Be Still

Ok, I just need to share a few things.....
First off, the downer. Our caseworker is out of the office this week. Ok, I know this sounds "crazy"....but, it is seriously tough not having that contact throughout the week. She is our tie to our little girl and, even though there wasn't anything that was supposed to happen this week on her end, it is rough just knowing she isn't available.

Ok, second downer. My house. We have been in major grant mode. We have a couple looming adoption payments and, honestly, we NEED financial help from grants. So, where does my house come into this? It is a mess! I feel like I live on my computer....that is, when Im not wiping booties, and breaking up little boy brawls. If Im not doing grants, Im working on the auction. When Im not working on the auction, I am emailing....and when Im not doing any of these things, I am emailing and prepping for Singers Company. All this is to say, the house is neglected and Im kind of over it.

Ok, now the happy stuff!!
I am SO Blessed. Our family is SO Blessed. We had already received amazing donations from friends and family members for our auction...(sidenote, I know some crazy awesome people!)....but, what I didn't count on was incredible donations from people that don't even know us!! Although, I now am getting to know these people, and they are amazing!

ok, meet NANCY!!
https://www.facebook.com/NancysCrochetCreations
I just happened upon her amazing facebook page and decided that I was going to ask if she would want to donate something to our auction. She is insanely talented and I knew her items would be loved! Keep in mind, I don't know Nancy....She donated 9 items and says she is working on more. What?!?!?! Talk about a Blessing. And, now we are facebook buddies and I am totally loving getting to know her!!

Ok, now KIM!!
https://www.facebook.com/CrazyStitches
Kim and I grew up in the same town. Her older sister, Jenna, was one of my little sisters besties in school. I always knew who Kim was, but our paths never crossed much. I just knew that her family was amazing and I knew her sister Jenna and my sister Heidi could break out in an NSYNC performance at any given moment. Anyways, out of the blue, Kim contacts me about donating 2 of her amazing quilts to our auction!! How incredibly thoughtful!! I was Blessed HUGE.

Oh, Also, TWO of my sister-in-laws friends whom I don't know are donating items. Did I mention I don't know them?????  Praise that I have such an amazing Sister that advocated for us and out Bulgarian Princess, but also Praise for her community of friends that are so selfless and thoughtful!
https://www.facebook.com/LooDeLoop

LASTLY,
BETH!!
I have never met Beth, but she is on a Facebook page I am on for local adoption/foster families. I asked for prayer as we try to raise this next chunk of money. Within minutes she responded that she was donating, and challenged others to do the same. She doesn't know us. How amazing. I am always blown away by the sense of family and community within the adoption community. You really make this journey together. I don't know what I would do without their support, encouragement and constant prayers.

As I said, there are so many other people who have given their time and talents for our auction. Please take the time to check out their amazing donations and also links to their businesses. I will be launching the auction tomorrow and I am so excited for you all to see the thoughtful gifts given by thoughtful people.

Praising God that he always reveals his love and provision when I need to feel encouraged.

"Be still and know I am God."

Bulgaria Blessings

SOOO, not gonna lie, I was feeling pretty blah the other day. I had a very good chat with our caseworker, got a lot of questions answered...etc. But, then she told me that in order to have the BEST chance of getting the referral of our little Girly, she wanted to have our Dossier in Bulgaria by the end of August!!!
****I interrupt this rant to give those of you who are unsure, an idea of what a dossier is. It is basically our family profile that is shown to the ministry of justice so that they can see how crazy awesome we are. There is a lot of info included, family pictures, house pictures.....etc.****
Anywho, none of this was a biggie until she told us that we needed to send $2700.00. At this point, I  had a massive heart attack and don't remember much afterwards...ok, maybe that is exaggerating....
Needless to say, we don't have that right now. We just made a big payment and we are kind of making this up as we go. I have been selling so much stuff, we might not have anything left in our house to bring our girl home to!!...ok, another exaggeration, but you get the idea.

So, I will start with a prayer request. I can sum it up in one word. ready?...."GRANTS!!!!!"....We have been filling out and submitting grants like crazy. Please pray that we get a couple of these, that would be huge!

Now, the Blessing!!!!!.....We are preparing to do a week long adoption auction. Let me just say, people have Blessed us soooo much. We are talking insanely thoughtful donations, people making items for us to sell, people I don't even know donating Tupperware from their businesses... I even connected with this sweet lady on Facebook. I love her crochet projects and I just took a leap of faith and asked if she would want to donate something. Not only is she donating, but she went out and got a photographer friend to donate! How amazing is that?????

So, Im taking this as God telling me to chillax. He has got this, He isn't surprised by any of this. He has helped us make each payment so far without having to use a credit card.....He will bring our little "d" home.

Technology in Adoption

I just got back from a weekend away with Teen Leadership Foundation. Let me tell you a bit about that first. TLF is an organization that takes foster kids to an amazing, fun-filled camp every summer. The goal is to provide these kids with a safe, fun, worry-free weekend where they feel loved and accepted. It was amazing. I am really finding that I have a heart for this ministry much like I have a heart for adoption. These kids need people to love them, care for them, accept them. It was a powerful weekend and it was hard to see it come to an end. I plan to continue with my involvement with this and similar ministries. I truly believe that God has called me to help "care for the orphans" as he calls us all to do in the Bible. To love those who don't know what it is to feel loved. I really encourage you all to look up Teen Leadership Foundation Pacific Northwest on Facebook. Even if you aren't directly involved, it will help you know when to pray and what to pray for.  

