Hi friends! I have so many posts in my head and I'm not sure when I'll get them all up here, but for now, we are putting together another adoption fundraiser.
On April 30, Pete will be running the Illinois Half Marathon. This is his third half marathon and he's hoping to break the 2 hour mark this time!
You can help make his music playlist for the race! For $10 each, you can choose a song for him to run to that day. If you would like to pick the last song, the one he crosses the finish line with, it will cost you $100. If he runs out of room in the playlist, your song choice will be included in his final 10-mile training run before the race.
You are free to hand us the money or pay via Paypal. With Paypal, please include your song choice in the Notes field. Thank you!!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
referral!
We received a phone call on Friday, Dec 10 with a possible referral!
On Monday of that week we submitted our application for the waiting child program, and on Friday around lunchtime we had a phone interview to clarify our specific requests and answer any questions we had.
ONE HOUR LATER, we got the CALL!
He was on the shared referral system and not yet reserved for our family, and we were able to take the weekend to talk with doctors and pray and consider him for our family. On Monday the 13th we indicated to our agency that we wanted to pursue him, and by Thursday the 16th our electronic acceptance was submitted to China. On Thursday morning we also received an update with answers to questions we asked about him.
We are delighted to welcome Brendan into our family! (We are keeping his Chinese name as his middle name and can't post details until our dossier is officially accepted in China.) He is 4.5 and will turn 5 in June. His special need is called bilateral strabismus, which basically means he probably only needs glasses.
Today we received a BUNCH of new photos of Brendan, as the original ones we received were over a year old. SO CUTE! Can't wait to show you!
Next steps:
On Monday of that week we submitted our application for the waiting child program, and on Friday around lunchtime we had a phone interview to clarify our specific requests and answer any questions we had.
ONE HOUR LATER, we got the CALL!
He was on the shared referral system and not yet reserved for our family, and we were able to take the weekend to talk with doctors and pray and consider him for our family. On Monday the 13th we indicated to our agency that we wanted to pursue him, and by Thursday the 16th our electronic acceptance was submitted to China. On Thursday morning we also received an update with answers to questions we asked about him.
We are delighted to welcome Brendan into our family! (We are keeping his Chinese name as his middle name and can't post details until our dossier is officially accepted in China.) He is 4.5 and will turn 5 in June. His special need is called bilateral strabismus, which basically means he probably only needs glasses.
Today we received a BUNCH of new photos of Brendan, as the original ones we received were over a year old. SO CUTE! Can't wait to show you!
Next steps:
- We just recently submitted our I-800A to USCIS and hope to receive the all-important paper from them by February.
- We are working on certifying and authenticating the rest of our dossier so it's ready and waiting.
- Once the USCIS paperwork is received and we notarize, certify, and authenticate it, our dossier will be ready to go to China...hopefully still in February.
- Possible travel dates? August or September we think, though with adoption, all things are subject to change without prior notice.
Monday, November 29, 2010
T-shirt sale thru Dec 14
Hi friends!
From now to Dec 14, you can order our Simply Love China t-shirt for the low price of $20, including shipping! Do you have any Christmas gifts to purchase? Please consider one of our t-shirts, and your Christmas shopping will also help with our adoption expenses!
From now to Dec 14, you can order our Simply Love China t-shirt for the low price of $20, including shipping! Do you have any Christmas gifts to purchase? Please consider one of our t-shirts, and your Christmas shopping will also help with our adoption expenses!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Paper pregnancy
Yes, we're still adopting. Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Once school started, I just have felt like my available time has disappeared! Add on that adoption training and paperwork...and two IV staff living with us this year...
We are STILL waiting for our homestudy to be completed. We started this in June! We thought it might be done in the next week or two, but we found out this week that some fingerprinting results we are waiting on will take an extra 4-6 weeks longer than we expected. So here's the new projected timeline:
We are STILL waiting for our homestudy to be completed. We started this in June! We thought it might be done in the next week or two, but we found out this week that some fingerprinting results we are waiting on will take an extra 4-6 weeks longer than we expected. So here's the new projected timeline:
- Finish homestudy by end of November (4-6 week wait + meeting with SW + review copy
- Homestudy signed off on at state level--done by Christmas (3 week wait at the moment)
- (Meanwhile, finish gathering, notarizing, and certifying dossier documents.)
- Homestudy submitted to USCIS by the beginning of January
- When we submit to USCIS, we plan to fill out the waiting child application for our agency, and because of the age and gender we are requesting, we are expecting an immediate referral.
- Also after USCIS is submitted, we will start filling out adoption grant applications.
