Life is Experience

This evening I took the kids outside.
It was already dark and the moon shone full and bright in the sky above us.
We played, barefoot, in the moist grass in the pale moon light.
Child laughter filled the shadows around us.

We weren't doing anything special.
I found these little bouncy balls at the dollar place.
They light up when they bounce.
We were outside playing fetch with those balls.
I would toss them, bounce them, make them light up
the children would run through the grass, laughing, chasing the flashing, bouncing light
then race to return their ball for me to toss again.

Nothing special. Not really.

Then we came in and cuddled up on the sofa to watch a movie together.
Coraline.
One of Magda's favorite movies.
The three of us piled on that couch together, chattering away about the movie as it played.

Nothing special.

Then I got Mordecai ready for bed.
I tickled and "gobbled" on him to make him laugh while we got his pajamies on.
I laid him down, gave him hugs and kisses, and gave him his B (his Linus blanket.)

Magda is finishing her movie just now.
But I was thinking....
This afternoon, we haven't done anything really special.
Not really.

But I've heard other parents who have adopted from the same area where The Child is talk about how little Experience their children had while in the orphanage.
It is quite possible that The Child has never seen the moon.
He's probably never been outside the orphanage building at night.
It's possible he's never laughed in the moonlight.
In fact, it's quite likely that he's never been outside the orphanage grounds at all.
We've found out that he lives in a more prosperous area of the Country.
The picture we've seen on Google are amazing.
It's a beautiful area.
And the first time The Child will experience it is when we go to bring him home.
He has never seen the area where he lives.
It breaks my heart.
To think of him, while taken care of, basically trapped in side a building for the last 3 years.

I think of everything that Magda and Mordecai have experienced in their short lives.
Magda's been on a plane. She's swam in the ocean.  She's felt that warm California sand beneath her toes. She and Mordecai have been to Tennessee. they've been to Georgia.  To the Zoo. To the Aquarium.
And even more simple things.
They've rode in the car.
They've been inside a grocery store.
They've been to the movies!
They've been to Church.
They've been exposed to God.
And Love.
And Wonderful
Fun
Gloriously
Different
Experiences.

They've been dressed every morning by the same person.
They've been made breakfast, on request (some day's I play short order cook. What mom hasn't?)
They've had a consistent loving parent to kiss a BooBoo, or dry a tear, to hug away a fear.

They've had snuggles.
They've slept in our bed when it was necessary.
And in our floor beside the bed when it was necessary.

And it brings me to tears.
I wonder, has The Child ever had the comfort of climbing into a bigger bed for snuggles if he was having a bad dream?

The Child.
The beautiful Child.
His life right now is not horrible.
He has adult supervision.
He has meals.
He has a bed.
He has some interaction at some point.

What he doesn't have is A Mom.
or A Dad.

Someone to snuggle him when he's had a bad dream.
A daddy to kiss a scraped knee.
A mommy to scramble another egg to help The Child gain some weight.
He's so skinny. They're all skinny over there. All the children are so thin.
They're given the very basics to allow them to survive.
They are lacking the very basics that are essential to help them thrive.
Consistent Love.
Real meals.
One on One attention.
 Love.
 Guidance.
 Physical closeness.
 Emotional closeness.
And Experience.
They are lacking the Experiences that make up Life.

Laughing in the moonlight.
Running barefoot through dewy grass.
Riding in the car listening to parents talk in the front seats.
Singing hymns in Church.
Pulling toys from the shelves in a store.
Watching a parade.
Playing in the sand.
Counting the stars.

The Child wont have these experiences where he is now.
He wont have them for years... if at all.

His entire life.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Consists of one building.
One play yard.
and a constant shift change of caregivers.

It really, seriously, breaks my heart.
Oh, How his life would change in our family.

