Last Call for Puzzle Pieces!!!

Well, I was hoping this post would come a lot sooner! But I think we have a good excuse! Our family has had a VERY eventful week!!! To add to all the excitement, my sister got ENGAGED a few days ago, my brother is getting MARRIED on Friday, and, oh yeah, we are still reeling from the news that we got matched with a birth mother! :) With all of the hulabaloo, finishing up this fundraiser got put on the back burner. But finish it we must, because obviously there is now a deadline for us to raise our funds! 

Tonight we began writing names on all the pieces that have been sponsored (159 in total!!!). I wasn't sure how to go about it, so a little trial and error was to be expected! At first we would take groups of pieces out, write the names, and then put them back in. After awhile though, I realized there was a much easier way, and it would make the back look a whole lot neater! Oh well, live and learn! Jake and Eisley were big helpers! Jake took pictures and helped read the names off, and Eisley helped write the names and put the puzzle back together!

After we had the realization that it would be so much easier to mod podge the puzzle and then just flip it over to write names, it went much easier. :)

Had to write Melody's family on first since they were the first to buy pieces!!! ;)

After figuring out I should flip it...;)

Making progress! Still lots of room for names!

So, just a recap: We have "sold" 159 pieces so far!!! Yay!!! We are so incredibly blessed that people have been so willing to participate in yet another fundraiser for this adoption, and we THANK YOU!!! We still have $1545 to raise, which breaks down to 309 puzzle pieces! That's still a lot of puzzle pieces!!! Will you help us reach our goal before the baby arrives? If you so desire, would you consider sharing our blog and specifically this fundraiser on your facebook, through word of mouth, or even your blog? If you have been meaning to sponsor any puzzle pieces, now is the time! We only have a few short weeks before our total is due to the adoption agency, which is a challenge we are praising God for!

Thank you so much for your support and love! If you would like to sponsor any pieces, please let me know as soon as possible through email, Facebook, text, or in person! We cannot express our gratitude in words, truly. We love you! Keep the little one we are hoping to adopt in your prayers, we would appreciate that most of all!

Love, 

Josh, Karen, Jake, and Eisley

An Update and an End Date!

Yay! We finally finished putting the puzzle together!!! 

And here is the finished product!!!

 It is so cute! 

So now what? Well, now we start putting names on it! We are so excited that as of today we have sold 125 pieces to our puzzle! That is awesome! We have also continued to receive extra donations and have been blessed to be able to continue adding to this fund ourselves, helping us get so close to our goal!

We decided that we needed to put an "end date" on this fundraiser, as the baby could come any time now, and we'd love to have it framed and finished when we bring that baby home! (That, and when the baby does arrive, I know I will be way too busy with three kids to ever get this project done!) So, because Lily's birthday is coming up in just a couple of weeks, June 19th to be exact, we thought that would be a great time to wrap up this fundraiser! What a difference a year makes.

We are praying that this fundraiser will complete our goal and this adoption will be fully funded by the end of it! If you have been meaning to sponsor any puzzle pieces, now is the time to do it! We will begin writing names on pieces tomorrow! 

The last day to purchase pieces will be June 19th, after that we are going to frame it and hang it up in our home, ready to greet our new little one! 

Thank you so incredibly much for your support, both financially and emotionally, of this adoption. We have come such a long way since we started this road, and we can't wait to see what's next.

Don't forget, we are compiling notes and letters to our child and would love one from you! I have received such sweet words of love to this baby so far and I know they will mean the world to this child someday!

There are still PLENTY of pieces left, so if you would like your name or family's name on one, let us know before June 19th! Keep our family in your prayers as we continue to await a phone call. We will keep you posted!

Puzzle Progress!

I wanted to post a quick update on our Puzzle Fundraiser! I was so excited when the puzzle came in the mail this week! It is 513 pieces, and when it is done, it will look like this...

Our family finally had some time together this afternoon to get cracking on this bad boy, and we really made some progress!!!

That's a lot of pieces!!!

Jake and Eisley are GREAT at puzzles!

Josh did the edges!

This might be a new family hobby!

We definitely made some progress!

I'm so excited to see it all completed, but even more excited to see the back of it with all the names of people who sponsored a piece and helped bring our little one home! We have "sold" 49 pieces to our puzzle so far! Yay! 

If you are interested in sponsoring any puzzle pieces, remember they are only $5 a piece! If you are interested in being a piece to our puzzle, you can contact me through the blog, email, or facebook!

We are so thankful for your support and encouragement, and will keep you posted on our Puzzle Progress!!!

Will you be a piece to our puzzle?

Okay everyone! I am so excited to announce our VERY LAST fundraiser for this adoption!!! We still have a couple thousand dollars to raise, and we are hopeful that this last fundraiser will accomplish that! I think the reason I am most excited for this fundraiser is because EVERYONE, near and far, can be a part of it! The other reason I love it is because it will create a wonderful keepsake for our future child!

Our family is so thankful that my cousin Lisa once again blessed us with her time and talents to do a little photo shoot for us this past weekend. (You can visit Lisa's photography webpage at moodphotographyaz.com). We wanted a few pictures to represent our adoption process, and she helped us get creative so we could do that! It is not easy taking photographs that represent a little person you do not know anything about!!! But we were so happy with the results, and as you can see from the new picture on top of the blog we got the perfect picture to represent our Adoption Faith Walk!

So what will we be doing with this awesome picture? We will be turning it into a giant jigsaw puzzle!!! With this photograph, we were able to custom order a large 513 piece jigsaw puzzle with the photo you see above (I realize that is a random number, but it's what they had! And after the cost of the puzzle and the amount paypal eats up with donations, if we sell each piece, it comes out to almost exactly what we need to fund the rest of this adoption!)!

What we are doing is asking people to "sponsor" one or more puzzle pieces for $5 a piece. When you sponsor a puzzle piece, we will write your name or family name on the back of it. When the puzzle is completed (and we are praying we can get every single piece sponsored!) we will frame it in a double sided glass frame and display it in our home! On the front will be the picture, and on the back will be 513 names of the people who helped bring our baby home! Someday it will be a wonderful gift for our little one to display in his or her own room to remind them how many people cared enough to help bring them home!

