Ready to mail!!!

Well, after about a month and a half of filling out paper work and getting all the necessary documents ready, we are ready to mail in the formal application!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The next step is the home study and then the waiting list!!!! I am so relieved that the application will go in the mail tomorrow! It is finished!!! Praise the Lord!!! :)

 It has been a long day, so goodnight friends!


Lacy

Our Little Cupcake

Well friends, you did it!!! With all of our friends and family's help through buying, donating, and getting the word out; we made the goal. We actually went over it! We hoped to get at least 150 items sold in order to get free shipping, but we sold 158 items!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This fundraiser alone through donations and items bought we raised  $1,057.50 (enough to pay for the rest of the home study and $200 more towards the next $3,000 chunk.) 

 PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!

We only need to save/raise $2,800 more before we can be put on the waiting list!!! I have been trying to think of some more fundraisers and what I can do personally to raise money for the adoption. As I was laying in bed this morning, I believe the Lord gave me this idea:

All of the proceeds from my cupcake bouquets are going to go straight into the adoption fund. This one was for my niece's 3rd birthday. They are great for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Graduation, baby showers, etc. The bouquets are $55 and I can do any flavor/color combination you would like. There are 19 cupcakes on the bouquet, so if you needed a few more that would just be a few dollars extra. If you would like to place an order for one, just email me on Facebook or leave a comment on here.

We are currently working on getting our "Formal Application" completed so that we can move on to the Home Study. Once the Home Study is completed and approved and we have paid the $3,000, we will be put on the waiting list! So that is where we are currently. We are so excited and know that God has perfect timing. He already knows who our little cupcake is and you are helping us make it happen. Thank you so much!

 

Information Meeting/First Fundraiser!!!!!

Good news!!!! We finally got to go to our information meeting about adoption! It was very informative and we also got to hear from a birth mom that placed her baby up for adoption last Fall. I really enjoyed hearing her side of the story. Hearing her side of the story opened my heart up more to a semi-open adoption. We are so excited to more forward in the process.

In addition to going to the information meeting today, I also signed up for a flower bulb fundraiser. I was excited to find this fundraiser. It is such a different fundraiser than the normal candy bars, etc. When I looked at the brochure and saw the products and the prices, I knew that it would be a great fundraiser. We will make 50%. We really need to sell 150 items or more. If we sell at least 150 items then we get free shipping. Otherwise it will be $65 just for them to ship the items to us. The products range from $6-$26 and there are a wide variety of products. The products are also guaranteed. I wish I had a tree in my front yard just so I could order a tree ring kit. :)

Here is a link to the brochure:  http://www.easy-fundraising-ideas.com/downloads/fundraising-flower-bulbs.pdf

If you find something you like just find me or Ben at church or school or email me on facebook. We will be taking orders for 2 weeks until March 28. I will keep you updated on how many items we have sold. :)

Thank you in advance for your help and for just following our journey. We are so blessed!

Ben and Lacy

Information Meeting

Well friends, Seahawks or Broncos? I don't favor either one. I'm just watching mainly to see the commercials. Ben felt safer driving to church alone and leaving Andrew and I at home, so here I am. What better time to update my blog right? :)

We found out recently that the next information meeting for adoption is February 20 in Fayetteville. Yay! I wish it was sooner, but it will be here before we know it. We will be going through the Little Rock office, but the information meeting alternates each month between Fayetteville and Little Rock, so the next meeting in Little Rock won't be until March 14. I am so excited for the meeting to learn more about the process. While we're waiting I have been making a list of questions to ask while there.

After the information meeting, we can do the formal application to adopt. Then the homestudy follows the approval of the application. We will need to have the homestudy completed and approved before we can do any major fundraisers. In order for businesses to donate goods or let us have a special event there, they will need to see our approved homestudy to prove that we really are going through this process and who we are adopting through.

That is all the information I have for now, but more to follow soon! :) Please continue to keep us, little sister, and her birthmom in your prayers!

But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, 

we wait for it with patience and composure. 

Romans 8:25

Progress...

Hello friends!