Move Along

Yesterday we all had the FBI/ ABI fingerprinting done.
The kind officers up at Hanceville Police Department made it a not so awkward experience.  Even though we ended up needing to take our paperwork back after we had left to get them to sign a spot they had missed.
It happens.
We also go the certified, raised seal, copy of the deed and the bank letter.
Our case manager for the Home Study warned us that the Bank letter would be the most difficult thing to get. I called up to the bank, told them what I needed and they said "Sure. We can do that anytime."
I love our bank.
The notary there already recognizes us and asks about the adoption. =)

The last thing on our check list is Doctor appointments for everyone in the household so as to get the Physical paperwork filled out.
We also have the added bonus of filing for CAN's checks in every state everyone in the household has ever lived in. Since my mom was a military wife and my husband served in the military, too, We have a fair few states to file with.

Who knows how long that will take.

We looked over the paperwork today and were reminded that, while the $1,700 that has been given in donations is AWESOME, it is also just the beginning. It's already been spent. On application fee's, and birth certificates, and FBI fingerprinting.
When we finish with all the Home Study paperwork and prepare to send it in, we need to send $2,200 in with it. That covers the extent of the Home Study but it is due upon submission and in a lump sum.

Also, When we are accepted into the "Eastern Europe" adoption program of our Placing agency, we need to be able to provide them with $3,000. In a lump sum. Another $3,000 is due to our placing agency when we send them the Home Study and they approve it.

That's $8,000 just in fee's that we will be expected to pay within the next few months.

Then there is nearly $10,000 in foundation fee's we will be expected to pay when we submit the dossier.

And then about $5,000 in travel expenses for the two trips out there and back.


Thinking about it, I'm on the verge of panic.
Then I remind myself, God will provide.

Even with that knowledge, I'm feeling a bit panicked.


We're working on planning a few bigger events.
And selling a few high priced items that we own.
If you have a suggestion, please feel free to share it with us.
Or a donation. We're still gladly accepting those.

I keep praying "Six months. Six months."
God says "I know. Relax. I've got this."
and still I pray, "Six months. Six months."


We found out some wonderful news about The Child last night that I really can't share here.
But suffice it to say that we have a much better idea of where we will be traveling when we go to meet him.
=)
Also, found out how his name is pronounced.
We still want to keep his name but we may need to toy with the spelling so people will pronounce it correctly.
We do live in the south. lol


So there we go. Moving along in the Home Study process.

The Impossible Weekend

Last week, at the final count, we had 117 marbles.

After the last week of donations,

 and this weekend's yard sale and craft sale, 

we now have 171 marbles in our marble jar.

At $10 a marble, we've raised $1,710.

(Which is awesome!)

(THANK YOU!)

That's just about $300 shy of the goal we had set to raise this month.

So that's not bad. 

We might can raise that within the next week.

We decided to take next weekend off on the yard sale, too.

We need some time to gather new donated items, sort them, regroup and rest.

We also need a weekend to try and do some of the required home study and dossier elements.

Thank you, to everyone who has donated.

We know there is no way we can fund raise the entire amount needed to complete this adoption.

We're already needing to cut "normal" things from our daily lives

to be able to pay for Adoption things as we complete them.

Life doesn't stop for an adoption. 

It doesn't pull over and allowed bills to not be paid 

or families not to need to eat 

or kids not to need gifts on holidays 

or families not to need a vacation.

Those daily life needs still must be met.

We just have to be creative.

We meet those needs just like we were doing before the adoption.

Your donations are helping the process move 

more quickly

than we could ever do it alone.

And since we only have 6 months, now,

More Quickly

Is 

NECESSARY.

=)

And now, I'm going to bed.

I am exhausted.

MATCHED!

The Child's government has Matched him with our family.

It's like a pre-approval.

We sent in the short from, "Hi, We're the Hughes Folk. Here's a general outline of who we are."

They looked it over and said, "Send us the full report. Until then, He'll be on hold for you."

Can I describe the jig I danced this morning?

It was quite happy and surely embarrassing but fully of thanks.

Charlie was so excited when he saw the email, he came to wake me up at 1am to show me.

I was thrilled, of course, and also so relieved that I was able to roll over and go back to sleep. LOL

So, like I said, Six month time crunch is ON.

We're only about $600 short of our goal of 2k by the end of this month.  It's been wonderful the amount of support that has poured in to help our family.

