The Dossier...

HUGE UPDATE!

We are sighing with a little bit of relief!

The dossier has been submitted!

PRAISE THE LORD!

3 months of paperwork-gathering was placed in a FED-EX box and sealed tight.

Done.

Me, AJ and Annabelle at the adoption agency mailing the dossier.

What is a dossier? (doss-ee-aaa)

Ours was 28 documents, each one notarized, certified and apostilled.

Several $100 dollars went into completing that stack of papers. 

It was also sent along with a check for $4500 to pay lawyer fees, 

translation fees and all sorts of other fees.

The papers include:

Marriage license

Financial history

Medical clearance

Police clearance

Application to adopt

Several letters of reference

Home study

Pictures of our family

And so much more…

So now we wait.

Hopefully in 2-4 months we will be invited to travel and meet “Janie” for the first time.

Pray with us.

Proverbs 5:21

“For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths.”

The Paperwork Puzzle

Last Friday was an exciting day!

We finally received approval from Homeland Security to continue with our adoption.

We had traveled to Charlotte on August 14 to be fingerprinted.

Then we had come home to wait.

But in the waiting time, we weren’t just waiting.

We were collecting original birth certificates, marriage licenses, reference letters, financial documents, copies of our passports and so much more...

Not to mention....

 school started

soccer started,

homework started

 and planning the next fundraiser started.

So, just yesterday (Monday), I visited the adoption agency to review all of our papers and sign and notarize a rather large stack of documents.

I thought I would be there 30 minutes.  

I don’t do well estimating time.  

It took 2 hours.

So then today comes.  After a fitful night of sleep, 

I beat the alarm and hopped out of bed at 6:20 am.

Destination: Raleigh.

Location: The Secretary of State

Mission: To Apostille  28 documents… all in one day.

2 hours of driving, a big coffee, rain and traffic and I was there!

Seriously, the lady behind the counter was so nice. 

Proof that God goes before us.  

Even when are just apostilling things.

I handed her my painfully scrutinized, signed and organized stack of papers.  

She handed me a receipt and told me to come back at 1:30.

When I called, the original time I had been told to come back… 4:30pm.  

Again… thank you Lord.

Time to Apostille. 

So by now, I am sure you are asking, what in the world is APOSTILLE??

Yup.  Before adoption, I had no idea what it meant either.   

Basically, it’s an international verification that your documents are legit.  

It is one more level of security.  

And money.  

And headache. 

But… then you’re done...with paperwork… for a while.

So let me summarize…

I gathered 28 documents, and several of them have multiple pages.  

And they took months and hours and $$ to compile

And Notarize

Drive to Raleigh.  4 hours round trip

Pay $210

Arrive.  Wait 5 hours.  

Visit an old friend while waiting.

Drive home.

Next step is tomorrow.  

Copying all of our dossier. 

Twice. 

Dossier is a fancy word for our stack of apostilled papers.

Then… back to the adoption agency… to mail this precious stack of papers… 

with a check for $4500.

It gets to our country

gets translated

gets to an official

 gets reviewed

 and then we get to go visit “Janie”!

To God be the Glory!

The countdown is on....

"The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Details... Part 2

So this is us… a family of 7.

  

5 children.  

2 Adults.  

2 dogs. 

1 cat.

Big family.  Big hearts.  Big grocery bills.

Busy.  Busy.  Busy.

Our oldest child is 13 and our youngest just turned 2.

AJ has Down syndrome.

And… did I mention Matt had a stroke in December? 

Yup, and he’s not even 40.

So we paused as we thought about adopting Janie.

What would our future look like, adding another child?

What about sleeping arrangements? 

School?  Bills? Vacations? College?

Is the mini-van even big enough?

But then we were confronted, convicted, and called.

God introduced us to a precious girl whose only future 

consisted of 4 walls- her orphanage.

So we were faced with a dilemma.

Two directions. 

Stay… or… Go.

To stay: to be complacent in what we know, 

what we are comfortable with and what is safe.

OR

To go:  To follow the Lord where He leads.  

To respond in action to His not-so-subtle nudges to go in a direction 

completely opposite from all common-safe-sensible living.

What would you choose?

We chose to go.

Deuteronomy 31:8  “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

                                                 

EPIC YARD SALE: SUCCESS!

We are exhausted but thrilled!

With the help of many, many friends, family, and church members, our yard sale is done!

And the results were amazing!

FOUR families came to our yard sale and shared that they too had experience with adoption.  

What a blessing and honor to meet these families and hear their stories.