What I would like to do along with this fundraiser is ask that each person who sponsors a puzzle piece to write a short (or long!) note to our child. You can either email or message me your note, or mail it to me if you want to hand write it. I will be saving all of these notes and putting them in a special keepsake box to give to our baby when they are older. I think it will be a wonderful treasure for them to have, to be able to read notes from all the people who prayed and cared and donated and loved our family so much during this adoption process.

We are so excited about this fundraiser, and I will be posting updates and pictures of our Puzzle in progress as pieces get sponsored! We are asking for you to share this fundraiser with as many people as you possibly can, and pray that God blesses us with the rest of the finances to bring this little one HOME!!!

If you would like to be a piece of our puzzle and sponsor one or more pieces, you can donate through the paypal button or email me for my home address. We would be so honored to write your name or family's names on the back of a puzzle piece! Here's an example:

"Hello there! I would like to sponsor four pieces for each member of my family! Our names are Josh, Karen, Jake, and Eisley. I will send $20 through paypal!"

Or...

"Hello! I would like to sponsor one puzzle piece in honor of Lily! Please write her name on the back! I will mail you my $5!"

You can then pay through paypal or mail the money to our home address. Don't forget to send me (by mail or email or comment on the blog) your special message to our child! This is the most important part!!!

And don't forget to share this fundraiser with your friends and family! 513 pieces is a LOT of pieces, but we are praying that each one will have a name on it!

Thank you so, so incredibly much for following us along this Faith Walk. We could not have even taken two steps without the support and encouragement of our friends and family. We appreciate so much your patience and generosity as we raise these funds, and hope you know what a HUGE part you have played in this adoption.

A special thank you to my amazing cousin Lisa, who has given so much of her time and energy to bless us in this adoption process. Words cannot express how grateful we are to you!!!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to wait and fundraise! We are so thankful for your support and encouragement! We love you all!!!

Love,

Josh, Karen, Jake, and Eisley

Adoption Fundraising Ideas

"It takes a village to raise a child, but it will take a village to bring this one home."

I don't remember where I came across that quote, somewhere out in the adoption blogosphere I'm sure...but it stuck with me because that is exactly how I feel sometimes. Without the help and support of our family, friends, and total strangers, this adoption would be impossible. We took a huge leap of faith when we started down this road, and trusted that the Lord would provide the funds we needed. We felt strongly He was leading us down the path to adoption, but how would we afford it? Could we afford to raise another child? Sure. But did we have what could be upwards of $20,000 up front to fund this process? Ummm...no. Josh is a teacher and I work part-time, and we are comfortable. But we don't have tens of thousands of dollars in savings just waiting to be spent. I have been faulted for that a time or two, but such is life.

I think finances is the most popular reason for a hopeful adoptive couple to nix their adoption dream before it has a chance to sprout. I read a statistic somewhere saying that 70% to 80% of Americans will consider adoption, but only 3-4% will actually adopt. My guess is that many get two steps into the process and when the cost estimate comes in they pick their jaw up off the ground and turn right back around. Or, more likely, they never begin the process at all because everyone knows "adoption is crazy expensive".

But adoptive families who do choose to continue fall into one of two categories (maybe there's a third but I couldn't think of it...). Either the hopeful adoptive family is on the higher end of the tax bracket and simply draws from their own savings to cover the cost (Yay them!), or they find themselves up at 2 a.m. four nights a week googling "Adoption Fundraising Ideas" and "Adoption Grants" and slapping price tags on everything in their house that isn't nailed down to sell on Craigslist.  Needless to say, we fall into the latter category.

I have met a few couples who have been so blessed not to have to rely on fundraising for their adoption. And I am so glad for them, because the last thing you want to have to stay up at night worrying about is money when you are already up at night thinking about home studies, paperwork, babies, birth moms and orphanages. But the overwhelming majority of the adoption community I've come in contact with has worked overtime, drained their savings, and held at least one yard sale, car wash, or puzzle piece fundraiser to aid in their adoption expenses. But...believe it or not...there are naysayers out there (Gasp! Naysayers?!? Noooo!!!).

Whilst I have traveled the internet in search of fundraising ideas for our adoption, I have read some very, very negative things about adoption fundraising.

"If you can't afford to adopt, you can't afford a baby."
"Fundraising for your adoption sends the wrong message, like your adoption is a charity case, and your child is a charity case."

"I don't fundraise when I want to buy a house or a car, why should you fundraise for your adoption?"

"Fundraising for adoptions is essentially telling the world you're buying your child."

And after having this blog post up for less than 12 hours, this gem appeared as a comment. "Have you considered the lack of money as a sign from the Lord that this is not supposed to be your kid? You obviously do not love this kid as you claim to, as evidenced by your lack of planning/effort/savings!"
Ouch. These are actual quotes I have read out there when researching adoption fundraiser ideas as well as from right here on my little ol' blog. Obviously, I disagree whole heartedly. But I want to address a few of those "opinions" while I have the chance, and then I will list some of the ideas we came up with (and copied) to raise funds for our own adoption. Searching the internet for ideas is overwhelming, and the most helpful things I ever found were just lists of ideas on adoption blogs from adoptive mommies such as myself.

First of all, I will address the most common anti-fundraising argument I have seen everywhere and heard myself a time or two."If you can't afford an adoption, you can't afford a baby." Weeeeelllll...not really. I would compare this argument to someone saying, "If you can't pay for your car in cash, you can't afford the upkeep of a vehicle. Take the bus." Not that I want to compare my future beautiful child to a car, but I think you get the idea. Can I afford gas? Car insurance? The inevitable tire blow out or dead engine? Yes. But paying for my brand new car in cash is a different story. And before you go all Dave Ramsey on me, adoption agencies don't have the "Buy used for less" option.