We had a couple stop at the yard sale today who had seen the ad in the shoppers guide, visited the blog, and decided to come. That makes me so happy. We chatted while they shopped. They were sweet and I enjoyed their company.

There were some good questions I thought I might could answer on here, too.

"Why," She asked, "are you needing to go all the way to *The Child's Country* to adopt? Why can't you adopt from here?"

That question is very common. Yes. There are a LOT of children here, in the US foster system who need families. I know this. It is painful knowing this. Charlie and I spent a few years as foster parents so we were able to see just how our foster system works. It does provide for the need that children have when they are unable to live with their biological families but some children are left lacking the stability of a committed, forever family.

We are acutely aware of this.

However, When I first saw The Child and his information, We were not even thinking of adoption in our near future. Truthfully, We weren't thinking of adoption in our father-into-the-future future either.  We had about decided that our 4 children (the older boys at 18 and 19, then Magda at nearly 4 and Mordecai at nearly 2) were plenty for our family. We were done family building.

Then, I saw The Child. I read the paragraph of information about him. While it stated that he lived "Internationally", it didn't state his country. They aren't allowed to. Just like I'm not allowed to.

It was a prayerful, discussed in depth, tossing many concerns out on the table month while We wrestled with What, exactly, we were supposed to do with The Child and this heavy feeling he put on our hearts.

Because we were done growing our family, remember? 

We weren't planning an adoption.

Yeah, I've learned that God doesn't really care about what we are planning when HE is planning things.

And His plans? They are big.

Much bigger than anything Charlie and I could have thought up ourselves.

So we committed to pursue adopting The Child.

It just so happens that he lives "Internationally".

He can't help that. It's not his fault where he was born.

Just like it's not his fault to whom he was born.

It's not his fault the race he was born.

It's not his fault that he has a special need.

It's not his fault that we didn't plan ahead for this.

We didn't feel called to adoption, in general, for this situation.

We feel called to The Child.

So that's why we have to go all the way to his country to adopt.

 Because that's where he lives. 

Because that's where God placed him. 

And As long as it is HIS will,

That's where we will be going to visit The Child.

Then bring him home!

Because We've been MATCHED!

Magdalena: Master of the Marbles!

One marble from the Chip In! (Thank You!)

One marble from an in person donation! (Thank You, too!)

(And I let her add 3 more marbles from an early shopper to the yard sale.)

(Mom's a sucker for letting a girl add marbles.)

Her day?
MADE.

Thank You. =)

We will get more creative with the photo's for the next donation.

hehehe

Home Study Final Application:

Otherwise Known As

"While We Wait to Hear that The Child is On Hold."

(It hasn't really been a long wait, as per usual adoption process standards,

 but it has been a tortuously quiet wait. Which makes us nervous. )

Here's where we are in the Final Application process.

 When we check all these boxes, 

we can mail it in to the home study agency 

and they will check it over 

and assign us a worker to complete the in person visits and home check.

 I'm giddy.

I had hoped that we would have all these documents ready by this Friday.

We found out Yesterday that there is one document 

that we will need to wait for (possibly) WEEKS on.

That has allowed us to step back and take a breath,

knowing that no matter how quickly we do the rest, 

we will still be waiting on that one document.

Knowing that we are going to be waiting anyway,

we are trying to plan and schedule the remaining items

because funds are considerably tight.

Did ya'll know that they charge to take a passport photo? 

I didn't. 

I never thought it would be close to 25 bucks a piece, either.
Or that passport applications cost $135 just to process?

Or that it's $27 (in Alabama) to get 3 copies of a single birth certificate?

We had to get 3 copies for 3 people.

At least they only charged full price for the first copy of each one.

 Each additional copy was just $6. Each.

Charlie's state charged him full price for all 3 of his copies.

It was nearly $80 just for his birth certificates.

Our Yard Sale funds are depleting quickly.

We have 8 (and a half, Charlie's Autobiography) documents to finish up.

Two fundraising events going on this weekend.

The Yard Sale

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 

this week.

And the Craft Sale at Heritage Park

Saturday.

We have had SO many items donated to the yard sale, 

Now we need shoppers!