- Dossier to China by beginning of March
- Travel possibly in June or July
All adoptions come with hiccups, delays, etc. For the most part, this latest hiccup has not been earth shattering (writing out the timeline was hard though!). Since we have been through this before, we know God is lining things up for us to get the little boy He has planned for us. It's hard to get too upset when we know how He has worked in the past. We're just trying to take one day at a time and stay close to the Word and to each other, watching and waiting.
We still have a bunch of Simply Love shirts left. You can see them here. I think the only size we have run out of is the women's medium, but the men's version is a nice alternative. I won't be ordering more until we can sell most of what we have in stock.
Please continue to pray for us: for our trust in the Lord to remain high, for our son to be cared for while he waits, and for few hiccups in the process.
First quarter update
Hi friends! It's been a while since I've posted...this is one of a few I have planned.
We are just finishing week 8 of school. We are enjoying the time spent together and much of the content. It's been hard to keep Iona happy, as I have not had the time to spend coming up with ideas for her from Before Five in a Row. I'm hoping to sit down with the material soon. So we've played around with spending schoolwork time at different times of the day.
Here's a rundown of how his subjects are going:
Bible--Aidan really likes his Old Testament Overview, although we are on course to finish this after only half a year instead of a full year. He loves drawing the Bible stories, so much that he prefers doing at least two pages a day instead of the one page planned in the schedule. We decided not to go ahead and get the New Testament version for spring, but just to work through another devotional once we finish. Aidan is also going to AWANA and memorizing verses there.
Writing--Writing with Ease is SUPER easy and we both really like it. The excerpts from literature have drawn us both to want to read the longer works, and we are keeping a list. :)
Spelling--Aidan likes Spelling Workout A a lot, and he can do large parts of the lessons on his own. While this is nice, I'm not yet sure how much he retains. This may be an area where we switch curriculum next year.
Reading--The Ordinary Parent's Guide is going much better this year than last. And Aidan is doing awesome at the readers we are working through. It's been fun to watch him pick up a random book and just start reading.
Grammar--First Language Lessons is also super easy. We are enjoying the topics in the book and Aidan is retaining it well.
Handwriting--Aidan is almost done with HWT already! Since he writes in most other subjects, we will wait on cursive until second grade.
Math--Saxon Math 2 is going much better than math last year. We are a little behind my original schedule, but we are making great headway. This year we are doing one minute math drills, and that is the hardest part for my little budding perfectionist.
History--SOTW1 is tons of fun. We love doing the projects together, although I don't think I'll be mummifying another chicken anytime soon. I've heard mummifying an apple is much easier... Aidan really looks forward to this subject.
Science--We decided to switch last minute to Astronomy, and it is going well. We've done some fun experiments, and Pete has done a bunch with Aidan as well.
Literature--This is one of my favorite subjects, of course, and Aidan loves to color or draw while I read aloud. Pete and I have pulled a few books from the lineup because of Aidan's tender heart, and we will revisit those at a later time. In general, the list we are working through has been fun.
Art and Music--Harmony Fine Arts is amazing. Aidan has made some neat art pieces when trying to copy some of the greats. The kids both love to dance around the kitchen to the classical music each week.
PE--We have continued with swim lessons this semester for both kids since Aidan was not ready by the end of the summer to stop without losing a ton of ground by next summer. He's picking up so well that we think he'll go back to taekwondo in the spring (and Iona to gymnastics).
We've been on some fun field trips as a family to a pumpkin farm and to see a Chinese orchestra.
We also decided to join a homeschool co-op, so every other Monday we spend the morning there. I work with Iona in the 2's and 3's class, and Aidan takes classes in Ancient Rome, PE, and Crafts. It's a nice break for us and it gives me some special time with Iona.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the year is going. I will be looking for ways to take us away from the kitchen table so much, as I feel we are spending too much time there, but otherwise things are lots of fun.
We are just finishing week 8 of school. We are enjoying the time spent together and much of the content. It's been hard to keep Iona happy, as I have not had the time to spend coming up with ideas for her from Before Five in a Row. I'm hoping to sit down with the material soon. So we've played around with spending schoolwork time at different times of the day.
Here's a rundown of how his subjects are going:
Bible--Aidan really likes his Old Testament Overview, although we are on course to finish this after only half a year instead of a full year. He loves drawing the Bible stories, so much that he prefers doing at least two pages a day instead of the one page planned in the schedule. We decided not to go ahead and get the New Testament version for spring, but just to work through another devotional once we finish. Aidan is also going to AWANA and memorizing verses there.
