Good News (but not THE news!)

So a while back (late summer to be exact) you may recall we applied for the Show Hope Grant. This is the grant from the Steven Curtis Chapman Foundation, formally Shoshanna's Hope. Well we really weren't expecting any money at all, we heard from a few other families that with the economy all foundations that provide grant's funds were lower than normal, not to get our hopes up. But we gave it a try and GUESS WHAT?
We got a letter in the mail today that said we were awarded $3,000!!! We will receive the funds at the time of the referral. Isn't that wonderful news?!!?! That will REALLY help take the pressure off of our travel expense crunch. I just can't believe they gave us money! I am so grateful and so appreciative of Show Hope, they are such an answer to prayer. And truly, they were the first nudge Chad got putting adoption in his heart (at a Hope benefit concert), so in a way we've come full circle.
I am just speechless (well...almost!) Thank you Show Hope! Someday we hope to repay a little of the blessing you've given us by helping this wonderful organization. According to our letter, one way that we know we can help is to send pictures and our testimony after we bring Baby Deetz home! I hope we can do that VERY soon! Yippeee! What a great early Christmas present!

I am a believer. It only took 4 years.

I contacted our financial guru today- our agency family builder fund has grown significantly since our last inquiry. At this point, any funds that come in as a donation to our adoption will help to offset our travel expenses and out of pocket expenses (flights, train tickets, hotels/host family payments, food, tips, orphanage relief $, visas, in country medical exams, etc.) Isn't that wonderful news?!!?! But it's not to late if you want to help with that. (Remember it's a tax write off! And the $ still goes directly into our account, but now it is issued directly to us at the time of travel instead of to Russia or CWA) Here is the link. Now I think of every dollar as "one night in the hotel in Moscow" or "One Borscht stew coming right up" Isn't that exciting?!?!?! https://www.cwa.org/DonationForm.aspx

I remember when Chad came home from a Steven Curtis Chapman concert about 4 years ago. He said that the proceeds that night benefited Shoshana's Hope (Now Show Hope, check them out at http://www.showhope.org/) SCC's adoption foundation. He told me about the amazing video clips shown throughout the concert and he asked me "what do you think about adoption?" I'm sure we talked about it and decided that we would love adopt "someday" but the financial aspect of it seemed beyond our capability. It's still sad to me that adoption costs so much.....I'm sure a lot of potentially great parents think this way too. I was definately NOT a believer four years ago.

Then the summer we met our dear friend's son, William, adopted from Ethiopia God nudged us again. Matt told us that if they could do it, we could do it. "Don't worry about the money" he said, "God will put the right people at the right time in your life and God will blow the doors off of your expectations." I still wasn't a believer.

Then we took the leap of faith and finally decided that this was the right thing for our family. We were absolutely overwhelemed and really had no idea how all the pieces were going to fall into place. In the back of our mind I thought, well, we might take the longest in history of adoption to come up with the funds, but we'll get their eventually. We had no idea if anyone would give at all (this is the WORST time in our country's recent history) but it was worth a try. We sent a letter. We linked up the donation site on our blog, we announced to our church that we were adopting. I only talk about money once in a blue moon (I know you don't like reading about this stuff that much, but it is a major issue surrounding our adoption and others too, so pardon the "shop talk" but maybe some "non-believer" just like me will read this and God will nudge their heart too- You CAN do it! I know you don't believe it, but just try it out, take Him up on his promises....)

Anyway- What a wonderful early Christmas gift. God is sufficient to meet all of our needs and gives abundantly beyond our expectations. He is so good and we are so grateful. I am a believer.

September is National Cake Month (not really)

How can it be September already? For those of you keeping track at home- Christmas is only 115 days away. I will be 30 years old in one month and 22 days. Yikes.

Here is my final cake. I had these illusions of grandeur about how the cake would be- I really wanted to do two tiers, but I tore the fondant on the top tier, I rolled it too thin. I could have salvaged it, but I think one tier turned out just fine (yes the flowers are edible and yes I made them!). I was crunched for time in class anyway so I had to complete it at home. Then I made a dozen cookies for Deetzsie’s Treatsies. Then I had a diabetic episode for consuming more sugar than one human should ever consume in a single day. Actually, then I got started on a new book “just to wind down” and it was so good I couldn’t put it down. Before I knew it, it was after midnight. Tonight we ate dinner out because I couldn't bear to even set foot in the kitchen.