Grandma and I have been working diligently on our crafts.

(She's made a LOT more crafts than I have.)

(And they're beautiful.)

(Just saying.)

And we should know how we did at the Kids Mart sometime next week.

I'm not holing my breath but

every little bit helps.

This afternoon, Magdalena was gazing into the marble jar looking very thoughtful.

"Mom, can I put a marble in there? Please?

So I told her I'd ask Ya'll.

For the rest of this week, 

Any amount donated through our Chip In account

I'll take a picture of Magda dropping the marbles into the jar

and share the pictures here. =)

$10 for a marble.

Make a little girl's day.

Help a little boy come home.

=)

A Mad House

It's been 3 weeks since we made the decision to jump into this process

 and it has been an utterly wild 3 weeks. 

We've been busy

 constantly 

working on fundraising

the yard sales

the crafting projects

working through paperwork

gathering documents

compiling references

stalking our email

on top of work

and Magda and Mordecai

laundry

dishes

sweeping

.

.

.

bathing. 

It's a mad house.

I want to work quicker. 

I want to have everything done already!

It's going to take time.

So we do what we can.

Leave the rest.

That "Perfect Timing" thing.

Yes.

Marble Jar: Second Weekend!

At the end of last weekend's fundraising efforts,

 we had 72 marbles in our jar.

This weekend's efforts were not quite as impressive. 

I'd forgotten that the fair parade was today.

But we still did very well.

And had a fair few people stop by.

=)

After our final count tonight,

we had 

117 

marbles in our marble jar.

Which is awesome, since we are gathering documents for our home study.

We are getting 3 copies of everyone's birth certificates.

The same number in about 4 other documents that must be Certified.

And our passports. 

We are hoping (!) to have ALL of our documentation gathered by the 22nd.

We are hoping (!) to be able to mail it all in after our fundraising activities planned for this upcoming week.

Thank you!

In Conversation

I just laid Mordecai and Magdalena down for bed.

We read a few books before bedtime. 

We sat on the floor and snuggled.  

We played a fun game of

 "Don't throw that. Please? Hold on to it. Oh. Now go get it. Hold on to it. Don't throw it again. Oh."

Then we went through the snacks, drinks, bathroom routine. Then I was able to lay them both down. Hugs and kisses. Wishes of sweet dreams. Close the door. Take a deep breath and celebrate another day accomplished.

Tonight, I stood at their doors listening.  

Both of them, in bed, in their rooms alone, were talking. 

Just talking. 

Having private conversations with themselves and God.

I giggled, thinking of how Mordecai's conversation about

 "Bite MawMaw Mean. Be Nice. Trouble."

 and so on was an interesting prayer for God's ears

 then it struck me that the way those two are talking,

 right now,

 out loud,

 about whatever is in their minds

could be the most beautiful prayer to God.

A daily walk. It doesn't have to be formal. 

I tend to talk with God about what I feel is important.

maybe to Him,

just maybe,

Everything is important.

"The trouble with knowing people, you see, is that everything's relevant. 

Nothing is a digression."

Every Moment truly is a Highlight.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around.

But Magdalena and Mordecai get it.

I pray, one day, I will be able to stand outside the boy's room after I've closed their door for the night and I will hear The Child's voice. I pray he will learn from our example, and Mordecai's nightly chats with God, and that he will speak with God with that same candor. 

Because Mordecai's story to God about how he didn't actually bite Grandma but knew not to bite Grandma because it is mean to bite and biting would land him in trouble and that he should be nice instead? 

That is important to God.

Magdalena's story about how her friend fell and how her friend's mommy came and kissed a scraped knee and how Magda loves her friends and her Mommy and Daddy and Brothers?

  That is important to God.

Our prayers that our family not only survive but continue to be stable and thriving during the stresses and unknowns of the adoption process?  Our prayers that God help us to remember to focus on the little daily things?  A frustrated prayer while a child is tantruming for no reason? 

That is important to God.

And The Child? He is important. 

To us and to God.

His needs are important.

His life is not irrelevant.

He is not a digression.

He is a Highlight.

I know that God is listening to him already.

The Child and God.