Most people, when deciding to grow their family, aren't asked to put a $20,000 to $45,000 "down payment" on their pregnancy. Health insurance covers the cost of the pregnancy and delivery, hopefully one has enough extra funds to cover mummy's maternity clothes and late night ice cream cravings, and aside from the possible missed day of work due to morning sickness, there really is no other cost to a pregnancy. Yet adoptive families are asked to shell out anywhere from ten to fifty grand to fund their adoption, and that's all before bringing baby home!!! And to address one comment on my blog that said "Most people save up at least $20,000 before trying to get pregnant" I would like to say....Bull****. Not that it isn't a wonderful idea in theory. I just don't think "most people" do that. Not in my world anyway, where $20,000 is sometimes more than half of the family's yearly income.

All that to say that just because you can't afford to pay for your adoption in cash up front does not mean that you can't afford to raise and love a child. And it certainly doesn't mean that "God doesn't want you to adopt" because you don't have tens of thousands of dollars of disposable income. You might disagree with me (and many people do, as evidenced by the occasional pepperinig of negative emails and comments I get), but I do not think that adoption is only the responsibility of the rich and well-to-do. Sorry Middle Class, but we don't get off as easy as that! God didn't put the disclaimer in His Word that it is our responsibility to care for orphans "Except ya'll that don't make six figures." And while we're on that subject, let's address the "I don't fundraise when I buy a house or car, why should you fundraise to adopt?" argument.

I think it goes without saying that children are not finance-able. There are no banks offering "30 year-fixed" payment plans for children. Are there adoption loans out there? Yes. But they are actually very hard to get and almost never able to cover the entire cost of the adoption. But even if every couple could get approved for a loan covering the full cost of the adoption, is that what we're doing now? Asking those that open their homes and hearts to children without families to please also take out a loan for it? I can just see it now. "Well Johnny, we can't afford college because we're still paying you off my sweets."

Adoptive couples are not purchasing the next latest and greatest American Gotta Have It. They are trying to bring a child who needs a family home. This is not a luxury that should be financed. It is a Biblical command that should be supported by the church. If a couple is willing to adopt, is willing to open their homes to the orphaned, the homeless, the fatherless, are we really going to tell them to "go get a loan"? Maybe it's just me, but I find that idea appalling.

James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." 

Moving right along, I will address the "Fundraising sends your child the wrong message, that they were a charity case." I don't know what every adoptive family plans to tell their children about how they got there, but I plan to tell mine this:

"My love, you were so wanted, so prayed for, so desired, that our entire support system gathered around us to help bring you home. We so desperately wanted you that we worked overtime, held yard sales, raffled prizes, and collected pennies to cover the cost of bringing you home. Everyone helped, everyone donated their time, their money, and their prayers to bring you to us. Jake and Eisley's arrival was covered by insurance, but yours was covered by our family and friends!" ;)

Or something to that effect. My kid won't be stupid. He'll know that adoption is expensive, not that he was an item to be bought. He will ask how we could possibly afford it given the fact that he has to share a room and a car with his brother, and I will tell him. "We couldn't, but God made it happen because that's just how He rolls. And if you want your own car, get a job my love."

But I digress. As for the last argument, "Fundraising tells the world you're buying your child." Well I think that one is just plain ignorant and doesn't really deserve a response. But for the sake of this blog, I will respond. Of course we are not buying this child. The money that is raised for this adoption does not go into the hands of the birth parents. It goes towards court and legal fees, it goes towards the cost of running our adoption agency, it goes towards adoption classes and home study meetings, it goes towards counseling for the birth parents, in some cases it goes towards running the orphanage, traveling expenses, document retrieval, finger printing, and the list goes on and on. Adoption is complicated, time consuming, and expensive. But not because cash is exchanging hands between adoptive couples and birth families. I think this one deserves a "Duh."

Okay. Now that we've got all that out of the way, onto the fun part! I wanted to create a long list of adoption fundraiser ideas that will hopefully grow over time. I will list them in order of "I actually did this and it was or was not successful" and then I will list others that I have heard of or read about on other blogs. Please feel free to comment if you have experience with a fundraiser that is not listed! I would love this to be a great long list for adoptive families to draw from.

- PRAY!!! 
Yup, I'm actually listing this as a fundraiser! I cannot tell you the value of praying over your adoption. God will provide for this if He brought you to it! Consistently praying for provision and creative ideas and opportunities to earn money is effective, in my experience! Ask others to pray with you as well. It certainly can't hurt, right?

-Start a Blog
People LOVE following an exciting journey like adoption. This is the best and most effective way of getting your story and needs out there! People can't support your adoption if they don't know about it. Blogging about your adoption journey from start to finish (does it ever really finish? I have yet to see that!) is a great way to involve others, and document your journey for your loved little ones! I can't wait to show my child the blog when he or she grows up. I fully intend to print it out into a book and let them see how they came to be, and all it took to bring them home. As for fundraising, putting a Paypal "Donate" button right on the blog is a great way to bring in funds. People want to help, they really do! Giving them a way to do that is sometimes all it takes. We got our very first donations for the adoption by simply starting a blog and adding a Donate Tab. Easy as pie, and doesn't cost you a thing.

-Odd Jobs, Extra Hours
This one is kind of a given. Adoptive families always put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their adoption fund. Is it possible for you to pick up extra hours at work? What about odd jobs like cleaning houses or babysitting? I am really blessed to be able to get a few extra hours at work here and there as needed, though this year much of that has gone towards unexpected costs like medical bills and car repair (isn't that always the way it goes?). Josh picked up a coaching job that helped add to the fund, and we even did a few cleaning jobs to help out! Ask around, put the word out you're looking to earn some money, and I guarantee things will pop up.

-Apply for Grants
This one is tricky. There are a lot of great organizations out there that offer financial assistance to adoptive families. The catch is you can't apply until you're homestudy is completed, but there are a lot of adoption fees that are due far before your homestudy is complete. Some organizations require you to be matched with a child before you can apply, some require you to have made "reasonable efforts" to fundraise on your own before applying, some ask that your adoption be well underway but not yet finalized. It depends on the organization and the kind of adoption you are pursuing. You're usually neck deep in the adoption process before you're even eligible to apply for many funds, but, if you can make it that far, it is wonderful to be able to receive assistance from these organizations. Please let me know if you know of an organization not listed below that provides grants to adoptive families so I can add it to the list!

