! Pre-Order now!
Hello, Hello Everyone! First, I apologize that it has been so long since my last post. Matthew and I had a very busy weekend but I am back now and I have some excellent news. The fundraiser t-shirts are here and they look amazing (in my not-so-humble opinion). I asked a friend to help me make these and so far they have turned out great. I am only posting pictures of one color tonight because it is after midnight and I don't have time to take pictures of all the other colors.
The T-shirts are 100% cotton Slub Scoop-Neck Tees from Aeropostale. We have used fabric paint to spray on an outline of Africa with a cute heart where Ethiopia lies. If you are interested, please let me know your color preference and size so that I know how many to buy and make up. Again, more t-shirt colors will be posted tomorrow. They are $20 each and if they require shipping (which most will for family), the shipping is $4. More to come on how I am going to take payments and also a sizing chart. Thank you and please, take a moment to let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for improvements or more ideas for fundraising!
**Variations do occur because they are all hand-painted.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Fund Raising
Just a note up front...this topic is very embarrasing for me because I don't like asking people for help, especially with something I feel like we should be able to do on our own. As I said in a previous post, we did pay off our debt and save up just over $10,000 for the adoption. Unfortunately, adoption costs for Ethiopia are around $27,000. We took out a loan to cover the rest (hopefully my husband doesn't mind me sharing this...) but I am starting to think it will be more feasible to try and raise the funds so we can pay off the loan. I hate debt!
Now, I realize it may seem like I am a walking contradiction considering we just bought a house. So I am going to lay out the details in order to bring more clarity to our financial situation. I am a veteran, so I qualify for the VA home loan which means we don't make a down payment, don't pay mortgage insurance, and we aren't paying closing costs. So basically, we are using the Basic Housing Allowance alotted to us by the Army to go towards a home instead of rent. Look at it this way...instead of paying $52,800 in rent over the next four years, we will be putting it towards our first home. That's right! We finally bought our first home after 7 years of marriage. Hooray!
Anyway, the point of this post is to let my family and friends know that we are going to start doing some fundraising to help get rid of our adoption debt. I need some help with ideas though...like I said, I get embarrassed by asking for help and I am not very good at thinking up effective fundraising ideas. I have researched what some other adopting families have done and mostly I have seen adoption t-shirt sales. What do you think...is that a good idea?? The picture above shows fabric outlines of Africa with the heart over the country of Ethiopia. I was thinking about using a cute stitch to sew then onto t-shirts or shoulder bags or something. I also thought about making a template to spray paint Africa onto shirts or allowing the boys to use fabric paint and paint Africa on. At the very least I need to make shirts for myself and my fam. Gotta represent!
Below is a breakdown of our adoption expenses as it was given to us by our agency:
Home Study - $1500
Home Study Update - $800
Application Fee - $600
CHI Agency Fees - $7000
Ethiopia Program Fee - $9000
Post Adoption Report - $500
Adoption Education - $120
USCIS Filing Fee/Fingerprints - $860
Passports - $194
Ethiopia Visas - $130
Document Authentication - $250
Round-trip Airfare (2 Adults, 2 trips) - $7200
Child's one-way Airfare - approx. $800
In-country transportation costs - $420
Medical for Child's visa - $80
1st Trip in Country (guide, food, lodging) - $800-2700
2nd Trip in Country (guide, food, lodging) - $1350-2700
Child's US Visa - $400
Okay, so I was waaayyyyy off. The low-end of those numbers is a grand total of $32,000. The high end is $35,250. We are looking to adopt one child but if she has a sibling we have also been approved for a second child. If we do end up adopting two children, our total expenses will be approximately $39,280 - $42,530. Annnnnnd, that is why I have decided to try and do some fundraising. Have any good ideas?? PLEASE!! Send them my way!
Beauty of God's Creations
I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed and depressed today (I'm missing my hubby, but he comes back on Thursday!) so I decided to take a walk outside in our backyard to check on our garden and our potted plants...and other things. Needless to say the walk outdoors worked miracles for y spirit. Look at all of God's beautiful creations that I discovered - He certainly does know how to make a girl smile!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
If we were to count from the time we starting researching an adoption agency, we have been working on the adoption for 16 months already and we still don't have our dossier submitted. Initially, I was so optimistic and even thought we would have our precious child by now. In hindsight, my naive optimism makes me laugh. I suppose the average internationally adopting family would be waiting for a referral or court date by now; however, we have experienced many setbacks due to our involvement in the U.S. Army. At first it was Lauren's deployment that was keeping us from being able to move forward. Then we finally got the home study approved and we moved so that Matt could complete his Army training at Ft. Benning, GA. Of course, we had to then complete a home study update and resubmit it to USCIS - the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Now we are hastily trying to finish compiling all of the required documents for the dossier which will be sent to Ethiopia. However, we are moving again in September to Ft. Stewart, GA which will be Matt's permanent duty station. At which point, we will be having a home study update conducted once again. Two steps forward, one step back.