I can not wait to eavesdrop on those two in Conversation.

In Awe

I'm watching the lightening bugs dancing in the front yard. 

This is the most down time I've had in two weeks.

I've been diligently writing on my "Autobiography."

It's a portion of the home study process that I'm hoping to get out of the way first.

Because writing is easy for me. 

I had met the 5 page requirement long before I'd even gotten to the important parts of why we are pursuing an adoption.  I've edited down to where there is about a page and a half for me to tell about The Child and his weight on our hearts.

He is a very heavy child to have been only 21 lbs at the beginning of this year.

Monday, when I dropped our things off at the Kids Mart Consignment sale, I realized that we will need a car seat for The Child when he comes home.  Just the thought of having a car seat for him in our van made me feel a bit teary eyed. 

I imagine him playing with Magda and Mordecai already.  I wonder how he will interact with them.  I wonder how they will adjust to him.  I wonder if he will be absolutely terrified at the sudden changes in his life or if he will enjoy and embrace them. All children respond differently. The Child is unique. He is his very own very special person who We are hoping to bring into our family.

Our family.

A unit already built, happily functioning without many kinks.

When he comes home, there will be upheaval. 

There will be tears, and arguments, and fear, and jealousy, and a lack of sleep.

 Lack of sleep is a given when bringing home any child.

But we will build a relationship with The Child.

A relationship between each member of our family with The Child.

A unique relationship that will be special to him.

Just as he will build a unique relationship to each of us.

And we will learn him as he will learn us.

And we will ALL learn to function together.

And we will rejoice.

I know that we are not The Child's "Plan A" from God.

I don't know why his "Plan A" didn't work. I hate to make assumptions because I am a Mother and I understand how I would do ANYTHING to benefit my children and give them a better life.  

Maybe We are not even His "Plan B", or even "Plan C" or "D"

But I feel that we have reached a point that We are a part of God's plan for The Child.

I don't care how far down the list we are, I hope to provide The Child with EVERYTHING that he needs to succeed in life.

Just like I strive to provide Magda and Mordecai everything they need to succeed in life.

It may be because I am partial but I honestly feel that Loving Parents and a functioning family with a stable home life are the basic necessities for any child to thrive.

When our children are in time out, they may not feel that we are Loving Parents but... I think we are.

If you attended a family gathering you may not think our family is functional... and you may be right, but we DO manage to function. Quirks and all.

If you looked at our daily life, it may seem hectic and lacking structure, but we ARE stable.

I am in complete awe of God's hand in this.

We heard that our family was being discussed during the service of a Church that we do not attend.

This is Amazing.

God is moving.

He is moving people.

He is touching hearts.

He has made this a much bigger outreach than I ever imagined.

He has people sharing our story. People We may have never met.

If he has brought you to this blog to follow our journey, That is amazing.
If He places on you the urge to share our story with others, That is amazing.

If He leads you to prayer for us, That is amazing.

We desperately need the support that God is gathering for our family.
We need the prayers.

We need to hear those kind words.

Even now, so early on, We are feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

How are we going to pay for all this?

How are we going to work quickly enough to get it done in just 6 months?

God's got this, though.

We can worry if we'd like.

But God's got this.

It leaves me standing in awe of His work.

A moment in time.

We hadn't really decided about when to tell our daughter, Magda, about The Child.
We had talked about how very very very long 9 to 12 months is to a person who is only nearing 4. That's a good fourth of her life span. And our youngest son, Mordecai, is only nearing 2.  It's half his life.

In other words, It's a very long time to ask them to wait for a big event.

This morning, though, Charlie had opened the video we have of The Child and, on a whim, started it playing when our daughter was in the room. Upon hearing the talking and laughter, She ran to the computer to be able to see the video.

"Who's that boy?" She asked.
"That's *The Child." Charlie answered. "He lives very far away."
"Where's his Mommy?" I kid you not, She asked this, tugging on my heart strings.
"His Mommy couldn't take care of him so She let him live in this place. It's an orphanage. It's where children live when they don't have a Mommy or Daddy to take care of them." Charlie said.
"He doesn't have a Mommy? or Daddy?" She asked.
"No, he doesn't. That's very sad. You have a Mommy and Daddy who love you very much."