So I’ve been laying the ground work for our financial course of action. I don’t know how I am going to fit anything else- but here are how the events unfolded. I sent an e-mail to our Pastor, he has graciously allowed us to but another blurb in the church newsletter about where we are in the process and how much more $ we need. He has also given the green light for an event in the Fellowship Hall. Now I need to get on the ball with food donations and perhaps a few items to auction (anybody know anybody?) I was thinking like a relaxation basket (maybe with a massage gift card) and some other fun stuff. I might bid on that basket. That would totally defeat the purpose, no? So…. Stay tuned on my latest scheme.

Next- I brought my cake into work and sent an e-mail talking about “Baby Cakes”. I got 3 orders today! Plus I already had one lined up from church, so that makes 4. So far I get to flex my baking/decorating muscle. I have booked everything but a Wedding cake (thank goodness, that’s too much pressure right now!) I have a sweet 16, a birthday, a baby shower, and a wedding shower (Even though it’s in the “wedding family” that’s much less pressure, I just want to stay away from Bridezillas on their “big day”. Showers are o.k.) Anyway- I am really excited to do these cakes, decorating has allowed me to be creative, something that I adore, but rarely get an opportunity to partake in. In case you're wondering about the fondant birdy I made, I still have him, but he just didn't look right on this cake.

Adoption update- All of our additional paperwork that needed to go to Pskov has been sent. The only thing I couldn't do was a"Letter of Recommendation" from our Home Study Agency. After a short debate, I persuaded our agency that they could do the letter, not our actual social worker (contracted through CWA) Since it has to be on CWA letterhead anyway, that will save us a few weeks and keeps things nice and simple! I need to follow up with them to make sure it's been done since our regular case manager is on vacation until mid-September, but they are really good at doing what they say they will do, so I'm not terribly worried.

Now...if you'll excuse me, my book and my pajamas are calling my name!

Cover Letter

This week we applied for an adoption grant, despite rumors that they have no money to give due to the downturn in the economy. At best we'll receive a thousand dollars to help defer some of our travel costs. We are about $13,000 away from our goal. The problem is, we look too good on paper from a financial point of view. If I saw our application I wouldn't give us any money, it appears that we have plenty! And don't get me wrong- we are so blessed. We both work VERY hard for the money we earn, and even with my shopping habit, we really are conscious of everything we spend. But I'm sure there are SOOOO many people that have no other options. However, we have a great support system and have not given up hope of finding creative ways to raise money. If anything we are using the application as a way to gauge if we are wasting our time trying to get "grants". Please keep us in your prayers as we try to decide what to do. If we are unable to fundraise the last bit, we are weighing the options of borrowing the money, at least until we can get our adoption credit to pay it back.

Anyway, after I got through filling out the gigantic application, another page popped up with all of the documents we need to produce to be considered (tax returns, an essay on why we want to adopt, letters of references, a letter from our pastor, our personal testimony, copies of our home study, a letter verifying our adoption from our agency) Ugh. More paperwork. I just have a feeling that this is a lost cause. But we want to exhaust every possible avenue. I want to know that we tried. It really is a catch 22 with adoption funding. You need to earn enough to show Russia you can support a family, but you can't earn too much that you over qualify for a loan/grant. It leaves folks with student loans/mortgages/bills to pay in the lurch. For all the grants you have to send a cover letter explaining your intent along with "supporting documents" of various forms. This is what I'm thinking:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Thank you for considering me for your grant. I promise that I have already signed my life away and had my finances gone over with a fine tooth comb. I have been fingerprinted, examined, poked and prodded. I have had my bank verify how much to the penny I owe on my home. My employer has verified my salary and benefits. I have provided copies of my life insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, and 401k. My doctor has vouched for me too. I have driven to Columbia. I have driven to Flat Rock. I have made endless phone calls. I have sent nice e-mails, mean e-mails, and frustrated e-mails. If I've gotten this far, I think my quest is legit. I promise that I am not trying to fool you about adopting a child. I really want one. I don't have an $13,000 lying around in our bank account. I am not making this up. I do not like to fill out paperwork so that even more people can look at how much I earn, how much I give to Goodwill, how much I pay per month for my telephone service, and what my blood type is. I just want a baby.

