Yard Sale - May 14

We have mentioned in earlier blog posts that we are planning to have a yard sale on Saturday, May 14th.  We will hold the yard sale at our home in Harleysville, and all the money that is raised will go towards the adoption.  A friend of ours told us that she does a yard sale every year to raise money for a specific cause.  She does not price anything, but allows the buyer to set the price.  She said that most people give a fair price.  How can you help?

• If you items in your home that you are willing to donate for the yard sale, that would be great.  You can bring them on the 14th or let us know and we'll figure out the details to pick them up.  Also, let us know what you want us to do with those items if they do not sell.  We have already had a number of people share that they are bringing some items for the sale - Thank You!
• If you are available of May 14 to come and help with the sale or just hang out, we would love your company.
• Let your friends know about the yard sale.
• Pray that this will be a great way for us to raise funds for the adoption and to share about how the Lord led us to adopt.

In the Mail

We got our home study paperwork today in the mail and off I ran to the bank to get the check for Immigration approval.  They should be receiving the paperwork tomorrow around noon and then the next phase of waiting begins.  Living Hope says to be prepared to wait 2 months for the approval.


Ariana was working on a persuasive essay and brochure for Language Arts this past week.  Of course it was on adoption.  It is so amazing to see how God has placed this on her heart.  We became part of the brochure and one of her questions she asked me  was "What is the most difficult thing so far about the adoption?"  Hands down without any hesitation, THE WAITING!  Everything else has just seemed so easy.  It continues to amaze me how we can have such love for this little girl who we know nothing about.  We don't know what she will look like..though I have imagined, what her personality will be like, how old she will be and yet this burning need to go get her.  Such a simplified version of God's love for us!  Wow, it just blows me away that God could love me that much and so much more.

Please continue to be praying for us in this process, that we would continue to be at peace through this time of waiting.  God is in control!

5, 6 - Pick up Sticks

Do you remember that childhood nursery rhyme?  1, 2 - Buckle my shoe; 3, 4 - close the door; 5, 6 - pick up stick; 7, 8 - lay them straight; 9, 10 - do it again.  Or something like that...at least that is the way I felt today as I spent the day picking up sticks in our yard.  This was the annual winter cleanup, and there were a lot of sticks to pick up.  While I was picking up the sticks and cleaning up the yard, I spent a lot of time praying for many of you.  Over the past few weeks, I have made a number of visits to the hospital and a lot of time on the phone talking about different problems.  I was praying for so many that need help, healing, wisdom, strength and peace.  I prayed for the people of Japan, and yet in so many ways I do not know what to pray for.  I am reminded of the promise in Scripture, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Last night, Alicia and I worked through some adoption training material specific to the country of Honduras.  There was startling information about the "Street Children" of Honduras, which only encouraged us all the more in our efforts to adopt.  We read about the effects of Hurricane Mitch in the late 1990's and how this affected the nation of Honduras and how the effects still remain today.  When I considered the devastation in these other nations, I was thankful again for God's grace and provision in my life, and kept picking up sticks.

Adoption Update:  We received the initial draft of our Home Study for our review and took some time to review it over the weekend.  It was a lot longer and more detailed than I thought it would be.  As we read through everything, it was really odd to read about yourself in the third person.  We found it interesting that Aimee described the decorating of our home as "minimalist".  We used to call it "Old American", which simply meant that this piece was used by and given to us by this American, and that piece was used and given to us by that American...therefore, our decor was "Old American". Through the years, we have purchased different furniture and changed the wall decor, so as we look around the house, we guess the "minimalist" tag works.  Alicia talked with Aimee today and they are notarizing copies of the home study for us, so we should be able to send everything off to US Immigration Services by the end of the week.  We can also send off applications for some grants.  Then, we wait.  Thank you for your prayers and support as we continue on this journey.

A Quick Update

We had a great week last week.  We had both our office visit and home visit for the home study.  Once the home study is finalized (hopefully with the next two weeks), we will send off our paperwork to US Immigrations.  Aimee, our representative with Living Hope said that we should expect that approval to take about 2 months.  We are in another waiting period...I think we'll be doing a lot of waiting now.

We had a great afternoon on Saturday for the Thirty-One Open House.  We want to thank Nate & Abbey Orlowski for opening up their store for us.  Clemmer Music store was a great location.  Alicia had her quilts on display and Beth Kauffman had the Thirty-One products on display as well.  I was surrounded by fabrics of many kinds.  Not the world I am used to, but all of the women that came out seemed to enjoy looking at everything.  We had many family and friends come out to show support and check everything out.  It was a lot of fun - shopping (I am told this is fun), great conversation and of course, there were the cookies (I know these are fun).

Alicia and Beth in front of the Thirty-One display

Last week was also the beginning of the process of identifying possible grants and other options for funding the adoption.  We spent a few hours wading through many web sites related to adoption funding.  We found a few grants that we are considering applying for.  Once the home study is completed then we will be able to submit our applications for any grants.  One grant has a really neat opportunity for raising funds.  We would enlist friends to help us work on a widow's home, and at the same time raise sponsors to help fund the adoption.  We'll let you know more about this opportunity as it comes to be a reality.  We did set a date for our Yard Sale - May 14.  If you have anything you would like to donate, let us know.