Show Hope: http://www.showhope.org/AdoptionAid/AdoptionGrants.aspx
Gift of Adoption: http://www.giftofadoption.org/
Lifesong for Orphans: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/adGrantLoans.html
Adoption Grant Information: http://www.adoptiongrants.com/

-Penny or Change Drives
This was our very first adoption fundraiser and we raised over $1000 this way! We posted on our blog and spread the word that we were hosting a Change Drive to help fund our adoption! It is always nerve racking to jump in and start your very first fundraiser, but you gotta start somewhere. We passed out baby bottles with a verse and our blog address to anyone that would take one! We posted on Facebook and had an end date. Friends were generous enough to donate a gift certificate as incentive to whoever collected the most change, and it was a great success!

Our bank was nice enough to let us turn in the change in large Coin Bags so we didn't have to roll it all up or waste 19% at a Coinstar Machine, and as it came in we counted it and added it to the bags. Every few days I'd take a trip to the bank and deposit it! This is a little to no cost way to raise funds, and it was lots of fun too! You can see how our Penny Drive went here.

-Photo Shoot Fundraiser
This was by far my favorite fundraiser and it was a great success!!! Do you know a photographer? Most of us can't swing a dead chicken without hitting a talented friend or family member with a photography business. I happened to have a wonderful cousin who is also an adoptive mommy offer her services and come up with this amazing fundraiser idea!!!

The way it worked was my cousin, Lisa, who also owns her own photography business, offered to do a day of "Mini Sessions" back to back, all day. One mini session included 20 minutes of photos, with all edited images on CD with the Copyright release. We had time slots from 9 a.m. all the way to 5 p.m. and picked a location with lots of different photo opps! Luckily we have a local historic park that is a great place to take a wide variety of photos. Lisa also created a flier to advertise the fundraiser which we passed out, posted to the blog, and sent rampantly over facebook!

Each mini-session cost $65 and Lisa was kind enough to donate all the proceeds to our adoption fund! She put a lot of work into this day as well as editing all those photos, so you will have to find a photographer willing to do that, but if you can, it is a wonderful and fun way to raise funds.

We easily booked the entire day with back to back sessions and raise almost $1000 that day! It was just so much fun and people were eager to jump on board and get their Christmas photos done while also helping a great cause!

-Yard Sale
Oh yes, the dreaded yard sale!!! I am not a fan at ALL of hosting yard sales, but their effectiveness can't be denied! Yard sales are a great way to earn cold hard cash for your adoption fund, costing you nothing but oodles of time and energy. I have seen some awesomely successful adoption benefit yard sales, and you can really get serious with this one if you have the ability to do so! We let people know we'd be accepting donations for our upcoming yard sale and the stuff started rolling in! We filled our entire garage to the BRIM with stuff by the time the yard sale date came around. People gladly donated to us rather than their local thrift store, and we had everything from couches to clothes to snowboards for sale.

I made a lot of really big, really bright signs to hang around the neighborhood, advertised on craigslist, spread the word on facebook, and created a facebook event to get the word out there. We had friends and family help sort, organize, price and run the sale and it went great! We got rid of almost everything in one day, and raised over $1700! You can read about it here.

Something else we did at the sale was exploit our adorable children to host a lemonade and cookie stand. We made them a really cute sign ("Help Us Bring Home Our Baby Brother or Sister!"), grandma made dozens of cookies, we made some lemonade, and we put them to work! Their cute faces together with sweet treats was an unstoppable combination. Those little ones raised hundreds of dollars on their own that day! Made mama so proud. ;)

I've seen adoption benefit yard sales go a step further and host two weekends in a row. We ran out of stuff mostly, but time and space were an issue as well. My not-so-expert yard sale tips are as follows:

-Advertise! Get the word out that you are taking donations, and drill the date into everyone's heads via facebook, blog, text, whatever! And definitely list your sale on craigslist the week before and every day leading up to it. People check those before going out yard saling and will want to come see yours!
-Make sure you advertise it as an "Adoption Benefit" yard sale. Some people will stop by and donate cash just because they believe in the cause!
-Organize! People like to browse your yard sale like they would a store. Group like objects together, and make it look "neat".
-Price simple, price low. People come to yard sales to get a bargain. Let them. Round prices off to the nearest 25 cents, you don't want to mess with change all day, trust me.
-Don't expect people not to haggle just because it's "for a good cause". People will try to talk you down all day, so just anticipate it so as not to get your feelings hurt. ;)
-BRIGHT SIGNS bring people in!!! Put them everywhere and make them EYE CATCHING. And don't forget to be a good citizen and take them down afterwards.
-Host a bake sale or lemonade stand in conjunction with your yard sale! Nothing makes people hungrier than shopping! You could bake, make lemonade, whatever! Depending on the weather even coffee and hot chocolate would be great ideas!
-Sell the bigger items on Craigslist, if you have the time and patience. Typically you can get more for that donated treadmill on craigslist than you can at a yard sale, but it really depends on the time you are able to put in.

-Host an Online Raffle
This was also a really fun one that we did that raised a LOT of money! You can do this a number of ways, but we decided to create themed baskets that we would raffle off on a set date. Before the raffle we had been asking for donations and got lots of responses! People donated their business (photography session, personal training, handyman) as well as things like handmade items and time at their cabin! We also had a large cash donation that we used to buy little items and gift cards to make the baskets extra special!

The way it worked was people could purchase entries for $5 a piece, and enter their tickets into whichever baskets they wanted to! You can see exactly how this worked by clicking here, but basically people would purchase tickets and tell me where they wanted their entries to go. Example: "I want ten tickets! Put five in the Date Night Basket and five in the Cabin Getaway!" I had a very nice little spreadsheet where I kept track of entries and later put each person's name on their tickets and placed them into separate baskets to draw from. Some people had one entry, some bought multiple entries and spread them out!

We then picked one ticket from each basket and the winners were chosen! It was a lot of fun and people really got into it! It was also by far our most successful fundraiser, bringing in over $2,000. I highly recommend this one!

-Restaurant Fundraiser
This one we did in conjunction with our Raffle, as we had been told it wasn't worth it to do by itself. Basically this fundraiser is when you find a local restaurant that will give you a date and time, and whoever comes in on that day and either mentions your adoption or gives their server a flier will automatically donate a portion of their proceeds to your fundraiser.