A moment passed. A quiet moment where I wasn't sure what she was processing from the conversation.

"That's my brother." She said with finality.
"That's my brother, *The Child."

I had to turn away. Take a deep breath.  Wipe a few tears from my cheeks.

Charlie said, "Yes, baby. We hope he will be."


She asked to watch the video a handful more times then she was off to play.

So I suppose that's how we're going to handle the introduction of the idea.
Slowly.
Gently.
Over time.

-"Who's that boy?"
"*The Child"
-"That's my brother."
"We're working on that, baby."

I love her open, loving heart.
I love that Charlie wasn't afraid.  I love how he navigated the conversation with her.
I love having him to hold my hand and soothe my frayed nerves through this.
I love having Magda to run through the house chasing, tickling her until she snorts.
I love having Mordecai to blow raspberries on my arms and tell me elaborate stories with the 20 words in his vocabulary.

The little moments.
It's easy to lose them when we are busy. Working. Gathering paperwork or preparing for the sales.
It's easy to overlook what's important.

The little moments are important. The ones that aren't planned.
Spur of the moment.
On a whim.
Beautiful moments.

"That's my brother."

---------
*We have started calling him by his proper name around here but I'm not able to share his name online, still.

When You Ask

God Provides:

Even though we had been threatened with rain for Saturday, 

God provided a nice, cool, somewhat damp but not rainy day.

Even though I was certain our efforts at advertising the sale weren't good enough,

God provided by making those efforts enough.

Even though we were sure that no one would want to turn up our drive 

and mosey up that scary looking dirt road,

God provided.

Over the course of 2 days,

God sent SO many people 

who were excited about our efforts

and willing to browse the sale

and buy the stuff

and make donations

and look at a picture of The Child

and listen to me tell our story.

We were hoping to raise at least half of our initial application fee.

God laughed at this feeble goal.

He provided.

There are now 72 marbles in our Marbles Jar.

That's enough to cover the ENTIRE application fee.

I could cry.

Giving this to God.

Totally

 Absolutely

 Entirely.

He will provide.

This week, 

We will be working as quickly as we can to gather the documents and fill out the paperwork to begin the Home Study. 

How long the home study takes depends solely on how fast we work.

And how soon we can far the accompanying fees.

So this week we will also be working on our items for the Kids Mart.

And accepting donations of Items still for the Sale again this upcoming weekend.

You'd be surprised what has sold. 

So if you're thinking of donating

and you think

"Who would buy that?"

That's probably the item you should donate.

lol

We are overwhelmed with the support that people are so willing to give.

I'm on the verge of happy, grateful tears almost always.

Thank you.

And those who are praying for us:

Please keep praying.

And add a prayer of Thankfulness

Because God provides.

The Marble Jar

Last night, I had the idea to try and keep up with the money we've raised for the adoption with a visual aid.  

I have plenty of big glass jars laying around so I grabbed one of those. 

Then I saw the box of marbles sitting on the shelf and I grabbed those too.

The birth of the Marble Jar.

For every $10 that we raise, I add one marble.

Yesterday, I added 4 marbles for the $40 in the Chip In account. =)

Today, during the yard sale, I was able to add 19 more marbles.

What a blessing=)

When it's all said and done with,

When all the fee's and expenses are paid, 

We will need over 2,000 marbles in this jar.

A friend has offered to "Sponsor" a marble by mailing in a donation.

Every donation made into the chip in account,

every donation made by shopping our sales,

every donation made as a gift,

every single donation will add marbles to this jar.

This jar will only hold marbles,

but we know those marbles represent 

Love,

 Kindness,

 Friendship, 

and Caring Support 

needed to bring The Child home.

What a wonderful reminder of our support system this Jar will be.

Thank you, to everyone who has donated already.

Time, 

 Items to sell, 

Money,

And Support.

We are 19 marbles closer to Bringing The Child home.

=)

Fundraising Crafts!

I've had a friend ask for photo's of the crafts that we are making for fundraising.