Adoption is not for the faint of heart - nor is it meant to be done alone. As the old saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child". Matt is frequently gone for his Army training which means Lauren basically flies this mission solo. Speaking of which, it is tiring to try and phrase everything as "we", "Matt", and/or "Lauren", so I am just going to come out and say it: "I" am writing this blog to represent our whole family regardless of whether or not I remember to say "we". So, I am Lauren...just in case that last little bit was confusing. 8-)
Anyway, the point I was trying to get to is that I can't do this alone anymore. I frequently seek the help of my Heavenly Father, especially when we pray as a family, but I need help from my family and friends now. This process is so emotionally, physically, and financially exhausting and I have finally realized that I need to reach out to the people who love me for help and support. For those who don't know me really well, I can be a very stubborn and independent person and I'm not big on accepting help. I am going to be making updates to this blog frequently so that my family and friends know what is going on and perhaps can help me with words of encouragement, ideas for coping with stress, parenting techniques, housekeeping tips, etc.
In a few weeks Matt will begin Ranger School which means we won't see or hear from him for at least two months. We are trying really hard to get all of our documents gathered before that time so that we can submit our dossier before he leaves. I must say, I am learning how to be more self-reliant and proactive. I purchased a house the last time Matt was gone on a Field Training Exercise! Okay, back to the dossier. So, we don't have much left to gather. The first thing to do when Matt gets back from the field on Thursday will be to go get yet another police background check. We are also STILL waiting on the Army to deliver the long-awaited Letter of Employment Verification. After that, we will have three copies of each document below notarized:
Parent letter to Ethiopia
I-171H Approval from USCIS to bring an orphan into the country
State Police Clearances
Family Photo sheet
Letter of Employment Verification
2008, 2009, and 2010 Tax Returns
Adoptive Parent Form
Matt's Passport
That may look like a lot, but we have already gathered and notarized a lot of the required documents. The very last two we will have notarized will be:
Power of Attorney
Affidavit of Dossier
Once we have all of that done and we are ready to submit our dossier, we will also submit the third installment of $3000.
Adoption is not for the faint of heart - nor is it meant to be done alone. As the old saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child". Matt is frequently gone for his Army training which means Lauren basically flies this mission solo. Speaking of which, it is tiring to try and phrase everything as "we", "Matt", and/or "Lauren", so I am just going to come out and say it: "I" am writing this blog to represent our whole family regardless of whether or not I remember to say "we". So, I am Lauren...just in case that last little bit was confusing. 8-)
Anyway, the point I was trying to get to is that I can't do this alone anymore. I frequently seek the help of my Heavenly Father, especially when we pray as a family, but I need help from my family and friends now. This process is so emotionally, physically, and financially exhausting and I have finally realized that I need to reach out to the people who love me for help and support. For those who don't know me really well, I can be a very stubborn and independent person and I'm not big on accepting help. I am going to be making updates to this blog frequently so that my family and friends know what is going on and perhaps can help me with words of encouragement, ideas for coping with stress, parenting techniques, housekeeping tips, etc.
In a few weeks Matt will begin Ranger School which means we won't see or hear from him for at least two months. We are trying really hard to get all of our documents gathered before that time so that we can submit our dossier before he leaves. I must say, I am learning how to be more self-reliant and proactive. I purchased a house the last time Matt was gone on a Field Training Exercise! Okay, back to the dossier. So, we don't have much left to gather. The first thing to do when Matt gets back from the field on Thursday will be to go get yet another police background check. We are also STILL waiting on the Army to deliver the long-awaited Letter of Employment Verification. After that, we will have three copies of each document below notarized:
Parent letter to Ethiopia
I-171H Approval from USCIS to bring an orphan into the country
State Police Clearances
Family Photo sheet
Letter of Employment Verification
2008, 2009, and 2010 Tax Returns
Adoptive Parent Form
Matt's Passport
That may look like a lot, but we have already gathered and notarized a lot of the required documents. The very last two we will have notarized will be:
Power of Attorney
Affidavit of Dossier
Once we have all of that done and we are ready to submit our dossier, we will also submit the third installment of $3000.
Starting Fresh
To my family and friends, I must apologize for my prolonged absence from blogging about our adoption. I finally decided to start it up again only to discover some irreparable problems with my old layout...consequently, I decided the best thing to do was to start with a clean slate! However, it is now past midnight so I won't be posting anything of real substance until tomorrow as this has already taken several hours to re-establish. Until tomorrow then!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
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