Rebekah and Rachel are my future entrepreneurs. Take a look at these necklaces they are making. For a minimum donation of $5 (plus $1 for shipping) towards Warrior's adoption fund, they will mail you one necklace of your choice anywhere inside of the United States. In the next couple of days, I'll be creating a page linked to this blog where you will be able to place an order for your a necklace (or necklaces) of your choice. I'll have pictures of samples that they've made so far. For the past few days, they have been advertising their necklaces by simply wearing them around. So far, they've had six orders!
Until I can get a page up and running, you can email me for your orders. On a different note, I found this image to the right today. I think it describes our Sarah perfectly. I think she must be a Latvi@n!
So now we're entering the fund-raising phase. Over the next few months, the majority of funds will come due. While we are prepared to do this ourselves, we don't want to dip so much into savings as to put ourselves at risk in the event of an emergency.
We are planning how best to go about raising additional funds. The girls have begun making necklaces. They are planning to sell them at our home-school coop every week for the rest of the school year. Soon, I'll be placing pictures of some available necklaces on this blog. In exchange for a small donation, we will gladly mail you a necklace.
Seth has offered the contents of his piggy bank: $7.23. Do I hear anyone wanting to match this giftt?! Also, we're planning a big yard sale when the weather warms up.
Tonight, I added the "donate" button on the right side of the blog. This is an easy way for us to accept donations directly. You do not need a 'PayPal' account to donate in this way. This method is not tax deductible.
For a tax-deductible donation, these can be made directly to An Open Door Adoption Agency in our name. An Open Door will notify us when donations are received.
Friday, we had our third and FINAL homestudy visit. The visit from our social worker lasted about two hours. It really wasn't as "invasive" as we had been thinking it would. The entire family sat for a little while with her as she asked the kids a few questions - mainly about their thoughts about Warrior and if they had any questions for her about the process. After that, the kids went upstairs to play. They were very respectful the entire time. Kristie and I sat with her at the kitchen table and went through some more questions. Mainly, detailed questions about our assets, life insurance and our income. A few questions pertained to Warrior's medical condition and how we were planning to deal with specifics about it. We will be asked these same medical questions by the Court at our first court appearance. Most of her questions were asked to fill in areas of the homestudy document she's writing.
So from here, we will have a draft homestudy document in our hands next week. Once the kids' medical is complete on March 4th, the homestudy document will be complete. At that time, we will submit the homestudy and the I-800a to the USCIS. At the same time, An Open Door will send our dossier to Lat^ia to begin the language translation process. Once we get approval from the USCIS, the dossier will be given to the Lat^ian Ministry. There's very little we have to do at this point, but fund-raise. It's a good feeling to know that now others are working on our behalf! We asked her when we would travel for our first trip. She said it now would be as early as June!
When our social worker left the house, it was a big feeling of relief, like an elephant had been lifted from our shoulders! We packed the kiddos up and headed to Conyers to see Mom and Dad. The kids spent the night with them and Kristie and I caught a movie and dinner in the big city as a celebration of the completed homestudy! Today, on the way back to get the kiddos, we stopped at the Dekalb Farmers Market. This was our first time ever going there. What an incredible place! Vegetables, fruits, spices, tea, coffee, breads, meats...from all over the world, this place was incredible! Inside of the market, hanging from the roof, is a large flag of every country imaginable. We were able to find the Lat^ian flag...
Found this awesome trailer today of the upcoming "The Bible" miniseries on the History Channel. You know where I will be 8 PM on Sunday, March 3rd.
We found this new NHFC promotional video for Summer 2013. Although we won't be hosting Warrior again, we hope to be travelling to get him for good around the time of Summer hosting. Once again, he didn't make the cut for this video, but that's ok...
Tonight, we got confirmation that Warrior has no siblings. There is no information about his father. His mother "left him somewhere". As sad as this is, it should actually make things a bit easier. When the family is still involved, it can tend to slow the process.
