A Snails Pace

It does seem like things are going at a snails pace sometimes during this adoption process. I want to be sure and keep you all updated on the status of where we are.  Here is a little bit of info.

Fingerprints Completed:We got our fingerprints completed this week and we will have our 2nd home study next week. Hoping it goes well.  We look forward to it as usual.

Fundraisers:
We are doing well on our fundraising.  Thank you ALL for the help and prayers!! They mean so much.  We added a little goal thermometer to the right of our blog so you can see where we are in our fundraising.  We'll do our best to keep it up.

We have a new fundraiser that we are doing other than the bracelets.  We are doing $50 Family Photos.  We'll take the pictures and get them to you through a thumb drive/disc or through an online photo sharing program.  We definitely aren't professional photographers...but we think we can get you some good family pictures.  Here are some we took this week.

What a SWEET family to work with!!! They are our first ones to participate in our family photo fundraiser.  If you live in our general vicinity and would like to participate in this fundraiser...leave a comment or email us and we'll connect with you to get it scheduled.  We know that God will provide.  He is faithful. We hope that this will be a blessing to you guys that participate as well.

That's all our news for now!!! As soon as we get more info regarding our adoption process...we will let you know!! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!! We feel SO BLESSED to have such amazing friends and family!!!
Blessings,
Mark & Buffi

A Quick Prayer Request....

Hey guys...just wanted to ask you to pray for something for us.  We just got a bill for $650 where we had our blood work for the physicals required for the adoption.  We were told prior to this appointment that this would be covered.  It isn't our doctors office...Its the lab and our insurance. Please be in prayer that this will be taken care of and covered.  I have been on the phone on and off all day trying to get it worked out.  I'm expecting to see God move on our behalf and make sure this gets covered and taken care of by our insurance.  Thank you all greatly for covering us concerning this!!
Mark & Buffi

What's Going On?!?!

In the adoption process...there is a commonly used phrase that is used to describe the process.  That is where we currently are.  We "Hurry up...and Wait."  The home study is FULL of a gazillion pieces of paperwork to fill out and LOTS of assignments to work on to complete.  We have been quickly getting as much done as possible...then we wait.  So there isn't a ton to share right now.  But there are a few things I want to let you know and some really awesome little 'kisses from heaven' we have received.  I'll start this time with those sweet blessings and end with some of our process this time!!

NUMBERS MEAN SOMETHING?!?!

For those of you following our blog...you remember last post I told about the most awesome surprise we received...that we still had $1800 left over in our account from our last adoption over 5 years ago!! We were SO FLOORED and just extremely blessed!! Well...after I posted that....I got the coolest note from a dear friend.  This is what she said:

"Buffi - I read your blog and was blown away by the 1800 dollars you didn't know you had! That brought to my mind the Lord's habit of giving us so much more blessings (100 fold!) than our pain when we surrender it to Him!!! Thought you might enjoy this: Because every letter of the alphabet has a numerical value, every word also has a numerical value. For example, the word Torah (Tav-Vav-Reish-Hei) has the numerical value 611 (400+6+200+5). There is an entire discipline of the Jewish known as Gematria that is devoted to finding hidden meanings in the numerical values of words.

For example, the number 18 is very significant, because it is the numerical value of the word Chai, meaning life or living. Donations to Jewish charities are routinely made in denominations of 18 for that reason."

Isn't that the COOLEST thing?!?! We were so blessed by reading that special note from our friend!! We couldn't help but share that special meaning behind the $1800!!

The Precious Heart of a Child:

Y'all....our bracelet sales are doing amazing!!! So far through bracelet sales and donations...(including our special $1800 gift) we have been able to raise $4900 so far!!! WOW!!!! Isn't that awesome!! If you'd like to know more about our bracelets or to purchase some....click here for more info!

Some special friends of ours from Georgia, The Masons, wanted to purchase some for their family...and they also took 10 of them to sell for us!! (What a blessing!!! By the way, the Mason family adopted Eden in China when we adopted Sadie. Sadie and Eden are both from the same home town in China!! They are also adopting again and if you'd like to follow their journey as they get ready to travel again, click here!)

Anyway....we got the sweetest note from them last week!! Eden had taken $5 of her own money and bought a bracelet to give to her 9 year old neighbor!!! Isn't that the most precious thing?!?! Her very life was changed by adoption and now she is reaching out of her heart to help change the life of another!!! So PRECIOUS!! I just HAD to share that!! Be sure and stop by their blog to visit!!

WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!

Well...we are getting ready in a couple of weeks to do our individual interviews with our home study.  That will be on April 23rd.  In the meantime...we are working on getting our fingerprints completed, our criminal back ground checks and all our required classes and reading.  

In case you are interested....here is our required reading (Other than The Connected Child) and our required classes.

1. We have to read all of this regarding China: 
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html  and all of this back ground and history on China - http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm

2.  We are required to take "The International Adoption Clinic Seminar" http://adoption.childrensal.org/ - This is to help prepare families to travel internationally and to bring home an internationally adopted child.  We did this class last time and it was VERY HELPFUL!!!

3.  We are also required to go through an 8 hour Intercountry Adoption Training Class. https://www.hagueadoption.org/home/ - This was not a requirement last time...so this will be new to us.  We look forward to doing it!! We just need prayer to find the time to sit down and go through it!!! 

Mark and I may need to take a "crash weekend" to finish all our required materials so we can complete our home study!! As SOON as we get all this complete and our home study complete...we will begin our trek toward our info being China bound!!

Orphanage Partnership:

We are VERY excited that Lifeline - Our Adoption Agency - has partnered with three orphanages in China!! They will send our International Adoption Clinic doctors and medical professionals to all three orphanages to do check ups on all the precious children there who need forever families...and they will be getting files and pictures ready for these little ones to begin to help them find their families!! Lifeline will go there sometime this summer.  Our home study should be ready by then...so we may find our little boy at one of these places!!! If you'd like to read about Lifeline going into these orphanages and where they are...check out this link - click here! This is a very exciting thing and we look forward to what the next few months hold!! Stay tuned!!

That's it for now!!! Keep praying for us as we continue to raise funds for our adoption costs. (We still have about $35k to go!!! - GOD CAN DO IT!!!)  We are having a yard sale the weekend of April 28th!! Praying for LOTS of people to buy LOTS of things!! :) Every single cent makes a difference!!! We are definitely counting our pennies!!! 

Your prayers and support mean SO MUCH to us!!! Thank you!!! We will do all we can to keep everyone updated!! Much love to you all!!!

Blessings,

Mark & Buffi