I know of quite a few restaurants that do this, but we picked our favorite because it was oh so yummy and they donated the largest percentage of money (20% of the bill). They were also kind enough to give us the entire day, open to close, as well as print out 500 color fliers to pass out. You can click here to see how ours went!

If you do this, go into it knowing it will take a LOT of people eating a LOT of food to earn a significant amount of money. We had over 150 people show up to eat that day and we brought home about $350. Many places offer a much smaller percentage for fundraisers so be mindful of this when choosing a restaurant!

The best thing we did for this fundraiser was to spread the word. I emailed that flier to everyone I knew, posted it on facebook, and asked ALL my friends to do the same. Facebook is a wonderful tool when raising money for adoptions, use it!

-Just Love Coffee
This is a company that offers $5 for each bag of coffee purchased from your online "storefront". It is free to set up and you don't have to do anything but wait for the checks to roll in. Unfortunately we haven't had great success with this fundraiser, but maybe that's because my circle aren't big coffee lovers??? Who knows. It is still an amazing company doing wonderful things for adoptive families. Click here to set up your store front!

Okay, those are all the things our family has done so far. We are now venturing into "uncharted waters" so to speak, but I wanted to list a few other ideas that I have seen other adoptive families do with success. Maybe you can too!

-Sell T-Shirts
Many places offer to make custom T-Shirts for you. I have seen some really cute ones to raise money for adoptions! You can put any number of things on your shirts, from the country you're adopting from to a Bible Verse to a uniquely yours icon or image. Get creative and start taking orders! Here is a company that I know of that does them, but there are lots out there!

-Sell Handmade Items
Set up an Etsy account and get to work! If you're crafty, start crafting and selling and use that money for your adoption fund!

-Fundraising Event
This can take a number of forms, and I have seen LOTS of great ideas out there! Sell tickets to your event and advertise away! You need a place, a date, and a theme, and lots of energy and help! Some ideas are a Poker Night, Spaghetti Dinner, Valentines Dinner, Concert, BBQ, the list goes on! This would be a great opportunity to host a Raffle as well!

-Puzzle Piece Fundraiser
This is a really cute one! Buy a puzzle that would go nicely in your future child's nursery. You then "sell" the puzzle pieces for a set amount like $5 a piece. When someone buys a piece, you add their name to the back of it and put it with the puzzle. When all the pieces are sold, you have a beautiful framed piece of art for your child's room that has the names of hundreds of people who helped bring him home!

-Car Wash
This one is pretty self explanatory! Host a car wash and make some cash for your adoption fund!

-Independent Sales
There are LOTS of companies out there that offer to host fundraising parties for you. Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, etc. usually offer about 15% of money spent at your party towards the fundraiser. It isn't much, but it's something!

-Support Letters
We never did this because we spread the word via Blog, but if that ain't your style, support letters are a great way to get the word out and ask for help.


Okay! I'm sure as time goes on and suggestions come in this list will grow! But for now, I hope it offers you some ideas to fundraise for your own adoption! Don't lose heart. I know how overwhelming the cost can seem, and how truly impossible it looks in the beginning. I am copying these verses from an adoption blog I follow and hope they are encouraging to you as well. She also posts about fundraising so go check it out HERE.

"God will generously provide all you need." 2 Corinthians 9:8
"This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:19
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32. 

Again, if you have anything you think I should add to this list please let me know! Thank you so much to our "village" for helping bring our child home!

Paper Pregnant!

I think this was the BIGGEST day in our adoption journey so far! Today we officially entered the Match Book and became available for birth families! What does this mean exactly? It means we are Paper Pregnant! ;)

Specifically though, this means that our match letter (basically a four page scrapbook layout of our family, as well as a message to the birthmom) has entered the Match Book at our adoption agency. When potential birth families are making an adoption plan, they are shown the Match Book which includes match letters from families that are waiting for placement. Based on the information and pictures in the match letter, the birth family chooses to meet with an adoptive family to discuss placement. Sometimes this means we will get to meet the birthmom while she is still pregnant, sometimes this means the birthmother will choose a family right after she's given birth at the hospital.

Right now, there are 33 families (including us!) in the Match Book at our agency. Adoptive families are told to expect to wait about a year for placement, and today that waiting officially began (even though we've been waiting for a baby for quite some time already)! Although the agency told us that the average wait is one year, we could get a call at any time from here on out saying a birthmom has chosen us to adopt her child! It could come tomorrow, next week, next month, or a year from now! It is completely dependent on what a birthmom is looking for in a family, and if we are the family she feels would be best for her child!

It is, as always, completely in God's hands. If I have learned anything the past few years, it is that I have little to no control over the majority of circumstances that roll my way! ;) I do my very best with what I'm given, but the rest I simply have to hand over to the Lord and trust Him. Trust is not an easy thing for me, and the Lord has continually worked on that area in my life again and again refining it until it is to His liking! And I'm still a long ways off!

Josh and I are both really excited and kind of in disbelief that we're at this point already. It seems like such a short time ago we were in our very first meeting with our caseworker discussing the application process! The entire adoption process so far has gone incredibly smoothly, and we are so thankful for that, as honestly we were expecting it to be a very bumpy road. Adoption can be a roller coaster of emotions, setbacks, waiting, and starting over. We are fully aware that so many things can happen from here to having our child safely in our arms, but we're thanking the Lord for how He has completely paved the way for us so far.

For now, there is not much for us to do but wait! We are praying continuously, preparing our children for having a new brother or sister, enjoying our time together as a family of four, and planning our last fundraiser!

We decided to take the month of March to step back from fundraising and focus our time and energy on praying for our new little one and how he or she will affect our family. We would love it if you would join us in spending the next few weeks completely devoted to praying for our new baby and his or her birth family! I have come to realize how much time, energy, emotion, and work goes into fundraising for an adoption. It is unavoidable and neccesary, and honestly we've been nothing but blessed by our friends' and family's financial support thus far. But it is also really draining and tough in many ways. I struggle a lot with asking our loved ones to continue to support us when they've done so much already. I struggle with feelings of "unfairness" that others so easily add to their family and we are holding fundraiser after fundraiser to afford an adoption. I struggle with guilt over asking people for financial support and feeling so awful that we can't swing the cost entirely ourselves. I struggle to come up with new ideas that will be successful and worth the energy and time it takes to carry them out.  It isn't easy! But I know it is so, so worth it. I have no doubt about that!