 Some traveled over 45 minutes on a rainy Saturday to come to our sale, 

introduce themselves and even make a donation!

Speaking of rain... it rained!  

A Lot!

But God provided!  

We had over 9 tent canopies loaned to use, and we literally set up a "tent city". 

Volunteers came Friday to set up and prayed specifically for God 

to be in control of the rain, the sale and all that came from it!  

Saturday morning started for us at 5:30am in steady rain.  

I have to admit, my own heart was downcast. 

 It was dark, gloomy, wet and very EARLY.  

Yet God reveals His character when He provides for our needs. 

Dear friends, a husband and wife, appeared on our doorstep at 5:30am 

with smiles on their faces and hands ready to help!  

The wife burst into song, "This is the Day That the Lord has Made!" 

 True. So very true.

And after that... 

more volunteers came...

 things got busy...

 the rain slowed down...

 people appeared...

 stuff disappeared...

sales rolled in...

 and it was over.  

Clean up took a team of 4-8 people 

and about 3-4 hours 

which included 2 cars to Goodwill, 

bins packed with stuff for the next sale, 

and donation boxes made for a clothing drive through our church. 

So here are the totals:

SALES: $2100 +

DONATIONS: $600+

PRE-SALES on CRAIGSLIST: $600+

TOTAL: $3300+

AMAZING!  Thank you for all of your support, donations, prayers, advertising, time, effort, and kindness.  We are one step closer!

 Tents set up the day before the sale

 Amazing bargains to be found!

EPIC YARD SALE PICTURES and shameless plug...

This is Shameless Promotion... I know...

Here are some pictures of the amazing things that have been donated.  

Come on Saturday and check out the treasures to be found!  

Great prices, friendly people and awesome cause.  

Also, Starbucks coffee for sale, lemonade and home made goodies... all served by adorable children.

6906 Bronco Lane

Summerfield, 27358

7am - 2pm - RAIN OR SHINE

 JEWELRY - lots and lots and lots!

 This is our living room... and a small path!

 Boxes and bins... you never know what treasures you may find!

Baby gear, lamps, strollers, games, snow shovels, trees, and more!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1515340395365486/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

EPIC YARD SALE

I know I have to follow up about how we came to the decision to adopt.

But that will have to come at a later time.  Stay with me.

Right now, the all-consuming item in our life is the EPIC YARD SALE.

This Saturday.  At our house. 7am - 2pm.

It is quickly approaching.

We have already received donations from over 15 families

AND more are coming in this week!

Already, my sweet mom has come over twice for an all-day event of yard sale tagging.

Already, we have a team of volunteers lined up to help with Friday night set-up and Saturday morning sales.

Already, a darling friend is making shirts so we can all match.

Already, so many people have given.

Then... we hear it may rain. 60% chance. Ugh. Not good.

Oh dear friends... please pray.  Nothing is too big for our God... I recall many times when Jesus calmed the storms. Start praying that He will calm this impending storm, that He will hold back the rain with just a Word. Pray with me!

A few items have been too amazing to be only showcased at the yard sale.  Craigslist helped give them the exposure they needed!  Here are a few things that have come to our house... and are already gone (SOLD!)

(Yes, this is a GIANT High Heel Chair!  Sold in 12 hours!)

Fold away mattress - everyone should have at least one!  The man who bought the weight bench decided he needed one of these too! 

Thank you to all who have donated already.  

Please come to the sale and find something you can't live without! 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1515340395365486/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Here is what my living room looks like!

Check out our progress on GO FUND ME!

Details.... part one.

We did not arrive at the decision to adopt easily, quickly, or

without much thought, soul-searching and prayer.

We became aware of  "Janie" through Reece's Rainbow (RR),

an advocacy site for special needs orphans around the world. http://reecesrainbow.org/.

It was close to Christmas and RR was trying to help raise awareness for these special children.  RR created a grant fund on "Janie's" page to help cover some of the expenses of adoption, which would hopefully help her adopting family more readily commit to moving forward.  We donated to "Janie's" fund, with the hope that a family would come forward.  And take her home.  And give her love.  And make her their own daughter.

No one came forward.

A few months passed.  

I walked to the mailbox one January afternoon and there was a package.  

(this is our Annabelle looking at the snow we got one January day)

A Christmas ornament.  

A picture of "Janie" on the ornament.  

This darling baby.

 Still  precious.

 Still waiting.

Christmas was over,

but in my hand was a little reminder

that this sweet baby did not have a family.  

Her second Christmas had come and gone...

without a mama.

Yet... what could I do?

“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:17