Long time coming!

Daniel and I first adopted 6 years ago. Since then we have adopted 3 more times, most of our children having special needs. This has resulted in us being different than most people we know for two reasons: the first having a child (or children) with special needs, something that often leaves you feeling alone. The second, is having children who are adopted. Not only because of some of the unique situations you go through because of it, but also because of the fact that no one else seems to understand, or have the same passion as you.

September this year all of that has changed, so I felt I just had to write a post about it. Maybe others have been feeling the same way? In September, we started our first adoption support group. We knew there was a lack of support in the Christian circle. Of course there are supports out there for adoption, but it is a different world. We saw a need and thought we would help. What I didn't know, was how much it would help ME! We have only met a few times, and I can honestly say I want to be friends with these people for the rest of my life. It is like I have finally opened the curtain to a new way of living. I never quite realized how important it is to have other people in your life who care about the same things and who truly understand the trials and blessings you might experience! Not everyone in our group has adopted yet. Some are still in the process, some are getting ready to begin in the near future, others have already adopted once or twice. But somehow, it is exactly what I needed. It sparks a new fire in me to continue with things, knowing I am not always alone in my quests. When we first were in our adoption training 6 years ago, I remember thinking how I wouldn't need a group like that. I would be able to parent my children on my own just fine. But that is not what it is about. I still can parent just fine on my own. But now, when I am having a hard week waiting to hear back from an agency, or we have company over and my kids seem like they were fed mexican juimping beans for dinner, I know these people will understand. I know I will have someone to call and rejoice with when a package of papers is received in a new country. I am so thankful for this new group, and blessed beyond words to have these new and wonderful people in my life. Thank you Adoption Support Group!!

Movie Night

It is true what they say: The toirtoise wins the race. Fundraising can definitely seem like watching water boil sometimes, but I know God has a plan and in the end the money will come through. This past weekend we held our movie fundraiser at a local theatre. Originally the rental was only going to be $150, then we sell the tickets at whatever price we like and get to keep the profit. However, later we found out that unless you use the movie currently playing that week, the rental is actually $300 (which we weren't because it was inappropriate). I had heard of other adoptive families in our area do the same fundraiser and make $3000! I was having a hard enough time finding enough people to come to cover the $150 cost! I was worried! So Daniel and I started to pray for a miracle. A packed house. It was days before the movie fundraiser was going to happen, and still very few people were coming. In the end, not only did enough people come to cover the rental cost, but enough people came to make a bit of a profit too. Plus, some unexpected supporters came out, which helped with morale :) In the end we walked away with $250, far more then what I was expecting. Was it the $3000 we had heard of others making? No. But it was one step closer to our final goal of $15,000. Little by little I know we will get there, in His time, not ours. Plus I think this will be great for our ministry (we support others going through the process, providing awareness, information and support). We will be able to show others how to fundraise their money, and not give up when things are slow, or times are tough. In fact, today a friend of mine asked if I wanted to sell my Ugandan jewellery at one of her Norwex parties! It was a huge blessing and I am excited to see where the jewellery business goes. I have 3 parties currently booked for this month, and once the product gets here I am heading out to stores and boutiques to try and get them on their shelves! Who knew fundraising could be a part-time job? I just wanted to post this as a reminder; sometimes miracles aren't big and grand. Sometimes they are the tiny things that remind us God is listening and in control, and that ultimately He will take care of our needs, and the needs of His children.

An update on our fundraising so far: Our goal is $15,000 (Canadian fees, and 3 trips to Jamaica)
Currently we have raised $2511.00! Inching closer! Our homestudy begins in April, which we need another $800 for, and then our dossier can be sent out by July! (another $3000). So in the meantime we will keep chugging away! If you would like to help we would LOVE and APPRECIATE your help! We have added a handy chip-in online donation feature on the right hand side of our blog. All it takes is 124 people donating $100, or $20 a month for 5 months. That doesn't seem too impossible! (Although we are a family that loves the impossible!)
Anyhoo, time to finish some homework (towards my quest for slowly becoming a social worker)!
Until next time!!!

The Waiting Game

Sometimes I feel the waiting game is one of the hardest parts of the adoption process. I mean fundraising - you can work harder, country problems - make a few more phone calls, but waiting....what can be done about waiting? I am reading a really good book right now called "When the Heart Waits" by Sue Monk Kidd. Its an amazing book with great analogies, ideas, and I find it really does help with all the waiting. But there are still days. Days that I don't read that book. Days that I don't think about God's timing, but instead think about my own. Even days that I know it is all in God's timing, but it is still hard. Those days can be challenging. Right now we are in the waiting game for our Jamaican adoption. In Canada, there is a required year wait between adoptions so that the child you have adopted has time to bond and form an attachment to you before you bring another child into your home. I think that is a great idea. Just not for me :) You're probably thinking I am impatient (and perhaps I am). But there is a reason! You see, Chloe, the one whom we just adopted in July of 2011, was first our foster daughter whom we have had since birth. She is now almost 3 years old, way past the required year of bonding. So we have to wait until April to even start the homestudy (we had to beg to get it started thats soon), then are allowed to send our dossier by July of 2012 (if our homestudy is completed by then) then wait for everything to go through the Jamaican court system. Adoption there can take up to 2 years or even more, so sometimes...when I think about all the waiting...I get frustrated. Especially when you know kids are waiting around in orphanages. I know I shouldn't let me mind go there, but it is true. For example, if we adopted a 4 year old, who potentially was in the orphanage since birth, our child is spending all these additional years in an orphanage, while we are just over here waiting! It drives me crazy sometimes thinking about it! But that is just me. Playing the waiting game. I know God has a time, a reason, and a purpose for everything, and I try to remind myself of that every day. We still have a long way to go in fundraising as well. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't move on to the next stage at this point anyways. But the time will come, and thinking about it excites me! Well that is my post for today. Kind of silly, a bit of a vent, but most people who read it have been through or are going through the adoption process themselves and probably know what I am talking about...haha I hope!