We have a great plan for our next and hopefully LAST fundraiser, but we'll wait a couple more weeks to share it here as we are really focusing on prayer for this adoption. If you'd like to join us in praying for our little one and all the things surrounding him, I will be posting a prayer request list in the next entry, and would be so honored if you prayed with us!

This is a very exciting day!  Thank you for celebrating with us and rejoicing in how far God has brought us in such a short time! Thank you so much for following our story, it is only going to get better from here!!! :)

Genghis Grill/Raffle Recap!!!

Sigh. I am exhausted! The good kind of exhausted though, like after a big holiday! Tonight was such a HUGE success, and we truly can't thank everyone enough for their support. As we pulled the winning Raffle tickets I wished so much that we could have let everyone win something! I wish there was a way to sufficiently thank everyone for all they have given and sacrificed and done for our family in support of this adoption. It is completely humbling.

We won't know the total raised from the Genghis Grill Fundraiser until tomorrow, but I will update you as soon as I know! The manager and quite of few of the wait staff mentioned to us that it was the best fundraiser turnout they have ever had! WOW!!! Whole schools do fundraisers there and we were able to get more support from just our circle of loved ones! Thank you guys!!!

Our particular waitress was so wonderful and even told us with teary eyes that adoption has a special place in her heart so she was excited to see this fundraiser and wished us the best. We had a great time seeing everyone and of course I always love chatting and laughing with so many people! I really hope if you came out that you enjoyed your meal and the company! Here are some pictures from this evening!!!

Bradley is clearly enjoying filling his bowl! ;)

Josh's parents (middle) with family friends and relatives!

Our little family had a great time!!!

My parents! :)

Daddy and Sissy LOVE this place!

Me with two of my favorite ladies on the planet!

My sister with a friend filling their bowls!

All in all it was a great evening with a tremendous turnout! We also drew the winners of our Raffle this evening, and will list them here! Congratulations to ALL the winners, I truly wish I could have let everyone win something to show our appreciation! I hope you all enjoy your baskets and think of how much you have blessed our family when you use them!

Altogether we sold a total of 436 tickets!!! Bringing the Raffle sales to $2,180!!! WOW!!!!!! I have been slowly adding to our thermometer as people have been paying for their tickets and I get a chance to make it to the bank, so stay tuned because it will continue to climb as a result of this Raffle over the next week or so!

My sister was so kind as to let us draw a SECOND winner for the Cabin getaway, so we got to have two winners for that (though only one could win the basket!) Congratulations to...

David and Ivonne (Date Night winners!)
Juice Jeffery (Honey-Do winner!)
Scott and Lisa Warren (Birthday Basket winners!)
Nicole Zins (Spa Day winner!)
Brian Adams (Fitness Basket winner!)
Tamara Linhart (Cake Pops winner!)
Dustin Rayhorn (Kitchen Basket winner!)
Derek and Brenda (Cabin Getaway and basket winners!)
Crystal Dean (Second Cabin Getaway winner!)
Rhonda Bagley (Photo Shoot winner!)
Rachel Frizzell (Garden Basket winner!)
Sharee Sheets (Zoo Basket winner!)
Ashley Tucker (Puppy Basket winner!)

We know you'll enjoy your prizes and are so thankful you participated!

Derek and Brenda with their Cabin Basket!!!

I will let you know the total of our Genghis Grill fundraiser as soon as I know! Please know how much your support and encouragement means to our entire family. We are so blessed by you guys and can't wait to see where God takes us! When we finally do bring our little one home, know that each of you played a role in their homecoming!

With Love,

The Harrisons

Update: We found out from the Genghis Grill that our Fundraiser brought in a total of 150 people who spent $1691!!! We get 20% of that, so I will be depositing a check of $338 into our Adoption Fund! Yay! :)

Adoption Classes #5 and #6 and Updates

Well it has been a very busy few weeks, as it always is really, so I am just finding the time to get this post written! We have had two more classes on some really important topics so I just wanted to share a little bit about those with you in case you are interested.

Class #5 was on "Covenant and Commitment". This is in reference to the covenant we make with the birthmother of our child, as well as the commitments we are making to an open adoption. We discussed the differences between a "contract" and a "covenant" and how we would not be entering into a legally binding contract with this woman, but we would be making a covenant with her. Not something that could be legally enforced, but something in my opinion is a heck of a lot more serious.

When we are matched with a birth family, we decide together what level of involvement we are all comfortable with. How much contact will we have, how often will we send pics or videos, how often will there be visits with our child's birth mother and/or birth family? A covenant provides a general schedule for the birthmother to know when she can expect to hear about the baby's progress and when she can expect to see the baby again. It lets everyone know up front what the boundaries and expectations are. When all of this is agreed upon, we all sign a Covenant with each other. It isn't legally binding, as I said before, and can technically be revoked by either party if they choose, but it is something we are promising to one another, a commitment to the child, a covenant before God that we will not enter into lightly. Much like a marriage, we are committing to a relationship with this person for the rest of our lives, and setting our child up for the kind of relationship he or she will have with their birth family. We commit to a certain number of visits per year as well as the kind of contact we will have. Will there be frequent emails? Pictures? Texts? Phone calls? How often? Who is welcome at the visits? How far in advance do we need to plan them? What will they look like? How long will they last? These are just some of the things discussed in the covenant agreement.

I am very aware that the thought of having an open relationship with our child's birth mother and family seems really strange to some people. It is not something I ever would have pictured myself being open to, and Josh was even more leery of it going into this process. But we have learned a lot and have seen what that kind of healthy relationship actually looks like, and we understand that having at least some kind of relationship is what is best for the child mostly, but also everyone involved. We do not expect everyone to be at the same level of "okayness" with this as we are because we've had more time, more information, and more exposure to the idea of open adoption than most people. We know it will probably take everyone awhile to "catch up" to where we're at, and it might even take actually seeing what our family's relationship with our birth family looks like for our friends and family to "get it". That's okay! We are okay with being the pioneers here in our group of friends and family. We are hopeful that seeing what we've gone through and what God does with it all will possibly soften some other hearts out there towards adoption of some kind!