So, here we go =)

These are the beautiful crochet necklaces that we are working diligently to make up. 

We only have 3 "colors" right now.

Green:

Purple:

Gold:

These are the cloth bracelets that I am making.  

The lady who made the tutorial and pattern kindly offered to let us make and sell these until Christmas. =) 

Each one is different.

 Either by the colors used, or the button added, or the material colors. 

Right now we only have reds, whites and greens 

but soon there will be purples and blacks and other colors available, too.

These are some bracelets that my Mom is crocheting. 

Each one will be unique.

She is using a different style stitch on each one.

A different button added.

And a random yarn. 

These two just happen to both be red. =)

We also have some super cute scarves  that I couldn't get a good picture of.  

We have the scarves in Blue, Purple, White, Black, Pink and Yellow.

I'll try tomorrow to get a better picture of them in the light.

We're asking for a $15.00 donation for each item.

If you're interested:

 leave a comment here or send me a message on Facebook.  =)

Thanks!

The Yard Sale!

Technically, It will be a "Garage Sale" now as we have moved it inside due to the overwhelming threats of rain on Saturday.

This Sale Will Be Happening RAIN OR SHINE!

Yes.

So I thought I might give ya'll a sneak peek into what's going to be available at this sale.

We've had SO much donated! It is such a blessing to have such a variety of NICE, stylish clothing is a wide variety of styles and sizes!

We've had SEVEN families donate now.

It's quite a good thing that We started sorting and setting things up very early in the week or I might have spent the entire sale day Saturday still trying to sort and set up!

Before we closed up the shop tonight, i snapped some quick pictures of what's available. They're not flattering pictures. Everything really is just crammed into the shop until we can spread the items out (hopefully, outside- if it doesn't rain.)

First, the shelving unit:

This will be loaded with pretty items for sale by Saturday but the unit itself will also be available to buy. =)

This is the "Main Table" of pretty trinkets. It has:

 picture frames

Two older film camera's complete with instruction manuals, cases, and cleaning kits

Glass jars

Candle holders

Lamps 

Beautiful coffee mugs

a Nexus Ipod type thing

a compact, portable, Ipod  speaker system

A Proper Stainless Steel Teapot (!)

CD's 

Decorative Hats that are darling

Baskets

Jewelry 

A children's Mask for Optimus Prime. It's the Voice Changing mask. It is NEW and still in the BOX! The display batteries have run down but it does still work! (I heard it. I wanted to keep it! lol)

Many Many Many cute things.

Under the table there are boxes sorted by:

Sheets

Toys

Stuffed animals

School stuff

Shoes

Cooking/ Kitchen items

Big Decorative Throw Pillows (!)

Bathroom/ Hair items

Sewing and crafting!

Lots of sorted items in the boxes!

This is the books table.

Books in a wide variety.

A cute Elephant Book holder. This piece is darling.

Decorative Tins in all shapes and sizes.

Also there's a pink toy motorcycle (that works!)

A small child's desk

A baby bath

and a Beautiful WHITE bassinet!

Not pictured is a motorized wheelchair (kind of like a Jazzy.)

This photo shows the Tires that were donated 

and the large stack of blankets and comforters that we have available. =)

There is another stack behind it of beautiful comforters and blankets.

The Wet/Dry vac is available. 

And a Bicycle. An Adult size bicycle. =)

(not pictured)

Oh, And that huge hanging rod full of clothes.

Yep. NICE clothes. 

Dresses

 Pretty tops

 Nice men's shirts

 Coats

 The Mattress is available!

Highchair

Booster Chair (not pictured but available)

Boxes and boxes of Disney VHS movies

Vacuum 

Pillows! We have a bag full of bedding pillows!

There's also boxes and boxes of t-shirts sorted by size.

Boxes of pants, shorts, and other clothing items.

This shelving unit has:

A surround sound system

Paintball start up kit (gun, mask, other things I don't understand)

LOTS of board games

A few things for computers. 

(I don't know what they are but they're new in the box.)

One is a DVD burner, I think.

A camping cook set. 

Electronic  Battleship. That looks fun. =)

And a set of The Bible on VHS tape.