John 14:18

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

 

So, another thing that was interesting about this weekend. NO TECHNOLOGY! ***gasp***

So, here is the thing. I didn't have contact with Sean or the short people, unless they had an emergency, they had a number to call. I didn't take my phone, my ipad, my laptop....nada. When I got home I told Sean that there was only one thing that almost killed me with this. It wasn't not checking in with Sean and the boos....I knew they were fine. I mean, lets just be real, Sean is a Rock Star. But, not having my phone meant not having ANY connection to our little girl in Bulgaria. I couldn't open my phone and see a picture of her beautiful face. I couldn't email our caseworker to see if there was news, even though I knew there wasn't. I wasn't able to get on my computer and work on paperwork that needed done.....and, again the biggest one that is worth repeating twice.....I couldn't see her face.

There is something strangely comforting about at least having the hope of receiving an email about your future daughter. Or about seeing her face, that seems to help you convince yourself that "she is fine." When you don't have any of your media devices, you feel totally lost. I will say, it helped me to just pray for her. That maybe someone hugged her that day, that her needs were met, that she smiled. When I got home, I told Sean how this was the hardest part of my weekend, and he totally understood.

Please pray for our Bulgaria Girl. Please pray for the foster teens that went to camp and please pray that God gives us peace in our heats that our girl is in his hands always and that he is there with her now, even if we aren't.

Thanks Auntie Chelsey!!

Auntie Chelsey offered to work on designing our Blog and I said YEEESSSS!!!! I do not get along with computers, so things like designing a blog give me anxiety, twitches, and the shakes. So, this was a Blessing to me!!

Doesn't it look awesome?!?!

Thanks Aunt Chelsey! We love you!! You are an amazing Auntie and Sissy!!

Opening Statement from Bulgaria Girls Momma....

SOOOOO, I have decided to start a blog about our adoption journey. Here are the reasons. 1.) Facebook pages are great, but you cant write as much info in status updates as some people would like. 2.) I really do enjoy writing and journaling....this is a good way for me to write down our stories about this journey....the good, the bad, the ugly and the AWESOME!! Lastly, 3.) as hard as it is to believe, there are a few family members that are not on Facebook *insert gasps and shrieks of horror*....even worse, they are closely related to ME! I am speaking of my older sissy, Linnea, and her hubby, my big bro, Leroy. I know, can you say "looooosers"...lol, ok, Im done now.

So, my first post will include answers to 3 questions that we have been asked OFTEN!

#1 Why have you all switched countries so much??
Here is the Readers Digest Version of that long part of our journey.

We started with the Congo...that was short lived as we decided the agency was not a good fit for us. The agency we wanted to switch to did not offer a Congo program, so we decided to jump into their China program because we fell in love with a little baby named "Jane." We went through the long paperwork process, and waited til I was "old enough" to adopt from China, then we even got matched with this beautiful baby. Then, the first huge blow, China wouldn't adopt to us due to a medication I was put on after having our little Megan. We were sad.....VERY sad. But then our agency told us to cheer up! They had the perfect little girl for us in.....

INDIA!! Priyanka was ours, we were in love. We got the waivers needed to adopt from India (we have too big of a family, apparently). We got approval from the orphanage. She was ours! Then.....the orphanage changed their mind. end of story. Second blow. Almost gave up. Then we asked our agency to please match us with a country that we are the perfect fit for...no red tape, no waivers, no special processes. That put us in ...

BULGARIA!! And here we are, anxiously awaiting to hear if we have been pre-approved to adopt our little girl, a girl we are crazy about. All we know right now is Bulgaria likes us (understandable...lol)....but, the MOJ takes August off so we have to get our official nod of approval in Sept. So, pray. Please pray we get this match. We will share info on our little sweetie once she is ours and we feel comfortable sharing her with everyone. She has special needs, but she is beautiful, she is perfect, and we hope she is ours.

Question #2 Why would you adopt a child with Special needs?

Our answer, why wouldn't we? When we started on this journey, our goal was to give a child a home that needed one. To love a child that never felt loved. We never wanted to pursue a child that had a huge line of interest, that child will be fine. But, some of the precious children with SN's just get overlooked. In some countries some of these special needs make this child "evil." Sean, myself and our family have a strong faith in God. Our future child was created by God, and she is PERFECT. Any medical needs she has will be corrected if it is Gods plan, if not, God has a tremendous plan for this child and I know she will be a blessing to everyone she meets!!

Lastly...Question #3 Why the fundraising? Should people adopt if they don't have the money?

Answer, Yes, people should adopt whether they have the money or not....IF it is something God has called them to. Walk in obedience and trust God to provide. For us, we have done fundraising as we 1.) do need to make money for this adoption and 2.) We want others to be able to be a part of this journey, this "kingdom business." Anyone who has donated to our adoption is helping us give a child a home, a family. Do we think people SHOULD give to our adoption. No, it isn't an expectation we have or an obligation for you. It is only an opportunity that we offer for those who want to be involved, who have a heart for adoption and who want to support us. So, please don't get annoyed with our fundraising. There will probably be more opportunities. One thing I will say. God has provided. hugely. through fundraising, through yard sales, and just through amazing friends that want to see our girl come home.

Ok, that is my opening statements...lol. Now you can understand why I need more room to write.  Stay tuned. This journey takes turns and detours daily. You will be hearing from me a lot.

Love,
Bulgaria girls Momma,
Amy