I went on a wild goose chase for our (3) certified marriage certificates required for the dossier. The dossier is the official set of documents that our agency will sent to the Lat^ian Ministry once we get US Customs and Immigration approval. I first went to the State of Georgia Vital Records in Atlanta. Stood in line for 20 minutes only to be told that they couldn't give the "ink in hand" signatures that are required.
They said I would have to go to the probate court of the county where the marriage was performed. So, I headed to the good ol' Fulton County Probate Court. After finding a parking space on the top of a 7 story parking deck, I headed over to the court building, went through the metal detectors, and headed up to the Marriage Records office. Got to see a few characters in line waiting to get hitched. Paid the cashier $30, and I was on my way with certificates in hand.
For those that have never had the privilege to go to the Fulton County Probate Court, it's quite the cultural experience.
Yesterday, we received a photo of Warrior from someone who visited the orphanage last March. While she was there, she apparently snapped pictures of lots of the kids. It was great to see his smiling face again. He looked much smaller than he was when he stayed with us. Nonetheless, it was great to see him!
Today, I got a quote from Golden Rule Travel for airfare from Atlanta to Riga. For one round trip ticket this summer, we're looking at $1300 per person. So, Trip 1 (if we all go) will be $7800 (plus we'll buy a one-way ticket for little Warrior, so add in about $900. Trip 2, just me will be another $1300. Trip 3 will be Warrior and me. So another $2600 let's say. Total we're looking at $12,600. This amount is included in the total of $34,000 listed on the right side of this blog.
Saw this cool car magnet when I went to the store this week...
I added two more blogs to My Blog List.
"Suzie Has a Blog..." http://suziesimpson.blogspot.com/ We met Suzie at Sarah's ballet studio. She adopted two girls the same age as Warrior from Lat^ia. They completed their adoptions last November. Start with 2012 posts to read about their decision to adopt and their travel experience.
http://kirkcameron.com/ Kirk Cameron has a great website with regular posts from various writers.
This week was a tough week. It started on Sunday with Kristie majorly getting the flu. You might ask, "How does one majorly get the flu?". Let me tell you, this flu knocked her off of her feet! It all started on Sunday morning before church. She was the last one up and said she didn't feel right. We all went to church anyway. During the service, she started getting really cold and knew something was up. When we got home, she went straight to bed and pretty much didn't get out of the bed until Tuesday (except for me to take her to the doctor on Monday). I ended up working from home Monday so I could help take care of her.
Unfortunately, I had to travel for work Wednesday and Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, Kristie was mostly vertical again.
Today, Rebekah participated in the Coweta Fayette Homeschool Literary Fair. This is a great opportunity for kids to write and make a display about a good book that they have read. I was able to go over there around lunchtime and spend some time with her. I was a proud papa even though it was obvious that some other kids had had some major help from their parents on their literary boards.
Sarah asked, "When am I getting a Chinese sister?". Let's get the Lat^ian boy home first!
Also today, we received the email address of the orphanage director! She said it was ok to contact her, and that she's looking forward to hearing from Warrior's American family. I am going to try and write her this weekend to see how he is doing.
Here are two songs that have a fantastic message. First, John Waller is a Christian artist from Senoia, GA. He and his family hosted two children through Project 143 and are in the process of their international adoptions. This song has a great message...
Mercy Me is one of my favorite Christian artists. This song is down right powerful...
Today, I filled out the I-800A form for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). "Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a (Hague) Convention Country". This will be sent to USCIS along with the approved home-study as soon as An Open Door wraps up the home-study paperwork.
We've been blessed with four beautiful children: Rebekah "Doodles" (11), Rachel "Rachie"(10), Sarah "Bean"(7) and Seth "Seff" (5). Warrior called them "Bekah", "Rachel", "Sierra" and "Seff" while he was with us. Warrior is 5 years old, older than Seth by about 4 months.