It's been a few days...We have been really busy around here and PRODUCTIVE!!!! We have got things done around the house that needed to be done a long time ago! It feels good!

We are currently waiting to hear when the next information meeting is through the agency we are adopting through. I keep checking my email waiting to hear! I'm so excited! While I am waiting I have been working on some fundraising ideas. One of the ideas I am working on is a Spaghetti Dinner/Auction. My dad is an auctioneer and has offered his services to do an auction for us. I am going to be asking people to donate baked goods, any unwanted furniture or garage sale items, handmade goods, etc. I will also be going around to businesses as well to ask for donations. Let me know if you have anything you would like to donate. I don't have a date set yet. I will let you know as soon as I do. Also, if you have any fundraising ideas let me know. I would appreciate ANY input. :)
                                           

A New Beginning

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

This year is going to be a GREAT year for our family! We are beginning the fundraising process for the adoption of a baby girl. :) WOOHOO!!!! We have been praying for God's timing and it seems that now is the time (see previous post from Dec. 3). This is obviously not my first post, but I wanted to wait to share this page at the right time. I couldn't think of any better day than January 1 to share the announcement of our new journey.

I hope that all of you will follow our page and join us on this journey of adoption. I will be posting about the progress towards finding our baby girl and also about any fundraisers that we will be doing. There is also a "Donate" button on this page that may be used to donate any amount at any time to the adoption. It is linked directly to our "Adoption Fund".

It is so exciting that this time has finally come! My heart is overjoyed that we now have an adoption account opened and the process is on it's way! :) Please keep our family and the birth parent, whoever she may be, in your prayers. I know that God already knows who she is and has our baby girl picked out.

We have a couple of names in mind, but we aren't sharing them yet. I posted previously about Andrew's name choice (Penelope). He loves to aggravate me about it. My mom texted me this morning and said that on the TODAY show they said one of the top girl names for 2014 is Penelope. Shhh! Don't tell Andrew. :)

May God richly bless you and your family this year!

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."    Ecclesiastes 3:11

God's Timing

Hello! This has been a long time coming! Although I would have LOVED to have started this process earlier, God has the best timing!!!!

As many of you know, when I had Andrew I had many complications and nearly died. The doctors told us that we should not plan to have anymore children because it could end in tragedy the next time. I praise the Lord for already placing a desire in my heart to adopt. Even though I would have loved to have another child of my own, I am blessed to be able to pursue adoption and be able to bring home a "little sister" for Andrew.

For as long as I can remember, we have been praying every night for God to bring us a "little sister". Andrew likes to tease me about naming her "Benelope" (Penelope). I thank God for his child faith that helps to remind me that even though it seems like it's never going to happen, it will in God's timing. One day in his sunday school class his teacher asked if the children to raise their hands if they had a little brother or sister. Andrew raised his hand that he had a little sister. (His sunday school teacher knew that his Bapa had recently bought a pony who was named "Little Sister" by the previous owner. God sure has a sense of humor!) Knowing about the pony named "Little Sister", the teacher said, "I don't mean your pony, Little Sister, Andrew". Andrew said, "No, I have a little sister. We just don't have her yet." Wow! So here we are on our way to finding Andrew a little sister. :)

We have been praying and seeking God's wisdom and timing. I had looked into adoption and done research on fundraising, but nothing had seemed right yet. Recently this last week our Pastor told us that he had a blessing for us and that he wanted to meet with us after service. When we met with him he handed us a check that he said he knew nothing about. Someone had anonymously donated a generous amount to us toward the adoption. This person knew the exact amount of the application fee to get the adoption started. Praise the Lord! Talk about bawling. :) This is the first contribution toward the adoption process of bringing home our little girl. Since this contribution, I have been researching more and Ben and I are looking for ways to raise money to get on the waiting list to be placed. It is going to take us another $3,950 just to be placed on the waiting list. Then a larger amount once we're placed. God will provide! He has already provided the application fee! So in the near future, I will be using this webpage to help get the word out about our fundraisers.

Thank you for following us on this journey to bring home Andrew's little sister!

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord had granted me what I asked of him.” 

– Samuel 1:27