We talked in our class about what the role of a birth parent looks like in a healthy open adoption. It is similar to that of an aunt or uncle or cousin, their role is to love the child without assuming any of the parental responsibilities. They are the child's link to his or her genetic heritage. We talked about how many birth parents cannot be good parents at this time in their life, but they can be champion birth parents if given the opportunity.

We are thankful that our agency is always there and ready to help us if situations ever arise that we aren't completely sure how to handle. This will be very new to us and we are glad to have such great, experienced supporters that can help us figure out and nurture a great and healthy relationship with our child's birth family.

We discussed the possibility of the birth parents being unavailable, and how sometimes, despite our intentions and willingness and desire to have an open relationship with our child's birth mother and/or family, they just aren't able or willing to do that at this point. To be completely honest, when I entered into this process, that sounded like the "ideal" scenario to me. Cutting ties with the birth family and pursuing a closed adoptionseemed like the best idea and possibly the "easiest" for all involved. But I know Josh and I have come a looong way because the thought of that now makes me very sad. I truly want our little one to have a connection to his or her roots, to have some kind of relationship with his or her birth family, to know and understand the reasons behind their adoption, to know in their hearts that they were always loved and wanted, to be able to ask questions of their birth family that I can't answer. We are praying very hard for our child's birth mother and are hopeful we'll be able to have an open relationship with her.

Class #6 was called "Transracial and Special Needs Adoptions". We spent the first part of class discussing the effects of drugs, alcohol, and mental illness on children. Working at a children's hospital, none of it was really news to me, though I think Josh learned a lot. We talked about the possibility of adopting children who were exposed to a lot or a little drugs or alcohol in the womb. We discussed what special needs those babies might have either immediately or down the road or both. We again talked about our "Child Desired Form" and are all being asked to redo them after our classes to make sure we haven't had a change of heart towards certain scenarios.

Our instructor talked about how this is a really personal decision, and that we should really be in prayer about what we're open to. She said, "This isn't the time to be politically correct. You guys have to make a decision for your family and go into it with eyes wide open, knowing what your particularr family unit can handle and nourish and thrive in." She talked about how she knows it is extremely hard to fill that form out because you feel like a terrible person if you don't check every single box, and then if you don't check a box, you wonder why you don't check it and if that's really the right decision and what if I don't check it and my baby that's supposed to be "my" baby never comes home to me because I didn't check the box??? It is not an easy paper to fill out.

She told us how once we've filled out the paperwork, it doesn't mean it is set in stone. We can call up our case worker at any time and tell her we've changed our mind about a certain situation and would like her to change our form. God might open or close our hearts to certain things, and we are just trusting that He will get us comfortable with whatever He has in store!

We spent a lot of time discussing the topic of transracial adoption, and had some special guest speakers who adopted children of a different race than their own. It was a really interesting discussion and we feel like we both learned a lot about what that really looks like in day to day life, the issues that arise, the views people (strangers as well as friends and family) may have, and the things that are extremely important to consider if we are open to adopting a little one who isn't the same race as us. Just as an FYI, Josh and I are totally open to this, so we are doing our best to prepare our kids and family and selves for the possibilty of becoming a multi-racial family! We are aware that it completely changes the look and dynamic of our family, and we are praying that God will prepare us for all of that if He decides to bless us in that way.

This class was definitely a little scary. We are being asked to take a really good, hard look at the type of situation we are open to considering. Some of the scenarios are downright frightening, some of them are just different, completely different than what we've ever dealt with, and that is a bit scary too! We simply have to trust that God knows what child is perfectly made for our family, and know that He will bring us to each other and work everything out and equip us to handle whatever that brings.

One of the speakers talked about how the very things she was completely closed to and terrified of were the exact scenarios each of her adopted children had when they brought them home. God challenged her in ways she never wanted or planned on, but she wouldn't change a thing. There are definitely a lot of scenarios that terrify me, and ones I'd just rather not have to deal with, but I am really trying to trust that God will equip me to handle whatever He asks me to handle. He's done it before, and I'm sure He'll do it again.

When I was growing up I always heard people say, "Ohhh I hope I have twins someday! I've always wanted twins!" Not me! I never wanted twins and couldn't understand why people would. Hadn't they ever cared for a screaming infant? They want to double that? No thanks. I wanted to have my babies one at a time like God intended. ;) Lo and behold, my very first pregnancy, TWINS!!! And you know what? I was right. They were incredibly difficult just as I thought they would be, and during my pregnancy and those first few months with my infants every time someone told me how lucky I was to have "killed two birds with one stone" I wanted to stick a fork in their eye. But. But, oh my gosh the blessings. Worth every single ache and pain of a full term twin pregnancy, worth sleeping a total of three hours a week for six months, worth the craziness and the chaos and the giant double stroller only The Hulk could handle. Thank GOD He didn't listen to my whining! I absolutely adore, absolutely adore, having my twins. I am the luckiest mama alive and I am so glad God challenged me in that way!

I am confident God knows what we need, what we can handle, and who will be a perfect fit in our little family. We are open to what He's planning for us, as scary as that is, because over time we have learned that to say "No, absolutely not, God, not me!" is to basically dare Him to do it. ;) And things are a lot harder when you're completely unwilling to bend to His will.

So that sums up the last two classes, though we learn and cover far more than I have time or energy to put here. We only have ONE MORE CLASS left!!! Yippee!!! I can't believe how fast everything is going! I am still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Match Letter in the mail. The company I created it with is refusing to send me the PDF of if, for copyright reasons apparently, so I have to wait to get it in the mail before I can make copies of it and send it to our agency. Boo! ;)

We have one last meeting with our caseworker on the 7th to go over our new "Child Desired Form" and hopefully, hopefully (please God!) hand in our Match Letter copies and fee. Our Raffle/Genghis Grill Fundraiser is less than a week away! We have sold over 230 tickets for the Raffle and are spreading the word like crazy to get people to come on out to the Genghis Grill at Arrowhead for lunch or dinner on Wednesday! Remember, you must have the flyer with you for us to receive the 20% of your ticket, so print one off here and don't forget to bring it! Every dollar counts, and if you will notice, our thermometer is slowly but surely creeeeping upwards with each ticket sold!