Rebekah Faith is our soccer star. She is a very bright kid, smart in math and loves to read. She has an 'engineering' mind like her dear ol' Dad. Rebekah has been playing recreational and academy soccer in various capacities since she was four years old. I always enjoy watching her practice and play in her games. It's a tremendous time commitment, but she really enjoys the sport.
Rachel Joy is an absolute 'joy'. Not many folks know this, but the name Rachel Joy was inspired by Rachel Joy Scott, the teenage girl that was martyred for her Christian witness at Columbine High School in April of 1999. Our Rachel loves horse-back riding. She's been getting private lessons in Moreland for two years now. She's starting to get involved in the 4H Club in our county. I was a proud papa this past Thursday evening when she stood up in front of about 50 folks at the monthly meeting and delivered a presentation on "hoof care"!
Sarah Hope is our up-and coming actress and artist. She loves to sing and perform. She's looking forward to her fourth theatrical performance later in 2013. So far, she's performed in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Seussical" and "Madeline" with our local community theater. I've never met anyone like this creature. GOD definitely showed his sense of humor when He created her. I can't even imagine how life would be without her.
Seth Thomas is our one and only boy (at the moment). He has a very big, loving heart, just like his Mom. He loves to play, both inside and outside of the house. As I type, he's getting his chin bandaged up at a pediatric urgent care center due to a nasty fall he had off of his scooter in the driveway. Gotta love boys...
We found this newly created New Horizons For Children video. Our guy didn't make the cut though...
Yesterday, we had our 2nd home-study visit from An Open Door. Lots of deep, thought-provoking questions! Sarah and Seth were quiet and pleasant the whole time while Kristie and I were interviewed separately. We were glad to get some more of our questions answered as well.
We also got some encouraging news from Warrior's orphanage. A friend of the orphanage director received an email from the director saying that the three kids that were hosted all had a great time over Christmas and want to return!
Here are a couple of links I would like to share...
This is a blog created by a family that is a little further along in the process than we are. They just completed their first Lat^ian trip and returned to the States with their children. Great blog with lots of pictures...
Some people think we're crazy. They just look at us with a blank stare, and they don't know what to say, so they ask us "how will you handle another one?" Some say nothing at all. Some change the subject. Some that barely know us think that Seth is our adopted child. They say, "He sure does speak good English".
It's no secret that we are adopting the child we hosted from Lat^ia. While he was with us, it was made clear to us in many ways that we were to bring him home forever. From the total stranger that told us that Jesus has adopted us as his children, to my son's dream where he talked with the orphanage director. The more time he spent with us, the more we knew that he was our child. We are commanded by GOD to care for orphans and widows. We want to do our part in this command. Every day that goes by, I get confirmation of our decision again and again. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~ James 1:27
The past few weeks have been both difficult and exciting. It's been three weeks since we put W on the plane to go back home. Since then, the kids have continued to talk about him. Seth talks in Lat^ian gibberish. They refer to their bath as "vanna". They include him in our family prayers. We talk about our not-too-distant trip to go and get him.
We are in the middle of our homestudy, and we are doing everything on our end as fast as we can. We are letting the Lord work out the timing and the rest of the details. It's great to know that we have an advocate, An Open Door, who is working on this adoption on our behalf. We couldn't imagine going through this adoption process by ourselves.
We are grateful for those that have offered their support. If all goes well, we could be back from our first trip with W in our possession as early as May or June. We look forward to this journey together. Thank you for reading, please check back often.
Rebekah and Rachel are my future entrepreneurs. Take a look at these necklaces they are making. For a minimum donation of $5 (plus $1 for shipping) towards Warrior's adoption fund, they will mail you one necklace of your choice anywhere inside of the United States. In the next couple of days, I'll be creating a page linked to this blog where you will be able to place an order for your a necklace (or necklaces) of your choice. I'll have pictures of samples that they've made so far. For the past few days, they have been advertising their necklaces by simply wearing them around. So far, they've had six orders!
Until I can get a page up and running, you can email me for your orders. On a different note, I found this image to the right today. I think it describes our Sarah perfectly. I think she must be a Latvi@n!