Sincerely,
Sarah

I think it's good. Whadda ya think? Direct, honest, to the point. It will definitely make us stand out in a crowd. No really- I've started to gather the necessary information to apply and we will send it out next week. I just want to know what our options are.

BUT.....In the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about our next course of action. These are my plans:

1- Have a garage sale (a.k.a. make room for Baby Deetz sale) We have too much stuff. That can wait until the weather gets cooler. Maybe end of September/October?

2- Talk to our Pastor about a benefit dinner at the church. Get local vendors to donate some items for an auction. Time to call in some favors! If I can get the food donated, then our cost would be next to nothing. I am sending him an e-mail today.

3-Baby Cakes. My last cake class is this monday. I am so excited about my cake- I think it's going to be great. The picture is a sneak peak at some of the elements I've made in advance. After I snap some pics I want to launch Baby Cakes- another way to use my talents to save some "dough".

We need to get moving. I hate sitting still. Full speed ahead is my favorite speed!

Dollars and Sense

I haven’t talked about money in a while- I try not to bore you too much! But we subscribe to “Adoptive Families” magazine (It’s great…. You can check it out online at http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/)
Anyway, when you subscribe to the magazine, they send you little articles monthly by e-mail of additional topics and stories they couldn’t fit in the magazine. This month, one of the topics was about how the economy has effected adoption. I was going to do a cut and paste number, however, 1-It was mega long and 2- It basically said it was “too early” to detect a trend with how adoption has been effected by this recent downturn in our economy. It did, however, share several families’ stories that were on both sides of the fence. It told of a family that registered their Dossier in China in January 2006 and were getting close to a referral (can you imagine waiting that long?) And the husband has been unemployed for several months and they know that they will be unable to afford to travel or donate the required $5,000 humanitarian fee to the orphanage. They are praying that they DON’T receive a referral anytime soon, because they said they would have to decline the referral. In China a minimum income of $30,000 per dependant must be proven to qualify for adoption. (i.e.: a family of four that are trying to adopt a third child must earn $150,000) Yikes.
Then, you had the opinion that adoption is not a luxury, it is considered a need and families are willing to beg, borrow, or steal to make adoption work. I think this might be the category we fall into (other than the stealing bit….) but I think that is easy to say when you are not facing financial ruin. My heart just went out to all of those families that were saying no to adoption because of the cost associated with it. The article provides links to need based grants and low interest loans. However- if you earn too much, you don’t qualify for a grant and if you don’t earn enough you don’t meet the sending country’s minimum income requirements and can’t qualify for a loan. Catch 22.
A trend is slowly emerging that more biological families are being forced to give their children up because they can’t afford the child’s most basic needs and less families have the resources to adopt these children. It’s a vicious cycle.
One crazy lady basically said “I’m happy that so many people aren’t adopting right now, it bumped us to the front of the list and made our process quicker” Whoa- what I have to say about that is not “blogworthy” for young audiences.
Anyway- how has this affected us personally? We are depending on God fully. We’ve had a handful of people give VERY generously. Every week we’ve had an inquiry about our financial needs and we’ve answered them openly and honestly- WE NEED! Deetzsie’s Treatsies (my side business making cookies for settlements at our law firm) donates 100% of proceeds to “Operation Baby Deetz”. Chad has D.J.ed a few school dances. We are eating out less; my excessive shopping habit has taken a permanent vacation (only with a few relapses). I am thinking about a fundraiser in the early fall (Maybe a BBQ or silent auction?) We have “Pampered the Chef” and Daddy is still selling crosses. Basically, every penny that goes into our account is classified as “a night’s stay in St. Petersburg” or “dinner for me and Chad in St. Petersburg”. It’s a whole new mindset. We lovingly joke that one generous anonymous giver has paid for “one leg” of baby Deetz. All joking aside- we have been so blessed and are trusting God to make this a reality.