We have some AMAZING baskets to raffle off, and there is still time to get your tickets! Click HERE for the list of prizes you can enter to win. Entries are just $5 a piece! Contact me to get yours! Special thanks to my mother-in-law, Robin, for helping me put all those baskets together and even donated two herself!! Also to my mom and dad, my sister, Ashley, and Heather N. who donated baskets for the Raffle! And THANK YOU to everyone who donated items for it as well! So many people stepped up to give us gift cards, money, handmade items, their business services, and their time to make these baskets extra awesome! Every single basket has entries in it, and that is all thanks to you guys and your generosity!!! I'm so excited to see who will win!

Thanks again for keeping up to date with our journey. We are getting SO CLOSE you guys, I am so proud of how far we have come and of all our friends and family who have walked this road with us and helped us so much. We could do none of this without your love and support. It is not always easy, but it is always worth it. Thank you for sticking with us!

Genghis Grill Fundraiser

As you know we are announcing our Raffle winners on Wednesday, February 29th at the Genghis Grill at Arrowhead! We have worked together with them to host an additional fundraiser, where we will receive 20% of the bill from anyone who shows a flyer to their waiter that day! You can come in at ANY time from open to close and not only get a delicious meal, but also help us raise some money for the adoption!

You must present a flyer for us to receive the 20%, so print it out and pass it along!

Remember, we will be selling Raffle Tickets all the way through Wednesday, so if you'd like to be entered to win one of these GREAT PRIZES, click HERE and contact me!!! We will be drawing the winners on Wednesday at 7 p.m.!!!

You can print the flyer by clicking HERE, or by clicking the link to the right.

Thank you so much for sharing this with as many people as possible!!! Let's get a GREAT turnout that day!!!

Harrison Adoption Raffle!!!

I am so excited to kick off this Raffle! The Raffle prizes that have been donated for this event are awesome! I wish we were eligible to win because I want ALL of them!!! Donations are still coming in so check back for updates! I have had people donate services, handmade items, baked goods, gift certificates, and some have just donated money to help make each prize extra special! Thank you so much if you have given something, we are so thankful and know this Raffle will be a huge success!

Harrison Adoption Raffle

 Entries are $5 a piece. Contact us through the blog, email, facebook, phone, text, or in person and let us know how many entries you want! Upon purchase tell us which prize or prizes you would like to enter to win. Example: "I would like four tickets. Please enter two tickets in the Date Night Basket and two in the Honey Do Basket." We will put your info on each ticket and enter them into the prize baskets. Payment can be made through the paypal button on the blog, in person, or through the mail. The winning tickets will be drawn on Wednesday, February 29th at Genghis Grill at Arrowhead. Winners not present will be notified by phone. Good luck!!!

1. "Date Night" Basket! - Includes $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory, $25 Harkins gift card, and $10 Cold Stone Creamery gift card along with a candle, two beautiful wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling cider (I want this one!).

 

2. "Honey-Do" Basket! - Includes $50 gift card to Home Depot and one hour of professional handyman services by Larry along with some great tools (No wait, I want this one!).

3. "Birthday in a Basket" - Includes gift certificate for 3 dozen delicious cupcakes from a Alchemy Cupcakes (flavors and decorations to be decided between winner and baker!), a professional face painting session for your event, a $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby, and some fun party favors (Ohhh how I wish I had this for the next birthday party!).

 

4. "Spa Day Basket" - Includes $50 gift card to Massage Envy, $25 Nail Salon gift card, bubble bath, lotion, and candles and a BEAUTIFUL handmade purse (I might sneak my name in this one. Definitely.).

5. "Fitness" Basket - Includes one personal training session including body assessment with a nationally certified HMR personal trainer, a $25 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods, and some fun workout gear (Josh thinks this is the best prize!).

 

6. "Cake Pop" Basket - Includes 2 dozen of the most DELICIOUS cake pops ever! Plus all the ingredients and instructions to make your own! (I have tasted this lady's cake pops. To. Die. For.)

7. "In the Kitchen" Basket - Beautiful handmade cutting board, chopping knife, recipes, oven mitts, colander, handmade apron, and $25 gift card to Fry's (My dad made the cutting board and my mom made the apron so this basket has lots of love!)

 

8. "Cabin Getaway" Basket - Includes 3 days at a beautiful cabin in Mund's Park (pictured below), all the makings for S'mores, a cozy blanket to snuggle up in by the fire, coffee mugs and hot chocolate (Speaking from experience...you will NOT be disappointed by this weekend away!)

 

9. "Family Photo" package -   This package (including frame!) is an on-location one hour session with Naomi Fugit Photography (valued at $175!) which includes a minimum of 50-70 edited high resolution images on a CD with full printing rights. (She is UBER talented and will give you beautiful keepsakes to last a lifetime!) See her gallery at Naomifugitphotography.com or find her on facebook.

10. "Spring Garden" Basket - Includes everything to make your garden grow! Various gardening tools and supplies, flower pots, seeds, and $25 gift card to Lowe's (Guaranteed to be the cutest basket in the lot!)

11.  "Day at the Zoo" Basket - This day of fun at the zoo includes $50 gift card to the Phoenix Zoo plus animal themed snacks and activities!!! (My kids would LOVE this!!!)

12. "Man's Best Friend" Basket - Perfect for the pet lover! $20 gift card to Petsmart, adorable doggy bowl, toys, and treats for your furry friend!!!

 


If you would like to help sponsor one of the packages or baskets above, or create your own gift basket to donate, please let me know! There are definitely still needs and we can use all the help we can get!

We are so excited about this fundraiser! Thank you to all who have donated and to everyone planning on entering! Please be praying we have another successful event and get one big step closer to our little one.