Writing--Writing with Ease is SUPER easy and we both really like it. The excerpts from literature have drawn us both to want to read the longer works, and we are keeping a list. :)
Spelling--Aidan likes Spelling Workout A a lot, and he can do large parts of the lessons on his own. While this is nice, I'm not yet sure how much he retains. This may be an area where we switch curriculum next year.
Reading--The Ordinary Parent's Guide is going much better this year than last. And Aidan is doing awesome at the readers we are working through. It's been fun to watch him pick up a random book and just start reading.
Grammar--First Language Lessons is also super easy. We are enjoying the topics in the book and Aidan is retaining it well.
Handwriting--Aidan is almost done with HWT already! Since he writes in most other subjects, we will wait on cursive until second grade.
Math--Saxon Math 2 is going much better than math last year. We are a little behind my original schedule, but we are making great headway. This year we are doing one minute math drills, and that is the hardest part for my little budding perfectionist.
History--SOTW1 is tons of fun. We love doing the projects together, although I don't think I'll be mummifying another chicken anytime soon. I've heard mummifying an apple is much easier... Aidan really looks forward to this subject.
Science--We decided to switch last minute to Astronomy, and it is going well. We've done some fun experiments, and Pete has done a bunch with Aidan as well.
Literature--This is one of my favorite subjects, of course, and Aidan loves to color or draw while I read aloud. Pete and I have pulled a few books from the lineup because of Aidan's tender heart, and we will revisit those at a later time. In general, the list we are working through has been fun.
Art and Music--Harmony Fine Arts is amazing. Aidan has made some neat art pieces when trying to copy some of the greats. The kids both love to dance around the kitchen to the classical music each week.
PE--We have continued with swim lessons this semester for both kids since Aidan was not ready by the end of the summer to stop without losing a ton of ground by next summer. He's picking up so well that we think he'll go back to taekwondo in the spring (and Iona to gymnastics).
We've been on some fun field trips as a family to a pumpkin farm and to see a Chinese orchestra.
We also decided to join a homeschool co-op, so every other Monday we spend the morning there. I work with Iona in the 2's and 3's class, and Aidan takes classes in Ancient Rome, PE, and Crafts. It's a nice break for us and it gives me some special time with Iona.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the year is going. I will be looking for ways to take us away from the kitchen table so much, as I feel we are spending too much time there, but otherwise things are lots of fun.
Monday, August 9, 2010
winner announced!
The winner of our giveaway in the t-shirt blitz is Melissa G! Thanks again to everyone who purchased a t-shirt or two to support our adoption.
We still have lots of t-shirts available. If you didn't get a chance to order, the store is still open. :)
Stay tuned for info about upcoming fundraisers. Iona and I are both sick right now, so I'll get to this as soon as I can.
We still have lots of t-shirts available. If you didn't get a chance to order, the store is still open. :)
Stay tuned for info about upcoming fundraisers. Iona and I are both sick right now, so I'll get to this as soon as I can.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
China Shirt Blitz and Giveaway!!
Hi friends!
Between now and August 7, we are having an adoption t-shirt blitz to raise money for our next adoption from China. The next payment we are trying to raise is $1800.
You can see the shirts here.
Shirts are $27 each and will be mailed 7-10 days after your order. I have an inventory on-hand of Men's and Women's sizes. As my inventory runs out, I will order in batches of 25 to save money. Feel free to write me a check or pay via Paypal. (If I don't have your size, please be patient as I collect orders for the next batch. I am willing to order youth sizes if there is enough interest.)
With each shirt you order, I will enter you in a giveaway for this handmade bear, Frazzle!
Between now and August 7, we are having an adoption t-shirt blitz to raise money for our next adoption from China. The next payment we are trying to raise is $1800.
You can see the shirts here.
Shirts are $27 each and will be mailed 7-10 days after your order. I have an inventory on-hand of Men's and Women's sizes. As my inventory runs out, I will order in batches of 25 to save money. Feel free to write me a check or pay via Paypal. (If I don't have your size, please be patient as I collect orders for the next batch. I am willing to order youth sizes if there is enough interest.)
With each shirt you order, I will enter you in a giveaway for this handmade bear, Frazzle!
My Aunt Eva has made bears and dolls for as long as I can remember, and I have wonderful memories of the bear and doll clothes I received from her as a child.
Aunt Eva has offered her "bad hair day" bear, Frazzle, to us for this giveaway. Please visit her site to see the other dolls animals she has made! (Adoption peeps: she has just made a China doll for me to show my friends, and she's working on an Africa doll. Watch her site for these new ones!)
If you have already placed an order, please let me know if you would like to be entered for the giveaway!
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