(EDIT: Not VHS, Cassette tape. Wow. Sorry. On Cassette tape.)

Optimus Prime. =)

Oh, and a wood burning hobby kit. =)

That's just a few of the things that i can remember to mention.

There is A LOT of stuff down there. 

If you see anything that looks interesting, or sounds interesting, or you'd just like to visit with us

Come on by! =)

6 am to 6pm

Saturday the 8th.

We'll also have rice crispy treats, 

brownies, 

muffins 

and my sister's awesome fudge available for snacking. =)

Cold bottled water and soda's too!

I'm excited!

We hope to see you there!

(Remember to ask to see The Child's picture. I LOVE to show it!)

=)

A Name! A Name!

The Child! He has a Name!
Of course, he has always had a name. Only, We didn't know it. We had been referring to him as "the little boy", "The Child", and on occasion I would call him by the name that the agency has him listed under, just to have something more personal sounding to say.

Over the holiday weekend, We were told his name. His proper name.
I can't share it.
We probably aren't supposed to know it at this point but because we are filling out the paperwork all out of order, We needed to have his name to list on one of the forms.

And he has a beautiful name.

As soon as I saw his name, My first question was "I wonder if that's the name his mother gave to him? Or the name the orphanage gave him?"  We might never know the answer to that question.  But it is a beautiful name for a handsome boy, either way.

We also received his last name.  I asked again, "I wonder if that is his Father's last name? or his Mother's? Or an orphanage assigned name?"
Another question that may never be answered.

I mourn for the history that we may never be able to provide for The Child.  Charlie hopes that we will be able to collect as much family history for him as possible. He is looking for facts to be able to pass down to The Child eventually. I am looking for stories of his past.  I would love to be able to tell him the story of his birth, as it was told by someone who attended or even his mother. What a treasure of information.

We may never have that for him.

Today, we finally got the Hold Paperwork notarized and will scan and email it this afternoon.
I'm not sure how fast things will move after this point, but one can only assume that it will probably begin moving very very quickly. Especially since we only have 6 months to complete the home study and submit the dossier, now.

Which means we are going to need to start paying the fee's needed for all the paper shuffling that is necessary in international adoptions.

The yard sale for this Saturday is our first fundraising event of many this month.  There is a TON of stuff  in a huge variety.  We've had 5 families donate thus far.  So clothing is in all manner of styles and sizes.  Household items, bathroom items, trinkets, jewelry,  blankets, throws, comforters, a bike, car tires,  workout equipment, tools, toys, baby items, LOTS of baby boy clothes, curtains, decorative hats, dolls, some Christmas decorations. A paintball set.  Surround sound system. It's really a huge eclectic selection.

We've decided to have it in the shop on the family property instead of down by the roadside.  If we have it at the shop, we won't have the sale ruined if it decides to rain. So, Rain or Shine, this sale is going on!

If you can't make the sale, or any of our events here locally, That's fine. Really, There's no need to drive cross country. =) Charlie and I, both, have family and friends flung far across the states who we thought may want to make donations but not be able to attend our fundraising events.  That's why I set up the Chip In account.  It's a secure account that goes straight into our personal Paypal account which will be used strictly for adoption related fees and expenses.  It's in the upper corner of this page, right above the ticker keeping track of how long we've been working toward bringing  The Child home.

A friend has already made a donation with it, taking us $15 closer to paying our initial fees.
She apologized for the donation. I could have cried. She said "I know it's not much."
Every amount counts. When we are looking at $20,000 in fee's and expenses, $15 doesn't look like much, but it is.
$15 is a gift.
$15 is a sign of support.
$15 is a prayer of Thanks sent up to God by our family.

Charlie and I discussed, If every person that we know donated just $15, we would raise the funds needed for this adoption easily.

If You're interested in making a donation, don't feel held back because you can't give a big amount.  Every single dollar will help us move forward.

So, Come out to our yard sale. =) Come visit with us. Let me gush about how handsome The Child is. Let me tell you his proper name, in person, because I Can't share it here, yet.

Because, The Child? He has a beautiful name.